The Mountain (1956)

An airplane crashes in the French Alps high atop Mount Blanc. The younger brother (Robert Wagner) of a well known mountain climber (Spencer Tracy) pushes his older brother to help him climb the treacherous snow covered mountain where he plans to rob the plane and its dead passengers of their valuables. Based on the novel LE NEIGE EN DEUIL by Henri Troyat and directed by Edward Dmytryk (THE CARPETBAGGERS). Dramatically, the film suffers from the usually reliable Tracy in a weak performance. Tracy and Wagner had played father and son two years before in BROKEN LANCE and here they play brothers. There's a 30 year age difference between the actors that one can't ignore. Their mother must have had Tracy at age 16 and Wagner at age 46! I only bring it up because the age difference is so glaring that it can't help but permeate the movie. A major portion of the film is devoted to the dangerous climb up the mountain by the two men. Although the exteriors were shot in the French Alps, most of the mountain climbing sequences were done on a Paramount soundstage. The ending may cause some eye rolling but actually, I enjoyed it more than not in spite of its conspicuous flaws. The lovely score is by Daniele Amfitheatrof. With Claire Trevor, E.G. Marshall, William Demarest, Harry Townes, Anna Kashfi, Barbara Darrow and Richard Arlen.