Ice Station Zebra

After re-discovering Patrick McGoohan, I decided to give this film a try. I had heard the title mentioned for years, but had no clue what it was about.

The overall look of the film was rather impressive. I appreciated most of the technical aspects. You really feel like you would NOT want to be stationed on(in?) a submarine! The special effects weren't bad for 1968. The soundtrack is good as well.

When you have Borgnine and Jim Brown in a movie, you automatically think in terms of "The Dirty Dozen". They both did better in that film...

I have never been at all impressed with Rock Hudson, and found his acting to be rather wooden here. He does a good job with the regulation "sub speak", but, for example, in the post-flooding scene with McGoohan, he is very obviously not as impressive an actor as the Englishman (ok ok, McGoohan was born in the US to Irish parents, but they moved back to Ireland, then to England).

In fact, I (and so many others) feel McGoohan steals the movie. Of course, he had many years experience playing "secret agents", so this film may have been a cake-walk for him... just speak a bit more and trade in a black & white blazer for a warm parka! (He did, in fact have to take time off from filming "The Prisoner" to make Zebra.) His character's comments regarding bullet velocity in cold climates is a fan-favorite, along with "the coffee cup" and post-flood explanation. I swear the other actors were just standing there, watching his performance, forgetting the cameras were rolling.

In short, if you like submarines, spies, and mild action, you should like Zebra.

I first saw this film when it was released in 1968 at the Summit Cinerama theater in Detroit, and it was a fantastic movie going experience. I think the first thing that draws you into this film is the rousing score by Michel Legrand and the marvelous cinematography. The engrossing story moves along at a good pace aided by some very intelligent and witty dialogue. A superb cast of seasoned professionals including Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown and especially a very suave and droll Patrick MacGoohan create fully realized characters that act and react in very real human emotions to some extremely tense and suspenseful situations. The next time you see this film in the TV listings, be sure to check it out and I think you will find it superior to many films of the same genre that have been made since. One thing I find puzzling is the fact that this classic has not been released on DVD, and I only hope it is very soon.

Spectacular film about Cold War filmed mostly in study that won two Academy Award nominations : Cinematography and special visual effects. Captain James Ferraday (this was Rock Hudson's favourite film of his own, and also of Howard Hughes ; Charlton Heston was originally offered the role but turned it down, saying there was no characterization in the script) , Commander of the nuclear submarine called USS Tigershark, is assigned to the polar ice region on a rescue mission when an emergency signal is heard from a research station, Ice Station Zebra (in real life, there was no "Ice Station Zebra", but there was an "Ice Station Alpha" which was situated in a Arctic's Ice Island). On board there is a civilian and possibly a spy named David Jones (Laurence Harvey was originally cast in Patrick McGoohan's role) , whose orders are dark . Ferraday doesn't like being kept in the secret but Jones is strongly secretive and doesn't give much away . Along the way, they collect two additional passengers, a Russian veteran named Boris Vaslov (the recently deceased Ernest Borgnine) , likely also a spy, and an African-American Marine Captain (Jim Brown) . Based on the novel (1963) by Alistair MacLean, Scottish author of Best-seller novels such as "The Guns of Navarone" . It's one of two Alistair MacLean filmed adaptations released in 1968, the other was ¨Where Eagles Dare¨. Changes made from the Alistair MacLean source novel of the same name for this film included the name of the nuclear submarine, the Dolphin, which was re-named the USS Tigerfish and the names of two characters: Submarine Commander Swanson became Commander Ferraday and spy Dr. Carpenter became David Jones .

It is one of the most thrilling and exciting films set on the years of the Cold War. Great superproduction with all-star-cast , impressive scenes , shimmer photography and a vibrant sound , the time has increased its documentary value. The acting of the interesting characters is believable and convincing, especially by Patrick McGoohan and the Russian Colonel well played by Alf Kjellin . Special appearance by Lloyd Nolan and film debut for Ron Masak .The film's story has similarities with the real life events, reported in the media in April 1959, of the Discoverer II experimental Corona satellite capsule that went missing and was recovered by Soviet intelligence agents after it crashed near Spitsbergen in the Arctic Ocean ; Spitsbergen is in Norway's Svalbard archipelago of islands which is where both Alistair MacLean 's novel and the film of Bear Island is set. The screenplay has eloquent dialogue, continuous tension and surprising twists that keep the viewer's attention .The soundtrack by singer and French composer Michel Legrand -"The Umbrellas of Cherbourg"- , is full of vibrant sound , brings a solemn score, cutting edge, played by an orchestra of wind . Colorful cinematography in glimmer color by Daniel Fapp. Unique and innovative underwater camera equipment was developed for this movie by 2nd unit cameraman and cinematographer 'John M Stephens', a former U.S.A. Navy diver, who is billed in the credits for additional arctic photography , the camera system enabled the first ever filming of a continuous submarine dive and this technical innovation produced some outstanding photography for the picture.

The visual effects, despite its quality, not 'see that snow is artificial, that the landscape of the polar station is mounted on set ; his picture is the first of two movies based on an Alistair MacLean novel set in rugged icy and snowy terrain , the second would be Bear Island about eleven years later. John Sturges' filmmaking is absorbent and entertaining , a good job , It's one of two filmed Alistair MacLean adaptations directed by Sturges , the other was ¨The Satan Bug¨ made and released about three years earlier . The production shoot for ¨Ice Station Zebra¨ went for nineteen weeks, from Spring 1967 until October 1967. Rating : Very good , wholesome seeing .

The very first film Rock Hudson did after finishing his contractual obligations at Universal Studios was no cheapie. Ice Station Zebra was spared no expense by MGM in bringing the Alistair McLean Cold War novel to the screen. Unfortunately this and some other ill conceived projects are what brought MGM to bankruptcy in the next decade.

Though it got only so-so reviews and didn't have the box office that MGM wanted and needed, Ice Station Zebra has stood up well and is really best seen on the big screen. Even a letter boxed version doesn't do the vast polar landscapes justice nor the underwater shots neither. The film was nominated for special effects and color cinematography.

Watching Rock Hudson in command of the U.S.S. Tigerfish was like watching James T. Kirk in charge of the Enterprise. I wouldn't be surprised if Hudson took a few cues from William Shatner in his performance.

Hudson has an Enterprise like mission and later on leads an away team on a polar icecap where a Russian spy satellite has been busy photographing all of the U.S. missile launching sites. The film is wanted by both sides and both sides send teams to get it.

It's a curious bunch that Hudson has to deal with on his team. A Russian defector scientist Ernest Borgnine, British agent Patrick McGoohan (wasn't that ever natural casting) and spit and polish Marine captain Jim Brown. They've all got varying agendas and one in his crew is a double agent.

The highlight of the film is the standoff with Hudson and Russian colonel Alf Kjellin. They are an evenly matched pair, I would not like to be playing poker with.

Ice Station Zebra is far better than the reviews it got at the time. Even with the Cold War over, it's still an exciting and suspense filled film.

Big-budget, all-star, action-packed adventure about an American submarine sent to the North Pole to retrieve a downed satellite which contains a roll of film. The Russians want it as badly as the Americans because the film contains high-orbit pictures of BOTH country's missile sites.

Rock Hudson is the sub commander, Patrick McGoohan is the cynical secret agent with a dry wit (a roll he made famous in two famous British TV shows, `The Secret Agent' and `The Prisoner'), Jim Brown is a hard-nosed Marine captain, and Earnest Borgnine is a Russian defector working with McGoohan and the Americans to retrieve the valuable film.

The special effects of the Russian jets could have been much better, even in 1968. But the fantastic exterior arctic sets create a stylized North Pole as appealing as the sets of Altair 4 in `Forbidden Planet'. Sure they don't look `real' -- but that's doesn't mean they don't look good. And brother, they sure look BIG. Furthermore, these sets don't just sit there, they actually DO neat stuff: hugh blocks of ice converge and threaten to crush the sub's conning tower, and the conning tower raises and lowers through cracks in the ice!

Dynamite score by Michel LeGrand. Sterling screenplay by Douglas Heyes, riddled with sharp dialogue that the fine cast delivers perfectly (I love it when McGoohan tells Hudson that the film invented by America's German scientists was put into the camera invented by Britain's German scientists and sent up in the satellite invented by the Russian's German scientists. Funny.

Based on Alistair MacLean's best-selling novel. A genuine techno-thriller that predated Tom Clancy's work. And it was originally released at Cinerama theaters! Gotta love it . . .