Third Man on the Mountain

James MacArthur as Rudi.

I'm hoping that Disney+ will eventually provide an outlet for some of the studio's lesser-known live action films, such as The Sword and the Rose, The Fighting Prince of Donegal, and Third Man on the the Mountain. The subject of this review, Third Man on the Mountain (1959), chronicles the fictitious exploits of young Rudi Matt, whose father died while trying to reach the peak of a Swiss mountain known as The Citadel in the mid-1800s.

Rudi (James MacArthur) daydreams of scaling the treacherous rocks while working as a dishwasher. In his spare time, he seizes every opportunity to climb the smaller mountains surrounding his village. One day, he hears a distress call and rescues Captain John Winter--a famous mountain climber--who has become trapped in a crevasse. Winter wants to find an experienced guide to help him scale The Citadel. Rudi realizes this may be an opportunity to realize his dream, but first he must convince others that he's worthy of the climb.

Michael Rennie as Captain Winter.

Walt Disney, who enjoyed skiing vacations in Switzerland, acquired the screen rights to James Ramsey Ullman's 1955 novel Banner in the Sky. A winner of the prestigious Newbery Honor, Banner in the Sky was inspired by Edward Whymper's first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865.

The film adaptation was shot in 1958 in the Swiss village of Zermatt, with the Matterhorn standing in for the fictitious mountain The Citadel. Allegedly, it was during his visits to the set that Disney came up with the idea for the famous Matterhorn attraction at his Disneyland theme park.

In the lead role of Rudi, Walt Disney casts James MacArthur, the adopted son of actress Helen Hayes and author Charles MacArthur (The Front Page). MacArthur had previously starred in Disney's The Light in the Forest (1958) and would go on to appear in classics such as Swiss Family Robinson and Kidnapped (both 1960).

Janet Munro as Lizbeth.

A likable, enthusiastic actor, MacArthur lacked the screen presence to carry a film on his own. Thus, Disney surrounded him with a bevy of talented performers, such as: James Donald (Quatermass and the Pit); Michael Rennie (The Day the Earth Stood Still), Laurence Naismith (Greyfriars Bobby); and Herbert Lom (A Shot in the Dark). For Rudi's chaste love interest, Disney cast the talented Janet Munro, who had signed a five-picture deal with the studio (though she'd only complete four films). She and MacArthur would team up again in Swiss Family Robinson.

Third Man on the Mountain is shock full of thrilling mountain climbing sequences and jaw-dropping scenery. In fact, there's almost too much footage of Rudi and company scaling up the rocky walls and rappelling down them. The movie could have trimmed 15 minutes easily and told the story just as effectively. Still, the mountaineers obviously fascinated Walt, who devoted an episode of The Wonderful World of Disney to a behind-the-scenes look of the on-location shooting (which doubled as great "free" advertising, too).

While it doesn't rank with the top tier of Disney's live action adventures (e.g., 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Swiss Family Robinson), Third Man on the Mountain is a worthy juvenile tale of a young man achieving his dream. However, I am curious to find out whether mountain climbers back then actually wore the coats and ties depicted in the movie. I would have thought they'd opt for warmer clothing. So, if you're reading this and you're a mountain climber, please let me know in the comment section below!

Irwin Allen's The Lost World

A dinosaur gets his veggies.

One of my favorite movies as a kid was this 1960 popcorn movie based on the adventure novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A recent viewing (it's available on Amazon Prime) revealed that The Lost World is less enthralling to the adult me. While that was a somewhat disappointing revelation, I stand by my youthful memories to the extent that I can see its appeal to younger audiences. Plus, it's still a lively affair with a good cast and some nice special effects.

Claude Rains as Challenger.

As with similar fantasy adventures (e.g., Journey to the Center of the Earth), the first third of the plot is devoted to preparing for the expedition. This particular trek leads to a plateau in the Amazon where dinosaurs still roam. The intrepid explorers consist of: Professor Challenger (Claude Rains); a skeptical fellow scientist (Richard Haydn); big game hunter Lord John Roxton (Michael Rennie); journalist Ed Malone (David Hedison); a helicopter pilot (Fernando Lamas); and socialite Jennifer Holmes (Jill St. John) and her Poodle Frosty. (There's also an expendable, greedy guide and Jennifer's brother).

Shortly after the group's landing on the plateau, their helicopter is destroyed by a clumsy dinosaur. Still, getting back to civilization isn't the worst of their problems. There are also giant spiders, cannibals, a volcano on the verge of erupting, a revenge subplot, and the ominously-named "Cave of Fire" (think thin ledges and molten lava).

David Hedison and a pesky dino in the Cave of Fire.

As with 20th Century-Fox's superior Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959), live lizards are substituted for the dinosaurs. Naturally, these creatures can never capture the magic of the imaginative stop-motion creatures created by Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen in, respectively, King Kong (1933) and The Valley of Gwangi (1969). Still, the special effects, courtesy of Fox's resident expert L.B. Abbott, look convincing enough.

Jill St. John and Hedison.

It's the humans that keep The Lost World from being a better movie. Jill St. John is saddled with a silly character that wears pink pants, a pink belt, and pink boots...in the jungle. Even worse, she personifies the extraneous female added to an action movie simply to broaden its appeal. One can understand Challenger's frustrations with her, but his snippy remarks make him sound like a chauvinist pig. Michael Rennie and Fernando Lamas do what they can with their underwritten parts, while David Hedison comes off best as the film's de facto hero.

Ever-resourceful producer Irwin Allen recycled footage from The Lost World in a first-season episode of his TV series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-68) entitled "Turn Back the Clock."  Since David Hedison also starred in Voyage, it worked amazingly well. (For the record, Allen also recycled the plot and footage from his 1961 theatrical film Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea in a second season episode.)

A scene from the 1925 version.

According to some sources, Willis O'Brien sketched out sequences for The Lost World, which were never used due to budget constraints. Thirty-five years earlier, O'Brien did the special effects for a silent adaptation of Doyle's novel. Its climax featured a Brontosaurus destroying London--an undoubtedly expensive scene which doesn't appear in the 1960 version.

Doyle's book has served as the basis for several subsequent movies. A 1999 made-for-TV film doubled as the pilot for an Australian TV series based on The Lost World. The resulting series strayed mightily from the book, but retained the characters and was quite entertaining in its own way.

Arthur Hailey's "Hotel"

I always think of Hotel as a follow-up to Arthur Hailey's Airport--when, in reality, the former film came out first. Made in 1967, it was based on Hailey's novel of the same title. Of course, the movie's structure--different stories set in a grand hotel--harkens back to...well...Grand Hotel (1932). Still, it's a serviceable plot device; the key is to wrap the framing story around interesting ones involving the guests. In that aspect, one could call Hotel a reasonable success.

The central story revolves arond the future of the St. Gregory, a posh but aging and debt-ridden hotel in New Orleans. Its elderly owner, Warren Trent (Melvyn Douglas), has a standing offer from developers who want the real estate, but not the hotel. The other option is to sell to hotel magnate Curtis O'Keefe (Kevin McCarthy), who wants to transform the St. Gregory from an upscale hotel into a very commercial one. Neither choice appeals to Trent, so his general manager Peter McDermott (Rod Taylor) tries to put together his own deal.

Merle Oberon as the Duchess.

Meanwhile, a visiting British dignitary (Michael Rennie) and his wife (Merle Oberon) find themselves in a quandry when he accidentally kills a child while driving drunk and flees the scene. While he struggles with his conscience, his wife tries to strike a bargain with the blackmailing house detective (Richard Conte). Other hotel guests fall prey to a clever thief (Karl Malden), who steals room keys and then robs the occupants while they sleep. Finally, Peter can't help but notice O'Keefe's lovely companion (Catherine Spaak) and she apparently has eyes for him.

Screenwriter Wendell Mayes (Anatomy of a Murder, Von Ryan's Express) simplifies and downsizes Hailey's novel. In the book, Peter has a checkered past and is interested in Trent's secretary (who's missing from the movie). Mayes jettisons a major subplot involving an attempted rape, adds the romance between Peter and O'Keefe's girlfriend, and alters the climax. Undoubtedly, major alterations were required to keep the running time at two hours. Still, too much time is spent on Malden's key thief, whose every appearance is accompanied by a playful jazz theme that becomes unbearable.

Rod Taylor as the hotel's manager.

Just as the unflappable, efficient McDermott keeps the St. Gregory operating smoothy, Rod Taylor keeps Hotel moving along from subplot to subplot. A reliable leading man, Taylor got pigeon-holed as a likable hero, which sadly limited his big screen appearances after the 1960s. Lame pictures like Trader Horn didn't help either. Still, he shifted his focus to television in the 1970s, where he thrived for the next two decades in series such as Bearcats! and Falcon Crest.

French actress Catherine Spaak.

While it's entertaining to see classic-era stars such as Ms. Oberon, Conte, and Douglas, they have relatively little screen time. In contrast, too much time is devoted to Kevin McCarthy's one-note "villain" and Catherine Spaak's tedious love interest for Taylor. To the latter's defense, the French beauty is saddled with the film's worst dialogue. When Taylor discovers her wearing only her slip in his apartment, she tells him seductively: "Take off your jacket. You interest me."

Coincidentally, Spaak and Karl Malden appeared in another movie together six years later: Dario Argento's suspense film Cat O'Nine Tails. As pointed out in other sources, there's another bit of trivia involving Malden. After his thief discovers a stolen wallet only contains a few dollars, he blames his bad luck on the growing popularity of credit cards. Years later, Malden would make a famous series of commercials for American Express, advising consumers not to leave home without their credit card.

Eighteen years after the release of Hotel, Aaron Spelling--already flourishing with the similar series The Love Boat and Fantasy Island--produced a TV series based on Hailey's novel. James Brolin played the manager of the St. Gregory, which was now located in San Francisco. Other series regulars during the show's five-year run included Connie Selleca, Shari Belafonte, and Anne Baxter.

The Day the Earth Stood Still: Do You Remember the Three Words to Save the World?

If there were a Hall of Fame for Timeless Movies, then one of its founding members would be The Day the Earth Stood Still. I've probably watched it at least once every decade since I first saw it on NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies in the 1960s. When I was a youngster, the film's fantastic elements--and Gort, the coolest robot on celluloid--appealed to me. When I was a teen, its stern warning about the perils of nuclear war resonated with me. With each subsequent viewing, The Day the Earth Stood Still has revealed something new: presenting itself as a Biblical analogy, an editorial on the influence of media on public opinion, a portrait of fear of the unknown, etc.

The films opens with Klaatu (Michael Rennie), a visitor from another planet, and his robot Gort making an unannounced spaceship landing in Washington, DC. When Klaatu exits from his ship and reaches into his space suit, a nervous soldier shoots him. While recovering in Walter Reed Army Hospital, Klaatu meets with the President’s secretary, Harley. The alien explains he must deliver a critical message to all the leaders of the world. Harley explains that’s impossible because of global political tensions. Klaatu confesses that he does not understand human conflict. He decides he needs to learn more about Earthlings from living among them. He escapes discreetly from the hospital and, as “Mr. Carpenter,” takes a room in a boarding house.

The success of The Day the Earth Stood Still hinges, in large part, on the casting of Klaatu. Producer Julian Blaustein and director Robert Wise originally considered Claude Rains, but his stage schedule made him unavailable. 20th Century-Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck suggested Spencer Tracy, but Blaustein worried that a well-known star would be a distraction (interestingly, that concern didn't apply to Rains). It was Zanuck who eventually "discovered" Michael Rennie, who was peforming in the British theatre. The tall, low-key Rennie brought conviction to the role, but his greatest accomplishment was making the alien visitor seem human. This is no small feat, as evidenced by a scene in which Klaatu reads the words of Lincoln and wants to meet him. This sequence could easily have come across as hokey, but Rennie makes it quietly effective and even heartfelt (since Klaatu has finally found someone who gives him hope about the human race).

With a human-like alien, it was left to the robot Gort to bring an eerie, other-worldly quality to the film. To make the robot as physically imposing as possible, the producers hired Lock Martin, a 7' 7" doorman at Grauman's Chinese Theater. To make Gort even taller, Martin wore 4-6" platform shoes. Walking in the heavy rubber suit in high heels was physically exhausting. There were two suits, one that laced on the front and the other in back. Martin changed suits depending on the camera angle, so that it looked like Gort had no "seams." In some shots, a static model of the robot was used. That Gort model was later bought by Larry Harmon, overhauled so it didn't look much like Gort, and used in Harmon's Bozo the Clown television show.

In addition to its visual impact, The Day the Earth Still even sounds other-worldly thanks to composer Bernard Herrmann's innovative use of a theremin (shown on right). One of the first electronic instruments, the theremin is "played" by moving one's hands in front of it to change sound frequencies. Its distinctive sound became almost a cliche through repeated use in other sci fi films of the 1950s. Still, Herrmann' score remains an impressive achievement today.

Loosely based on the Harry Bates story "Farewell to the Master," The Day the Earth Stood Still features strong religious undercurrents. Klaatu becomes a Carpenter (if in name only). He performs a "miracle" of global proportions. He brings a message of peace, but is largely misunderstood. And, of course, he is murdered and resurrected. Producer Blaustein credits screenwriter Edmund H. North for adding these provocative layers on top of a traditional science fiction tale.

The cast, music, and richness of themes contribute mightily to the film's timeless quality. But it's the story--along with that awesome robot Gort--that makes The Day the Earth Stood Still popular with viewers of all ages. I love to watch it with young people and tell them that they will need to memorize the film's classic phrase and repeat it at the appropriate point in the film...or the Earth will be destroyed. You'd be amazed at how many different variations I've heard of: "Klaatu barada nikto!"