Ice Cold in Alex ( Desert Attack )

Ice Cold in Alex (DVD) (*)

$27.99

Alternate Title: Desert Attack
Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards
Berlin International Film Festival

Language Selections:
English ( Mono )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
125 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.66:1)

Special Features:
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Trailer(s)
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1958 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
J. Lee Thompson

Written By:
Christopher Landon (novel)
Christopher Landon (screenplay)

Actors:
John Mills ..... Capt. Anson
Sylvia Syms ..... Sister Diana Murdoch
Anthony Quayle ..... Capt. van der Poel/Hauptman Otto Lutz
Harry Andrews ..... MSM Tom Pugh
Diane Clare ..... Sister Denise Norton
Richard Leech ..... Capt. Crosbie
Liam Redmond ..... Brigadier (DDMS)
Peter Arne ..... British Officer at Oasis
Allan Cuthbertson ..... Brigadier's Staff Officer
Walter Gotell ..... 1st German Officer
Basil Hoskins ..... CMP Lieutenant (Alexandria)
Frederick Jaeger ..... 2nd German Officer
David Lodge ..... CMP Captain (tank trap)
Richard Marner ..... German guard
Michael Nightingale ..... CMP Captain (checkpoint)
Paul Stassino ..... Barman

Synopsis:

The British Ice Cold in Alex was released in the US as Desert Attack. John Mills stars as Captain Anson, a grumbling alcoholic sent on a WW2 mission to Alexandria. Travelling to his destination by ambulance, Anson becomes acquainted with his fellow passengers, nurses Sister Diane Murdoch (Sylvia Syms) and Sister Denise Norton (Mary Clare) and South African officer Captain Van Der Poel (Anthony Quayle). One of these worthies is a German spy-and only two of the passengers will survive until the fade-out.

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).

John Mills stars in this war story which takes place after the fall of Tobruk in World War II. Two English Army officers and two nurses drive an ambulance through occupied North Africa to Alexandria. They pick up a South African officer and more than once avoid capture and death whilst crossing the German lines and minefields laid on the way. However, as the South African officer begins to undermine their confidence, they come to suspect him of being a German spy.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 29 January, 2009.

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