Ice Station Zebra
Commander James Ferraday, USN, has new orders: get David Jones, a British civilian, Captain Anders, a tough Marine with a platoon of troops…
- Director: John Sturges
- Genre:Action / Drama / Thriller
- Runtime:152 minutes
Cast
Rock Hudson : Cdr. James Ferraday
Ernest Borgnine : Boris Vaslov
Patrick McGoohan: David Jones
Jim Brown : Capt. Leslie Anders
Tony Bill : Lt. Russell Walker
A satellite reenters the atmosphere and ejects a capsule which parachutes to the Arctic. During an ice storm, a figure soon approaches, guided by a homing beacon, while a second individual secretly watches from nearby.
The scene shifts to Commander James Ferraday (Rock Hudson), captain of the U.S. nuclear attack submarine USS Tigerfish (SSN-509). He is ordered by Admiral Garvey (Lloyd Nolan) to rescue the personnel of Drift Ice Station Zebra, a civilian weather station moving with the ice pack. However, the mission is actually a cover for a highly classified assignment.
Ferraday welcomes aboard British intelligence agent Mr. “Jones” (Patrick McGoohan) and a Marine platoon. While underway, a SH-2 Sea Sprite helicopter delivers Captain Anders (Jim Brown), who takes command of the Marines, and Boris Vaslov (Ernest Borgnine), an amiable Russian defector and spy and friend of Jones.
The Tigerfish makes its way under the ice to Zebra’s last known position. Ferraday decides to use a torpedo to blast an opening in the thick ice. However, the torpedo tube is open at both ends and seawater floods in, plunging the sub toward its rated crush depth. Ferraday and his crew are barely able to save themselves. During the investigation of the torpedo tube, Jones quickly determines that this malfunction should be impossible and, being an expert in sabotage operations, Jones even describes how someone could intentionally rig the tube to malfunction. Both Jones and Ferraday conclude that there is a saboteur aboard, and both suspect Anders, who is the one member of the rescue team who is the least known to Jones, Ferraday, and Vaslov. However, the mission is too important to abort. Read more
