A Town Like Alice (1956)

A newly wealthy English woman returns to Malaya to build a well for the villagers who helped her during war. Thinking back, she recalls the Australian man who made a great sacrifice to aid her and her fellow prisoners of war.

Director:

Jack Lee

Writers:

Nevil Shute (novel), W.P. Lipscomb (screenplay)

Stars:

Virginia McKenna, Peter Finch, Kenji Takaki

Won 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Virginia McKenna	...	Jean Paget
Peter Finch	...	Joe Harman
Kenji Takaki	...	Japanese Sergeant (as Takagi)
Tran Van Khe	...	Captain Sugaya
Jean Anderson	...	Miss Horsefall
Marie Lohr	...	Mrs. Dudley Frost
Maureen Swanson	...	Ellen
Renee Houston	...	Ebbey
Nora Nicholson	...	Mrs. Frith
Eileen Moore	...	Mrs. Holland
John Fabian	...	Mr. Holland
Vincent Ball	...	Ben
Tim Turner	...	British Sergeant
Vu Ngoc Tuan	...	Captain Yanata
Munesato Yamada	...	Captain Takata (as Yamada)

Storyline

In 1941, the advancing Japanese army captures a lot of British territory very quickly. The men are sent off to labor camps, but they have no plan on what to do with the women and children of the British. A group is sent on a forced march from place to place searching for a Women's Camp. Told from the point of view of one of the women, she meets an Australian soldier who sneaks food for them from his labor camp. After the war, she goes to Australia to see the town he was from and hopefully reunite with the soldier.

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Plot Keywords:

water shortage | world war two | bare chested male | australian soldier | forced march | 

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Taglines:

From Nevil Shute's Brilliant Novel Comes a Film of Rare and Compelling Sincerity

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to a January 16, 1955 article in the Sunday Times of Perth, Australia, Olivia de Havilland was in negotiations with the Rank Organization to play the lead in this film.

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Goofs

All the women's hair styles and clothes in the 1941 sequences are strictly 1956.

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Quotes

Jack Burns: This is Miss Paget - she wants to get into Willstown.
Australian Driver: That's new - most people wanna get out of it!

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: The characters in this story are fictitious. The story itself however is based upon true fact.

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Connections

Referenced in Chicken Run (2000)

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Soundtracks

Joget
(uncredited)
Traditional Malay dance
Arranged by Matyas Seiber

User Reviews

World War Two experience from a different perspective...

Soon after the end of real hostilities in 1945, Hollywood produced the first of many subsequent films from the perspective of prisoners of war held by the Japanese: that film was Three Came Home (1950) with Claudette Colbert. I recall seeing that one a long time ago and recall the dark nature of that narrative (I have yet to submit a review here, but I will, in time).

A Town Like Alice is a different kettle of fish, so to speak: instead of a single family, it's a mix of various women and children caught up in the retreat to Singapore in 1941, and follows their seemingly unending trek across Malaya, from camp to camp, seeking admission and a final resting place to wait out the war.

The black and white photography is superb as the downtrodden party weaves its way through swamp, dirt roads, wet and dry season, very little food or water, malaria, dysentery and all other manner of tropical diseases. Little wonder that, as they walk, they also die, one at a time, from malnutrition and sickness, and all the while, their guard, an old-timer, gradually comes to admire their perseverance just as the women come to respect the old man's quiet determination to keep helping them to survive. That's the main story.

The big sub-plot is how Jean Paget (Virginia McKenna) meets Joe Harmon (Peter Finch), also a prisoner of war, and how they both come to fall in love – on the run, if you know what I mean: they keep meeting (he is pressed into service as a driver for the Japanese) at different parts of Malaya as the women keep wandering around, looking for a place to stay. So, there is a bit of comedy from the irrepressible Aussie soldiers, mixed with moments of real tension as the two lovers try to keep a relationship going under such conditions. And, it's during one of those meetings that Jean learns that Joe comes from Alice Springs.

Never boring, and with stand-out scenes, such as one of the little boys running in between the advancing Japanese soldiers with his toy gun, shouting "bang, bang" (reminiscent of Brandon de Wilde in Shane [1953], doing the same thing, and annoying Jean Arthur, inside the farm house); the joy of the women when they come across an abandoned house with hot running water; and, Jean's bargaining with a Malay shop-keeper for tinned milk for a baby.

If this period in history is of interest, you could do worse to spend two hours of your time. And, as for how the romance turns out, well, you'll just have to see the movie, won't you?

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

1 June 1956 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

The Rape of Malaya

Filming Locations:

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vic Films Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1