Ice cold in Alex
Discussion
Automotive rather than film question here, with a minor spoiler in case anyone in the universe hasn't seen it.
At one point the party are trying to get their ambulance up a sand dune, but it keeps bogging down. The solution turns out to be reversing up the dune, but not under engine power. Instead leaving the engine off, selecting reverse gear, then turning the starting handle to turn the engine over. Maybe the idea is that the movement of the driving wheels is sufficiently gentle for the top layer of sand not to be ground away. I did wonder if the idea was to have the lowest possible gear, but normally a higher gear is recommended to avoid breaking traction.
What exactly is the logic here?, and could it work?
At one point the party are trying to get their ambulance up a sand dune, but it keeps bogging down. The solution turns out to be reversing up the dune, but not under engine power. Instead leaving the engine off, selecting reverse gear, then turning the starting handle to turn the engine over. Maybe the idea is that the movement of the driving wheels is sufficiently gentle for the top layer of sand not to be ground away. I did wonder if the idea was to have the lowest possible gear, but normally a higher gear is recommended to avoid breaking traction.
What exactly is the logic here?, and could it work?
Hollywood science. Ideally though, Sylvia Sims would put the handbrake on properly, every time I watch the film she makes a hash of it, dozy mare.
wolfracesonic said:
Hollywood science. Ideally though, Sylvia Sims would put the handbrake on properly, every time I watch the film she makes a hash of it, dozy mare.
That video was not remotely scientific or through to investigate whether it would have been possible. A Morris Minor is not in any way similar to the army truck, save for them both having starting handles. The engine, gearbox, tyres, and weight of the thing can't be compared. Nor are the conditions similar. And as for measuring the angle of the side of a salt pile on a table, how does that compare with sand dunes? It doesn't. Sand dunes are much flatter due to the action of wind. And of course the underlying terrain changes everything. In order to test the theory you'd need an identical truck with the same tyres and mass and weight distribution on similar sand with similar humidity. Otherwise the test is invalid.That video was made for entertainment only and tells us nothing about whether it might have been possible. In my opinion, I can't see why it wouldn't have worked as long as the force needed to turn over the engine with the gearbox in reverse was something that could reasonably be accomplished by very tired and hot, hungry and thirsty men in desert conditions, and then only if the sand was firm enough to allow the wheels not to slip and the truck to dig its own grave.
wolfracesonic said:
Hollywood science. Ideally though, Sylvia Sims would put the handbrake on properly, every time I watch the film she makes a hash of it, dozy mare.
I think it's in retaliation for John Mills smacking her head on the back of the truck when she collapses trying to push it up the hill and he picks her up telling her to stop worrying about her make up.wolfracesonic said:
peterperkins said:
Bottom line it's a great film from a time when we made some really great ones.
+1 Say what you like about Hitler but with WWII he gave film makers a rich vein to mine from: I watched ‘Sink the Bismark’ yesterday, another cracker, quite liked Dana Wynter as well.The last of the three survivors of HMS Hood Ted Briggs died in 2008
wolfracesonic said:
Hollywood science. Ideally though, Sylvia Sims would put the handbrake on properly, every time I watch the film she makes a hash of it, dozy mare.
Apparently a few of Sylvia Sims scenes had to be re-shot as she was deemed to be showing too much cleavage. 
Antony Moxey said:
wolfracesonic said:
Hollywood science. Ideally though, Sylvia Sims would put the handbrake on properly, every time I watch the film she makes a hash of it, dozy mare.
I think it's in retaliation for John Mills smacking her head on the back of the truck when she collapses trying to push it up the hill and he picks her up telling her to stop worrying about her make up.Magnificent movie though and as I've got older I've found it increasingly difficult not to shed a tear at the end as the truck carrying Otto Lutz into captivity pulls away from the bar and the music swells.
clive_candy said:
Antony Moxey said:
wolfracesonic said:
Hollywood science. Ideally though, Sylvia Sims would put the handbrake on properly, every time I watch the film she makes a hash of it, dozy mare.
I think it's in retaliation for John Mills smacking her head on the back of the truck when she collapses trying to push it up the hill and he picks her up telling her to stop worrying about her make up.Magnificent movie though and as I've got older I've found it increasingly difficult not to shed a tear at the end as the truck carrying Otto Lutz into captivity pulls away from the bar and the music swells.
I like that it's Tom (Harry Andrews) who rips off Otto's fake dog-tags at the end, given that he was most conflicted about turning him in.
wolfracesonic said:
Hollywood science. Ideally though, Sylvia Sims would put the handbrake on properly, every time I watch the film she makes a hash of it, dozy mare.
Some Off Roader sucking the life out of the filmRisonax said:
wolfracesonic said:
Hollywood science. Ideally though, Sylvia Sims would put the handbrake on properly, every time I watch the film she makes a hash of it, dozy mare.
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