Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1960s
    Movies - 1960s Movies - K 4 Mins Read

    King Rat (1965)

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    The war in the East is nearing its conclusion but to the prisoners-of-war in Changi Gaol, Singapore, the end seems as far away as ever.

    10,000 men, prisoners of the Japanese, are subsisting on four ounces of rice a day and trying to stay alive long enough until the allied forces storming through Burma can liberate them. They are all in pitiful physical condition – affected by humidity, overcrowding, disease and brutal treatment from the guards – all, that is, except one . . .

    George Segal gives a razor-sharp portrayal of Corporal King – one of only a handful of Americans among mostly British and Australian POWs and the biggest scrounger in the camp – who eats fried eggs for breakfast while the others starve.  He runs lucrative black market schemes, one of which is to breed rats and sell them as food to his fellow prisoners, hence his nickname, “King Rat.”

    But the best performance in the film comes from James Fox as pretty-boy RAF officer Flight Lt. Peter Marlowe, who becomes King’s confidante and his fellow dealer-with-the-devil (Marlowe knows Malay and can barter with the corrupt camp guards).

    When Marlowe injures his arm, his new officer secures antibiotics in order to keep Marlowe’s sickly limb from amputation. In contrast to Marlowe the British Provost Marshal, Lt. Robin Grey (Tom Courtenay) – a holier-than-thou young officer full of disciplinary zeal – considers King a loathsome American renegade, immoral and conniving, and relentlessly tries to engineer King’s downfall.

    But Grey has his own issues to resolve: one of his officers is stealing from the food rations. The officer attempts to bribe Grey, but he brings the issue to his superior, Col. George Smedley-Taylor (John Mills).

    Smedley-Taylor informs Grey that the officer in question has been discharged and tells him to drop the allegations. An angry Grey accuses Smedley-Taylor of collusion, but he can no longer find the altered scale weight that originally tipped him off to the corruption. Grey suspects a cover-up but now has no proof. In an attempt to placate Grey, Smedley-Taylor offers him a promotion.

    The British officers are then informed that the Japanese have surrendered and that the war is over. The stunned prisoners are jubilant, save for King, who has suddenly lost his celebrity in the camp and now must face a return to “normal” life as a civilian.

    King Rat reached #1 at the box office in the second weekend of its release, but the movie did not enjoy sustained commercial momentum. Weaned on more upbeat, patriotic POW movies such as Stalag 17 and The Great Escape, the moviegoing public wasn’t ready for a film offering so much moral ambiguity.

    A realistic replica of the Changi POW camp and environs was constructed on a seven-acre site near Westlake Village in the San Fernando Valley, about 37 miles west of Los Angeles. The elaborate set cost $375,000.

    Corporal King
    George Segal
    Provost Marshal, Lieutenant Robin Grey
    Tom Courtenay
    Flight Lieutenant Peter Marlowe
    James Fox
    Colonel George Smedley-Taylor
    John Mills
    Lt. Col. G.D. Larkin
    Denholm Elliott
    Max
    Patrick O’Neal
    Padre
    Hamilton Dyce
    Dr Kennedy
    James Donald
    Tex
    Todd Armstrong
    Jones
    Gerald Sim
    McCoy
    Leonard Rossiter
    Daven
    John Standing
    Brant
    Alan Webb
    Hawkins
    John Ronane
    Kurt 
    Sam Reese
    Stevens
    Michael Lees
    Brough
    Wright King
    Dino
    Joe Turkel
    Foster
    John Merivale
    Vexley
    Geoffrey Bayldon
    Tinker Bell
    Reg Lye
    Blakeley
    Arthur Malet
    Dr Prudhomme
    Hedley Mattingly
    Yoshima
    Dale Ishimoto
    Myner
    John Levingston
    Japanese General
    Teru Shimada
    Weaver
    Richard Dawson
    Miller
    Michael Stroka
    Steinmetz
    William Fawcett
    Peterson
    Roy Duane
    Gurble
    John Orchard
    Townsend
    Larry Conroy
    Commandant
    John Warburton
    Masters
    David Haviland
    Pop
    Dick Johnson
    Spence
    John Barclay
    Prouty
    Edward Ashley
    Cox
    David Frankham
    Torusumi
    Louis Neervort

    Director
    Bryan Forbes

    Related Posts

    • None But the Brave (1965)
      None But the Brave (1965)
      A very unusual anti-war war film co-scripted by an American and a Japanese. It's a sad story about the slender…
    • St. Valentine's Day Massacre, The (1967)
      St. Valentine's Day Massacre, The (1967)
      Schlockmeister Roger Corman produced this graphically violent chronicle of the Chicago gangster wars of the 1920s and the events that…
    • Morituri (1965)
      Morituri (1965)
      This spy sabotage adventure is set at sea during World War II and stars Marlon Brando as Robert Crain, a…
    • Situation Hopeless But Not Serious (1965)
      Situation Hopeless But Not Serious (1965)
      American airmen Captain Hank Wilson (Robert Redford) and Sgt. Lucky Finder (Mike Connors) are shot down over Germany during WW2…
    • Secret of Blood Island, The (1965)
      Secret of Blood Island, The (1965)
      "Blood Island" is the grim nickname given to a compound in the Malayan jungle where British Prisoners-of-War are made to…
    • Psychopath, The (1966)
      Psychopath, The (1966)
      A series of strange murders have been taking place in London. The murders are of men who play in a…
    • All the Young Men (1960)
      All the Young Men (1960)
      A US Marine patrol is attempting to hold a snowcovered mountain pass during the Korean War when their Lieutenant dies,…
    • Password Is Courage, The (1962)
      Password Is Courage, The (1962)
      This Anglo-American production is the story of the real-life exploits of a British war hero with the unheroic name of…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleAce Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
    Next Article Violent Saturday (1955)

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    You May Also Like
    • Demon Seed (1977)
      An unusual science fiction thriller, Donald […]
    • Long, Hot Summer, The
      1 9 6 5 – 1 9 6 6 (USA) 27 x 50 minute episodes Ben Quick […]
    • 1900 (1977)
      This stunning but demanding Marxist epic ran to almost five and […]
    • Jaws (1975)
      “You’re gonna need a bigger boat!” Summertime […]
    • Court Martial of Major Keller, The (1961)
      Major Keller (Laurence Payne) is a highly decorated and […]
    • Rat Pack
      “Forget the movie, let’s pull the job!” Frank […]
    Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

    OUR LATEST FACEBOOK POSTS

    edition.cnn.com/2023/01/30/entertainment/cindy-williams-dead/index.html

    More sad news 😢
    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    'Laverne & Shirley' star Cindy Williams dead at 75 | CNN

    edition.cnn.com

    Cindy Williams, the dynamic actress known best for playing the bubbly Shirley Feeney on the beloved sitcom "Laverne & Shirley," has died, according to a statement from her family, provided to CNN by a...
    2 hours ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64442824 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Television frontman Tom Verlaine dies at 73

    www.bbc.co.uk

    His band rose to fame in the 1970s New York punk scene, scoring UK hits including Marquee Moon.
    2 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64418847 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Mr Blobby costume sells for more than £62,000 on eBay

    www.bbc.co.uk

    The character, made famous by BBC show Noel's House Party, had been in storage since the 1990s.
    3 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Put some beefiness into your mid-week menu with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the Radio Times on 30 September 1965.

    Put some "beefiness into your mid-week menu" with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the "Radio Times" on 30 September 1965. ... See MoreSee Less

    1 week ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 3
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    They were awful. An overpowering savoury flavour that lingered in your mouth for hours. Heaven knows what unmentionable parts of a bull went into making them 😳

    More sad news 😪

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    US rock legend David Crosby dies aged 81

    www.bbc.co.uk

    Crosby, who co-founded both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash, had been ill for some time.
    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 1
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened? 

All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened?

    All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 54
    • Shares: 22
    • Comments: 7

    Comment on Facebook

    I thought we would have moving pavements by now when I was a kid 😂

    Totally agree!!!

    The new Tesla, 4.6 next century.

    We got transvestite story hour instead

    We appear to be going backwards

    There's actually a very good David Graeber essay on this very topic: thebaffler.com/salvos/of-flying-cars-and-the-declining-rate-of-profit

    The Jetsons strike again.

    View more comments

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

https://nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

    nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    That is so sad to hear 😥 rest in peace 🙏 🕊 xx

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 4
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    😍😍😍😍

    Vale Jeff Beck. Dead at 78. 😢

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Jeff Beck: British guitar legend dies aged 78

    www.bbc.co.uk

    One of rock's most influential guitarists, he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.
    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 1
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Hi everyone. Were in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes.

    Hi everyone. We're in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes. ... See MoreSee Less

    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 5
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 2

    Comment on Facebook

    Ironically, this post has jumped off the page at me. You'll probably get most traffic today because everyone will want to see what they might be missing!

    Martin Platt

    Load more
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.