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"Ice Cold in Alex" (1958)

Our website takes its name from the classic 1958 film directed by J. Lee Thompson, based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Landon. It only seems fair to pay some small tribute ...

Set in 1942 and based on a true story, "Ice Cold in Alex" follows a World War II ambulance crew, escaping the siege of Tobruk, on their arduous trek across the desert in enemy-occupied North Africa ... with the promise of an ice-cold beer if they make it to Alexandria. If you don't want to know the ending, best not look at the photos, but it is "worth waiting for".

This is far more a study of character than your typical war-time action movie, with great performances from all of the main players: John Mills as the battle-fatigued Captain Anson; Harry Andrews, the archetypal British Sergeant Major; steady-handed nurse, Sylvia Syms; and Anthony Quayle as the swaggering South African officer picked up en route.

The greatest beer commercial ever made? Probably! I'm not a film critic, so I'll say no more. If you're after reviews of the film, try the Internet Movie Database.

I'd love to know why the film was (sadly) renamed "Desert Attack" for its 1961 US release, and how they managed to condense it to just 90 minutes, leaving almost an hour of the original on the cutting room floor. It must have been quite a rush for that beer! Maybe the difference in approach shown on the promotion poster gives us a clue - "3 guys and a couple of gals" ... please!

Remember: the desert is the greater enemy!