The Purple Plain

1954

1h 38m

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

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Drama

Adventure

War

An RAF airfield in Burma in 1945, during World War II. Canadian bomber pilot Bill Forrester is a bitter man who lives haunted by a tragic past. He has became a reckless warrior, and is feared by his comrades, who consider him a madman. Dr. Harris, the squadron physician, is determined to help him heal his tormented soul.

Directors

Robert Parrish

Writers

Eric Ambler(screenplay by)

H. E. Bates(novel by)

Stars

Gregory Peck

Win Min Than

Brenda De Banzie

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Top cast

Bill Forrester

Anna

Miss McNab

Dr. Harris

Blore

Carrington

Aldridge

Mrs. Forrester

Mr. Phang

Sergeant (uncredited)

Harold Siddons

Injured Navigator (uncredited)

Mya Mya Spencer

Dorothy (uncredited)

John A. Tinn

Jeweler (uncredited)

Soo Ah Wong

Smoking Old Woman (uncredited)

Lane Meddick

Radio Operator (uncredited)

Directors

Robert Parrish

Writers

Eric Ambler(screenplay by)

H. E. Bates(novel by)

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User reviews1

Review

Featured review

7/10

This films features quite a strong performance from Gregory Peck as "Forrester", a Canadian air force officer serving in Burma. Reckless and thoughtless, he has managed to irritate just about everyone until "Dr. Harris" (Bernard Lee) decides to try to get to the bottom of his behaviour. It turns out that a combination of his recently deceased wife and his own wartime experiences have ground him down so "Harris" decides it is time to rehabilitate him and he meets the delightful "Anna" (Win Min Than). In case you think that's it; well not quite. He takes a plane up with "Blore" (Maurice Denham) and his new room-mate "Carrington" (Lyndon Brook) but that comes a cropper and the three must do their best to ge home - at times a perilous journey exacerbated by an injured "Carrington" and a pretty recalcitrant "Blore". Peck is good in fits and starts, here. At the beginning he offers an intense, almost maniacal, performance and once we end up on the journey after the crash, that behaviour focuses much more on leadership and survival and is different, but equally effective. Brenda de Banzie offers a bit of light relief as the stoic Scot "Miss McNab"; it moves along consistently with a minimum of waffly dialogue and some fine cinematography from a rather stunning Ceylon. All in all, I really quite enjoyed this.

Geronimo196704 Apr, 2022