The White Tower (1950)

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The White Tower is a rather plodding mountain climbing film made in 1950. What it lacks in a thrilling script it makes up for in dramatic scenery (filmed in the Alps) and wonderful colour photography.Alida Valli is Carla, the daughter of a legendary Italian mountaineer who wants to reach the summit of the The White Tower, the mountain that killed her father.She assembles a climbing party of six people for the ascent. Lloyd Bridges is the German Hein still true to Nazi beliefs of superiority and will power to conquer this mountain alone A reason why he sets a pace so others cannot keep up with him.Claude Rains is Paul Delambre, a French alcoholic writer who initially keeps up the pace with Hein but later struggles with his demons. Glenn Ford is the American former fighter pilot who was shot down in the area during the war. He is reluctant to join the party but has fallen for Carla.It is really a case of who will last the pace and who will fall by the wayside. Bridges rather misfires his German accent, as the film was made just a few years after the war finished, at least he does not get to hold back his villainy.

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.

Young woman returns to her Swiss hometown and is determined to climb a virgin peak, the infamous "White Tower", which even her mountaineer father could not scale. She recruits a disparate group of men to accompany her, including ne'er-do-well Glenn Ford who has love in his eyes. Screenwriter Paul Jarrico adapted James Ramsey Ullman's novel for the screen, with hardly a trace of good humor but much strenuous character interaction. The RKO production is solid, with a good deal of on-location shooting in saturated Technicolor, but there's nothing charismatic about these people. Driven into danger by different ideals, they're hardly more than stock figures. Some of Ray Rennahan's cinematography is striking (particularly at the beginning), and Roy Webb composed a lovely score, yet this is hardly a classic instance of rugged adventure. ** from ****

About the color anyway. I enjoyed this movie, especially Lloyd Bridges Nazi mountainclimber. But I only saw it in black & white, on video yet! That's right my Turner Home Entertainment copy (out of print apparently) of this film is black & white, and them being the Colorizaion Kings! Go figure.