Ice Cold in Alex (1958)
Directed by J. Lee Thompson

Adventure / War / Drama
aka: Desert Attack

Film Review

Abstract picture representing Ice Cold in Alex (1958)
Ice Cold in Alex stands head and shoulders above most British war films and even gives comparable Hollywood blockbuster productions a good run for their money.   More a psychological drama than a conventional action-oriented war film, it shows how four disparate individuals manage to cohere into an effective team, and thereby survive the series of seemingly insurmountable challenges they encounter as they cross the deserts of North Africa in WWII.  As individuals they will surely die; as a group, they may survive, but only if they can overcome their fears and prejudices.   Director J. Lee Thompson embellishes Christopher Landon's novel of the same title with some nerve-wracking set-pieces, one of which (the nocturnal bog rescue) is filched wholesale from H.G. Clouzot's Le Salaire de la peur (1953).

Virtually all of the action revolves around the four main protagonists, something that gives the film an incredibly tight focus and helps to make it one of the most compelling films of its genre.  John Mills lives up to his reputation as one of Britain's finest screen actors with his portrayal of a distinctly worse-for-wear officer who ends up fighting on two fronts.  Not only must his character overcome the plethora of crises that befall his group as they try to cross the desert (in a clapped out army ambulance), but also his own inner demons, not least of which is a slight touch of dipsomania.  This was something of a groundbreaking role for Mills, who had hitherto been cast as the epitome of British sang froid in the face of adversity in numerous war films.  Mills' portrayal of a man struggling to hold it together is matched by an equally gripping performance from Anthony Quayle, who manages to exude heroism and subtle menace in pretty well every shot.   Sylvia Syms and Harry Andrews complete the fab foursome admirably with their equally convincing depiction of stoicism and resilience, whilst bringing a touch of glamour and humour to the proceedings.

One of Britain's most versatile filmmakers, J. Lee Thompson won recognition early in his career with his social realist dramas but it was Ice Cold in Alex (winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1958 Berlin Film Festival) that established his international reputation and led him to being invited to direct the epic war film The Guns of Navarone (1961).   Thompson's keen visual sense and flair for suspenseful drama are very much in evidence in Ice Cold in Alex, most notably in the meticulously executed action sequences, which are staged, shot and edited in a way that builds the tension to an almost unbearable pitch.  Yet this is much more than just an action film.  Thompson also allows plenty of space for the characters to breathe and establish themselves as real people, reacting in different ways to the obstacles that come their way.  Ice Cold in Alex is survival drama at its most nail-biting and absorbing, yet the film is also a resounding celebration of Britishness, evoking the virtues that defined Britain during WWII (decency, courage and bloody-minded resolve) more unashamedly than perhaps any other war film.   No wonder Hitler and his lot lost the war, when they had plucky little things like John Mills and Sylvia Syms to put them in their place.
© James Travers 2010
The above content is owned by frenchfilms.org and must not be copied.

Film Synopsis

Tobruk, 1942.  With German forces encroaching further into North Africa, a battle-weary English officer, Captain Anson, is ordered to escort two nurses, Diana Murdoch and Denise Norton, to the British lines in Alexandria.  Accompanied by Sergeant Major Tom Pugh, Anson and the nurses manage to leave the town in an old army ambulance just before it comes under attack from German troops.   A short while later, they meet a South African soldier named Van der Poel who persuades Anson to give him a lift in exchange for a few swigs of gin.   No sooner has the group navigated its way through a minefield than it is spotted by a convoy of German tanks.  Anson panics and tries to make a break for it, but the German soldiers open fire, fatally wounding Denise.   Thinking that the nurse is merely injured, the Germans allow the ambulance to continue on its way.  With their supplies of water and petrol running low, the group ends up having to make a hazardous crossing through a region of marshland.  It is at this point that the resources of the group are tested to the limit and Pugh's suspicions about Van der Poel are confirmed...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by frenchfilms.org and must not be copied.


Film Credits

  • Director: J. Lee Thompson
  • Script: Christopher Landon (novel), T.J. Morrison
  • Cinematographer: Gilbert Taylor
  • Music: Leighton Lucas
  • Cast: John Mills (Captain Anson), Sylvia Syms (Sister Murdoch), Anthony Quayle (Captain van der Poel), Harry Andrews (M.S.M. Pugh), Diane Clare (Sister Denise Norton), Richard Leech (Captain Crosbie), Liam Redmond (Brigadier (D.D.M.S.)), Allan Cuthbertson (Brigadier's Staff Officer), David Lodge (C.M.P. Captain (Tank Trap)), Michael Nightingale (C.M.P. Captain (Check Point)), Basil Hoskins (C.M.P. Lieutenant (Alexandria)), Walter Gotell (1st German Officer), Frederick Jaeger (2nd German Officer), Richard Marner (German Guard), Peter Arne (British Officer at Oasis), Paul Stassino (Barman)
  • Country: UK
  • Language: English / German
  • Support: Black and White
  • Runtime: 125 min
  • Aka: Desert Attack

The Golden Age of French cinema
sb-img-11
Discover the best French films of the 1930s, a decade of cinematic delights...
The best of Indian cinema
sb-img-22
Forget Bollywood, the best of India's cinema is to be found elsewhere, most notably in the extraordinary work of Satyajit Ray.
The very best period film dramas
sb-img-20
Is there any period of history that has not been vividly brought back to life by cinema? Historical movies offer the ultimate in escapism.
The silent era of French cinema
sb-img-13
Before the advent of sound France was a world leader in cinema. Find out more about this overlooked era.
The best of American cinema
sb-img-26
Since the 1920s, Hollywood has dominated the film industry, but that doesn't mean American cinema is all bad - America has produced so many great films that you could never watch them all in one lifetime.
 

Other things to look at


Copyright © frenchfilms.org 1998-2024
All rights reserved



All content on this page is protected by copyright