Third Man on the Mountain (1959)

Instant Favorite.

A lot of fun.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

A Walt Disney Production, released by Buena Vista in the USA: November 1959. New York opening at the Normandie: 11 November 1959. U.K. release through Walt Disney: November 1959. Australian release through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer: 17 March 1960. 105 minutes. U.S. TV title: Banner in the Sky.SYNOPSIS: A juvenile re-make of "The White Tower" which was based on a 1945 novel of the same name by — guess who? — James Ramsey Ullman. The bitterness and astringency of the 1945 novel has been considerably toned down here. The engagingly hard, lead characters, played in the 1950 film by Glenn Ford and Alida Valli, have been translated into porous teenagers, whilst the embittered philosopher (originally enacted by Claude Rains) has been transformed into a slightly physically handicapped but overall unconvincingly comic figure (Laurence Naismith). The less said about the rest of Ullman's self-bowdlerizations, the more you will enjoy "Third Man on the Mountain".NOTES: Location scenes filmed in Zermatt, Switzerland. Although the story is fictitious, the events closely parallel the first ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper, an Englishman, in 1865. Four members of the expedition were killed after reaching the summit. But the remaining three — including Whymper and a Swiss youth — returned safely. (Available on an excellent Walt Disney DVD).COMMENT: Despite all the compliments handed out to "Third Man on the Mountain" by contemporary critics, it is possible to justify a few negative comments: Though set in 1865, disappointingly little use is made of the period background; James Macarthur and Janet Munro are hardly convincing as Swiss peasants; but then neither are James Donald or Laurence Naismith; and my final gripe is that the story is both derivative and ridiculously clichéd, whilst the dialogue is often embarrassingly, amateurishly theatrical.Fortunately, none of these quibbles really matter. All told, they do little to undermine the breathtaking suspense of the mountaineering sequences and the stark beauty of the alpine scenery.OTHER VIEWS: Comes near being a primer for incipient climbers, and it stays exciting to the end...Like so many Walt Disney productions in this genre, it maintains a 'boy's book' tone... The suspense, which is high, springs from the very authoritativeness of setting and incident. — Paul V. Beckley in The N.Y. Herald Tribune.

I was an eye witness of the shooting in Zermatt. It was impressing, though (fortunately) not comparable to movie sets nowadays. But the narrow location of the village would anyway not have allowed the giant machinery of today. I like the movie very much, though the story does not exactly correspond to the real first access to the top and the names of mountain, village and persons are fictional.My report with photos are on the website of Michael Barrier (Disney expert in US). As Url's are not allowed, I can lead you to the site: Just type "Barrier Disney Third" in your browser.The first climbing took place in July 1865 - the 150th anniversary is the major event in Zermatt just these days !

Wonderful stuff! I saw this at a school screening in 1970, noticed over the years afterwards it was seldom shown on UK TV, however never forgot it even though I was never interested in becoming a mountaineer or a sherpa when old enough. It's a simple wholesome family Disney live action adventure, today's cynical polluted generations could probably spend days poring over its stereotypes and corn and missing the point: to enjoy a harmless 107 minutes with a feelgood movie.Young lad Rudi (James MacArthur) dreams of climbing the Matterhorn but is forced to be a hotel dishwasher instead, therefore something's got to give: you can't bottle the wind after all. He gets his chance when kindly top mountaineer Michael Rennie takes him under his wing much to his cautious uncle James Donald's disgust and later greasy guide Herbert Lom's disdain. Some splendid shots of bodies climbing impossible rocks, lovely sunny Swiss scenery and much angst between the characters leads to an admittedly rather flat conclusion, but all was well anyway. Rudi's doe eyed ever smiling girlfriend Lisbeth (Janet Munro) was perfect in her supportive role; it's always sad to recall how real life turned out so crap for her. Favourite bits: her charming meeting under her umbrella with Rudi and his boots in the rain; Rudi squeezing up the "chimney" – I nearly felt the panic. And as a sign of his parts to come I almost wished Lom had ended up stuttering and twitching!All in all, totally inconsequential entertainment, lovely to revel in and regret that not even Planet Disney can be as wholly heartwarming any more.

One of the well hidden Disney classics is Ken Annikens Third Man on the Mountains released in 1959. It stars Michael Rennie as Captain Winters who comes to a Swiss village to climb the Citadel, one of the worlds highest and most dangerous mountains and the peak that claimed the life of Rudy Matt's father, played by James McCarther. It was filmed on location in Zermatt Switzerland where the 14,000 foot Matterhorn stands. It is one of the great adventure films of all time taken from the book Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman. Very few movies have been made about mountain climbing, The Mountain with Spencer Tracy, The White Tower with Glenn Ford and The Eiger Sanction with Clint Eastwood. But Third Man on the Mountain has the most heart. All of the above films are on video tape.