MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 4,020 this week

King Rat (1965)

 -  War | Drama  -  27 October 1965 (USA)
7.5
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.5/10 from 2,275 users  
Reviews: 30 user | 3 critic

When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942 the Allied POWs, mostly British but including a few Americans, were incarcerated in Changi prison. This was a POW detention center like no... See full summary »

Director:

Writers:

(based on a novel by), (written for the screen by)
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 1314 titles created 10 months ago
 
a list of 1623 titles created 4 months ago
 
a list of 250 titles created 25 Apr 2011
 
a list of 3595 titles created 1 month ago
 
a list of 1196 titles created 7 months ago
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: King Rat (1965)

King Rat (1965) on IMDb 7.5/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of King Rat.
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 nomination. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

The Hill (1965)
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

In a North African military prison during World War II, five new prisoners struggle to survive in the face of brutal punishment and sadistic guards.

Director: Sidney Lumet
Stars: Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen
Stalag 17 (1953)
Comedy | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X  

When two escaping American World War II prisoners are killed, the German POW camp barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.

Director: Billy Wilder
Stars: William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.6/10 X  

During the U.S.-Viet Nam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade colonel who has set himself up as a god among a local tribe.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.2/10 X  

An in-depth examination of the way that the Vietnam war affects the lives of people in a small industrial town in the USA.

Director: Michael Cimino
Stars: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.4/10 X  

A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow Marine recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting set in 1968 in Hue, Vietnam.

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

A semiautobiographical project by John Boorman about a nine year old boy called Bill as he grows up in London during the blitz of World War 2. For a young boy, this time in history was more... See full summary »

Director: John Boorman
Stars: Sebastian Rice-Edwards, Geraldine Muir, Sarah Miles
The Cruel Sea (1953)
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

The World War II adventures of a British convoy escort ship and its officers.

Director: Charles Frend
Stars: Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, John Stratton
In Harm's Way (1965)
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

A naval officer reprimanded after Pearl Harbor is later promoted to rear admiral and gets a second chance to prove himself against the Japanese.

Director: Otto Preminger
Stars: John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

A dramatized account of the role of the American PT Boats in the defense of the Philippines in World War II.

Director: John Ford
Stars: Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, Donna Reed
Tobruk (1967)
War | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X  

A Canadian POW major is rescued by a special British military unit made up of Germans to help lead an attack on a major Nazi fuel depot in Tobruk, Libya.

Director: Arthur Hiller
Stars: Rock Hudson, George Peppard, Nigel Green
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

This "story of a ship," the British destroyer HMS Torrin, is told in flash backs by survivors as they cling to a life raft.

Directors: Noel Coward, David Lean
Stars: Noel Coward, Derek Elphinstone, Michael Wilding
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

During World War II, an American pilot and a marooned Japanese navy captain are deserted on a small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean. There, they must cease their hostility and cooperate if they want to survive, but will they?

Director: John Boorman
Stars: Lee Marvin, Toshirô Mifune
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
Max
...
Larkin
...
Todd Armstrong ...
Tex
...
Gerald Sim ...
Jones
...
McCoy
...
Daven
Alan Webb ...
Brant
John Ronane ...
Hawkins
Sammy Reese ...
Kurt
Michael Lees ...
Stevens
Edit

Storyline

When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942 the Allied POWs, mostly British but including a few Americans, were incarcerated in Changi prison. This was a POW detention center like no other. There were no walls or barbed-wire fences for the simple reason that there was no place for the prisoners to escape to. Included among the prisoners is the American Cpl. King, a wheeler dealer who has managed to established a pretty good life for himself in the camp. While most of the prisoners are near starvation and have uniforms that are in tatters, King eats well and and has crisp clean clothes to wear every day. His nemesis is Lt. Robin Grey, the camp Provost who attempts to keep good order and discipline. He knows that King is breaking camp rules by bartering with the Japanese but can't quite get the evidence he needs to stop him. King soon forms a friendship with Lt. Peter Marlowe an upper class British officer who is fascinated with King's élan and no rules approach to life. As the ... Written by garykmcd

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

He entered WWII a soldier... and left a King. See more »

Genres:

War | Drama

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

27 October 1965 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Rei de um Inferno  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(RCA Sound Recording)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the actors had been POWS in the Second World War. Denholm Elliott, while serving in the RAF, had been shot down and taken prisoner by the Nazis. See more »

Goofs

Just before the camp is liberated we can hear an airplane fly over and it is definitely a propeller operated plane; however, the scene displays a jet flying over complete with vapor trails. However, the B-29 Bomber is a 4 engined prop plane which flew high enough to leave substantial contrails (30,000ft+). Bombers normally flew in large formations but this is a single aircraft which may allude to the Enola Gay, which dropped the first Atomic bomb indicating that Japanese surrender imminent. However, the Enola Gay was accompanied by other B-29s on her atomic bomb raid. See more »

Quotes

Lt. Robin Grey: Why do you think it is, Corporal, that you have so much and the rest of us so little? One day, Corporal, you're going to make a slip. All this wealth you've got isn't going to check against my list. And when you do; when that happens... I'll be ready. And you'll be in there...
[points to the bamboo cage]
Lt. Robin Grey: in my cage. I'm not playing at being provost marshall, you know. And I've never yet heard of a run of luck that didn't run out. And yours will - depend on it - because you're like all criminals:...
[...]
See more »

Connections

Referenced in The Nugget (2002) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
High drama set in a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp
2 August 2002 | by (Sydney, Australia) – See all my reviews

King Rat is the oddball among James Clavellfs novels, but in my opinion is the best story. The stage is a Japanese Prisoner of War camp where allied officers are forced to literally eat dirt. The horrors of these camps are well documented and in Forbes adaptation of the book little is left to our imagination. That is not to say this is a vividly violent film. It most certainly is not, nor does it need to be as the sheer look of these poor wretched creatures is vivid enough.

While the backdrop is a prison camp, this is not a war movie. It is a tale of humanity and suffering. It centres around one character played brilliantly by Segal, who when outside the barbed wire fences is an ordinary corporal, while inside he is king. He shows ingenuity in obtaining supplies and living well while those around him starve. Soon the high-ranking officers are calling his shots and hence the title King Rat. The movie shows how far man will go, how much pride he can eat and how much dignity he can lose to survive.

The final scene when the prisoners are liberated could have been stronger but you have to realize the date the film was made. Even so, the look of disappointment on Corporal Kingfs face contrasting with the delight of the freed prisoners is quite incredible. An excellent film, highly recommended.


9 of 9 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Homo-erotic war film mortyt
Why was this camp so different?? marigoldnlakie
James Donald - the trifecta ilikeflix
Deleted scene? asterism2000
John Mills Shopnowandsave
George Segal Had Nice Teeth citric_acid59
Discuss King Rat (1965) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?