Clevercell
Very disappointing...
Smartorhypo
Highly Overrated But Still Good
ThrillMessage
There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.
Leofwine_draca
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.
gordonl56
HELL BELOW ZERO – 1954Alan Ladd headlines this crime-adventure film set on the Antarctic whaling fleet. Ladd is in South Africa seeing about a mine he had invested in. It seems he was taken for a bundle by his partner in the enterprise. He meets a woman, Joan Tetzel, who is in from the UK to see about the death of her father. The man, a ship Captain, had gone overboard from a whaler in the Antarctic.Ladd, who just happened to serve in the Navy during the war signs on as first mate on the ship taking Tetzel to the whaling fleet. Also going along is the owner of the fleet, Basil Sydney and Niall MacGinnis, the fleet doctor with an over fondness for the bottle.Ladd and Tetzel are both attracted to each other and sparks soon fly. That is till Ladd hears that Tetzel in the fiancé of Stanley Baker, the son of Basil Sydney. Ladd cools the relationship which annoys Tetzel. Things heat up again when Ladd discovers that Baker is no longer in the picture.The ship reaches the whalers and Ladd is assigned to look into the death of Tetzel's father. Soon at the top of the suspect list is Tetzel's old beau, Baker. There is of course no actual proof since the only witness somehow manages to get himself killed.To cut to the quick, Baker decides to do in Ladd, Tetzel and anyone else you might cause him any bother. While all this is going on, there is plenty of action involving the whalers etc. A couple of good knockdown fist fights are thrown in to keep the pace going.The whole thing ends with a chase across the ice with the dastardly Baker getting his well deserved comeuppance.This movie is better than I am making it sound. There is plenty of action, and lots of interesting, shot on location footage of the whalers in action. This is blended very well into the made in studio footage. All in all, this is a good way to use up 90 minutes on a rainy day.Also in the cast is Jill Bennett as a Captain on one of the whale catchers. The director, Mark Robson, is best known for directing, THE PRIZE, THE HARDER THEY FALL, LOST COMMAND, VALLEY OF THE DOLLS and VON RYAN'S EXPRESS.
Michael O'Keefe
Often over-looked Alan Ladd vehicle made in Great Britian, HELL BELOW ZERO is a good sea drama with its share of action. Mark Robson directs Ladd as Duncan Craig, who is seeking answers on what happened to an investment gone bad. He meets a woman, Judie(Joan Tetzel),who is on a search of her own. Duncan signs onto a whaling ship in order to get information on her father's death. While on the whaling expedition, the two suspect the ship's skipper Erik Bland(Stanley Baker)is a murderer; especially when they get the idea he is planning their own "accidental" disappearance in the frigid waters of the Antartic. Mystery, adventure and good scenery. Also in the cast: Basil Sydney, Jill Bennett, Joseph Tomelty and Paddy Ryan.
bkoganbing
Hell Below Zero finds Alan Ladd as an American flying to Capetown to see about some mining investments. He meets Joan Tetzel on the plane and is intrigued by her. She's going there to investigate her father's death for herself, she doesn't like the initial verdict of suicide.Ladd's investment has gone up in smoke and after he metes out a justified beat down to Peter Dyneley. He looks up Joan Tetzel at the Capetown equivalent of the Merchant Seaman's Hall. She's now half owner of a whaling vessel with Basil Sydney and his son, Stanley Baker and she's not happy with their explanation of things. On a flip of a coin since apparently Ladd has nothing else to do, he signs on their vessel as the first mate.Though the personal story takes a melodramatic turn, I have got to hand it to the folks at Shepperton Studios. Other than using some establishing color cinematography to depict Capetown, the Ocean, the whaling, and the Antarctic, the film was shot in the United Kingdom. But you would never realize it, that's how good the sets are. There is a film Bear Island with Richard Widmark and Donald Sutherland that is also a polar location and that was done in North Labrador to simulate the Arctic. You can't tell the two apart, viewed side by side during the Antarctic sequences.Best performance in the film however is Jill Esmond as a female Norwegian whaling ship captain, a part that is obviously a lesbian. Filmed today Jill's character would be quite open about her sexual orientation.This is one of three British made films that Alan Ladd did for Columbia release in the USA during the Fifties. Hell Below Zero is easily the best of the three because of its production values. Very similar to the studio recreation of the Himalayas in Black Narcissus.
