Stellead
Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
ThedevilChoose
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Aubrey Hackett
While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Michael_Elliott
The Mountain (1956)*** (out of 4)A plane crashes at the top of a mountain and two brothers see the climb as two different things. Poor sheep farmer Zachary (Spencer Tracy) has no need or plans to climb the mountain but his greedy younger brother Chris (Robert Wagner) wants to climb it so that he can steal some gold that's supposed to be on the plane. Fearing for his younger brother's safety, Zachary agreed to take him up there but as the journey goes Chris begins to lose control of himself.THE MOUNTAIN is a film that deserves a better reputation. It seems that the majority of the people who actually watch it enjoy the film but the problem is that not too many have actually seen it. I'm really not sure why that's the case but it certainly deserves to have more people view it because it ranks as a pretty good character study but there's no question that the highlights are the breath-taking mountain climbing sequences.It's important to remember that this film was nearly four decades before Sylvester Stallone and CLIFFHANGER. The film manages to work extremely well as both a family drama as well as an adventure. The family drama works so well because both Tracy and Wagner are so good in their roles. Tracy is the firm man with integrity and this is the type of character that he could play in his sleep. The actor might have been too old to play the character but he's so good here that you really don't care. Wagner really has to play one really big and worthless creep. He does so without issue. Supporting players include Claire Trevor and E.G. Marshall in small bits.The real reason to watch the picture is certainly the adventure as the two brothers try to survive climbing up the side of this mountain. I thought the film manages to contain some nice suspense thanks to director Edward Dmytryk who manages to keep the film moving at a nice pace and he certainly knows how to milk the scenes of the men struggling. There's a nice twist that happens towards the end of the film, which I won't ruin but it adds some new adventures. THE MOUNTAIN works as a drama and also as a disaster picture and it's certainly worth viewing.
Neil Doyle
The awful miscasting of SPENCER TRACY absolutely ruins what might have been a very gripping film. He's cast as an experienced mountain climber whose younger brother, ROBERT WAGNER, wants to make the mountain climb to a plane crash where there are riches to plunder.The whole film is really a character study of the two men, a study in opposites. Tracy is a simple man of sterling character while Wagner excels in his bad guy role. But to accept them as brothers, with the huge age gap between them, doesn't lend credibility to the story and its many mountain scenes.The climbing itself is realistically done, but after awhile it becomes more of an endurance test for the viewer as the climbers experience several near fatal mishaps. All of it is filmed in mostly outdoor settings which are beautifully photographed. The stunning scenery is a delight to behold with only occasional studio shots subbing for the real mountain rocks.Summing up: Could have been much better with more accurate casting. Tracy was only 56 at the time, but looks more like Wagner's grandfather and lacks credibility as a mountain climber capable of rescuing single-handedly an Indian girl from the plane wreck.Where was Kirk Douglas?
john22900-725-426519
Although some criticisms of this movie seem fair on the surface such as the vast age difference between the two brothers portrayed by Spencer Tracy and Robert Wagner, most of the criticisms even as fair as they may be fall by the wayside when you start watching the film. This is basically a tale of two brothers, one good and one evil. The story just sucks you in to it and the characters and it doesn't let go even if the characters are much too simply drawn.The whole thing starts when a plane crashes on top of an Alpine peak.SPOILER ALERT! The first rescue attempt fails and ends in disaster. But then Wagner coerces his older brother Tracy into taking him up the mountain in order to rob the passengers of their money and jewelry. Tracy at first refuses these demands from Wagner until Wagner turns completely nasty to get his way.The climbing sequences are especially well done and certainly among the best mountain climbing sequences ever filmed.I certainly appreciated the high moral tone the film took in showing the stark difference between good and evil. Few films ever do that especially the modern ones which is one reason why I much prefer older films and classic films made during the golden age of Hollywood.
tohu
This is a really good, solid film from the 1950s American era. Spencer Tracy and Robert Wagner play two brothers who climb a mountain - but the characters and motives are very different, and there are twists in store when they reach the top.Tracy is always watchable, and this is no exception. He plays a simple man, a good climber and a deeply honourable person. His younger brother (a very beautiful-looking 26-year old Robert Wagner) is everything he isn't: greedy, lazy, shallow and petulant. The climbing scenes are terrific. Even if you aren't interested in climbing (I'm not) they are so precise and tense you will find yourself mesmerised. But it's really the actors, and the relationship between the two characters, who hold your attention.If you find this film on TV it's likely to be in the afternoon. And it's a very good way to spend a couple of hours. The cliché is unavoidable, but they really don't make them like this anymore!
