The Purple Plain

source: The Purple Plain

The Purple Plain

Well made faux-Hemingway with Gregory Peck reprising his neurotic pilot from 12 O'CLOCK HIGH, but in a mostly British production; the other American involved is Robert Parrish who smartly helmed. Brooding over his wife's death in the blitz, Peck finds something to live for in a young Burmese beauty. Then a routine flight goes awry and he lands in Japanese territory with two men to save. Geoffrey Unsworth provides riveting Technicolor images to go with the painterly action effects work, wonderfully different than the Hollywood norm at the time. And there's solid support from Bernard Lee, Maurice Denham, Lyndon Brook and a beauteous Win Min Than in her one & only film appearance. As a Scottish missionary Brenda De Banzie is over the top, but the film needs the bit of applied zest she provides.

THE PURPLE PLAIN is a character-based WW2 drama set the wilds of Burma. It's based on a novel by H.E. Bates and was shot in Sri Lanka for extra authenticity. The film's ace is in the casting of Gregory Peck in the lead role; he handles a complex and in some ways ambiguous role very well indeed and gives the viewer a reason to watch. The film is in parts a romance and a survival epic, and with the true to life characters it remains readily watchable.

Peck's third best movie. The supporting actors did flesh out the tension and struggle. The story line can be easily followed. The decisions made during the movie are predictable, but the realization that it is life and death struggle overwhelms the predictability.

Peck is a neurotic, suicidal pilot in Burma during WWII. He's transformed by his love for a native girl, which gives him the drive to survive the trek through the harsh burmese wilderness after his plane crashes. A good,dramatic film with serviceable performances by the cast. Especially by Brenda De Banzie as a missionary.

This is an odd film and I don't mean this in a negative way. All too often, films seem derivative and predictable, though this film excels in being different and placing Gregory Peck in a very unusual role--that of a fighter-bomber pilot fighting for the British Empire during WWII. While I loved the film because it featured nice aerial shots of the De Havilland Mosquito (the plane), it was not really a film about dogfights and bombing missions but was instead a character study of Peck as he tries to survive and keep his injured comrade alive. At times the film uses some flashbacks, but generally it is a straight drama about how the crash of his plane impacts him and gets him to reassess his life. Different and a film that allows this wonderful actor to exert his acting muscles.