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A Brilliant Conflict

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

HELL BELOW ZERO is a tough adventure starring Alan Ladd, although the real star of the show are the icy Antarctic locations. It's something of a murder mystery in which Ladd becomes involved with a woman who believes her father, the captain of a whaling ship, was murdered by a rival. The two end up travelling to the Antarctic themselves in order to solve the mystery.This is a pretty well paced little film with some exemplary fight scenes to enjoy; that early bust-up in the hotel room is a fitting introduction to Ladd's character and great fun. The stuff that takes place on the whaling ship is also highly suspenseful, benefiting from two solid performances: a young Stanley Baker as Ladd's rival, and the excellent Niall MacGinnis as the drunken ship's doctor.What follows is a solid adaptation of the novel by Hammond Innes, featuring men fighting both the inhospitable locations and traitorous murderers. Ladd is a serviceable rather than remarkable lead, but the quality supporting cast make up for him. The one thing that blighted HELL BELOW ZERO, for me, was the whaling sequence featuring real-life footage of whales being harpooned over and over again while characters celebrate the massacre. It's pretty sickening stuff, although thankfully it only occurs in a single part of the movie.

As others have said, with its nonchalant acceptance (and even promotion) of the normality and worth of whaling - the main characters cheering at every one harpooned - this film is jaw-droppingly rooted in its era. And yet it is very watchable, for the remarkable authenticity of setting (this is an industry that should be remembered, the better to inform opinion of why consensus is now against it) and some good characters (Jill Bennett's female whaling captain is wonderful, far more interesting than the wooden heroine). The plot, unfortunately, is formulaic, with "plot coupons" abounding. We're told that a harpoon gun a) has an explosive warhead; b) has a dangerous recoil; c) has a coiled cable that might catch your foot if you're not careful. And, darn me, various characters fall foul of all three.

This movie is better than the Maltin movie book rates it. Ladd does well with a poorly written role, Niall MacGinnis and Stanley Baker are fine too. The weak link is a plot that doesn't make sense and Joan Tetzel as a not very interesting love interest.But a couple of other features push the movie up a notch. The beautiful color shots of whales being caught and slaughtered (in 1954! On a British ship!) are things you won't see elsewhere. I had no idea we were still killing whales on this scale at that time. Some scenes are right out of Moby Dick.Another surprise is the role of a feisty whaling woman (played by Jill Bennett) captaining a whale catching vessel. You don't often see women in such action roles, even today.And as others have noted, the mix of studio and arctic shots is pretty darn smooth. Much better than "Ice Station Zebra" for example. I was surprised and impressed.So if you're an Alan Ladd fan, go ahead and catch this one. Or if you're curious about how they caught whales in the mid-twentieth century, this is better than any documentary.

This British-made adventure represents an early teaming for two of the men who helped create the James Bond series, producer Albert Broccoli and writer Richard Maibaum. Apart from character names and the Arctic setting, the story doesn't really have much to do with the Hammond Innes novel on which it is (allegedly) based; the film actually ends more or less where the novel begins.Nevertheless, this is gutsy, vital stuff with some vigorous action scenes and excellent location work. A young Stanley Baker makes a smooth, dangerous villain and the always-excellent Niall MacGinnis is on hand as a drunken doctor who comes to the aid of Alan Ladd's stoical, if slightly dull, hero.