SPOILER ALERT Whenever I think of films about mountain climbing, the first that comes to mind is Spencer Tracy's "The Mountain". This film pales in comparison, but it's still a pretty good film. And speaking of "pales", this film desperately needs a complete restoration. The scenery of the mountains and glaciers (particularly the longer distance shots) -- actually filmed in the Alps -- would be stunning except for the extreme fading of the print that is currently being shown on TCM.
The one real problem I have with this film is the thought of Claude Rains (age 61 at the filming), Oskar Homolka (age 62 at the filming), and Sir Cedric Hardwicke (age 57 at the filming) climbing what was supposed to be the most challenging mountain in all of Europe. That's my age range, and I find it at best unlikely, and at worst preposterous. But okay...it's only a movie.
There comes a time about a third of the way into the film when suddenly the photography changes from real settings to sets, and it's startlingly obvious...perhaps a film restoration would make it less so. The melding of real shots versus sets is rather well done, however, and a word of credit should be given to some of the real climbers (whoever) they were who stood in for the actors. I do have to give the actors credit here. Although the difficult climbing scenes with the actors are clearly on sets, I think they had to expend quite a bit of energy...and they do a rather convincing job of it.
In terms of the acting, I very much appreciate the performance here of Glenn Ford. In fact, it reminds me a bit of how Spencer Tracy would approach many roles -- with subtlety, which only shows off the strengths more prominently.
Valli, whom I usually think of for her role in "The Miracle Of The Bells" does okay here, although she was not as convincing as some actresses might have been in the role because she just doesn't appear tough enough.
The role that really gets shortchanged here is that of Claude Rains. Oh, Rains is good, but the character is never developed to the extent that we understand his motivations. SPOILER ALERT -- When he is the first to die, of getting drunk in an untenable location -- why? Is it as simple as a nagging wife...whose nagging didn't seem very bad at all? Oskar Homolka as the local guide is quite good...but I wish he would have trimmed those eyebrows! Sir Cedric Hardwicke is, in my view, unconvincing here. But I think it's more the fault of the role than of his acting.
And then we come Lloyd Bridges as the German and former Nazi...at least it's insinuated since part of the conflict of the film is between a Nazi flyer and Ford, an American flyer who was shot down. I've always thought of Bridges as more an actor for the small screen, although here he does quite nicely...better than in any other big screen film in which he appeared. And it's interesting -- little mention is made of their military past...yet it's that tension that exists between them throughout the whole film...that's good screen writing and direction! This is far from being a perfect film. In fact, I find it rather flawed. But it is still very interesting, with an intriguingly strong cast, even if the roles are not always sufficiently explored.
The one real problem I have with this film is the thought of Claude Rains (age 61 at the filming), Oskar Homolka (age 62 at the filming), and Sir Cedric Hardwicke (age 57 at the filming) climbing what was supposed to be the most challenging mountain in all of Europe. That's my age range, and I find it at best unlikely, and at worst preposterous. But okay...it's only a movie.
There comes a time about a third of the way into the film when suddenly the photography changes from real settings to sets, and it's startlingly obvious...perhaps a film restoration would make it less so. The melding of real shots versus sets is rather well done, however, and a word of credit should be given to some of the real climbers (whoever) they were who stood in for the actors. I do have to give the actors credit here. Although the difficult climbing scenes with the actors are clearly on sets, I think they had to expend quite a bit of energy...and they do a rather convincing job of it.
In terms of the acting, I very much appreciate the performance here of Glenn Ford. In fact, it reminds me a bit of how Spencer Tracy would approach many roles -- with subtlety, which only shows off the strengths more prominently.
Valli, whom I usually think of for her role in "The Miracle Of The Bells" does okay here, although she was not as convincing as some actresses might have been in the role because she just doesn't appear tough enough.
The role that really gets shortchanged here is that of Claude Rains. Oh, Rains is good, but the character is never developed to the extent that we understand his motivations. SPOILER ALERT -- When he is the first to die, of getting drunk in an untenable location -- why? Is it as simple as a nagging wife...whose nagging didn't seem very bad at all? Oskar Homolka as the local guide is quite good...but I wish he would have trimmed those eyebrows! Sir Cedric Hardwicke is, in my view, unconvincing here. But I think it's more the fault of the role than of his acting.
And then we come Lloyd Bridges as the German and former Nazi...at least it's insinuated since part of the conflict of the film is between a Nazi flyer and Ford, an American flyer who was shot down. I've always thought of Bridges as more an actor for the small screen, although here he does quite nicely...better than in any other big screen film in which he appeared. And it's interesting -- little mention is made of their military past...yet it's that tension that exists between them throughout the whole film...that's good screen writing and direction! This is far from being a perfect film. In fact, I find it rather flawed. But it is still very interesting, with an intriguingly strong cast, even if the roles are not always sufficiently explored.