The Purple Plain (1954) [DVD]

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While Gregory Peck heads the cast, "The Purple Plain" is a British World War II film, produced in 1954 by the J. Arthur Rank Studios (and presumably distributed by MGM). So far reviews seem to fall into two camps--people who love it and people who are unimpressed with it. I find myself somewhere between these two extremes. Unlike at least one other reviewer, I will try not to reveal too much of the plot for first-time viewers.Mr. Peck plays Squadron Leader Bill Forrester, a Canadian pilot and veteran of the Battle of Britain, now assigned to the Asian theatre of the war, specifically Burma, against the Japanese. Having lost his young wife in the London blitz, Forrester feels he has nothing to live for, and flies his Mosquito missions accordingly. He is reckless, even suicidal, much to the chagrin of his navigator as well as the people on the ground.The kind Dr. Harris (a "pre-M" Bernard Lee) tries to help Forrester out of his depression by involving him with some of the local Burmese people, including a lovely young woman, Anna (Win Min Than). Forrester becomes captivated with Anna, and slowly regains his self respect and will to live. His survival instincts are soon put to the test. On the next flight, his plane crashes in very harsh, and Japanese-held, territory. Forrester survives the crash along with his young navigator(Lyndon Brook), who receives nasty burns, and an older scientist, Blore (Maurice Denham). With limited water, and the blazing Burmese sun, the three men face a harsh fate, with a questionable chance of survival. Can Forrester return to the woman who has rekindled his interest in life, and redeem a tattered reputation with his compatriots ?Mr. Peck delivers a compelling performance--he remains one of the most watchable actors in movies. I should also mention that fine British character actress, Brenda De Banzie--her role is small, but she leaves an indelible impression as Miss McNabb, the indefatigable Scottish missionary.The full-screen picture exhibits effective colour--the sound is mono--don't look for extras."The Purple Plain" may not be one of Gregory Peck's most famous films--nor can it be considered one of the classic films of the fifties. At the same time, I found it an absorbing drama, well-acted by Mr. Peck, Ms. Than and a fine British cast--there is action, romance, suspense and important, universal themes are explored. I am pleased to add this DVD to my collection.

I wouldn't have watched this if G Peck were not in it. He was a real beauty and a decent actor.But what about the cacti that was on the little hill where GP left the injured guy to go on alone? Cacti have water inside. I thought surely they put those obvious plants there for that reason, but no! They were ignored by guys dying of thirst. Of course the love story was too simple, to the point of roll-eyes. The landscape and 'life in Burma' scenes were interesting.

It's not easy to watch this kind of film from a distance of 60 years. They didn't have the vocabulary to describe the emotions we all talk about today. They couldn't explain the complex feelings and interpersonal relationships people go through. You can watch it with regard to the time and distance a person had to withstand just in making the film itself, and if you further imagine what it was like during the war to be pushing the military agenda across asia it was even harder to realize. Beautifully filmed, an excellent cast and dialogue that tried very hard to express the feelings and thoughts of the characters from many angles. It's a hopeful movie looking forward after the war and that could not have been easy to make.

Excellent WWII movie with a love story. This movie has excellent air battle scenes, and reflects the role of Burma in WWII fairly well. The men find themselves trekking across Burma in an attempt to survive an unplanned event. Solid characters and acting. Gregory Peck has serious mental problems from a broken heart due to a casualty of war. He is hopeless, reckless, and does not trust anybody. However, the odd doctor who he's assigned to after he freaks out a few too many times, introduces him to a woman who gives him a new lease on life. But can he make it back to her? Redone in HD, this is a must see for any WWII movie lover, as well as showing the more exotic venue of the war and the beautiful community it tears apart. 4.5 Stars, highly recommended.

This movie is now 65 years old. About 40 years ago I saw the last 25 minutes on late night TV, or maybe a matinee show. It looked good then and looks better now. The acting is all wonderful. Gregory Peck was an excellent leading man and I, for one, am all for the unabashed yen a lonely white man would feel for his Burmese love interest, the very lovely Win Min Than. The survival story is gripping if the logistics were unbelievable, but survival stories are like that. This is a classic and entertains today as it surely did then.

The MGM DVD has a spectacularly detailed picture. It looks like HD on a DVD, right down to the sweat beading on the actors' faces. The audio is prime. The early 1950s Technicolor is excellent, reminiscent of the colorful Powell/Pressburger masterpieces. The story progresses slowly and deliberately, taking us from Squadron Leader Forrester's tragic past to the present situation, pulling the viewer deeper and deeper into the plot of three survivors of a plane crash who must now deal with survival in the treacherous Burmese jungle. The only flaw I could find in this MGM DVD presentation is the one outlined in the opening disclaimer: "This film ... has been formatted to fit your TV" giving the viewer a square presentation of a movie that has an original aspect ratio of 1:1.66.

Assam in Eastern India, 1944. Squadron Leader Bill Forrester (Gregory Peck) is a Canadian serving in RAF and flying a DeHavilland Mosquito - a twin engine, two seated, very fast and VERY powerfully armed fighter-bomber. Because of his skill and agressivity, he is a real life legend amongst allied pilots serving in India-Burma-China theater - but nobody really likes to fly with him (or next to him) and his superiors consider him a liability rather than an asset.Why? Because Squadron Leader Bill Forrester is suicidal! It is not a secret that he wants to die - and that he was trying to do so for the last four years (the reason will not be explained here, to avoid spoilers). But the Grim Reaper has a particularly nasty sense of humor and sometimes, when somebody looks for him very hard, HE very skillfully avoids him. And so, even if many have fallen on his left and more have fallen on his right, Squadron Leader Bill Forrester always survived, just getting more medals, promotions, scars and hangovers...His commanding officer, Wing Commander Aldridge (Anthony Bushell) orders finally his medical officer, Doctor Harris (Bernard Lee, of 007 fame...) to either heal Forrester depression or find a medical reason to reform him and send him back to England. Doctor Harris will attempt to help his patient by ending his isolation. As Forrester has no friends and no hobbies, doctor Harris will encourage him to give some time to assist a local shelter for displaced people (mostly Burmese refugees). The manager of this place is a formidable Scottish lady Ms Mac Nab (Brenda De Banzie) widow of a missionary, who spend almost all her life in Asia and in large part "went native". It is not possible to remain depressed anywhere near Ms Mac Nab, as she has more energy, character, wits, guts and spirit than even a dozen living bodies could contain.And so Bill Forrester will start his convalescence - greatly helped by him meeting a delicious, young, adorable Burmese Christian refugee, Anna. She is played by a Burmese actress, Win Min Than in her only cinema role (she later became a Buddhist nun). Win Min Than played Anna in an absolutely perfect way and she is at least as much the star of this film as Gregory Peck.All of this covers basically the first quarter of the film. But as it was already said, DEATH has a particularly nasty sense of humor - and now, that Bill Forrester have found again that life has a sweet taste, the shadow which avoided him for the last four years, will come back... And if it is not always so easy to catch with the Grim Reaper, HE usually has no trouble to catch up with us... Especially, when somebody flies almost every day dangerous missions over Japanese occupied Burma, where "Zero" fighters prowl the skies and murderous "flak" can hide behind any bush. Burma which is covered by fertile rice fields, lush jungles and wild mountain ranges, but also (it is less known) by hostile, red hot plains, covered with thorny shrubs, where during the dry season water is scarce but poisonous snakes slither by bushels...I liked this "oldie but goldie" (made in 1954). It is not an immortal masterpiece, but a good, very honest, interesting and touching film, in which you really are concerned for the two main heroes, especially in the second part of the film... Do not expect a lot of military action, but survival scenes in the most hostile part of Burma wilderness are very strong. Scenario is very solid and logical and actors are GREAT. Gregory Peck was a real giant amongst actors and his young, exotic partner gave an exceptionnal performance. Bernard Lee and Brenda De Banzie are perfect as second roles.I spend a nice moment watching "The Purple Plain" and I recommend it warmly. Enjoy!

This is an interesting 1954 offering by director Robert Parrish (San Francisco Story, Fire Down Below, The Wonderful Country), and set during the Burma campaign of WW2. A Canadian squadron leader, Peck, still psychologically damaged after losing his wife during the bombing of a London nightclub at which they were spending an evening together, finds himself posted to a remote allied airfield in Burma. On a routine trip ferrying a couple of passengers the aircraft develops engine trouble and crashes in a jungle clearing behind Japanese lines. One passenger is seriously injured, the other, disagreeable and obstinate, is persuaded that they can carry the injured man and walk out of their situation to safety. The bulk of the film is how this adventure is achieved. Their trek is the enemy, the Japanese are unseen. It is all about character development in hazardous circumstances.There are one or two side stories and the cast contains a number of familiar, stoic British actors. The appearance by American actor Peck in this British movie was probably some contractual industry deal but he does fit in very nicely indeed. The film is the right length, and beautifully shot with an excellent screenplay. A most pleasing entertainment.Sadly the transfer to DVD is some way from being excellent. Both sound and vision is not good - say 8 out of 10. It's okay but a bit disappointing. My VHS tape of the movie is much, much better in all respects so I'll be hanging on to that!

This movie is so slow its only just watchable, but otherwise was a good deal

It's a fantastic movie, Gregory Peck at his best, he plays a De Havilland Mosquito pilot in the far east theatre of war who's new wife got killed in the London blitz, he's not suicidal but doesn't care if he lives or dies so he takes risks when he's flying til he meets and falls for a gorgeous Burmese woman. Worth a watching.

I’m looking forward to watching the video on cold nights👏