Bridge over the River Kwai

[80s Big Hair]

Has anyone made one of these? It does not seem overly hard (and also does not appear to be made out of match sticks).

It also does not look much like the real one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bridg ... _plaza.JPG It does look like the movie version though.

[Pahonu]

Has anyone made one of these? It does not seem overly hard (and also does not appear to be made out of match sticks).

It also does not look much like the real one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bridg ... _plaza.JPG It does look like the movie version though.

Higgins’ is a model of the set bridge created for the 1957 David Lean film, The Bridge on the River Kwai. It was actually built in Sri Lanka rather than the original Burmese location. It was a full size set and destroyed by explosives placed on the bridge by commandos according to the story. The real bridge not only looked different as your linked photo shows, but was not destroyed in the 1952 Pierre Boulle novel, but rather the train derailed by explosives before reaching the bridge. Boulle’s novel itself was highly fictionalized and amazingly he was awarded the best screenplay Oscar for the film’s script though he spoke no English!

[Styles Bitchley]

The the real bridge is indeed quite different and not really very striking. That’s probably why they made a more interesting bridge for the movie. The real one is in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, actually and there are some tasteful museums there now, the most remarkable one is the JEATH War Museum. It’s been about twenty years since I was there, but I’m sure it’s still quite worth the visit. I remember being excited to see the bridge and thinking, hmm, that’s it? Sort of like London Bridge when you finally see it after hearing so much about since being a toddler!

As far as building the bridge goes, I’ve not attempted such a thing. I remember doing a few cool wooden kits that assemble into dinosaur skeletons as a kid. This would be more of a challenge I think. I never looked close enough to see that it’s clearly not made of match sticks!

[Pahonu]

The the real bridge is indeed quite different and not really very striking. That’s probably why they made a more interesting bridge for the movie. The real one is in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, actually and there are some tasteful museums there now, the most remarkable one is the JEATH War Museum. It’s been about twenty years since I was there, but I’m sure it’s still quite worth the visit. I remember being excited to see the bridge and thinking, hmm, that’s it? Sort of like London Bridge when you finally see it after hearing so much about since being a toddler!

As far as building the bridge goes, I’ve not attempted such a thing. I remember doing a few cool wooden kits that assemble into dinosaur skeletons as a kid. This would be more of a challenge I think. I never looked close enough to see that it’s clearly not made of match sticks!

Absolutely correct, Styles. The bridge is in Thailand, oops. It’s not actually the bridge built during the war though, which was at a nearby location and constructed of wood. Nothing remains of it. I read Boulle’s novel, watched Lean’s film, and did research on the author and the railway for a research paper back in college. The bridge was still a popular tourist destination as of the early 90’s when I wrote it. It presents an interesting, but not at all unusual, example of a known history being highly fictionalized and then the remaining legacy being altered to fit the fiction.

The historic bridge, one of several, was part of Imperial Japan’s Burma-Siam Railway project to support their large military deployment in Burma. It was built largely by British Commonwealth, American, and Dutch POW’s and forced local labor. Tens of thousands tragically died, mostly locals, during the entire project. Later, Thai officials actually renamed the river to match the largely fictional story after the films worldwide popularity. Lean chose another location for filming after visiting the location and describing the bridge and the river itself, as completely uncinematic.

Boulle had been a secret agent and then a POW in French Indochina. He developed the story from conversations with French officers about the moral dilemma of POW’s in assisting an enemy, which is an issue central to the story. I remember reading his obituary just a year or two after writing the paper. He had a fascinating life from what I learned but I was unable to locate an English copy of his memoirs at the time. Most people also have no idea that Boulle wrote the novel Planet of the Apes as well!

[80s Big Hair]

Here is the set decorator who made the bridge model talking about it in his blog: http://magnumdecorator.blogspot.com/201 ... -post.html I am sure his blog has all sorts of other interesting stuff in it if you wish to go through it. Was he a member here?

[Pahonu]

Here is the set decorator who made the bridge model talking about it in his blog: http://magnumdecorator.blogspot.com/201 ... -post.html I am sure his blog has all sorts of other interesting stuff in it if you wish to go through it. Was he a member here?

I don’t believe he became a member, but many forum members communicated with him frequently via his blog. He was very active for a couple of years as he went through all his old photos, etc... posting updates. They were much discussed here. Ultimately, he posted everything he had found and it died out. Being interested in the actual Pahonu estate, I remember learning a few interesting things from what he wrote.

He mentioned that when the home was first completed in 1933, the highway through Waimanalo wasn’t complete, just small roads, so Mrs. Wall and her guests often arrived by boat from Honolulu. There was a small pier near the boathouse that they docked at. He also explained that the room immediately to the left of the arched double doors we all believe to be the front door of Robin’s Nest, is actually a trunk room. It has several vent windows and it stored all the guest’s luggage when they came and stayed. This was Mrs. Wall’s “country home”. It must have been nice arriving by water and having the servants unpack everything in your suite. Different times.

[Styles Bitchley]

It must have been nice arriving by water and having the servants unpack everything in your suite. Different times.

That’s the way we do things at Chez Bitchley...doesn’t everyone?

[Pahonu]

It must have been nice arriving by water and having the servants unpack everything in your suite. Different times.

That’s the way we do things at Chez Bitchley...doesn’t everyone?

LMAO!

[80s Big Hair]

I don’t believe he became a member, but many forum members communicated with him frequently via his blog. He was very active for a couple of years as he went through all his old photos, etc... posting updates. They were much discussed here. Ultimately, he posted everything he had found and it died out. Being interested in the actual Pahonu estate, I remember learning a few interesting things from what he wrote.

I guess I never noticed that whole topic that is stickied (whatever the term is) to the top of the forum...

[Pahonu]

I don’t believe he became a member, but many forum members communicated with him frequently via his blog. He was very active for a couple of years as he went through all his old photos, etc... posting updates. They were much discussed here. Ultimately, he posted everything he had found and it died out. Being interested in the actual Pahonu estate, I remember learning a few interesting things from what he wrote.

I guess I never noticed that whole topic that is stickied (whatever the term is) to the top of the forum...

Yup, that’s it, plus his blog posts have questions asked of him, many by members of this forum.

[Gorilla Mask]

Higgins’ is a model of the set bridge created for the 1957 David Lean film, The Bridge on the River Kwai. It was actually built in Sri Lanka rather than the original Burmese location. It was a full size set and destroyed by explosives placed on the bridge by commandos according to the story. The real bridge not only looked different as your linked photo shows, but was not destroyed in the 1952 Pierre Boulle novel, but rather the train derailed by explosives before reaching the bridge. Boulle’s novel itself was highly fictionalized and amazingly he was awarded the best screenplay Oscar for the film’s script though he spoke no English!

Absolutely right Pahonu and, as related, McCarthysm hysteria played a quite sad part in that circumstance:

"While David Lean went to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to finish his adaptation of the book,Sam Spiegel hired a new screenwriter to rework the story, Calder Willingham.Willingham was then the screenwriter of Stanley Kubrick's pacifist war film Paths of Glory. Unfortunately for Kubrick, David Lean immediately disliked him and he ended up leaving the project after two weeks. To replace him, Sam Spiegel hired Michael Wilson, another screenwriter on the blacklist of Hollywood communist sympathizers. Wilson then worked on the final script until a few days before shooting began.

Because of their presence on this blacklist, Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson do not appear in the film's credits and, paradoxically, it is Pierre Boulle who is mentioned even though he did not participate at all in the writing of the script. This decision was taken by Sam Spiegel who did not want to have problems with Columbia, which refused to work with people on the blacklist. This injustice is finally repaired for the following copies where the two screenwriters are finally credited for their work.

(...)

The Bridge on the River Kwai was distinguished at the 30th Oscar's Awards ceremony, which took place on March 26, 1958, by winning seven awards: (...) and Best Adapted Screenplay to Pierre Boulle. For this last award, because of their presence on the Hollywood blacklist, Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson are totally ignored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Their merit is finally recognized by the Academy in 1984 which awards them a statuette posthumously."

Source: french version of Wikipedia.

[Pahonu]

Higgins’ is a model of the set bridge created for the 1957 David Lean film, The Bridge on the River Kwai. It was actually built in Sri Lanka rather than the original Burmese location. It was a full size set and destroyed by explosives placed on the bridge by commandos according to the story. The real bridge not only looked different as your linked photo shows, but was not destroyed in the 1952 Pierre Boulle novel, but rather the train derailed by explosives before reaching the bridge. Boulle’s novel itself was highly fictionalized and amazingly he was awarded the best screenplay Oscar for the film’s script though he spoke no English!

Absolutely right Pahonu and, as related, McCarthysm hysteria played a quite sad part in that circumstance:

"While David Lean went to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to finish his adaptation of the book,Sam Spiegel hired a new screenwriter to rework the story, Calder Willingham.Willingham was then the screenwriter of Stanley Kubrick's pacifist war film Paths of Glory. Unfortunately for Kubrick, David Lean immediately disliked him and he ended up leaving the project after two weeks. To replace him, Sam Spiegel hired Michael Wilson, another screenwriter on the blacklist of Hollywood communist sympathizers. Wilson then worked on the final script until a few days before shooting began.

Because of their presence on this blacklist, Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson do not appear in the film's credits and, paradoxically, it is Pierre Boulle who is mentioned even though he did not participate at all in the writing of the script. This decision was taken by Sam Spiegel who did not want to have problems with Columbia, which refused to work with people on the blacklist. This injustice is finally repaired for the following copies where the two screenwriters are finally credited for their work.

(...)

The Bridge on the River Kwai was distinguished at the 30th Oscar's Awards ceremony, which took place on March 26, 1958, by winning seven awards: (...) and Best Adapted Screenplay to Pierre Boulle. For this last award, because of their presence on the Hollywood blacklist, Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson are totally ignored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Their merit is finally recognized by the Academy in 1984 which awards them a statuette posthumously."

Source: french version of Wikipedia.

Thanks GM,

I had learned at the time that the Hollywood blacklist, HUAC, and the Red Scare in general were responsible for Wilson’s snub but didn’t know about Willingham or the posthumous awards.

Do you happen to know if Boulle’s memoirs were ever published in English? I’ve seen French copies for sale but I’m not a speaker, unfortunately.

[Gorilla Mask]

Do you happen to know if Boulle’s memoirs were ever published in English? I’ve seen French copies for sale but I’m not a speaker, unfortunately.

Hello Pahonu, sorry for the delay in responding. I did some research and unfortunately I could not get my hands on or locate an English edition.

On the other hand, if you are interested in the (extraordinary, that is to say...) life of Pierre Boulle, you may want to check out this other book:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/135 ... River_Kwai

In this opus Boulle gather some of his memories from the time he was a special FFL agent in the Far East.

In some ways, Boulle is reminiscent of Higgins: unmarried, soldier, adventurer, secret agent and ... writer ? (or was he Robins ??)

[Pahonu]

Do you happen to know if Boulle’s memoirs were ever published in English? I’ve seen French copies for sale but I’m not a speaker, unfortunately.

Hello Pahonu, sorry for the delay in responding. I did some research and unfortunately I could not get my hands on or locate an English edition.

On the other hand, if you are interested in the (extraordinary, that is to say...) life of Pierre Boulle, you may want to check out this other book:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/135 ... River_Kwai

In this opus Boulle gather some of his memories from the time he was a special FFL agent in the Far East.

In some ways, Boulle is reminiscent of Higgins: unmarried, soldier, adventurer, secret agent and ... writer ? (or was he Robins ??)

Awesome GM, thanks! I just ordered a used copy. Back in college it was so much harder doing research and finding these things.

[Gorilla Mask]

Pahonu, i am most pleased if that linking could have helped ! Boulle had quite a discreet and simple life which contrasts strongly with his WW2 espérience.