Ice Cold in Alex

Starring: John Mills, Sylvia Sims, Anthony Quale, Henry Andrews

Synopsis:

WW2, North Africa. When the Germans begin an attack on the Allied-held town of Tobruck in Libya, an evacuation is ordered. A fatigued transport pool officer, Captain Anson (Mills) and his loyal MSM Tom Pugh (Andrews) commandeer a battered old ambulance and taking on board two stranded nurses, they decide to cross the desert back to British lines. The soon encounter a South African officer, Captain Van der Poel (Quayle), whose two large bottles of gin persuade Anson to let him travel with them. All manner of obstacles threaten to curtail their progress through the desert, and Van der Poel also rouses suspicions with his obsessive attachment to his large and mysterious backpack. All the while, all that sustains them is Captain Anson’s promise of a tall frothy ice-cold beer awaiting them in Alexandria...

Review:

Ice Cold in Alex, adapted by Christopher Landon from his own novel, is a cracking adventure tale set against the backdrop of the fall of Tobruck.

As the female medics are preparing to be evacuated by ship, an air-raid spooks Sister Denise Morton and she panics, fleeing the dock. Her friend, Sister Diana Murdoch chases after her, and as a result they get left behind. When they encounter Captain Anson and MSM Pugh, they are able to hitch a lift, as is Capt. Van der Poel, with his backpack of gin.

The journey they propose to undertake is incredibly treacherous – even the Top Gear team would balk at the challenge – least of all because the Germans are snapping at their heels the whole way. Sometimes the situation is incredibly tense, such as having to lead the ambulance by foot across a live minefield.

Making their journey even more precarious is the fact that Anson’s time in the field has started to turn him into an alcoholic. He won’t ask for a drink, but he won’t say no if he’s offered one. Eventually even he sees that he’s just making things worse and makes a vow to Diana: the next drink he’ll have is a lager, ice cold, in a small bar in Alexandria he knows, with a marble top and high stools. . Mills gives the expected flawed hero performance. Anson is physically and mentally exhausted and knows that his actions may have led to the death of one of his passengers, and it weighs heavily on his conscience.

The rest of the cast is excellent. Henry Andrews is one of those actors whose instantly recognisable for his large ears and granite chin, and plays the NCO to perfection. When we first meet him he’s berating a driver for not bringing to his attention the oil pressure keeps dropping on his ambulance. He’s the mother hen to the group, providing assistance to both the nurses and motivating the officers when need be Sylvia Sims’ role could have been thankless eye-candy, but her Diana is steady as a rock throughout all their hardships. Anthony Quale has a great time as the slightly larger than life Van der Poel – arrogant but always likeable, even when it’s made known he’s up to no good.

Ice Cold in Alex has a number of excellent set-pieces, including encounters with German soldiers and a heart-thumping run-in with some quicksand, and an almost Sysiphus-like attempt to push the ambulance up a steep sand-dune. However it is the climax of the film for which it is famous, especially in the UK, as beer Company Carlsberg used the scene of Anson nursing his beer before downing it in one gulp in one of it’s adverts. However for me what happens after that moment is even better.

J Lee Thompson was responsible for a number of icon films, such as The Guns of Navarone and Mackenna’s Gold. Filmed in Libya, Thompson makes sure to emphasise the heat of the situation, with close-ups of sweat-soaked faces and sweeping wide-screen shots of dunes under the beating sun. By the end, you’ll be wanting that beer as much as Anson.

Verdict:

Another feather in Optimum’s collection of Classics. The story is amazing and the ending is just perfect. The hi-def print is bolstered by an interview with Sylvia Sims and footage of 16mm behind the scenes as filmed by John Mills himself.

9 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)

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