There's always the unexpected, isn't there?
Heave!
- Half a pint, sir. - Quinine.
We'll complete this later.
- Clipton, we're facing a crisis. - Yes, sir?
I've spoken with Reeves and Hughes, and we won't finish the bridge on time.
We just haven't the manpower.
I've asked the officers to help and they've agreed, but that won't do it.
The officers are working on the bridge?
Yes. I explained the situation, and they volunteered, but it's not enough.
- Ask Saito for some of his men. - Wouldn't dream of it.
This is our show. We must use our own resources.
I came to talk to you about the sick list.
Sir, there's not a man in this hospital who doesn't belong there.
Don't jump to conclusions.
No reflection on you, but there are always a few malingerers.
Be honest. Keep an open mind is all I ask.
Come along. Let's see.
Don't move.
What's the matter with Haskins?
He has amebic dysentery and blackwater fever.
- His temperature was 104 last night. - Right, I see.
- And this man? - Leg ulcers.
I may be able to save the leg if I do some more cutting tonight.
Do you really want to send him out to work, sir?
Don't talk rot.
- And that man there? - His arm's infected.
Most of them are so run-down, their wounds won't heal properly.
Yes, but I wonder if fresh air and light duties...
might do him more good than being cooped up here.
It's not our policy to keep a man in the hospital...
just because he scratched his arm, is it?
- " Not our policy"? - Is it?
A man may not be on the top of his form, but he can still make himself useful...
trimming and finishing jobs.
Stand easy, Baker.
Tell me, do you feel up to doing a little light work on the bridge?
- Anything you say, sir. - Good show.
What about you? Nothing difficult.
- I'll try, sir. - Good man.
Look here, men.
It goes without saying, I'm proud of all of you...
but we are facing a crisis.
For those who feel up to it, how about lending the others a hand?
Fetch and carry. A spot of paint here and there.
What do you say?
- Yes, sir. - Good show. Follow me.
Ten minutes.
Make sure they're all dead.
Come on, Joyce.
Use your knife, man, or we'll be shooting each other.
Go that way.
I could have done it. I was ready.
Are you hit, sir?
Let's go.
It's superficial. There's nothing broken.
- It's my fault, sir. - Shut up, Joyce.
I can walk on it. That's all that counts now.
- Yeah, but how far and how fast? - We won't know till I try.
What are you doing?
I didn't give orders for a halt.
We all need it.
We're still five hours fast march from the objective.
Maybe six. Come on.
You keep walking on that foot, you'll bleed to death.
Yeah.
- You're going to leave me here. - If you stop, we stop.
You can't study the layout of the bridge after dark.
You've got to get there before sundown.
Sir, when the job's done, who knows if we can return by this route...
or whether we could find you if we did.
If you were in my shoes, you know I wouldn't hesitate to leave you here.
He doesn't know it, but I do.
You'd leave your own mother here if the rules called for it.
You'll go on without me. That's an order.
You're in command, Shears.
I won't obey that order.
You make me sick with your heroics. There's a stench of death about you.
You carry it in your pack like the plague.
Explosives and L pills go well together.
With you, it's just one thing or the other:
destroy a bridge or destroy yourself.
This war is just a game.
You and that Colonel Nicholson are two of a kind.
Crazy with courage! For what?
How to die like a gentleman. How to die by the rules.
The only important thing is how to live like a human being!
I'm not gonna leave you here to die, Warden...
because I don't care about your bridge and your rules.
If we go on, we go on together.
Good old Yai.
I'm all right.
Come on.
Let's get closer.
Still sorry we brought you along?
- Feeling better? - Yeah.
You're in command again.
Thank you, Major.
I can't understand it.
It's such a solid, well-designed job.
Not like the temporary bridges the enemy usually throws together.
Look.
Those poor devils down there.
Imagine being forced to build something like that...
in the condition they must be in.
They've got a British officer working down there on his knees.
TheJapanese seem to be enjoying it.
If he knew we were here, it might boost his morale a little.
If it wasn't for the train, we could set a time fuse and leave.
But since we don't know what time it will cross tomorrow morning...
we'll have to do the job manually.
We'll set the charges against the piles...
about three feet under the water, I should think...
and run the main wire downstream to the plunger.
The problem is where to hide it.
Our side of the river is quite obviously used by theJapanese.
They'd spot it at once.
Look. You see those fallen tree trunks...
and the gray rock just below them on that little beach?
Yes, sir, I see them.
That's our key position.
It's on the wrong side of the river...
but it's the only hiding place within feasible distance.
As soon as the bridge goes up...
whoever's there will have to swim back.
It's not likely to be a pleasant swim.
Sir, I was the best swimmer in my course.
Yeah.
- It looks like your line of country. - Thank you, sir.
Shears, pick a spot on our side of the bank where you can coverJoyce.
Yai will be with you, so you two should be able to occupy the Nips...
if they make any trouble forJoyce.
On the theory that there's always one more thing to do...
I'll set up the mortar here to create an additional diversion if necessary.
I might even take a few potshots at the train.
All clear?
Any questions? Right. We'll start as soon as it's dark.
They're sure to have sentries on the bridge...
so you'll have to float the stuff down...
from upriver...
which means building a raft.
Yai will take three women to help you build the raft.
One will stay here with me. Get cracking.
If it wasn't for my ankle, I'd takeJoyce's assignment.
I know.
Do you think he'll be all right?
I think so. Want me to handle it?
I'd let you stay up here with the mortar if I could.
- I know. - I'm sorry.
When it's over, I hope you get that medical discharge...
and not the hard way.
Thanks.
Load.
- Beautiful. - Yes, beautiful.
A first-rate job.
I had no idea it would turn out so well.
Yes, a beautiful creation.
I've been thinking.
Tomorrow it will be 28 years to the day that I've been in the service.
Twenty-eight years in peace and war.
I don't suppose I've been at home more than ten months in all that time.
Still, it's been a good life.
I love India.
I wouldn't have had it any other way.
But there are times...
when suddenly you realize you're nearer the end than the beginning.
You wonder...
you ask yourself...
what the sum total of your life represents...
what difference your being there at any time made to anything...
or if it made any difference at all really.
Particularly in comparison with other men's careers.
I don't know whether that kind of thinking is very healthy...
but I must admit I've had some thoughts along those lines...
from time to time.
But tonight...
Blast.
I must be off.
The men are preparing some sort of entertainment.
Lovely.
If you were the only
Girl in the world
And you were the only boy
Nothing else would matter
In the world today
We could go on loving
In the same old way
A garden of Eden
Just made for two
I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say...
this has been an enjoyable evening.
Most of you move on tomorrow to a new camp and new construction.
It's a pity you won't be here to see the first practical use of the bridge.
However, you'll be glad to know...
the completion of this link in the railway...
will enable us to transport the sick and the disabled...
to the new camp by train.
Colonel Saito has kindly permitted me...
to stay behind with Major Clipton and the sick men...
and we'll rejoin you in a few days' time.
Now that your work here is finished...
I suppose many of you feel somewhat let down.
That's quite understandable.
It's a very natural reaction.
But one day, in a week, a month, a year...
or that day when, God willing, we all return to our homes again...
you're going to feel very proud...
of what you have achieved here...
in the face of great adversity.
What you have done should be...
and I think will be...
an example to all our countrymen...
soldier and civilian alike.
You have survived with honor.
That and more...
here in the wilderness.
You have turned defeat into victory.
I congratulate you. Well done.
The King.
You're in business.
You got everything? Stand, ammunition, pack, canteen, knife?
Yes.
I'll be directly across the river.
The professor says there's always one more thing to do...
but I can't think of what it could be...
except to wish you a long and happy life.
Thank you.
What's happened?
The river's gone down.
You can see the wire.
The charges.
Don't wait for the train.
Do it now.
If Saito's information is correct...
the train should be along in five or ten minutes.
If you don't mind, sir, I'll watch the ceremonies from up on the hill.
Why? You'll get a better view from the bridge.
It's hard to explain, sir, but I'd rather not be a part of it.
As you please.
Honestly, sometimes I don't understand you at all.
As you once said, sir, I have a lot to learn about the army.
Good morning.
River's gone down in the night.
What's he doing?
Colonel, there's something rather odd going on.
I think we'd better have another look around before that train comes across.
He's gone mad.
He's leading him right to it.
Our own man.
I was right. There is something going on.
You have to do it, boy.
You have to do it now!
Colonel Saito, have you a knife?
I just realized the bridge has been mined.
" Mined"?
Good boy.
British officer, sir, here to blow up the bridge.
- Blow up the bridge? - Yes, sir.
British commando orders, sir.
Look out. There's no time.
Help!
Kill him!
Let me go, sir. You don't understand, sir.
Kill him!
You?
You!
What have I done?
Madness!
I had to do it.
They might have been captured alive.
It was the only thing to do!
Madness.