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Ice Cold in Alex

Play trailer Poster for Ice Cold in Alex 1958 2h 12m War Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 94% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Captain Anson (John Mills) is tired and thirsty. Forced to leave his North African post when it becomes clear it will be invaded, Anson is on his way to Alexandria, Egypt, and looking forward to a nice cold beer. Before he gets there, though, circumstances pressure him to take on several passengers. Sister Diana Murdoch (Sylvia Syms) and Captain van der Poel (Anthony Quayle) prove to be excellent traveling companions, but Anson soon realizes that one of them is a German spy.
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Ice Cold in Alex

Critics Reviews

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Neely Swanson Easy Reader (California) "Ice Cold in Alex" is white-knuckle thriller... Character and tension, that's all there is and that's more than enough. Mar 23, 2021 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Ice Cold in Alex is a near-perfect picture until it stumbles in the home stretch. Rated: 3.5/4 Apr 18, 2020 Full Review MFB Critics Monthly Film Bulletin This film is hard to tell apart from many other tropical treks and the love interest is even more cursory than usual. Feb 5, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member A war film based on character observation is rare as it relies on quality acting. Mills is a great actor anyway, but the quartet including Quale, Andrews and Simon is a perfect cast. The heroics is in the journey itself, not big set action scenes. One of my absolute favourite films. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member A pretty good war film which holds up well today. The bar scene was used in a lager advert maybe in the 90s and I always assumed it was filmed for the advert to look old, nope - it was actually in the film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member When it comes to great, suspenseful, feel good, British war time classics... it doesnt get much better then 'Ice Cold in Alex'. What a great title. In fact I wouldn't mind cracking open an ice cold one in Alex after watching this great film. The amount of suspense in this picture is back breaking... literally in one scene. Then there is the whole sequence through the mine field. Oh boy! I've never been so glued to the screen. So much great team work going on. This is more character driven then most war stories. Focusing on one small band. The casting is great. Mills and Quayle are fantastic. The acting is pretty good for this time period. The ending is satisfying too! Very well put together film. It gives you a feeling that there are so many stories that happened during the war, and that this is just one of them. The few instances where they do use music in this film in kind of reminded me of some of John William's work on star wars. This films message is generally stoicism and team work in adversity. And even a touch of comradeship with ones enemy. All in all, it's a must watch for war film enthusiasts and anyone who likes suspense films. Give it a watch. It deserves more credit. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member As far as WWII treks across the Sahara, I'd prefer Humphrey Bogart's "Sahara" from some 15 years earlier. This one plods too much. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member This has to be one of the oldest films I've watched, but I can see why movies like this might coin the phrase 'they don't make em like they used to'. Of course there's no special effects, no colour, and no Hollywood pin-ups, but what it does have is good old honest reality. Based on a true story, it's an inspiring tale of how a small band of British Officers overcome several hurdles both from within the desert, amongst enemy lines, and from within their own troops, in their pursuit of reaching safety, not to mention an ice cold beer in Alexandria. It's well worth a watch as before you know it, you're gripped at the storyline, not even noticing its lack of modern day technology, and the concluding scenes will have you reaching for the beer fridge and joining the cast for that mouth watering moment on the lips. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member My favourite film, first saw it when I was a child and it's captivated me ever since. With such a small cast the experience is more like a theatrical performance than the usual cinematic style, and so has such intimacy between the audience and the actors. One issue this film does has, however, is a rather dated attitude towards women. The way the rest of the cast deal with Denise Clare's character is very much of the time and does rankle a modern audience. But, the rest of the film is just as great as the day it was made. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Ice Cold in Alex

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Movie Info

Synopsis Captain Anson (John Mills) is tired and thirsty. Forced to leave his North African post when it becomes clear it will be invaded, Anson is on his way to Alexandria, Egypt, and looking forward to a nice cold beer. Before he gets there, though, circumstances pressure him to take on several passengers. Sister Diana Murdoch (Sylvia Syms) and Captain van der Poel (Anthony Quayle) prove to be excellent traveling companions, but Anson soon realizes that one of them is a German spy.
Director
J. Lee Thompson
Producer
W.A. Whittaker
Screenwriter
T.J. Morrison, Christopher Landon
Production Co
Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC)
Genre
War
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 17, 2020
Runtime
2h 12m
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