utgard14 Underrated Disney gem about a young man named Rudi (James MacArthur) in 1800s Switzerland who yearns to follow in his mountain guide father's footsteps, despite the objections of his mother and uncle. Together with a renowned British mountain climber (Michael Rennie) whose life he saved, Rudi sets out to climb the formidable mountain known as the Citadel, which is the same mountain his father died on years before.Wonderful old-fashioned family adventure tale with a fantastic cast and some stunning photography. James MacArthur and Michael 'Klaatu' Rennie are both great. Beautiful and charming Janet Munro plays the girl in love with MacArthur. The two would reunite the following year in Swiss Family Robinson. Solid support includes James Donald, Herbert Lom, and Laurence Naismith. MacArthur's mother, Helen Hayes, has an unbilled cameo as a tourist. The story is heartwarming and positive, well-acted and directed. It's a gorgeous-looking film, shot mostly on location in Switzerland. Also some of the most exquisite matte paintings I've seen in a film. Can't stress enough how lovely it is to look at. All our CGI and green-screen hoopla can't match it. This is really a good movie and most people have probably never heard of it. Seek it out ASAP!

Spondonman 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.

treeline1 The story opens in the mid-19th century in a picturesque Swiss village under the towering Citadel. Young Rudi Matt (James MacArthur) wants desperately to be a famous climbing guide like his late father and finally gets the chance to accompany an English climber (Michael Rennie) on a trek up the never-before-scaled mountain.If you like mountain climbing, you'll love this movie which was beautifully filmed on location in Zermatt and the Matterhorn. The story is pure Disney with an idealist hero, his spunky girl friend (Janet Munroe), and lot of lovable villagers looking after them. MacArthur is sweet and boyish and contrasts well with Rennie's sophisticated gentleman. The first half of the movie was more interesting for me than the final ascent (featuring Herbert Lom as a semi-villain), which was somewhat anti-climatic, but it's a feel-good movie all the same.An interesting note: Walt Disney loved the location so much that he built the Matterhorn bobsled ride at Disneyland after filming this movie.

DEMILLE-2 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.