Bridge on the River Kwai

[Peter Laidler]

Thanks for sharing those Amati..... Extremely humbling. That cutting was Hellfire pass wasn't it? Cut with absolutely nothing but picks and shovels.

An old man I knew from the Royal Berkshire Regt was on the Judicial firing squad in Burma/Thailand after the war and dispatched many criminals at the behest of the Military Courts held there. He did not shed one ounce of remorse/regret. He later became the part owner/director of a large auto electrical dealership.

[Paul S.]

I can NOT watch that movie! For some reason, ever since I first saw it, that song, 'Col. Bogie's March' gets in my brain and WON'T GO AWAY!!!!

[Amatikulu]

Yes Peter, I believe it is Hellfire Pass if I remember correctly

[Bill Hollinger]

What a great movie! I will watch it again tomorrow just for S&G! Thanks for bringing this up to rekindle the flame.

[John Sukey (Deceased)]

I am still reminded of "The Blue Max" Where they used the Irish Army for both sides in the movie. All they did was change helmets! The rest of the kit, including the rifles was the same.

[Critch]

I was in the first or second grade when I saw Bridge on the River Kwai. This may sound strange, but coupled with my Uncles Speck's stories of fighting the Japanese in New Guinea and the Phillippines, that movie made me hate the Japanese....

Although the story wasn't exactly for real, the brutal treatment that the Japanese meted out to Allied prisoners was terrible..

[BruceV]

That entire railroad line and bride is a war crime. It should be destroyed. Sincerely. BruceV.

[CapnJohn]

To see an inside view of Japanese POW camps check out the book and movie "King Rat" by James Clavell, a real story.

Following the outbreak of World War II, at the age of 16 he joined the Royal Artillery in 1940, and was sent to Malaya to fight the Japanese. Wounded by machine gun fire, he was eventually captured and sent to a Japanese prisoner of war camp on Java. Later he was transferred to Changi Prison in Singapore.

Clavell suffered greatly at the hands of his Japanese captors. Changi was notorious for its poor living conditions and according to the introduction to King Rat, written by Clavell's daughter Michaela, over 90% of the prisoners who entered Changi never walked out — although the actual figure was under 1%.[1] Clavell was reportedly saved, along with an entire battalion, by an American prisoner of war who later became the model for "The King" in Clavell's King Rat.

By 1946, Clavell had risen to the rank of Captain, but a motorcycle accident ended his military career. He enrolled at the University of Birmingham, where he met April Stride, an actress, whom he married in 1951.

[Paul S.]

To see an inside view of Japanese POW camps check out the book and movie "King Rat" by James Clavell, a real story.

King Rat is a phenomenal book!

[BEAR]

I can NOT watch that movie! For some reason, ever since I first saw it, that song, 'Col. Bogie's March' gets in my brain and WON'T GO AWAY!!!!

I was a very young man when I first saw this movie in a theater. I have always assumed that the march was written for the movie. You can imagine my surprise when I was watching an old Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Lady Vanishes" (1938) and I heard Michael Redgrave whistle that tune. I guess it's older than I thought.

BEAR