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An H.E. Bates novel was the source for this psychological wartime drama set in Burma. Canadian pilot Gregory Peck and two comrades-in-arms crash in the Burmese wilds. The three men are forced to hack and crawl their way to safety, surrounded on all sides by the Japanese. Peck's subordinates don't completely trust their leader, and not without reason: Peck's nerves have been at the breaking point for months, and this experience may send him around the bend. But the ordeal strengthens Peck's psyche. Despite its American star, director and distributor (United Artists), The Purple Plain is a British production; thanks to its top-drawer production values and evocative color photography by Geoffrey Unsworth, the film brought in customers on both sides of the big pond.