La neige en deuil

In this adventure film in the Swiss Alps, a plane crashes and there are plans to make a climb to see if there are survivors. Spencer Tracy does a very good job as a Swiss mountain man who has lived there his whole life and knows the mountain like the back of his hand. His younger brother?, Robert Wagner, who is well over thirty years younger (this narrative was extremely hard to swallow), is a greedy, murderous creep, who thinks the world owes him a payday. Wagner is amazingly convincing in the role, even though in most former and latter roles, he was generally a substandard actor. Maybe this film was a taste of things to come in the future.

The emotional power of Dmytryk's films may derive from his range of vision always patronizing his characters, restoring honesty and ability to a style and realism...

For Tracy climbing a mountain is a matter of integrity... The conquest of a peak brings moments of exultation and bliss... What he gets from the adventure is just sheer joy... He is simple, kind and sincere...

All brothers dream, but Tracy dreams for the little... He sees life in an honest way... His brother (Wagner), at the contrary, dreams big and with open eyes to make it reality...

When a plane crashes on the top of the mountain, Wagner insists on going up to plunder the remains of the wrecked plane... Spencer accedes to the request to stop his spoiled younger brother to climb the mountain alone...

The avaricious brother is a novice in climbing techniques... He is seeking outdoor adventure only to bring gold and silver, and to strip the dead passengers robbing their money, jewelry and goods...

Tracy - with previous mountaineering experience - had something else in him which responds to the challenge and goes out to meet the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward to shield the safety of his brother with passion and enthusiasm...They are two generations apart, two opposite characters with two utterly different goals...

After a long and hard journey up the mountain, they succeed to reach the airplane wreck and to find that one passenger is still alive - a Hindu girl (Anna Kashfi).

A concerned Tracy gives all his good nature assistance as a caring human being to the injured delicate girl... But an unscrupulous brother intends to murder the helpless woman in order to steal her precious gem...

With the most gorgeous natural areas around; large fields with many ridges and faces; difficult rock climbing; and weak snow bridges, Dmytryk adds to the drama (in VistaVision and Technicolor) the magic and beauty of the high mountain country...

This is just one of those movies that never gets old. I love the movie Spencer Tracy is one of the best actors of all time. They just don't make them like him anymore. The action and the drama is top of the line. Go out and Rent this or watch it when it shows up on AMC or TCM or on your local TV station at 2 am when ever you get the chance. You will not be disappointed. This is one of those movies that could never be remade in todays Market. Just who could replace Spencer Tracy or even Rober Wagner. I don't know what else to say about a movie in which climbing a Mountain could keep you interested for 90 minutes. Just the bond between the Brothers is such a great story Enjoy the movie.

Here is Spencer Tracy doing what Spencer Tracy does best; live the part. He is one of only a few actors that engage you with almost no dialogue. The story is simple; Indian plane crashes on a mountain and two brothers climb to reach the wreckage; both for very different reasons.

The movie is filled with spectacular climbing footage, and incredible vistas. (It was filmed in VISTA-VISION you know) It's a journey between two brothers and the guilt that one carries for what he perceives to be his failings in raising the younger. Robert Wagner plays the young brother who only cares for money and greed. (he has no redeeming qualities whatsoever) Spencer is the elder who embodies all that is good and just. The Mountain serves as the grand reminder of how small we really are, but also the great feats we can accomplish.

Rent it. Watch it. I guarantee you'll enjoy it.

This film has two fine performances from the great Spencer Tracy and the young Robert Wagner. The story is taut, suspenseful, and the climbing scenes are fantastic. If you haven't seen this film, check it out (it's shown regularly on American Movie Classics here in the USA and is also available on video). If you truly have an appreciation for good films and solid acting, you won't be disappointed.