Ice Station Zebra

Plot synopsis:
The time is the late '60's, deep in the chill of the Cold War. As observers in both Russia and the USA watch closely, an orbiting spy satellite re-enters the atmosphere, parachuting down to a soft landing in the desolate Arctic wastes. Soon, a hooded figure fights his way through the ice-storm and retrieves the capsule, unaware that, hidden nearby, another figure is watching his every move.Not long afterwards, the world is shocked to learn that Drift Ice Staton Zebra, a scientific weather station at the North Pole, has met with disaster. The weak distress calls first issued have fallen silent, and the nuclear sub Tigerfish, commanded by James Ferraday (Rock Hudson) is being sent to attempt a rescue. Oddly, the mission also includes a platoon of Marines, as well as a mysterious British agent known only as Mr. Jones (Patrick McGoohan), and a boisterous Russian defector, Boris Vaslov (Ernest Borgnine). Ferraday's orders are to get Mr. Jones to Zebra as swiftly as possible, but without any explanation as to why, a situation he is none too pleased with.Submerging, the submarine travels under the Polar ice cap, hoping to break through the thin ice near Zebra. As they near their destination, a torpedo is readied in order to blow a hole through the ice. Checking the torpedo tube, a slight trickle of seawater is noted draining from it, but all indicators show clear. The hatch is hard to open, and as the crewman thrusts against the handle, it suddenly slams open, ice-cold seawater flooding the torpedo room.Fighting for their lives, the men struggle to close the outer hatch while Ferraday orders engines full astern, hoping to prevent the crippled boat from heading for the bottom. Pumping pressurized air into the flooded forward rooms and red-lining the engines does little, and the Tigerfish plummets deeper and deeper into the darkness. Passing far below their dive limit, the outer torpedo door finally begins to close, and once sealed the boat slows its deadly descent. At extreme depth, and withstanding incredible pressures, they manage to halt the dive, and slowly head back up. Badly shaken, they are further stunned at Jones' claim that this was no accident. Someone very capable had sabotaged the tube controls, and tried to murder them all.Ferraday has had enough of Jones and Vaslov's cloak-and-dagger tactics and demands to know what the hell they are really doing here. "You seem to know an awful lot about the business of operating a submarine", snarls Ferraday."I know how to wreck them," replies Jones, shivering under a blanket. The situation begins to turn ugly, but the sonar man breaks in to report they are now under Zebra's position. Disgusted, Ferraday leaves for the control room.With consummate skill, the crew locate and surface through a relatively thin layer of ice, exposing the submarine's conning tower to the blast of an Arctic ice storm. Quickly taking a fix in Zebra's weak signal, a rescue team sets out across the rugged ice pack, led by Jones, Vaslov and Ferraday. Only a few miles need to be covered, but the way is filled with danger, and several men are nearly lost when an unseen crevasse opens up at their feet. Tied together for safety, the other manage to pull the trapped men out, but back at the Tigerfish, the ice pack is shifting, squeezing the submarine. Unable to contact Zebra or the rescue party, they are forced to submerge once more.As they near the station, Jones can smell burned rubber in the tearing wind. Finally stumbling into the camp, they see through the storm that the station is in a shambles. Several of the huts are wrecked or burned, and there seem to be no survivors. Cautiously searching the huts they find one is still intact and sheltering a few numbed, barely alive scientists, and these are quickly warmed and revived. Jones and Vaslov both find familiar faces and begin to probe for answers as to what happened, but the frozen men are still too much in shock to provide any information. Leaving the scientists to the rescue team, Jones begins to hunt through the rest of the camp, desperately searching for something. In what's left of the laboratory, he turns to find Ferraday watching him."What size is the film?" Ferraday asks.Surprised, Jones replies that it's a standard film canister, "And all of a sudden, you know a whole damn lot about my business." Ferraday confesses that he has been briefed on the real nature of their mission, despite all the precautions taken by Jones, so he continues to elaborate. The film he's searching for came from a Russian spy satellite, equipped with a special camera stolen from the British, and using a new type of film developed by the Americans, "all very hush-hush," says Jones. Launched by the Russians, it was capable of taking pictures of incredible detail, and it had photos of all missile bases in North America. Unfortunately for the Russians, something went wrong, "and that darling little satellite just kept on taking pictures of Soviet missile bases, even when it wasn't supposed to, making it the most valuable piece of film in the world." Attempting a recovery, the satellite merely shifted to a new polar orbit, meaning that the only choice the Russians had to bring it down was over the North Pole. The British sent an agent up to Zebra, as did the Russians, and the satellite was brought down. "Then disaster, fire, silence," mused Jones, "and here we are. No agents, no clues, and no film." As they think about their next move, a deathly silence settles over the camp: the storm is finally dying down.Ferraday uses an ice drill from the tool shed, and has his men drill a small hole in the ice a short distance from the camp. Dropping a transponder down the hole, they are quickly located by the Tigerfish which surfaces through the ice a few minutes later. "I want a hundred men out here on the double," orders Ferraday. The entire crew is sent out through the camp and across the ice, looking for the hidden film. Meanwhile Jones has discovered a homing device hidden in the fuel tank of the camp's tractor, and he turns to leave the hut.A crowbar strikes him across the chest, flinging him back across the room and knocking him out. The attacker cautiously approaches and pulls his hood back; it is Vaslov, the Russian defector, and Jones' supposed friend. Now revealed as a double-agent, he takes the homing device to search for the hidden film but is caught by the Captain of the marine platoon, and they fight to the death. Just as the marine gains the advantage, shots ring out and he falls to the floor, dead. Jones had come to and shot the marine, thinking he was the traitor. Ferraday and the others hear the shots and come running in before Vaslov can regain the homing device, and he quickly re-assumes his old character. As the others take the homer out to search, Ferraday looks over the fight scene with suspicion. Re-checking the tractor fuel tank, he finds another device wrapped in plastic.The homer quickly finds the film canister, buried in the ice a few yards from the camp. Torches are brought out to melt the ice away, but another problem looms. The clearing storm has allowed the Russians to fly over the camp and drop a squadron of paratroops to take the camp and the film by force. As the Russians approach the camp, Ferraday orders most of the men back into the submarine. The Russian Captain steps quietly up to the edge of the camp, and calmly asks for Ferraday by name, claiming the satellite is Soviet property and stating that they wish only to retrieve what is rightfully theirs. A tense situation ensues, and Ferraday stalls for time while the canister is melted out of the ice. A tricky self-destruct device had been attached to the canister, making things even more difficult. The Russian captain gives Ferraday two minutes to turn over the canister.Vaslov, still playing the double agent, disarms the small bomb and opens the canister removing the priceless film. Still shaky, Jones walks up behind and observes. Ferraday calmly re-arms the bomb and carries the canister to the Russian captain, tossing it lightly to him. But the captain is no fool, he too disarms the bomb and checks the canister and when he finds it is empty, an order is barked and the Russians open fire.Smoke bombs are fired into the camp, filling the air with dense fog and hiding everything. Vaslov sees his chance in the confusion, and runs for the Russian troops outside the camp. Another man looms up in his path: Jones. Smiling grimly at each other, they both realize the charade is over, and they begin a fight to the death as machine gun fire whistles all around them. As the smoke clears and everyone is ordered to hold their fire, Vaslov is lying on the ice and Jones is holding the film.Covered by the Russians, Jones cannot escape. Ferraday takes control of the situation and orders Jones to drop the film. Shooting a venomous look at Ferraday, Jones is forced to toss the film at the Russians in defeat. The film is quickly returned to the canister, still attached to its self-destruct unit, and run up a thin line attached to a weather balloon for collection by a circling Russian plane. As the aircraft approaches, Ferraday turns his hand and reveals the object he'd found hidden in the fuel tank: a remote trigger for the self-destruct unit on the canister. Jones looks at the device and then at Ferraday, understanding dawning on his face.Just as the Soviet plane swoops down to snare the canister, Ferraday triggers the bomb. In a brilliant flash, the capsule and its film are destroyed, startling everyone. The Russian captain looks across to Ferraday, also beginning to understand. Stepping back across the ice, they contemplate each other for a moment."Our mission here is completed" he says, "at least in part.""Agreed", replies Ferraday. With the precious film now gone, both sides realize it is time to leave. The Americans move to pick up their wounded, and Ferraday tells the Russian that "you sir, may pick up your man", indicating Vaslov, still laying on the ice. They separate, and make ready to depart.The Tigerfish, carrying the Zebra survivors and wounded marines, submerges once more and begins its long voyage back home.

Tags: suspenseful

Review:
Ice Station Zebra was spared no expense by MGM in bringing the Alistair McLean Cold War novel to the screen.
A Russian defector scientist Ernest Borgnine, British agent Patrick McGoohan (wasn't that ever natural casting) and spit and polish Marine captain Jim Brown.
I don't know how I missed this film for 40 years, but I corrected that mistake.Not a blockbuster, with the only outstanding features being the cinematography and special effects, it is nevertheless a taut cold war thriller.The interplay between Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine.
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.
The Russians want it as badly as the Americans because the film contains high-orbit pictures of BOTH country's missile sites.Rock Hudson is the sub commander, Patrick McGoohan is the cynical  secret agent with a dry wit (a roll he made famous in two famous British TV shows, `The Secret Agent' and `The Prisoner'),  Jim Brown is a hard-nosed Marine captain, and Earnest Borgnine is a Russian defector working with McGoohan and the Americans to retrieve the valuable film.The special effects of the Russian jets could have been much better, even in 1968.
Sterling screenplay by Douglas Heyes, riddled with sharp dialogue that the fine cast delivers perfectly (I love it when McGoohan tells Hudson that the film invented by America's German scientists was put into the camera invented by Britain's German scientists and sent up in the satellite invented by the Russian's German scientists.
All of the actors involved here are at the top of their game, especially Rock Hudson, who portrays a nuclear submarine captain as if he was born to it.A very believable story, well acted, with lots of action sequences interspersed with tightly-delivered dialog.
Ice Station Zebra moves along at a crisp pace, and builds to a gripping climax.This movie is NOT to be missed if you like nuclear submarines, cold-war epics, or just well-acted and written movies in general..
Captain James Ferraday (this was Rock Hudson's favourite film of his own, and also of Howard Hughes ; Charlton Heston was originally offered the role but turned it down, saying there was no characterization in the script) , Commander of the nuclear submarine called USS Tigershark, is assigned to the polar ice region on a rescue mission when an emergency signal is heard from a research station, Ice Station Zebra (in real life, there was no "Ice Station Zebra", but there was an "Ice Station Alpha" which was situated in a Arctic's Ice Island).
It is one of the most thrilling and exciting films set on the years of the Cold War. Great superproduction with all-star-cast , impressive scenes , shimmer photography and a vibrant sound , the time has increased its documentary value.
Special appearance by Lloyd Nolan and film debut for Ron Masak .The film's story has similarities with the real life events, reported in the media in April 1959, of the Discoverer II experimental Corona satellite capsule that went missing and was recovered by Soviet intelligence agents after it crashed near Spitsbergen in the Arctic Ocean ; Spitsbergen is in Norway's Svalbard archipelago of islands which is where both Alistair MacLean 's novel and the film of Bear Island is set.
Unique and innovative underwater camera equipment was developed for this movie by 2nd unit cameraman and cinematographer 'John M Stephens', a former U.S.A. Navy diver, who is billed in the credits for additional arctic photography , the camera system enabled the first ever filming of a continuous submarine dive and this technical innovation produced some outstanding photography for the picture.The visual effects, despite its quality, not 'see that snow is artificial, that the landscape of the polar station is mounted on set ; his picture is the first of two movies based on an Alistair MacLean novel set in rugged icy and snowy terrain , the second would be Bear Island about eleven years later.
A superb cast of seasoned professionals including Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown and especially a very suave and droll Patrick MacGoohan create fully realized characters that act and react in very real human emotions to some extremely tense and suspenseful situations.
Commander James Ferraday (Rock Hudson), the captain of the nuclear submarine USS Tigerfish, receives the assignment to get three persons to North Pole: the civilian David Jones (Patrick McGoohan), the Russian deserter Boris Vaslov (Ernest Borgnine) and the marine Capt.
Their secret mission is to recover an American film from an English camera in a Russian spy satellite, which felt close to the Ice Station Zebra.
Despite a few "impossibilities" in the maneuvering of submarines visually through ice floes, its quite realistic.The acting is sufficiently good, and although I would have loved to see Gregory Peck in the leading role, Rock Hudson does a fine job.
American submarine captain Commander James Ferraday (Rock Hudson) of the USS Tigerfish is ordered up north for a secret mission under the cover of rescuing a British civilian weather station, Ice Station Zebra.
Ice Station Zebra was such a movie.The combination rescue mission and spy story makes for a good mix and Rock Hudson looks dashing as the commander of the sub sent to get to Zebra.
Jim Brown is seen as a military figure like we saw in the Dirty Dozen, this time he is a Captain.Although the plot is a bit predictable, and the Station a bit fake, the story still holds up to the end and makes the 2 1/2 hour plus movie into a "page turner"..
I also remember getting a program (How I wish I had kept that program through these years)This benefit was for the College that my father worked for at that time, and even at 11 years of age, I kind of realized that viewing Ice Station Zebra, a film I was enjoying, may not have been enjoyed with the other people who were watching.
It goes on a bit too long, and Ernest Borgnine chews up every bit of scenery he can find, but Rock Hudson (not normally one of my favorite actors) is extremely convincing as the sub commander, and he and Patrick McGoohan (one of my all-time favorite actors) have unusually good acting chemistry.
It's true that the script is so weak that any actor would have a hard time of it, but Rock Hudson is just his usual flat self, Ernest Borgnine's overacting verges on the silly, and Patrick McGoohan's overdone diction and self-involvement (he doesn't see any of the other characters) sometimes takes us into the cartoonish.
Actually, the whole film would have made a better comic book than a film.There's lots of music, but too often it goes over the top, getting all excited while nothing in particular happens on screen.You may have a taste for this particular brand of fantasy thriller, but unless you do, I wouldn't suggest you waste any time bothering about Ice Station Zero..
Rock Hudson leads an all-star cast as Commander James Ferraday, captain of a nuclear submarine sent on a desperate rescue mission to the top of the world.
Ernest Borgnine trades PT-73 for SSN 509, playing an anti-Russian Russian with a dubious dialect (nobody's perfect.) Former football great Jim Brown plays the tough-as-nails Marine platoon leader who trusts no one.The real heroes of the film are the special effects wizards who recreate both the claustrophobic interior of the submarine and the wonderful sequences of the sub navigating gingerly under the ice pack.
Based on Alistair MacLean's novel, and starring Rock Hudson as a submarine commander assigned to a top secret mission to the North Pole, where he carries passengers; a mysterious British civilian(played by Patrick McGoohan, on a break from filming his classic series "The Prisoner") a Russian(played by Ernest Borgnine) and also stars Jim Brown as a platoon leader.
Again, from the top down the word had to have been, "The plot drives this film and you don't, the Navy cooperates, so let's play it straight, no frills." You wouldn't think Rock Hudson could captain a nuclear attack sub, but he does, and suitably well.Said exceptions: Ernest Borgnine first comes across as Quinton McHale with a funny accent.
As others have pointed out, it contains many flaws -- the story compromised (compared to the original novel at least), the special effects patchy in parts, some of the acting quite wooden -- but then most movies are imperfect to most viewers.I was a BIG Alistair MacLean fan in the days when I had time to read a lot of fiction (having read all his novels, each of them twice, by my early 20s) and made a point of watching almost all of the movies based on them.
Ice Station Zebra, one of his very best books (especially when you consider when it was written), as a film falls somewhere in between.The great score by Michel Legrand and opening sequence promise much and the suspense of the story is maintained for much of the movie, but the denouement is somewhat clumsy and ultimately the ending is a bit unsatisfying for readers of the novel.
The story differs a bit from the novel by Alistair MacLean but still comes off as a pretty good cold war thriller with Patrick McGoohans performance probably the best of the lot..
Along for the ride to "Ice Station Zebra" are suspects: Ernest Borgnine with a Russian accent, Patrick McGoohan being Patrick McGoohan, and Jim Brown being Jim Brown.Rock Hudson tries to keep a straight face as the mission commander.
*** Ice Station Zebra (10/23/68) John Sturges ~ Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Patrick McGoohan, Jim Brown.
So; it's a race against time.There's an interesting mix of players led by Rock Hudson as captain of a US nuclear submarine, and Patrick McGoohan doing his devious special-agent routine from British terrestrial TV's 'Danger Man' - later reprised in his immortal 'The Prisoner'.
Just boring.It looks like they were trying to combine elements of a James Bond film, a WWII submarine drama, and some John LeCarre' cold-war novels.Patrick McGoohan and Ernest Borgnine make this watchable, but just barely..
It's a crackin' MacLean 'who's good/who's bad' cold war thriller and it's also a decent submarine movie..
Suspense builds as Rock Hudson's nuclear sub streams North with spymaster Patrick McGoohan in tow, soon joined by a Russian defector, Ernest Borgnine, and a serious swat team led by James Brown (ex-NFL).Progress to the North Pole is slow and the sub is hindered by sabotage.
In the first part of the film, until they finally reach that polar station after the middle of the film, there is very little acting and mainly only technical manoeuvres to get the submarine to its destination, which involves tremendous difficulties, especially with the lack of communications and of course a very thrilling sequence of almost getting stuck under the ice with the prospect of a submarine shipwreck, which isn't a very cheerful prospect for those suffering from claustrophobia on board - this is unavoidable in every submarine film - the claustrophobia is the main element of terror, although here it is not so much in focus.Patrick McGoohan is the ordinary hard line tough guy as an agent with a secret mission, he always is, Ernest Borgnine is the one of the leading actors that gets some opportunity to act, while Rock Hudosn is very bland as a character, almost like a mere figure-head of the journey, while the actor who makes an impression is Alf Kjellin in his brief but efficient appearance in the end.
Rock Hudson is the lead, Borgnine as a "Russian", Jim Brown, and Patrick McGoohan slog through this mess on some crazy mission with one of them (or somebody) apparently a spy.
Lastly we have the all time NFL leading rusher (in 1968 and up to 1977) turned movie action hero Jim Brown who plays hard ass Captain Leslie Anders assigned to deal with whatever awaits them when they get to their destination, the North Pole.The cinematography, screen color, script and acting were all top notch.
Directed by John Sturges and based on a novel by Alistair MacLean, "Ice Station Zebra" should have been a fast-paced Cold War thriller.
Fapp's Oscar nominated cinematography is visual candy for the Cinerama screen and Michel Legrand's score is easy on the ears, both attributes were overused to convince audiences that the premium prices paid for their seats were warranted; during that period, a movie had to run at least two and a half hours to merit a roadshow engagement.Largely set aboard a submerged nuclear submarine and at an Arctic base, "Ice Station Zebra" follows a submarine crew ostensibly sent on a rescue mission.
Hudson is solid and convincing in the role, although Patrick McGoohan as the British agent and Jim Brown as the marine leader make more of an impression; Ernest Borgnine wrestles with a Russian accent and is memorable for the wrong reasons.
Later in the film, Alf Kjellin appears with a more authentic sounding Russian pronunciation.Despite a decent budget for the time, the scenes at the ice-bound Arctic station appear fake and tacky; special effects are generally unconvincing, even taking into account the period.
Then the submarine is sabotaged - there is clearly a Russian spy on board.Enthralling, suspenseful Cold War thriller, directed by John Sturges and based on the Alistair MacLean novel.
Cheesy toy Russian planes arrive, and in the end the film is destroyed (the US/UK get it in Maclean's book).A good cold war thriller overall, although the goings-on might seem a bit tedious till the torpedo tube incident.
The novel's second half played like a murder mystery as we tried to figure out who among the survivors of Ice Station Zebra sabotaged the base and was the Soviet spy trying to recover the film.
Patrick Mcgoohan overacts, Rock Hudson is stiff, Jim Brown is plain awful and  Ernest Borgnine one of my favorite character actors is pathetically miscast as a Russian.
but both Rock Hudson and Patrick Mcgoohan are my favourite actors they are only outshone out by William Shatner!.a recommendation for 60's movie buffs and submarine films.the best bit in the movie is when the missile room gets flooded in the icy cold water this bit is really realistic!.
Having read Alistair MacLean's novel, Ice Station Zebra, I didn't know what to expect in this movie.
Given a big budget movie treatment by MGM, it is hampered by its length which restricts the flow of the action but it does keep its suspense.Commander James Ferraday (Rock Hudson) is the captain of the nuclear submarine USS Tigerfish who gets orders that three people will come on board.Mysterious cynical Brit, David Jones (Patrick McGoohan), gregarious Russian defector Boris Vaslov (Ernest Borgnine) and square Marine Captain Leslie Anders (Jim Brown).The men are on a mission to recover a film from a spy satellite that fell close to Ice Station Zebra.
There is a race to get to the Ice Station Zebra and find the film before the Russians but the USS Tigerfish has a saboteur.McGoohan dominates the film, his mysterious character is a British spy and all along knows what must be done.
It's one of the tentpole movies of the 1960s, a larger-than-life thriller that makes full use of Cold War tensions in its tale of a desperate race to the North Pole to grab a MacGuffin that the other side can't be allowed to get its hands upon.ICE STATION ZEBRA is an unashamedly old-fashioned film, brought to life by the sterling direction of surehand John Sturges (who'd previously completed, so memorably, THE GREAT ESCAPE and THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN).
Hudson's characteristic bluster fits sub captain role to a "T", and we finally get to see McGoohan in action as a British spy in a full-length film.
McGoohan's chilling explanation to Hudson of the true purpose of the mission, which comes well into the film, is the crowning moment of the cold-war/spy movie genre ("and that is when the lights began to burn in the Kremlin....").
McGoohan's chilling explanation to Hudson of the true purpose of the mission, which comes well into the film, is the crowning moment of the cold-war/spy movie genre ("and that is when the lights began to burn in the Kremlin....").
Ernest Borgnine, (Boris Vaslov) and Patrick McGoohan, (David Jones) assist James Ferraday on his mission to locate a very important film which was taken by a space station and it contained all the locations of where American Nuclear sites and also other Russian military information.
Rock Hudson, looking bored, is a submarine captain leading a secret mission to the North Pole to help British spy Patrick McGoohan uncover some stolen film.
The Freezing Cold War. Like his earlier 'The Satan Bug' ( 1964 ), John Sturges' 'Ice Station Zebra' is based on a novel by Alistair Maclean.
Rock Hudson is 'Ferraday', commander of U.S.S. submarine Tigerfish, assigned to go to Drift Ice Station Zebra, a British weather station at the North Pole.
"The Great Escape" director John Sturges serves up a platter of Cold War tension in his riveting, straightforward 1968 submarine thriller "Ice Station Zebra.
ACold War thriller based - loosely - on an Alistair MacLean novel, Ice Station Zebra is a decidedly overlong film that entertains in patches but is less than special as a whole.
Anyone who has read the original novel will know that there was a truly great movie waiting to be made here, but writers Harry Julian Fink and Douglas Heyes have somewhat fudged the transition from the pages of the book to the pages of their script.A U.S submarine commanded by Cdr James Ferraday (Rock Hudson) is sent from a base in Scotland to the Arctic ice-cap.
That in a nutshell is the plot of Ice Station Zebra, the 1968 Cold War submarine movie/spy thriller adapted from the earlier novel by Alistair MacLean.
Rock Hudson does well as Commander Faraday, the captain of the American nuclear submarine, especially in the final twenty minutes or so of the film.