Third Man on the Mountain (1959)

Michael Rennie was ill the day the Earth stood still, but he told us where to stand… on top of a mountain!  And James Macarthur is there too!  Get ready to yodel and don’t let the altitude sickness get you down, because we’re heading up, up, up, to the top of the Matterhorn itself!  Watch out for Harold the Yeti!

Disclaimer: This blog is purely recreational and not for profit. Any material, including images and/or video footage, are property of their respective companies, unless stated otherwise. The authors’ claim no ownership of this material. The opinions expressed therein reflect those of the authors and are not to be viewed as factual documentation. All photos are capped from my copy of the movie with InstantShot! unless otherwise specified.

Full disclosure, this is not actually the next movie on my list.  Technically, I should be reviewing Zorro, the Avenger, but I couldn’t find it for the life of me.  It’s not on Disney+.  It’s not on Youtube.  It’s not on Amazon.  It’s not even on the sketchy part of the Internet.  So it is with a heavy heart that I must skip a film and move along with better-known things. But not by much. And don’t worry, we’ll see more Zorro in a little bit.

Anyway.

In his spare time, Walt took a few ski trips to Switzerland. His passion for the beautiful mountains inspired him to make a movie set there, but first, he needed a story. He found one in James Ramsey Ullman’s young adult novel, Banner in the Sky, which told the story about a young boy who dreamed of conquering the mountain his father died climbing. He bought the rights in 1957, and one year later, filming began. Ken Annakin returns to direct for the first time since The Sword and the Rose, and Oscar-winning writer Eleanore Griffin wrote the screenplay. It’s regarded as one of the most difficult films in the Disney oeuvre to create, to the point where the TV episode promoting it was titled Perilous Assignments. Everyone involved with the production was required to take courses on mountaineering, and they had to travel by mule and helicopter just to get certain shots. One of the lead actors fell eighteen feet and somehow managed to escape with only minor injuries, but an assistant cameraman broke three ribs falling into a crevasse.

All that hard work didn’t exactly pay off, either. Third Man on the Mountain was a box office failure, garnering only $1.7 million after costing $2 million. On the plus side, though, critics really loved it. The visuals were praised endlessly in a way I haven’t really seen outside the True Life Adventures. They also enjoyed the action and thought the whole thing really embodied the sense of adventure and fun Disney was known for. They felt that some of the writing and acting were weak, but what worked worked very well indeed. For my part, I know one thing and one thing only about this movie, other than that I read the book. But we’ll get to that one thing later. Let’s conquer this mountain!

STORY

We open up with our hero scaling the summit of the tallest mountain for miles. A choir sings triumphantly as he ties a red shirt to a pole to mark that he, Rudi Matt, conquered the dreaded Citadel. He poses on the peak… and then the scene fades out. It’s just a daydream. Rudi’s just a dishwasher in a hotel kitchen, looking out at the Citadel from a steamy window. His boss, old Theo, yells at him for his lollygagging, startling him into breaking a plate and angering him even more. As he’s ranting, Rudi sneaks out and Lizbeth sneaks in. By the time Teo notices, Rudi is long gone, off to climb around the mountains again. Teo demands to know why Lizbeth didn’t stop him, but she knows it’s impossible to coop up a spirit like Rudi. A waitress pokes her head in to ask what happened to the dishwasher, forcing Teo to lie for him and say he’s gone to help his sick mother. And then he smacks her behind. Was that necessary, Disney? Lizbeth praises the smoothness of the lies and ignores Teo’s attempts to shoo the proprietor’s daughter out of the kitchen. The two of them and Rudi had such good times together when the kids were little, after all. Couldn’t he loosen up just a little?

Rudi is well on his way through the woods, whistling happily all the way. He stops at a wooden memorial: a shrine to his father, Josef Matt. He pays his respect and continues on to get his equipment out of hiding. Once perched on a crag he gazes out on the Alps to scream at the faraway mountains he’s going to conquer, especially the Citadel. But someone on the mountain hears him yelling— and he’s calling for help! Rudi hurries down to the crevasse and tosses a rope to the trapped climber, but the rope is too short. With no other option, Rudi strips off his coat and shirt to add a little bit of length. That does the trick, though Rudi has to strain to pull out the struggling climber. He’s surprisingly okay for being shirtless on top of a snowy mountain, too. The guy Rudi rescued is astounded that a boy was the one to save him. Rudi waves his thanks off and then recognizes him as the great Captain Winter, a legend who is much too good to fall down a crevasse. He made a rookie error: he was looking ahead at the Citadel, not at the treacherous ground under his feet.

He switches gears to ask why Rudi’s interested in the dreaded Citadel. It’s because his father, the renowned Josef Matt, died on that mountain. He, Teo, and another man called Sir Edward went out to be the first to reach its peak. Josef found a way up but was stopped in his tracks by a terrible avalanche. Teo went to get help, but by the time he returned, both Josef and Sir Edward had succumbed to the cold. Josef had the chance to survive, but he’d removed his own sweater, jacket, and shirt in an effort to save Sir Edward’s life. Both Winter and Rudi believe the Citadel can be climbed despite the naysayers, but there are no guides in Rudi’s home village of Kurtal who would take Winter after what happened last time. They’re all too afraid, including Rudi’s uncle Franz Lerner, the best guide in Kurtal. Winter might just have to go to the neighboring village of Broli for a guide, but first, he’s got more investigating to do. Rudi just knows there’s a way because he wants to believe it. I’m pretty sure wanting something to be true doesn’t actually make it true but whatever it’s a Disney movie.

Back at the hotel at Kurtal, Herr Hempel, the proprietor, is greeting a fresh wave of guests all the way from America! A porter by the name of Klaus Wesselhoft is cozying up to a pair of female tourists, offering to carry all their stuff. Fun fact: these two tourists are Helen Hayes and Joyce Bulifant, James Macarthur’s mother and wife respectively. They visited Macarthur on the set and told Walt they wished they could be part of the movie. So he made them part of the movie! Anyway, Lizbeth is watching the mountain through a telescope. Klaus corners her and asks him to go to the upcoming festival because it’s not a Disney movie until there’s a random party. She declines and he’s having none of it because he thinks he’s better for her than Rudi. Joke’s on him- Rudi hasn’t even asked her yet, she just doesn’t want to go with Klaus. Ouch. To add injury to insult, she clocks him with the telescope in her haste to get away from the approaching Franz. Klaus tells him the great Captain Winter is coming for a visit, while Lizbeth warns Teo that he has to come up with a reason why Rudi’s not there before Franz comes in to find him.

Sure enough, Franz shows up. Teo tells him Rudi’s just on an errand, which Franz actually buys… until Gretchen the waitress opens her big mouth. She’s well-intentioned enough, just offering Franz condolences for his sister’s illness, but it’s enough to blow up the whole story in Teo’s face. Franz is furious that Teo would lie to him when the only reason he won’t let Rudi follow his mountaineering dreams is for his own protection. He wants him to work in the hotel, not gallivant around the mountain that killed his father. Lizbeth and Teo try to defuse the situation by reminding Franz that Rudi is his father’s son and it’s impossible to keep him from following his destiny but that doesn’t really ease Franz’s mind anyway. Winter and Rudi make it back to Kurtal, and Winter asks what Rudi does for a living. Rudi is completely ashamed to admit that he’s a dishwasher and asks Winter not to tell anyone he met him on the mountain. Winter reluctantly agrees, no matter how much he wants to reward his rescuer.

Franz returns home to discuss with his sister what they’re going to do with her rebellious son. Frau Matt suggests a new job elsewhere in the hotel, where he’s away from Teo and his encouragement, but there’s still Lizbeth to contend with. She’s the proprietor’s daughter, and if they try to keep her away they risk angering the proprietor. Well, whatever they do with him now, it won’t matter come summer. That’s when they’re sending Rudi off to Zurich to learn about hotel management far away from the lure of the mountains. Somehow, I doubt that would even work, but Frau Matt is convinced that the mountain is evil and trying to kill Rudi like it did his father. Rudi himself finally comes home, excusing his lateness by saying he had a lot of dishes to wash. Franz knows better. Caught in a lie, Rudi protests that he’s just drawn to the mountains and oh my god this whole “protag is drawn to the forbidden despite their parental figure’s insistence” thing really is as old as the company itself. But the parental figures do insist because he has a great future ahead of him if he just listens to them. But Rudi doesn’t want to run a hotel. He wants to be a guide.

Rudi starts to storm out of the house, but his way is barred by a visitor. It’s none other than the great Captain Winter! True to his word, he pretends not to know Rudi, sticking to the business of asking Franz to guide him up the Wunderhorn. It’s not the Citadel, so Franz agrees, but they’ll need a porter to carry the equipment. Winter casually suggests Rudi, but Franz blows him off. Rudi isn’t about to just let this chance pass by and he blows up that Winter’s seen what he can do on a mountain. Well, there goes that secret. Winter rolls with it and tells Franz about Rudi’s heroic deeds. From there, we cut to Lizbeth in her bed. When she hears Rudi pass the barking dog that signals his approach to the hotel, she hurries into her dressing down. Rudi rushes into the kitchen to tell her and Teo the good news: his family gave him permission to go on a real climb! Ever practical, Teo warns him not to let this go to his head but Lizbeth reminds him again of when they used to climb as kids… by climbing all over the cabinets. She is adorable. Janet Munro is adorable. Her father, Herr Hempel, hears all the noise and demands to know what they’re doing, but he also has a letter from Winter.

It seems Winter has special ordered some supplies for Rudi, so he and Lizbeth go to pick them up.  And Winter does not do things by halves.  He ordered Rudi nothing but the best and the two kids are positively giddy over it.  The whole town is gossiping about Rudi’s good fortune and how he’s finally going to follow in his father’s footsteps. Lizbeth gives Rudi a pendant for good luck and it’s off we go! To everyone’s surprise, though, they’re not the only party to make it to the hut on the face of the Wunderhorn. But it’s cool, there are no rivalries here. Everyone’s perfectly amiable and happy to drink toasts to Winter, to Josef Matt, and the hope that Rudi will carry on the family legacy.  The next morning, a glorious sunrise gleams over the Citadel and it’s time to get started for real.

Once they’re high enough, Winter, Franz, and Rudi admire the Citadel in the distance. They’re close enough that they can see the hut where Josef, Teo, and Sir Edward spent their last night before the fateful avalanche. Franz snaps that they’re not here just to stare at a hut but surprise! That is what Winter’s there for. He takes out a spyglass to look out at the mountain, and he and Rudi muse over the route Josef might have found. No one has ever crossed a portion of the Citadel known as the Fortress, but they’re sure it’s possible. All of them, that is, except Franz, despite Winter’s attempts to appeal to his curiosity. He’s still convinced the Citadel is out for blood. Dude, it’s a mountain. But he has spoken, so he lays down for a nap and Winter settles in to do some sketches of the Citadel.

While they’re not looking, Rudi sneaks off to do some more climbing of his own. A loose rock slips out from under him, making enough noise to alert the adults. But they’re not fast enough to prevent another loose rock from slipping, and Rudi falls onto an outcropping separate from the rest of the mountain. The two adults waste time bickering over who’s going to be the rescuer: the seasoned climber or the responsible relative? Franz wins the fight but his rope is tied too loosely, so Winter secures it around his own body. Together, the two haul Rudi back onto the mountain “like a bundle of firewood”. It’s the most shameful thing that can happen to a climber. He thought he’d found a way up, but he didn’t, and as a result, the rest of the party had to put their lives at risk to save his skin.

Down in Kurtal, Lizbeth and Teo are watching through the telescope. They notice that Rudi is walking between the other two, and that is not good at all. Despite Winter’s reassurances that no one is perfect, Rudi is still dejected and humiliated when they get home. There’s even mood rain to prove it. To make things worse, Winter leaves Kurtal, though he does promise to return because after all, he hasn’t conquered the Citadel yet. Franz is unbearably smug and sure Rudi has learned his lesson, but really he’s mostly just depressed. And as he gets ready for another dreary shift at the kitchen, it gets worse. His climbing things are gone! His mom tells him Franz has co-opted the axe and bag and sold the boots because what’s he going to do with them?

There is some good news, though: the highest bidder is none other than Lizbeth! She’s a good girlfriend and wants to make sure he gets them back… though of course she sassily spins it like she’ll loan them to him. Her jokes don’t quite land, so she asks what’s wrong. And he unloads: he disgraced his family and Winter doesn’t believe in him anymore, all because of one screw up. He thinks his climbing days are over, but Lizbeth has some tough love for him. She tells him where the boots will be when he’s done feeling sorry for himself and ready to try again. Teo’s got a plan to help Rudi out, too: he’s going to take the next day off and put him through some climbing lessons, disability or no. Lizbeth tags along, too, just like old times, only now she gets to flirt shamelessly with Rudi. She even gives him his boots back. Rudi’s first test is to climb a small peak, which should be child’s play… except for the backpack full of rocks. That makes it a little more challenging. Lizbeth dashes off to change into boys’ clothes so she can go with him, despite Teo’s insistence that she’s too female to go. Rudi has a rough go of it but he eventually makes it.

Once he’s back on the ground, the three sit down to a picnic where Rudi asks for feedback. Teo doesn’t have any because this climb didn’t count! He explains that climbing isn’t where Rudi went wrong. He needs to learn to work together with the rest of his party and not be a selfish showoff. To teach that lesson, he puts his injury aside and suits up so he can round out Rudi’s party. Lizbeth tags along too, even though both men argue against it because she’s just a girl. They end up having to lift her up like a bundle of firewood because she can’t climb like the big strong men, that would be ridiculous. Rudi has a little fun making his girlfriend fly and gazes out over the Citadel. His hope is restored! He believes in himself again! They celebrate by skipping through a meadow wearing flower crowns and whistling a merry little tune like the Wizard of Oz. She asks him why he hasn’t invited her to the festival yet and he kind of expected it to be a given that they would go together. She pretends to be offended and breaks it to him that Klaus asked first, so he threatens to punch Klaus because that’s a healthy reaction. The macho nonsense certainly impresses her, though, because she jumps on him and smooches him.

And then things start going sideways. They get back to the kitchen and find it piled high with dishes and all the food burnt. Gretchen the waitress is irritated because cooking’s not her job, and she has news: Winter came back to ask Franz to climb the Citadel and left when he refused. He’s gone for good. Rudi goes outside to brood and overhears Franz telling stories to the rest of the town at the tavern. Lizbeth and Teo egg him on to ask Franz to take him climbing again while he’s in such a good mood. Unfortunately, Rudi doesn’t really choose the best way to go about this because he bursts in while Franz is calling Winter crazy. The whole tavern laughs at Rudi’s defense of the captain and his pleas to be his uncle’s porter. Franz refuses outright. So that didn’t work out. Klaus even takes the opportunity to horn in on Lizbeth, since Rudi’s too humiliated to show his face at the festival. She doesn’t even dignify it with an answer.

The festival arrives with… a very slow, dreary choral piece like a lullaby. It’s incredibly weird. Klaus tries to get Lizbeth’s attention while she’s singing with the other girls but she continues ignoring him. After… that… Herr Hempel announces the beginning of the dancing and it starts to better resemble any festival I’ve ever seen. Lizbeth spots Rudi sulking around and asks him to dance because it would be a shame if no one got to see how pretty she looks in her grandmother’s wedding dress. Despite his protests, Lizbeth drags him out towards the festivities to get him to stop moping already.  It doesn’t work.  Rudi keeps whining and whining that Lizbeth should just go dance with Klaus because he’s just so terrible and such a loser.  So she does, making eye contact with Rudi the entire time because this self-deprecating nonsense is not even a little bit flattering.

While he’s off feeling sorry for himself, Rudi overhears some climbers talking about how they saw smoke on the hut on the Citadel. Someone’s crazy enough to try climbing it again, and Rudi knows just who that someone is. He steals back his old rope, axe, and boots so he can climb up after them. Sure enough, it’s Winter himself in the hut, along with Emil Saxo of Broli. Saxo is dismissive because Rudi is not only just a boy but he’s from Kurtal and they’re all cowards and also Saxo is kind of a jerk. Winter, on the other hand, takes one look at Josef’s red shirt sticking out of his pack and nods his approval. He invites Rudi to sit down and eat with them, asking if his mother and uncle are okay with him being there. He lies and Winter doesn’t entirely buy it but Saxo interrupts. It’s time to go. He never agreed to let the kid come but Winter wants him to and he’s funding this whole thing so there. But first, he has some ground rules: don’t split the party and don’t try to show off.

All of Kurtal is abuzz about the two climbers trying to climb the Citadel, and they’re happy to drop all of the exposition on Franz when he enters the tavern. Franz is furious that Winter would choose a guide from Broli but dude, no one here was willing to go. Outside, Teo and Lizbeth watch through the telescope and see a third man on the mountain. They just know it’s Rudi! And they said the thing! Teo gleefully runs into the tavern to break the news, but he takes his sweet time about telling them. Franz already knows it’s Rudi, though. He’s been missing since last night, as has the gear Winter gave him. Then Teo starts an epic “reason you suck” speech, letting the Kurtal climbers know what stupid cowards they are for their refusal to take risks. It’s amazing. Franz continues to justify being a stupid coward but he and several others do agree to go up, even if it is just to tell Winter to get down from there. Teo goes with them so he doesn’t miss the spectacle, smacking Lizbeth’s rear on the way down. What is with all the butt-smacking?

Two-thirds of the way through the movie, we’re finally climbing the Citadel instead of talking about how much we want to. The wind howls viciously as they ascend… oh, wait, no those are falling rocks. It’s an avalanche! One of the boulders smacks Winter right in the head, and they don’t shy away from showing the blood. Rudi tries to clean the wound but Saxo pushes him out of the way so he can bandage his head. He’s not done being a nuisance, either- he’s convinced that he knows two possible routes that are better than the one Rudi can come up with. First, though, Winter needs to recover from his injury so they return to the hut. Before the sun rises, Winter, who is apparently feeling better, tells Rudi he and Saxo are going back to Broli for supplies. It would be super great if Rudi could go back to Kurtal to convince his uncle to join them. There’s a ridiculous dramatic closeup as Rudi realizes he’s been caught in his lie.

Instead of going home to Kurtal, Rudi makes his way higher up the Citadel. A storm kicks up, but he persists and ends up finding the route his father took up the mountain! But now he’s stuck. It’s raining and lightning too badly for him to go on, so he tries to squeeze into a cave for cover. He fails. Now he’s stranded. When Winter and Saxo return, they find that the hut isn’t empty. Franz, Teo, and their party have arrived, and they want to know where Rudi is. Naturally, Winter thought he was with Franz, Franz blames Saxo for losing him, and Saxo decks Franz in the face. Before things can escalate further, Rudi limps in and collapses in Teo’s arms. He’s bruised and bloody but triumphant because he finally knows how to get past the Fortress. Despite the fact that Rudi broke his one rule, Teo is thrilled at Rudi’s discovery and gets to work cleaning him up so he can continue the climb.

Franz won’t hear of it. He’s taking Rudi home and that’s that but Teo and Winter stick up for the boy since Rudi seems to have forgotten how to stick up for himself. Deep down, though, Franz really does want to get to the top of the Citadel so Broli doesn’t get all the glory and Winter knows it. Saxo does too, though he’s really angry that these jealous cowards would try to steal his thunder. That’s enough to finally get Franz to agree to climb, which almost makes Saxo drop out because of the rivalry between the two villages. Winter orders them to drop it because that rivalry is stupid. The important thing is, though, that Rudi gets to climb the Citadel! Franz asks Teo to go down to deliver the news to Kurtal but Teo doesn’t want to miss a minute of the adventure, so he decides to stay in the hut to cook for them when they get back. Not sure how much of the action you’re going to see from there but whatever. They coax another guy to go down because his wife is pregnant and he has to go anyway, though he’s reluctant because he already has six kids so what’s one more.

Finally, finally, the climb begins. Saxo is in the lead until Winter decides Rudi should take point. After all, he’s the one who found the path past the Fortress. Ever the contrarian, Saxo isn’t convinced the chimney in question even goes all the way up and anyway, it’s too small for a grown man to get through. Rudi, however, is a Disney hero so all he needs to do is believe in himself and he’ll make it! He very, very carefully makes his way into the chimney. Things are tense. Things are scary. The rope stops moving. Winter thinks he’s stuck. Saxo thinks he’s stuck. Even Rudi thinks he’s stuck. But miraculously, through the power of wishing or something, he wiggles all the way to the top! He’s done it! He’s past the Fortress! And once he lowers a rope to the others, they make it past too! Trumpets blast as they realize that that’s the last thing between them and the summit. Their dreams are within reach.

There’s just one problem: Winter’s injury is bothering him again. He can’t go on. Though they can make it to the summit within two hours and the weather could turn and change that any second, they make camp until he feels better. Later that night, though, Saxo wakes Franz up for a private word. Winter isn’t improving. He’s done… but they don’t have to be. Rudi can stay with Winter and they can get all the glory for themselves. It’s tempting but Franz refuses because that’s not how a guide from Kurtal acts. A guide from Kurtal cares more about his party than his ego. Of course, Rudi was awake and listening to this entire conversation because it was plot-relevant, so he asks his uncle if Saxo will really try this. Of course, he tries it, so Rudi sneaks out to go with him. He’s not giving up on his dream now that he’s so close.

Back on the ground, all of Kurtal is gathered around the telescope to see what’s going on. They can only see two of the four so they all discuss which two it might be. The conversation falls silent as Frau Matt makes her way through the crowd. She heard her son’s name and she’s horrified that her son would disobey her wishes and climb the mountain that killed his father. Even worse, the whole town lied to her about it. Lizbeth tries to stick up for him but Frau Matt pulls the “you’re too young to understand” card. However, this is a Disney movie. Lizbeth speechifies all about following your dreams and being true to yourself and stuff. Honestly, I’m making fun of the clichés, but it’s a very sweet scene. She loves Rudi for following his heart and she’d never be satisfied if he was unhappy with his choices. It moves Frau Matt, too. She finally realizes that she was never going to keep Rudi from being a guide. He’s Josef Matt’s son through and through.

By now, Winter and Franz have noticed Saxo and Rudi’s absence. They have to follow now, injury or no injury. The two of them are inches from the top now… but Saxo slips and falls right over a ledge. He survives, but he’s badly injured. Being the good guy he is, Rudi rushes down to help despite Saxo’s insistence that he leave him and become a hero. He’s finally learned his lesson about teamwork and selflessness. Glory means nothing if it means leaving another man to die. He’ll descend without ever seeing that summit if it means Saxo survives. Meanwhile, Franz and Winter find Rudi’s abandoned pack. At first, they think he’s fallen but if that were the case it would have fallen with him. Something’s happened. Winter picks up the pack because Rudi was adamant that Josef’s red shirt get up the mountain and he’s going to make it happen. Rudi and Saxo painstakingly descend as Winter and Franz ascend closer and closer to the top. Finally, Rudi and Saxo make it to the hut, exhausted and weak but alive against all odds. And as they do, Franz and Winter conquer the Citadel!

The whole town turns out to celebrate their conquering heroes with speeches and a marching band.  Kurtal will forever be known as the village that spawned the first men to ever reach the top of the Citadel.  Herr Hempel names the Citadel Winter’s and Franz’s mountains, but Winter isn’t about to just accept that.  He says it’s really Rudi’s mountain, and Rudi’s the real hero here.  Rudi’s just as confused as I am because he didn’t make it up at all, but heroism isn’t about who climbed to the top.  It’s about who was willing to sacrifice his dream to protect others.  At Winter’s urging, Rudi takes a look through the telescope.  There’s his father’s red shirt, waving victoriously from the summit of the Citadel.  Lizbeth rushes forward to reward him with tons of smooches and the whole town cheers.

What was up with the pacing of this movie?  Almost the whole thing was preparing to climb the Citadel or discouraging Rudi from climbing the Citadel.  The actual Citadel climb was smushed into the last twenty minutes.  Okay, the book was like that, too, but it was also weird there.  Also, sooo much of the movie was the main characters climbing up the rock face.  Soooo much.  Yes, this is a movie about mountain climbing but at least put in a little of the action.  Those scenes didn’t even have any music to underscore them.  I did like that Rudi had a character arc and Lizbeth was a cutie pie, but the parts I cared about were so few and far between compared to the endless four dudes on a rope in a wide shot so you can’t even see their faces.

CHARACTERS

Rudi Matt is the son of a great climber who yearns to finish what his father died starting.  Some reviews I read called him a cipher, but I don’t understand that.  He’s an optimistic dreamer in the vein of most young Disney leads, but he’s also deeply flawed, which makes him a much more interesting character.  Notably, he’s prone to fits of self-doubt and self-loathing and even more prone to selfishness, which he has to learn to grow out of.  That arc is the core of the movie.  James Macarthur is much better here than he was as True Son in The Light in the Forest.  This is largely because he got a script that consisted of more than repeating “I will kill Uncle Wilse” over and over again and didn’t have to speak in that weird pidgin English.  Once again, he filmed on summer break from Harvard.  He took such a liking to mountain climbing that during one break he just… climbed the Matterhorn.  Real casual.  No big deal.  It’s fine.

Captain John Winter is a famous climber, one of the best in the world… despite the fact that the only two things he really does both involve him getting injured.  We meet him at the bottom of a crevasse, and then he gets brained with a rock.  It’s kind of an informed attribute.  He does a fine job for climbing around in a three-piece suit and no gloves, I guess.  His actor, Michael Rennie, is best known for the acclaimed sci-fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still, or, if you’re me, the opening line from Rocky Horror.

Franz Lerner is Rudi’s naysaying uncle.  He’s the best guide in Kurtal but he, like the rest of the town, refuses to go anywhere near the mountain where his brother-in-law died.  That is, of course, until he gets the chance to stick it to the guy from the rival village.  He doesn’t really learn anything for his trouble, either, even though he ends up getting to the top of the Citadel.  James Donald had an illustrious career of bit parts, mostly military men and other authority figures.

Emil Saxo is the closest thing this movie has to a villain, but really he doesn’t do anything too evil.  Mostly, he’s just arrogant and in it to stick it to Kurtal.  Once Winter tells him and Franz to play nice, he becomes prickly but harmless, especially once Rudi sacrifices his chance at avenging his father to save his life.  Herbert Lom is probably best known for playing Charles Dreyfuss in the Pink Panther films but I was much more interested in his role in The Mysterious Island as my beloved Captain Nemo!  I mean, he’s not Indian, nor is he as incredible as James Mason, but it’s still Nemo and therefore I love him.  He also kind of looks like one of the seven dwarves in that hat.

Lizbeth Hempel is the cutest little bean ever to walk this earth.  I mean, Janet Munro was adorable in Darby O’Gill but oh my goodness I wanted to pinch her cheeks in this.  She’s Rudi’s super supportive girlfriend who has his back no matter what, as long as Rudi does what makes him happy.  It’s wonderful to watch.  Like Katie O’Gill, she knows what she wants in a man and she’s not having anything less.  She even almost gets to take part in some of the action, though not too much.  This is still the 50s, after all.  She’s also not in the book, which means Disney just added her to create a romance.  Normally that drives me crazy, but she fits in with the established story a lot better than, say Shenandoe in The Light in the Forest.

Teo Zurbriggen is the gruff but supportive mentor figure all these coming of age stories need.  He’s set up like he’s going to be, if not a villain, then at least an obstacle, but he really does want Rudi to succeed.  After all, he was permanently injured on the same climb Josef Matt died in, so he has a reason to be invested in seeing Rudi climb in his dad’s footsteps.  Laurence Naismith’s filmography is enormous so it’s not surprising that I had that feeling of “I know that actor” the whole time.  Upon looking it up for the blog, I found that he’s Mr. Fezziwig in 1970’s Scrooge (the Albert Finney one), which is one of my favorite Christmas Carol adaptations!  I watch this guy sing “December the 25th” every year!

MUSIC

When William Alwyn’s music is present, it’s pretty darn good.  There’s lots of accordion and polka music to remind us that this is all taking place in Switzerland, and some of the mountain sequences are accompanied by low, tense strings.  But in other mountain sequences, there’s nothing.  Nothing at all.  Now, this could have worked to emphasize how lonely and quiet the mountaintops are, but they overdo it.  I have to give a shoutout to the bright little whistling number that plays when Teo, Lizbeth, and Rudi are skipping through the meadow after a successful day of climbing practice.  It’s called Climb the Mountain, written by Franklyn Marks, and it’s just so cheerful and bubbly that I couldn’t help smile.  I’m 99% sure they play it in the Pinocchio’s Village Haus area in the Magic Kingdom because it sounds incredibly familiar.

Good Night Valais is the only “song” in the film.  The heavily layered choral arrangement makes it incredibly difficult to make out the words, but it’s kind of like a lullaby?  I think?  Anyway, it’s an incredibly weird way to start a party.  If you’re aiming for a traditional Swiss sound, why didn’t you start with the polka they play during the dance?  Is this normal?

ARTISTRY

The cinematography really is where this movie shines. Almost the whole thing was shot on location in Zermatt, Switzerland, which allowed for some stunning shots of the real Alps. It’s all sharp and clear and majestic, and the movie takes perhaps a bit too much time to show off the Matterhorn’s natural beauty. What few matte painting shots there were were done by- who else?- Peter Ellenshaw, back again to show off how great he is. But really, this is a very pretty movie.

THEME PARK INFLUENCE

photo credit

When Disneyland first opened, the border between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland featured a lovely mound of bare dirt left over from digging the moat around Sleeping Beauty Castle.  Walt’s original idea for that space was a combination of a toboggan ride and the emerging technology of a wild mouse coaster, but just a plain old ride isn’t the Disney way.  During the filming of Third Man on the Mountain, Walt sent a postcard of the Matterhorn that had inspired him.  Its recipient, Vic Greene, read a message that was short, sweet, and to the point: “Vic.  Build this.  Walt.”  The result was the world’s first tubular steel track rollercoaster in the world, the Matterhorn Bobsleds!  It’s gone through some changes over the years, notably the addition of some Yeti animatronics to add a sense of danger, but it’s still recognizable as the Citadel.  On special occasions, climbers in traditional Swiss garb even rappel up and down the sides.  Sometimes, the climbers are Mickey, Donald, and Goofy!

FINAL THOUGHTS

I really liked the characters in this one, and as I’ve mentioned, characters are the biggest thing I look for in a movie.  And if this thing had focused more on characters like Lizbeth, Teo, and Winter, I would have liked it a lot more than I did.  But it didn’t.  The focus was largely on the scenery, to the detriment of the main plot.  We didn’t even touch the Citadel until the movie was nearly over so it felt like a lot of build-up for a very little bit of payoff.  The actual climb felt super rushed and I didn’t feel like it was worth the hype.  It wasn’t a bad movie, but I can definitely see why this one isn’t better remembered.

Favorite scene: Lizbeth climbing around on the cabinets to remind Teo what good times they used to have in the mountains.  She’s such a cutie.  I love her bunches.

Final rating: 5/10.  It’s not bad, it’s not good, it’s just squarely middle of the road.