''High Conquest'' is a 1947 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by Irving Allen and starring

Anna Lee Anna Lee, MBE (born Joan Boniface Winnifrith; 2 January 1913 – 14 May 2004) was a British actress, labelled by studios "The British Bombshell". Early life Anna Lee was born Joan Boniface Winnifrith in Ightham, (pronounced 'Item'), Kent, th ...

Gilbert Roland Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso (December 11, 1905 – May 15, 1994), known professionally as Gilbert Roland, was a Mexican-born American film and television actor whose career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice no ...

, and

Warren Douglas Warren Douglas (born Warren Douglas Wandberg; July 29, 1911 – November 15, 1997) was an American actor and screenwriter. Career Born in Minneapolis, Douglas was a 1929 graduate of Minneapolis South High School. He later attended the Minneapo ...

. It was adapted from the 1941 book of the same title by

James Ramsey Ullman James Ramsey Ullman (August 21, 1907 – June 20, 1971) was an American writer and mountaineer. He was born in New York City. He was not a "high end" climber, but his writing made him an honorary member of that circle. Most of his books were ...

. It was distributed by

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

Synopsis

In 1932 at the

Alpine Club The first alpine club, the Alpine Club, based in the United Kingdom, was founded in London in 1857 as a gentlemen's club. It was once described as: :"a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering, first of all in the Alps, members of whi ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Colonel Hugh Banning recounts a fatal expedition to the

Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

thirty years before in which a local guide fell and brought down an American climber, both tumbling to their deaths. Jeffrey Stevens, a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

and the son of the American who fell is heading to visit his father's grave, but rejects any suggestion that he should climb the mountain. He meets an attractive

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Marie who is returning home and the two hit it off. This provokes jealous from Hugo, the son of the guide who had died with Jeffrey's father decades before. Eventually Jeffrey is goaded into overcoming his fear of the mountain and taking part in a climb with Hugo, who tries to murder him at the summit.

Cast

as Marie Correl *

as Hugo Lanier *

as Geoffrey Stevens *

Beulah Bondi Beulah Bondi (born Beulah Bondy; May 3, 1889 – January 11, 1981)According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At ...

as Clara Kingsley *

C. Aubrey Smith Sir Charles Aubrey Smith (21 July 1863 – 20 December 1948) was an English Test cricketer who became a stage and film actor, acquiring a niche as the officer-and-gentleman type, as in the first sound version of ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937) ...

as Col. Hugh Bunning *

John Qualen John Qualen (born Johan Mandt Kvalen, December 8, 1899 – September 12, 1987) was an American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles. Early years Qualen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son ...

as Peter Oberwalder Sr. *

Helene Thimig Helene Ottilie Thimig (5 June 1889 – 7 November 1974) was an Austrian stage and film actress. Personal life Helene Thimig was the daughter of actor Hugo Thimig and the sister of actors Hermann and Hans Thimig. Thimig was married to the ...

as Frau Oberwalder *

Alan Napier Alan William Napier-Clavering (7 January 1903 – 8 August 1988), better known as Alan Napier, was an English actor. After a decade in West End theatre, he had a long film career in Britain and later, in Hollywood. Napier is best remembered for ...

as Tommy Donlin *Eric Feldary as Jules Koerber *

Mickey Kuhn Theodore Matthew Michael Kuhn Jr. (September 21, 1932 – November 20, 2022) was an American actor. He started his career as a child actor, active on-screen during the Golden Age of Hollywood from the 1930s until the early 1950s. He is noted fo ...

as Peter Oberwalder Jr. *

Louis Mercier Reverend Lewis Page Mercier (9 January 1820 – 2 November 1875) is known today as the translator, along with Eleanor Elizabeth King, of three of the best-known novels of Jules Verne: ''Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas'', ''From the Earth to ...

as Franz * John Good as Joel Hazlitt *

John Vosper John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

as Mr. Stefani * Wilton Graff as Mr. Douglaston *

Ferike Boros Ferike Boros (3 August 1873 – 16 January 1951) was a Hungarian-born American stage and movie actress. Biography Ferike Weinstock was born in Nagyvárad, Austria-Hungary, in 1873, Boros was on stage starting in 1893. She moved to London in 19 ...

as Grandmother on Train *

Maurice Cass Maurice Cass (October 12, 1884 – June 8, 1954) was a character actor on stage and in films and television shows. Born in Vilna, Russian Empire (modern day Vilnius, Lithuania) he moved to America at six years of age. When he was 17, he toure ...

as Tony - the Waiter *

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Robert ...

as Priest * Eddie Parks as Steward *

Mary Field Mary Field (born Olivia Rockefeller; June 10, 1909 – June 12, 1996) was an American film actress who primarily appeared in supporting roles. Early life She was born in New York City. As a child, she never knew her biological parents; ...

as Miss Woodley *

John Bleifer John Melvin Bleifer (July 26, 1901 – January 24, 1992) was an American actor whose career began at the end of the silent film era, and lasted through the mid-1980s. He appeared in feature films and film serials, and in a number of televis ...

as Traveler * Douglas Walton as Hugo Bunning as a Young man *

Regina Wallace Regina Wallace (September 1, 1886 – February 13, 1978) was an American film and theatre actress. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Wallace began her career in 1913, performing in New York, where she appeared in the Broadway play ''A Good Little De ...

as Miss Spencer

Production

Allen shot on location in Switzerland. He shot so much footage that he turned it into a documentary, ''

Climbing the Matterhorn ''Climbing the Matterhorn'' is a 1947 American short documentary film directed by Irving Allen. It won an Oscar at the 20th Academy Awards The 20th Academy Awards were held on March 20, 1948, to honor the films of 1947. It is notable for b ...

'', which won an Oscar. He used color film from Ansco on the understanding that if the results were unsatisfactory the company could have the film back. However, the results were so good Ansco did a deal with Allen for him to use three films in color.

References

External links

* * 1947 films 1947 romantic drama films American black-and-white films American romantic drama films Films based on American novels Films directed by Irving Allen Films scored by Lyn Murray Films set in Switzerland Films set in London Films set in the Alps Films set in the 1930s Films shot in Switzerland Monogram Pictures films Mountaineering films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{action-film-stub