Lust for Gold (1949)

A complex plot and a noirish feel characterize this exciting Western, which takes place in part during a flashback from contemporary 1948. The tale centers on the legendary Lost Dutchman mine, worth $20 million and notorious for its apparent curse upon all those who attempt to claim it. The grandson of Jacob "Dutch" Waltz, who discovered it, sets out to relocate the mine, and the story travels back in time to follow Dutch (Glenn Ford, SUPERMAN) in his initial explorations. A wealthy prospector who has acquired his money by dubious means shows up in town with 297 pounds of gold ore to trade for cash. He cases a furor and attracts the attention of one Julia Thomas (Ida Lupino, ROAD HOUSE), a bakery owner who immediately undertakes the foreigner's seduction. Dutch and Julia court one another, and the gruff Dutch's loneliness and vulnerability come to the fore in some surprising, touching, and well-acted, scenes; this leads up to an explosive denouement when Dutch learns of Julia's duplicity and true motivations.