[go: up one dir, main page]

    Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysSan Diego Comic-ConSummer Watch GuideToronto Int'l Film FestivalIMDb Stars to WatchSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

The Bamboo Prison

  • 1954
  • Approved
  • 1h 19m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
287
YOUR RATING
Dianne Foster, Robert Francis, and Keye Luke in The Bamboo Prison (1954)
Corporal Brady (Brian Keith) an American soldier captured during the Korean War, is taken to a POW camp. There he meets Sergeant Rand (Robert Francis) a prisoner who is cooperating with the North Koreans. Brady is disgusted by these actions, but he soon discovers that Rand is actually an intelligence officer playing along to access important secrets. Rand also becomes close to Tanya Clanton (Dianne Foster), the wife of an American traitor, in order to exact information.
Play trailer2:01
1 Video
3 Photos
DramaWar

Corporal Brady (Brian Keith) an American soldier captured during the Korean War, is taken to a POW camp. There he meets Sergeant Rand (Robert Francis) a prisoner who is cooperating with the ... Read allCorporal Brady (Brian Keith) an American soldier captured during the Korean War, is taken to a POW camp. There he meets Sergeant Rand (Robert Francis) a prisoner who is cooperating with the North Koreans. Brady is disgusted by these actions, but he soon discovers that Rand is rea... Read allCorporal Brady (Brian Keith) an American soldier captured during the Korean War, is taken to a POW camp. There he meets Sergeant Rand (Robert Francis) a prisoner who is cooperating with the North Koreans. Brady is disgusted by these actions, but he soon discovers that Rand is really an intelligence officer playing along to access important secrets. Rand also becomes c... Read all

  • Director
    • Lewis Seiler
  • Writers
    • Edwin Blum
    • Jack DeWitt
  • Stars
    • Robert Francis
    • Dianne Foster
    • Brian Keith
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.0/10
    287
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Lewis Seiler
    • Writers
      • Edwin Blum
      • Jack DeWitt
    • Stars
      • Robert Francis
      • Dianne Foster
      • Brian Keith
    • 12User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:01
    Official Trailer

    Photos2

    View Poster
    View Poster

    Top cast52

    Edit
    Robert Francis
    Robert Francis
    • MSgt. John A. Rand
    Dianne Foster
    Dianne Foster
    • Tanya Clayton
    Brian Keith
    Brian Keith
    • Cpl. Brady
    Jerome Courtland
    Jerome Courtland
    • Arkansas
    E.G. Marshall
    E.G. Marshall
    • Father Francis Dolan
    Earle Hyman
    Earle Hyman
    • Doc Jackson, medic
    Jack Kelly
    Jack Kelly
    • Slade
    Richard Loo
    Richard Loo
    • Commandant Hsai Tung
    Keye Luke
    Keye Luke
    • Comrade-Instructor Li Ching
    Murray Matheson
    Murray Matheson
    • Comrade Clayton
    King Donovan
    King Donovan
    • Pop
    Dickie Jones
    Dickie Jones
    • P.O.W. Jackie
    • (as Dick Jones)
    Pepe Hern
    • Ramírez
    Leo Gordon
    Leo Gordon
    • Pike
    Weaver Levy
    • Meatball
    Ralph Ahn
    Ralph Ahn
    • Korean Guard
    • (uncredited)
    James Anderson
    James Anderson
    • Progressive
    • (uncredited)
    John Beradino
    John Beradino
    • Progressive
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Lewis Seiler
    • Writers
      • Edwin Blum
      • Jack DeWitt
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews12

    6.0287
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    8clanciai

    Double cross all around with spies galore all spying on each other

    The main asset of this muddled espionage business in a Chinese prison camp during the Korean War is the great good humour among the prisoners, who are amazingly cheerful all the way although that life in Chinese war prison camps must have been worse than hell, but they make it a sparkling entertainment by all their innovations, pranks, jokes and shows, giving almost the impression that it must have been a jolly ride to happen to be imprisoned there in such good company. Of course, the grimness and cruelty is also there, those Chinese guards and officers are not to be trifled with, they can't appreciate jokes, and when they find out they are having their legs pulled they start shooting. One of the best scenes is the great fight among the prisoners towards the end which plunges the whole camp into chaos, just to enable the escape of one prisoner, but that is really jolly good fun. The intrigue is interesting, the unexpected love affair offers some change to the greyness of prison life, and all the actors are convincing enough, especially the prisoners.
    6CinemaSerf

    The Bamboo Prison

    Brian Keith is adequate here as the all-American "Brady" who is taken to a POW camp during the Korean War. It's there that encounters the ostensibly collaborative "Rand" (Robert Francis) who has befriended "Tanya" (Dianne Foster) who is, herself, married to another whose loyalties are distinctly questionable. Pretty quickly we learn that nobody is quite who they seem and with a backdrop of severe torture, manipulation and fear we find that each of the Americans now suspect the other and are constantly trying to vie for the upper hand - all under the outwardly benign gaze of "Fr. Dolan" (EG Marshall) who has, himself, been imprisoned by the communists. It's actually quite a simple story designed to highlight the atrocities carried out against the Allies by the commies despite the provisions of the Geneva Convention. It has plenty of plausibility issues, though. None of the prisoners look especially emaciated - clean shaven with Colgate smiles; the casting is pretty weak and the dialogue does little to develop the sense of peril that the imagery lays before us. There isn't much chemistry on display, either, and I found the on/off romance stuff just clogged up what could have been quite an intriguing fifth-column, who-to-trust affair. Essentially this is a piece of propaganda and though doubtless routed in aspects of truth, to some degree, it is just a bit too much of a blunt instrument for me.
    6richardchatten

    I Was a Prisoner in Korea

    Films about the Korean War show that it was far more a conflict of competing ideologies than of competing nations, hence the frequent stress on prisoners' vulnerability to brainwashing. As in 'Stalag 17' - by the same author - rest assured (SPOILER COMING) that when a prisoner seems to be selling out it's always just a ruse.
    3bkoganbing

    Cold War Relic

    It is certainly interesting to see The Bamboo Prison from a 62 year old perspective from the start of the Korean War. I doubt this film would ever be made today. Hogan's Heroes gives this film a run for verisimilitude.

    By 1954 tales of the horrors and depredations that Allied prisoners endured were well known and widely circulated in America. But this was the midst of the Cold War and films about the ruthless Red Menace were pretty popular that year. But this one really stands out. It's even got a little romance in it if you can believe.

    Robert Francis plays a 'progressive' which means here a prisoner who's seen the light and is now a thoroughgoing Das Kapital believing Marxist converted through reading the 'truth' about Communism in the POW camp. He's in charge of a barracks full of reactionaries meaning the prisoners who resist indoctrination and one of his rewards is decent food and a cot to sleep on.

    Brian Keith is one of the other prisoners who is an agent filtered in from the allied side to get information on POW treatment as the peace talks go endlessly on at Panmunjom. How he gets it out is for you to see the film for.

    There are some Russians here as well, supervising in the near distance, Commissar Murray Matheson and his wife, former Ballerina Dianne Foster who admits she married him to advance in the Soviet society. Girl's got to do what a girl's got to do. She takes a look at the hunky Francis and she and Francis are kanoodling hot and heavy. Of course he's got his own agenda as does she, but talk about prisoner perks. William Holden didn't have it that good with the Russian women prisoners in Stalag 17.

    These Communists just like the Nazis in Stalag 17 have an informer among the prisoners. But when you see who it is, the reaction of the movie-going public in 1954 was, is there nothing these dirty Reds won't stoop to?

    Of course the depredations and horrors in Korean POW camps were quite real. North Korea sad to say has had time stand still and they've made the slogan for Korea as the Hermit Kingdom quite real. Like Prussia it's a state supporting an army. This film however is laughable in its Cold War mindset, a relic of bygone and begone years.
    6atlasmb

    Lukewarm Drama Pales In Comparison To Its Predecessor

    When the WWII drama "Stalag 17" came out in 1953, it had the benefit of the talents of Billy Wilder as director and writer. It was also co-written by Edwin Blum, whose talents I had never noticed before.

    But in 1954, "The Bamboo Prison" was released, also co-written by Edwin Blum. The film, like "Stalag 17", takes place in a POW camp. Though it's a Korean War camp, the similarities between the two scripts are noticeable, e.g. the main character (Sgt. John Rand played by Robert Francis) is hated by his fellow prisoners because he carves out a profitable and semi-comfortable life for himself while in captivity.

    But director Lewis Seiler is no Billy Wilder, Robert Francis is no William Holden, and "The Bamboo Prison" is certainly no "Stalag 17". Francis, who only appeared in four films before perishing in a crash of the plane he was piloting, tries to bring a weighty seriousness to his role, but struggles to carry the lead. His Sgt. Rand cooperates with the Communists and spouts anti-capitalist rhetoric that might have been polarizing in its day (right after the Korean conflict ended), but is often voiced by the political left in America today. Likewise the calculated black rights sentiments voiced by the Communists.

    The comedy elements feel forced and much less successful than in "Stalag 17". The opening scenes of a 40-day Bataan Death March-like struggle by the new prisoners feel tacked on and ineffective. In he end, there is little to recommend this shallow POW story.

    More like this

    Police internationale
    6.2
    Police internationale
    Alaska Seas
    6.0
    Alaska Seas
    Pour que les autres vivent
    7.5
    Pour que les autres vivent
    Sables mouvants
    6.6
    Sables mouvants
    Le criminel mystérieux
    6.2
    Le criminel mystérieux
    La ruée sanglante
    6.0
    La ruée sanglante
    Ce n'est qu'un au revoir...
    7.2
    Ce n'est qu'un au revoir...
    Cone of Silence
    6.5
    Cone of Silence
    Le crime était signé
    6.3
    Le crime était signé
    L'enfer du Pacifique
    6.2
    L'enfer du Pacifique
    Les vainqueurs
    6.9
    Les vainqueurs
    Le destin est au tournant
    6.9
    Le destin est au tournant

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Robert Francis and Jack Kelly appeared in "They Rode West" (1954).
    • Quotes

      Tanya Clayton: [Sgt. Rand has unexpectedly kissed her on the mouth, leading her to believe he may be abusing his status as a "progressive" - an allied P.O.W. who's converted to Communism] You are taking too much for granted, Sergeant.

      MSgt. John A. Rand: Am I?

      Tanya Clayton: Yes. Because you see, I do not like "progressives."

      MSgt. John A. Rand: No foolin'. How come?

      Tanya Clayton: I do not like "progressives" because I hate and despise Communists. They're all of the same breed: men who have ceased to be men.

      MSgt. John A. Rand: You can get 50 years in a work camp for that.

      Tanya Clayton: I have been threatened with work camp before. Take your hat, Comrade, and yourself and your armband and get out!

    • Connections
      Referenced in Missing Reel: Women in Prison (2014)

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ1

    • Chicago Opening Took Place When?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 1954 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • I Was a Prisoner in Korea
    • Production company
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 19m(79 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.