I’ve been collecting a list of movies related to treasure hunting and am now presenting the top 30 treasure hunting movies of all time. This list isn’t necessarily my opinion, it is sorted by the user ratings from IMDB (Internet Movie Database). If you have other favorites, drop a comment and let us know. Without further ado, the Top 30 Treasure Movies:

1) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Plot Summary: “The year is 1936. A professor who studies archeology named Indiana Jones is venturing in the jungles in South America searching for a golden statue. Unfortunately, he sets off a deadly trap doing so, miraculously, he escapes. Then, Jones hears from a museum curator named Marcus Brody about a biblical artifact called The Ark of the Covenant, which can hold the key to humanly existence. Jones has to venture to vast places such as Nepal and Egypt to find this artifact. However, he will have to fight his enemy Renee Belloq and a band of Nazis in order to reach it.” -John Wiggins

2) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Plot Summary: “Fred C. Dobbs and Bob Curtin, both down on their luck in Tampico, Mexico in 1925, meet up with a grizzled prospector named Howard and decide to join with him in search of gold in the wilds of central Mexico. Through enormous difficulties, they eventually succeed in finding gold, but bandits, the elements, and most especially greed threaten to turn their success into disaster.” -Jim Beaver

3) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Plot Summary: “Indiana Jones, famed adventurer and archaeologist acquires a diary that holds clues and a map with no names to find the mysterious Holy Grail- which was sent from his father, Dr. Henry Jones, in Italy. Upon hearing from a private collector, Walter Donavan, that the mission for the Holy Grail went astray with the disappearance of his father, Indiana Jones and museum curator Marcus Brody venture to Italy in search of Indy’s father. However, upon retrieving Dr. Henry Jones in Nazi territory, the rescue mission turns into a race to find the Holy Grail before the Nazis do- who plan to use it for complete world domination for their super-race. With the diary as a vital key and the map with no names as a guide, Indiana Jones once again finds himself in another death defying adventure of pure excitement.” -commanderblue

4) Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Plot Summary: “Pirates of the Caribbean is a sweeping action-adventure story set in an era when villainous pirates scavenged the Caribbean seas. This roller coaster tale teams a young man, Will Turner, with an unlikely ally in rogue pirate Jack Sparrow. Together, they must battle a band of the world’s most treacherous pirates, led by the cursed Captain Barbossa, in order to save Elizabeth, the love of Will’s life, as well as recover the lost treasure that Jack seeks. Against improbable odds, they race towards a climactic confrontation on the mysterious Isla de Muerta. Clashing their swords in fierce mortal combat, Will and Jack attempt to recapture The Black Pearl ship, save the British navy, and relinquish a fortune in forbidden treasure thereby lifting the curse of the Pirates of the Caribbean.” -Anonymous

5) The Goonies (1985)

Plot Summary: “The Goonies are a group of friends living in a village, the groups leader Mikey Walsh, his older brother Brand and gang members Andy, Data, Stef, Mouth, and Chunk are being evicted from their homes which are to be demolished. Setting out to find a way of saving their homes, The Goonies find a treasure map and they set off in search for the treasure of the legendary pirate One-Eyed Willy which is located beneath a abandoned restaurant. Joined by a deformed gentle giant named Sloth, The Goonies embark on a great adventure through a underground maze filled with traps and skeletons, where they are pursued by Sloth’s mother, thief Momma Fratelli and his brothers Jake and Francis who are also after One-Eyed Willy’s treasure and they willing to get the treasure first.” -Daniel Williamson

6) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

7) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)

8) Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)

9) National Treasure (2004)

10) Romancing The Stone (1984)

11) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

12) National Treasure 2 – Book of Secrets (2007)

13) The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice (2008)

14) MacKenna’s Gold (1969)

15) The Legend of Tillamook’s Gold (2006)

16) The Nugget (2002)

17) Sahara (2005)

18) The Librarian: Quest for the Spear (2004)

19) Trespass (1992)

20) The Deep (1977)

21) The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines (2006)

22) Into the Blue (2005)

23) Without a Paddle (2004)

24) Fools Gold (2008)

25) Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

26) Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life (2003)

27) City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994)

28) King Solomon’s Mines (1985)

29) Firewalker (1986)

30) Lost Treasure (2003)

That concludes the top 30. There are of course many other great treasure movies and I’d love to hear about your favorites. Here a a few more just for good measure: Treasure Blind, Jack Hunter and the Lost Treasure of Ugarit, King of California, Mexican Gold, Whisper Island, Treasure Raiders, The Search for Nazi Gold, Treasure Planet, Revelation, Three Kings, Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold, Time Bandits, The Treasure Seekers, The Treasure of Jamaica Reef, Shark’s Treasure, Treasure of Tayopa, Paint Your Wagon, Garden of Evil, Captain Kidd, Desert Gold, Vibes….the list could go on forever. Enjoy :)

Bill Wyman, better known as the bass guitarist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 to 1992, has a secret passion that tickles me to share with you all. Bill happens to be a bit of a history buff with interests in archaeology and early cultures so it should come as no surprise that he is also a dedicated treasure hunter. He bought his first metal detector in the early 1990’s, a C. Scope brand, which he later collaborated with them to create the Bill Wyman Signature Metal Detector. Some of his favorite finds have been the personal seal of the High Sheriff of Suffolk dating from 1784, a gold half-noble from 1361, and a coin minted during the reign of Harold II.

To top it all off, after being an accomplished musician and treasure hunter, he is also a successful writer. He wrote an interesting little gem for us treasure hunters called “Bill Wyman’s Treasure Islands: Britain’s History Uncovered” in which he tells when and where treasures have been found throughout Britain, legal and archaeological issues around treasure hunting, do’s and don’ts of identifying prime sites, and how to keep accurate records and identify objects.

Jesse Woodson James was an infamous American outlaw during his lifetime from 1847 to 1882. He was notorious for robbing banks, trains, and stagecoaches in Missouri and was the most well known member of the James-Younger Gang.  During the Civil War, he and his brother Frank James where guerrillas for the Confederacy and have been accused of many criminal acts against Union soldiers. They were most active in their endeavors from about 1866 to 1876 but with growing pressure from law enforcement, Robert Ford, a member of Jesse James’ own gang, killed him on April 3, 1882 in hopes of collecting a state reward placed on James’ head. One has to think in all these years of pillaging, he had to have stashed money somewhere for safekeeping.

The History Channel created a 120 minute movie about his life including new information that may prove there was far more to the infamous Jesse James than history books have led us to believe. Here is the excerpt from the website:

“By the time Jesse James was killed in 1882, he’d stolen over a million and a half dollars according to some estimates–gold, coins and cash that could be worth over $50 million today. History often paints James as a clever outlaw who stole money to finance a lavish criminal lifestyle, a man whose sixteen year long crime spree came to a dramatic halt in 1882 when a fellow gang member betrayed him and shot him dead in the back of the head. But now, a treasure hunt may reveal a totally new story. Was Jesse really stealing for himself, or was he actually secreting away large sums of wealth, in order to finance one of the most clandestine secret societies in American history? Follow a team of treasure hunters searching for where he stashed his riches… and a new truth about Jesse James. Their discoveries may not only re-write the history of why Jesse stole, it could also raise new questions about his death.”

The DVD costs $24.95 on the History Channel’s online store if you think it might be worth checking out.