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Ice Cold In Alex [1958]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

The title Ice Cold in Alex refers to the beer the heroes of this 1958 British World War Two classic plan to drink in Alexandria, once they have escaped from the Germans, negotiated minefields and survived both mechanical failure and the killing heat of the North African sands. The setting is Libya in 1942, at the height of the campaigns featured in The Desert Fox (1951) and The Desert Rats (1953), and a disparate group in a military ambulance--which include a Nazi agent to add tension of one kind and a beautiful nurse to add tension of another--must make an epic journey to safety. Staring John Mills, Sylvia Sims, Anthony Quayle and Harry Andrews the terror and poignancy comes from our certainty that not everyone will survive, such that the suspense sometimes reaches near unbearable levels. Director J Lee-Thomson was clearly inspired by the then recent French masterpiece, The Wages of Fear (1952) and handles both the character drama and set-pieces with great skill. He would go on to make another great war adventure, The Guns of Navarone (1961), also starring Anthony Quayle, who then returned to the desert for the ultimate British war classic, Lawrence of Arabia (1962). --Gary S. Dalkin


Pretty good but no masterpiece
Review date: 2008-11-26 Rating: 6 out of 10

People here who rate this at 5 stars are way over the top. This is a good film but no more than that. Plot is nothing special, acting workmanlike (John Mills playing the same sort of part he did 100 times before and afterwards), desert landscapes interesting. The film could never be more than pretty good because the director, Lee Thompson, was a journeyman with no vision or style.

If people want to see real ***** acting in a war film, then get hold of The Guns of Batasi and just savour Richard Attenborough as the sergeant major. He makes these actors look like carthorses.

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Reviews


Man, that was good!
Review date: 2006-12-12 Rating: 10 out of 10

Superb film, without flaw (except perhaps John Mills' barnet and the Afrika Korps' American half-tracks). Sylvia Sims is wonderful, Harry Andrews, Anthony Quayle, all great. The Qatara depression is the stuff of nightmares. Quayle in the minefield - 'there's something under my foot!'. I've seen this so many times, but it remains fresh and each adversity they face a challenge - that slope at the end in particular. They really don't make movies like this anymore!

Human decency 1, Insanity of war 0
Review date: 2006-02-17 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is not the usual 1950s sort of 'big' WWII story full of perfectly heroic good guys and perfectly villainous bad guys. Instead of the usual stereotypes, there are complex individuals who start off reserved strangers and gradually build up trust and friendship. A hero is allowed weaknesses and a villain can be heroic. The North Africa campaign is going badly for the allies. The Germans are about to besiege Tobruk and so the Brits must move out. Captain Anson and Sergeant Pugh of the military ambulance service have been ordered to take their ambulance and leave. Everything goes wrong from the start. Because a bridge is blown up before they are able to cross, they find themselves isolated on the wrong side. And with two nursing sisters to get to safety they are forced to take a difficult and dangerous route across the desert in order to reach Alexandria on the coast of Egypt. They encounter a South African who introduces himself as Captain Van Der Poel and persuades them to let him join them. To start with, his contribution to their efforts seems a mixed blessing. He's one of those brash, domineering types who doesn't like to waste time on prudence and caution so he soon gets into trouble in a mine field. He also seems to be carrying a large quantity of gin which he shares generously with Captain Anson. Poor Anson has developed a serious drink problem as a result (probably) of what they refer to nowadays as 'post traumatic stress'. One of the nurses, Sister Norton, seems to be suffering the same kind of stress, but she is driven to hysteria by those terrors that cause Anson to hit the bottle. The only solidly uncomplicated characters are Sergeant Pugh and Sister Murdock. Pugh and Murdock have to worry about keeping Anson and Norton straight and balanced and they all distrust Van Der Poel, who speaks German rather well and keeps disappearing at regular intervals with his heavy, rectangular looking back-pack. They don't appear to be a very promising team but, as the saying goes: 'when the going gets tough, the tough get going' - and that's what happens in this case. Events drive them and they have to pull together to survive the hostile environment of the desert and the constant threat of capture or worse by the advancing Germans. Each time it seems that adversity is going to grind them into the desert sand, they reach inside themselves and find further resources to overcome it. Remember Sisyphus, who was condemned to endlessly push a huge rock up a hill? Well, he'd certainly sympathise with one of their trials. I found myself fully engaged with them: pushing with them, pulling with them and identifying with all their hopes and fears.

Finally, trust, friendship and common humanity triumphs over the insanity of war. And everybody gets a cold beer. Lovely.

EXCELLENT!!
Review date: 2005-12-21 Rating: 10 out of 10

EXCELLENT WW2 adventure and the fact that is it a true story makes it even more unmissable, any fan of WW2 films will not be disoppointed.

BUY IT NOW!! and you will have this classic forever.

An exceptional film
Review date: 2005-05-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

A classic film by any definition, and I am hoping it will eventually be available in Canada. I first saw it on UK TV back in the sixties and the performances from this superb cast are second to none.

The simply stunning Sylvia Syms shines as a British Army Nurse who is an integral part of this tightly knit team on an almost impossible quest to reach Alexandria. The tension never lets up until they finally reach Alex and those legendary ice cold beers; yet even here there is a final plot twist which adds even more power to the climax of this masterpiece of British cinema.

Take me now, Sylvia...

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
John Mills
Anthony Quayle
Sylvia Syms
Harry Andrews
Diane Clare

Creators:
John Mills (Primary Contributor)
Anthony Quayle (Primary Contributor)
Gilbert Taylor (Cinematographer)
Richard Best (Editor)
W.A. Whittaker (Producer)
Christopher Landon (Writer)
T.J. Morrison (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 5099990025921
Binding: VHS Tape
Number of items: 1
Format: Black & White, HiFi Sound, PAL,
Release date: 2000-06-19
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Running time: 132 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1958-10-03
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: German (Original Language)

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