IMDb >
Hell Below Zero (1954)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at
blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
blockbuster.com
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summaryplot synopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsHell Below Zero (1954) More at IMDbPro »
| Photos (see all 1 | slideshow) |
Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
15 January 1954 (Japan) morePlot:
Duncan Craig signs on a whaling ship, partly because his own business deal has fallen through, partly to help Judie Nordhall find her father... more | add synopsisNewsDesk:
BFI Celebrates The Life And Career Of Albert R. Broccoli(From CinemaRetro. 4 April 2009, 10:19 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Hell Alan Is Above All This! moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Alan Ladd | ... | Duncan Craig | |
| Joan Tetzel | ... | Judie Nordhal | |
| Basil Sydney | ... | Bland | |
| Stanley Baker | ... | Erik Bland, John's Son | |
| Joseph Tomelty | ... | Capt. McPhee, Kista Dan (Icebreaker) | |
| Niall MacGinnis | ... | Dr. Howe | |
| Jill Bennett | ... | Capt. Gerda Peterson, Whale Catcher 11 | |
| Peter Dyneley | ... | Dan Miller, Swindler | |
| Susan Rayne | ... | Kathleen, Miller's Girl | |
| Philo Hauser | ... | Sandeborg (Man in Brig) | |
| Ivan Craig | ... | Larsen | |
| Paddy Ryan | ... | Manders, Erik's Henchman | |
| Cyril Chamberlain | ... | Factory Ship Radio Operator | |
| Paul Homer | ... | Kista Dan Radio Operator | |
| Edward Hardwicke | ... | Ulvik |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
90 minCountry:
UKLanguage:
EnglishColour:
Colour (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)Certification:
West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #16578, General Audience) | Sweden:15Filming Locations:
Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UKFun Stuff
Trivia:
When the film premiered in Hollywood in 1954, Alan Ladd gave a few mounted actual whale teeth to special guests on opening night. He was actually on the ship during some of the filming. The tooth "trophies" are highly collectible today. Each has a plaque identifying them as coming from the movie. moreFAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Hell Below Zero (1954)Recommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| The Mutiny of the Elsinore | On Her Majesty's Secret Service | China Seas | For Your Eyes Only | Lola Montès |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Action section | IMDb UK section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |



In all Alan Ladd films when Alan stood up everyone else immediately sat down. Why? Well, my son, he was more of a laddie in stature than even a lad. In those days there were Rules. If, heaven forbid, a leading man hadn't a hairy chest or was vertically challenged, the other male cast members were depilated [Clark Gable MOGAMBO] or either sat, or stood in holes [male & female in all Alan's pictures].
The Rules also stipulated that however macho [Rock Hudson], or articulate [James Dean] a leading man might appear, audiences regarded diminution as effeminate; this nancy distinction Hollywood felt firstly financially and secondly morally bound to cinematically correct. Regardless of history [Napoleon, Churchill] Hollywood knew best: A short man was short of something. At 5'6,' 'Tiny' Ladd seemed too short for a screen career.
A pot boiler like HELL BELOW ZERO is the best measure of an actor- where, as here, the producer was a crook [Cubby Broccoli, later owing Sean Connery a packet- one small talent robbing another], the name support non-existent, and the star makes or breaks. Ladd, a former radio actor, with screen presence and persona to die for, makes in this execrable Hammond Innes drivel.
Made in Britain [favourable currency exchange rates] ostensibly about whaling, it mutates to a British drawing room murder mystery with incomparable Britlish drabness- characters saying 'ken't' for 'can't' etc.
Promoted to skipper of a whaling hell-hole where every crewman is putatively vital, [Joseph Tomelty, ham and equally atrocious playwright, having been thankfully concussed], Ladd has time to go 'investigating,' predictably ending up on the only South Atlantic, Lillian Gish ice floe where breath is not emitted as steam.
But Ladd, on the inevitable downward spiral from SHANE, manages a coolness this refrigerated British turkey doesn't, and elucidates by example among Old Country antecedents that there is another way. One of the few great movie stars in the Hollywood firmament, no one noticed he was small at the time. Because, -Wallbridge - his middle name suggests and his talent confirms, he was a giant in 1950's Lilliput.