The Virgin Soldiers (1969)

A group of young British soldiers billeted in Singapore of the year 1950 dreaming about winning the love of the daughter of the Regimental Sergeant Major.

Director:

John Dexter

Writers:

Leslie Thomas (novel), John Hopkins (screenplay)

Stars:

Lynn Redgrave, Hywel Bennett, Nigel Davenport

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lynn Redgrave	...	Phillipa Raskin
Hywel Bennett	...	Brigg
Nigel Davenport	...	Sergeant Driscoll
Nigel Patrick	...	R.S.M. Raskin
Rachel Kempson	...	Mrs. Raskin
Jack Shepherd	...	Sergeant Wellbeloved
Michael Gwynn	...	Lt. Col. Bromley-Pickering
Tsai Chin	...	Juicy Lucy
Christopher Timothy	...	Cpl. Brook
Don Hawkins	...	'The Virgin Soldiers' - Tasker
Geoffrey Hughes	...	'The Virgin Soldiers' - Lantry
Roy Holder	...	'The Virgin Soldiers' - Fenwick
Riggs O'Hara	...	'The Virgin Soldiers' - Sinclair
Gregory Phillips	...	'The Virgin Soldiers' - Foster
Wayne Sleep	...	'The Virgin Soldiers' - Villiers

Storyline

A group of young British soldiers billeted in Singapore of the year 1950 dreaming about winning the love of the daughter of the Regimental Sergeant Major.

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Plot Keywords:

homoeroticism | gay soldier | gay interest | singapore | sergeant | 

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Taglines:

There's a first time for everything.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 April 1970 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Bakir askerler

Filming Locations:

Malaya

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Open Road Films (II), Highroad Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White (archive material) Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The nickname of Private Brigg (Hywel Bennett) was "Briggsy".

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Goofs

During the dance Nigel Davenport (Sgt) addressed Nigel Patrick (Sgt Major) as 'Sir'. As an NCO he would not be addressed as 'Sir'.

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Connections

References Kim (1950)

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Soundtracks

God Save the King
(uncredited)
Traditional

User Reviews

Judge It For What It Is

I remember first seeing this as a ten year old in the mid 1970s and being very confused , you see I was under the impression that this was going to be a war film , but was disappointed there wasn`t much fighting in it . I was also utterly confused by the tone of the film as there was bits that I took to be funny but didn`t make me laugh

I did see THE VIRGIN SOLDIERS a couple of more times when I was much older and understood it better , this is a black comedy , a very black one about the exploits of private Briggs a young soldier doing his national service out in Malaya during the state of emergency in the early 1950s and I guess it`s a fairly good indication of what life was like for a great number of young lads inducted into the British army at the time . If the film has a problem being viewed today it`s down to the fact that it`s difficult not to judge it against Vietnam war films like PLATOON ( Both films feature a plot between two sergeants who hate one another ) and FULL METAL JACKET ( Another black comedy dealing with a conflict in the far east ) , but THE VIRGIN SOLDIERS should be judged on its own merits . I found it as an adult both funny and scathing