james_guest
An interesting comment by several reviewers - e.g. kitsilanoca-1 - is that the cast were not prima donnas. When Sir John Mills died his co-star in this film Sylvia Sims said that the whole cast was UNcomplaining about conditions. They had all just been through the war. Anthony Quayle for instance had been in the Special Operations Executive, the forerunner to the SAS, in Albania organising resistance. They were prepared to accept discomfort and even hardship in exactly the same way as any member of the crew. An attitude that was with them the whole of their lives. It may be this that makes the film so real and gritty.
writers_reign
I've managed successfully to avoid this movie for years more especially since easily satisfied acquaintances have, at regular intervals, urged me to see it. It's one of those things - like The Mousetrap, Phantom, Les Miz etc that are self-perpetuating so that people go to see them just because they are there rather than for any actual merit they possess. Finally, someone sent me a freebie (via a newspaper promotion) DVD and I decided to get it over with. As I suspected it is virtually interchangeable with the similar movies that the British film industry was turning out by the yard in the late fifties, no better and no worse, though in retrospect the young Sylvia Syms bore a striking resemblance to the late people's princess. She and Anthony Quayle had worked together the previous year - and with a similar lack of chemistry - in Woman In A Dressing Gown which, for some unfathomable reason, has just been reissued in the West End of London. If you like that sort of thing this is the sort of thing you'll like.
Spikeopath
Ice-Cold in Alex is directed by J. Lee Thompson and is based on the novel of the same name written by Christopher Landon. The latter of which co-writes the screenplay with T.J. Morrison. It stars John Mills, Sylvia Syms, Anthony Quayle and Harry Andrews. Leighton Lucas provides the music and Gilbert Taylor photographs in black and white.World War II and the British base at Tobruk, Libya, is attacked by the German Afrika Korps. During the evacuation 4 personnel are tasked with the mission to drive an ambulance across the desert back to British lines in Alexandria in Egypt. Captain Anson (Mills), MSM Tom Pugh (Andrews), Nurse Diana Murdoch (Syms) and Nurse Denise Norton (Diane Clare) are the four people in question, soon to be joined by a South African officer, Captain van der Poel (Quayle). Poel seems shifty, but his physicality and supply of Gin will no doubt be handy on this arduous trip. And arduous it will prove, as the elements, Germans and inner conflict will all test the group to the limit.It falls under the war movie banner, but the truth is that Ice-Cold in Alex is a different sort of animal. The core of Landon's story is to observe how a different group of characters cope in the face of mental and physical hardships. The war and the desert landscapes form the backdrop, but this is in essence a character study where the characters are defined by their actions. Thankfully the group of actors on show are able to turn in great shows to not let the slow structure of the film be a hindrance. Mills and Quayle especially bring a dynamic to their characters, drawing the viewer into the desert with them in the process. A number of quality scenes stand out in the picture, be it involving quicksand or trying to get "Katy" the ambulance over a hill, the tension mounts and the film never wants for effective drama. While the finale crowns the picture in a wave of humanistic collectedness. 8/10
Maddyclassicfilms
Although best known as the film where John Mills orders the most famous drink of beer in history,there is much more to Ice Cold In Alex than that.It's a tense tale of survival against both the odds and nature.Directed by J.Lee Thompson this British classic is based on a true Second World War story of courage and survival by novelist Christopher Landon.Here Landon joins T.J Morrison in writing the tense and gripping screenplay, there's some fine location camera work provided by Gilbert Taylor. The film stars John Mills, Harry Andrews, Sylvia Syms and Anthony Quale.Ice Cold In Alex begins in Tobruk,Africa in 1942,during the height of Rommell's desert campaign. Nervous, boozy Ambulance driver Captain Anson(John Mills)is ordered by his commanding officer to take his ambulance and head East.He's joined by loyal mate MSM Tom Pugh(the often underrated Harry Andrews)and two young nurses Diana Murdoch(Sylvia Syms)and Denise Norton(Diane Clare)who were left stranded when they were fired on during an evacuation attempt at the Harbour.Anson was recently captured by the Germans and escaped,(his escape forced him to walk through the desert for a couple of days without water) and is now reliant on alcohol.When their convoy is attacked the four are alone and he must try and stay sober to find a way of leading them to safety.Things get complicated when they are attacked by Germans and they pick up a stranded African soldier Captain Van Der Poel(Anthony Quale)who they begin to suspect is a German spy.Anson also slowly comes to realise that Diana is falling in love with him.The performances are the highlight here, Mills is perfect as the brave and cynical Anson,slowly snapping under intense pressure and trying to stay off the booze.He's matched well by Quale as the super strong enigmatic Captain Van Der Poel.Highlights include a nail biting walk and drive through a live minefield(which was an improvised sequence by the director),Van Der Poel getting trapped in a swamp and of course that famous ending in the bar.This is without a doubt one of the best survival stories ever filmed.
AD
