Ice Station Zebra (1968)

Commander James Ferraday, USN, has new orders: get David Jones, a British civilian, Captain Anders, a tough Marine with a platoon of troops, Boris Vasilov, a friendly Russian, and the crew ... See full summary »

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Alistair MacLean (novel), Douglas Heyes (screenplay),

Stars:

Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Patrick McGoohan

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Commander James Ferraday, USN, has new orders: get David Jones, a British civilian, Captain Anders, a tough Marine with a platoon of troops, Boris Vasilov, a friendly Russian, and the crew of the nuclear sub USS Tigerfish to the North Pole to rescue the crew of Drift Ice Station Zebra, a weather station at the top of the world. The mission takes on new and dangerous twists as the crew finds out that all is not as it seems at Zebra, and that someone will stop at nothing to prevent the mission from being completed.

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Plot Keywords:

ice | marine | nuclear | submarine | spy | 

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Taglines:

An American nuclear sub.. a sky full of Russian paratroopers--and a race for the secret of Ice Station Zebra!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

S.O.S. Nordpolen

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmways Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

148 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track Mono (35 mm prints) 4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was made and released about five years after its source novel of the same name by Alistair MacLean was first published in 1963. "Ice Station Zebra" was MacLean's tenth novel and this movie was the fourth filmed adaptation of one of MacLean's stories. This film was also released in the same year (1968) that MacLean's novel "Force 10 From Navarone" was first published as well as another MacLean filmed adaptation, Where Eagles Dare. The "Ice Station Zebra" novel was the last of 'Maclean's novels to be written in the first-person narrative. Author Alistair MacLean took a sabbatical from writing for three years after he finished penning the novel "Ice Station Zebra" in 1963. MacLean's next book after "Ice Station Zebra" would be "When Eight Bells Toll", first published in 1966.

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Goofs

When the sub surfaces through the ice at Zebra, the periscope is extended. Subsequent shots do not have the periscope although an antenna is raised.

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Quotes

Cmdr. Ferraday: It wasn't sealing wax. It wasn't chewing gum. It was epoxy glue. And all of a sudden you know a whole damn lot about submarines.
David Jones: I know how to wreck them, and I know how to lie, steal, kidnap, counterfeit, suborn and kill. That's my job. I do it with great pride.

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Connections

Featured in Moscow Does Not Believe in Queers (1986)

User Reviews

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.