The White Tower (1950)

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