First Mark Robson was a good director with some films, and painfully bad (in my estimation) with such films as ' Earthquake '. He was good at bringing out the best in his actors, and seemed to value entertainment based on his actors to bring life to his films. The underrated charm of ' The Little Hut ' is a good example and so is ' Peyton Place ', and he managed to treat adult subject matter probably knowing that most adults are full of prejudices and had to be dealt with cautiously. In ' Hell Below Zero ' he brought out the child in the adult psyche, and despite the controversial subject matter of whaling he manages an adventure film with a great deal of professionalism. Alan Ladd investigates the death of of a head of a whaling company, and Stanley Baker is on hand to play an appropriate villain. Ladd seems to enjoy himself by fighting as many men as possible, in that realistic/unrealistic fashion that appears to be painless and so bearable for young, immature minds to watch. I quite like the film for its pace, its romantic idea that black is black and white is white both in social situations and human character. Despite my lacking any belief in this way of looking at things it can be very enjoyable as fantasy, and ' Hello Below Zero ' is as exciting as its crowd seducing posters, and as naive cinema it is excellent. Just a warning about scenes of bloody whale flesh, and the killing of whales.
Review of Hell Below Zero
