'' I'd Climb the Highest Mountain'' is a 1951

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

religious drama film made by

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. It was directed by Henry King and produced by Lamar Trotti from a screenplay by King and Trotti. The story is based on a 1910 novel by Corra Harris about a minister and his wife in southern Appalachia (specifically Mossy Creek, Georgia) in the early 20th century. The music score was by

Sol Kaplan Sol Kaplan (April 19, 1919 – November 14, 1990) was an American film and television music composer. Life and career Kaplan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He worked as a successful concert pianist, including performing at Carnegie Hal ...

and the cinematography by

Edward Cronjager Edward Cronjager (21 March 1904 – 15 June 1960) was an American cinematographer whose career spanned from the silent era through the 1950s. He came from a family of cinematographers, with his father, uncle, and brother all working in the film ...

. The film stars Susan Hayward and

William Lundigan William Paul Lundigan (June 12, 1914 – December 20, 1975) was an American film actor. His more than 125 films include '' Dodge City'' (1939), ''The Fighting 69th'' (1940), ''The Sea Hawk'' (1940), ''Santa Fe Trail'' (1940), '' Dishonored Lady ...

with

Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as '' How to Marry a Milli ...

, Barbara Bates,

Gene Lockhart Edwin Eugene Lockhart (July 18, 1891 – March 31, 1957)"Gene Lockhart"
''The ...

Alexander Knox Alexander Knox (16 January 1907 – 25 April 1995) was a Canadian actor on stage, screen, and occasionally television. He was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe for his performance as Woodrow Wilson in the film '' Wilson'' (1944). ...

and

Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was a film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through the 1940s. ...

. The movie was shot in

Dawsonville, Georgia Dawsonville is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,536 at the 2010 census, up from 619 in 2000. Dawsonville is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

, an unusual and out-of-the-way location at the time. Other scenes were shot in Sautee-Nacoochee, Georgia ,

Demorest, Georgia Demorest is a city in Habersham County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,823 at the 2010 census, up from 1,465 at the 2000 census. It is the home of Piedmont University. Geography Demorest is located in south-central Habersham Count ...

, and

Cleveland, Georgia Cleveland is a city in White County, Georgia, located northeast of Atlanta and southeast of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Its population was 3,410 at the 2010 census (up from 1,907 in 2000). It is the county seat of White County. Cleveland is home to ...

. On June 1, 1950, Hayward nearly lost her life when she slipped near a waterfall she was photographing. Luckily, William Gray, a studio chauffeur, caught her and they escaped with only minor injuries. (Hayward would later move to another part of rural Georgia a few years later, settling down to farm and ranch with her second husband when she was not making films. The couple are buried near the town of

Carrollton, Georgia Carrollton, Georgia is a city in the northwest region of Georgia, about 45 miles (72 km) west of Atlanta near the Alabama state line. It is the county seat of Carroll County, which is included in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. Historically, ...

Plot summary

William Thompson (

) is a minister from the Deep South who has recently married Mary Elizabeth ( Susan Hayward), a woman from the city. William is assigned a new parish and moves with his wife to a town in Georgia's

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the world, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsy ...

, where he tends to the spiritual and emotional needs of his small flock. The poverty and isolation of the region, and the everyday problems of local people, put a strain on the couple's faith and marriage.

Cast

* Susan Hayward as Mary Elizabeth Eden Thompson *

as Rev. William Asbury Thompson *

as Jack Stark * Barbara Bates as Jenny Brock *

Gene Lockhart Edwin Eugene Lockhart (July 18, 1891 – March 31, 1957)"Gene Lockhart"
''The ...

as Jeff Brock *

as Mrs. Billywith *

Ruth Donnelly Ruth Donnelly (May 17, 1896 – November 17, 1982) was an American film and stage actress. Early years and family Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Donnelly was the daughter of Harry Augustus and Bessie B. Donnelly. Her uncle, Freder ...

as Glory White *

Kathleen Lockhart Kathleen Lockhart (née Arthur; 9 August 1894 – 18 February 1978) was a prolific English-American actress during the early-mid 20th century. Early life Kathleen Arthur was born on August 9, 1894 in Southsea, Hampshire, England. Caree ...

as Mrs. Brock *

as Tom Salter

References

External links

* * * * 1951 films 1951 drama films Films directed by Henry King Films shot in Georgia (U.S. state) Films set in Georgia (U.S. state) Films set in the 1910s Films set in the 1920s Films set in the 1930s Films set in the 1940s Films based on American novels Films with screenplays by Lamar Trotti 20th Century Fox films American drama films Films scored by Sol Kaplan 1950s English-language films 1950s American films {{1950s-drama-film-stub