Snowbound (1948)

A British Army veteran (Dennis Price) pretends to be a writer while staying at an unfashionable ski lodge in the Italian Alps at the request of his former commanding officer (Robert Newton). He's unsure why he's supposed to be there other than perhaps to keep an eye on a Contessa (Mila Parely) but the real reason involves gold hidden by the Nazis during the waning days of WWII. Based on the novel THE LONELY SKIER by Hammond Innes and directed by David MacDonald. I enjoyed this engaging thriller for the most part until its disappointing conclusion which seemed arbitrary and a bit of a cheat. It's a pity that the film's budget didn't allow for Technicolor because the snowbound alpine locations are quite attractive although Stephen Dade's (ZULU) B&W cinematography is well done. A nice assortment of disparate characters well played by character actors contributes to the film's sense of mystery. With Herbert Lom, Marcel Dalio, Stanley Holloway, Zena Marshall and Guy Middleton.