The Treasure Of The Silver Lake(1962) Free
Fred Engel's father is murdered by Colonel Brinkley in order to acquire a treasure map, however the Colonel only acquires half of it, the other half is held by Mrs. Butler. Discovering the scene of the crime, Old Shatterhand and Winnetou help Fred bring his father's murderer to justice and locate the treasure of Silver Lake.
The Treasure of the Silver Lake(1962)
"Lake Of Terror! Battle Of Vengeance!".Colonel Brinkley is a criminal who has been with the map of where the treasure is the Silver Lake. Winnetou and Old Shatterhand come again towards goodness, but along the way will encounter enemy tribes they will face.
Fred Engel's father is murdered by Colonel Brinkley in order to acquire a treasure map, however the Colonel only acquires half of it, the other half as held by Mrs. Butler. Discovering the scene of the crime, Old Shatterhand and Winnetou help Fred bring his father's murderer to justice and locate the treasure of Silver Lake.
Although filmed by a joint German-Yugoslav crew, this European western is set in the Southern United States and involves an oddly-named hero, Old Shatterhand (Lex Barker of Tarzan fame), and his sidekick, Winnetou, an Apache chief played by a rather understated Pierre Brice. The fuel behind the drama is a hidden map that shows where a secret treasure is buried somewhere around Silver Lake. A gang of outlaws headed by Colonel Brinkley (Herbert Lom) is intent on retrieving the map and the treasure. Just as intent on stopping them are Old Shatterhand, Winnetou, and Fred Engel (Goetz George), whose father was killed by the outlaws' leader.
Treasure of Silver Lake is one of the most entertaining films I've ever seen. Establishing the template for every euro-western that followed, it features non-stop action, beautiful scenery (unfortunately compromised by the pan and scan version recently aired on Encore Westerns), and an amusing and watchable cast. Like most euro-westerns the film is more sympathetic to Native Americans than a typical Hollywood movie, but the Indians aren't really the focal point of the story--though they do ride around a great deal and emit fearsome war whoops. The Good Guys, led by sometime Tarzan Lex Barker, have a treasure map that will lead them to, erm, some treasure. The Bad Guys, led by a re-dubbed Herbert Lom (and who seem to have an unlimited supply of men, horses, and ammo), want that map! Much gunplay ensues. Lom gets to whip some of his men into shape (literally), there's a trapper with a frightwig (literally), and another trapper who speaks in rhyme! Highest recommendation, as long as you know what you're getting: a fun movie with lots of action.
"Der Schatz im Silbersee" is a German western movie from almost 55 years ago and as it is a collaboration with other countries again, the cast here includes French actor Pierre Brice as Winnetou and several Yugoslavian actors in supporting roles. This 105-minute movie was the beginning to the really successful Winnetou franchise. I have seen some of these films and will probably see more in the future, but I personally am disappointed overall with the outcome. So with "successful", I am only referring to the commercial success. This one here also won a Golden Screen, so no surprise many other films would follow. The story here I found entirely disappointing and not memorable at all. It is probably not Brice's worst performance compared to some truly weak efforts later on, but the antagonists here are quite uninteresting and this lack of opposition hurt the film irreparably. Also, the title sounds a lot more interesting than the film finally turns out. For large parts of the film, the focus moves entirely away from the treasure and you wonder why it was even called like that. If you ask me, it was not really necessary to make more (or even many more) films after this one. But they loved the cash obviously. Final criticism: Götz George was criminally underused here. He would have been the one man who may have made this a more interesting watch, but he was not given the material. I do not recommend "The Treasure of the Silver Lake". Thumbs down.
The good guys now set out to find the treasure of Silver Lake ahead of the Tramps, going through the land of the Utahs. The Colonel had massacred a Utah village, so the Utahs regard the other group as enemies. But after Old Shatterhand defeats their chief Great Wolf in personal combat, they smoke the Peace Pipe and offer their help. Unfortunately the Colonel in the meantime succeeded in capturing Fred and Ellen, and now knows where to find the treasure. Leaving his captives behind, he and a few trusted men cross Silver Lake to a cave, where the treasure is guarded by an old blind Indian guardian. The Colonel strikes him down, but then the sight of the pile of gold is too much and the Tramps knock the Colonel out and start to fight among themselves for the treasure. But the Colonel comes to and quickly guns them all down. But in his moment of triumph the dying guardian pulls a chain which sets off a mechanism which hurtles the treasure and all into a mud-filled pit where the Colonel dies.
The series is fondly remembered and loved by generations of children in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. Der Schatz im Silbersee provides examples of: Action Girl: Mrs Butler is an Action Woman par excellence. She shoots like she was growing up with the gun.
Big Bad: Colonel Brinkley, a ruthless bandit seeking the titular treasure.
Blood Brothers: Winnetou and Old Shatterhand.
Breakout Character: In the novels, Lord Castlepool appears in just one book, Der Schatz im Silbersee, but after the movie of that, Eddi Arent reprised the character in two sequels, Winnetou II and Winnetou und Shatterhand im Tal der Toten.
The Cavalry: Inverted. Here the plucky settlers are waiting for the Indians to save them from the evil white guys.
Dismantled MacGuffin: Mr Engel received a treasure map from an old Indian, but he was careful and split it in half.
Kick the Dog: Colonel Brinkley unloading his pistol into a henchman for questioning his scheme.
Love Interest: Fred Engel and Ellen Patterson.
Eating the Eye Candy: Several men try to eat Ellen with their eyes.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: Winnetou and Old Shatterhand are blood brothers and the most faithful and loyal of friends.
MacGuffin: The treasure map and the treasure itself. That's what the bandits are after.
No MacGuffin, No Winner: Nobody gets the treasure. Because Cornel was greedy and wanted everything for himself, the guardian of the treasure destroyed it in the swamp.
Peace Pipe: After Old Shatterhand defeats their chief Great Wolf in personal combat, they smoke the peace pipe.
Plucky Comic Relief: Sam Hawkens (Ralf Wolter), a man who lost his scalp. He may seem ditzy, but he's very capable.
Gunstick Uncle, a poet who cannot resist and must talk in rhymes. An excellent shot.
Lord Castlepool, the butterfly-collector who joins Winnetou's and Old Shatterhand's party. He is actually a very accurate shot.
The Power of Friendship: The aesop of this story.
Quintessential British Gentleman: Karl May lived at a time when wealthy British globetrotters were a common trope, and the Scottish Lord Castlepool is a good example. In the novel he is less of a comic relief character than in the film, but he is obsessed with making wagers and travels through the Wild West in search of adventure, paying his guides 50 Dollars per adventure.
Running Gag: People keep shooting whatever hat Lord Castlepool is wearing of his head, starting with a pith helmet. In the final attack, he puts on his nightcap.
The Sociopath: Colonel Brinkley, a bandit who thinks nothing of massacring an entire village to get a Treasure Map, guns down one of his own men for questioning him, and slaughters a Utah camp's women and children for no apparent reason. When he does find the treasure, he promptly starts killing henchmen so he doesn't have to share.
The Western: A typical example.
The X of Y: The Treasure of Silver Lake.
The most widely acclaimed and commercially successful film in the series is Treasure of Silver Lake, released in Germany as Der Schatz im Silbersee. Former Tarzan actor Lex Barker made his debut here as Shatterhand (a role he reprised six more times) as did his co-star, Pierre Brice, who went on to play Winnetou in even more films for both the big screen and television. Shot in Germany and Croatia, it's a standard revenge story amped up to operatic degrees as young, handsome and headstrong Fred (George) sets out for vengeance against the bandits who killed his father to obtain half of a valuable treasure map. The leader of the killers, the seemingly respectable Colonel Brinkley (Asylum's Lom), now has his sights on obtaining the other half of the map and snatches up the beautiful Ellen (You Only Live Twice's Dor) to get the job done. Meanwhile, after brawling in a case of mistaken identity, Fred teams up with the stoic Old Shatterhand and Winnetou to navigate a treacherous terrain of Indians and natural perils before confronting the evil colonel at the site of the treasure itself.
This was not so for previous generations. Intheir skies, the ancient constellations silently wheeled like a greatstellar clock, marking the hour and the season. The absence ofbackscattered light and pollution allowed the stars to shine brightlyeven to a casual observer. Among the changeless, mythic patternsappeared even brighter, uniquely tinted planets moving strangelythrough the stars, carrying undecipherable messages of fortune, love,and war. The silver Moon, its phases repeating like a statelymorality play, long ago acquired associations with hunting,harvesting, love, curiosity, and lunacy. From the time that manbecame man, the skies have been watched with wonder and awe. Asoptical instruments became available, men turned them skyward; newconcepts and new techniques have always been directed toward theunsolved mysteries of the heavens. 041b061a72