Ice Cold in Alex

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Richard Coutts-Smith

Is Dementia setting in?

It is great making new friends everyday, isn't it?!?

[warren brown]

G'day everyone - as a comparative newcomer to this site I'm a bit blowed away that this hasn't been resolved before. Over the years, I've read in several articles (please don't ask me where at this point because I have a glass of 'Run 'o the Mill' Chardonnay in hand) that the Austin ambulance had CMP running gear. The other day I was at the barber who had a copy of Ralph or Zoo magazine (for those in Canada these are sort of disreputable Australian publications that in the Yukon might have the title of something like the 'Ottawa Beaver Magazine' if you know what I mean) with an article about motoring faux pas in movies - citing Ice Cold in Alex using a Land Rover ambulance throughout the film when Land Rovers turned up years after the war etc...As we know a Series One Land Rover is spotted outside the pub but wouldn't you not bother to move the thing after months filming in the Libyan desert? It is indeed a great film - there is another called 'Sea of Sand' with Michael Craig and Richard Attenborough about the LRDG. It's a cracker...

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Ok, so before the dementia sets in with all the Movie Bloopers, we have covered that as well:

http://www.mapleleafup.org/forums/sh...movie+mistakes

http://www.mapleleafup.org/forums/sh...light=bloopers

Time to hand out the meds?
Rich

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

The film/movie is on British satellite TV as I type. The 4x4 system was clearly visible, and when they ascend the slope, the front axle was definitely Chevy-looking from the front! That is, banjo type.

OTT but was Carslberg beer available in in Egypt or anywhere else for that matter during the war? Outside Europe that is.

[Ron Pier]

Hi David. Nothing to do with this thread but I notice you are in the Forest. I like the fact that when I ride one of my old military bikes, I can be in the Forest in about 15-20 minutes. I'm just on the edge of Bournemouth. Ron

[malcolm erik bogaert]

yes saw the film again today and wondered if the old chesnut would come up on the forum again...reme unit in Libya was asked to help the film company and produced a K9 variant with K2 body in fact it sems they made more than one!¬Im sure this argument will run for years.....watched an Italian made desert war film last week on sky and they where using a series 1 landrover whilst the germ,ans where using gaz 69's and the obligitary white half-track!cheers malcolm

[Richard Farrant]

Just to put this one to bed......, I was looking through some old vintage commercial vehicle magazines and found a letter in one which gives the final word on 4x4 K2 ambulance saga. It was written by David Beckett, who I know is a MV enthusiast, because a friend of mine, bought his Austin K6 Gantry some years ago.

The story goes that in November 1957, he was in the RASC and posted to 1 Coy RASC at Medienene Bks in Tripoli. On arrival he noticed a K2 ambulance parked by the guardroom with "Katy" painted on the front. After a while he thought it strange that it never moved. One night he was duty corporal at the guardroom, so enquired about the K2, to be told it was owned by a film company who were making a film in the desert. There were in fact, two Katies, the other one was in the REME workshops being modified to 4x4. The next day, David visited the Workshops to find the ambulance modification completed. The REME's first thoughts were to use a K5 front axle, but that was not possible due to differing axle ratios, and it was too large. After a bit of thinking they used the transfer box, front and rear axles from.........wait for it...a Canadian Ford Gun Tractor.