Product Details

• Actors: John Mills, Sylvia Syms, Anthony Quayle, Harry Andrews, Liam Redmond
• Directors: J. Lee Thompson
• Producers: Ice Cold in Alex ( Desert Attack ), Ice Cold in Alex, Desert Attack
• Format: Import, PAL, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Optimum
• Run Time: 125 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000E33C12
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,035 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: The British Ice Cold in Alex was released in the US as Desert Attack. John Mills stars as Captain Anson, a grumbling alcoholic sent on a WW2 mission to Alexandria. Travelling to his destination by ambulance, Anson becomes acquainted with his fellow passengers, nurses Sister Diane Murdoch (Sylvia Syms) and Sister Denise Norton (Mary Clare) and South African officer Captain Van Der Poel (Anthony Quayle). One of these worthies is a German spy-and only two of the passengers will survive until the fade-out. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, Berlin International Film Festival, ...Ice Cold in Alex ( Desert Attack )

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ice Cold in Hot Desert, April 19, 2006

By 

Yenchi Patrick Lo (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Desert Attack (DVD)

Saw this movie only once but remember it rather vividly. It is a classic film of man vs. nature set in Northern Africa during the Second World War. The struggle between man and nature is epic and the acting is done in the classic british style of the 1950's. On the lines of Alec Guinness and the like. Nevertheless one waits for the classic ending scene. Unfortunately watching this movie in the US would be a struggle for anyone who is not dedicated. Kudos for anyone who actually reads this review.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of my favorite WWII Movies ever . . . ., June 7, 2006

By 

marko the great "big cat" (Killeen TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ice Cold in Alex ( Desert Attack ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ] (DVD)

Not just used for the Carlsberg beer advert (which is actually a scene directly from the movie!!! Fancy that!!) this movie captures everything you want in a Brit War flick -- Brit soldiers who know about trucks, nurses, double agents and Rommel-type German soldiers, death, love and stirring music that makes you feel very patriotic. Ice Cold in Alex is a quintessential psychological thriller part action/drama, part chickflick with timeless social issues addressed (namely alcoholism and espionage)all rolled into a Good vs Bad with a twist adventure.

Without giving away the plot the setting is the 1942 Libyan war zone. Sir John Mills is a British ambulance officer who together with his sergeant major driver and nurse (the love interest - Sylvia Sims) escape the German's seige of Tobruk and drive across the hot Western Desert in an ambulance. In a race against time and the elements of the desert the objective is to get to the safety of Alexandria to meet up with the allies and,in true British fashion, have an "ice cold" beer at this little bar!!! The gang get waylaid by Germans who tradeoff a South African officer (Anthony Quayle) for the trip (could he be a spy?) After getting into a couple of scrapes and tight spots along the way all ends well for the group, or does it . . . well, you'll just have to watch the ending for yourselves.

Ice Cold in Alex is a brilliant WWII movie - a classic and my own all time fav - definitely a movie worth having in your collection.

NOTE: Check out Amazon.co.uk. You can get this movie for about 4 quid but it'll be in PAL format not NTSC -- Hey, so watch it on your computer!!! It's worth it!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An unusual war story, March 13, 2006

By 

Alex (Melbourne Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ice Cold in Alex ( Desert Attack ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ] (DVD)

This film is about a small group of people who try to get back to Alexandria after being cut off by german desert troop advances in world war II. It features a group of very different people thrown together through accidents of war. They are two nurses, a drunken commander and his side-kick. Later on a south african engineer joins thems and helps them out of some serious trouble a number of times. However is the south african all he says to be?

Sylvia Syms is the surviving nurse and looks fabulous even though she's in a desert with little water.

It appears there are a number of scenes that were single takes. One classic is when they are trying to push an ambulance up a sand dune. Sylvia slips and the drunk helps her up and attempts to help her back to the ambulance. However they get their timing wrong and the guy accidently slams her head into the rear door of the ambulance! Sylvia recoils and briefly holds her head but then remembers that this is a single take and gets back to pushing.

It is obvious that she really did have her head pounded into the door and she wasn't acting!

The film has nice depth to it with a good twist and resolution at the end. A good example of an english war film.