Rent King Rat (1965)

These Pescy Yanks - King Rat review by Cato

What happens when your Japanese English POW camp is visited by a few GIs, one of whom happens to have a whole stash of eggs and coffee etc. etc. It's not right by Lt. Tom Courtenay anyway, although Flight Lt. James Fox doesn't say no to a fried egg and an American fag or two provided by Corporal George Segal, or King Rat. This is a tongue in cheek type of war film, one in which nigh impossible things happen, but it's an entertaining story of what might have gone on at the end of the 2nd world war (maybe). Interesting to see various actors from the 60's, such as Denholm Elliott, John Mills and Leonard Rossiter in their prime. A good film for a wet afternoon

POW Drama. - King Rat review by Steve

Long, complex POW drama adapted from a bestseller by James Clavell, which feels realistic, while also haunting and poetic. It is set in a Japanese jungle camp, from which there is no possibility of escape. The allied soldiers revert to a primitive tribal state which is antagonistic across every possible divide.

Its fundamental weakness is there is no overarching narrative; this is an episodic scrutiny of the psychological trauma of the prisoners. George Segal leads an ensemble cast as the finagler who runs the camp like his own private racket; a role that has become something of a cliché.

But this digs deeper, into issues of class, nationality, sexuality and politics. James Fox is affecting as a clever but naive English blue-blood who gets snagged up in Segal’s circle of racketeers. James Donald arguably steals the picture in a cameo as a wise, phlegmatic doctor, weary of despair. Tom Courteney is unconvincing as a resentful tyrant without status.

It’s stunningly edited and photographed in b&w, with an evocative score by John Barry. This might have been big with the ‘60s counterculture as it is anti-authoritarian. But it flopped and took a while to find an audience. Maybe it would be more celebrated if not by a stalwart director like Bryan Forbes, yet this is an arthouse masterpiece.