Ice Cold in Alex

[ron]

Just a question, I have just watched that old movie Ice Cold in Alex starring John Mills, can anyone please tell me what the truck was that they used in crossing the desert? was it a Morris? Regards Ron

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by ron

Just a question, I have just watched that old movie Ice Cold in Alex starring John Mills, can anyone please tell me what the truck was that they used in crossing the desert? was it a Morris? Regards Ron

Ron,

If you mean the ambulance, it was an Austin K2.

[ron]

Hi Richard,
Yes thanks thats the one, not a bad movie for its time,
Regards Ron

[Mike Kelly]

Originally Posted by Richard Farrant

Ron,

If you mean the ambulance, it was an Austin K2.

And the Land Rover in the last scene looks nice too

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Originally Posted by ron

Just a question, I have just watched that old movie Ice Cold in Alex starring John Mills, can anyone please tell me what the truck was that they used in crossing the desert? was it a Morris? Regards Ron

Haven't seen it for a long, long time, but I remember it as an outstanding movie for its time!

[Jon Skagfeld]

In "Ice Cold in Alex", I could never figure out what was the significance of the soldier with the blue face.

[pzrwest]

I liked that movie as well, loved the part where they got it up that hill by useing the hand crank and the transmission in reverse. One question ... when it got away on the woman and rolled back down the hill wouldn't the engine be damaged when it was turned backwards? That must have burned the skin when they washed off the quicksand with petrol, I acidentally spilled gas on my crotch filling the tank of my motorcycle while sitting astraddle the bike and it burned like hell, I can imagine how it must have burned when they used it to wash with. Reguardless was a great movie.

[lynx42]

I understand that the Austin K2 ambulance was winched in reverse over the sand dune by an AEC Matador with the cable hidden beneath the sand as the actors cranked the handle.
Still it was a great movie for its time.

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

There seems to have been possibly three K2/Y ambulances. The British Army were still in Libya at the time, and may have supplied them though I think that we have now determined on this Forum, that one was a 4x4, possibly using an Austin chassis with a K2/Y body on it, built by the film company.

[2nd AIF]

Ice-Cold in Alex
1958

Also known as: Desert Attack (USA)

http://www.imcdb.org/movie.php?id=53935

Austin K2/Y on CMP 4x4 Chassis
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_196101-Austin-K2-Y.html

[malcolm erik bogaert]

according to SOLDIER magazine they used Austin K9 Chassis with K2 body..this was done by the REME regards malcolm

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by malcolm erik bogaert

according to SOLDIER magazine they used Austin K9 Chassis with K2 body..this was done by the REME regards malcolm

Hi Malcolm,

The front hubs are definitely CMP, so more than likely it was a CMP axle. I would have thought it would be more likely that a transfer box was fitted in the K2 chassis.

[malcolm erik bogaert]

Richard yes Ive heard that before..however the article in Soldier magazine states that the used K9's..you could probably access the archives at soldier magazine as it names some of the military personel//////////I have the article somewhere in storage...hope you are well...had that other REME chap on the phone the other night Doug from Scotland...cheers malcolm

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by malcolm erik bogaert

Richard yes Ive heard that before..however the article in Soldier magazine states that the used K9's..you could probably access the archives at soldier magazine as it names some of the military personel//////////I have the article somewhere in storage...hope you are well...had that other REME chap on the phone the other night Doug from Scotland...cheers malcolm

Hi Malcolm,

Very well thanks

What I should have added, is if you run the film on a video, there is a point where the front hub is in full screen view and if you stop it, you will see it looks unmistakably like a Ford CMP.....quite different to a K9 hub.

[Lynn Eades]

Just because its in print, doesn't make it true. Try reading the "Carrier" section under "Armour" on "WW2 Talk" What a lot of B.S!!

[Little Jo]

Hi All

Loved the movie. I have a copy in my "War" movie collection, Good ending, not what was expected. I also found the cranking uphill bit very interesting. Not bad for an old Black and White film.

Cheers

Little Jo

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

The side view of the four-wheel drive vehicle clearly shows that it was not a CMP system...it looks K9, or so we have agreed I thought before on this site. I do wonder if a CMP axle might have been used as well but my thought is that unless it was an ex-wartime 'spare' lying around, where did they get it from? CMPs must have long-gone from the Mid-East by then.

[Rich Payne]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

Just because its in print, doesn't make it true. Try reading the "Carrier" section under "Armour" on "WW2 Talk" What a lot of B.S!!

Lynn, if you mean the information under the 'Trux' heading, this was added lock stock and barrel from the old Trux Models site in order to save the extensive 21st Army Group establishment details from being lost to the web - the site hosting was / is about to disappear.

The main value for me is in the other listings. Although the information thread is locked, the administrator at WW2talk has added a separate thread for comments and corrections. I'm sure it would be appreciated if you or others felt able to correct any 'howlers'.

There are many people with an interest in the period who would feel intimidated by a site such as this, populated as it is mainly by vehicle owners and restorers. They do a great job there helping casual enquirers deal with the (mainly British) wartime service of their ancestors and other similar projects. Any help from those who really know the vehicles would undoubtedly be appreciated.

[RichardT10829]

If i recall the germans were using american halftracks during that movie too....

best Carlsberg advert ever created !......"Worth waiting for"

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Richard Farrant

What I should have added, is if you run the film on a video, there is a point where the front hub is in full screen view and if you stop it, you will see it looks unmistakably like a Ford CMP.....quite different to a K9 hub.

CMP axle gets my vote, too

http://img517.imageshack.us/i/cap017im8.jpg/

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

CMP axle gets my vote, too

http://img517.imageshack.us/i/cap017im8.jpg/

Thanks Hanno,

I found some stills from the film on a website, one shows the banjo front axle, definitely like a Chev, although hub caps appear as Ford. There is another shot where the propshafts and transfer box outline is visible, neither the axle nor the transfer box are anything like an Austin K9, so that puts the lid on that story!

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Is Dementia setting in? Or do you like telling the same stories over and over!!! I vote for the first one, Did I say that I vote for the first one.

http://www.mapleleafup.org/forums/sh...ght=alexandria

Rich.

[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.

[Little Jo]

Richard

Now we all know the true story and straight from the horse's mouth. We can now move on and see if we can find another problem to solve. I have loved the thread and interesting comments and good natured banter. I hope this never stops as that is what MLU is all about. "The facts and nothing but the facts".

Yesterday I started up the engine on my 1942 MB Willys Jeep restoration project. (She who must be obeyed refused permission to work on Xmas Day.) The engine is now purring like a kitten, so I can continue putting it all back together, as you will see I am doing her in the desert colour.

Happy New Year to all and a great MLU 2011.

Cheers

Little Jo