Finish work!
Go to hut.
Yeah, that figures.
If the new prisoners see us digging graves, they may run.
No time for jokes. Finish work!
Dig, dig.
How about putting us on sick list?
Have a heart, captain. Put us in hospital.
You no sick. You never sick.
Why you always play sick, Shears?
Don't want one of these over my head, I guess.
Captain Kanematsu...
...how about a butt?
I give you butt this morning. Both of you.
That's what I mean. I want to return the favour.
When a man gives a gift from the goodness of his heart...
...like you gave me that butt, I remember it from the heart.
That's why...
...I want you to keep this lighter.
Think I stole it?
It belonged to that English kid we just buried.
He gave it to me for a favour I'd done him.
Before I pass on, I want to do the same for you.
You funny man, Shears.
You go on sick list. Him too.
One of these days Colonel Saito will catch you bribing him...
...then where'll we be?
Before that happens we'll be far away from here, chum.
Far away.
Okay, let's knock off.
Here lies...
I forgot who we just buried.
Thomson.
Ah, yes.
Here lies Corporal Herbert Thomson...
...serial number zero-one-two- three-four-five-six-seven.
Valiant member of the King's Own or the Queen's Own or something...
...who died of beri-beri in the year of our Lord, 1943...
...for the greater glory of...
- What did he die for? - Come off it.
No need to mock the grave.
I don't mock the grave or the man.
May he rest in peace.
He found little of it while he was alive.
"A" Company, mark time!
Mark time!
Halt.
Into line, left turn.
Stand easy.
We're going to be busy gravediggers, Weaver.
Well done, well done.
That colonel doesn't know what he's in for.
You going to tell him the truth?
Of course not.
You're neither an officer nor a gentleman.
My name is Nicholson.
I am Colonel Saito.
In the name of His lmperial Majesty...
...I welcome you.
I am the commanding officer of this camp...
...which is Camp 16...
...along the great railroad...
...which will soon connect Bangkok with Rangoon.
You British prisoners have been chosen...
...to build a bridge across the River Kwai.
It will be pleasant work, requiring skill.
And officers will work as well as men.
The Japanese Army cannot have idle mouths to feed.
If you work hard, you will be treated well.
But if you do not work hard...
...you will be punished.
A word to you about escape.
There is no barbed wire.
No stockade.
No watchtower.
They are not necessary.
We are an island in the jungle.
Escape is impossible.
You would die.
Today you rest. Tomorrow you'll begin.
Let me remind you of General Yamashita's motto:
"Be happy in your work."
Be happy in your work.
Dismissed.
Battalion, stand at ease.
Fall out, Major Hughes.
Battalion, stand easy.
Hughes, get the men to their quarters. See who's sick.
I'm going to have a word with this fellow.
I heard your remarks just now, sir.
My men will carry on in the way one expects of a British soldier.
My officers and I will be responsible for their conduct.
You may have overlooked the fact that the use of officers for labour...
...is expressly forbidden by the Geneva Convention.
Is that so?
I have a copy of the convention...
...and would be glad to let you glance through it.
That will not be necessary.
Sit down, please.
Yes, sir.
I'm going to have a word with Clipton.
Clipton, don't let me interrupt.
- How's the arm? - Nearly healed.
Sir, this is Commander Shears of the United States Navy.
How do you do, sir?
We found him and an Australian.
All that's left of the prisoners who built the camp.
U.S. Navy? Out here?
I am sort of landlocked.
- You lost your ship? - The Houston.
I made it ashore, but I got separated from the other survivors.
And your group here?
Mostly Aussies. Some lime...
Some British. Indians, Burmese, Siamese.
And what happened to them?
They died...
...of malaria, dysentery, beri-beri, gangrene.
Other causes of death:
Famine, overwork, bullet wounds, snakebites...
...Saito.
Then there were some who just got tired of living.
Has Clipton seen you?
Just about to. Come over here, you can shave later.
All right.
You'll stay with the officers.
We'll find some decent clothing.
Don't bother about me.
I'm not anxious to get off the sick list.
Besides, this is working kit. It's the fashion here.
The officers in your party did manual labour?
I think you could call it that.
I raised that very point with Colonel what's-his-name.
Saito.
- I think he understands now. - Is that so?
Yes. I must say he seems quite a reasonable type.
Well, I must be pushing on.
There's an officer's meeting at 7.
- Give me a list of your requirements. - Yes, sir.
Anything we can do.
Thank you, sir.
- What is it? - Never mind.
Go on, say it.
I can think of a lot of things to call Saito...
...but reasonable, that's a new one.
Perhaps Col. Nicholson defines the word differently.
Any other points?
- By your leave, sir? - Jennings?
About the escape committee. I've spoken with Cmd. Shears...
There won't be any escape committee.
I don't understand, sir. Lt. Jennings has a plan.
Yes, yes, I'm sure Jennings has a plan, but escape?
Where? Into this jungle? That fellow, Saito, is right.
No need for barbed wire here. One chance in 100 of survival.
I'm sure a man of Cmdr. Shears' experience will back me up on that.
I'd say that the odds against a successful escape are 100 to one.
But may I add another word?
Please.
The odds against survival in this camp are even worse.
You've seen the graveyard. They're your real odds.
To give up hope of escape...
...to stop thinking about it means accepting a death sentence.
Why haven't you tried to escape, commander?
I'm biding my time. Waiting for the right moment, the right company.
I understand how you feel.
Of course, it's the duty of a captured soldier to attempt escape.
But my men and I are involved in a curious legal point...
...of which you are unaware.
In Singapore we were ordered to surrender by command headquarters.
Ordered, mind you.
Therefore, in our case, escape might well be an infraction of military law.
Interesting point, sir.
I'm sorry, sir, I didn't quite follow you.
You intend to uphold the letter of the law, no matter what it costs?
Without law, commander, there is no civilization.
That's just my point. Here, there is no civilization.
Then we have the opportunity to introduce it.
I suggest we drop the subject of escape.
Is there anything else?
I think we're clear on the program.
I want everything to go off smoothly starting tomorrow morning.
And remember this:
Our men must always feel they are still commanded by us...
...and not by the Japanese.
So long as they have that idea, they'll be soldiers and not slaves.
Are you with me there, commander?
I hope they can remain soldiers, colonel.
As for me, I'm just a slave.
A living slave.
Queer bird. Even for an Ameri...
He's been in isolation too long, poor chap.
Cut off from his unit. It should be a lesson to all of us.
English prisoners!
Notice I do not say English soldiers.
From the moment you surrendered, you ceased to be soldiers.
You will finish the bridge by the twelfth day of May.
You will work under the direction of a Japanese engineer.
Time is short. All men will work.
Your officers will work beside you.
This is only just...
...for it is they who betrayed you by surrender.
Your shame is their dishonour.
It is they who told you...
...better to live like a coolie then die like a hero.
It is they who brought you here, not I.
Therefore, they will join you in useful labour.
That is all.
Officer prisoners, collect your tools.
Bradley, back in your place.
I must call your attention, Colonel Saito...
...to Article 27 of the Geneva Convention.
"Belligerents may employ prisoners of war...
...who are fit, other than officers..."
Give me the book.
By all means. You read English, I take it?
- Do you read Japanese? - I'm sorry, no.
If it's a matter of translation, I'm sure it can be arranged.
You see, the Code states that...
Stand fast in the ranks.
You speak to me of Code?
What "Code"?
The coward's code!
What do you know of the soldier's code?
Of bushido? Nothing!
You are unworthy of command!
If you refuse to abide by the laws of the civilized worid...
...we must consider ourselves absolved from our duty to obey you.
My officers will not do manual labour.
We shall see.
All enlisted prisoners to work.
Sergeant Major! Take the men to work.
Battalion, take up tools.
Move to the left in columnar route. Left turn!
"A" Company, by the right, quick march.
Eyes right.
Eyes front.
Quick march, eyes right.
"C" Company, by the right.
What's he up to?
Looks like he doesn't want any witnesses.
Now, you will be reasonable.
You will order your officers to work.
No.
I will count three.
If by the third count...
...you and your officers are not on the way to work...
...I will give the order to fire.
He's going to do it.
Believe me, he's really going to do it.
One.
I warn you, Colonel...
Two.
Stop!
Colonel Saito, I've seen and heard everything.
So has every man in the hospital.
They're too many witnesses.
You can't call it a mass escape. Most of those men can't walk.
Is this your soldier's code? Murdering unarmed men?
You see, Jennings, there are advantages to being on the sick list.
I'll say this for the old man. He's got guts.
"Into the valley of death rode the 600."
How's that, sir?
That kind of guts.
Also the kind they had in 1914...
...when officers fought with only a swagger stick.
- I see what you mean. - You don't see what I mean at all.
The kind of guts that can get us all killed.
Excuse me, sir, I'd like to go along too.
Arm's almost healed, sir, really it is.
What about him?
He didn't order us not to escape, he suggested.
Listen, when a man like your colonel suggests something, it's an order.
Here we go again.
Colonel Saito says all officers to punishment hut.
Tell them to go.
Not you.
Come.
Leave him alone!
They're going to put him in the oven.
For he's a jolly good fellow For he's a jolly good fellow
And so say all of us
For he's a jolly good fellow For he's a jolly good fellow
And so say all of us
Timber!
One, two, three, four.
No, no, no!
Let go!
You wish to see me?
I've tried to see you for three days.
It's about the colonel. He's been shut up in that hut...
I could have you shot.
Those prisoners who tried to escape, they were in your charge.
I knew nothing about the escape.
It does not matter.
One must respect those who tried.
For a brief moment, between escape and death...
...they were soldiers again.
But it is insane to try and escape.
Two soldiers shot and the third drowned.
To what end?
It was an escape from reality.
There is your reality.
This shows the position work should have reached by noon today.
And this shows the position of actual progress.
Because of your colonel's stubbornness, we are far behind schedule.
That is not all.
Enlisted prisoners sabotaged the work.
Yes, I have seen it. I could have them all shot.
Then who would build your bridge?
Besides, are you sure it's sabotage?
The men don't work well without their own officers.
My officers will direct them. Your officers will work beside them.
That's for Nicholson to decide.
As he said, it's against the rules.
Do not speak to me of rules.
This is war!
This is not a game of cricket.
He's mad, your colonel...
...quite mad.
Sit down, please.
I have decided to allow you one visit to your colonel.
Thank you.
Tell him that if his officers will not work...
...l'll be forced to close the hospital...
...and your patients will work in their place.
Many will die, and he will be responsible.
Go and speak to him. You have five minutes.
Doc's going to see the old man.
Sir...
It's Clipton, sir.
I brought you a few things.
- How are the men? - Fine, sir, fine.
We scraped together a little meat and a coconut.
And the officers?
Not so good. They're still in detention.
And Lieutenant Jennings... Jennings is dead.
- What? - Killed, attempting to escape.
Also two others, Corporal Weaver and the American.
Jennings. Poor, brave lad.
I warned him, didn't I, Clipton?
Look, sir, we haven't much time.
I'm going to clean you up a little while I talk.
I've got something to tell you.
I've just had a word with Saito.
That man is the worst commanding officer I've ever come across.
Actually, I think he's mad. Carry on.
Blackmail!
I know, sir, but he means it. I'm sure he does.
It's a question of face, pure and simple. And he can't give in.
It's still blackmail.
Sir, you can't stand much more of this.
Wouldn't the officers be better off working than suffocating in that hole?
The men are doing a wonderful job. They're going as slow as they dare.
But Saito's cut their food rations...
...and if he makes the sick men work...
Well, they're going to die. That's all there is to it.
Yes, Clipton, I understand. Truly.
But don't you see? It's a matter of principle.
If we give in now, there'll be no end to it. No.
Sir, we're lost in the jungle, a thousand miles from anywhere.
We're under a man who'll stop at nothing to get his way. Principle!
No one will ever know or care what happens to us.
Give in, sir. Please!
I'm adamant.
I will not have an officer from my battalion working as a coolie.
- Time. - All right.
Please thank those concerned.
Everybody in the hospital contributed one piece.
Reynolds stole the coconut.
We'll be able to get you food sometimes.
We've bribed one of your guards.
Goodbye, sir. And good luck.
Many thanks.
Did you say that American was killed?
Yes, sir. Shot and drowned.
It's insane to plan escapes.
Three men killed, and to what end?
Time!
Here is where we must win through.
Doc just looked at us and shook his head. Whatever that means.
Means only one thing, the colonel won't give in.
Well?
It's like this.
Colonel Nicholson won't give in to force.
It's a question of principle.
As medical officer, I protest the way he's being treated.
It's a wonder he's still alive.
Should a tragedy occur, it would be tantamount to murder.
He is responsible.
Not I.
You sick?
Are they both mad?
Or am I going mad?
Or is it the sun?
Attention!
Battalion, attention.
English prisoners.
Let us ask the question...
...why does the bridge not progress?
You know why, because your officers are lazy!
They think themselves too good to share your burden.
This is not just.
Therefore, you are not happy in your work.
Therefore, the bridge does not progress.
But there is another cause.
I do not hide the truth.
With deep shame and regret...
...I admit to you the failure...
...of a member of the Japanese staff.
I refer to Lieutenant Miura.
He is a bad engineer.
He is unworthy of command.
Therefore, I have removed him from his post.
Tomorrow we begin again.
I shall be in personal command.
Today we rest.
All work and no play make Jack a dull boy!
As token of regard for your efforts in the future...
...I give presents to you all.
Let us be happy in our work.
Company, dismissed.
Battalion, dismissed.
Hey, take a look at this.
Red Cross! He's given us our...
Hey, he's given us our own Red Cross parcels.
"Tomorrow we begin again."
Hey, Harry, look!
They're letting the old man out.
Most likely going to give him another pasting.
Good evening, colonel.
Do you mind sitting over here?
I am having rather a late supper.
English corned beef.
No, thank you.
Produce of Scotland.
I prefer it to sake.
I spent three years in London, you know.
I studied at the London Polytechnic.
Cheers!
Sorry.
Later, perhaps?
Perhaps.
I was not a good artist.
My father disapproved.
He felt I belonged in the army.
So I changed from art to engineering.
I must tell you, Colonel Saito.
I intend to make a full report of your activities.
I do not think you quite realize my position.
- I must carry out my orders. - Oh, quite, quite.
My orders are to complete the bridge by the 12th day of May.
- I have only 12 weeks more. - No doubt.
Therefore, I am compelled to use all available personnel.
No officers, except for administration.
But officers are working along the entire railway.
You know it. I know it.
I'm not responsible for other officers.
Personally, I'm appalled.
Let's not get excited.
Will you have a cigar?
No. Thank you.
When I said all officers must work...
...naturally, I never meant you, the commanding officer.
My orders were only intended for officers below...
No officers will do manual labour.
Please! I was about to say:
I've thought the matter over and have decided...
...to put majors and above on administrative duties...
...leaving only junior officers to work.
No. The Convention's quite clear on that point.
Do you know what will happen to me if the bridge is not ready in time?
I haven't the foggiest.
I'd have to kill myself.
What would you do if you were me?
I suppose if I were you...
...l'd have to kill myself.
Cheers.
I warn you, colonel...
...if I am to die, others will die before me.
Do you understand?
Clipton did mention that.
That won't solve your problem.
I'm sure we can arrive at a solution.
Please sit down.