Lust for Gold (1949) Poster



The real Barry Storm, whose 1945 book had renewed interest in the Lost Dutchman Mine, did claim to have been shot at in the Superstition Mountains by a mysterious gunman known as Mr. X.
The character of Buckley is based on the 1931 murder of Adolph Ruth, whose knowledge of the Lost Dutchman came from his father through an employee of the Peralta family. He disappeared in Superstition in 1931 and his skull was found half a year later with two bullet holes in it. Also discovered was his unfired pistol and his checkbook in which he had written that he had indeed located the mine. Over the years other murders and disappearances of treasure seekers have helped to build the legend.
The real Jacob Walz, who claimed that he had discovered the Dutchman, died of pneumonia after severe flooding on his Arizona Ranch in 1891. He was nursed by Julia Thomas, the same name as the character portrayed by Ida Lupino and reputed to have been a quadroon. She claimed Walz had told her the mine's location on his deathbed and even sold shares in a Lost Dutchman mining company, but nothing ever came of it.
A furious Barry Storm sued Columbia, not only for plagiarism, but also for "insidious Communist conspiracy." Storm was especially irate that the film had William Prince's Sorm character as grandson of Walz. The suit was ultimately settled out of court.
Producer/director S. Sylvan Simon took over from George Marshall during production.
There are 62 variations of the Lost Dutchman legend.
There were actually four different mines called the Lost Dutchman in American history. Two are in Arizona, one in Colorado, and one in California.
The film underwent several title changes including Barry Storm's original, "For Those Who Dare."

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