Ice Cold in Alex

During the Second World War in North Africa, a small group of British soldiers and nurses becomes separated from their unit as German forces close in on Tobruk in 1942. Captain Anson, a driver, is ordered to take two nurses who missed their ship to Alexandria in an ambulance. The journey across the desert is long and hazardous, and Anson's fondness for drink is an early problem for the group. Along the way they pick up a South African officer, Captain van der Poel, whose presence adds to the tension among the travellers.

The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson, the first of twenty-one films he directed in chronological order, followed by North West Frontier in 1959. John Mills plays Captain Anson, with Sylvia Syms as Sister Diana Murdoch, Anthony Quayle as Captain van der Poel, Harry Andrews as M.S.M. Pugh, Diane Clare as Sister Denise Norton and Richard Leech as Captain Crosbie. T. J. Morrison and Christopher Landon wrote the screenplay, and W.A. Whittaker produced the film for Associated British Picture Corporation.

Released in June 1958, the British production runs 125 minutes. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.7 from around 7,400 votes, while on TMDB its rating is 7.3 from a much smaller number of votes. The two scores sit fairly close together, suggesting a broadly consistent response from those who have recorded their views.