Main Cast: Glenn Ford, Alida Valli, Claude Rains, Oscar Homolka, Cedric Hardwicke
Release Year: 1950
Country: US
Run Time: 98 minutes
Plot
Glenn Ford stars as American pilot Martin Ordway, who joins an expedition to scale a treacherous Swiss mountain peak. Each of the climbers has a special reason to reach the top. Dissolute French author Paul DeLambre (Claude Rains) is searching for a purpose in life; guide Andreas (Oscar Homolka) is doing his job; British naturalist Nicholas Radcliffe (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) hopes to uncover new forms of flora and fauna; Carla Alton (Alida Valli) wants to conquer the mountain that claimed her father's life; Ordway has fallen in love with Alton and wants to be near her; and ex-Nazi Mr. Hein (Lloyd Bridges) hopes to escape his past. As the climb progresses, each member of the party reveals his or her true character, and it isn't always pretty. Originally slated to be produced by Adrian Scott and directed by Edward Dmytrk, The White Tower was assigned to Sid Rogell and Ted Tetzlaff when Scott and Dmytrk were blacklisted. Another future blacklistee, Paul Jarrico, adapted his screenplay from a novel by James Ramsey Ullman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Mountain climbing movies are a tough act, and while The White Tower is a moderately entertaining entry into this unusual genre, it's not the one that proves the game is worth the candle (dramatically speaking). As with many other films of this type, Tower gathers together a motley crew and puts them through the torturous ascent, during which they discover important truths about themselves and their true characters. Unfortunately, the truths that they discover are fairly clichéd, and so we spend a lot of time with stock characters, who in turn spend much more time than is necessary hashing and re-hashing things we know about them already. On the plus side, however, these characters are enlivened by a solid cast, starting with Glenn Ford's likeable Ordway. While Ford's performance is not one of his finest, it's important in keeping audience interest, as his appealing quality goes a long way. Alida Valli is appropriately alluring (in a good way), Claude Rains does the best that can be expected with his melancholy character, and Oscar Homolka finds freshness in what could be rather stale proceedings. Of course, it's the mountain climbing moments that count, and director Ted Tetzlaff and cinematographer Ray Rennahan turn in sterling work here. (Make sure you watch the color version, rather than the inferior black-and-white.) Tower doesn't approach the heights of its subject, but it does offer enough assets to make it worth a viewing. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
