Le désert de la peur

...from British-Pathe and Fox, and director J. Lee Thompson. An ambulance containing British Army Captain Anson (John Mills), Sergeant Pugh (Harry Andrews), and two nurses, Diana (Sylvia Syms) and Denise (Diane Clare), evacuates Tobruk in North Africa ahead of the advancing German army. They want to make it to British HQ in Alexandria, a long, perilous journey through the unforgiving desert. As they venture further into the desert and uncertain escape, they happen upon Captain van der Poel (Anthony Quayle), a South African army officer who got separated from his battalion. He joins them.

I've seen literally dozens of desert survival movies, and didn't expect to see any more that would bring something different to the table. So I was pleasantly surprised by this British war film, as it brings some unexpected turns to the tale. The entire cast has some of their career-best roles, with Quayle and Mills at the head of the class. Director Thompson depicts the oppressive heat of the setting vividly. This is a fairly obscure film in the U. S., and it deserves to be better known. Its initial American release was botched when Fox renamed it Desert Attack and hacked nearly an hour from its running time. Recommended.

I must confess to being biased towards this film, as I am a grandson of the author and screenwriter. It is extremely pleasing to read that this film has given a lot of pleasure to many who have seen it. Why I think the film succeeds is because it was written by a man who took part in the North African campaign, as a doctor in the RAMC, who had to deal with the human cost of war. People, and how they cope with adversity, is often more interesting than depicting warfare itself. This makes it an unusual war film for the time, to say the least. The character of Captain Anson, so ably played by John Mills, is telling for me as my grandfather sadly did have an alcohol problem later in life. On a lighter note, the terrific final scene in the bar has an amusing story attached to it - apparently, the scene had to be shot five or six times, and as nothing else looked like beer in a glass than, well, beer, poor John Mills had to keep knocking back the beers until the scene was "in the can"!

Ice-Cold in Alex is directed by J. Lee Thompson and is based on the novel of the same name written by Christopher Landon. The latter of which co-writes the screenplay with T.J. Morrison. It stars John Mills, Sylvia Syms, Anthony Quayle and Harry Andrews. Leighton Lucas provides the music and Gilbert Taylor photographs in black and white.

World War II and the British base at Tobruk, Libya, is attacked by the German Afrika Korps. During the evacuation 4 personnel are tasked with the mission to drive an ambulance across the desert back to British lines in Alexandria in Egypt. Captain Anson (Mills), MSM Tom Pugh (Andrews), Nurse Diana Murdoch (Syms) and Nurse Denise Norton (Diane Clare) are the four people in question, soon to be joined by a South African officer, Captain van der Poel (Quayle). Poel seems shifty, but his physicality and supply of Gin will no doubt be handy on this arduous trip. And arduous it will prove, as the elements, Germans and inner conflict will all test the group to the limit.

It falls under the war movie banner, but the truth is that Ice-Cold in Alex is a different sort of animal. The core of Landon's story is to observe how a different group of characters cope in the face of mental and physical hardships. The war and the desert landscapes form the backdrop, but this is in essence a character study where the characters are defined by their actions. Thankfully the group of actors on show are able to turn in great shows to not let the slow structure of the film be a hindrance. Mills and Quayle especially bring a dynamic to their characters, drawing the viewer into the desert with them in the process. A number of quality scenes stand out in the picture, be it involving quicksand or trying to get "Katy" the ambulance over a hill, the tension mounts and the film never wants for effective drama. While the finale crowns the picture in a wave of humanistic collectedness. 8/10

I am not a great fan of war genre, but this film is brilliant for several reasons. First of all the film is well acted by a cast who know what good acting is. This can be particularly said of the late Sir John Mills; a dedicated actor who really knew how to play all his characters well.

The film is also great for its suspense, which kept me gripped all the way to Alexandria.

However, what makes the film stand out, is how the adversity of a hostile environment, such as the dessert brings out the positive qualities of human nature, which serve to unite man -and woman -kind. This puts the idea of war into perspective as insignificant when faced with nature's raw and hostile conditions. It illustrates that as humans we need to unite and work together to combat adversity, while respecting the power of nature.

This film really brings out how people can overcome their differences, no matter how large or seemingly-impossible, and work together for their own survival.

Anthony Quayle acted his part with perfection, staying both loyal to his own cause, AND to the common cause of survival.

He did not turn anybody over to the German army despite the many opportunities, but turned each incident into an advantage that helped all concerned.

Also the matter of alcoholic addiction was portrayed excellently by John Mills, and the self-realisation which led to his overcoming of the problem was quite poignant.

Overall I would recommend this film as one of the classics amongst war-theme movies. It gets behind the scenes and down to the really important matter of real people and THEIR perspective of things.