AllMovie

The British adventure film The Challenge is based on a real-life turn-of-the-century competition. The race is on between a team of British mountain climbers and a government-sponsored Italian team to conquer a hazardous alpine peak. Edward Whimper (Robert Douglas) heads the English expedition, while Jean-Antoine Carrel (Luis Trenker) is in charge of the Italians. Actual footage of the Alps is seamlessly blended with studio mockups. Emeric Pressburger, on the verge of his felicitous teaming with Michael Powell, wrote the original story for The Challenge.