For someone who has to endure harsh punishment over a five-year period in a Japanese prison camp, CLAUDETTE COLBERT looks remarkably well-groomed and coiffed with her trademark hairdo looking as though she had barely missed an appointment at the local beauty parlor. True, she throws a little mud on her face for the grim moments, but she presents such a typically Claudette look (as Agnes Newton Keith), that it's one of the major weaknesses in an otherwise rather gripping story.
She and her little boy are separated from her husband (PATRIC KNOWLES) for most of the film but happily reunited at the end. Based on the real-life experiences of Keith as a POW, it's told at a rather slow pace as it unfolds a series of scenes meant to indicate the harsh punishment while at the same time showing how Miss Keith communicated on an intellectual level with the Camp Commander SESSUE HAYAKAWA with whom she developed a remarkable rapport.
The post-World War II drama unfolds in a Japanese prison camp in Borneo where the cultured Hayakawa takes an interest in authoress Colbert and eases some of her discomfort by complying with certain requests. But overall, the drama is not depicted as realistically as other prisoner of war stories have done since--notably EMPIRE OF THE SUN which dealt with the harsh realities in a more disturbing way.
Trivia note: The key role was first offered to OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND, who had already done quite a realistic turn in THE SNAKE PIT. One thing is certain: de Havilland would have been more willing to downplay the glamour in more realistic fashion than Colbert does.
She and her little boy are separated from her husband (PATRIC KNOWLES) for most of the film but happily reunited at the end. Based on the real-life experiences of Keith as a POW, it's told at a rather slow pace as it unfolds a series of scenes meant to indicate the harsh punishment while at the same time showing how Miss Keith communicated on an intellectual level with the Camp Commander SESSUE HAYAKAWA with whom she developed a remarkable rapport.
The post-World War II drama unfolds in a Japanese prison camp in Borneo where the cultured Hayakawa takes an interest in authoress Colbert and eases some of her discomfort by complying with certain requests. But overall, the drama is not depicted as realistically as other prisoner of war stories have done since--notably EMPIRE OF THE SUN which dealt with the harsh realities in a more disturbing way.
Trivia note: The key role was first offered to OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND, who had already done quite a realistic turn in THE SNAKE PIT. One thing is certain: de Havilland would have been more willing to downplay the glamour in more realistic fashion than Colbert does.