This film perfectly answers to the "ABC Movie of the Week nostalgia theory". Many people, including several registered users of this wonderful website, saw these movies on television in the early 70s at a young age and were deeply impressed and massively frightened by them. Then, they became unavailable for nearly three decades, so the fond childhood memories only increased. Practically all these films can be rewatched nowadays, either on DVD or freely on YouTube, and quite a few of them are not as perfect as the diehard fans remember them.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the legendary ABC Movies of the Week are overrated. Quite the contrary, many of them are great and still extremely powerful, but they were glorified for too long. Same goes for "A Cold Night's Death". It is tense. It is unsettling. It does have a disturbing finale. But it's also flawed, and it does remain a TV-movie with technical shortcomings.
The biggest qualities remain the isolated and nightmarish polar research facility, and all its unbearable living conditions. The constant howling wind, thick snow and ice-cold temperatures are enough to drive any person insane, I reckon. Since this film got produced in 1973, it's also understandable that many admirers claim that it influenced great classics like "The Shining" and "The Thing", but personally I have doubts. The mysterious opening act is the highlight for me. The eerie last radio contacts and grisly death of the station's previous scientist are excellent Sci-Fi/thriller material. The mounting tension between the two replacement researchers I found far less interesting than most reviewers here, but the denouement is very good. Oh, and Eli Wallach once again demonstrates what a fantastic actor he is. Wallach is so strong that he blows away Robert Culp much harder than the arctic winds ever could.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the legendary ABC Movies of the Week are overrated. Quite the contrary, many of them are great and still extremely powerful, but they were glorified for too long. Same goes for "A Cold Night's Death". It is tense. It is unsettling. It does have a disturbing finale. But it's also flawed, and it does remain a TV-movie with technical shortcomings.
The biggest qualities remain the isolated and nightmarish polar research facility, and all its unbearable living conditions. The constant howling wind, thick snow and ice-cold temperatures are enough to drive any person insane, I reckon. Since this film got produced in 1973, it's also understandable that many admirers claim that it influenced great classics like "The Shining" and "The Thing", but personally I have doubts. The mysterious opening act is the highlight for me. The eerie last radio contacts and grisly death of the station's previous scientist are excellent Sci-Fi/thriller material. The mounting tension between the two replacement researchers I found far less interesting than most reviewers here, but the denouement is very good. Oh, and Eli Wallach once again demonstrates what a fantastic actor he is. Wallach is so strong that he blows away Robert Culp much harder than the arctic winds ever could.