Directed by Samuel Fuller and screenplay by Harry Kleiner with additional dialogue by Fuller, House of Bamboo is the story of an American military official who goes to Japan to learn about a former GI who has formed a gang with former soldiers and Japanese locals to steal weapons and such from the military. A loose remake of The Street with No Name that was co-written by Kleiner, the film is a noir-inspired film set in the world of American bases in Japan following the post-war years as it play into corruption from the military and a man trying to comprehend what is going on. Starring Robert Ryan, Robert Stack, Shirley Yamaguchi, and Cameron Mitchell. House of Bamboo is a riveting and compelling film from Samuel Fuller.
The film explores a series of incidents that involve the robbery of military weapons, ammunition, and smoke bombs that belonged to the U.S. army as well as the death of a few American soldiers prompting an undercover military official to go to Japan and infiltrate this gang led by a former GI. It’s a film that has a man hired by the U.S. army after a thief had been killed by one of the men in the gang as he is revealed to have married a Japanese woman who reluctantly agrees to help the undercover agent. Harry Kleiner’s screenplay that would feature additional dialogue by Samuel Fuller is an exploration of a man trying to figure out what this outfit led by this American GI and other Americans with Japanese locals wanting to make lots of money as much of the motives from its leader Sandy Dawson (Robert Ryan) who was dishonorably discharged from the U.S. military and wants to stick it to the U.S. army and Japanese authorities.
Dawson’s actions forced the Army to bring in Eddie Spanier (Robert Stack) who had just been released from prison to infiltrate Dawson’s gang since Spanier was a friend of a man who was killed by one of Dawson’s men during a botched heist. Spanier would get into contact with the Japanese wife of one of the thieves who was killed during the botched heist in Mariko (Shirley Yamaguchi) as she is reluctant to help but wants to know who killed her husband and why as they form a relationship of sorts despite the fact that interracial marriages/relationships remain taboo from both the Americans and Japanese. Even as Mariko makes some chilling discoveries that would have her help Spanier as well as uncover some dark truths into Dawson’s criminal empire.
Fuller’s direction is definitely wondrous in not just capturing post-war Japan life through the gorgeous usage of the Cinemascope as it captures the growing prosperity of the country as it is shot on locations in Tokyo, Yokohama, and various countryside areas. In wanting to get a sense of realism in the film and to capture post-war life, Fuller would use hidden cameras with wide and medium shots to get a glimpse of this life in Japan where people go into parks, temples, and anywhere else in the cities. Fuller would also showcase a world where there is still this post-war tension between the Americans and Japanese as it relates to how some the locals react towards Americans though American military officials and Japanese police officers try to maintain a sense of peace despite Dawson’s activities where it’s only the Japanese workers that are often injured in these heists unless guns are involved as they get killed. Fuller also maintains an intimacy in the medium shots and close-ups as it relates to Spanier and his growing friendship with Mariko that also include Mariko’s approach to creating poached eggs.
Fuller would also use crane and wide shots to get a scope of the locations as well as in some of the compositions that relate to the drama and suspense. Fuller also play into this air of taboo in how Japanese react to one of their own such as Mariko for her time with Spanier as if she had done something really offensive and dishonorable. Yet, Fuller show that Dawson is way crueler than the locals while he and a few of people in the gang will kill their own over something wrong as Spanier becomes concerned with Dawson’s increasing paranoia. The film’s third act has Fuller definitely take great usage of the locations in Tokyo as well as this attention to detail in the street corners as well as a rooftop theme park where Fuller creates some unique compositions and suspense to play into the intensity of the showdown. Overall, Fuller crafts a gripping and thrilling film about a U.S. military officer infiltrating a gang of former American soldiers engaging themselves in thievery and corruption.
Cinematographer Joseph MacDonald does brilliant work with the film’s colorful cinematography with its usage of DeLuxe Color to capture the beauty of the Japanese locations as well as creating some unique interior lighting for the scenes set at night as it is a highlight of the film. Editor James B. Clark does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts to play into the suspense. Art directors Addison Hehr and Lyle R. Wheeler, along with set decorators Stuart A. Reiss and Walter M. Scott, do amazing work with the look of Dawson’s lavish yet traditional Japanese home as well as the look of the home that Spanier would live in. The sound work of Harry M. Leonard and John D. Stack do fantastic work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as the sounds of gunfire and smoke bombs. The film’s music by Leigh Harline is wonderful for its mixture of lush and bombastic orchestral music and traditional Japanese string music as it help play into the suspense and drama.
The film’s superb ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Elko Hanabusa as a screaming Japanese woman in the film’s opening sequence, Sandro Giglio as a corrupt cop in Ceram, Biff Elliot as the wounded thief Webber who is also Mariko’s husband, Brad Dexter as the American official Captain Hanson whom Spanier reports to, Sessue Hayakawa as the Japanese police investigator Kitz who works with Hanson, and DeForest Kelley as one of Dawson’s top goons in Charlie. Cameron Mitchell is terrific as Dawson’s right-hand man Griff who is suspicious about Spanier as he is also ruthless towards those who screw things up during a heist.
Shirley Yamaguchi is amazing as Mariko as a Japanese woman who had married an American soldier only to die due to his involvement with Dawson as she is reluctant to help out Spanier while also learning more about Dawson as she becomes close to Spanier. Robert Stack is excellent as Eddie Spanier as a U.S. army official who goes undercover as he copes with his job while dealing with the corruption that Dawson has created while becoming close with Mariko whom he wants to protect. Finally, there’s Robert Ryan in an incredible performance as Sandy Dawson as a disgraced American soldier who teams up with Japanese locals and other disgraced American soldiers as a way to stick it to the army as well as make money.
House of Bamboo is a phenomenal film from Samuel Fuller that features great performances from Robert Ryan, Robert Stack, and Shirley Yamaguchi. Along with its gorgeous cinematography, wondrous music score, and its mixture of noir, suspense, and drama set in post-war Japan. It is a film that explores post-war Japan as relations with Americans remain tense with some wanting to create chaos and mistrust prompting a few to do what is right for both countries. In the end, House of Bamboo is a sensational film from Samuel Fuller.
Samuel Fuller Films: I Shot Jesse James - The Baron of Arizona - The Steel Helmet - Fixed Bayonets! - Park Row - Pickup on South Street - (Hell and High Water) - (China Gate) - Run of the Arrow - Forty Guns - Verboten! - The Crimson Kimono - Underworld U.S.A. - Merrill's Marauders - Shock Corridor - The Naked Kiss - (Shark!) - (Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street) – The Big Red One - White Dog - (Thieves After Dark) - (Street of No Return) - (The Madonna and the Dragon)
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Based on the novel by Pierre Boulle, The Bridge on the River Kwai is the story of a group of POWs in a Japanese camp who are tasked to build a bridge in Thailand during World War II as they deal with their time in the prison camp. Directed by David Lean and screenplay by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, the film explores the life of British POWs deal with doing work for the Japanese just as the war is heating up. Starring William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Alec Guinness, and Sessue Hayakawa. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a riveting and engaging film from David Lean.
Set in a Japanese prison camp in the middle of the jungles of Thailand, the film revolves around a group of British POWs who are tasked by the Japanese to build a bridge as their officer tries to help lead the charge to boost morale and to smooth things over with the Japanese. It’s a film that plays into a man trying to maintain a sense of honor and code among officers during the time of war as he is also trying to deal with a Japanese colonel who isn’t familiar nor is he willing to abide by the rules. At the same time, an American prisoner manages to make an escape as he is asked by the British to aid them in a mission that relates to the bridge which he reluctantly agrees to do as he is apprehensive about returning to the place which he escaped. It all plays into the complications of war as some wondered why Lt. Col. Nicholson (Alec Guinness) is willing to help the Japanese build a bridge.
The film’s screenplay starts off with Lt. Col. Nicholson’s arrival as he has been captured where the American POW Commander Shears (William Holden) watches as he’s been in the camp for some time. Under the command of Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), the prisoners are trying to build a railway bridge on the Kwai river where things aren’t going well as Saito has a deadline to catch on as he needs Nicholson’s officers to do manual labor work but Nicholson says they can’t because of rules that prevent officers from doing manual labor. Saito doesn’t care about those rules where a secret escape attempt made by Shears would have some men killed with Shears being the only one to do so successfully. The second act is about Saito and Nicholson playing a game of wit to see who can do what where the result has Nicholson take charge on the bridge’s construction so that he can look after his soldiers and contend with their morale where he would find a way to get the bridge to work and do it right.
One aspect of the script that is unique is the form of a supporting character in a medic in Major Clipton (James Donald) who is sort of the film’s conscience as he would often watch everything that occurs as he also asks Nicholson into why the bridge needs to be built. It plays into Nicholson wanting the world to know that it was British soldiers that built the bridge though he is aware that questions into treason or collaborating with the enemy might come into play. It then leads into this third act where Shears is asked by Major Warden (Jack Hawkins) to take part in a mission to blow up the bridge as Shears’ reluctance is due to the fact that he doesn’t want to go back to the jungle as it is also a place where things are just as treacherous as the camp that he escaped. The two are joined by a young Canadian officer in Lt. Joyce (Geoffrey Horne) who takes part in the mission despite his lack of actual combat experience. The mission becomes troublesome where Shears tries to comprehend exactly what is going on as its climax involves Warden’s mission in conjunction with the bridge’s completion.
David Lean’s direction is truly grand in not just his approach to create something that feels vast but also in the way it plays into a world where two different cultures and two different ideas have to work together to build this bridge. With its 2:35:1 aspect ratio for widescreen, Lean manages to create a lot of compositions that are very striking in his approach to capture the large number of British POWs with his usage of wide and medium shots. Particularly with scenes of crowd shots as well as a key scene where Japanese soldiers are waiting for Saito to give the order to shoot Nicholson and his officers on a very hot and sunny day. It’s a chilling scene that plays into this battle of wits between Saito and Nicholson where it would continue in some intimate moments where Nicholson is forced to stay inside this small little cell known as the oven for a period of time.
The direction also has Lean use some inspiring tracking shots and other stylistic shots to play into the scenes where the bridge is built as Lean takes advantage of the locations as it is shot in Sri Lanka with a few scenes shot in Britain. Notably as Lean would use the locations as characters of the film including the river where much of the film’s action, aside from the prison camp, takes place as it is showcases what Nicholson is doing as the bridge is sort of a metaphor for what he wants to do with Saito despite being in two different sides of the war. The film’s climax where many of its key characters converge play into not just the fallacy of war but also in the sense of madness as it plays into not just Shears’ own frustrations with war but also in Major Clipton’s own understanding of things. Overall, Lean creates a very engrossing yet exhilarating film about a British officer trying to create peace by helping the Japanese in creating a bridge.
Cinematographer Jack Hildyard does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography to capture the colorful look of the jungle in the daytime as well as some very stark and low-key lighting schemes for the scenes set at night including the camp interiors. Editor Peter Taylor does excellent work with the editing as it‘s straightforward for the most part with some stylish dissolve transitions plus rhythmic cuts for some of the film‘s action scenes. Art director Donald M. Ashton does amazing work with the design of the prison camps as well as the look and design of the bridge upon its completion as it plays a key part of the story. Sound editor Winston Ryder does terrific work with the sound to play into the tense atmosphere in the camps as well as the sense of chaos in the bridge construction scenes. The film’s music by Malcolm Arnold is fantastic for its orchestral-based score that underplays the drama as well as some military-based music that includes Colonel Bogey march.
The film’s cast includes some notable small roles from Andre Morell as a British colonel who organizes the plan to destroy the bridge, Ann Sears as a nurse Shears spends time with after his escape, Peter Williams and John Boxer as a couple of Nicholson’s officers who help design the bridge, and Geoffrey Horne as the young Canadian officer Joyce who aids Shears and Warden in the mission to blow up the bridge. James Donald is excellent as Major Clipton as an army doctor who is the film’s conscience as he copes with what Nicholson is doing while being baffled about the rules of war. Sessue Hayakawa is amazing as Colonel Saito as the Japanese prison camp leader who is trying to get the bridge made as he’s under a lot of pressure to finish it on time while maintaining some honor in his battle of wits against Nicholson.
Jack Hawkins is fantastic as Major Warden as a British officer who takes charge in the mission as he is someone with an affinity to do dangerous things as he later copes with an injury that plays into the fallacy of war. William Holden is brilliant as Commander Shears as an American POW who escapes the camp as he reluctantly takes part in the mission to blow up the bridge as he copes with the dangers of war and all of its risks. Finally, there’s Alec Guinness in a remarkable performance as Lt. Col. Nicholson as a stubborn and proud officer who tries to instill a sense of honor into his situation as he would take charge in building the bridge with the hope of bringing a sense of peace during a time of war.
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a phenomenal film from David Lean. Armed with a great cast and compelling themes on war and honor in war, it’s a film that manages to explore a lot of things as well as be engaging in the way it portrays life in prison camps. Especially as it’s a film where there are no heroes and villains but rather men caught up in the middle of a war. In the end, The Bridge of the River Kwai is a sensational film from David Lean.
David Lean Films: In Which We Serve - This Happy Breed - Blithe Spirit - Brief Encounter - Great Expectations (1946 film) - Oliver Twist (1948 film) - The Passionate Friends - Madeleine (1950 film) - The Sound Barrier - Hobson’s Choice - Summertime (1955 film) - Lawrence of Arabia - Doctor Zhivago - Ryan’s Daughter - (Lost and Found: The Story of Cook’s Anchor) - A Passage to India - (The Auteurs #74: David Lean)
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