Homo-erotic war film
King Rat is a unique war film especially for it's time, 1965. The Great Escape is the best of the prisoner of war camp films. Stalag 17 comes in at a close second. This is naturally just my opinion and is subjective. Both films deal with the hardships of being a prisoner of war. They both deal with death. Yet they have moments of light heartedness. It is almost like you might want to have experienced what they went through. Not in King Rat. It James Clavell's novel wich the film ws based on, shows the audiance a diferrent side of the prisoner of war camp. The dog eat dog side. In the Great Escape it is shown that all the men worked together for the common good. Sure Steve McQueen's Hilts is a loner and makes lone escape attempts but finally he joins the team and everyone is fighting together against the "Hun". In King Rat we get a bleak picture. Not for a million bucks would I want to hang out at this camp. It is filled with cheats and and swindlers. These men would do anything to get an extra ration of food even if it meant another mate would go hungry. Definately not the type of attitude shown in The Great Escape. We find George Segal aptly named Cpl. King running the camp like a king. Pardon the pun. But that is the point. He is supposed to be the King. Men of higher rank fear him. They suck up to him and curry favor just to get a cigerette but. One day King spots James Fox who plays Marlowe. This is where the homo-erotic theme comes in. Marlowe is even dressed in a native skirt. Lending to the feeling of femininity. King takes a shine to him. Through out the movie they fall in love or at least that is my take. I will not go into specifics as not to give away spoilers. But at the end of the movie when they are finally rescued and they are to be sent home. Segal rejects Fox. Fox declares his feelings for Segal saying that he was not ashamed of what they had. Naturally for 1965 you have to read between the lines because the times prevented homosexuality to be shown openly. Yet one needs not to be a rocket scientist to see the love these men had for each other. All in all it is a bleak film. Showing the worst aspects of mankind. Lacking the comraderie that The Great Escape had. But all in all it is an very good film though, dark as it is.
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