Every week, Ultimate Movie Year looks back into the past to highlight the best film that came out that weekend.

"The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"
Released Jan. 15, 1948
Directed by John Huston

Hobbs is a desperate man. We know within the first minute of "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" as we are introduced to the classic Humphrey Bogart character, wandering the streets of a Mexican city begging for spare change. One man smoking a cigarette ignores Hobbs walking by, and then discards his cigarette on the road. Just for a moment, Hobbs looks at that cigarette, wondering if he's desperate enough to smoke it.

The desperation is felt throughout the film, where the only thing more valuable and scare than gold is trust, and both prove elusive to the characters of the John Huston adventure from 1948. Within its story of charity and greed lies brilliant performances, economical storytelling, and frontier cinematography to become an all-time classic for the Warner Bros. studios and one of the best-regarded films of its era, released during a time when types of movies weren't limited to a particular season.