Treasure of Silver Lake

Treasure of Silver Lake is a German western adventure set in the American West. When Fred Engel's father is murdered over half of a map showing the way to a legendary silver treasure, Fred sets out to find the killer. He is joined by Old Shatterhand and the Apache chief Winnetou, who help him track the ruthless Colonel Brinkley. The colonel already holds one piece of the map and will stop at nothing, including kidnapping, to obtain the other half from Mrs. Butler and the Patterson family. The pursuit carries the companions across prairie and rocky country toward the treasure itself.

The film was directed by Harald Reinl and written by Harald G. Petersson, with Horst Wendlandt, Erwin Gitt and Zvonko Kovačić producing for a German, French and Yugoslav co-production. It was the first of four westerns Reinl made in this series, followed by Apache Gold, Last of the Renegades and The Desperado Trail. Lex Barker plays Old Shatterhand and Pierre Brice plays Winnetou, roles they would return to in the later films; Götz George appears as Fred Engel, with Karin Dor, Herbert Lom and Marianne Hoppe among a credited cast of twenty.

Released in December 1962 and running 111 minutes, the film helped establish the West German western cycle adapted from Karl May's stories. It holds a rating of 7.1 out of 10 on TMDB from around 130 votes, a solid audience score for a title of its age.