Guileless, honest, inspiring
adventure film from Disney’s heyday, of the type that only seems more
refreshing as time goes on. Such confident directness is considered unacceptably
old-fashioned now, of course. A regular in some of the best live-action Disney
films of the time, such as The Light in
the Forest (1958), Kidnapped
(1960) and The Swiss Family Robinson
(1960), James MacArthur plays Rudi, a humble kitchen worker in a Swiss alpine
village in the late 1800s. Looming over the town is the tremendous mountain
known as the Citadel – played by the Matterhorn – which took the life of Rudi’s
mountain-climbing father years earlier. Rudi thinks of little else except
tackling the Citadel himself. He gets his opportunity when a famous mountaineer
(Michael Rennie) comes to town in search of a team to accompany him on a climb
to the summit. A combination of stunning location shooting and special effects
make this one of Disney’s most effective dramatic films.
No comments:
Post a Comment