The Purple Plain From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThe Purple PlainTheatrical posterDirected byRobert ParrishProduced byJohn BryanScreenplay byEric AmblerBased onThe Purple Plain by H. E. BatesStarringGregory PeckWin Min ThanMaurice DenhamLyndon BrookBernard LeeMusic byJohn VealeCinematographyGeoffrey UnsworthEditing byClive DonnerStudioTwo Cities FilmsDistributed byGeneral Film Distributors(UK)United Artists (US)Release date(s)14 September 1954Running time100 minutesCountryUnited Kingdom United StatesLanguageEnglishBox office$1.3 million (US)[1]The Purple Plain is a 1954 British war film, directed by Robert Parrish, with Gregory Peck playing a Canadian pilot serving in the Royal Air Force in Burma in the closing months of the World War II, who is battling with depression after having lost his wife. It was nominated for two BAFTA awards. Contents [hide] 1 Plot2 Cast3 Production4 Reception5 References6 External links Plot[edit] Bill Forrester (Gregory Peck), a Canadian pilot serving in the Royal Air Force in Burma, flying de Havilland Mosquitos, a two-seat fighter bomber. Forrester is emotionally distraught after losing his new wife in the ‘’Blitz’’ in London and has become self destructive, seeking to end his life in action. Youd think that would be easy in a war, he explains to a Burmese woman, Anna, but I just kept getting medals instead. With Annas support, Bill begins to recover his emotional stability.Forrester and his navigator, Carrington (Lyndon Brook), on a routine non-combat flight to Myitkyina, with Flight Lieutenant Blore (Maurice Denham) as passenger in the Mosquitos bomb bay, is forced to go down in a remote desert area of Burmas central plain. As the three men struggle to survive in the hostile environment, the self-destructive Bill finally realises that he can depend on support from others and that he may have someone to live for. Blore, however, abandons them to attempt to return to the crash site and commits suicide. Cast[edit] Gregory Peck as Squadron Leader Bill ForresterWin Min Than as AnnaMaurice Denham as Flight Lieutenant BloreLyndon Brook as Flying Officer Carrington (navigator)Brenda De Banzie as Miss McNabBernard Lee as Dr. HarrisAnthony Bushell as Wing Commander AldridgeJosephine Griffin as Mrs. ForresterRam Gopal as Mr. PhangDorothy Alison as NursePeter Arne as Flight LieutenantJack McNaughton as Sergeant BrownLane Meddick as Radio operatorHarold Siddons as Navigator WilliamsJohn A. Tinn as Burmese Jeweler Production[edit] The Purple Plain is regarded generally as historically accurate with good production values and attention to detail, and depicts the native Burmese in a respectful manner. The film is based on the 1947 novel The Purple Plain by H. E. Bates,[2] one of three novels he wrote after his travels to Burma and India in 1945, on military assignment to write short pieces portraying the Burmese war for American readers. The novel was first serialised in the Saturday Evening Post in September and October 1947.[3] The film script was written by novelist Eric Ambler in consultation with Bates.The film was produced with a relatively modest budget by Two Cities Films and was directed by the American director Robert Parrishand colour photography was by Geoffrey Unsworth. The film was shot in Sigiriya, in what was then Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and utilised several locations later used in Bridge on the River Kwai. The aircraft in the film were repainted in accurate camouflage and markings, and were provided through the co-operation of the Royal Air Force, which also provided several staff on-site during the filming. Some of these are credited as extras.Anna is played by Win Min Than who was born Helga Johnston,[4] the wife of Burmese politician and businessman Bo Setkya (1916–1969; aka Thakin Aung Than, Bo Set Kya or Set-kya), in her only film role.[5][6] Her father was Australian and her mother Burmese. In 1964 she shaved her head and became a Buddhist nun in Rangoon, adopting the name Daw Wanthalamar. Her husband had fled the country, went underground, and had not been heard of since General Ne Win had taken over the country in March 1962.[7][8]She left the convent a year later and went into business selling gourds.[4] Both Bo Set Kya and Ne Win were members of the Thirty Comrades.[9] Reception[edit] The Purple Plain was successful at the box office, being the 11th most popular film in Britain in 1954.[10] It was ultimately nominated in the category of ‘’Best British film’’ of 1954 at the 8th British Academy Film Awards, while actor Maurice Denham was nominated for the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance as Blore. References[edit] Notes[edit] Jump up^ The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955. Variety Weekly, 25 January 1956.Jump up^ BFI | Film & TV Database | The Purple Plain (1954). BFI, 16 April 2009. Retrieved: 10 March 2010.Jump up^ : The Purple Plain. H.E. Bates Companion. Retrieved: 2 September 2011.^ Jump up to:a b Bits of Show Business. The Milwaukee Journal, 18 March 1965.Jump up^ Bio for Win Min Than. IMDb. Retrieved: 10 September 2011.Jump up^ Win Min Than. Der Speigel, 19 May 1954: Translated to English using Google Translate. Retrieved: 31 August 2011.Jump up^ Eurasian Beauty Will Enter Convent. Australian Associate Press (The Age), 29 June 1964.Jump up^ Actress Enters Buddhist Convent. The Palm Beach Post (United Press International), 27 June 1964.Jump up^ Yawnghwe 2010, p. 228.Jump up^ U.S. Star heads film poll. The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA: 1931–1954), via National Library of Australia, 31 December 1954, p. 11. Retrieved: 24 April 2012. Bibliography[edit] Bates, H. E.. The Purple Plain. London: Michael Joseph, 1947. ISBN 978-0-7451-6934-7.Yawnghwe, Chao Tzang. The Shan of Burma: Memoirs of a Shan Exile. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2010. ISBN 978-981-230-396-7. External links[edit] The Purple Plain at the Internet Movie DatabaseH.E. Bates Companion: The Purple PlainCategories: 1954 filmsEnglish-language films1950s adventure filmsBritish filmsBritish war filmsBritish aviation filmsPinewood Studios filmsWorks by H. E. BatesFilms set in BurmaFilms shot in Sri LankaFilms based on novelsFilms directed by Robert ParrishBurma Campaign filmsFilms shot in Technicolor Navigation menu Create accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historyMain pageContentsFeatured contentCurrent eventsRandom articleDonate to Wikipedia Interaction HelpAbout WikipediaCommunity portalRecent changesContact page Tools Print/export Languages CatalàDeutschFrançaisItalianoမြန်မာဘာသာEdit linksThis page was last modified on 16 September 2013 at 02:00.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. B
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 12:58:46 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015