In 1925, in the Mexican town of Tampico, Fred C. Dobbs and Bob Curtin, two broke American drifters, are recruited by labor contractor Pat McCormick as roughnecks to help construct oil rigs for $8 a day. When the project is completed and they return to Tampico, McCormick skips out without paying the men.

The two vagrants encounter an old man named Howard in a flophouse. The loquacious and penniless ex-miner talks to them about gold prospecting and the perils of striking it rich. Dobbs and Curtin run into McCormick at a cantina, and after a bar fight, collect their back wages. When Dobbs hits a small jackpot in the lottery, he, Curtin and Howard have enough money to buy the supplies they need to go prospecting in the interior.

Departing Tampico by train, the three help to repulse a bandit attack led by "Gold Hat". North of Durango, the trio head into the remote Sierra Madre mountains. Howard proves to be the hardiest and most knowledgeable of the three. After several days of arduous travel, Howard spots gold that the others had passed by.

The men toil under harsh conditions and amass a fortune in placer gold. But as the gold piles up, Dobbs becomes increasingly distrustful of the other two. The men agree to divide the gold dust immediately and hide their shares.

Curtin, while on a resupply trip to Durango, is spotted making purchases by a Texan named Cody. Cody secretly follows Curtin back to the encampment. When he confronts the three men, they lie about what they are doing there, but he is not fooled. He boldly proposes to join their outfit and share in any future takings. Howard, Curtin and Dobbs talk it over and vote to kill him. As they announce their verdict, pistols in hand, Gold Hat and his bandits arrive. They claim to be Federales. After a tense parley, a gunfight ensues, and Cody is killed. A genuine troop of Federales suddenly appears and pursues Gold Hat and his gang. The three prospectors examine Cody's personal effects. A letter from a loving wife reveals that he was trying to provide for his family.

Howard is called away to assist local villagers with a seriously ill little boy. When the boy recovers, the next day, the villagers insist that Howard return with them to be honored. Howard leaves his goods with Dobbs and Curtin and says he will meet them later. Dobbs and Curtin constantly argue, until one night Dobbs shoots Curtin and takes all the gold. However, Curtin is not dead; he manages to crawl away and hide during the night.

Finding Curtin gone, Dobbs flees, but is ambushed at a waterhole by Gold Hat and his men. They first toy with him, then kill him. The bandits mistake the bags of gold dust for sand and dump the treasure, taking only the burros and supplies. The gold is scattered by the strong wind. Meanwhile, Curtin is discovered by indios and taken to Howard's village, where he recovers.

Gold Hat's gang tries to sell the stolen burros in town, but a child recognizes the brands on them (and Dobbs' clothes, which the bandits are wearing) and reports them to the authorities. The bandits are captured and summarily executed by the Federales.

Howard and Curtin return to Durango in a dust storm and reclaim their pack animals, only to find the empty bags. At first shaken by the loss, first Howard, then Curtin, grasp the immense irony of their circumstances, and they burst into laughter. Howard decides to return to the village to accept an offer of a permanent home and a position of honor, while Curtin sells their recovered property to return to the United States, where he will seek out Cody's widow. As Curtin leaves, the camera pans down to a cactus as he rides past. Lying next to it is a bag of gold, still full.
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== osoby ==			== profese ==
	John Huston		Režie
	Henry Blanke		Producent
	John Huston		Scénarista

== osoby ==	== postava ==
Walter Huston	Howard

cena	festival	ročník	osoba	nominace/cena
Nejlepší scénář- film	Oscar (Cena Akademie)	21 (1948)	John Huston	cena
Nejlepší režisér	Oscar (Cena Akademie)	21 (1948)	John Huston	cena
Nejlepší režisér	New York Film Critics Circle Awards	14 (1948)	John Huston	cena
Nejlepší režie	Zlatý Globus	6 (1948)	John Huston	cena
Nejlepší mužský herecký výkon ve vedlejší roli	Oscar (Cena Akademie)	21 (1948)	Walter Huston	cena
Nejlepší herec ve vedlejší roli	Zlatý Globus	6 (1948)	Walter Huston	cena
Nejlepší film	Zlatý Globus	6 (1948)	Henry Blanke	cena
Nejlepší film	New York Film Critics Circle Awards	14 (1948)	Henry Blanke	cena
Nejlépe napsaný Western	Svaz amerických spisovatelů *	1 (1948)	John Huston	cena
National Film Registry	National Film Preservation Board	2 (1989)	Henry Blanke	cena
Nejlepší herec	New York Film Critics Circle Awards	14 (1948)	Walter Huston	nominace
Nejlepší film z libovolného zdroje	BAFTA	3 (1949)	Henry Blanke	nominace
Nejlepší film	Oscar (Cena Akademie)	21 (1948)	Henry Blanke	nominace