SNOWBOUND

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SNOWBOUND (director: David MacDonald; screenwriters: Keith Campbell/David Evans/based on the novel “The Lonely Skier” by Hammond Innes; cinematographer: Stephan Dade; editor: James Needs; music: Cedric Thorpe Davie; cast: Robert Newton (Derek Engles), Dennis Price (Neil Blair), Mila Parély (Carla Rometta, alias Comtessa Forelli), Stanley Holloway (Joe Wesson), Guy Middleton (Gilbert Mayne), Marcel Dalio (Stefano Valdini), Herbert Lom (Von Kellerman, alias Keramikos), Willy Fueter (Aldo-innkeeper), Catherina Ferraz (Emilia, innkeeper); Runtime: 90; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Aubrey Baring; Universal International (Gainsborough Pictures); 1948-UK/USA)
“The story is not convincing and neither is the studio bound snow, but most of all its lack of action should disappoint viewers.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

Scottish-born film-maker David MacDonald(“A Lady Mislaid”/”Man in Demand”/”Triple Blackmail”) directs this thriller that’s set in the Italian Alps, where Nazi loot that was hidden during the war is searched for by various concerned parties that include a former British intelligence officer. It’s based on the novel “The Lonely Skier” by Hammond Innes. The searchers, congregating at a remote skier’s inn in the Italian Alps, include a film director (Robert Newton), a former British intelligence officer, and his screenwriter (Dennis Price); a soft-spoken ex-Gestapo officer (Herbert Lom), who wants the gold for a Fourth Reich; a renegade British officer (Guy Middleton), who stole the identity of another soldier and wants the gold for himself; a Brit movie cameraman (Stanley Holloway), an Italian courtesan countess (Mila Parély), the film’s heroine, with links to the Nazis in the past when known as Carla; and her criminal enabler (Marcel Dalio). Things freeze over when this motley group become snowbound in the same inn, and have no luck finding the gold.

The story is not convincing and neither is the studio bound snow, but most of all its lack of action should disappoint viewers. What it does well is let a fine cast of character actors go overboard in the acting department and they keep things entertaining.

REVIEWED ON 8/27/2015 GRADE: B-

Dennis Schwartz: “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”

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