The Purple Plain

"His peak of adventure!"

1954 1h 38m EN

😐

6.5

MID

★6.5TMDB · 71

DramaAdventureWar

Synopsis

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An RAF airfield in Burma in 1945, during World War II. Canadian bomber pilot Bill Forrester is a bitter man who lives haunted by a tragic past. He has became a reckless warrior, and is feared by his comrades, who consider him a madman. Dr. Harris, the squadron physician, is determined to help him heal his tormented soul.

“His peak of adventure!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Gregory Peck
Bill Forrester
Win Min Than
Anna
Brenda De Banzie
Miss McNab
Bernard Lee
Dr. Harris
Maurice Denham
Blore
Lyndon Brook
Carrington
Anthony Bushell
Aldridge
Josephine Griffin
Mrs. Forrester

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Robert Parrish
Writers: Eric Ambler
Languages: Burmese, English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

72 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Burmese, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Robert Parrish, shot by Geoffrey Unsworth. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Veale. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Clive Donner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Gregory Peck and Win Min Than and Brenda De Banzie carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "His peak of adventure!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Robert Parrish directs. Geoffrey Unsworth behind the camera. John Veale scores. Clive Donner cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in Burmese, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
272 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Burmese, English.
4Directed by Robert Parrish, shot by Geoffrey Unsworth. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by John Veale. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Clive Donner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Gregory Peck and Win Min Than and Brenda De Banzie carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "His peak of adventure!".
9IMDB entry: tt0047376 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 71 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
11Classified under 14 themes, including "raf (royal air force)", "world war ii", "burma", "interracial romance".
12Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth
Original score: John Veale
Editing: Clive Donner
Makeup / hair: Geoffrey Rodway
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Purple Plain (1954)

Also by

Robert Parrish

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-04-04
★ 7/10
This films features quite a strong performance from Gregory Peck as "Forrester", a Canadian air force officer serving in Burma. Reckless and thoughtless, he has managed to irritate just about everyone until "Dr. Harris" (Bernard Lee) decides to try to get to the bottom of his behaviour. It turns out that a combination of his recently deceased wife and his own wartime experiences have ground him down so "Harris" decides it is time to rehabilitate him and he meets the delightful "Anna" (Win Min Than). In case you think that's it; well not quite. He takes a plane up with "Blore" (Maurice Denham) and his new room-mate "Carrington" (Lyndon Brook) but that comes a cropper and the three must do their best to ge home - at times a perilous journey exacerbated by an injured "Carrington" and a pretty recalcitrant "Blore". Peck is good in fits and starts, here. At the beginning he offers an intense, almost maniacal, performance and once we end up on the journey after the crash, that behaviour focuses much more on leadership and survival and is different, but equally effective. Brenda de Banzie offers a bit of light relief as the stoic Scot "Miss McNab"; it moves along consistently with a minimum of waffly dialogue and some fine cinematography from a rather stunning Ceylon. All in all, I really quite enjoyed this.

Production companies