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.
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.