Hell Below Zero

Hell Below Zero is one of three British movies Alan Ladd (Shane) appeared in. The Black Night was one of the others. I enjoyed this.

A man signs on a whaling ship and one of the reasons for this is to help a woman find her Dad's killer. The expedition takes them to the frozen wastes of the Antarctic, where they track the killer down on a rival whaling ship. Not surprisingly, Ladd also falls in love with the woman.

There is some good photography in this movie, which is shot well in colour. I first thought is was black and white when I purchased it.

The rest of the cast includes Joan Tetzel as the love interest, Stanley Baker (Zulu) as the murderer and Basil Sydney.

Hell Below Zero is a good way to spend 90 minutes one afternoon or evening. Very good.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Hell Below Zero finds Alan Ladd as an American flying to Capetown to see about some mining investments. He meets Joan Tetzel on the plane and is intrigued by her. She's going there to investigate her father's death for herself, she doesn't like the initial verdict of suicide.

Ladd's investment has gone up in smoke and after he metes out a justified beat down to Peter Dyneley. He looks up Joan Tetzel at the Capetown equivalent of the Merchant Seaman's Hall. She's now half owner of a whaling vessel with Basil Sydney and his son, Stanley Baker and she's not happy with their explanation of things. On a flip of a coin since apparently Ladd has nothing else to do, he signs on their vessel as the first mate.

Though the personal story takes a melodramatic turn, I have got to hand it to the folks at Shepperton Studios. Other than using some establishing color cinematography to depict Capetown, the Ocean, the whaling, and the Antarctic, the film was shot in the United Kingdom. But you would never realize it, that's how good the sets are. There is a film Bear Island with Richard Widmark and Donald Sutherland that is also a polar location and that was done in North Labrador to simulate the Arctic. You can't tell the two apart, viewed side by side during the Antarctic sequences.

Best performance in the film however is Jill Esmond as a female Norwegian whaling ship captain, a part that is obviously a lesbian. Filmed today Jill's character would be quite open about her sexual orientation.

This is one of three British made films that Alan Ladd did for Columbia release in the USA during the Fifties. Hell Below Zero is easily the best of the three because of its production values. Very similar to the studio recreation of the Himalayas in Black Narcissus.

This movie is better than the Maltin movie book rates it. Ladd does well with a poorly written role, Niall MacGinnis and Stanley Baker are fine too. The weak link is a plot that doesn't make sense and Joan Tetzel as a not very interesting love interest.

But a couple of other features push the movie up a notch. The beautiful color shots of whales being caught and slaughtered (in 1954! On a British ship!) are things you won't see elsewhere. I had no idea we were still killing whales on this scale at that time. Some scenes are right out of Moby Dick.

Another surprise is the role of a feisty whaling woman (played by Jill Bennett) captaining a whale catching vessel. You don't often see women in such action roles, even today.

And as others have noted, the mix of studio and arctic shots is pretty darn smooth. Much better than "Ice Station Zebra" for example. I was surprised and impressed.

So if you're an Alan Ladd fan, go ahead and catch this one. Or if you're curious about how they caught whales in the mid-twentieth century, this is better than any documentary.

The story of a whale factory captain who has allegedly committed suicide but to the disbelief of his daughter who is going to travel to the Antartic to prove otherwise. Not a bad start but then Alan Ladd enters and it goes downhill from there.

It's not all bad. Stanley Baker plays the bad guy well and the climax is worth waiting for...just. On the way you will endure some graphic scenes of a whaling operation in action. This was probably far more palatable in 1953 than it is now. Also there is a fight scene that really reminded me of the 60's Batman TV series - but perhaps naffer.

Approach with caution.....and not at all if you like whales.

This is an odd Alan Ladd film from his years appearing in a few British productions. Most of these British films are pretty dull (such as THE BLACK KNIGHT and THE RED BERET), though this one is just a little bit better--but not so much that you should rush out to find a copy. In some ways it's very much like most of his films, as the pugnacious near-midget acts tough and beats up all his diminutive enemies (as Hollywood had a habit of co-starring him with other short actors). However, it is a bit different due to the locale of the film and the oddness of the plot.

Ladd is on his way to South Africa just to beat someone up. Sure, the guy deserves it but to travel 7,764 miles (more or less) just to do it seemed odd, as he COULD have paid some locals to do it instead (and for a lot less money)! On the way to clobber this crook, Ladd sits next to a lady on the plane and is instantly smitten with her. Later, after applying this butt-kicking, he meets up with her again and finds out that she's on her way towards Antarctica to discover how and why her father (a ship's captain) was killed. The official story is that he either killed himself or it was an accident but she doggedly is determined to find the real cause. Considering that Ladd is not doing anything (i.e., there is no one in the country he needs to beat up), he signs aboard as a first-mate and goes with her.

The rest of the film is set either at sea or on the ice--a definite change of pace for Ladd. But the biggest change is just how odd the plot becomes and all the bizarre and rather difficult to anticipate action. It's not really bad, but it's so weird and difficult to believe that it's not all that good either. Still, for fans of Ladd, it's worth seeing and others might see it as just another time-passer.

By the way, those who are members of PETA and soft-hearted souls should NOT watch the film as there is a lot of whale killing in the film and it's pretty graphic. Seeing it, it shows just how much sensibilities have changed in the last half century.