Ice Cold In Alex on DVD (1958)

Worth waiting for..........

Steven Walker from London, England , 09/07/2004

Based upon a true story the film is great matinee viewing. It centres around Captain Anson (John Mills) journey across occupied North Africa during the Second World War. His mission is to deliver two nurses to the town of Alexandria in an ambulance. The route is made the more difficult by the constant threat of encountering Nazi patrols and indeed from attack by German ground and airborne forces.

There is much more to the film than just a simple tale of the days spent in the Ambulance. In retrospect it is almost like a play in that the scenes are acted out against a desolate desert back drop or in the ambulance and as such the story relies solely on the dialogue.

There is more depth here than just a 'road trip' film. For me it showed how social positioning of men and women has changed over the 50 or so years. The men are strong, commanding and uncomplicated whereas the two nurses are young, pretty and in their own words silly things that are just no good at anything other than crying and getting in the way. No more so is this highlighted with their relationship John Mills character.

Captain Anson is a very stereotypical almost clich? British soldier; a leader, determined, and to top it all with a public school accent - hurrah, don't worry chaps we'll soon see good old Blighty's shores again. The younger pretty nurses soon swoon to him even though he is uncompromising and rude as he traditionally believes a woman?s place is certainly not in the battle fields of Africa. A woman?s place in this film is definitely by her man. In fact it gets so detached from how we are today that the exchanges are amusing.

The film has some classic moments; they encounter a South Africa soldier in the desert and bring him along for the ride. His frequent trips into the desert make the others suspicious and he is uncovered as a German spy reporting back to his superiors regarding their movements. Famous scenes involving quick sand and the monumental task of pushing the ambulance up a seemingly unending sand dune enable the film to address many key themes that were prevalent at that time. In particular respect, forgiveness and solidarity are core themes and they culminate at the end, when they reach Alexandria, and Captain Anson buys them all the cold beer he promised, including the German spy, as they learn that you can be a Nazi and human too. This scene of them downing a glistening frothy pint was later used by Carlsberg in an advert and during the filming required sufficient retakes for John Mills to be drunk by the final cut.

Perhaps now it needs to be taken with a little pinch of salt but still terribly enjoyable, tense and emotional you can?t help but be drawn in and wonder what you would do in the same position.

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Ignore Reviews - film is BRILLIANT

AndyB4 from London , 20/06/2005

I can't believe the absolute rubbish written by time out about this feature. This is a sensational movie that pits men against men, women against society, man against machine, honour against duty and helps show that even in war, the greatest enemy to troops in north Africa was not the tank but the desert itself. It is very 'English', but in a way that is romanticised and as much as people think its a joke was actually true. John Mills is very convincing as is the rest of the cast. And yes, it does have the greatest ever beer drinking moment in cinema history.

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Ice Cold in Alex

A customer from Scunthorpe,England , 01/09/2004

Good British made war movie wth fine actors and good story line

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Classic war film

Lawrence Conquest from siberia , 18/02/2005

Ice COld in Alex is still a terrifically entertaining film, with the hazards the ambulance crew face added to by the additional intruige of an undercover agent in their midst. Great cinematography and direction really emphasise the heat and weariness of the crew, and the performances are all excellent - particularly John Mills as the alchohlic Captain. Recomended.

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Ice Cold in Alex

A customer from Scunthorpe,England , 01/09/2004

Good British made war movie wth fine actors and good story line

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Superb

Rory Bulloch from Glasgow, Scotland , 30/10/2006

This is a classic. The true story of a small group of soldiers who are forced to escort a couple of nurses across the desert while avoiding the Nazis and meet up with their units in Alexandria.

It makes you realise just what these corageous men and women endured for our freedom and what a special history we in Britain and the Common Wealth share.

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