Treasure of the Silver Lake
The Treasure of the Silver Lake () is a 1962 western film directed by Harald Reinl and starring Lex Barker, Pierre Brice and Karin Dor. It is very loosely based on Karl May's 1891 novel of the same name. It was shot in Yugoslavia and was the first in the highly successful "Winnetou" film series by Rialto Film. It was made as a co-production between France, West Germany and Yugoslavia. The film's sets were designed by the Croatian art director Dusan Jericevic. Extensive location shooting took place across Yugoslavia, particularly around the Plitvice  Lakes National Park which doubled for the American West. Post-production work was done at the Wandsbek Studios in Hamburg. Plot. Fred Engel's father is murdered by Colonel Brinkley in order to acquire a treasure map, however the Colonel only acquires half of it, the other half is held by Mrs. Butler. Discovering the scene of the crime, Old Shatterhand and Winnetou help Fred bring his father's murderer to justice and locate the treasure of Silver Lake. Box office. It was the highest-grossing film of 1962 in West Germany, selling tickets and grossing . In France, it was  the 29th top-grossing film of 1963, selling 1,656,736 tickets. In the Soviet Union, the film sold tickets. This adds up to a total of tickets sold worldwide. The film was a phenomenal success, predating that of Sergio Leone's films. This helped provide a cultural and financial context for the later Spaghetti Western films.