I have it on DVD and watch it regularly!! Great film!!! Interestingly, there are TWO ambulances used in the film, yes two Katie's! If you look carefully, in some scenes, the ambulance has a front driven axle, it's four wheel drive! In most scenes, it's just two wheel drive, as was indeed the Austin K2 vehicle of the period. A wonderful film!!!!
Hi - yes, movies are tricky that way. I'm working on my review for Remains of the Day and discovered that they filmed on four different estates to create Darlington Hall - that's why it looks extra elegant! But back to your point, yes, Alex is great and was a main inspiration for my channel trying to get North Americans to look at more show from, or about, the UK.
Ok we watched it and LOVED it!!! So entertaining--tense, atmospheric, with a giant twist near the end. So so good. Thanks for bringing this film to our attention.
You are most welcome. Alex was a main incentive for the theme of this channel - I couldn't stand that such a good English-language movie was virtually unknown over here. And yes, the resolution of the ending was very well handled and just put a cherry on top of a good film. (also glad it is streaming here.
Hollywood and the US distributors need to understand that continuous action and special effects are ok, but no substitute for a fine script, story and excellent acting.
True. Of course the whole process is determined by one or a handful of people screening the movie and then deciding what they want to do with it. Alex might have also been vulnerable due to its slightly longer running time.
Dear Dennis. Thanks a ton for that feedback. When I started this channel over a year ago I chose to showcase classic now largely overlooked Brit movies - and Ice Cold in Alex was the prime example. As you have seen, the full version is a tense war film and a tremendous character drama - and while a great classic in the UK it was criminally unknown in N America. Your post shows the effort to make videos is worth it - and that's very gratifying. Again, thanks for posting and please find more of my videos here: czcams.com/channels/Lk0imh2GnMR9aV1oQr4iUQ.html
Thanks. I'm glad I got the dvd in England - I'd tell North Americans multi-region dvd players aren't expensive and are worth it for classic movie fans.
Just one thing, Harry Andrews doesn't play a Master Sergeant (a rank which doesn't exist in the British Army), he plays a WOl (Warrant Officer Class 1), his rank badge is on the wristband he wears. It's a great film.
Thanks - that has been pointed out - apologies for the error. This movie was a main reason I chose great classic Brit movies as my subject as I was stunned how such a fine and worthwhile film was largely unknown in N America.
My Dad was a stretcher bearer from France , to North Africa, Salerno, Anzio (US 5th Army) and the Gothic Line. He never drove after the war, until I bought my first car. His license was still valid and very trustingly I let him use it. Luckily I quickly discovered in time , that the ambulance he used in the war, when he wasn’t armed with a stretcher, only had 3 gears and no synchromesh......the crunching and chipping of gears , left me in shock. He then taught me to double de-clutch which proved very useful with my later bangers. It’s a great film , and undoubtedly many of the cast and crew brought their own WW2 experiences into the film. I understand Anthony Quale saw action in Yugoslavia in the SOE , not dissimilar to The Guns of Navarone.
Thanks for sharing. On Mr Quayle, thanks to commenters I learned he wrote a novel based on his war experiences called Eight Hours from England, which is still available. And yes, it certainly evokes Guns of Nav.
My pleasure! I appreciate your feedback as you are clearly a longtime fan. As a colonial, I didn't see this movie til later in life but was amazed how great it is, given its lack of prominence in North America - and it became the defining movie for why I wanted to do this channel.
Good review. I agree, an often underrated film, as were many British war movies of the period. "I Was Monty's Double" is another good watch, again with John Mills in the lead role (released in the US as "Hell, Heaven or Hoboken", also available on Amazon Prime).
Thanks, Robert. Underrated, and generally little known, right? Having an interest in war films I recall coming across this puzzling title years ago and simply wondering "what's this movie all about?" All-region dvd players are lifesavers and mine let me get and watch this title before you could stream it.
There was also another Movie in the UK called Hell Drivers (With Sean Connery, Stanly Baker and Patrick McGoogan) that has that trucks against nature theme....
Good summary of a classic here, one great thing about streaming and multi region DVD's is that great films ruined by poor distribution/marketing/treating the audience like children, of which there are a few, is that they now have a chance of discovery by other regions. Alex has long been a favourite in the UK and ingrained enough for those commercials made 30 years after it's release. 'Worth waiting for'.
Thanks a ton. When I decided to start this channel, Alex was a main reason. I thought it was so unfortunate that such a splendid movie was largely unknown in North America. It's good to know others like you feel the same. Cheers.
After all they go through, the suspense with the handling of Quayle's character at the very end is masterful - and makes the "look-the-other-way" events earlier in the film more credible.
"never heard of it!" Yes, showcasing engaging older movies that still entertain is the goal of WFP. I look forward to seeing your comment after you see it and share what you thought - it will be very interesting to find out.
It's tremendously good at a human, individual-character level. I believe some streaming services carry it so I hope you get a chance to see it. There are good reasons it is a classic in the UK.
Hi, The Cruel Sea was my very first video on this channel, though I still had a lot to learn as a youtuber and it shows. But I have read the book twice and love the movie. A recent Penguin Book video about WW2 movies rated CS the best. I'm actually thinking of doing a new CS video that is tighter and better to watch. So yes, great suggestion!
Yes, in a lot of ways this movie was the incentive for the channel. It typifies really good older films that are unknown or forgotten for a variety of reasons. Earlier in his interview, John Mills also mentioned it was also one of his personal favorites.
YES Ice Cold In Alex is a great movie and a travisty not being fully released in the USA. John Mills a great actor. My other fav films are Sink The Bismark, Dambusters and. A Bridge To Far .
Good to hear from you again. Bismarck is clearly a fave for many as it is easily my most watched review. Bridge Too Far is on my list - though it's a better known flick and doesn't need as much promo. Finally, I was preparing to do Dambusters next but may delay - when I checked the film was largely unavailable in North America, no doubt in large part to the name of the squadron leader's dog. (I read that they finally stopped putting flowers on the dog's grave for this reason.) I do hope to do it eventually and point out the large contingent of Canadian fliers involved in the Raid.
British filmmakers of the 50s really were tired of jingoistic nationalism, eh? I've favourited it on Hoopla, and'll check it out later this week P.S. Love the bonus shot against method acting!
Yes! Interesting that the tag line for my Cruel Sea edit was "No False Heroics". By the 50s they'd lost the Empire, been through two world wars and the blitz - and many in the film fraternity had seen the war close up and weren't interested in Hollywood-style actioners. That trend continued into the 60s Vietnam era with things like How I Won the War, Play Dirty, Oh What a Lovely War and the acidic Charge of the Light Brigade remake. (To be fair, Hollywood did also make some grittier looks at war in the 50s as well - Attack! and the unsuccessful Naked and the Dead and a number set in Korea too.
One more quick note on Sorcerer and its title that confused movie fans; Sorcerer is simply the name painted on one of the two trucks attempting the dangerous mission. As noted, that was an unfortunate choice as people felt misled about the nature of the film. (Sorcerer is discussed in the companion film section of this video.)
thanks, Bob. I will dig into that. So interesting to learn about people we like on the screen. Researching Christopher Lee for my Ivanhoe video I saw he also served "behind the lines" and was a distant relation to Ian Fleming.
This channel looks at classic movies with a British connection or stars. You might also enjoy my videos on Day of the Jackal: czcams.com/video/2Um2bTCWBwc/video.html Ivanhoe (1997): czcams.com/video/KajXevMMozI/video.html
@@Vlad65WFPReviews For my taste I just see Quayle as being very British and hence not a good fit. Maybe a lesser known actor or one with a more ambiguous heritage might have made a better spy. Quayle would have been great as a third Brit instead of the spy. But like l said, it’s just personal taste. On another note do you think Mill’s character got off a bit light after his trying to out run the Germans lead to the unnecessary death of the nurse.
@@bebopkirby Interesting question. Well, I'm sure in the circumstances you would do everything possible to avoid being taken - and Mills already had a short stint as a POW and it had shaken him. I can't condemn him from my computer chair.
Really great film and not really a war film. The big point is that it is a human story. Even the Germans are not vilified which (given the time it is made) is very notable. Also Sylvia Sims is just stunning in this - sorry just had to say it. But she is.
Fantastic film with a superb cast. Sylvia Syms was considered a sex symbol then and the open blouse was considered very risqué, the censors were not happy. Yet another British b/w film made by actors who knew war. Maybe too much acting and not enough action for American audiences.
It is a great movie but your miss diagnosis on the captain is bad , he sent to ambulance section because of his ptsd which he self medicates with alcohol ie drunkard which his why csm hates it and try to protect his friend as they served together in the British special forces the LRDG in the story but also try the rat patrol (American release name) the original name been the sea of sand which I liked better starring Richard Attenborough or the best period WW2 movie called The cruel sea FYI all the films have WW2 as the backdrop there all about survival
thanks for watching, though I don't think my commentary on the captain was incorrect or really disagrees with you as I do say he is a man whose nerves are shot by too much war and a stint as a POW, he drinks as a result, and MSM Pugh is very protective of him. btw I am a massive fan of The Cruel Sea, I did my first video on that movie and have read the book twice
I have it on DVD and watch it regularly!! Great film!!! Interestingly, there are TWO ambulances used in the film, yes two Katie's! If you look carefully, in some scenes, the ambulance has a front driven axle, it's four wheel drive! In most scenes, it's just two wheel drive, as was indeed the Austin K2 vehicle of the period. A wonderful film!!!!
Hi - yes, movies are tricky that way. I'm working on my review for Remains of the Day and discovered that they filmed on four different estates to create Darlington Hall - that's why it looks extra elegant!
But back to your point, yes, Alex is great and was a main inspiration for my channel trying to get North Americans to look at more show from, or about, the UK.
Ok we watched it and LOVED it!!! So entertaining--tense, atmospheric, with a giant twist near the end. So so good. Thanks for bringing this film to our attention.
You are most welcome. Alex was a main incentive for the theme of this channel - I couldn't stand that such a good English-language movie was virtually unknown over here. And yes, the resolution of the ending was very well handled and just put a cherry on top of a good film. (also glad it is streaming here.
Hollywood and the US distributors need to understand that continuous action and special effects are ok, but no substitute for a fine script, story and excellent acting.
True. Of course the whole process is determined by one or a handful of people screening the movie and then deciding what they want to do with it. Alex might have also been vulnerable due to its slightly longer running time.
One of my favourite movies.
Desperate for a drink? Too hot? The image I get in my mind is John Mills wiping the dew off a glass of lager.
It is so good - I'm pleased my little channel is helping at least a few deprived North Americans discover what Brits have been enjoying for decades!
Thank you ever so much. Ice Cold ... is one of the best. I will look out for sorceror
Dear Dennis. Thanks a ton for that feedback. When I started this channel over a year ago I chose to showcase classic now largely overlooked Brit movies - and Ice Cold in Alex was the prime example. As you have seen, the full version is a tense war film and a tremendous character drama - and while a great classic in the UK it was criminally unknown in N America. Your post shows the effort to make videos is worth it - and that's very gratifying. Again, thanks for posting and please find more of my videos here: czcams.com/channels/Lk0imh2GnMR9aV1oQr4iUQ.html
first saw this over 40 years ago, well written, well acted
Thanks. I'm glad I got the dvd in England - I'd tell North Americans multi-region dvd players aren't expensive and are worth it for classic movie fans.
Just one thing, Harry Andrews doesn't play a Master Sergeant (a rank which doesn't exist in the British Army), he plays a WOl (Warrant Officer Class 1), his rank badge is on the wristband he wears. It's a great film.
Thanks - that has been pointed out - apologies for the error. This movie was a main reason I chose great classic Brit movies as my subject as I was stunned how such a fine and worthwhile film was largely unknown in N America.
My Dad was a stretcher bearer from France , to North Africa, Salerno, Anzio (US 5th Army) and the Gothic Line. He never drove after the war, until I bought my first car. His license was still valid and very trustingly I let him use it. Luckily I quickly discovered in time , that the ambulance he used in the war, when he wasn’t armed with a stretcher, only had 3 gears and no synchromesh......the crunching and chipping of gears , left me in shock. He then taught me to double de-clutch which proved very useful with my later bangers.
It’s a great film , and undoubtedly many of the cast and crew brought their own WW2 experiences into the film. I understand Anthony Quale saw action in Yugoslavia in the SOE , not dissimilar to The Guns of Navarone.
Thanks for sharing. On Mr Quayle, thanks to commenters I learned he wrote a novel based on his war experiences called Eight Hours from England, which is still available. And yes, it certainly evokes Guns of Nav.
Great, great film. I watch it every time it comes on TV. Thanks for a fine review.
My pleasure! I appreciate your feedback as you are clearly a longtime fan. As a colonial, I didn't see this movie til later in life but was amazed how great it is, given its lack of prominence in North America - and it became the defining movie for why I wanted to do this channel.
Good review. I agree, an often underrated film, as were many British war movies of the period. "I Was Monty's Double" is another good watch, again with John Mills in the lead role (released in the US as "Hell, Heaven or Hoboken", also available on Amazon Prime).
Thanks, Robert. Underrated, and generally little known, right? Having an interest in war films I recall coming across this puzzling title years ago and simply wondering "what's this movie all about?" All-region dvd players are lifesavers and mine let me get and watch this title before you could stream it.
There was also another Movie in the UK called Hell Drivers (With Sean Connery, Stanly Baker and Patrick McGoogan) that has that trucks against nature theme....
yes, not shown very often in N America but I have seen it once - I remember the drivers were forced to drive at insane speeds to make their deliveries
@@Vlad65WFPReviews Yes. Well worth a re-watch. Keep up the great work... Love your posts...
Good summary of a classic here, one great thing about streaming and multi region DVD's is that great films ruined by poor distribution/marketing/treating the audience like children, of which there are a few, is that they now have a chance of discovery by other regions.
Alex has long been a favourite in the UK and ingrained enough for those commercials made 30 years after it's release.
'Worth waiting for'.
Well said, Graham. Yes, probably no matter where you live it is good to get a multi-region player as it lets you access more films.
Good man. well researched. Thanks.
Thanks a ton. When I decided to start this channel, Alex was a main reason. I thought it was so unfortunate that such a splendid movie was largely unknown in North America. It's good to know others like you feel the same. Cheers.
A masterpiece.
After all they go through, the suspense with the handling of Quayle's character at the very end is masterful - and makes the "look-the-other-way" events earlier in the film more credible.
A classic movie. Also one to consider is.... above us the waves. Also a John Mills movie. He made so many great war films in the 40s and 50s.
I will need to dig into that one. Goodness, Mills was in uniform so many times - and he won his Oscar for playing a village idiot!
Looks fabulous! We'll try to find it tonight to watch. Never heard of it!
"never heard of it!" Yes, showcasing engaging older movies that still entertain is the goal of WFP. I look forward to seeing your comment after you see it and share what you thought - it will be very interesting to find out.
I will keep my eyes out for this one as I never saw it. However, I did see the Sorcerer when it came out. *Blew me away* (no pun intended) Hee Hee.
It's tremendously good at a human, individual-character level. I believe some streaming services carry it so I hope you get a chance to see it. There are good reasons it is a classic in the UK.
Another one to look out for is The Cruel Sea
Hi, The Cruel Sea was my very first video on this channel, though I still had a lot to learn as a youtuber and it shows. But I have read the book twice and love the movie. A recent Penguin Book video about WW2 movies rated CS the best. I'm actually thinking of doing a new CS video that is tighter and better to watch. So yes, great suggestion!
I've literally never heard of this one before. Good one.
Yes, in a lot of ways this movie was the incentive for the channel. It typifies really good older films that are unknown or forgotten for a variety of reasons. Earlier in his interview, John Mills also mentioned it was also one of his personal favorites.
Thanks Walt, love that movie. A few new ones for me here, lots to watch.
Thanks, Mark. Did you see this movie on TV north of the border? Curious how you knew about it.
THANKS
Great getting comments on Alex - it was the movie that inspired the channel.
He is not "Master Sargeant" that is US, he would be MSM Medical Sargeant Major or WO1
True, if I recall he is deemed a Warrant Officer in the film.
@@Vlad65WFPReviews Certainly his rank badge is a WO1, in a line Regiment that would be RSM.
All against the desert the greater enemy.
YES Ice Cold In Alex is a great movie and a travisty not being fully released in the USA. John Mills a great actor. My other fav films are Sink The Bismark, Dambusters and. A Bridge To Far .
Good to hear from you again. Bismarck is clearly a fave for many as it is easily my most watched review. Bridge Too Far is on my list - though it's a better known flick and doesn't need as much promo. Finally, I was preparing to do Dambusters next but may delay - when I checked the film was largely unavailable in North America, no doubt in large part to the name of the squadron leader's dog. (I read that they finally stopped putting flowers on the dog's grave for this reason.)
I do hope to do it eventually and point out the large contingent of Canadian fliers involved in the Raid.
British filmmakers of the 50s really were tired of jingoistic nationalism, eh? I've favourited it on Hoopla, and'll check it out later this week
P.S. Love the bonus shot against method acting!
Yes! Interesting that the tag line for my Cruel Sea edit was "No False Heroics". By the 50s they'd lost the Empire, been through two world wars and the blitz - and many in the film fraternity had seen the war close up and weren't interested in Hollywood-style actioners.
That trend continued into the 60s Vietnam era with things like How I Won the War, Play Dirty, Oh What a Lovely War and the acidic Charge of the Light Brigade remake.
(To be fair, Hollywood did also make some grittier looks at war in the 50s as well - Attack! and the unsuccessful Naked and the Dead and a number set in Korea too.
You can find this film on youtube
Of course, movies can come and go on youtube depending on the rights holders finding and pulling them - depends on regional issues too.
One more quick note on Sorcerer and its title that confused movie fans; Sorcerer is simply the name painted on one of the two trucks attempting the dangerous mission. As noted, that was an unfortunate choice as people felt misled about the nature of the film. (Sorcerer is discussed in the companion film section of this video.)
Check out Anthony Quayles war service in WW2, real life behind the lines stuff.
thanks, Bob. I will dig into that. So interesting to learn about people we like on the screen. Researching Christopher Lee for my Ivanhoe video I saw he also served "behind the lines" and was a distant relation to Ian Fleming.
Bob, following up I learned about his book about the Balkans from the IWM and have ordered it. Thanks.
This channel looks at classic movies with a British connection or stars. You might also enjoy my videos on Day of the Jackal:
czcams.com/video/2Um2bTCWBwc/video.html
Ivanhoe (1997):
czcams.com/video/KajXevMMozI/video.html
Found it , liked it. For me the casting of the excellent Quayle was a bit distracting.
Glad you liked the film - I think it has a lot of emotional power at the end. On Quayle, did you have issues with his accent or what?
@@Vlad65WFPReviews For my taste I just see Quayle as being very British and hence not a good fit. Maybe a lesser known actor or one with a more ambiguous heritage might have made a better spy. Quayle would have been great as a third Brit instead of the spy. But like l said, it’s just personal taste. On another note do you think Mill’s character got off a bit light after his trying to out run the Germans lead to the unnecessary death of the nurse.
@@bebopkirby Interesting question. Well, I'm sure in the circumstances you would do everything possible to avoid being taken - and Mills already had a short stint as a POW and it had shaken him. I can't condemn him from my computer chair.
Really great film and not really a war film. The big point is that it is a human story. Even the Germans are not vilified which (given the time it is made) is very notable. Also Sylvia Sims is just stunning in this - sorry just had to say it. But she is.
agree - this is a human drama set during a war - not a traditional "war movie"
classic movie
Yes! As I stated, this movie is so good yet relatively unknown over here in North America, that it was a major factor in the focus of my channel.
Fantastic film with a superb cast. Sylvia Syms was considered a sex symbol then and the open blouse was considered very risqué, the censors were not happy.
Yet another British b/w film made by actors who knew war.
Maybe too much acting and not enough action for American audiences.
Well, that's what some 1950's distributor thought. As of today, I know some Americans who recently saw it and appreciate it for the classic it is.
It is a great movie but your miss diagnosis on the captain is bad , he sent to ambulance section because of his ptsd which he self medicates with alcohol ie drunkard which his why csm hates it and try to protect his friend as they served together in the British special forces the LRDG in the story but also try the rat patrol (American release name) the original name been the sea of sand which I liked better starring Richard Attenborough or the best period WW2 movie called The cruel sea FYI all the films have WW2 as the backdrop there all about survival
thanks for watching, though I don't think my commentary on the captain was incorrect or really disagrees with you as I do say he is a man whose nerves are shot by too much war and a stint as a POW, he drinks as a result, and MSM Pugh is very protective of him. btw I am a massive fan of The Cruel Sea, I did my first video on that movie and have read the book twice
Much better to buy the DVD then you don't have irritating Yenghi accents yabbering over the top.
We