Ice Cold In Alex DVD Promo The Daily Mail John Mills Sylvia Syms

Recently described as 'the ultimate British war film', Ice Cold in Alex is closely based on Christopher Landon's best-selling account of his wartime experiences. J. Lee Thompson's suspenseful direction perfectly complements the engrossing source material.

John Mills gives one of his most distinguished performances as Captain Anson, a grumbling alcoholic sent on a WW2 mission to Alexandria. En route, Anson makes the acquaintance of nurses Sister Diane Murdoch (Sylvia Syms), Sister Denise Norton (Mary Clare) and a South African officer, Captain Van Der Poel (Anthony Quayle). But though Van Der Poel proves invaluable on their perilous journey enemy territory, is he all that he seems?

Depicting one of the Allies' most difficult periods of the Second World War, as the Germans made apparently unstoppable advances in the North African desert, the film is remarkable for its prominent female characters, audacious representation of English masculinity, and sympathetic characterisation of German characters. The film's denouement - a paean to loyalty and solidarity - is one of the most iconic moments of British war cinema.