Released in 1979 and directed by Hammer-alumni Don Sharp from Alistair MacLean's novel, "Bear Island" is an arctic thriller about an international group meeting at the eponymous isle near the Arctic Circle off the Northern coast of Norway. Several people die under dubious circumstances and it becomes clear that some of the personnel are doing the killing; and why. Donald Sutherland, Lloyd Bridges and Vanessa Redgrave play the main protagonists while Richard Widmark plays the curmudgeonly leader of the expedition. Christopher Lee is also on hand as an interesting loner.Unlike similar arctic thrillers, like 1968's "Ice Station Zebra," which was absurdly set-bound, "Bear Island" features great location shooting with Alaska substituting for Norway. There's a lot of action, including an avalanche, several explosions, a great knock-down-drag-out fist fight and a falling radio tower; there's also some good tension between the characters. But something keeps "Bear Island" from standing out. The script needed SOMETHING to make it more compelling, like a head-turning female or a steamy romance. Yes, Barbara Parkins is on hand, but her role is too small; and Redgrave's part is thoroughly academic. Nevertheless, there's enough good here to give it a marginal recommendation for those who appreciate realistic (to a point) arctic adventures, like 2009's "Whiteout." Sutherland, for instance, is excellent as the main protagonist.The film runs 118 minutes and was shot in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska, and British Columbia, as well as studio work in England.GRADE: B-

I had heard that Bear Island was not a good movie at all, but I wanted to see it anyway because I like the cast a lot. When I eventually saw it, I didn't find it great, but it was much better than I expected.Pros: Lovely photography and great sets and locations. Atmospheric score by Richard Farnon. Great performances from Richard Widmark and Christopher Lee, Vanessa Redgrave has her moments but has an inconsistent accent. Sharp and well paced direction.Cons: As much as I love Donald Sutherland, he does look bored and stiff here. The dialogue is uneven, having moments when it is decent but some of it is really quite bad. The story has great idea and starts and ends well, but the film is rather sluggish with some of the middle section feeling like filler.All in all, not great, not awful, just somewhere in between. 6/10 Bethany Cox

An action pic starring Donald Sutherland and Vanessa Redgrave. Who thought this was going to be a good idea? Based on the (presumably better) book by Alistair MacLean and directly by Don Sharp, this film is really just a series of badly choreographed fights & way too long chases over the frozen wastelands. Sutherland & Redgrave are part of an expedition to an uninhabited island. Their leader, Richard Widmark, may or may not be a Nazi. Others in their party clearly are. As this is based on a McLean novel, you know that there's hidden Nazi treasure somewhere. Widmark, playing a Norwegian, is shrill, while Sutherland & Redgrave do journeyman work, clearly collecting a paycheck for their time in the snow. Sharp, who managed to direct a few decent Hammer films in the 1960s, shows little flair for this type of action yarn. Things lumber along at such a snail's pace, it's sleep inducing rather than riveting. The music by Robert Farnon is so hyper it only manages to promise thrills that do not come. The unlucky supporting cast includes Christopher Lee, Lloyd Bridges and Barbara Parkins.

German scientist Otto Gerran (Richard Widmark) leads an expedition to icy Bear Island - which was also a base for Nazi U-boats in WWII - for some kind of environmental research. Included in the group are fellow scientist Frank Lansing (Donald Sutherland), nurse Heddi Lindquist (Vanessa Redgrave), Russian Lechinski (Christopher Lee) and boat captain Smithy (Lloyd Bridges) among others. When they arrive at the titular location, the group discovers one of the three folks stationed there has gone missing. Before you can say TEN LITTLE INDIANS, folks start getting offed in an effort to hide the island's secret. This is a pretty enjoyable action-mystery adaptation of Alistair MacLean's snowbound novel. The cast is all game, which is good as this must have been a hell of a production to shoot as 70% of it looks shot on location (Alaska and Canada). Director Don Sharp keeps things moving fast and, while you'll probably solve most of the mystery early on, there are still some nice twists. The production is nicely mounted, with great sets and some nice Bond-esquire snow chases. One great scene has Sutherland discovering a German U-boat and he finds the dead crew aboard it, shackled to their posts. One interesting thing my friend who sent this to me pointed out is that this totally has a vibe of John Carpenter's THE THING. Now, of course, THE THING is a remake but I'd wager that film's screenwriter Bill Lancaster or John Carpenter saw this before setting about their version. The opening - where a lone guy runs across a snow-covered plain while being chased by a snowboat - sounds exactly like the opening of Carpenter's film. Look for Bruce Greenwood in his first big screen roll as Tommy the Technician, sporting an epic beard.