Program – “I know what gold can do to men’s souls.”

A couple of older gents – played by Walter Huston and Jean Gabin – know the real costs of getting-rich-quick. They still play the game though, and we get classic two movies about how professionals get themselves into trouble when they need to work with greedy associates with little self-control.
“The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” is the classic adaptation of B. Traven’s adventure novel about gold miners in the remote Mexican mountains. Humphrey Bogart’s portrayal of Fred C. Dobbs is the showiest one in this movie, but Walter Huston won the Academy Award for his droll rendering of Howard, the old prospector.
Jean Gabin’s Max counsels his old friend Riton to behave more moderately – get to bed early, don’t assume that his young mistress loves him – in “Touchez Pas au Grisbi” (French). Yet criminal life and temperance are usually exclusive to one another, and Max knows that he is the exception. If Riton only realized that hot blooded middle aged guys always lose to hot blooded younger guys, he and Max could fade into comfortable retirement. But no, hence the movie.