Ice Station Zebra (John Sturges, 1968)

 Cdr. James Ferraday (Rock Hudson) and his submarine have been given a secret mission: travel to the Arctic weather station Zebra and drop off a secret operative known as Jones (Patrick McGoohan) and a squad of marines.

While suspicious of the mission and his new passengers, Ferraday gets his job done.

At the ruins of the station, Ferraday learns that he and his crew are now in a race against time as Jones’s team searches for a piece of tech which could decide the balance of international power…

I first heard about Alistair Maclean after watching the movie version of Guns of Navarone on TV. This led me to his books - I only read a couple of his books, but they were fun.

Together these vague feelings of goodwill pointed me toward this movie.

While it is not set during World War 2, the film is structured like a squad-on-a-mission movie.

In that respect, the most unique element is that it is about avoiding conflict.

So many of these movies spend their runtimes with a long set up and a final explosive catharsis. 

It might be because of the lack of this catharsis that I found Ice Station Zebra a little underwhelming.

Paranoia runs through the film, as the objective of the mission is obscured and the crew begins to question the identities of their guests.

The first problem is that the movie is over two-and-a-half-hours long which dilutes these elements.

The film is a slow burn, from the journey to the Arctic, and then the search of the station.

The tension builds effectively during these scenes, as Ferraday, Jones and company search for the satellite camera while a Soviet search party draws closer in the distance.

The exterior sequences are clearly shot on sound stages and while their artifice is obvious, only pedants would probably complain.

This may be the result of watching a lot of movies, but I found the film’s various twists (including Ferraday’s final gambit) telegraphed in such an obvious way that they work against any sense of stakes.

Rock Hudson is good as the veteran captain - he underplays and gives the character a sense of terse, wry humour. One wishes he had more opportunities as an action star.

Ernst Borgnine is his usual gregarious self, although hsi final reveal is not as effective as perhaps intended - his turncoat status is revealed to the audience early but the suspense of having a double agent in the ranks does not pay off.

Jim Brown, hot off The Dirty Dozen, is good as the taciturn Marine leader - his death is a shocking misdirect, but apart from that, he does not get a lot to do. 

The most interesting element of the film is Prisoner star McGoohan as the mysterious Mr Jones. He brings a simmering menace to a movie that is lacking in energy. 

As far as other highlights, Michel Legrand delivers a fine score that underplays the action in an interesting way.

Ice Station Zebra is not a great movie - the third act weighs against it - but it is fairly entertaining for a chunk of its runtime.

The best thing I can say about it is that it made me curious to check out other MacLean movies. Next month, I will be reviewing a couple of other Alistair MacLean adaptations in the near future, so watch out for those.