The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Classic movies rarely hold up as ecstatic entertainments. By the time you mentally correct for the black and white film, the echo on the crummy soundstage sets and the hammy theatrical acting, you’re not left with much in the way of verisimilitude. What you are left with, though, is the pure pleasure of watching a cultural anthropology lesson unspool in front of you. See Bogie ask a young John Huston if he’ll “stake a fellow American to lunch.” Watch him uncork his trademark teeth-baring shoulder shrug. Observe the original “steenking badges” line in its’ natural habitat.

The story is rock solid; all the raw material is here. I’d run to see a remake by John Singleton with this lineup:

Dobbs: Sam Rockwell
Howard: Avery Brooks (Remember him?!)
Curtin: Don Cheadle
Cody: Freddy Rodriguez

Hell, I’d settle for a Treasure-themed Scrubs episode.