For some reason or other, of late I’ve been thinking about Gold. Not the colour, but the precious metal used for things like jewelry, crowns and the occasional medal (like, say, 14 of them). Not sure why – maybe it’s due to the fast approaching Oscars and their little gold statues or because of those who seek to invest heavily in the yellowish ore due to the economy. Whatever the case, it’s been on my mind for about the last 2 and a half weeks or so.

So in honour of that most malleable of metals, here’s a list of 14 films (hmmm, there’s that number again…) that are centered around good old atomic number 79:

Barbary-Coast Bunny

(1956 – Chuck Jones)

As fine as the rest of these films are, this is likely my favourite of the bunch. One of the classic Warner Brothers Looney Tunes, it’s Bugs Bunny at his best. Perhaps not as visually beautiful as some of their shorts or as inventive as the all-time classic Duck Amuck, but it’s filled with Bugs’ pithy comments, witty retorts and sly efforts to get his revenge.

The Gold Rush

(1925 – Charlie Chaplin)

The Little Tramp heads to Alaska to be a prospector and find his fortune in gold. He battles the elements, tangles with other explorers, eats a shoe and falls in love. No one was a bigger star at the time and few will ever be as influential.

Goldfinger

(1964 – Guy Hamilton)

Auric Goldfinger. Pussy Galore. Oddjob. Miss Moneypenny. M. Q. And some guy called James Bond. Mix all those great characters with deadly flying hats, a golden corpse, Fort Knox and the regular set of gizmos and gadgets (and the Aston Martin) and you might just have the best Bond movie ever.

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

(1966 – Sergio Leone)

Each of the three titular characters is looking to make off with a buried gold treasure, but each also needs the help of the others in order to find it. Of course, with a Leone film, it’s much more than just the plot or the characters – it’s everything. The famous soundtrack, the glorious vistas, the framing of shots…Epic filmmaking.

The Hidden Fortress

(1958 – Akira Kurosawa)

Probably best known (at least in the last 30 years or so) for being one of George Lucas’ main inspirations, Kurosawa’s 16th century road trip movie is a pretty darn entertaining yarn. A foursome try to smuggle their cache of gold through enemy lines – one is a general, one a princess and two of them utter fools. Even though they may have been templates for C3PO and R2D2, the two peasants are more annoying than comedic. Fortunately, the rest of the film (in particular Toshiro Mifune’s restrained general) is mostly perfect.

The Italian Job

(1969 – Peter Collinson)

Not my favourite heist movie of all time, but chock full of excellent scenes and excellent characters. I didn’t hate the remake as much as many others do, but not only doesn’t it have Michael Caine, it’s central theft of gold (by creating a traffic jam and escaping in 3 Mini Coopers) isn’t quite as ingenious.

Kelly’s Heroes

(1970 – Brian G. Hutton)

As sweet as it may be to swipe $16 million worth of gold bullion, it’s gonna be just that much sweeter if it’s Nazi gold. That’s the plan in this WWII set adventure that stars Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O’Connor and Captain Stubing, uh, I mean Gavin MacLeod. If it sounds like fun, you’d be right.

The Lavender Hill Mob

(1951 – Charles Crichton)

It’s to be expected I guess, but there’s a lot of thieving and stealing in this list. The glittering prize tends to attract all kinds of immoral acts and even more immoral criminals, but occasionally even the dignified and upstanding citizens will feel its pull. That’s the case in The Lavender Hill Mob where Alec Guinness plays a bank clerk who hatches a scheme with his friend to steal gold bars from the bank, melt them down and smuggle them out of country as little Eiffel Tower statues. It’s classic Ealing Studios comedy fare and will keep a smile on your face throughout.

The Million Dollar Duck

(1971 – Vincent McEveety)

OK, not everything is gold in this list…You can’t blame a guy for including an old Disney favourite though (at least it was at the time – I haven’t seen this in decades). A professor (Dean Jones) brings home a duck from his lab that has been exposed to x-rays. It suddenly starts laying actual golden eggs and the family tries to keep it all a secret in order to keep the treasure to themselves. Hijinks ensue. If memory serves, it was great fun for a 10 year old.

Operation Condor

(1991 – Jackie Chan)

Absolutely stupid and terribly acted actioner from Jackie Chan as he sets out to find hidden Nazi gold (again?) somewhere in the desert. So why is it on the list? Stunts. Really amazing stunts. I believe this is the one where at the end of the film (in the outtakes), you get to see Jackie fall about 40 feet right on to his face. Even better still, is when he actually completes the trick in the movie. With some occasional comedy bits that actually work, the film ends up being a blast. Not quite as much fun as stealing Nazi gold, but still pretty good.

Ride The High Country

(1962 – Sam Peckinpah)

One of Peckinpah’s lesser known films, this one involves two old friends who are transporting a stockpile of gold from a mining community through less than friendly territory. With double crossing afoot and a beautiful young woman to boot, this should really be seen by more people – including me. It’s been on the list awhile, so I really should do something about it. Particularly since the two old friends are Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea.

Three Kings

(1999 – David O. Russell)

Another war movie and another attempt to steal gold from the enemy. In this case, it’s the last days of the Gulf War and several American soldiers discover that gold stolen from Kuwait may be theirs for the taking from Iraqi soil. It’s not that easy though and they end up facing moral dilemmas along the way. A bit preachy, but also blackly comic and shot with terrific style and camerawork.

Touchez Pas Au Grisbi

(1954 – Jacques Becker)

Translated to “Hands Off The Loot”, Jacques Becker’s film looks at a retired criminal (the always amazing Jean Gabin) and how he faces giving up his stash of stolen gold bars to save his old friend. Though still a crime thriller, it’s really a study of Gabin’s Max – a lifelong criminal who has a narrow set of options left. It’s beautifully put together and not a single false note is rung in the entire film (which seems to be a Becker trademark – at least of his films that I’ve seen).

The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre

(1948 – John Huston)

It’s not easy acquiring gold…All these films have their many obstacles – double crossings, other crooks, mother nature, avarice, etc. Put them all in one movie and you’ve got a classic.

Obviously, there are plenty of other film nuggets where gold sparkles as the centre of attention, but these are the ones that jumped to mind the quickest due to their entertainment value.

Savour and celebrate all 14 of them.