Hell Below Zero (1954)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Mark Robson

Writers:

Alec Coppel (screenplay)
Hammond Innes (novel)

Release Date:

15 January 1954 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Duncan Craig signs on a whaling ship, partly because his own business deal has fallen through, partly to help Judie Nordhall find her father...

Plot Keywords:

Whaling | Whaling Ship | Murder | Ship Crew | Skiing

Cast

Alan Ladd	...	Duncan Craig
Joan Tetzel	...	Judie Nordhal
Basil Sydney	...	Bland
Stanley Baker	...	Erik Bland, John's Son
Joseph Tomelty	...	Capt. McPhee, Kista Dan (Icebreaker)
Niall MacGinnis	...	Dr. Howe
Jill Bennett	...	Capt. Gerda Peterson, Whale Catcher 11
Peter Dyneley	...	Dan Miller, Swindler
Susan Rayne	...	Kathleen, Miller's Girl
Philo Hauser	...	Sandeborg (Man in Brig)
Ivan Craig	...	Larsen
Paddy Ryan	...	Manders, Erik's Henchman
Cyril Chamberlain	...	Factory Ship Radio Operator
Paul Homer	...	Kista Dan Radio Operator
Edward Hardwicke	...	Ulvik

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #16578, General Audience) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Warwick Film Productions

Trivia:

When the film premiered in Hollywood in 1954, Alan Ladd gave a few mounted actual whale teeth to special guests on opening night. He was actually on the ship during some of the filming. The tooth "trophies" are highly collectible today. Each has a plaque identifying them as coming from the movie.

Incredible 50's whaling scenes

This movie is better than the Maltin movie book rates it. Ladd does well with a poorly written role, Niall MacGinnis and Stanley Baker are fine too. The weak link is a plot that doesn't make sense and Joan Tetzel as a not very interesting love interest.

But a couple of other features push the movie up a notch. The beautiful color shots of whales being caught and slaughtered (in 1954! On a British ship!) are things you won't see elsewhere. I had no idea we were still killing whales on this scale at that time. Some scenes are right out of Moby Dick.

Another surprise is the role of a feisty whaling woman (played by Jill Bennett) captaining a whale catching vessel. You don't often see women in such action roles, even today.

And as others have noted, the mix of studio and arctic shots is pretty darn smooth. Much better than "Ice Station Zebra" for example. I was surprised and impressed.

So if you're an Alan Ladd fan, go ahead and catch this one. Or if you're curious about how they caught whales in the mid-twentieth century, this is better than any documentary.