An engaging Western from 1949. Starting off in the present day (the late 1940's), we have the grandson, William Prince, of a gold prospector, Glenn Ford, searching for the fabled entry to his grandad's mine but instead of finding it he comes across a dead body of another man who also was in search of the elusive treasure. Being picked up by the authorities, Prince regales & is regaled on the history Ford had w/the mine (where we see Ford finds it & loots the treasure after killing his companion, played by stalwart character actor, Edgar Buchanan). Going back to town to cash in his ill gotten gains, Ford draws the attention of a scheming bakery owner, Ida Lupino, who hopes to gain some of Ford's gold even using her estranged lout of a hubby, Gig Young, to run interference. Ford falls under her spell but then overhears the truth (from an advantageous window outside the bakery) setting up the finale, in the past, as Ford gets his revenge. Coming out on the heels of the seminal Treasure of the Sierra Madre the year before, another tale of greed, this film's tricksy structure makes it a contender for the former's throne while being a hoot of a yarn of the first order w/Ford giving a great perf as the villain the audience still roots for.
Review of Lust for Gold
