King Rat (1965)

Plot:  In a Japanese POW camp a young British Officer and a wheeler-dealer American Corporal form an unlikely friendship. Based on the Novel by James Clavell.
Stars:  George Segal, Tom Courtenay, James Fox , John Mills

Beautifully photographed and well-acted, this is a faithful retelling of Clavell's novel - which was based on the author's real-life POW experience. Unfortunately, "realistic" doesn't mean engaging or enjoyable - and there's no one to root for. This isn't a patriotic movie like Bridge on the River Kwai.  Here, your fellow POW's - not the Japanese* - are the real enemy and its every man for himself. We focus on "King Rat" a callous, much darker, Sgt. Bilko** and James Fox's more naive British officer. The direction is good - but its 15 minutes too long.***

Summary:  Well done, but utterly depressing - and pointless. Watching it was like being a real POW.  I was glad to have survived the 135 minute ordeal - and have no desire to repeat the experience  Rating - 2 out of 4

Notes
* - like almost all Post-1945 movies, King Rat goes easy on the Japanese. For example, a Japanese officer justifies searching a hut based on the Geneva Convention - which is laughable. Japan did NOT sign the Geneva Convention - it was NOT taught to Japanese Prison guards! In the movie, when a Guard finds a forbidden radio in a bed-railing, only the man who slept there is punished. In real life, the Japanese would've brutally beaten - or even executed - everyone in the Hut.
**Casting smug George Segal in the lead didn't help.  Steve McQueen and Paul Newman turned down the role.
*** King Rat should have ended with the Japanese surrender and  King Rat's reversion to the status of a lowly US Army Corporal - Instead, it limps along for another 15 minutes.