Fast-taking wheeler-dealer Corporal King (George Segal), in a Malaysian P.O.W. camp during World War II, uses bribery and larceny to take de facto control of the camp from his senior officers.
"Cobra Kai" isn't the first The Karate Kid reboot Ralph Macchio has been pitched in the years since the original released ...
Related News
-
Blackstone & Story Factory Deal Pulls Bestselling Authors Steve Hamilton, Reed Farrel Coleman, Meg Gardiner Away From Penguin Random House
01 April 2019 | Deadline -
Silva Screen’S Summer Sci-fi Bonanza: A Box Of Sci-fi / The Invasion And The Five Doctors
22 August 2018 | CinemaRetro -
"King Of Thieves" - Restricted Footage
21 August 2018 | SneakPeek
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: King Rat (1965)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Learn more
More Like This
King Rat
(2017)
Comedy
|
Drama
Director:
Henry Johnston
Stars:
Burt Young,
Austin Pendleton,
Lauren Ashley Carter
The Young Lions
(1958)
Action
|
Drama
|
War
Director:
Edward Dmytryk
Stars:
Marlon Brando,
Montgomery Clift,
Dean Martin
The L-Shaped Room
(1962)
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Bryan Forbes
Stars:
Leslie Caron,
Anthony Booth,
Avis Bunnage
Seance on a Wet Afternoon
(1964)
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Bryan Forbes
Stars:
Kim Stanley,
Richard Attenborough,
Margaret Lacey
The Last Hurrah
(1958)
Comedy
|
Drama
Director:
John Ford
Stars:
Spencer Tracy,
Jeffrey Hunter,
Dianne Foster
Story of G.I. Joe
(1945)
Biography
|
Drama
|
War
Director:
William A. Wellman
Stars:
Burgess Meredith,
Robert Mitchum,
Freddie Steele
Young Winston
(1972)
Biography
|
Drama
|
War
Director:
Richard Attenborough
Stars:
Simon Ward,
Robert Shaw,
Anne Bancroft
99 River Street
(1953)
Action
|
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Phil Karlson
Stars:
John Payne,
Evelyn Keyes,
Brad Dexter
O. Henry's Full House
(1952)
Drama
Directors:
Henry Hathaway,
Howard Hawks, and 3 more credits »
Stars:
Fred Allen,
Anne Baxter,
Jeanne Crain
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| George Segal | ... | Corporal King | |
| Tom Courtenay | ... | Grey | |
| James Fox | ... | Marlowe | |
| Patrick O'Neal | ... | Max | |
| Denholm Elliott | ... | Lt. Col. G.D. Larkin | |
| James Donald | ... | Dr. Kennedy | |
| Todd Armstrong | ... | Tex | |
| John Mills | ... | Smedley-Taylor | |
| Gerald Sim | ... | Jones | |
| Leonard Rossiter | ... | McCoy | |
| John Standing | ... | Daven | |
 |
Alan Webb | ... | Brant |
|
|
John Ronane | ... | Hawkins |
|
|
Sam Reese | ... | Kurt (as Sammy Reese) |
| Michael Lees | ... | Stevens | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
See All (36) »
Storyline
When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, the Allied P.O.W.s, mostly British, but including a few Americans, were incarcerated in Changi prison. This was a P.O.W. camp like no other. There were no walls or barbed-wire fences, for the simple reason that there was no place for the prisoners to which to escape. Included among the prisoners is the American Corporal King (George Segal), 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 Lieutenant Robin Grey (Sir Tom Courtenay), 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 Lieutenant Peter Marlowe (James Fox), an upper class British officer who ... Written by garykmcd
Plot Keywords:
prisoner of war | malaya | prisoner of war camp | based on novel | army |Taglines:
He entered WWII a soldier... and left a King. See more »Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
Edit
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
27 October 1965 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
El caudillo de los desalmados See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound Recording)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
Yoshima: The Japanese: I shall report your impertinence to to General Oshima
Col. George Smedley-Taylor: The Senior Officers: Yes, please do... And ask him who gave the order that each man in the camp was to catch 20 flies a day, and that they should be collected and counted and delivered daily to your office personally by me.
See more »
It is set in Changi Jail Singapore, in 1945
The Japanese did not have to guard Changi as a normal prison of war camp. The inmates of Changi had no friendly Swiss border or any other neutral country within reach. They were held captive not so much by high walls, or barbed wire, or machine-gun posts, but by the land and sea around them - and the jungle was not neutral, nor was the ocean.
They did not live in Changi. They existed. This is the story of that existence. See more »
(uncredited)
Written by Frederick Oakeley (1841)
Variation sung in distant background by POWs
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
There are no women in this movie. See more »Goofs
At the end of the beginning credits, a medic folds the arms of a newly-deceased prisoner and covers his face with his blanket. As the medic does so, the dead prisoner moves his own fingers as his hands are placed on his upper arms. See more »Quotes
Col. George Smedley-Taylor: The Senior Officers: I'll probably die of apoplexy... Trying to enforce insane laws imposed by incompetent administrators.Yoshima: The Japanese: I shall report your impertinence to to General Oshima
Col. George Smedley-Taylor: The Senior Officers: Yes, please do... And ask him who gave the order that each man in the camp was to catch 20 flies a day, and that they should be collected and counted and delivered daily to your office personally by me.
See more »
Crazy Credits
[Prologue] This is not a story of escape. It is a story of survival.It is set in Changi Jail Singapore, in 1945
The Japanese did not have to guard Changi as a normal prison of war camp. The inmates of Changi had no friendly Swiss border or any other neutral country within reach. They were held captive not so much by high walls, or barbed wire, or machine-gun posts, but by the land and sea around them - and the jungle was not neutral, nor was the ocean.
They did not live in Changi. They existed. This is the story of that existence. See more »
Soundtracks
Adeste Fideles(uncredited)
Written by Frederick Oakeley (1841)
Variation sung in distant background by POWs
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.Contribute to This Page
Enjoy a night in with these popular movies available to stream now with Prime Video.
It has always bothered me that King Rat is so underrated. On one list of top the thousand films in history, it gets no mention. I think it's because George Segal's character, Corporal King wasn't a totally likable person. He is not the standard Hollywood hero. But he is a hero of mine. Were I in that prison camp, I guarantee you, I would have been Corporal King's best friend. One thing I learned in life was how to survive, and everyone around Corporal King survived. The movie misses a very important point that was in James Clavell's novel on which it is based. In case the war turned bad for the Japanese and they started taking revenge on the prisoners, King had planned an escape route. Not just for himself, for everyone close to him. Put that in the film and you've got a major American hero. The movie is totally cliché free. One never knows where it is going or how it is going to end. Winning the war, you see, will not guarantee the safety of the prisoners. How it ends is perfectly logical in retrospect, but difficult to predict. It is a near perfect motion picture.