Running the risk of repeating myself, I feel compelled to remind you that Disney has more films than you might imagine.  This occurs to me every time I am searching through the menus on the Mouse’s streaming service, Disney+.  I have reviewed many of them, and it will take some time to get to them all.  Today, I chose Third Man on the Mountain (1959) because I was in the mood for something classic.  My Catholic sensibilities were pleased when it gave me a few moments specific to my Faith, like road side devotionals and St. Christopher medallions.  I am not sure why this one is not more well remembered amongst what old man Walt offered to the world, but I was not alive in the 1950s, nor do I care enough to do any kind of deep research on the topic.  For whatever reason, people at that time did not want to see shots of the Swiss Alps.  Instead, I am going to tell you about them.

The thing that Rudi Matt (James MacArthur) wants to tell you is that he dreams of not being the Third Man on the Mountain, but the first.  Instead, he is a dishwasher at a hotel in a village in the Swiss Alps sometime in the mid-nineteenth century.  The peak in question is The Citadel, but he is roused from his musings by his boss, the cook, Teo Zurbriggen (Laurence Naismith), with a warning to be more attentive to the boy’s duties.  As Teo launches into a diatribe, the hotel owner’s daughter and Rudi’s crush, Lizbeth Hempel (Janet Munro), sneaks into the kitchen to distract Teo.  With the chef’s attention thus misdirected, Rudi climbs out the window to head into the mountains.  On the way, he passes one of those roadside devotionals mentioned in the introduction that bears his father’s name, a memorial to dad who died while climbing The Citadel.  While Rudi is commencing his explorations, his uncle, Franz Lerner (James Donald), comes to collect his ward.  Since the death of Rudi’s father, Franz has taken charge of his nephew and intends to have the boy enter business instead of becoming a mountain guide.  Naturally, this is exactly what Rudi wants to do, and we see how ready he is for such a lifestyle.  At one point, he calls out to the rocks around him and is surprised to hear a voice call back.  Looking down, he sees the unmistakable signs that someone has fallen into a crevasse on the nearby glacier.  Being the helpful lad that he is, he climbs down to render assistance and is further shocked to find that it is Captain John Winter (Michael Rennie), the legendary English mountaineer.  The startlement continues when Captain Winter learns who was Rudi’s father, a man with whom Captain Winter climbed and still holds in deep respect.  As they make their way back to the village, Rudi explains that his uncle and mother, Frau Matt (Nora Swinburne), will not be happy with what he has done.  This is made clear when Rudi enters their hut and mom and uncle know the young man is lying when he says he had been late at work.  As the argument over Rudi’s future commences, there is a knock on the door from Captain Winter.  The explorer has come to enlist Franz as a guide, who is in the family business as was his brother, and to ask that Rudi be their porter.  The boy can hardly believe his luck when Franz agrees, and in the morning, he goes with Lizbeth to pick out new gear at Captain Winter’s expense.  They plan to get near The Citadel, and for the first leg of the journey, things go smoothly.  Yet, as they sit contemplating the forbidding peak, Rudi goes off on his own because he believes he has a better route.  Instead, he gets himself stuck on a chimney rock and the others have to rescue him.  This is a climber’s shame, and those who have been observing their progress from the village, like Lizbeth, note that Rudi is between the other two.  This tells the story, and Rudi is embarrassed for some time afterwards.  His attitude is not helped when Captain Winter departs, and Franz and his mother double down on their insistence that Rudi concentrate on other goals.  Feeling like there is little hope for him, Rudi even refuses to dance with Lizbeth at the festival, and raises no objections when she partners with his rival, Klaus Wesselhoft (Lee Patterson).  Rudi is momentarily revived when he is told that Captain Winter has come back, but deflated just as quickly when the renowned mountaineer departs.  Captain Winter is going to try to scale The Citadel, and rumor has it that he asked Franz to join him.  Trying to renew Rudi’s spirits, Lizbeth and Teo encourage the young man to ask his uncle to consider going after Captain Winter.  Franz refuses, but Rudi goes anyway, soon joining Captain Winter and Emil Saxo (Herbert Lom), a guide from a competing village.  Captain Winter did not expect Rudi, but is happy to have him.  Still, the veteran tells the rookie to go back and collect Franz.  Though Rudi agrees, instead he tries to follow Emil and Captain Winter.  Doing so leads Rudi to the route to the top his father had discussed, though he could not make it on his own.  Monitoring things at the bottom, Lizbeth and Teo are concerned that they can only see two climbers.  Thinking there is something wrong, they convince the other guides, including Franz, to ascend The Citadel to find out if anything is wrong.  When they get to the hut, Franz relents and allows Rudi to come with them.  However, Captain Winter sustains an injury along the way, and Emil tries to go alone.  Not wanting to let this happen, Rudi gives chase and ends up having to rescue Emil when the visiting climber falls.  This means Rudi is not able to be with a rejuvenated Captain Winter or Franz, who make it to the top.  Nonetheless, Captain Winter insists on giving Rudi the credit when they return to the village, and the kid is cheered by all.

If only Third Man on the Mountain had been cheered by audiences.  Maybe it is because it is not about the first person to ascend The Citadel that confused people?  While it is a heroic undertaking to get to the top of such a peak, I would argue that it is Rudi’s actions that deserve more applause, particularly from a Catholic perspective.  What would have made this film even more perfect through this lens would have been if those devotionals discussed above had been an indication of a more serious take on the Faith.  As it is, I am left to analyze Rudi’s behavior, which is good enough to get the job done.  And as I said, they are worthy of praise.  The pivotal moment comes when Rudi is chasing Emil, sees the nearness of the summit, and turns aside to help a fellow climber in distress.  Further, when Rudi reaches Emil, the injured man tells the boy to go on without him.  Because everyone agrees that Rudi would have made it before the others, they decide to give him the credit for the final ascent.  It is the culmination of a Christian lesson he learns about guides that is instilled in him by Teo: they have to put others before themselves.  The word itself, “guide,” suggests this is true.  Jesus is often referred to as the “Good Shepherd,” who is someone that guides their flock for the benefit of the herd.  When they take an interest in what matters more to them than to the rest, then many suffer for their selfishness.  This is encapsulated in Rudi’s first outing with Captain Winter.  Upon getting stuck on the chimney rock, he endangers the others who have to make a risky rescue attempt.  Modern culture tells you to take all the glory you can for yourself.  Yet, it is better to look after others, and any recognition you get for doing so will have been earned.  I imagine our entrance into Heaven to be found by behaving in this manner.

What is heavenly about Third Man on the Mountain were the location shots of Switzerland, which had me heavily considering trying to move there while watching it.  There is some corniness to the film as it was filmed in the 1950s.  Otherwise, I did not have too many complaints.