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

The band 'Silkworm' named a song "Ice Station Zebra" which is featured on their 1997 album "Developer".

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Goofs

Not only did Jim Brown's retention of his cover on his head violate military (not just USMC) protocol, exiting the H2 Seasprite or any helicopter) with his cover in place is a serious safety of flight violation, especially that close to the surface. Had the cover been sucked into an engine the helo would have been lost and the submarine seriously damaged.

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Quotes

David Jones: ...and all of a sudden, you know a whole damn lot about my business!
Cmdr. Ferraday: We don't believe in going on a mission totally blindfolded.

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Connections

Referenced in 42nd Street: River to River (2009)

User Reviews

A Ripping Good Cold War Yarn

This movie is a FAR better and more believable story than any of the cold-war James Bond pictures of the same period. 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.