Ice-Cold in Alex (Desert Attack) (1958)

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(2,891 ratings)

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… More 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. For its American release, Ice Cold in Alex was not only given a new title, but was also trimmed from 132 minutes to 79. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 9 min.
Directed By: J. Lee Thompson
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Classics

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1958 Wide

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

Ice cold in Alex is probably the ultimate British War film. It shows war for what it is and people for what they are. The ultimate message being that we all need to work together for the greater good. Makes me feel proud to be British quite frankly and the way it depicted the… More
Ice cold in Alex is probably the ultimate British War film. It shows war for what it is and people for what they are. The ultimate message being that we all need to work together for the greater good. Makes me feel proud to be British quite frankly and the way it depicted the German's was quite brave for the time but very mature and, well, British I suppose. Guaranteed you'll want an Ice cold beer by the end. I read somewhere that the last scene took quite a few takes and Sir John Mills was absolutely plastered by the end. Them were the days eh!
Stella D

a rousing old fashioned adventure set in ww2 north africa. more character driven than most war films and very british. good show. be sure to get the brit version if u can as i think a good 45 mins were cut for the american release aka desert attack.