Lust for Gold (1949) Movie Script

You are looking at

Superstition Mountain,

a barbaric pile of rock,

40 miles long by 20 wide.

The man is Floyd Buckley.

He's going into

this 800 square miles

of sudden and violent death

because he thinks

it's just another mountain,

and because he's greedy

for its treasure.

Yeah, I said treasure. Gold.

$20 million worth of

precious yellow metal

waiting to be found in

America's most elusive mine,

appropriately named

"the Lost Dutchman."

It's simple to get to.

The mountain, I mean.

Just drive 36 miles due east from

Phoenix, Arizona, and there she is.

She looks easy from the outside.

Inside, it's like Satan's

private art gallery...

sculptured pagan granites,

unmellowed by time,

hidden in terrifying

canyons and gorges.

But if you'd like

to pick up 20 million bucks

and figure, like Buckley there,

that a mountain's just a mountain,

I'll show you where to look.

But before you leave for Arizona,

you ought to know that

21 men have been murdered

grabbing for that dough

and hundreds more

have died in other ways.

You see, this is the true story

of Superstition Mountain.

The biography of a death trap.

My name's Barry Storm.

I was hurled into this story

when I heard that shot.

Up till then,

I was just an ordinary guy

with a reasonable curiosity

about the Lost Dutchman Mine,

a curiosity I wish

I'd never been born with.

I hurried toward

the sound of the report

and hoped I'd find a hunter

who'd maybe bagged a deer.

I found Floyd Buckley,

sprawled and dead.

His blood, life, and dreams,

spilling out

on the unfriendly ground.

When you find a dead man,

you're supposed

to call the police.

I'm a good citizen.

I set out to do what

you're supposed to do.

Fear and panic gave me

a boost up over that ledge,

and I began to run, not walk,

to the nearest exit.

Speed no longer meant anything

to Buckley, but it did to me.

I didn't want to be

framed in the crosshairs

of a telescopic sight

on a high-powered rifle.

I'd just gone in to look for gold.

I didn't want to find lead

from the business end

of a killer's gun.

It took me three days

and 36 miles of tough hiking

to put the sheriff from

Florence, Arizona into action.

Identification bracelet.

Wallet.

Telegram.

"Lecturing in Los Angeles,

September 30th."

They're going to have

to get a new speaker.

That's all the personal effects.

Let's go.

Sit down, son.

You say your name's Barry Storm.

You're from Colorado and

you've been here only 10 days.

You're no prospector,

but you were up there

when Buckley got shot.

What were you

doing in the mountain?

Well, I know

it sounds kind of bad,

but I was following Buckley.

You were what?

Now, wait a minute.

I didn't shoot him.

I had a good reason

to be up there.

My grandfather was Jacob Walz.

Who?

Jacob Walz,

the man who owned

the Lost Dutchman gold mine.

The Dutchman, huh?

That goes back to about 1880.

He's supposed to have killed

quite a few men in his time.

That doesn't have

anything to do with me.

All I know is, when I was a kid,

my mom heard about this mine

her father was

supposed to have found.

I always figured someday

I'd come down here.

So you came down here.

Go on.

Well, I thought there might

still be a buck

laying around

that had my name on it.

The first place I went to was

the claims office in Phoenix.

How do you spell that again?

Uh, Walz. W-a-l-z.

Jacob Walz.

Nope. Nobody by that name

ever registered a claim here.

This record goes

clear back to 1870.

But there must have been.

Why, the Lost Dutchman was

supposed to be worth a fortune.

He wouldn't just leave

the money laying around.

Maybe he never found a mine.

Some people don't believe

there ever was a Lost Dutchman.

Well, then again, some do.

The news had a story on it

just this morning.

There.

This newspaper item

was my first lead.

I wanted to meet this guy who said

he was going to find

my grandfather's mine.

Mr. Buckley, if you've

got a minute,

I'd like to ask you a couple of

questions about this newspaper story.

Certainly. I'm always glad to see

the press. I'm not a reporter.

I-I'm just interested

in you being so sure

about locating that Lost Dutchman.

If you read my books, you'd know

I'm hardly the type to

go out on a wild-goose chase.

You've got a map?

Naturally I have a map.

One of the original Peraltas,

in fact.

Peralta?

Yes, you see, the Peralta mine

I'm seeking

and the Lost Dutchman

happen to be one and the same.

Then it looks like you and I

have got something in common.

Yes?

I happen to be

Jacob Walz's grandson.

Really? You mean the man

who allegedly owned it? Hmm.

That's very interesting, I'm sure.

I never knew he left a family.

I can prove it if I have to.

That's why it might

be good business

to let me come along with you.

Uh, if you know

how to use this map...

I not only know how to use it,

but I know where the marker is.

And I know how to use that, too.

But for your

information, young man,

I never go partners.

Excuse me.

He really brushed me off.

I decided right then

to follow him.

When his car dropped him off at

Apache Junction, I was waiting.

I started tailing him then.

But Buckley was too sharp.

He lost me on the 3rd day.

I never caught up with him again.

Not till after I heard the shots.

30-30. Entered downward,

from behind.

Hey, this must be the map

he was talking about.

It was in his wallet.

Hey, something's been

torn off the top of it.

Well, maybe that's

the way he got it.

Maybe it had directions on it

and he tore it off himself.

Some fellows memorize directions

so that nobody else

can use their maps.

Why, half the state

has got indigestion

from eating old maps.

You been staying

in Phoenix, huh?

Your things there?

Well, some of them.

Most everything I own

is right on me.

I put my bag in the bus depot

after I checked out of the hotel.

You haven't got a job.

You say you're

the Dutchman's grandson.

You tail a guy you thought

was holding out on you.

He gets knocked off.

Ray, you'd better take him out

to the mountain tomorrow.

Let him show you just

how he spent those three days.

Walter, you'd better

go along with them.

How long after the shot

before you found him?

Ten to fifteen minutes.

Maybe longer.

He was still warm.

You didn't see anybody else?

No.

What were your plans

if Buckley had found the mine?

Well, I don't know exactly.

But I wouldn't have shot him.

Well, I guess I didn't

have any plans.

That is, beyond hoping

there might be a mine

I might have some legal rights to.

Come on, Walter.

Let's have a look at the

other side of the canyon.

What are you looking for now?

Buckley was hit from behind.

The killer was somewhere up there

by that cliff.

You were, uh, up over there.

Does that take me off the hook?

Mmm, maybe.

Unless Buckley

spun around before he fell.

You see, three other guys have

been knocked off in this same area

ahead of Buckley,

before you even got here.

That's a break in your favor.

Huh.

Buckley was the 4th?

The 4th in the last two years.

All right around here

and all by a 30-30.

And if you look in the record

book, you'll find out

20 men have died

in this mountain since 1880.

Well, I'm through.

Let's, uh,

get back to Apache Junction

and some cold beer.

Uh, I...I was just thinking,

this...this all

adds up to something. Like what?

Four guys murdered,

all in the same area,

all by a 30-30,

all in the shadow

of Weaver's Needle.

So?

Well, the killer thinks

he knows where the gold is.

When it looked like the others

might find it before he did,

when they got too close,

he knocked them off.

So the jackpot must be

somewhere close.

Near that peak.

Buckley, I bet he found it.

Found what? The mine?

No, the marker.

He said he knew where the marker

was and how to use it.

Come on.

I'll show you something.

There's your marker.

This is what Buckley meant?

It's the only marker

in this mountain.

The rocks hammered in

that old saguaro cactus

indicate three directions,

but only the one pointing north

leads anywhere, though,

to some signs carved

in those rocks up there.

It's quite a climb.

Come on.

There they are.

What do they mean?

Orois the word for gold.

The sunburst means

the mine is near.

Now, this means, uh,

50 yards away in the direction

the snake is pointing.

Now, the only trouble is,

nobody has ever been

able to find anything

by following those signs.

Aren't they the real thing?

Who knows?

Well, who put them there?

Hey, you suppose

my grandfather...?

No, they're Spanish signs.

Supposed to have been

cut by the Peraltas.

Peraltas. Buckley

had a Peralta map.

Had the name "Manuel" on it.

Mmm, there were three of them.

Brothers. Manuel,

Pedro, and Ramon.

They were the first to find gold

in here a hundred years ago.

There's an old Indian legend about

them and this mountain, eh, Walter?

They opened up several of

the mines and then left.

And then Pedro,

the oldest brother,

came back with a big expedition.

Walter, here,

who's an Apache himself,

has heard from his own people

the story of what happened.

After many nuisance raids

by the Indians,

Pedro Peralta decided

to hide his gold.

He selected the richest and

most inaccessible mine of all

as his storage place.

It was reached through

a narrow, twisted,

and almost hidden canyon

that finally opened

onto a torturous runway.

This runway was

the only entrance to

and the only exit from

the fabulous mine,

located on the thin

precipitous ledge below.

While armed men stood guard,

Pedro's miners led their animals

to the dangerous ledge

where the rough ore was separated

from that which had been crushed,

and the pure gold nuggets

were hurriedly poured into sacks

for storage in the hidden mine.

Pedro sat just inside his mine

and noted that he possessed

some $20 million worth of gold.

But fate had decreed a different

kind of fortune for him.

Fate, and the Apaches!

Cochise, the greatest

of all Apache chiefs,

watched the lightning-like attack.

And when every Spaniard

was finally killed,

he ordered his warriors

to close the mine.

You see, the Spaniards

had defiled a holy place

when they came into Superstition,

because to the Apaches

it was the sacred home

of their thunder gods.

It wasn't enough to just

kill Pedro and his men.

All traces of them and their work

had to be erased.

So the mine was completely

closed and hidden.

With that accomplished,

Cochise and the Apaches

felt their thunder gods

were avenged and appeased.

Every mine was closed

so efficiently

that they disappeared from view

as though they had never existed.

And Pedro's

$20 million worth of gold

was buried inside

the sacred mountain

from which it had been taken.

That's the legend,

as the Apaches have told it

for over 100 years.

The Apaches buried all that gold?

Just like in Fort Knox.

Well, didn't the other brothers,

Ramon or Manuel, ever come back?

Well, they say Ramon came back,

but who knows?

You know, I generally charge tourists

10 bucks for telling that yarn.

And that mine,

where the gold is buried,

that's the one

my grandfather rediscovered?

So they say.

Well, let's push it along.

Hey, Ray, wait a minute. Yeah?

Do I have to go out with you?

I-I'd sort of like to stay

in here a while longer.

Uh-huh. Getting you, too, huh?

Gold-happy.

You know every tourist

I tell that yarn to

has to stay in

a little while longer,

all trying to

figure out them signs.

Yeah, I'm something

more than a tourist.

I've got a family interest

in that mine.

Mmm, well, it's all right with me.

I'll leave you some grub.

But, remember,

there's a killer loose in here.

I'd hate to see you

end up like Buckley.

Covin's reminder about Buckley

took some of

the excitement out of me,

but only for a minute.

The deputy could think

I was a fool if he wanted to,

but I was determined

to try my luck

at putting the golden jigsaw

together.

For the next five days

I beat my brains out

trying to make the Spanish

treasure signs pay off.

Fifty yards, they said.

I went 50 yards in every direction

but straight up.

If I'd had wings,

I'd have tried that.

I began to realize that

this was no ordinary puzzle.

I finally thought that maybe if

I went over every foot of the area

where the four men

had been murdered,

I might find something.

How close I came

I didn't learn till a lot later.

I didn't know I was being stalked,

that for a moment I was

a bull's eye, a sitting duck.

Number five on the list.

I just kept going,

dreaming about

being a millionaire.

The only thing I learned

was that the guy

who'd murdered Buckley

wasn't the only killer

loose in Superstition.

You don't relax right away.

You sort of coast to a stop

after a shock like that.

I was almost afraid

to look at my leg.

I was sure he'd gotten me.

He hadn't,

but he came awful close.

I finally started to breathe again

and shook off the shroud of fear

the rattler had thrown over me.

I picked up my pack

and started to get up.

That's when I found it

buried in the ground.

When I pulled rocks loose

to throw at the snake,

I'd uncovered a part of a rifle.

Excitedly, I dug the rest

of it out of the gravel.

I didn't have any idea

what kind it was,

but as I held it in my hands,

I wanted to believe

it had been my grandfather's.

Because if it was,

it could mean I was

close to the lost mine.

To the gold.

Call it fate, luck,

it doesn't matter.

But a rattlesnake

that had tried to kill me

had led me to this old weapon.

At that moment it seemed

I could actually feel

the presence of Jacob Walz

in the unfriendly canyon.

Suddenly it was more important

to find out about this gun

than to keep on

searching for the mine.

So I decided to leave the mountain

and bring the gun to you.

Would you know what kind it is?

Looks like a Sharps.

But we're interested in a 30-30.

Yeah. Yeah, but if

it is old enough,

it could have been

my grandfather's, couldn't it?

I told you he had the bug.

Let me see it.

I think I got a Sharps here.

A Sharps.

A breech-loader.

45-90 caliber.

Lots of 'em around here

in the '70s and '80s.

That one killed a sheriff in 1875.

You know, finding this

where I did,

I...I sort of thought

I might be near his mine.

Well, that is, if it was his gun.

I never heard anybody say what

kind of a weapon Walz used.

If it's so important

for you to find out,

you might try the Pioneer's Home.

The Pioneer's Home? Yeah.

It's in Phoenix.

Old folks' place.

One of those old-timers

might be able

to tell you about this,

and your grandfather, too.

Yeah, they got nothing else

to do up there but talk.

Thanks. I think

I'll pay 'em a visit.

Mrs. Bannister might

be able to help you.

She spent her childhood

in Florence Junction.

She isn't easy to talk to.

If you'll promise

not to upset her...

Oh, I won't.

Martha, this is Mr. Storm.

He wants to ask you

a few questions.

You know I don't

like being bothered.

You've got no right

to bring people pesterin' me.

It's about my grandfather.

He lived here around 1886.

I knew a lot of people

who lived here.

What was his name?

Walz. Jacob Walz.

I won't talk about him.

Jacob Walz was a...

a mean, wicked man.

A-a-a-and if you're his grandson,

you're probably just like him.

Did I hear you mention Jake Walz?

Heh. He was a real

sidewinder, that man.

What do you want to know

about him?

I'll be glad to tell you.

You're always poking your nose in

where you ain't wanted,

Bill Bates.

He didn't ask you.

My name's Barry Storm.

You see, Walz was my...

Checking up on old Jake, huh?

Well, you've come to

the right place, young fellow.

Now, if you want my opinion, I...

He don't want anything from you.

I'm the one who knows

all about Jacob Walz.

I found this gun and...

You like guns, don't you?

Y-y-you probably go around

scaring people with them,

just like he did to me.

When I was a girl

in Florence Junction,

he...he frightened me.

What you doin', mister, huh?

What you doin'?

Why are you playing with that?

Is that gun yours?

It's brand new, ain't it?

Ain't it, mister?

Come here.

Want to have some fun, huh?

Put your finger in there.

Pull.

Yeah.

Uh-uh-uh.

Pull harder.

I got buyers

for two of our burros.

A Mexican fellow and his partner.

Well, here's your burros.

You got them at a good price, too.

Gonna have a look

for that lost Spanish gold?

I guessed right, didn't I?

Everybody looks for it,

but nobody ever finds it.

I figure them Indians hid it.

Too good, they hid it.

What do you mean

the Indians hid it?

That gold is hidden forever.

Want to sell back them burros?

I'll give you half

what you paid for 'em.

Maybe they ain't

hid it good enough.

Eh, Peralta?

Silencio!

Keep your mouth shut.

Name of Peralta mean

anything to you, Dutchie?

Be a dirty shame

if they was to

stumble onto something,

and we wasn't there

to see what is was.

Yeah.

They're making camp for the night.

Yeah, it's about time.

The fellows must be

part mountain goat,

the way they been hightailing it.

Go start a fire

down in the gully there,

and don't make any smoke.

I'll go unload the burro.

Yeah.

Soon as I play myself a game.

Hey,

you know, I think

you're right about them.

They haven't even stopped

to pan one of the streams.

They know where

they're going all right.

Sure they know

where they're going.

You ought to seen the way

that Mexican jumped down

the other fellow's throat

when he started to talk.

You're dang right

they know where they're going.

Say,

you're lucky I let you in on this.

Yeah.

You go down and build a fire

and don't make any smoke. Heh.

Yeah.

Just turn up the ace of spades

and I can win this game.

Well, it could be

the ace of spades.

Yeah, yeah.

I won that game.

Them's the settin'est

two fellows I ever seen.

Suppose they sleep

settin' up that way?

Hey...

their fire's going out.

Darn ace of spades never shows up

when I need it most.

Beats me every dang game.

Come on!

They tricked us,

them shad-bellied hornswogglers!

Made us think

they was setting here.

They won't get away.

We can pick up a trail.

I figure they went this way.

What do you think?

Why, sure, sure, Dutchie. Sure.

All right, go get

the burro! Go on!

The two who were following us,

I wonder if they follow our trail?

No, we'd have seen them

two days before if they had.

Are you sure you know

what you're doing?

I found the marker and the signs.

We won't have long to wait

for the next sign now.

See, the moon is just rising.

I never heard of finding a mine

by the light of the moon.

It is 38 years to the day

that my brothers and I were here.

You won't forget our agreement?

Huh?

I am a Mexican.

I cannot file

a claim for this mine.

No, I won't forget.

I file the claim

as an American citizen,

and we go 50-50.

We must get to the ledge below.

There's nothin' here.

It's been many years,

but I'm sure this is the place.

Maybe the old

burro-seller's right.

Maybe the Indians did cover it up.

We dig here.

My old legs are killin' me!

I'm getting too old

to be traipsing

around these mountains.

When we go back,

lets go to Phoenix

instead by way

of Florence Junction.

What do you say, Dutchie?

You never been to Phoenix,

have you?

It's a real live town.

I remember once I was...

Ahh.

Look at it! Gold!

Sacks of it, already mined!

We've got a storehouse!

I tell you it's the richest

gold ore you ever seen!

Come on!

Joe, what is it?

Fellow found gold in Superstition,

Mrs. Thomas.

Brung back nuggets

as big as your fist.

Gold! Gold!

What's happening?

Parsons is weighing it now.

Stranger,

you've hit it rich.

How much?

For that ore, I'd say

close to $40,000 a ton.

$40,000 a ton.

That's bigger than

the California strike!

How much?

40,000 a ton!

Bonanza!

Forty?

Can you imagine?

Go out and buy up every burro

in town. And hurry!

How much?

40,000.

40,000!

It's over 40,000.

It's way over 40,000.

Nearly 50,000.

How much for what I brought in?

A mite less than 300 pounds.

I'll give you 5,000 for it.

It's worth six.

Refined, maybe.

As it is, no.

Let's see.

Stop crowdin' me, will you?

All right.

All right, five.

What's your name?

I have to have your name

on this receipt.

Walz. Jacob Walz.

What's his name?

He said his name

was Jacob Walz.

Who is he?

Jacob Walz.

Must be a Dutchman.

Or a German.

Yeah, that's what I said,

a Dutchman.

Jacob Walz.

Sign it.

It's a receipt stating

I paid you $5,000

for 297.5 pounds of gold ore.

You ain't paid me yet.

I will.

You've got to sign it.

It's the law.

Is he signin' his name?

Is he signing his name?

I don't know.

He isn't even signing his name.

He can't even write his own name.

He can't read nor write.

How do you like that, Julia?

A stupid foreigner

that can't even read or write

finds $1 million gold mine.

And you get $11 a week

clerking in a hardware store.

You and your high-school diploma.

And ten 50s makes 5,000.

You're sure going to

file a claim, ain't you?

I'd like to talk to you about a

deal you might find interesting.

Whereabouts is this strike?

Ain't you going to

file a claim, mister? Hey?

Boy, you really

struck it rich, huh?

I'll bet that ore is worth

more than Parsons said!

That gold has got...

He got 5,000...

Pete!

Pete, where are you?

Get off my bed.

How many times must I tell you

to stay out of my room,

unless you're invited?

I've got a right

to lie on your bed.

I'm your husband.

Come into the other room.

I want to talk to you.

Talk to me in here.

Julia!

That's right, Pete.

Come in.

All right.

What do you want?

Sit down.

A man named Jacob Walz

has just arrived in town.

I want to meet him.

Why?

He's discovered gold.

What do you want to meet him for?

I've got a right to know.

Really?

Well, I have a right

to some things, too.

Like being sick and tired

of running a bakery.

Now, wait a minute, Julia...

You've had four years

to do something about

getting me out of here, Pete.

I've had bad luck.

I'm doing the best I can.

Yes, you've done very well.

Have you been able to keep a job?

Have you replaced our savings

you so cleverly

invested in grazing land

no animal could live on?

Have you, Pete?

That wasn't my fault.

I got swindled.

No, I got swindled.

So now, you're going

to bring that man here.

No, no, I won't, Julia.

Yes, you will.

There's still that

unsolved murder in Milwaukee.

All right.

Good.

Of course, he's not to know

that I'm married to you.

But you are married to me.

Yes, but he's not to know.

You understand, Pete?

What do you want of him?

I'm not sure yet.

But I am sure I'm not going

to stay here and dry up

like the other women

in this filthy town.

Look, I'll get a job

driving the stage to Tucson

or maybe mining up in gold field.

Yes, yes. He's at

Luke's Saloon now.

Buy him drinks...

...or whatever he wants.

Just see that I meet him, Pete.

Pete?

There's some money on the floor.

He's been here

close to eight hours.

How long can he go on?

Come on, Walz.

Tell us where the...

No!

Very good, very good,

how about buying you a drink, mister?

I buy my own drinks.

I could buy the whole place

if I wanted to.

Where'd you strike it rich,

Dutchie? Come on, tell us.

You want to hear

about the mine, huh?

Is there much of

this high-grade ore, Walz?

That? That's nothing.

Why, that's just

some of the loose stuff

I picked up on

the outside of the mine.

Hey, Walz, you mean

on the outside?

Yeah.

On the inside of the mine,

there's a vein of gold

as thick as...

As thick as her waist.

Where is it?

Come on, tell us.

All right, I'll tell you.

From the mine, you can

see the old military trail.

Yeah? Then, it is in Superstition?

Yeah. But from the trail,

you can't see the mine.

You've been teasing and horsing

us around all night, Walz.

Now, you tell us where

you struck it rich or shut up.

That's right. Put up or shut up.

That's tellin' him.

Yeah, it's about time

somebody told him off.

The blowhard.

Maybe I'll file a claim.

What?

Yeah, you'd like that,

wouldn't you?

Yeah, you'd know

right where to look.

That'd make it easy for you.

Well, come on up

and try to find it.

And I'll be waitin' for you.

I'll give you a real welcome.

That's telling 'em, Walz!

How about buying you a drink?

He told you before, he can buy

his own drinks. Come on, honey.

Are you really a Dutchman, honey?

I bet Elsie

you was a German. Was I right?

What, honey?

Bring me a drink.

Had enough of

that Dutchman tonight.

I bet you get awful lonesome

up in the mountains all alone.

It ain't natural for a man to be

by himself all the time, honey.

Yeah.

When you go back to your mine,

maybe you ought to

take a little company.

Maybe like taking

Lucille with you?

You're just like all the rest.

All you want is my gold.

That's all any of you want!

I don't want none

of your gold, mister.

Not tonight.

Now, get out of my place! You dirty...

Stop it, Lucille.

You heard me, get out!

All right.

You won't let me stay in,

and I won't let you come out.

He's bluffing.

Relax, boss, another half minute,

he'll fall on his face.

Get out of here, you drunken...

- Take it easy.

Come on, Jim.

Let's get him.

Where'd he get to?

Where'd he go?

Well, he's shootin' out here.

He disappeared, Julia.

Shh, not so loud, Pete.

I tried to

bring him home. He's inside now.

Unconscious, passed out

here on the street.

Now, please don't come back

until I send for you.

Julia. Please!

Good night, Pete.

Well, at last.

Good morning.

How do you feel now?

Here's some coffee.

Fresh roll.

Uh,

you may wash up in there.

How'd I get here?

Oh,

you were lying in

the doorway of my shop.

You were quite sick.

I was drunk last night.

Either way, I still

couldn't leave you there.

Why?

Why? Yeah.

Because I felt sorry for you.

What other reasons are there?

How much do I owe you?

Owe me?

Yeah, here.

Why, nothing.

Very glad you're

feeling better now.

My name is Jacob Walz.

I'm glad to know you, Mr. Walz.

I'm Julia Thomas.

You do not know who I am?

No, should I?

Everybody in town's

talking about me.

Oh, why?

I found a bonanza.

What?

Gold.

I found the richest

gold mine in the world.

Oh.

Oh, that's nice.

Uh, would you like

some more coffee?

You have no interest?

Should I have?

Mr. Walz, I don't know

anything about gold mines.

I just know about baking,

and trying to run my little shop.

Now, if you'll excuse me,

I do have to get the baking done.

You don't even want to know

where my mine is.

I wouldn't know a gold mine

if I fell into one.

I'm very much obliged to you.

You're welcome.

Yeah?

Yeah.

May I call upon you sometime?

Well, I...

This evening?

All right, if you wish.

Excuse me.Yeah.

Good morning, Mrs. Butler.

How much are them?

Twenty cents a dozen.

That's outrageous!

And them?

The same.

You ought to be ashamed

chargin' such prices.

But Mrs. Butler, they're

the lowest in town.

Ever since that gold strike,

everybody's chargin'

four times what things is worth,

and you ain't no different.

Criminals, all of you.

Give me half a dozen of them.

Very well.

The freshest ones, mind you!

All this stuff's been sold. What?

It belongs to me! Why, you can't do...

And you get out!

You can't talk to me

like that! You get out!

I won't stand it! You get out

and you stay out!

Well!

HerrWalz...

You shouldn't have done that.

She was one of my best customers.

You let people

talk to you that way?

Well, when a woman

has to support herself,

it's necessary to endure

many unpleasant things.

I buy everything.

Well, really, there's nothing...

It's for sale? Yes, but...

All right, I buy everything.

You wrap it up.

I take it with me.

Everything?

Hmm. Here. Yeah.

Hey, you like cookies?

Yes, sir.Here.

No, here!

All of them?

Yeah.

Good evening.

I, uh...

Gum drops.

Thank you. How nice.

Uh, won't you come in?

Oh, please.

Uh, won't you sit down?

Yeah.

I'm much obliged to you for

taking me in last night. I...

Oh, it was nothing at all.

I'm much obliged to you. Why?

For the biggest day's business

I've had since I came to Phoenix.

I've sold out.

Yeah.

Would you like to see the album?

Yes, I...I... I mean, I would.

Uh,

this is my mother, my father.

He died when I was seven.Oh.

That was after

they came from Germany.

Oh.

Oh, dear. Not that one.

Here, wait... Wait a minute.

Oh, no, I keep meaning

to take it out of there.

It's so embarrassing.

Yeah.

You grew up fine.

Oh, well, let me see.

I was born and raised

in Milwaukee.

This is the house we lived in.

And, uh, this is

my mother's uncle.

He's in Dresden now.

And this is, uh...

When did you come here?

Oh, about four years ago.Uh-huh.

Uh, why?

Why did you come here?

Well, after my mother passed away,

I...I just didn't want

to stay there anymore.

I thought this was

as good a place as any

for a woman to make her own way.

Well...

Now, this is...

HerrWalz, do you like music?

Who doesn't like music?

HerrWalz.

I'm sorry.

Good night.

Oh, please.

Please. I...I...

I didn't want to make you angry.

It was just that you are

so very, very beautiful.

Good night, HerrWalz.

Don't assume

you can take liberties

simply because I'm a

businesswoman living alone.

May I call upon you again?

Good night.

You may use this door.

Please, may I call upon you again?

Well, I...

Tomorrow?

All right.

Good night.

Good night, fraulein.

That's her husband

sittin' over there.

You think that Dutchman would've

found out about him by this time.

Walz doesn't even know

she's married.

Folks are scared to tell him.

Walz would shoot your head off,

if you said anything.

How many trips has Walz made

to that mine since he met her?

Five. Maybe six.

Next.

How long will it be?

Oh.

Well, uh, let me see.

I-I've got this gentleman here.

And, uh, one, two, three...

He can have my place.

What's so funny?

Huh?

Give me a shave.

Uh, yes, sir.

Just got back into town, eh?

Only been gone five days.

Who is that fellow?

Hmm?

Who is that fellow?

Oh, uh, oh, him? Yeah.

Why, uh, you see,

he-he's the fellow that, uh,

that, uh, gave you his place.

Pete, what are you doing here?

I told you not to come

back unless I sent for you.

Everybody in town knows

what's going on but him.

And they're laughing at me.

Stop acting like a child.

Why'd I do it? Why? Do what?

Get up and run out of that

barbershop like a scared rabbit.

That's what.

And all the time I wanted to...

What are you so dressed up for?

He said he'd be back today.

And I don't want him

to find you here, Pete.

You've seen him nine or ten times.

How much longer will this go on?

What difference does it make?

Julia, don't see him anymore.

You're a fool.

Yeah, you're the smart one.

Only not as smart

as you thought you were.

Not smart enough

to get any of his money,

not smart enough to find

out where his mine is.

Pete, I know what I'm doing.

Now, he'll be here any minute.

Have you told him yet?

Have you told him you're married,

that you're somebody else's wife?

Pete, I want you to leave.

Somebody will tell him.

Maybe somebody in the

barbershop already told him.

He'll find out.

He'll find out you're after the

same thing everybody else is after.

Get out. Julia, I won't stand

for you fooling around

with that Dutchman.

Let go of me.

You're mussing my dress.

Let loose of me.

I'll send for you

when I want you, Pete.

When I want you.

That's him.

Go out the back door. Go on.

This is it.

He pays off tonight,

or it's the last night.

And when I come back it'll be

through the front door, Julia.

Oh, Jacob...

Every time I see you,

you are more beautiful.

All the way to and

from the mine, I keep,

I keep practicing

pretty speeches to say to you.

When I see you, I forget them.

I...I forget them.

Jacob.

Do people talk to you

about me, about us?

No one would dare. Why?

There's something I must tell you.

What is it?

I should have

told you a long time ago,

but I suppose I never thought

it would be necessary.

Jacob,

I'm married.

I have been for five years.

I...I couldn't lie to you, not now.

I don't love my husband.

Now I know I never have.

All I want is to be free of him.

You don't care for him? No.

I love you, Jacob.

What's his name?

Pete. Pete Thomas.

Will he give you a divorce?

Divorce?

For money.

Will he give you a divorce?

Well, I...

I don't know.

Here.

Here's $2,000.

We'll set a limit, say $5,000.

Will that be enough for him?

Perhaps.

But he must sign a paper

giving you a divorce.

You see, I,

I know about these things. I...

I was married once myself.

My wife divorced me,

took my daughter away from me,

all because my wife

didn't sign a paper.

So he must sign that paper

before he gets a penny of money.

- Now, do you understand?

- Yes.

Now, will you

make the arrangements?

No, no, I'll do it myself.

No. No, Jacob.

I know I can.

Good. When did he get back?

Tonight.

Tonight, tonight.

What is it, Jacob?

I'm going back to the mine tonight

to get more money for us.

Oh, I love you.

I love you, Julia,

and I want to marry you.

Soon, there will

be just you and I.

Yes, Jacob.

Just you and I.

Hey, everybody,

I just saw the Dutchman!

He woke up old man Parsons.

Made him open up his store

so's he could get his grub.

Then I saw him

head for the corral.

He's on his way back to the mine!

I don't know.

Yes, go after him.

Give me a drink, one for the road.

You and your big mouth,

you wreck our business.

Well, we got to find that mine.

Hey...

Hey,

come on. Wake up.

Huh?

Come on. Wake up.

What is it?

I want you to get my burros ready.

Oh, it's you.

Well, what for?

You just got back.

It ain't decent waking a man

in the middle of the night.

Not for burros.

Hey, do you know a...a Pete Thomas?

I ain't no gossip.

I mind my own business.

I didn't ask you for any gossip.

I asked you if you knew him.

Well, we say howdy when we meet.

I haven't seen him much lately.

He ain't used

no animals for a spell.

How long has he been here?

Shucks, I don't know.

Three or four years, I guess.

Ever since him and his wife

came here from Milwaukee.

I'll start rounding up

them dang burros for you now.

I don't see why you can't

wait until morning, though.

Hey, there, hey there, fella.

Huh?

Where did he go?

Must be getting old.

I can't seem to

remember him going anywhere.

Corral, I guess.

Hey, fella!

Hey, Pete.

It's safe to go home now.

The Dutchman's gone.

Well, Julia, did you

have a nice evening?

Did he pay off,

or do you have to

see him just once more?

Pete, I'm glad you're back.

He gave me this.

$2,000 and there'll be more.

This is for you, Pete,

and the rest is coming.

More than that if you want it.

I don't want his money,

do you understand?

Let go of me, Pete, and listen.

No, you listen to me for a change.

You're through with him,

and this time I'll make sure of it.

Absolutely sure of it.

What do you mean?

When he comes back from

the mine he'll find me here,

where I belong.

I'll tell him how you

played him for a sucker.

You're like all the rest,

only worse.

You pretend to be decent.

I'll tell him

the whole rotten story,

from beginning to end.

The whole story, Pete?

Yes, including the murder.

It won't matter if you turn me in.

It won't matter at all

because when I'm through with him,

I'll have a 2nd one to my credit,

Jacob Walz.

Pete...

Pete, you've got to listen to me.

Try to buy me off, would he?

Well, he can't do it.

Wait a minute.

Whose idea was this?

Did he think it up all by himself?

No, he didn't.

It was my idea, all mine.

I don't like those kinds of ideas.

I'll kill him

before he gets out of town.

Oh, Pete.

Don't be silly.

The only way I could get the money

was to tell him

you could be bought off.

You're still my wife.

Oh, Pete.

I'm not lying to you.

He thinks you'll give me

a divorce for money.

There was no other way

of getting it.

Don't you understand?

Julia, could it be

that it isn't just his gold

you're interested in,

that you've been lying to me?

Could that be?

Don't be a fool.

Answer me. Are you

in love with him?

- Oh...

- Answer me.

I've told you over and over again,

all I want is his gold.

For us.

I don't want anything from him.

Not even his mine?

Once I find out where it is,

he'll be no problem to us.

Julia, you aren't lying to me?

No.

You really leavin' tonight?

Yeah, the guy said you were on

your way back to the mine, Dutchie.

Yeah. When you leavin'?

Oh, what's the matter, Dutchie?

Come on, Walz.

We're friends.

You've had enough now

to kill a horse.

Why don't you take

your business somewheres else?

Ain't they buying gold in

Tucson or other places?

Every time you leave Phoenix,

you take half the town with you.

Everybody trying to follow you

and find out where that mine is.

I'll bet there's

a hundred of our customers

waiting to follow you into

that mountain right now.

Take your gold

and go to some other town.

You ruin our business coming here.

Get me a pencil and a

piece of... piece of paper.

There's Weaver's Needle.

There's the runway.

That's the ledge about 200

yards from the cactus marker.

The mine's just below that.

I see.

I'm not coming back to Phoenix.

What?

Too many people

following me out of town.

Crowd's getting bigger and

it's getting harder to lose on the trail.

So, we'll meet somewhere else,

doesn't matter where.

But, Jacob, I thought...

You can get a divorce anywhere.

You can leave your husband

the same way my wife left me.

Is there anything wrong with that?

No, only I thought...

Of course, if you didn't

mean what you said about us.

If you lied.

Oh, no.

I did mean it, Jacob.

I did.

There's no sense giving him any money.

I've thought it over.

Please, can't I go with you now?

I'd never be able to lose those people

on the trail if you were with me.

Jacob, you're so strange.

Will you meet me

at the mine or won't you?

Yes, of course

I'll meet you there.

All right, it may take me

two or three extra days

because of the crowd

that'll be following me.

You'll be there ahead of me.

Yes, I'll be waiting

at the mine for you...

What did he want?

What did he come back for?

Oh, nothing.

Just to see me again.

Planning on running

out on me, Julia?

Oh, no, Pete.

You know I wouldn't go

without you.

I do now.

And I know something else.

You're in love with him.

You've been lying to me

about that, too.

But we're going

to the mine together.

You're going to be there

when I kill him.

Do you understand?

Let me see that map again.

There's Weaver's Needle.

We're almost there.

And I can hardly wait.

This is it.

This is the runway

he told you about.Yes.

What if he's here?

He said it would take him

two or three extra days.

Anyway, he expects me.

If he is here, you get him out

where I can see him.

Jacob!

Pete!

Pete, come on down.

It's all right.

He's not here.

Look at it, Julia!

Just look at it!

Now I see why he always

got back to town so soon.

All he had to do is pick it up.

Pete.

It's worth millions.

Bring the burros down here.

The runway we came down is

the only way on or off this ledge.

Well, go on.

You were so anxious

to be ready for him.

Yeah.

You're right.

Julia!

They're gone!

Everything's gone!

What?

Our supplies!

The food, the water!

Everything! It's gone!

Maybe the burros

just wandered away.

No, they were tied up.

He's already here.

He knows.

No.

Call to him. Get him

out in the open. Go on.

Jacob, where are you?

Jacob.

Jacob!

Jacob, I didn't want to bring him!

I didn't want to, Jacob!

Jacob...

Jacob, listen to me.

I didn't want to bring him.

He made me do it.

Please, darling. Help me.

Quick, before

he finds out I'm gone.

Oh, please, Jacob.

You fool!

Get away from me!

All right,

what are you waiting for?

Get it over with.

Pete...

Pete, ask him for water. Go on.

You want her?

Take her!

You can have her!

Nobody wants you.

From the beginning,

it was her idea.

I don't want your gold.

I never did.

If you want her, take her.

You can have her! Take...

You see, Jacob,

I've gotten rid of him.

I killed him for you.

Now you know

I wasn't lying to you.

It's all over.

It's just you and me

now Jacob, remember?

Just like you wanted it.

Jacob,

you love me.

You said you did.

Oh, we can be married now,

just like you said.

I wasn't lying to you, Jacob.

He forced me to bring him with me.

I didn't want to.

Jacob!

You've got to believe me.

You've got to.

I proved I loved you

when I killed him.

Oh! Please.

Please help me.

Jacob, I want you.

I want you.

All you wanted was my gold.

Well, now you've got it.

You've got it!

This record only

goes back to 1912.

Well, Arizona didn't

become a state till then.

But you got the right dope

from those old newspapers.

I remember for a fact

it was in 1910,

two years before

we had a coroner's office.

What are you two talking about?

I'm checking up on a female

skeleton found in Superstition.

Well, if Bill Bates was right,

that skeleton was Julia Thomas',

the woman my grandfather

was in love with.

Oh, for... Say, if you don't stop

harping about this Walz business,

somebody's going to

swear out a lunacy complaint.

But, Ray, I've got

a lot to go on now.

First, I found that rifle.

Then I checked the stories of the

old folks at the Pioneer's Home.

I even learned that an

earthquake did hit Superstition.

It was on May 3rd, 1887.

Who cares? Well, he does.

I'm going back to that canyon

where I found that rifle.

So long, fellas.

Might as well clear off

one of my tables.

Be just my luck

they bring him in on Sunday.

Hi, did you find your mine yet?

Nope.

But I'm on my way back

to Superstition right now.

You better be careful.

There's still a killer up there.

I got nothing to lose,

except my life.

The sky clouded up,

and the wind tried

to blow a scare into me

as I made my way

back to the treasure signs.

Three days later,

the clouds got out of the sky

and into my brain.

And I got lost.

I couldn't even find the canyon

where I'd uncovered the old gun.

Like an idiot,

I fumbled in and out

of one gorge after another,

pushing along with

no more sense or reason

than if I had been on a treadmill.

I knew I had to locate the

rock called Weaver's Needle

before I could even start

looking for the lost mine.

Then, with sheer blind luck

I walked right into it.

Here was the spot I'd found

the gun, killed the rattlesnake.

And I had my starting point.

A short distance away

I found the cliff

from which I could

see the old military trail.

Jacob Walz had said that from

his mine he could see the trail,

but from the trail

nobody could see the mine.

I set out to prove

he'd told the truth.

Now, I'm a guy who gets dizzy

just standing on a high curb.

But even when the ground

dropped out from under me

like a deceitful friend,

I kept scrambling along

the cliff side,

keeping the trail in sight.

When you're sick with gold fever,

you have no patience with caution.

All you think of

is getting your hooks

into that glittering pot of gold

at the end of the rainbow.

I followed the edge of that cliff,

staying within view of the trail

for the next three days.

My fever began to go down

as discouragement set in,

and I was about ready

to give up and go home

when suddenly

I came on a wide ledge.

Gradually, it dawned on me

that here the trail was in sight,

but that a mine couldn't

be seen from below.

And then I found the map,

the strange map carved in a stone.

This was something

I hadn't expected.

I got as excited as a poker player

filling an inside straight flush.

They looked like

old Spanish markings,

a sort of

master map of the region.

But the doodles

didn't make any sense to me

because I didn't know

how to read them.

Then I found that hole,

and realized it had been drilled

into the rock for some reason.

I didn't have any idea

what the reason could be,

but I picked up a stick and

began probing to try and find out.

I peered along the stick,

but its direction pointed out

nothing I hadn't seen before.

Then I discovered,

though it looked like just a

single hole on the outside,

there were actually

several on the inside.

My second look didn't

lead anyplace either.

But the third started

bells ringing in my head.

It pointed my eyes

at a strange kind of peak,

a startling rock formation

with a window in its top.

I felt as if Santa Claus had

just climbed down my chimney.

I began making tracks

for that peak.

As I clawed and climbed my way

toward the window above,

one thought kept repeating itself.

Nobody, not Ray Covin,

the sheriff, Bill Bates,

nobody had ever mentioned

the weird map cut in the rocks,

or this peak that had been pointed

out by the stick in the hole.

I'd discovered these things

all by myself.

What I knew was top secret,

private knowledge for Barry Storm.

I felt sure that at last, finally,

I was on the express road

to the Lost Dutchman,

to my grandfather's fabulous mine,

where I'd find lumps of gold

piled up like rubble.

I was so dreamy,

I figured all I had to do

was crawl through that window

and the mine was

on the other side.

But there wasn't any mine,

there was nothing.

I figured I'd crawled

behind another 8-ball.

Then I realized

this arch was man-made.

It did add up to something.

And when I saw my shadow

on the valley floor,

I knew this window

was the key to the gold.

My whole future was in

that square of light below.

I raced back to the wall map

to fix its location in my mind,

then got started on that

last lap to fame and fortune.

But something had changed.

It wasn't like I'd left it.

Looking for this?

Ray, what are you doing here?

Looking for you.

What for?

Ray, I got it.

I found the window

cut in the rock.

It-it's a sort of a light sign.

It casts a shadow

that points to a spot

where the gold may be buried.

And the spot is...

Go on.

Of course, it may not

mean anything at all. I...

What did you come back for?

Another murder.

Drop your gun belt.

You shut up fast when you thought

you'd found something, didn't you?

You don't want a partner

and neither do I.

You killed Buckley.

I've been looking for

that gold for 20 years, Storm.

If anybody's going to get it,

it's going to be me.

You're right

about that light sign.

And some night it's going

to show me where the gold is.

Turn around.

Start walking.

We'll send a posse

in after you

in a couple of weeks.

No murder here.

Your bones will show

you just died of a bad fall.

Keep walking.

Right to the end.

Covin makes victim number 21.

Good thing Walter trailed you,

or you'd still be explaining this.

Too bad he didn't get up

in time to help you.

But why were you having me tailed?

I wasn't.

I was after Ray.

It wasn't any accident

I sent Walter with you the first time.

Ray had a funny habit

of being out of the office

whenever these murders happened.

And he was always

so fast locating the bodies.

I stayed behind that first time

after Covin told me to go back.

When I saw him raise his gun

about to shoot you,

I knew he was the killer.

Then you've been using me

for a clay pigeon.

Kinda.

I couldn't arrest my own

deputy just on knowing.

I had to prove

Covin was the murderer.

That's why I was waiting

for you to go in again.

I knew if you got too close,

he'd have to make a pass at you.

Well, let's get going.

I want to be

out of here before dark.

I'm not going with you.

I got a date up there tonight.

Mind a little company?

Ought to be kind of interesting

watching a man just

dig up $20 million.

All I'm waiting for

is that full moon.

When it comes through that window

it'll light up the patch

of ground where I'm to dig.

That's all I'll need.

Look at it.

I'm standing right

in the center of it.

Right here.

This is where I dig.

My grandfather's gold.

Twenty million bucks worth.

It's moved.

It was here, that square light.

Now it's there.

You hadn't figured

on that, huh, Storm?

You forgot the moon

and earth keep moving.

At this rate, you're going to have

to dig up the whole mountain.

Need a bulldozer.

That earthquake

changed things, too.

That's why Ray Covin

never found the mine.

That's why you'll never find it.

That's right.

If it is the moon

that'll point out that gold,

it'll only do it once a year,

on the anniversary of the night

the Peraltas made that sign.

That's the catch.

When was that sign made?

What night,

what hour, what moment?

If I could figure that out,

I'd hit the jackpot.

And if you did,

this county would need a new sheriff

because I'd be right there

digging with you.

Come on, let's go.

Well, that's the story

as far as I'm concerned.

The whole biography of Superstition

Mountain won't be finished

till somebody takes

that gold away from her.

The treasure signs, the marker,

the light sign,

they're all genuine.

Maybe you can figure out that

strange map carved in the stone.

I've got a hunch it holds

the key to the fortune.

Anyway, everything's

all there in the mountain.

And if you're interested,

Lust for Gold (1949) - full transcript