Lust For Gold [DVD] [1949]

An unusual but interesting story.Ford very good as the moody unscrupulous gold prospector.He was well supported by the young Gig Young and Ida Lupino.
Pleased to have purchased this film and add it to my Glenn Ford collection.
Could not help thinking about Ford's long life and the early tragic demise of Young in real life.

A real western oddity this one! The story behind it is perhaps more interesting than the overly melodramatic film itself. Based on the true story of the lost location of the legendary Lost Dutchman Goldmine, we have both a contemporary setting, well 1949 anyway, and two historical settings, albeit the Mexican/Apache sequence is very brief. We have flashbacks of Glenn Ford as the Dutchman himself, who suddenly finds himself a very popular man after finding the lost mine and striking it very rich. Ida Lupino and her crooked husband, played by Gig Young, plot to cheat Ford out of his mine. Meanwhile in the present day Ford's grandson William Prince tries to rediscover the mine, but is up against murderous opposition.

S Sylvan Simon replaced serial veteran George Marshall as director at the last minute, and simplified the complex plot from Barry Storm's book on which the film is based. The film cries out at the start that it attempts to be as true to the facts as possible, but in typical Hollywood style managed to get sued by Storm for misrepresentation. The title of the film tells you pretty much all you need to know about the film. None of the characters have any redeeming features, and they all most definitely lust after gold. The film seems to use many of the ideas from John Huston's superior "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", made the year before. That film was however given a more moral backbone with the inclusion of decent men. Interesting to note that in both films the indians and bandits both showed an astonishing naivety towards gold. "Lust for Gold" aka "For Those who Dare" trumps that film for overblown melodrama. We have Ford, who is a fine actor, overcooking his surly turn, whilst there are some miraculously timed earthquakes and snake bites. Ford gave a much better performance as a similar character in the fine film "The Man from Colorado" Lots of polystyrene boulders bite the dust amongst the mayhem! There is also a strangely discomfiting hardboiled Raymond Chandleresque style voiceover that does not quite work. Gig Young is excellent as always as the chief villain amongst villains, and Ida Lupino impresses as the scheming temptress. Good support is provided by Grandpa Walton Will Geer, veteran Edgar Buchanan and Arthur Hunnicutt. The film is certainly worth watching as a curiosity if nothing else. This was to be director Sylvan's last film as he sadly died of a heart attack in 1951 at the young age of 41.

Lust for Gold is directed by S. Sylvan Simon and adapted for the screen by Richard English & Ted Sherdeman from the novel Thunder God's Gold written by Barry Storm. It stars Ida Lupino, Glenn Ford, Gig Young and William Prince. Music is by George Duning and cinematography by Archie Stout.

Superstition Mountains, home to the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine, and home to many deaths because of it.......

Is it a mythical legend or is it fact? What we do know is that the story of The Lost Dutchman Gold Mind, apparently located somewhere in the Superstition Mountains, East of Phoenix, Arizona, is one hell of a story and makes for an entertaining and interestingly structured Western flavoured movie. Hell! The film even has a tricky little back story that saw author Barry Storm, who was portrayed in the film by William Prince, sue the makers for misrepresentation of his character. Even citing Communism as being what he claimed were some underhand tactics. Further reading on this subject can be found on the internet and it's most interesting stuff. Also noteworthy is that director S. Sylvan Simon (I Love Trouble) was originally only producing the movie, direction was to be by George Marshall (Destry Rides Again/How The West Was Won), but the two of them clashed considerably so Simon took on directing duties as well.

What should be said from the outset is that first time viewers would be well advised to read up on the legend of the Lost Dutchman Mine first. This will help considerably to enjoy the film more. This is because the picture covers three different time periods in history, with the beginning and end taking place in present day (1949 that is), and the centre bulk of the story set in 1880 as Dutchy Waltz (Ford) finds the gold and promptly finds hassle (the whole town) and treachery (Lupino's sultry femme fatale Julia Thomas) comes as part of the deal. The third point in history comes by way of an explanation as to the Apache Indian origins of the gold. None of it is confusing, but the flow of the film is inevitably stop-start, and with Prince's character (Barry Storm is related to Dutchy Waltz) providing a one note narration, film isn't as "great" as it should be.

However, there is a lot of "great" things "in" Lust for Gold. Cast are mostly ace, with Lupino a dominating presence and Ford doing a nice line as, well, a sympathetic bastard! In secondary support you get a roll call of actors who have earned their spurs in the Western genre. Edgar Buchanan (Devil's Doorway), Will Geer (Broken Arrow), Arthur Hunnicut (The Big Sky) and Jay Silverheels (The Lone Ranger TV series and films). As fun and intriguing as the story is, and it is both, the best thing about the film is undoubtedly the location shooting by Archie Stout (Fort Apache). Originally shot in Sepia tones, the DVD release of the film is in crisp black and white (the Region 2 DVD offers a quality print), where the Superrstition Mountains make for an imposing presence throughout the tale, the beauty and hazards of the rock formations are expertly realised by Stout's photography.

Although one can imagine Marshall would have stitched the story together better, and possibly got more mileage out of Gig Young's hapless husband character, Simon doesn't scrimp on the action sequences. There's plenty of fisticuffs within, plus a pulse raising Apache attack sequence. He also proves competent at honing a sweaty stand-off section, where the thirst becomes unbearable under the burning sun. This is a precursor to a genuinely eye opening turn of events before we zip back to the present day. It's then when you most likely will feel like I did, bitten by a yearning to get back to the old West in the company of gold hungry varmints and duplicitous females. 7.5/10