The Bridge on the River Kwai Trivia

1. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" is set in a prison camp in Siam (now Thailand) during which 20th century war?

From Quiz David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai"

Answer: World War II

"The Bridge on the River Kwai" was set in 1942, shortly after the fall of Singapore. It begins with British troops being marched into the prison camp after their surrender to the Japanese at Singapore. While the story is fiction, the broader setting--including the construction of the Burmese railway--is based on historical events.

From Quiz The Bridge on the River Kwai

Answer: Colonel Bogey March

The Director, David Lean, wanted the soldiers to be singing a more vulgar version of this tune, regarding certain parts of Hitler's anatomy; however, the idea was rejected for it's vulgarity and the fact that the movie was primarily about the British and Japanese, not Germans. This note from Wikipedia explains the actual origin of the tune: "The "Colonel Bogey March" is a popular march that was written in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts (1881-1945), a British military bandmaster. Supposedly, the tune was inspired by a military man and golfer who whistled a characteristic two-note phrase (a descending minor third interval) instead of shouting "Fore!". It is this phrase that begins each line of the melody. Bogey is a golfing term meaning one over par."

From Quiz David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai"

Answer: Alec Guinness

Guinness starred in five other films directed by David Lean, the director of "The Bridge on the River Kwai": "Great Expectations"; "Oliver Twist"; "Lawrence of Arabia"; "Doctor Zhivago"; and "A Passage to India". And, rather famously, Guinness played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original "Star Wars" trilogy. Hayawaka, who portrayed Colonel Saito, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor but ended up losing to Red Buttons. Attenborough and Garner weren't in the film, but did star in another great WWII prison camp movie, "The Great Escape".

From Quiz The Bridge on the River Kwai

Answer: Pierre Boulle

Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson were also awarded the same Oscar for assisting Boulle, but never received it. According to IMDB.com, both Foreman and Wilson were blacklisted at the time and received no screen credit; however, they were posthumously awarded Oscars in 1984. Pierre Boulle was not present at the awards ceremony.

From Quiz David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai"

Answer: Officers performing manual labour

Colonel Saito instructed the prisoners that they would all be required to work on the bridge construction, without exception. Nicholson protested, pointing out that the Geneva Convention stipulates that prisoners of war of officer rank should not be made to perform manual labour. In response, Saito exclaimed, "Do not speak to me of rules. This is war! This is not a game of cricket!" Nicholson's strict adherence to rules and "proper" conduct was his character mark, and is considered by some viewers to be an unflattering comment on British military character in general.

From Quiz The Bridge on the River Kwai

Answer: Accountant

He had been an accountant in Montreal. According to Joyce, it was a frightful bore. He checked rows and columns of figures that three or four others had already checked and that three or four others would still check.

From Quiz David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai"

Answer: He was locked in an iron box in the blazing sun.

After their confrontation over the Geneva Convention, Saito left Nicholson and the other officers standing in the hot sun all day. When, by evening, Nicholson had not backed down, Saito had the officers locked in a punishment hut while Nicholson was thrown into a small iron box without food or water, and left there for days.

From Quiz The Bridge on the River Kwai

Answer: London Bridge

The trees in the forest were noted by Major Reeves, the engineer, as being similar to the elm pilings used in the London Bridge, which had stood for 600 years. Nicholson, in a dreamy voice, responded, "600 years."

From Quiz David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai"

Answer: Burma

While the events in the movie are fictional, the Burmese Railway was a real piece of infrastructure, constructed largely by forced labour during World War II. The railway connected Bangkok in Thailand to Rangoon in Burma--a distance of 415km--and facilitated the transport of supplies to Japanese troops in Burma. It is estimated that 180,000 Asian labourers and 60,000 prisoners of war worked on the railway, with more than 100,000 people losing their lives under the extremely harsh conditions.

From Quiz The Bridge on the River Kwai

Answer: Major Clipton, the camp doctor

Clipton said this as he sat on a stump high over everything, shaking his head, overlooking the destroyed bridge, the destroyed train, and the bodies of Saito, Nicholson, Shears and Joyce. He had quite a war. Throughout the movie, the character of Clipton acted as the practical, more "caring" side balanced against Nicholson's stern, "official" military persona. At one point, Nicholson told Clipton that he had a lot to learn about the army, though he was a fine doctor!

From Quiz David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai"

Answer: Saito would have to commit ritual suicide.

Saito became visibly and increasingly upset at the resilience of the British soldiers, and his officers' inability to force them to work faster. Eventually he released Nicholson and the other officers under the pretence of an act of clemency to mark the anniversary of a great Japanese victory over Russia. He was then humiliated by conceding to the British officers' plans to take over the construction management, even allowing his own soldiers to perform manual labour alongside the prisoners.

From Quiz The Bridge on the River Kwai

Answer: Major Warden

After Joyce killed Saito, Nicholson raised the alarm. Joyce was shot, so Shears attempted to cross the river and blow up the bridge. He was then shot as well. As he died, he looked up into the face of Nicholson, who in total disbelief said "you". The response from Shears, "you", was spoken with utter contempt. Major Warden, not knowing if Shears or Joyce were dead or just badly wounded, sent a mortar bomb directly at Shears that killed him, what was left of Joyce and mortally wounded Nicholson. At this point, Warden turned around and looked into the accusing eyes of the Burmese women porters (who had become close with Shears and Joyce in particular). His scream of "I had to, they could have been captured" captured the character's essence, that the mission was paramount.

From Quiz David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai"

Answer: To boost morale and demonstrate British superiority

While his fellow officers were reluctant to support the plan, even suggesting that it was tantamount to collaborating with the enemy, they couldn't deny the positive impact Nicholson's leadership had on the troops' discipline and morale. Nicholson saw the project as a way of immortalising the achievements of the British Army, even in captivity. As he explained to Major Clipton: "One day the war will be over. And I hope that the people that use this bridge in years to come will remember how it was built and who built it. Not a gang of slaves, but soldiers, British soldiers, Clipton, even in captivity."

From Quiz The Bridge on the River Kwai

Answer: Colonel Nicholson

After he was hit by the shrapnel from Warden's mortar, which killed Shears, Nicholson realized his errors. "What have I done", he stated, as he realized that his obsession over the bridge had not only ended in the deaths of allied soldiers, but that he had actually "collaborated" with the enemy. He staggered towards the detonator plunger and fell dead on top of it, just as the train was crossing the bridge, sending it cascading into the river below. A fantastic climax to a great movie.

From Quiz David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai"

Answer: William Holden

The role of Shears was expanded in the movie, compared to the source novel, and Holden was even given top billing over Alec Guinness' protagonist. This was intended to attract US audiences and capitalise on Holden's star power--he had previously received the Best Actor Academy Award nomination for "Sunset Boulevard" and won an Oscar for "Stalag 17". Holden served in World War II as a 2nd lieutenant in the First Motion Picture Unit of the United States Army Air Forces.

From Quiz The Bridge on the River Kwai

Answer: Worse

There were no fences at the camp, just the impenetrable jungle to keep the prisoners from escaping. Saito made it very clear to the new prisoners. Clearly, it was a miserable place. Later in the movie, Nicholson actually argued that since they had been ordered to surrender by HQ in London, trying to escape might actually be construed as going against a direct order.

From Quiz David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai"

Answer: He has been impersonating a dead officer.

The leader of the Special Forces commando unit, Major Warden, asked Shears to volunteer to go back with them, since he'd been there before and knew the terrain. In fact, he'd already had the mission cleared with the US Navy. Shears protested that the order didn't apply, since he wasn't really Commander Shears: when his ship sank he took the uniform of a dead officer in order to get preferential treatment as a prisoner of war. To his dismay, Warden knew all of this already, and pointed out that if the story became public Shears would have to be charged with a serious offense.

From Quiz The Bridge on the River Kwai

Answer: They made jokes that were not funny.

Saito just could not get over the fact that Nicholson would not allow his officers to do manual labor, in defiance of the Geneva Conventions. Saito, in accordance with the Japanese warriors code of Bushido, felt that the Geneva Conventions were a "coward's code".

From Quiz David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai"

Answer: He parachuted into a tree.

The commando force comprised Major Warden, the reluctant Shears, a young Canadian named Joyce and an officer named Chapman. Chapman only appears on screen briefly: he is the one who recommends Joyce join the team because of his strong swimming ability, and is described by Shears as having "ice in his veins". The next we see of Chapman is his lifeless body hanging from a tree in an unsuccessful dusk parachute attempt. Somewhat ironically, Shears parachuted into the jungle without any training because, it was reasoned, the odds of dying increased with each jump so he was better off not wasting his luck on practice jumps!

From Quiz David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai"

Answer: Major Warden

When Nicholson noticed the detonation wires he alerted Saito and both walked down to the river banks to investigate. Lieutenant Joyce stabbed Saito but although Nicholson recognised Joyce as a British officer, he called for help and tried to prevent Joyce from reaching the detonator. Joyce was shot by Japanese troops, as was Shears, while Warden fired a mortar that fatally wounded Nicholson. Realising in horror that he had unintentionally become a collaborator of the enemy, Nicholson stumbled towards the detonator and collapsed on it, destroying the bridge just as the train crossed over.

From Quiz David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai"

Answer: "Madness! Madness!"

"The Bridge on the River Kwai" can be viewed as a sombre critique of the madness of war, or it could be considered a very black comedy. The behaviour shown by a number of major characters could be considered insane by different viewers--adherence to rules above all else; willingness to kill oneself in the name of honour; single-minded focus on a goal with no regard to the costs of achieving it. Shears states this plainly, speaking to the leader of the British commando unit: "You and Colonel Nicholson, you're two of a kind, crazy with courage. For what? How to die like a gentleman...how to die by the rules - when the only important thing is how to live like a human being."

From Quiz David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai"

Answer: Colonel Bogey March

Many sets of lyrics, often crude, have been set to the tune. Arguably the most famous of these originated in England during the Second World War, titled "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball". Thus the film opened with candid black humour: prisoners of war, some injured, some wearing only the scraps of their uniform, marching with dignity yet mocking their enemy even in defeat. The opening scene captured the popular portrayal of the British soldier as proud, resilient and never beaten in spirit.

From Quiz David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai"

Answer: Pierre Boulle

During World War II the French Boulle served as a secret agent loyal to Charles de Gaulle in Indochina. He was captured in 1943 and subjected to forced labour. After the war he drew on his experiences for both fiction and non-fiction works. Although Boulle did not write the screenplay that adapted his book for film, he received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. This is because, in the post-war McCarthy era, the film's actual screenwriters (Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson) had been blacklisted as communist sympathisers.

This is category 21143

= Top 5% Rated Quiz, Top 10% Rated Quiz, Top 20% Rated Quiz, A Well Rated Quiz
= added recently, = Editor's Pick = FunTrivia Editor = Gold Member
Teachers / educators: FunTrivia welcomes the use of our website and quizzes in the classroom as a teaching aid or for preparing and testing students. See our education section. Our quizzes are printable and may be used as question sheets by k-12 teachers, parents, and home schoolers.

 ·  All questions, answers, and quiz content on this website is copyright FunTrivia, Inc and may not be reproduced without permission. Any images from TV shows and movies are copyright their studios, and are being used under "fair use" for commentary and education.