Ice Cold in Alex (1958) User Reviews

Excellent film

[cllr-roger-smith · 9/10 · 19 April 2005]

I recently watched the film again after many years. It bears its age well and I had forgotten the number of nail-biting sequences: brigadier's car blown up, chase by Germans, second check by Germans, Anthony Quayle in the quicksand, and best of all, "winding" the ambulance up the sand cliff to get out of the Qattra Depression, etc. Etc.

The four main characters play their roles well although my personal favourite is Anthony Quayle as the South African/German. He successfully conveys a figure of strength and confidence, balanced by a sense of defeatism when his true identity is revealed.

John Mills is solid in his playing of the worn-out but still dogged British officer although he is diminutive against Anthony Quayle and Harry Andrews.

Sylvia Sims is plucky and just about believable whilst Harrt Andrews is totally dependable as the sergeant.

Altogether a cracking film !

An excellent movie about how people really can work together

[shadow-41 · 8/10 · 16 November 1998]

This film really brings out how people can overcome their differences, no matter how large or seemingly-impossible, and work together for their own survival.

Anthony Quayle acted his part with perfection, staying both loyal to his own cause, AND to the common cause of survival.

He did not turn anybody over to the German army despite the many opportunities, but turned each incident into an advantage that helped all concerned.

Also the matter of alcoholic addiction was portrayed excellently by John Mills, and the self-realisation which led to his overcoming of the problem was quite poignant.

Overall I would recommend this film as one of the classics amongst war-theme movies. It gets behind the scenes and down to the really important matter of real people and THEIR perspective of things.

Further proof that characterisation and story is the equal of multi-million dollar budgets

[artrex01 · 9/10 · 25 January 2007]

I must have watched this film more than 10 times, and have enjoyed it. I especially enjoy the story of triumph over adversity; both in terms of the adversity of nature itself, as well as human nature.

The subplot of the commonality of humanity, together with the final denouement adds to my enjoyment.

As an Englishman living in Australia, I appreciate, especially the final scene in the club. I never fail to relish a glass of beer, or to finger-wipe the condensation on the glass.

(PS I would have made it 10 out of 10 if Miss Syms could have unhooked two more buttons on her shirt)

One of strongest character driven war films ever.

[Doctor · 10/10 · 29 August 1999]

This is a masterly example of how to make a film. The plot is simple, how to get an ambulance from behind enemy lines to safety, but it's given such force and power by the characters thrown together to achieve this. The alcoholic burnt out Captain, the solid Sergeant Major, the plucky nurse and the mysterious stranger. The performances are somewhat mannered by todays standards however they are all excellent, especially Harry Andrews (who rarely gets a mention) but who is the solid rock that holds the other characters together. Don't miss the original UK version, the shortened US version may be safely passed over. This film shows it is possible to make an interesting war film with hardly any violence.

All against the desert

[thekennelman · 10/10 · 10 January 2002]

Army ambulance Captain Anson is ordered out of Tobruk just before it is besieged in 1942. He is fatigued by battle, dependent on drink, and despised by his friend and fellow officer who wrongly suspects him of asking to be released from the siege.

With Sergeant Pugh, the squadron's senior mechanic he prepares to leave, but enemy action separates them from the rest of the column and presents two nurses as unwelcome passengers. They later encounter Van der Pol, an ebullient South African Officer who offers to share his large rucksack of gin if the ambulance crew will give him a lift. The five then set off eastwards, trying to reach Alexandria, and safety.

But nothing about the journey is straightforward and Anson must deal with the desert, enemy forces, his own alcoholism, and the growing realisation that one of their number is an enemy agent. An incident in which one of the nurses is killed forces Anson to face up to his drunkenness and he promises his next drink won't be until they reach 'Alex' and it will be a cold beer, giving the film its title.

As the journey progresses the identity of the agent becomes obvious, but in parallel the others find themselves becoming drawn to him because of his bravery and integrity. The setbacks and hazards in the desert asks tough questions of them all, but none more difficult than how to remain loyal both to their country and to an enemy soldier to whom they each owe their lives.

John Mills as Anson, and Anthony Quayle as Van der Pol head an excellent and well-directed cast. Sylvia Simms and Harry Andrews support, without taking the limelight and although the script occasionally dips below standard, nothing can really detract from one of the finest wartime stories ever told.

Human vulnerabilities in a hostile environment

[alexandra-25 · 11 June 2005]

I am not a great fan of war genre, but this film is brilliant for several reasons. First of all the film is well acted by a cast who know what good acting is. This can be particularly said of the late Sir John Mills; a dedicated actor who really knew how to play all his characters well.

The film is also great for its suspense, which kept me gripped all the way to Alexandria.

However, what makes the film stand out, is how the adversity of a hostile environment, such as the dessert brings out the positive qualities of human nature, which serve to unite man -and woman -kind. This puts the idea of war into perspective as insignificant when faced with nature's raw and hostile conditions. It illustrates that as humans we need to unite and work together to combat adversity, while respecting the power of nature.

Makes you want a cold beer afterwards

[sjl004 · 7/10 · 11 June 2005]

The distance the team have to travel is shown also in the stretch and strain put on them physically and mentally and reminds me of the Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The best moment is towards the end when the captain yells at the girl "Don't stand there thinking about your relationship and forget the make-up!".

The suspicions arisen about a character member added to tension in addition to the English groups trip through perilious desert terrain under constant threat from the German enemy, the heat and the desert itself. Romance is added to the war theme and a great supporting cast brings a warmth to the intense heat of the African sands.

You Taste and Feel the Sand in Your Mouth and Eyes

[kitsilanoca-1 · 10/10 · 29 October 2006]

This taut, engrossing and exciting war drama is more a fascinating character study than just another WWII film. Made in the sweltering heat of the northern Sahara Desert of Libya, I found myself sitting up until 2 am to see it through to the end, enjoying every minute of it, feeling like I was experiencing every task of the events in the story along with the characters.

The story tells of ambulance corps officer played by John Mills named Captain Anson, whom the war has driven to drink, who is unwillingly ordered to leave besieged Tobruk before the Germans break through and take the strategically important town over. In his ambulance he takes with him two young nurses, along with the stalwart Sergeant Major Tom Pugh played by Harry Andrews, and heads out across the desert for Alexandria in Egypt. Their journey leads them through many obstacles, and along the way they pick up the enigmatic South African army officer, Captain van der Poel (van-der-POO-el he corrects them in his distinctly Afrikaner accent) played by Anthony Quayle, who has become detached from his unit and is looking for a lift. Can they beat the elements of the desert and make it to Alexandria, where Anson knows of a certain bar that serves the ice cold lager he so longs for and promises the others?

In height and build Mills is a much smaller next to big men like Andrews and Quayle, but I was very impressed with how his strong acting and personal inner character make him seem as tall and broad shouldered as the other two. I also admired how the whole cast put their all into the many no doubt very difficult scenes, obviously having to deal with the physically exhaustive work that was asked of them, the tortuous heat and sand fleas nipping at their legs. I could see they were feeling the affects and that adds to the realism of the whole film. Note even the lovely Sylvia Syms as the seemingly unshakable nurse Sister Diana Murdoch, didn't avoid having to look hot, sweaty and bothered like her male co-stars, unlike some Hollywood actresses of that time who I will not even mention. That and the ambulance must have been an oven during the whole shoot.! A truly unique film and worth the whole gripping two hours.

Superior example of the genre.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 19 August 2009]

"Alex" is Alexandria, Egypt, in 1942. The thing that is "ice cold" there is the glass of lager that John Mills in going to buy for himself and his three diverse companions after they coax their steaming two-ton ambulance through several hundred miles of inhospitable Libyan desert, threatened by Nazis and failures both mechanical and human.

It's a genre movie. We've seen numerous other examples. There is, oh, "Sahara" with Humphrey Bogart, "The Immortal Sergeant" with Henry Fonda, "Flame Over India" with Kenneth More, among others.

The obstacles are almost generic in themselves. Which route do we take at this cross roads? Will the oasis be occupied by the Germans? We're liable to run out of petrol. Wait -- this well is dry! We'll never make it over that sand dune, or through the qattara depression. We'll never get out of this alive. Achtung, Minen! Will the bridge hold? One more man aboard may make the difference between our getting there or not.

Yet, for all its reshuffled features, I can't remember another example of the dangerous desert journey genre that was better done than this.

The four people in the ambulance are John Mills as the proud, exhausted, weak, but resolute commander; Harry Andrews as the by-the-book Sergeant Major; Anthony Quayle as the German officer posing as a South African; and Sylvia Sims as the blondest, most blue-eyed, most clean-featured, most impeccably groomed, most nubile, most sensitive, goddam loveliest poster child of a nurse that human eyes have ever beheld.

The others may sweat. The others may get suburned and dusty and their hair all tangled. They may have grime in their wrinkles and engine oil under their fingernails. But not Sylvia Sims. She's my kind of nurse. That she turns in a decent performance is gravy.

Mills is good too. He's always good when the role suits him. He was superb in a similar role in "Tunes of Glory." Anthony Quayle, though, should stay away from any part that calls for a dialect. Not that he's a weak actor. He was fine as Brutus in a recording of "Julius Caesar." But it's the story itself that makes this movie stand out from its generic companions. It's a long movie, but, with the exception of the "sun's anvil" scene in "Lawrence of Arabia," it accomplishes the difficult task of not only getting that military ambulance to Alex, but of convincing us that it took a lot of anguish, work, and determination to get it done.

I'll mention one scene. The ambulance, which resembles a truck, can't make it up a steep slope, so the men remove the plugs, face it backwards up the hill, and laboriously wind the crank. Inch by bloody inch, the stone-heavy conveyance creeps upward. The job exhausts everyone. Then, when the top of the rise is near, the ambulance slips out of reverse and into neutral and, with no one on the brakes, rattles all the way downhill, so the job must begin all over again.

That scene is emblematic. Somebody, in this instance Christopher Landon, knew what he was writing about. I can't imagine that much of this screenplay was done by a naive but imaginative writer in the comfort of his expansive city flat, perhaps next to a cozy fire. The writer at least knows something about military ambulances and the internal combustion engine in a way that, say, the writers of "Sahara" need not have known.

No movie is perfect, and this one is no exception. Two-thirds of the way through, Sylvia Sims has never been more than one of the team. Then, one night, Mills wanders off behind some clumps of sand. Sims follows him, flops down next to his supine figure, begins to caress his hair and pleated features, then glues herself to his lips after about one minute of this foreplay, or oneplay. Ka-boom, and the pair are now lovers.

But that's about it as far as weaknesses go. There's an enormous amount of tension ginned up by procedures such as finding a way through a mine field or being pursued across the rough ground by a pair of German armored personnel carriers.

But that glass of Carlsberg was worth it. Nice job by all concerned.

A memorable classic, with great cast and great locations.

[cjlandon · 10/10 · 11 February 2005]

I must confess to being biased towards this film, as I am a grandson of the author and screenwriter. It is extremely pleasing to read that this film has given a lot of pleasure to many who have seen it. Why I think the film succeeds is because it was written by a man who took part in the North African campaign, as a doctor in the RAMC, who had to deal with the human cost of war. People, and how they cope with adversity, is often more interesting than depicting warfare itself. This makes it an unusual war film for the time, to say the least. The character of Captain Anson, so ably played by John Mills, is telling for me as my grandfather sadly did have an alcohol problem later in life. On a lighter note, the terrific final scene in the bar has an amusing story attached to it - apparently, the scene had to be shot five or six times, and as nothing else looked like beer in a glass than, well, beer, poor John Mills had to keep knocking back the beers until the scene was "in the can"!

Gritty war films with a terrific performance by Mills

[tomgillespie2002 · 7/10 · 15 August 2011]

Battle-weary alcoholic Captain Anson (John Mills) sets out across the Libyan desert after his British base is evacuated. Joining him is Tom Pugh (Harry Andrews), Anson's square-jawed and loyal friend, and two nurses Diana (Sylvia Syms) and Denise (Diane Clare). Joining them early on the road is Afrikaan-speaking Captain van der Poel (Anthony Quayle), a colossal man who seems rather attached to his bag who he claims contains bottles of gin. In their way are mine fields, thirst, swampy salt mines, the desert heat, and those bloody Nazis. Anson promises to quit drinking until he gets to Alexandria, Egypt, where awaiting him is an ice cold lager.

Possibly the best thing about this very good film is the real feel of the desert. Many of the old films glam it up a bit, but Ice Cold In Alex revels in the sweat, dust and dirt of the perilous desert. You can literally taste the dryness of their lips and the scorching heat on their back, and really feel their struggle. Also refreshing is the lack of token gunfights and action scenes that plagued many of the old war films. It is more concerned with the individual mental and physical struggle of the characters, and draws up tension in the small moments, such as Anson biting his lip and breathing hard as he slowly makes his way across the mine field. Another film that came to mind during these tense scenes is Henri-Georges Clouzot's The Wages Of Fear.

I never realised just quite how terrific an actor John Mills was until I saw this. Even though his male co-stars tower over the little man, he is a raging mountain of frustration, anger and fierce dedication. It is a sublime performance. His co-stars are impressive too, with Quayle another standout as a man who may not be quite who he claims to be. Combining this with the impressive cinematography and intelligent script, it makes for an exciting and absorbing war film that manages to be quintessentially British yet as gritty a war film that I've seen from this era.

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The Desert, The Great Enemy

[bkoganbing · 10/10 · 9 December 2011]

Ice Cold In Alex could never have been made during World War II at the time of the actual fighting. Though it benefits from location shooting in Libya where the action actually took place during the desert war.

The time is after the second fall of Tobruk as the British are fleeing from the Libyan desert to regroup along the El Alamein line that General Auchinleck had staked out. John Mills is a captain with a drinking problem and he's in charge of a party of four driving an ambulance out which consists of RSM Harry Andrews and British nurses Sylvia Sims and Diane Clare. Along the way they pick up Anthony Quayle who is South African. He proves to be of invaluable assistance in getting through German lines twice and in other ways. But Quayle has a mission all his own.

Coming in on the side of the Allies was a matter of considerable debate in the Union Of South Africa. Jan Christian Smuts carried the day for the Allies, but the opposition party which later imposed the apartheid policies were pro-Axis. They won the post war South African elections and held power until Nelson Mandela took over.

The desert turns out to be the real enemy for this little band and they all pull together. One of the company does not make it to the end.

In a way that Erwin Rommel would have liked, the Afrika Korps is not portrayed as inhuman monsters by any means. Interestingly enough in the same year Ice Cold In Alex came out, The Young Lions had a German officer machine-gunning helpless British stragglers just like this party is. Maximilian Schell was the Nazi who did the deed in that film and both of these films rank as among my favorite war films ever.

The title refers to a cold beer that Mills is determined to have at a favorite bar of his in Alexandria. Ice Cold In Alex has some flawless performances by the entire cast, the desert travelers mesh very well as an ensemble group. The film ranks among the best work that all of the principal players ever did. And the filming in the actual location in Libya was able to blend some black and white newsreel footage in to the story without a seam showing.

I saw this film when it first came out in theater in 1958. I was impressed with it then and even more so now.

Great performance by Anthony Quayle

[Baglow · 7/10 · 24 May 1999]

What a great film. The mysterious South African ( Anthony Quayle) was played to perfection. It really shows how enemies can work together and, when it boils down to it, that human survival is paramount. I liked the way that the woman was portrayed, especially when she let go of the handbrake by accident. You almost expected her to start knitting or something such was the female stereotype at the time.

Nice setting, pointless plot

[JurijFedorov · 5/10 · 10 November 2022]

Wanted to watch this to get around to watching all the best WW2 movies out there - there are probably around 300 or so. But I don't think it holds up today. There are just too many logical plot holes and story errors in it to make it fully enticing.

The poster has a British guy in a hot scene with a hot blonde. The trailer also makes it look like this is about a heroic war effort. A hero during WW2 in Africa plays a big role? Well, that's not the plot whatsoever. The "hero" is actually an older ambulance driver/leader with PTSD. He escaped German capture and now drinks to get by. First thing we see him do is get an innocent nurse killed because he tries to speed away from German units as he doesn't want to get recaptured. But once the German units get to them they even help them out and let them go - as they would do during a war. And they all agree that his short burst of insanity got her killed. The other nurse falls in love with him out of nowhere. We just see them all hang out and largely the big Allied fella is often touching her and caring for her. Yet out of nowhere there is a scene where we see her caress the short leader and they seemingly sleep together in the desert. Not sure why she suddenly got horny or why they were even thinking about this while being in extreme conditions likely close to death. The whole theme of the movie makes no sense. The leader never did anything to make himself look good. There is even a scene afterwards where he pushes the nurse around in anger. These silly scenes also means that we never feel they are in any great danger.

They also misuse water. Instead of drinking it they just taste it and spit it out. They also use the water to pour on the leader after he passed out. It is supposed to be survival yet most of these scenes look comedic in 2022. There is a quicksand scene where a German spy that is with them nearly sinks. We just saw him do extraordinary feats of strength. Yet now he can't even hold onto a rope as they try to save him. What??? A lot of these small survival scenes feel extremely forced and fake. It's also not quite clear where they are going or why. German capture is not bad for such personal. They would be safe and survive the war so why risk their lives to get to Allied positions? Just drive to the nearest location and stay safe.

Red hot in Alex

[henry-girling · 8/10 · 4 May 2004]

'Ice Cold in Alex' is an absorbing story of a British ambulance trying to get to safety in the North African desert. There is the heat, minefields, enemy troops, more heat, shifting sands and human weaknesses to contend with and at the end of the film (over two hours)one feels exhausted. The main characters are an army captain on the verge of a breakdown, a determined nurse, a solid sergeant major and a South African soldier whom they pick up on the way. With simple heroism they try making their way to their goal, which in this case is a glass of ice cold beer in Alexandria on the coast.

The interplay between the characters and the growing bond they have in adversity is well played by the actors. John Mills' deeply troubled captain is particularly well acted. Harry Andrews, Anthony Quayle and Sylvia Syms are fine too. The other main character is the ambulance itself, gradually coming to pieces on the way, steaming and bumping along.

J. Lee Thompson was a very able director and there are some excellent scenes here. The minefield scene near the beginning and the hill scene near the end are great, tense and emotional. The beer scene is moving and uplifting. The best British films about the Second World War are generally about a small group of ordinary people who faced with crisis and peril just get on with it.

Stonkingly great film, a true British wartime classic and worth buying the collection for!

[alistair-ross · 18 July 2004]

A brilliant move that came as one of the British War Movie DVD Collection. Remember the Carlsberg ad that used the film? I thought that it was a clever bit of digital enhancement on the glasses for the 'Carlsberg' logo, but no... it was there in the movie! I had forgotten just how drop-dead gorgeous Sylvia Syms was too! Hollywood had no-one to touch her for beauty and sex appeal! The movie stated that it was a true story, but I cant find any historical basis for it, but that doesn't really matter. A good yarn none the less, which I will watch often.

A fine, taut British war film with fine performances and some unusual aspects

[Terrell-4 · 8/10 · 15 February 2008]

Four people in an ambulance are struggling to cross the hot, blinding North African desert on their way from Tobruk to Alexandria. It's 1942 and Rommel's Africa Corps is just about to take Tobruk and continue its race to Egypt. There is Captain Anson (a blond John Mills), an ambulance officer stressed to the breaking point and just this shy of being an alcoholic; Sergeant Major Tom Pugh (Harry Andrews), a big, capable lifer who has been with Anson for several months and knows his weaknesses; Diana Murdoch (Sylvia Syms), a nurse who was stranded in Tobruk, who has a steady hand but has seen her friend, another nurse, die in an attack on the ambulance; and Captain van der Poel (Anthony Quayle), a strong, swaggering South African they meet in a deserted outpost. Captain Anson is persuaded to let van der Poel join them because van der Poel has three bottles of gin with him. He also carries something in a knapsack he refuses to let out of his sight.

Ice Cold in Alex is one of the best of the war movies Britain produced in the Fifties. It sets up a small group of people on a tense journey through a desolate landscape in a broken-down ambulance. We get to know these people...and we begin to worry whether Captain Anson is going to lose it every time he gets close to a bottle; whether van der Poel is truly a South African or a German spy; whether it will be Sergeant Pugh, or Nurse Syms, or van der Poel who'll get killed in one of the dangerous situations they encounter. And the movie has plenty of well-directed, tense situations coming one after the other. The four of them encounter mine fields that must be crossed, sand storms, Nazi ambushes and pursuits, capture by German troops they must talk their way out of (with van der Poel coming in handy), mechanical breakdowns and quicksand. And if there is one lesson they all learn, it's to never park your vehicle on the top of a giant sand dune.

The movie is unusual in that the hero is damaged goods. John Mills is excellent in portraying Captain Anson as a determined and stalwart British officer. He's even better at showing this man just a bit too eager for a drink, too quick to justify it, too close to breaking down when things don't work out. Mills was not a big man, and he has to dominate the movie next to two very big men, Harry Andrews and Anthony Quayle. Both are nearly a head taller than Mills. In one scene Mills as Anson collapses and Quayle must pick him up, carry him several steps to the rear of the ambulance and deposit him inside. This is all done in one shot. Quayle looks as if he's dealing with no more than a 50 pound bag of flour, yet Mills is definitely the one we watch during the movie. His Captain Anson may be falling apart, but he is determined to get the ambulance and its passengers to Alexandria. While he struggles to do so we can see that he's slowing pulling himself together. It's a nice performance. There also is almost no distraction from artificial romance. There is only the faintest hint of a possible relationship developing between Nurse Murdoch and Captain Anson, just a brief moonlight nuzzle and, much later, a realistic recognition of Anson's continuing demons and the difficulty of making personal plans in wartime. The movie also gives a much more subtle approach to the German enemy. At the conclusion, while the four of them are finally enjoying an ice-cold lager in an Alexandrian bar, one of them points out that, working together, they beat the desert, which was a bigger enemy than...well, you'll need to see the movie.

This is a good film

[gordonl56 · 7/10 · 12 June 2016]

ICE COLD IN ALEX 1958

This British film is based on the novel of the same name by British author Christopher Landon. This WW2 film is set in 1942 North Africa at the time of the fall of Tobruk. John Mills headlines the production with Harry Andrews, Sylvia Syms, Diane Clare and Anthony Quayle.

John Mills is in charge of a convoy of trucks and ambulances being evacuated from Tobrouk just before its capture by the German Afrika Korps. Mills and his Sgt, Harry Andrews are given a pair of nurses to take along during the evacuation. The two nurses, Sylvia Syms and Diane Clare had missed their ship out of Tobruk.

Due to a number of factors, the ambulance is cut off from the rest of the convoy. They need to drive out across the desert in order to reach the coast road back to British lines. They soon come up on a South African officer, Anthony Quayle, who joins up with the Tobruk escapees. Mills, a man with an over fondness for the bottle, likes that Quayle has several large bottles of gin with him.

The first of several problems pop up, a minefield is blocking their way to the coast road. With Andrews slowly driving, Mills and Quayle lead the ambulance carrying the nurses through the mines. Now they have a run in with a German patrol and the truck gets shot up. The one nurse, Clare, is badly wounded.

Anthony Quayle, who just happens to speak German, has a word with the Officer in charge of the patrol. The Germans are too busy chasing the retreating British army to worry about a one truck with a wounded nurse. The German officer, Walter Gotell, lets the group continue on their way.

The wounded nurse, Clare has been fatally hit and soon dies. She is buried out in the middle of nowhere with a simple cross to mark the grave. The other nurse, Syms, as well as the Sgt, Andrews, notice that Quayle is never without his pack. And that he goes off into the desert every morning and night at the same time. Mills figures the guy is just attending to his waste needs. Mills promises them all a tall glass of ice cold beer once they reach safety in Alexandria.

Now there is another run in with a German patrol, and again Quayle talks the Germans into releasing them. Now even Mills figure that something is wrong with this picture. He tells the others they need proof before they can say that Quayle is really a German spy.

The group is now forced to head out into the dangerous terrain of the Quattara Depression. The area is full of quicksand and salt marshes where a truck and its contents could disappear beneath the surface. The group catches Quayle that night in the act of sending a message on a small portable radio that is kept in his pack. Quayle disposes of the evidence is a handy quicksand hole. He however gets caught in the same hole. The others just barely manage to pull him out of the trap with the truck tow rope.

It is now on to Alex and safety as well as that cold beer. Mills gets Quayle to cough up his real name before the Military Police show up. Otherwise he will be shot as a spy by the British Army. He also grabs Quayle's fake id and dog tags before they are seen. They all now sit and wash the dust away with a couple glasses of ice cold beer.

This is a very interesting, tension filled film, and is much better than I am making it sound. The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson. Thompson started out as a writer before switching to directing. His films include, MURDER WITHOUT CRIME, THE YELLOW BALLOON, THE WEAK AND THE WICKED, TIGER BAY, WOMAN IN A DRESSING GOWN, CAPE FEAR, THE GUNS OF NAVARONE and KINGS OF THE SUN. Thompson received an Oscar nomination for his work on THE GUNS OF NAVARONE.

There are two versions out, the full length UK version which is the one written about here, and the US version with 54 minutes cut from the runtime. Needless to say, that one makes no sense.

Fitzcarraldo had his ship, Captain Anson had his ambulance first.

[hitchcockthelegend · 8/10 · 7 July 2011]

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

Not Really A War Film

[Theo Robertson · 6/10 · 3 April 2004]

ICE COLD IN ALEX is often thought of as " A classic British war film " along the same lines as say THE DAM BUSTERS . It does share the same characteristics as British war films of its day , not to mention the fact it gets shown on rainy weekend afternoons with frightening regularity as do many " Classic British war films but in many ways it`s an epic adventure of man vs environment using the second world war as a backdrop rather than man vs man in a military conflict

What backs this theory of mine up is that two of the main protagonists are female ( Even though one of them is neurotic ) , traditionally women only feature in war films as a love interest to give the hero someone to come back to after bombing Jerry and the second world war is only really featured to set up the story , in fact you could easily have set this movie in the 19th century with a bunch of pilgrims going on a desert trek to find an ancient city and you`d still have basically the same movie

Having said all that it is good to see the amount of respect shown between the two foes . Without doubt the North African campaign of WW2 was by far the cleanest campaign of that coinflict with atrocities being far rarer than they were in the Pacific and Eastern front campaigns

It's a personal thing....

[dkbrown · 9/10 · 20 September 1999]

I've seen Ice Cold In Alex three or four times over thirty years. Each time I find it more impressive. At one level of course it's a classic adventure story: four people pitched against an amazing, hostile environment, one of whom is evidently not who he appears to be. Incident by incident, (and the pace of the film never flags) the tension builds and our view of the characters deepens. But what struck me most last time I viewed it was how untypical a 50s war film it is. Most films of that era have an uncomplicated, patriotic message - in this case, they would usually concentrate on the adventure itself, and the unmasking of the spy, as the main points of the story. ICIA is quite different. It is ambiguous, not simplistic in its political values. The British characters act in a way which is practically treasonable themselves - they hide the fact that Quayle is a spy from the authorities. Of course the shock element of the ending is that you don't expect them to do this until the actual moment in the bar in Alex when they confront Quayle. But in retrospect you can see how early in the film the Mills character prepares the ground - the critical moment is when he throws away Quayle's jacket after saving him from the quicksand. The nearest the film gets to patriotism is presenting tolerance and loyalty as quintessentially British values. Mills as the alcoholic anti-hero is particularly good. I love that line "It's a personal thing.." Sylvia Sims is also good as the woman who sees the admirable qualities of Mills beneath the lush, and "knows what she wants". The very end of the film also seems to me to buck convention. We might expect to return to the British characters after Quayle is taken away (as a POW, not a spy), to witness an emotional parting. Instead, we see events from Quayle's eyes, looking out from the back of the lorry that takes him off through the streets of Alexandria. What happens to the Brits is left to our imagination.

1942. War rages all around the hottest spot on earth

[shakercoola · 7/10 · 20 May 2018]

A British war drama; A story about the crew and passengers of an ambulance who become stranded in the desert and face a perilous journey back to civilisation as their personal problems come to the fore. The film shows how humanity can prevail in war. The characters - a quaternity against the elements - portray the physical exhaustion from tortuous heat and impending danger and their journey to thirst-quenching deliverance. It was avowed by veterans as realistic to the physical conditions servicemen and servicewomen faced in the Western Desert during World War II.

excellent film

[kb3310 · 10/10 · 28 January 2007]

While all the comment before mine have covered much of the film, and the book. I cannot help but add the way i felt the fight that was going on at all times against the desert. The leaking water pump, with Tom agonizing over the crumbling carbon washer, the rear spring failure, with the heroic act by Van Der Poel of supporting the ambulance, and finally the affectionate pats as each thanks the trusty Austin K2 for bringing them safely to their destination.

Harry Andrew's portrayal of the Mechanist Sergeant Major, oozing mechanical sympathy from every pore is excellent. A fine member of an excellent cast. Great films like these, as opposed to the more bang and explosion type war film, really help one understand the battle that was waged over an inhospitable land. Truly where hostilities were forgotten in the battle against the greater enemy.

Small-scale character-driven war drama

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 2 December 2010]

A group of medics become isolated in the North African desert when travelling to Alexandria to escape a siege. They pick up a South African soldier, and along with this enigmatic man they navigate the hostile terrain…

This is a good war drama. The group have to contend with various dangers – the hostile environment, the Germans and an enemy within. The latter is posed by the South African whom they soon discover is a spy for the enemy. This provides dramatic tension as well as asking questions of the group. How do they deal with this spy? He may be an enemy agent but he has shown bravery and tenacity that they required in order to survive their dangerous adventure. So the theme of loyalty is an important one.

Despite the war theme, there is very little action to speak of here. The confrontations with the enemy are more tense stand-offs. And the other exciting moments are based around navigating the dangerous terrain, such as the mine-field scene. The small cast are good, with John Mills playing an alcoholic officer; his affliction puts him in some compromising positions that he is forced to deal with, as well as being relevant to the title of the film.

Ice Cold In Alex is a small-scale and character-driven war film. It's an adventure-drama as opposed to an action film. So if you prefer your war movies adrenaline-fuelled affairs this may not be the answer for you but if you like these flicks to pose some interesting moral dilemmas then this film should fit the bill.

Overrated

[theking-51286 · 1/10 · 27 January 2023]

This might have been a good film if they had not cast middle-aged actors, which completely destroys any attempt at realism in the film. The average age of a soldier during World War II was only 26, and the majority were a lot younger than that, yet in this film they cast the middle-aged John Mills, the middle-aged Harry Andrews and the middle-aged Anthony Quayle as soldiers during the North African Campaign. Sebastian Haffner is correct regarding Hitler's role in decolonisation. He forced Churchill to sign the Atlantic Charter, which effectively dismantled the European colonial empires. This film would be much better as a remake with younger actors.