John Huston documentaries." Huston did an uncredited rewrite of Anthony Veiller's screenplay for "The Stranger" (1946), a film he was to have directed. When Huston became unavailable Orson Welles was offered the opportunity to direct. He had been cast in the role of a high-ranking Nazi fugitive who manages to settle in New England under an assumed name. His next picture, which he wrote, directed, and briefly appeared in as an American, asked to "help out a fellow American, down on his luck", was "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948). It would become one of the films which established his reputation
John Huston (his first film role), and his own father, Walter Huston. The film, however, was given only a small B-movie budget, and received minimal publicity by Warners, as they had low expectations. The entire film was made in eight weeks for only $300,000. Warners was surprised by immediate enthusiastic response by the public and critics, who hailed the film as a "classic" and claimed by many to be the "best detective melodrama ever made." "Herald Tribune" critic Howard Barnes called it a "triumph." Huston received an Academy Award nomination for the screenplay. After this film, Huston would direct all of his