Ice Cold in Alex
1958 · Movie · PG · 125 min · ★ 7.3 · 89% critics
During World War II in North Africa, a small group of British medical personnel becomes separated from their unit and must drive an ambulance across hostile desert terrain to reach safety. With enemy patrols, mechanical setbacks, and crushing heat closing in, the journey tests their endurance and trust as they cling to the hope of relief at the destination.
Also known as Desert Attack
Where to watch
Streaming on BFI Player Classics.
2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Years
- 1958
- Release date
- 1958-06-24
- Language
- English
- Rated
- PG
- Runtime
- 125 min
- Critic score
- 89/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.3/10 (101 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a gritty, suspenseful WWII desert survival story with moral tension and minimal shootouts, in the vein of The Bridge on the River Kwai or The Guns of Navarone; Not for you if you need constant action or a romance-first plot.
Pros: tense survival journey; strong performances; vivid desert hardship | Cons: generic at times; forced romance; a bit flimsy plot
Themes
- ambulance
- spy
- world war ii
- beer
- black and white
- desert
- land mine
Cast & crew
John Mills
as Captain Anson
Sylvia Syms
as Sister Diana Murdoch
Anthony Quayle
as Captain van der Poel
Harry Andrews
as M.S.M. Pugh
Diane Clare
as Sister Denise Norton
Richard Leech
as Captain Crosbie
Liam Redmond
as Brigadier (D.D.M.S.)
Allan Cuthbertson
as Brigadier's Staff Officer
David Lodge
as C.M.P Captain (Tank Trap)
Michael Nightingale
as C.M.P Captain (Check Point)
Directed by J. Lee Thompson