Summertime
Middle-aged Ohio secretary Jane Hudson has never found love and has nearly resigned herself to spending the rest of her life alone. But before she does, she uses her savings to finance a summer in romantic Venice, where she finally meets the man of her dreams, the elegant Renato Di Rossi.
The Mountain Calls
During an early, unsuccessful attempt at climbing the Matterhorn, Edward Whymper finds himself rescued by an italian guide, Jean Antoine Carrel. The two men quickly build a friendship and agree to reach the peak together. However, local villagers ploto to divide the alliance of Whymper and Carrel and both men join rival teams as they set out in a race to conquer the mountain. A mountaineering drama based on the novel by Carl Haensel and inspired in the dramatic true story of Edward Whymper, who led the first successful ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. There is another version of the film titled The Challenge, shot the same year in English.
Alpine Refuges
Documentary on alpine refuges and the life of mountaineers. The film begins with images recreating vintage mountain climbers that end up spending a night in a fortune shelter. Then the scene is linked with images of a current refuge and explains how refuges are today, showing models and images of real refuges and explaining how life is in them and the role they play in mountaineering. The film was produced in 1942 by the Instituto Nazionale Luce during the Italian Fascist regime.
First in Line
A screen adaptation of the well-known novel by Roger Frison-Roche about the harsh lives of mountain guides and their families in the French Alps, near Chamonix and the French/Swiss/Italian borders... Like his father, Zian Servettaz is a dedicated mountain man. His Italian-born wife Bianca does not adjust well to his mountain village in France, and to the ever life-threatening dangers presented by his mountain guiding and climbing. She briefly returns to Italy and to her family. However, after Zian's insistence and trip to Italy, she returns to mountain life in the French Alps. Once back there, events will unfold, changing their lives as well as those of other mountain people forever.
Rocciatori ed Aquile
Presented as a kind of docu-fiction, the film shows training maneuvers by the young mountaineers of the Scuola Centrale Militare di Alpinismo (Military School of Mountaineering). Differents groups of rock climbers ascend the Winkler Tower and Torre del Vajolet. While ascending one of the towers, one of the climbers is attacked by an eagle that makes him fall and leaves him hanging on the rope. The film, produced in 1942 by the Instituto Nazionale Luce at the end of the Italian Fascist regime, was awarded in the Mostra Internazionale del Cinema di Venezia.
Champions on the Snow
A documentary illustrating the mountain sports activities of the university students of the GUF (Gruppi universitari fascisti) in Val Gardena, Madonna di Campiglio and Roccaraso. The film starts with a rock climbing winter ascent to Sasso Lungo (Langkofel). A party of four men make an approach on skis and climb roped from the base of the mountain to the summit. Then the film shows images of different competitions: ski (cross country, slalom, ski jumping), skating (figure, speed) and biathlon. A propaganda film of the Italian fascist regime.
The Challenge
During an early, unsuccessful attempt at climbing the Matterhorn, Edward Whymper finds himself rescued by an italian guide, Jean Antoine Carrel. The two men quickly build a friendship and agree to reach the peak together. However, local villagers ploto to divide the alliance of Whymper and Carrel and both men join rival teams as they set out in a race to conquer the mountain. A mountaineering drama based on the novel by Carl Haensel and inspired in the dramatic true story of Edward Whymper, who led the first successful ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. There is another version of the film titled Der Berg Ruft, shot the same year in German.
Piccoli Alpini
The film is a kind of docu-fiction about a boy who enrolls in a battalion of young mountain troops. The film follows his daily life in the military school and pays special attention to maneuvers and training exercises in the mountain, which include mountaineering and rock climbing lessons. The film, by Giovanni Vernuccio, was produced in 1942 by the Instituto Nazionale Luce at the end of the Italian Fascist regime, and was made with the collaboration of the 36th group of Alpine battalions 'Fabio Filzi' of the federal command GIL of Turin during the preparatory course for the festive camp of Balme.
White Wall
Two climbers progress on an alpine glacier and reach the top of a mountain by climbing a long and steep slope of snow and ice. They also have to climb a completely vertical wall of ice using crampons with frontal tips, ice nails, and rope stirrups. The film was produced in 1942 by the Instituto Nazionale Luce at the end of the Italian Fascist regime.
Monte Miracolo
An engineer struggles with his rival to receive the order to carry out an important construction in the Valle d'Aosta. Both opponents embark on a competitive alpine challenge, with the intention of being able to eliminate the opponent at the minimum opportunity. After an unfortunate accident, one of the two disappears. Although shot in 1943, the film was not released in Italy until February 1945.
Scuola di roccia
An exceptional cinematographic document on Emilio Comici, shot in 1938 in Val Rosandra by a MGM operator. The documentary shows Comici with the mountain guide Gianni Macor, in all the stages of the rock climbing technique, in the way of an instructional film. Comici, nicknamed the 'Angel of the Dolomites', is considered as the most extraordinary climber of the period between the two World Wars. He made over 200 first ascents in the Dolomites during his short career. Comici perfected the Bavarian technique of mountain climbing, and began the era of 'sixth grade' climbing. It was Comici who originated the concept of climbing direttissima routes, following the path a drop of water would take down the mountain.
Il richiamo dell'Alpe splendente
To honor the memory of the famous guide Luigi Comici, two climbers climb a sixth grade wall of one of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. The adventure of the two climbers, forced to stay overnight on the rocks, sometimes takes on dramatic aspects. During the break, one of the two mountaineers tells the other an episode of the First World War, which took place in those mountains. Two Italian Alpines, attacked by two Alpenjäger armed with hand grenades, repulsed them with stones. The film, originally titled 'Il richiamo dell'Alpe splendente' was distributed in 1949 by the Metro Goldwyn Mayer under the title of 'Cavalieri della montagna'.