Sunday was a golden day for films on Freeview (free, I.e. non-subscription digital TV channels in the UK). One was Desert Rats (Richard Burton as a Pommie Officer seconded to an Australian infantry unit in Tobruk). Later was Ice Cold in Alex (and yes I did ‘share’ a cold lager with the intrepid gang at the final scene, but no it wasn’t Carlsberg as Lidl only had packs of 18 tins!).
But the most interesting of the three (maybe because of the novelty) was the third. Decision Before Dawn. It has been deemed one of the Best Pictures of 1951. Oscar nominated ahead of many more well-known films from that year. See here.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t1zBGGlcHjE
The trailer gives a clue as to what it was about.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9UVSxfINPWs
It has an authenticity that most later ‘war films’ don’t have. Filming was done on location amidst the rubble of post war a Germany (much as Theirs is the Glory has done in the ruins of Arnhem). The storyline is unusual to say the least, but is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of an OSS officer. Well worth watching and thought provoking.
I couldn’t find it in the site of the channel that aired it (Sony Movies Action) but I’m sure you can find it on one of the well-know video sharing platforms.
Here is the IMDb page for it.
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0043459/
Looks interesting, Ice cold in Alex is a really good film, I remember in the 90s during the breakup of Yugoslavia driving a relief van with 2 other volunteers non stop (except for petrol) from Boulogne to northern Croatia and getting a drink after dropping the kit off at the refugee camp and thinking of that film!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Did you have a Sylvia Sims type with you to make the journey more pleasant?
DeleteGood work by the way.