Ice Station Zebra

Ice Station Zebra is a 1968 American espionage thriller film directed by John Sturges and starring Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan, Ernest Borgnine, and Jim Brown. The screenplay is by Douglas Heyes, Harry Julian Fink, and W. R. Burnett, loosely based on Alistair MacLean's 1963 novel. Both were inspired by real-life events that took place in 1959 (the flight, loss and search for Discoverer 2). The film concerns a US nuclear submarine that must rush to the North Pole to rescue the members of Ice Station Zebra.

The film was shot in Super Panavision 70 and presented in 70 mm Cinerama in premiere engagements. The original music score is by Michel Legrand. It was released on October 23, 1968, to mixed reviews, and it was not a box office success, earning only $4.6 million over its $8–10 million budget.

A satellite re-enters the atmosphere and ejects a capsule, which parachutes to Arctic ice, approximately 320 mi (510 km) northwest of Station Nord, Greenland, in the Arctic Ocean ice pack. A person approaches, guided by a homing beacon, while a second person secretly watches from nearby.

Commander James Ferraday, captain of the American nuclear attack submarine USS Tigerfish stationed at Holy Loch, Scotland, is ordered by Admiral Garvey to rescue the personnel of a British scientific weather station moving with the ice pack named Drift Ice Station Zebra. This, however, is cover for the real mission.

British intelligence agent "Mr. Jones" and a U.S. Marine platoon join the Tigerfish while in dock. After setting sail, a Kaman SH-2 Seasprite helicopter delivers Captain Anders, a strict officer who takes command of the Marines, and Boris Vaslov, a Russian defector and spy, who Jones trusts. The submarine sails beneath the thick Arctic pack ice but is unable to break through with its conning tower. Ferraday orders a torpedo launch to break a hole in the surface. When the inner torpedo hatch is opened, seawater rushes in flooding the compartment causing the submarine to nose dive. The Tigerfish is only saved shortly before reaching crush depth by pumping air into the flooded area. After an investigation, Ferraday discovers that the torpedo tube was sabotaged. Ferraday suspects Vaslov, while Jones suspects Anders, continuing to refuse Ferraday's demand for more information about the mission's true objective.

The Tigerfish rises and breaks through thin ice 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 burned to the ground and the scientists nearly dead from hypothermia. Jones and Vaslov start questioning the survivors about what happened.

Jones reveals to Ferraday that he's looking for an advanced experimental British camera which used an enhanced film developed by the Americans. The Soviets stole the technology and sent it into orbit to photograph locations of American missile silos. The satellite also recorded all the Soviet missile sites. After a malfunction, it crashed near Ice Station Zebra in the Arctic. When Soviet and British agents arrived to recover the film capsule, the scientists were caught in the crossfire; the only way of finding the capsule being a tracking device which is lost in the station somewhere. Ferraday sets his crew to search for the capsule. Just as Jones finally finds the tracking device he is knocked out by Vaslov – now revealed to be a Soviet double-agent and the saboteur. Anders confronts Vaslov and the two men fight before the dazed Jones shoots and kills the American captain. Vaslov feigns his innocence to Ferraday, who discovers a detonation transmitter for the capsule, which he keeps concealed.

Tigerfish detects approaching Soviet aircraft. Ferraday lets Vaslov use the tracker to locate the ice-buried capsule. Jumping from their transport planes, Soviet paratroopers land nearby and move in as the Americans work to free the capsule from the ice. Their commander, Colonel Ostrovsky, demands the film, threatening to detonate the capsule's explosive booby trap should the Americans attempt to escape with it. After Ferraday hands over the empty container, a brief firefight occurs when the deception is discovered. 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 his own detonator, destroying the film and denying either side the locations of the other's missile silos. Ostrovsky concedes that both his and Ferraday's missions are effectively accomplished, and the standoff ends, each side beginning the return to their home countries.