While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

. . . the short-sighted Fat Cat Villain, a Scrooge-like miscreant whose tunnel vision is so narrow it can only take in a miser's hoard of gold with its evil companion ledger books. "Magoo" makes cameo appearances throughout THE NAKED HILLS, with nothing on his mind but stealing as much as he can, by all the sinful foul means necessary. There is no hint of a thought in Magoo's head about Religion, Education, Nutrition, or any other Social Good. Instead, Magoo squats over Stockton, CA, like a sinister spider, entangling such things as "The Law," "Justice," "The Courts," "Government," and "The Police" in his wicked web of deceit whenever it suits his unproductive monopolistic schemes. Magoo's only pleasure beyond sucking up all the useful community resources is sadistically crushing the dreams of the Little Guy, represented here by Missouri prospector "Tracy Powell." Though Magoo will tolerate folks such as Tracy's pal "Bert Killian" eking out a subsistence existence (as long as they grovel from time to time, and never question Laws written to insure that a greedy One Per Cent can grasp 99% of the People's assets), there is no room in the Magoo Universe for dreamers such as Tracy. The lesson THE NAKED HILLS implicitly teaches viewers is: "Be grateful to settle for a few crumbs like Bert, because Little Guys such as Tracy will NEVER be allowed to pile up even a molehill of gold next to Magoo's Mountain of Wealth.

The Naked Hills is directed by Josef Shaftel, who also co-writes the screenplay with Helen S. Bilkie. It stars David Wayne, Keenan Wynn, James Barton, Marcia Henderson and Denver Pyle. Music is by Herschel Burke Gilbert and Pathecolor cinematography is by Frederick Gately.1800s California and Tracy Powell (Wayne) is gripped by gold fever and deserts his friends and family to search the hills for the precious metal.Very routine gold fever Oater that plays like a poor man's Treasure of the Sierra Madre. It spans decades as Powell lets the search for gold take over his life, while the background threads involving his partners, both romantically and gold seeking, make up the drama as he heads towards his day of destiny. An opportunity is wasted to really produce a psychologically strong film about an obsessive man who keeps failing, but Shaftel constantly resorts to formula fodder to tell his story and it hurts the piece. Cast are fine, especially Wayne, who gets a chance to be the lead man and delivers a performance of note in spite of the insipid screenplay. 4/10

Allied Artists the former Monogram Pictures of the Bowery Boys and the Bomba the Jungle Boy series occasionally did a film that had a certain amount of class despite the lack of budget. The Naked Hills is a western that starts in the California Gold Rush days about a man who has the gold fever real bad, maybe worse than Humphrey Bogart in The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre.The lack of really big box office names in The Naked Hills makes it all the more real. David Wayne stars in this film as a man seized with the gold fever who is demon possessed with the idea of making that big strike, so much so that he abandons his wife Marcia Henderson and infant son who grows up to be Chris Olsen and later Steve Terrell.There was a great line in The Oklahoma Kid where James Cagney opines that the strong take it away from the weak and the smart take it away from the strong. The strong here is Keenan Wynn, a claim jumper of no particular redeeming features and the smart is a crafty Jim Backus. You can almost see him as Thurston Howell the first. Could be that what we see here is how the Howell fortune was obtained and the bloodline kind of thinned over several generations until he and the Mrs. got caught up in that three hour tour.Next to Wayne, Backus is who you will remember best from this film and this might be his best dramatic performance. For those of you who remember Mr. Magoo, Judge Bradley Stevens, and Thurston Howell and some other goofy comic parts this is the most serious film role Backus ever essayed. Even better than his part as James Dean's father in Rebel Without A Cause.Narrating this story of Wayne's useless life is Denver Pyle who comes west with Wayne, makes a small stake and then starts a dry goods business. He is carrying a torch the Statue Of Liberty couldn't hold for Marcia Henderson. In many ways he's the most touching character in the film. And James Barton who originated the part of a hard rock miner starring in Paint Your Wagon on Broadway essentially takes that character over to The Naked Hills. Watch in the end how Wayne's character has morphed into Barton.Most moving scene in the film is Wayne trying to nurse his dying mule back to health. He's so cut himself off from the world that the only living thing he has any relationship with is that pack animal. It's some of the best acting David Wayne did in his whole career.Probably a large budget would not necessarily have helped The Naked Hills. But a solid cast and a wonderful story put this memorable film over. It will linger with you long after you've seen it.

I selected Denver Pyle's quote for my summary line from the film because it best describes the theme of the picture. However there's a more colorful one by Keenan Wynn when he invites David Wayne to have a drink in the mining camp for the first time - "Here's to the lice crawling up your back...". Man, I'm still itching from that one.The picture relies somewhat on the way the seasons of the year are reflected in a person's life, focusing on the principal character Tracy Powell (Wayne). Powell and Bert Killian (Pyle) start out as prospecting partners, but soon part ways when Powell attempts to short cut his way to the mountain top and the riches in gold that are soon to follow. Con man Willis Haver (Jim Backus) knows better, as his henchman Sam Wilkins (Wynn) initially takes Powell under his wing, only to turn on him after a quick, early strike. It was unusual seeing Backus in a heel role after all those seasons as the wealthy Thurston Howell on 'Gilligan's Island'. As his partner, Wynn looked a little out of character too.I think I would have found the picture a little better if Tracy Powell hadn't gone to the well with his obsession so many times. After an out of nowhere romance that led to marriage, Powell kept beating a path to the next big gold strike that was always just one more away. Wife Julie (Marcia Henderson), instead of patiently waiting out her man, probably should have called it quits well before the twenty year mark over which the story takes place. When finally persuaded by his grown son who he never really knew to come home, it felt like Powell was returning in defeat rather than having learned a valuable life lesson about the importance of family and friends.The other main character I haven't mentioned yet was the old prospector Jimmo McCann, neatly played by James Barton. Like his partner Powell, he 'almost' made it as a millionaire until fate stepped in. I found it curious that when he, Powell and Wilkins started celebrating their strike, they started talking about all the money they would have. What I found puzzling was how in the world he would have come up with the number quadrillion.If you're an avid Western fan, you'll recognize the early hints of the 'Yancy Derringer' TV show theme music, and by the end of the picture it's prominent in almost every scene. I know I've heard it in another Western film as well, but with Yancy, you got it in every show. Always upbeat, it seemed to fit that show's personality just right, while here it was effective only about half the time.