The 1949 film "Lust For Gold" tells the legend of Arizona's legendary Lost Dutchman Mine. Stacks of gold coins appear a few times in the film. The film was based on Barry Storm's 1945 book "Thunder Gods' Gold", but the film writers took major liberties with Storm's book. A film advertisement read: "A true story of love, jealousy, and murder ... of $20,000,000 in buried gold!." Spanish gold doubloon coins were shown in some of the advertisements for the film but do not appear in the film itself.

The film shows a letter signed by Arizona's Governor in 1948, Dan E. Garvey.

The film starts in modern-day (1949) Florence, Arizona, about 50 miles east of Phoenix. A road sign gives the location as the Superstition Mountain range.

Barry Storm arrives in Arizona and contacts treasure hunter Floyd Buckley. Floyd has a map to the legendary Lost Dutchman Mine and Barry introduces himself as the grandson of Jacob Walz, the German immigrant who discovered the mine. Barry asks Floyd if he can accompany him but Floyd prefers to work alone. Floyd heads into the mountains followed by Barry.

A sniper kills Floyd with a high-powered rifle and the Pinal County sheriffs recover the body.

Barry Storm finds Floyd's map.

Deputy Covin tells Storm about the mine. Around 1848 Spaniard Pedro Peralta led a group to the area and mined $20,000,000 worth of gold. The Spaniards left markings on the rocks to locate their mines. Apache Indians massacred the miners because they had trespassed onto the sacred land of the Apache "Thunder Gods." The Indians then covered up the gold with rocks. Barry heads into the mountains with Covin and Deputy Walter, an Indian, to look for the mine. They find some old Spanish inscriptions on rocks which might lead to the mines.

Unknown to Barry, the sniper is around.

The sniper leaves Barry alone, and after an encounter with a rattlesnake, Barry finds an old rifle. At the sheriff's office he finds that it might have belonged to Jacob Walz. Barry he heads to the Old Pioneer's Home and talks to a woman resident.

The lady tells him that she was a little girl in 1880 when Jacob Walz, the "Dutchman", was in the area. She remembers him as a very mean man. Walz was known as the "Dutchman" as that was a term for a German immigrant. Pedro Peralta's brother Ramon has taken a group into the mountains to find the family mine. Jacob and his partner Wiser have followed them.

The pair ambush and kill the miners.

Jacob then murders his partner, buries all of the bodies, and takes a load of the previously mined gold to Florence, the nearest town. He sells the gold to an assay office and receives several thousand dollars in gold coins, which by their size appear to be United States $20 gold coins. Of course these are prop coins.

The news of the gold discovery spreads rapidly and a crowd gathers. Among them is Julia Thomas, a married woman who runs a bakery.

Julia and her husband Pete have been arguing over money as Pete has never made very much. Jacob has been celebrating and drinking in a bar and later collapses in front of Julia's bakery. She takes him in to sleep off the liquor. Jacob wakes up and finds his goods and money on a table.

Another pile of coins and a pistol. Julia speaks German and the pair begin courting.

After a few dates, Julia tells Jacob about her husband and suggest that she can bribe him to divorce her. Jacob, in town, finds out that Julia is just after his gold, and he gives her a map.

Julia and husband Pete head into the mountains to look for the mine.

Jacob follows the pair to his mine and, using a rifle, forces them to hide in the rocks.

The pair begin fighting over the little water they have.

Julia stabs Pete, tells Jacob she wants him, then an earthquake covers all three with rocks along with the mine. The actual earthquake occurred on May 3, 1887. Back in modern Arizona, Barry is at the sheriff's office, he has been looking at coroner's records, detailing the many men who later died looking for the mine, some killed by the sniper.

Armed with his new information, Barry heads into the mountains again.

He finds the Spanish treasure signs.

Barry then encounters Deputy Covin.

Covin has his pistol out and tells Barry that he has been looking for the mine for twenty years and that no one else is going to find it. Barry is able to engage Covin into a fight for survival.

Barry gets assistance from a rattlesnake.

Deputy Walter arrives to recover the body.

Deputy Walter was sent by the sheriff who has long suspected Covin of being the sniper. Walter leaves with Covin's body, Sheriff Early arrives, and he and Barry decide to stay. One of the Spanish markers indicated that the moon would line up with the mine location.

Barry realizes that there is only one day in the year that this sign will locate the mine.

Barry tells the sheriff that he will be back at the right time.

Glenn Ford as Jacob Walz
Edgar Buchanan as Wiser
Ida Lupino as Julia Thomas
Gig Young as Pete Thomas
William Prince as Barry Storm
Will Geer as Deputy Ray Covin
Paul Ford as Sheriff Lynn Early
Jay Silverheels as Deputy Walter
Director: S. Sylvan Simon
Writers: Ted Sherdeman, Richard English, Barry Storm (book)

Barry Storm didn't like the film and attempted to sue the film company. One newspaper headline read "Sees Own Movie, Files Suit." Barry did not like being portrayed as the grandson of the wicked Jacob Walz, and he didn't like the romance plot or the film's identity of the sniper.