Ice Station Zebra (1968)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Alistair MacLean (novel)
Douglas Heyes (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 October 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

It's a race for the secret ... or TOTAL DESTRUCTION

Plot:

Commander James Ferraday, USN, has new orders: get David Jones, a British civilian, Captain Anders, a tough Marine with a platoon of troops...

Plot Keywords:

North Pole | Nuclear | Ice | Marine | Cinerama

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Rock Hudson	...	Cdr. James Ferraday
Ernest Borgnine	...	Boris Vaslov
Patrick McGoohan	...	David Jones
Jim Brown	...	Capt. Leslie Anders
Tony Bill	...	Lt. Russell Walker
Lloyd Nolan	...	Admiral Garvey
Alf Kjellin	...	Col. Ostrovsky
Gerald S. O'Loughlin	...	Lt. Cdr. Bob Raeburn
Ted Hartley	...	Lt. Jonathan Hansen
Murray Rose	...	Lt. George Mills
Ron Masak	...	Paul Zabrinczski
Sherwood Price	...	Lt. Edgar Hackett
Lee Stanley	...	Lt. Mitgang
Joseph Bernard	...	Dr. Jack Benning
John Orchard	...	Survivor

Also Known As:

Base artica Zebra (Italy) [it]
Destination zebra: Station polaire (Canada: French title) [fr]
Destination: Zebra, station polaire (France) [fr]
Eisstation Zebra (West Germany) [de]
Estación polar Cebra (Spain) [es]
Estación polar Zebra (Spain) (DVD title) [es]
Jääasema Zebra (Finland) [fi]
Kutup harekâti (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Ledena stanica Zebra (Serbia) [sr]
Missão no Árctico (Portugal) [pt]
Mystiki vasis Zebra (Greece) [el]
Polarstation Zebra svarar ej (Sweden) [sv]
S.O.S. nordpolen (Denmark) [da]
Zebra station polaire (Canada: French title) [fr]

Runtime:

148 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track

Certification:

Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:G (Manitoba) (original rating) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) (video rating) (1991) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Australia:PG | USA:TV-PG | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-12 | Norway:11 | Norway:12 (1970) | Sweden:11 | USA:G | Singapore:PG | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Filmways Pictures

Trivia:

This was Rock Hudson's favourite film of his own.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the sub spends several minutes at an impossible angle, the dishes in the wardroom are neatly on the shelves.

Quotes:

David Jones: Where were you stationed, Captain, before you were picked up in transit?
Capt. Leslie Anders: Asia
David Jones: Ah, then you haven't been on the ice before either.
Capt. Leslie Anders: No, Sir. A bullet goes just as fast up here as it does down there.
David Jones: Not quite. An insignificant difference, perhaps, but I think you'll find the operational characteristics of the M-16 indicate that a bullet will decelerate as much as 40 feet per second per second faster in these climate conditions. It's denser air, you know.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Get Smart: Ice Station Siegfried (#5.13)" (1969)

A US submarine is entrusted with taking a British espionage agent to the top of the world, on a mission that is vital to the free world.

"Ice Station Zebra" was one of the films made during the 1960's that depicted the tensions that existed in the Cold War era. The Soviet Union has launched a satellite containing a camera that is taking pictures of United States defense bases, etc. That satellite, upon reentry, takes a mysterious trajectory that causes it to crash land at a British weather station located at the top of the world, Ice Station Zebra by name. The United States sends a submarine on the mission to find the satellite, a passenger from British secret service goes along to provide expert knowledge, and along the way, a non-communist Russian is added to the passenger list. This makes for some rather tense moments on the voyage, there is a possible sabotage effort aboard the sub, and all folks involved are wondering of the possibilities of a spy aboard the submarine. Finally, the American vessel makes it to the weather station, and even more of a disaster has occurred there; a fire has broken out, there are survivors, but they are in no shape to go satellite hunting. And, to make matters worse, the Russians have sent an air force strike to Zebra in order to lay claim to this camera and its film contents. The conditions at Ice Station Zebra could definitely heat up, as US Marines and Russian paratroops confront each other.

The cast is top-notch; Rock Hudson plays Capt. Farraday, in charge of the submarine and its crew, and plays the role to the hilt. One may almost close eyes and see Hudson in charge of the boat as it embarks on its mission. Patrick McGoohan is in rare form as the British agent Jones, and Ernest Borgnine is able to play a rather convincing Russian who feels that freedom/democracy is better than communism. Jim Brown, the former NFL running back, has the role of the leader of the Marines that will be asked to confront the Russian troops at Zebra.

Just this month, a DVD version of this film has been made available to the public, and the wait has been well worth it. 9/10, and a nice add to a person's collection.