Prismark10 King Rat might have lost its edge in recent times. 1 Because its an old film. 2 It was shot in Black and White. 3 There have been other films dealing with brutality in a prisoner of war camp such as Empire of the Sun.James Clavell whose novel this film is based on was a survivor of a Japanese prisoner of war camp. This film is about survival and the different things people do to survive even if it means throwing others under a train. Some might steal extra rations, you see Tom Courtenay's dismay when he finds out the officers using dodgy weights to steal food from the lower ranks.However the King Rat is the wheeler dealer George Segal who wants to make out of the war alive, well fed and well clothed. He cares for no one but himself. Well at least his close friends seem to be doing well even though a few turn their backs on him once the war ends and try to re-assert their authority. In a sense this was happening in the wider world during the war, in civilian life this was the age of the spiv, the black marketeers who were profiteering whereas others were on rations.James Fox upper crust air-force man is the only one that seems to have a genuine friendship Segal and even then you are unsure because Fox had information which he needs. Of course once the war ends Segal realises things will change, he is after all a lowly corporal and will end being ordinary and reviled by his comrades.Bryan Forbes wrote and directed the film with a touch of cynicism. Its well acted by Segal, Fox and Courtenay. Excellent support from some of the minor characters as well such as Denholm Elliott and John Mills.

Dain Turner I can count on one hand the number of movies I have seen where I can say the movies is just as good as the book, and King Rat is one of them. This is one of those lost or forgotten movie gems it seems not a lot of people have heard about, yet when they see it are blown away by the story line and the awesome acting that takes place in this film. If you want to know what it's like to waste away in a Japanese prisoner of war camp during World War II, you need not look any further than this film.George Segal plays the king, an American POW who is hustling to not only stay alive, but to even prosper given the situation. He's admired and hated by just about everyone in the camp.

stancym-1 I just read all the reviews of King Rat which I first saw as a kid in 1967. It knocked me out then and it has knocked me out the few times I have seen it since. I decided to read the reviews before deciding whether or not to tape it tomorrow at 4 AM for yet another viewing. There is little to add to all that has already been said, except: James Fox made an incredible debut in his first film, The Servant, which is also WELL worth viewing--another outstanding British black-and-white film of the sixties. It was a real loss when he quit acting for so many years. Thankfully, he returned. Recently he was in an episode of an Inspector Lewis mystery on PBS, and his character was witty and "delicious" and he played the part to the hilt.Tom Courtenay is also a wonderful actor who has not been in nearly enough films. Perhaps I will look at his provost character in King Rat less sympathetically after reading all these reviews. I think it is just that I like Courtenay so much and he is such a good actor, I have to work to dislike his straight-laced, stubborn, rigid but highly ethical character in the film.George Segal was never so impressive again as he was in this film, although I did like him in Virginia Woolf and in A Touch of Class. He just never seemed quite like a true movie star to me. Didn't "blow my skirt up" as they say.....It's definitely a classic film about how the will to survive while not going mad will bring out the basest and most selfish aspects of mankind. I don't know if a lot of other women enjoy World War 2 films and POW films, but I do. With or without "romanticized patriotism," which this film certainly avoids! This is a must-see film and the entire cast is superb as is the script and direction. Like other reviewers, I wish this film were better known.

arm61 George Segal's character's uniform khaki blouse gives away his origins as a U.S. P.o.W. in a Japanese Prison Camp filled largely with British military personnel. His Shoulder Sleeve Insignia (SSI), on his left sleeve, is clearly the patch of the pre-war U.S. Army's Philippine Division, a gold carabao head on a red field. This outfit, which was based on the Philippine island of Luzon at Forts William McKinley and Stotsenberg, was composed mostly of the native Philippine Scouts, although there were American troops in the all-white 31st Infantry Regiment (the "Polar Bears")and some of the Coast Artillery units on the Fortified Islands and among the service troops.Segal's character must have come out of one of those units. It is hard to say if he had indeed gone on the Bataan Death March, however, he seems to have been resourceful enough to survived that ordeal, the prison camps at Camp O'Donnell and Cabanatuan, and the Hell Ships.