''Ice Station Zebra'' is a 1968 American espionage

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

John Sturges John Eliot Sturges (; January 3, 1910 – August 18, 1992) was an American film director. His films include ''Bad Day at Black Rock'' (1955), ''Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957), ''The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), '' The Great Escape'' (1963 ...

and starring

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...

Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...

, and

Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (born February 17, 1936) is a former American football player, sports analyst and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be one ...

. The screenplay is by

Alistair MacLean Alistair Stuart MacLean ( gd, Alasdair MacGill-Eain; 21 April 1922 – 2 February 1987) was a 20th-century Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, most notably '' The G ...

Douglas Heyes Douglas Heyes (May 22, 1919 – February 8, 1993) was an American film and television writer, director, producer, actor, composer, and author with a long list of accomplishments. He was sometimes credited under the pseudonym Matthew Howard. Pers ...

Harry Julian Fink Harry Julian Fink (July 7, 1923 – August 8, 2001) was an American television and film writer known for ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' and as one of the writers who created Harry Callahan (character), Dirty Harry. Fink wrote for various tele ...

, and

W. R. Burnett William Riley Burnett (November 25, 1899 April 25, 1982) was an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for the crime novel ''Little Caesar'', the film adaptation of which is considered the first of the classic American gangster ...

, loosely based on MacLean's 1963 novel. Both have parallels to real-life events that took place in 1959. The film was photographed in

Super Panavision 70 Super Panavision 70 is the marketing brand name used to identify movies photographed with Panavision 70 mm spherical optics between 1959 and 1983. Ultra Panavision 70 was similar to Super Panavision 70, though Ultra Panavision lenses were anamorp ...

and presented in 70 mm

Cinerama Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. The trademarked process was marketed by the Cinerama corporati ...

in premiere engagements. The original music score is by

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many son ...

Plot

A satellite re-enters the atmosphere and ejects a capsule, which parachutes to the Arctic, near a British scientific weather station moving with the ice pack named ''Drift Ice Station Zebra'', approximately northwest of

Station Nord, Greenland Station Nord is a military and scientific station in northeastern Greenland 1700 km north of the Arctic Circle. It is about from the geographic North Pole, on Princess Ingeborg Peninsula ( da, Prinsesse Ingeborg Halvø) in northern Kro ...

in the Arctic Ocean ice pack. A person approaches, guided by a homing beacon, while a second person secretly watches from nearby. Immediately afterwards distress calls begin to be broadcast from Ice Station Zebra. Little can be wrung from them beyond that there was a fire and casualties in some sort of disaster. Commander James Ferraday, captain of the American nuclear attack submarine USS ''Tigerfish'' stationed at

Holy Loch The Holy Loch ( gd, An Loch Sianta/Seunta) is a sea loch, a part of the Cowal peninsula coast of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there afte ...

, Scotland, is ordered by Admiral Garvey of

Naval Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

to rescue the survivors, outside the normal chain of command, with confirming orders through regular channels to follow. He is told only about the ice station incident. An imperious British intelligence agent, "Mr. Jones", and a

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

platoon join the ''Tigerfish'' while in dock. After setting sail, a helicopter delivers Captain Anders, a strict officer who takes command of the Marines, and an old comrade of Jones, Boris Vaslov, a Russian defector and spy. The submarine sails beneath the thick Arctic pack ice but is unable to break through with its

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...

. Ferraday instead orders a torpedo shot to fracture the ice. When the inner torpedo hatch is opened to load it, sea water rushes in, flooding the compartment. The extra weight forward causes the submarine to nose dive, which is only arrested before the boat reaches crushing depth. Jones asserts it was no accident and Ferraday discovers evidence of sabotage. Ferraday suspects Vaslov, while Jones points to Anders. After an area of thin ice is detected, the ''Tigerfish'' breaks through to the surface. Ferraday, Vaslov, Jones, and the marine platoon set out for the weather station in a blizzard. On arrival, they find the base almost completely destroyed. Jones and Vaslov start questioning a few hypothermic survivors about what happened. Jones reveals to Ferraday that he's looking for a canister of film with immense Cold War implications. It was shot by an advanced experimental camera designed by the British, which uses special film developed by the Americans, both of which technologies were stolen by the Soviets and sent into orbit to photograph locations of American missile silos. However, the satellite also recorded all the Soviet missile sites as well. Due to a malfunction, it ejected its film delivery capsule near ''Ice Station Zebra'' in the Arctic. Both Soviet and British agents were deployed to recover the capsule. Jones concludes the Soviet agent slew the British, with some scientists dying by gunfire before the fire was set to cover the agent's tracks. After being summoned by Ferraday through a hole in the ice, the ''Tigerfish'' erupts immediately adjacent to the camp. Ferraday sets his crew to search for the capsule. Jones discovers a tracking device but is knocked out by Vaslov, a Soviet

double-agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organ ...

and the saboteur. Anders confronts Vaslov and the two men fight before the dazed Jones shoots and kills the Captain Anders. Ferraday enters the hut and is alarmed at discovering Jones bloodied and unconscious, Anders riddled with half a dozen gunshots, and Vaslov unharmed. He appears to accept the Russian's story that Anders had attacked Jones, who in turn shot him. ''Tigerfish'' detects approaching Soviet aircraft. Ferraday has Vaslov use the tracker to locate the capsule, which is discovered buried in half a foot of ice. They conclude the capsule is armed with an explosive

booby trap A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or another animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap m ...

that will go off if tampered with, but Vaslov successfully disarms it and removes the film, and replaces it with an empty container. A large force of Soviet paratroopers arrive and demand the film. Its commander, Colonel Ostrovsky produces a detonator, and tells Ferraday he can explode the capsule, film and all, even inside the submarine, if the Americans try to leave with it. Ferraday hands over the capsule, but Ostrovsky discovers the film is missing and orders his troops to open fire on the Americans and a brief firefight ensues. In the confusion, Vaslov tries to take the film but is wounded by Jones. Ferraday orders him to give the film to the Soviets. The canister is sent aloft by weather balloon for recovery by aircraft. Moments before it is taken, Ferraday activates a detonator he had found that had been cached with the tracking device, destroying the film and denying either side the locations of the other's missile silos. The Soviet colonel concedes that crucial parts of both his and Ferraday's missions are effectively accomplished, with no more of either yet attainable, and leaves. ''Tigerfish'' completes the rescue of the civilians. A teletype machine reveals media headlines claiming that a joint US-Soviet rescue in the Arctic has been successful, and that the "humanitarian mission" stands as a sterling example of peaceful cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Cast

as Cdr. James Ferraday *

as Boris Vaslov *

as David Jones *

Capt. Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Leslie Anders * Tony Bill as Lt. Russell Walker *

Lloyd Nolan Lloyd Benedict Nolan (August 11, 1902 – September 27, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Among his many roles, Nolan is remembered for originating the role of private investigator Michael Shayne in a series of 1940s B movies. Bi ...

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Garvey * Alf Kjellin as

Col. Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Ostrovsky * Gerald S. O'Loughlin as

Lt. Cdr. Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank ...

Bob Raeburn *

Ted Hartley Theodore Ringwalt Hartley (born November 6, 1924) is a U.S. Navy fighter pilot, investment banker, actor, film producer, and is currently CEO of RKO Pictures. He was married to heiress, actress and philanthropist Dina Merrill until her death in ...

as Lt. Jonathan Hansen *

Murray Rose Iain Murray Rose, (6 January 1939 – 15 April 2012) was an Australian swimmer, actor, sports commentator and marketing executive. He was a six-time Olympic medalist (four gold, one silver, one bronze), and at one time held the world records ...

as Lt. George Mills *

Ron Masak Ronald Alan Masak (July 1, 1936 – October 20, 2022) was an American actor. He began working as a stage performer, and mostly was involved in theater until transitioning to film and television becoming a familiar character actor. From 1988 to 19 ...

as Paul Zabrinczski *

Sherwood Price Frank Sherwood Gell (April 4, 1928 – January 13, 2020) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing General J. E. B. Stuart in the American historical television series '' The Gray Ghost''. Early life He was born Frank ...

as Lt. Edgar Hackett * Lee Stanley as Lt. Mitgang *

Joseph Bernard Joseph Bernard (1866, Vienne, Isère – 1931) was a modern classical French sculptor, featured on the frontispiece of Elie Faure's 1927 survey of modern art, "Spirit of Forms". Bernard was trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in the atelier o ...

as Jack Benning

Production

Development

The film rights to the 1963 Alistair McLean novel were acquired the following year by producer

Martin Ransohoff Martin Nelson Ransohoff (July 7, 1927 – December 13, 2017) was an American film and television producer, and member of the Ransohoff family. Early life and education Ransohoff was born on July 7, 1927 in New Orleans, Louisiana''The Guns of Navarone'', Hollywood's #2 grossing picture that year. He expected the film to cost around $5 million. "Our aim is to produce films that are both interesting and commercial," said Ransohoff. "We are looking for stories that have something unique to say." Ransohoff's company,

Filmways Filmways, Inc. (also known as Filmways Pictures and Filmways Television) was a television and film production company founded by American film executive Martin Ransohoff and Edwin Kasper in 1952. It is probably best remembered as the production c ...

, had a deal with MGM to provide financing.

Paddy Chayefsky Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky (January 29, 1923 – August 1, 1981) was an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing both adapted and original screenplays. He was ...

, who had just written ''

The Americanization of Emily ''The Americanization of Emily'' is a 1964 British-American black-and-white romantic black comedy war film written by Paddy Chayefsky, produced by Martin Ransohoff, directed by Arthur Hiller and starring James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvyn Dougl ...

'' for Ransohoff, was hired to write the script. ''Navarone'' stars

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

and

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in ''Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

were initially attached to this film, with Peck as the sub commander and Niven as the British spy, plus

Edmond O'Brien Eamon Joseph O'Brien (September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. O'Brien w ...

and George Segal in the other key roles.

was borrowed from

The Mirisch Company The Mirisch Company was an American film production company owned by Walter Mirisch and his brothers, Marvin and Harold Mirisch. The company also had sister firms known at various times as Mirisch Production Company, Mirisch Pictures Inc., Miris ...

to direct. Filming was set to begin in April 1965, but scheduling conflicts and

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

objections over Paddy Chayefsky's screenplay, because they felt it showed "an unfair distortion of military life" that would "damage the reputation of the Navy and its personnel" delayed the start. A new script was commissioned. In January 1967 MGM announced the film would be one of 13 movies it would make during the next year.

Casting

Due to scheduling conflicts, the original cast was no longer available when filming began in the spring of 1967. Rock Hudson had replaced Gregory Peck by February. After making four flop comedies in a row, Hudson had been keen to change his image; he had just made ''Seconds'' and ''Tobruk'', and ''Ice Station Zebra'' was an attempt to continue this. In June 1967,

Laurence Harvey Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to South Africa at an early age, before later settling in th ...

and

joined the cast as the Russian agent and British agent, respectively. In July,

replaced Harvey. Other key roles were played by

and Tony Bill, who signed a five-picture contract with Ransohoff,. There were no women in the cast. "It was the way Maclean wrote it," said Hudson.

Filming

Filming began in June 1967. The film was budgeted at $8 million. Principal photography lasted 19 weeks, ending in October 1967. By the time it was finished the cost had risen to $10 million. ''Ice Station Zebra'' was photographed in

by Daniel L. Fapp. The fictional nuclear-powered submarine ''Tigerfish'' (SSN-509) was portrayed in the movie by the diesel-electric Guppy IIA class sub when seen on the surface. For submerging and surfacing scenes, the diesel-electric Guppy IA (SS-322) was used, near Pearl Harbor. The underwater scenes used a model of a nuclear submarine. George Davis, head of the art department at MGM, spent two years researching interior designs for the submarine. Second unit

cameraman A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not imply that a male is performing the task. In filmmakin ...

John M. Stephens developed an innovative underwater camera system that successfully filmed the first continuous dive of a submarine, which became the subject of a documentary featurette, ''The Man Who Makes a Difference''. During filming,

had to be rescued from a flooded chamber by a diver who freed his trapped foot, saving his life. As he was making his

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

series ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...

'' during principal photography in ''Ice Station Zebra'', McGoohan had the episode "

Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling" is an episode of the allegorical British science fiction TV series, ''The Prisoner''. It was written by Vincent Tilsley and directed by Pat Jackson and was the fourteenth produced. It was the thirteenth episode ...

" re-written to have the mind of his character transferred into the body of another character.

Release

''Ice Station Zebra'' was not popular with audiences, losing substantial money. It premiered at the

Cinerama Dome Pacific Theatres' Cinerama Dome is a movie theater located at 6360 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Designed to exhibit widescreen Cinerama films, it opened November 7, 1963. The original developer was William R. Forman, founder of Pa ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

on October 23, 1968 and opened to the public the following day. The film earned

theatrical rental A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is freq ...

s of $4.6 million domestically. The escalating production costs of this film, along with the poorly-received ''

The Shoes of the Fisherman The Shoes of the Fisherman may refer to: * ''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' (novel), a 1963 novel by the writer Morris West * ''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' (film), a 1968 film based on the novel {{disambiguation ...

'' at the same time, led to the transfer of MGM President Robert O'Brien to

chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

, though he resigned that position in early 1969, after both films were released and failed to recoup their costs.

Reception

''Ice Station Zebra'' received mixed reviews from critics. On December 21, 1968,

Renata Adler Renata Adler (born October 19, 1938) is an American author, journalist, and film critic. Adler was a staff writer-reporter for ''The New Yorker'', and in 1968–69, she served as chief film critic for ''The New York Times''. She is also a write ...

reviewed the film for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'': "a fairly tight, exciting, Saturday night adventure story that suddenly goes all muddy in its crises... It doesn't make much difference, though... The special effects, of deep water, submarine and ice, are convincing enough—a special Super Panavision, Metrocolor, Cinerama claustrophobia... (The cast) are all stock types, but the absolute end of the movie—when the press version of what happened at a Russian-American polar confrontation goes out to the world—has a solid, non-stock irony that makes this another good, man's action movie, (there are no women in it) to eat popcorn by." In the March 1969 issue of ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

'', Robert Kotlowitz wrote: "... a huge production, one of those massive jobs that swallow us alive... For action it has crash dives, paratroopers, Russian spies, off-course satellites, and a troop of Marines, the average age of whom seems to be fourteen. It also has Rock Hudson...Patrick McGoohan...Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, and enough others to field maybe three football teams. And best of all there is also some nice suspense and pacing for at least two-thirds of the movie's three-hour length. It comes apart a bit only when the mystery starts to unravel; but that is the nature of mysteries..." Kotlowitz's review suggests that seeing the film in theaters equipped for

played a significant role in a viewer's experience:

What really got me was the kind of details that the immense, curving Cinerama screen was able to offer... Every single glistening drop of bow spray can be seen as it comes pouring over the submarine's surface, caught by a camera strapped to the conning tower. There are beautiful abstract patterns made by the sub as it cuts its way through the North Sea, all the gleaming, meticulous, finely wrought, intricate machinery inside the sub, and huge chunks of mountainous ice hanging down from the roof of the ice cap like molars. Nothing could distract me from that screen, not even several minutes of confused story-telling at the end of the film... Buy some popcorn and see the movie.

At the time of the film's release ''Variety'''s brief review praised it, highlighting the performances: "Film’s biggest acting asset is McGoohan, who gives his scenes that elusive ‘star’ magnetism. He is a most accomplished actor with a three-dimensional presence all his own. Hudson comes across quite well as a man of muted strength. Borgnine's characterization is a nicely restrained one. Brown, isolated by script to a suspicious personality, makes the most of it." In April 1969,

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' described it as "so flat and conventional that its three moments of interest are an embarrassment" and called it "a dull, stupid movie". He expressed disappointment that the special effects did not, in his opinion, live up to advance claims, comparing them unfavorably to the effects in '' 2001: A Space Odyssey''. (MGM pulled the hugely successful ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' from Cinerama venues in order to make way for ''Ice Station Zebra''.) Writing for TCM, Lang Thompson calls the film "a nifty thriller of spies, submarines and saboteurs that captivated no less a personage than Howard Hughes, who reportedly watched it hundreds of times. You certainly won't regret watching it once." Thompson is referring to the fact that "In the era before

VCRs A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recordin ...

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

would call the

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

TV station he owned and order them to run a particular movie. Hughes so loved ''Ice Station Zebra'' that it aired in Las Vegas over 100 times." In the September/October 1996 issue of ''

Film Comment ''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film Co ...

'', Director

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

contributed to the magazine's long-running Guilty Pleasures feature. He included ''Ice Station Zebra'' on his list, asking "Why do I love this movie so much?" As of August 2020, ''Ice Station Zebra'' holds a 47% "Rotten" rating on the review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

Awards and nominations

''Ice Station Zebra'' was nominated in two categories at the

41st Academy Awards The 41st Academy Awards were presented on April 14, 1969, the first to be staged at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. For the first time since the 11th Academy Awards, there was no host. ''Oliver!'' is the only Best Picture winner ...

, for Best Special Visual Effects (nominees: Hal Millar and

Joseph McMillan Johnson Joseph McMillan Johnson (September 15, 1912 – April 17, 1990) was a leading Hollywood art director born in Los Angeles. He was graduated from USC with a degree in architecture before attending Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He was ...

, won by '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'') and Best Cinematography (nominee: Daniel L. Fapp, won by ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'').

Similar historical events

The plot has parallels to events from April 1959 concerning

Discoverer 2 Discoverer 2 was an American optical reconnaissance satellite launched on 13 April 1959 at 21:18:39 GMT, the second of three test flights of the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series. Discoverer 2 was the first satellite to be stabilized in orbit i ...

, a missing experimental US

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...

satellite capsule that inadvertently landed near

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...

, Norway, in the Arctic Ocean on April 13. It was believed to have been recovered by Soviet agents. In 2006, the US

National Reconnaissance Office The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. f ...

declassified information stating that "an individual formerly possessing Corona access was the technical adviser to the movie" and admitted "the resemblance of the loss of the Discoverer II capsule, and its probable recovery by the Soviets" on Spitsbergen Island. The story has parallels with the CIA's Project COLDFEET, which took place in May–June 1962. In this operation, two American officers parachuted from a CIA-operated

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

to an abandoned Soviet ice station. They were picked up three days later by the B-17 using the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system. The sabotage aboard the submarine that nearly resulted in its sinking is based on the loss of the Royal Navy's in

Liverpool Bay Liverpool Bay is a bay of the Irish Sea between northeast Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside to the east of the Irish Sea. The bay is a classic example of a region of freshwater influence. Liverpool Bay has historically suffered from redu ...

in 1939. In its case, however, the drip cock was accidentally blocked on the newly built craft by fresh paint, which led to the rear cap being opened while the bow cap was already open to the sea. Water entered at the rate of one ton per second and ''Thetis'' sank with the loss of 98 lives. In the movie, the drip cock was intentionally blocked with epoxy glue.

Notes

;References ;Bibliography *

External links

* * * * *
Movie review at AlistairMacLean.com

“Ice Station Zebra”: The North American Roadshow and 70mm Engagements
{{Cinerama 1968 films 1960s action thriller films 1960s English-language films American action thriller films Cold War submarine films Cold War spy films Films scored by Michel Legrand Films based on British novels Films based on works by Alistair MacLean Films directed by John Sturges Films set in the Arctic Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Techno-thriller films Films about the United States Marine Corps Filmways films 1960s American films