Patrolling in the North Atlantic, Capt. James Ferraday (Rock Hudson) and the U.S.S. Tigerfish, a US nuclear submarine, receives a new set of orders. The Tigerfish is to pick up a new passenger, a British agent named Jones (Patrick McGoohan), and head north to find Ice Station Zebra, a civilian weather station floating on a polar ice cap. Jones can say nothing else about the importance of the mission, only that it must be accomplished. Picking up two other passengers, Boris (Ernest Borgnine), a Russian defector, and Capt. Anders (Jim Brown), a Marine officer, the Tigerfish heads north. Ferraday quickly figures out that there is a traitor among the group and maybe even his crew. Can they find out who it is as they desperately attempt to complete their mission?
'Zebra' is based on a novel by adventure/espionage master Alistair MacLean, author of The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare. This past summer I read 'Zebra' for the first time only to discover it was a mess. I struggled to go along with it unlike any other MacLean novel I'd read. Directed by John Sturges, the film suffers from some of the same problems. In 1968, a nuclear submarine was big news, especially a portrayal on said sub. Much like Tom Clancy would years later, 'Zebra' gets bogged down in the minutiae of day-to-day life on the submarine; traveling under an ice pack, using radar and advanced technology to locate icebergs and drifts, finding a suitable spot to break through the ice. None of this makes for an exciting visual story.
That's a start though, but not a finish. Leisurely doesn't begin to describe the story here, clocking in at 148 minutes with Overture, Intermission, Entre'Acte, and Exit Music. An epic is one thing -- the 1960s were full of them -- but there is no urgency, NONE, through the first half of the movie. Before the intermission, almost nothing happens. Top that off with an explanation of the mission being held off until 105 minutes into the movie, and yeah, we've got a problem. An espionage guessing game is one thing, but almost two hours of guessing? A little much. The MacLean novel wasn't much better, throwing consistently new twists at the reader out of the blue and as needed.
Part of the charm though and cult classic status earned by 'Zebra' over the years is the casting. Big names, yes, especially some solid action stars. Some are utilized better than others. Hudson makes the best impression as Ferraday, the quiet, confident sub commander not really interested in cloak and dagger and espionage. McGoohan too is subtle in his mysterious nature, intensity brimming under his cool, even cold exterior. Borgnine gets to ham it up as Boris Vaslov, a Russian defector turned British agent, managing a quasi-Russian accent of sorts. Unfortunately, Jim Brown is wasted, his Capt. Anders almost serving as a red herring to the twists and turns. Not Brown's fault though because he's trying. Also look for Lloyd Nolan as Admiral Garvey and Tony Bill as Lt. Walker, one of Anders' Marines.
Through all the sometimes tedious underwater shots of the sub and the slow-moving story, there is that charm that I mentioned before. Not quite camp value, but something along those lines. Once some twists are actually laid out, the story picks up speed at a lightning pace. The last 45 minutes are both highly enjoyable and incredibly frustrating, keeping the action flowing and the answers revealing themselves, making me wonder why the rest of the story couldn't have had this urgency. All that said, I like this movie...sometimes in spite of its flaws.
Ice Station Zebra <---TCM trailer/clips (1968): ** 1/2 /****
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