L'enfer au-dessous de zéro

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.

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 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.

6 you say after reading all the other,very negative comments. Yes 6,I watched this this afternoon on UK channel 4,I watched it because I have never heard of it before and I like some of the work of the director Mark Robson. It is not an undiscovered classic but it was quite enjoyable and interesting for what it says about society at the time it was made. The film features some beautiful old aeroplanes,Constellations I think. There is a flight to South Africa,it looks beautiful,very rich.you don't see many black people in the background,the characters don't see to meet any Afrikaners,that is dutch speaking south Africans either. The scenes at the docks main feature British working class types. The action then moves to the whaling fleet,studio shots are mixed with film of real whaling operations. Few people in those days cared much about the whales and parts of the film are like a promo film for the whaling industry. Everybody looks macho except the women who just look nice,Jill Bennett plays a cute little Norwegian whaling skipper and everybody has a great time killing whales. I like Alan Ladd in this film,I like Alan Ladd in every film,he plays more or less the same part in each film,ordinary guy pushed into extraordinary situations. I won't give away the plot but the film looks great,I know that the look of the film looks tacky now but I like the bright colours and the fight scenes,its Tuesday afternoon and I am waiting for the gas man,I do not expect too much. Slagging off this film with 2005 eyes is stupid,it is just a piece of fun,sit back and marvel at the radios the size of fridges and the whaling ships which no longer exist. I am from Edinburgh Scotland and we used to send whalers to that part of the world,hope some of the old fellows who used to go south were watching this and recognised the old boats. How many films did Alan Ladd make where he was an ex soldier/sailor/airman down on his luck?

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.