Let's be realistic.

How sad is this?

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The title summits up this film The mountain itself is the real star of this film Great cinematography and breath taking special affects during climbing sequences. But they are not enough to offset a terrible script and really inept casting decisions. Quite frankly it's Spenser Tracey's worst acting job. He hated doing the role and stayed drunk for most of the shoot and it shows.He even broke a wine bottle on Bob Wagner's hand in a drunken rage which required stitches to close Tracey and Wagner as brothers was just beyond movie goers suspension of disbelief. Tracey overdoes the humbler mountain climber turned sheppard and turns him in to a caricature.Wagner actually is better. He was trying to break his All American Boy Next Door image. He starts out as sky instructor/gigolo desperate to get and when the plan crashes on the mountain he see a chance to Finally get the money to fund his escape.He really comes through in the finale confrontation. If you can just watch the assent and descent sequences you will appreciate the movie. It's when they are on thee ground that the story comes apart.

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.

This may be the Gilligan's Island of mountain movies - of course there aren't many movies like this out there anyway. There are no frills in this movie. The story is what it is and that is all it is. Plane crashes on mountain and feuding brothers with different sets of values climb to the crash for very different reasons. There are no sudden plot twists or surprises. It is an easy movie to watch without having to think too hard. A fine family film very much in the old Disney adventure vein. You can over analyze that Tracy and Wagner don't look anything like brothers or that some of the backdrops (especially from the dramatic narrow cliff-wall scene) don't quite make sense. There's quite a few yet minor logic failures. (I'll never understand why the original rescue crew had to walk all the way across that field carrying their wounded when a perfectly viable jeep was right there and could have helped.) Bottom line though: It's a good movie to enjoy - period.

This is just one of those movies that never gets old. I love the movie Spencer Tracy is one of the best actors of all time. They just don't make them like him anymore. The action and the drama is top of the line. Go out and Rent this or watch it when it shows up on AMC or TCM or on your local TV station at 2 am when ever you get the chance. You will not be disappointed. This is one of those movies that could never be remade in todays Market. Just who could replace Spencer Tracy or even Rober Wagner. I don't know what else to say about a movie in which climbing a Mountain could keep you interested for 90 minutes. Just the bond between the Brothers is such a great story Enjoy the movie.