The Virgin Soldiers

I saw this film on late-night TV in the 1970's, a few years after doing a tour in Vietnam as a 20-year-old GI in the US Army. Even though it's a different time and a different war, I really thought "The Virgin Soldiers" captured a lot of the feeling of a young, western soldier serving in a confusing, brutal, sometimes even humorous Asian war zone. One of the most realistic things was, these guys were young, like most soldiers in most wars, kind of scared, and having to face the reality of shooting the guy in the other uniform before he shoots you. And I definitely recognized a fair number of the characters, especially the sergeants. War movies often stereotype or simplify the NCO's. In reality, and in this movie, some of them are bullies, some are flat-out cowards, and some are competent, quietly heroic people who do their best to keep their troops alive in the combat zone. War is not a good thing, but how people cope (or don't cope) with it will always be a fascinating topic. I highly recommend this film...wish it was on tape or DVD.

Not a normal war movie, this is a well acted study about the unpredictable fortunes of life. A British Army private in Singapore during the Malaysian uprising experiences the boredom of garrison duty, the search for sex and love, and finally the terror of combat. The movie has many interesting twists and turns that illustrate the random quality of luck. The private's girlfriend finally decides to surrender her virginity - only mistakenly offers it to the wrong soldier! Soldiers die accidently, without reason. And when the private panics, and flees combat, he ends up becoming a hero! At the end of the movie the private paraphrases his discoveries - "That's life, isn't it".

I remember first seeing this as a ten year old in the mid 1970s and being very confused , you see I was under the impression that this was going to be a war film , but was disappointed there wasn`t much fighting in it . I was also utterly confused by the tone of the film as there was bits that I took to be funny but didn`t make me laugh

I did see THE VIRGIN SOLDIERS a couple of more times when I was much older and understood it better , this is a black comedy , a very black one about the exploits of private Briggs a young soldier doing his national service out in Malaya during the state of emergency in the early 1950s and I guess it`s a fairly good indication of what life was like for a great number of young lads inducted into the British army at the time . If the film has a problem being viewed today it`s down to the fact that it`s difficult not to judge it against Vietnam war films like PLATOON ( Both films feature a plot between two sergeants who hate one another ) and FULL METAL JACKET ( Another black comedy dealing with a conflict in the far east ) , but THE VIRGIN SOLDIERS should be judged on its own merits . I found it as an adult both funny and scathing

I loved both the film and the book of "The Virgin Soldiers", but I personally believe that "The Green Virgin Corporal" is a better book and would make an excellent film. The "Green Virgin Corporal" is a story very similar to the "The Virgin Soldiers" and was about a naïve corporal who served in Malaya about the same time as time described in "The Virgin Soldiers". The book "The Green Virgin Corporal" is available through Amazon Books

Having seen this again i must say it gets better. I view it from the perspective of a soldier serving in Malaya, as it was at the time, in the mid-1950's the period in which the film is set. So much of the behaviour is very true to the real thing. In fact i almost see it as a commentary on army life at the time. The plot is almost credible , you would have to have been there. The 'atmosphere' of the period and place is captured in the b+w format. If anyone wants to know what army life was like in mid 1950's Malaya then this film will tell you more than any academic study. It certainly reflects the peculiar fun and horrors of National Service life. The plot thins towards the end but what precedes it makes viewing worth while.