JinRoz For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Dotbankey A lot of fun.

Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

drystyx This is one of those grandiose movies in which everyone is destined to be a governor or some such character. So, this isn't a movie that you take too seriously. It is a movie which depends on characters to keep you interested. Two friends, played by screen legends Richard Burton and Robert Ryan, go through ups and downs, and a big feud that culminates through the generations. The story itself isn't too bad. It gets a bit too grandiose for some people, and possibly not enough for others. At the time, Burton was considered the great actor, and Ryan was considered a Western actor. But now both are regarded as superstars. And this is a pretty star studded cast. And it isn't a boring story. There are assets to this film.

owlsgo-1 If this is the movie where there is a great granddaughter all grown and the two men are still battling and she says she is still 1/4 Eskimo. This happened at the end and there is a big parade - probably the state hood. I saw this back in 1961 and have remembered it for over 45 years and never seen it again. I've been frantically looking for this movie. I hope this is the one I am looking for. I loved the movie. And I want to see it again and again only this is the first time I've even come close to seeing if this is the right one or not. I found this movie to be educational, yet entertaining. I would recommend this movie to all young people who would like to hear about it. Rhonda Hill

MartinHafer I can't believe this movie has a rating as high as it does! This is an absolutely awful "epic" film that is about as dull and poorly made "big picture" as you'll find. To put this in perspective, this came out just a few years after GIANT and seems to be a similar-type movie (having been written by the same person, by the way) but it's set in Alaska instead of Texas. And,...in addition, it is chock full of histrionics and soap opera elements.My biggest complaint is actually the music. This is an odd thing to complain about, but throughout the movie incredibly loud and flamboyant music occurs in the most mundane moments! For example, when people are out catching salmon in fishing boats, you are assaulted by loud classical-style music! Again and again, the lousy musical score dominates and overwhelms. A lot of the time, it simply would have been better with no music instead of the brash music they used.Secondly, no one in particular is very likable or interesting. At first, Richard Burton seems interesting and pretty likable, but soon he becomes and unreasoning money-crazed robot instead of a real human being. So, in effect, he's a caricature of a person--completely one-dimensional and fake. His kid and later grandkid MIGHT be interesting, but their characters really are never developed--they're more like a part of the set or a plot device. Despite Robert Ryan's character being a little less repellent and wooden, he isn't a BIG improvement, either. Of the three leads, Carolyn Jones probably comes off best.Thirdly, George Takei (yes, from STAR TREK) plays the role of a very stereotypical Chinese lackey. Considering how broad and insulting the character was, I feel sorry for him having to take such a demeaning role. Plus, he's Japanese--this just isn't the same as Chinese! Why not get a real honest-to-goodness Chinese guy who can act like he's not an idiot to play the part?Fourthly, I hated the scene involving the fight between Thor's son and the bear. In the distant shots it's obviously a real bear. But in the close shots it's also obviously a guy in a bear suit! It's so obvious that it looks like something you'd see in a 3 Stooges short, not an expensive epic.And finally, the film is just uninteresting. The movie seemed like it was 4 hours long, but it wasn't. It's just that a guy making money by operating a fish cannery just isn't compelling.So in conclusion, the movie stinks. It's BIG and SWEEPING and has some nice cinematography, but that's all!!!

bkoganbing Another cinematic weakness of mine has been the filming of Edna Ferber's stories. Here work adapts so well to the cinema I think it's impossible to make a bad movie of her work. Ice Palace is always given short shrift when it is viewed in comparison to Showboat, Cimarron, and most importantly Giant. Actually it is Giant that Ice Palace seems to have the most in common with. Two men grow wealthier during the history of the area's growth and are changed by their love for the same woman. Carolyn Jones had quite an effect on the two men panting after her, the same as Elizabeth Taylor did to Rock Hudson and James Dean.I viewed Ice Palace again after seeing it many years ago and it is as good as I remembered it the first time. Two fine portrayals of rival empire builders are given by Richard Burton and Robert Ryan. You can feel the hatred they have for each other come crackling right out of the TV screen as on the big screen. Carolyn Jones as she ages from comely young Scotch lassie to matronly spinster because she won't commit to either man, makes you forget her as Morticia Adams.If Ice Palace has a weakness it's in the direction. I think if George Stevens had done this one it would have been a cinema classic like Giant is. Still Ice Palace is a fine film that is often overlooked in retrospectives of either Richard Burton or Robert Ryan.