I am listening to the audiobook and this is the first time I have been exposed to this amazing novel in perhaps decades. Early in the book we are introduced to Perry Smith and we discover that he is a big fan of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre — he identifies with the characters because his own father had prospected for gold in Alaska.
In either a deliberate casting choice or a huge coincidence, Robert Blake, who played the lottery ticket seller whose winning ticket allows the expedition to proceed, was cast as Perry Smith. I doubt that Smith's affection for the movie had anything to do with the casting choice as Blake physically resembled Smith in very compelling ways.
I see some mention of this coincidence on the web, but I wonder if it was noticed when the 1967 movie came out. Or if the casting actually did have something to do with it. There is no mention IIRC in the movie itself of Treasure, it would have been a digression I think.
Blake was the last known surviving actor from Treasure, but it is not impossible that to this day there is still a survivor from this film — the little kid whom Howard revived from near-drowning would be perhaps less than 80, and some other actors might be in their late 80s or early 90s. But I have never seen an article discussing this.
by relesabe