Wow! Such a good movie.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Shown in flashback this film tells of the wartime experiences of Jean Paget, a young secretary working in Kuala Lumpur when the Japanese invaded Malaya. She flees south towards Singapore with her boss, his wife and their three children, one a babe in arms. They don't get very far before they are captured by the Japanese along with several other English families who were waiting for a boat. The men are taken into custody and the women are told that they must march fifty miles back to Kuala Lumpur where they will be put on a train south. When they get there, there is no train and they must walk south again; each time they get to were they have been told to go the Japanese tell them they can't stay there and must walk somewhere else. On one such walk they encounter a couple of Australian prisoners who have been forced to maintain and drive a lorry for their Japanese captors. Jean befriends one of them, Joe, and as they get to know one another he talks about the town he lives in; a small town near Alice Springs in the middle of Australia. As their treks continue people start to die; from exhaustion, from illness and even from a snake bite. Sometimes things look a bit better such as when Joe steals some chickens for the women; this only serves to lead up to a particularly gruelling punishment where the women are forced to watch as the Japanese crucify him.The way the film was shot let us know that Jean would survive the war but that didn't make the film any less gruelling; certain characters who one would expect to survive a film like this don't which comes as quite a shock. It was good to see that the Japanese weren't all depicted as monsters; the unnamed Sergeant was not unkind to them although the same cannot be said of Capt. Sagaya who was a brute. The environment they had to walk through was just as brutal with snakes, no clean water and malarial swamps to be crossed before they could get to safety. The beautiful Virginia McKenna does a fine job as Jean and Peter Finch is also good as the happy go lucky Joe. Thankfully after the long and arduous trek through the jungles of Malaya there is an upbeat ending which I won't spoil. This film is will worth watching for anybody interested on movies about the war; it is certainly different from most as there is no combat to speak of.

I thought this was an Australian film, about Australians, in Australia. Imagine my horror when it was instead about horrific treatment of Allied prisoners by the Japanese in Malaysia during WWII.The film is relentless -- brutal even -- especially as it involved women and children for the bulk of the film. It never seems to end ... until the very end, when the godawful war ends and things get a bit better -- OK, quite a bit better.Virginia McKenna gives a lovely, wonderful performance as the protagonist, and quite holds the film together. Also featuring Peter Finch, and a number of other fine performances, including the wonderful Japanese sergeant in charge of the women and children.Worth a watch. Perhaps it's best summarized as being a good tale of survival.However, the film has two flaws: One is, that the basic plot point, which the film spends 80% of its time on, never happened, even though the film announces that it is fact-based in the opening credits. The plot line the film relies on was a complete misapprehension by author Nevil Shute.The second problem the film has is that it only covers half of the book -- the horrific, unrealistic half.All in all, I'd say that if you want a realistic portrayal of Allied prisoners of war in Malaysia by the Japenese during WWII, watch King Rat (1965), a much better film.

I've never read the novel upon which this film is based upon, but I'm interested in reading it now after seeing this very good film. Told in flashback, it's a WW2 drama with a difference, as we trade in the battlefields for the harrowing experiences of a group of English women who are forced on a Japanese death march through Malaya. It's a starkly realistic film, with many confronting scenes as the women have to drawn on every last emotional and physical reserve they have to survive. It feels so realistic and draws you into the storyline so much that when character after character succumbs to the awful trek it's like a knife through the heart. And when the women finally get to bathe after weeks of marching through the swamps, we feel their relief too. Virginia McKenna is the lead actress as young Jean Paget, and while McKenna may not be the world's greatest actress she's a good fit for the role, determined with a winning smile and warmth. The supporting actresses are colourful and each bring something different to the film. Peter Finch plays the Australian soldier Joe who falls for McKenna, and she for him. The "Alice" of the title is of course Alice Springs, NT, where Finch works on a station. Alice becomes a symbol of hope and comfort. He's charming and they have terrific chemistry together. I understand the ending is romanticized (but, hey, that's Hollywood for you!), but I liked it. Great cinematography and location shooting in Malaya and Australia (is this the first feature film to show the interior of Australia?), and strong direction from Australian Jack Lee

This film is in the same league as the series Tenko for it's realism. I have also watched the mini series which could have it's moments too but the film wins because of the fact that it was made around a decade after it had happened, when things must have been quite fresh in everyones minds. These women were taken captive as the men were but they were not wanted by anyone. These women were far away from home with no clothes apart from what they stood up in, no money and they didn't speak the language. Given those fact the thoughts are so scary!