This routine fifties thriller is an anti-climax to the silent mountaineering adventures Luis Trenker fronted for Arnold Fank and films under his own, earlier direction though, dubbed and visibly aged, he is still able to carry Ferzetti a few yards on his shoulders and do the action star moves of the final shoot out.
Trenker and the feather in hat lot are crossing the mountains with packages of watches and drugs. Bogus tourist cop Nazzari and his lieutenant Ferzetti, who Trenker has brought down from a mountain injury, are under cover in the Dolomites trying to catch murderous cocaine smugglers.
Gabriele sparks well turned out blonde hotel maid Hold, who the local gropes unsuccessfully, while Amadeo visits the chalet of the motorist city woman, actually an agent of the bald, mustached nasty, given to polishing his cigarette case on his sleeve.
The leads go on a climb together which is the most interesting element of the film though pallid stuff without the ice axes, avalanches and spiked boots of the earlier films. Their half-hearted bonding, after a climbing accident, doesn't stop Nazarri using his secret short wave radio, hidden in the hay barn to call in the armed troopers while Mareschale Urzo rounds out the city duo. The pursuit on the mountains develops into a battle between the light machine guns of the forces and the mountaineers' shot guns and side arms with fatal consequences.
There is a bit of sunny alpine scenery with goats foregrounding the peaks, which is closer to HEIDI than DRAMA on the MATTERHORN. We also get a bit of studio mountain for no particular reason. The work is more like Nazzari's melodramas than anything we've seen from it's director and Amadeo is top billed and gets most screen time.
Production values are adequate, with a few attempts at atmosphere as when the mountain men set out at night through the searchlit trees where the (smoke bomb) mist is blowing. The leads register well enough but the support is poor.
Th e presence of members of Pietro Germi's team emphasise the similarity to his work of the day though this one is inferior to that also.
Trenker and the feather in hat lot are crossing the mountains with packages of watches and drugs. Bogus tourist cop Nazzari and his lieutenant Ferzetti, who Trenker has brought down from a mountain injury, are under cover in the Dolomites trying to catch murderous cocaine smugglers.
Gabriele sparks well turned out blonde hotel maid Hold, who the local gropes unsuccessfully, while Amadeo visits the chalet of the motorist city woman, actually an agent of the bald, mustached nasty, given to polishing his cigarette case on his sleeve.
The leads go on a climb together which is the most interesting element of the film though pallid stuff without the ice axes, avalanches and spiked boots of the earlier films. Their half-hearted bonding, after a climbing accident, doesn't stop Nazarri using his secret short wave radio, hidden in the hay barn to call in the armed troopers while Mareschale Urzo rounds out the city duo. The pursuit on the mountains develops into a battle between the light machine guns of the forces and the mountaineers' shot guns and side arms with fatal consequences.
There is a bit of sunny alpine scenery with goats foregrounding the peaks, which is closer to HEIDI than DRAMA on the MATTERHORN. We also get a bit of studio mountain for no particular reason. The work is more like Nazzari's melodramas than anything we've seen from it's director and Amadeo is top billed and gets most screen time.
Production values are adequate, with a few attempts at atmosphere as when the mountain men set out at night through the searchlit trees where the (smoke bomb) mist is blowing. The leads register well enough but the support is poor.
Th e presence of members of Pietro Germi's team emphasise the similarity to his work of the day though this one is inferior to that also.