Perilous Assignment (1959): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1959, Perilous Assignment is an adventure and documentary film directed by Hamilton Luske, running about 48 minutes.

What it’s about. "Perilous Assignment" is an episode of ABC's Walt Disney Presents. Disney loved to show viewers behind the scenes of the daring shoots of its theatrically released or TV shows. The theme of the episode is the making of his next film, The Third Man on the Mountain, an adaptation of James Ramsey Ullman's novel Banner in the Sky, based on the true story of the first ascent of the Matterhorn. Walt Disney will not be limited to a simple promotional making-of. He offers to meet exceptional people, including the French mountain guide Gaston Rébuffat. The latter will show climbing techniques and then reveal breathtaking images of his ascents of steep cliffs with a client for the ascent of Mont-Blanc, filmed for the occasion. In 1958, Walt Disney will therefore offer him to be deputy director on the high mountain scenes of the film "The Third Man on the Mountain".

Who’s in it. Perilous Assignment stars Gaston Rébuffat as Self (Le guide), Walt Disney as Self (Host), Maurice Baquet as Self (Le client du guide) and Georges Tairraz II as Self, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 10.0/10, Perilous Assignment sits among the best-reviewed titles in the catalogue.

Where to watch. In US you can rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies and YouTube. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Perilous Assignment page.

If you liked it. Fans of Perilous Assignment tend to enjoy The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Inception, Interstellar and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.