A Town Like Alice

1956 B&W.This movie is TERRIBLE. I like the book & 1981 miniseries not yet streaming (Amazon are,you listening?). A very dear, based on actual occurrences, story written just after Neill Shute moved to Australia.This movie left Much out or changed for 50s dramatic effect. Stereotyped Japanese characters, not as good as 1981. At all.Amazon, please make the 1981 miniseries available. IT follows the book almost word for word.From the book:"in Sumatra. Mrs. Geysel had been a member of that party. When she was taken prisoner she was a slight, pretty girl of twenty-one, recently married; she had a baby six months old, and a very robust sense of humour. In the years that followed Mrs. Geysel marched over twelve hundred miles carrying her baby, in circumstances similar to those which I have described. "

The source novel was one of Shute's best, written after his emigration to Australia. His novels during this period were unadulterated hymns to Australia.The source novel has two very distinct halves: the first deals with the extraordinary (and fact-based) march around and across occupied Malaya by British women and children. There is a brief (and credibility-stretching) link involving the independent desires of the hero and heroine to re-establish contact with each other. The final half of the book addresses their joint desire to create "A Town Like Alice" (Springs) in the Queensland outback.The film does a splendid job in recreating the suffering and achievement of the march. The complicated catchup between the two is dealt with in a most perfunctory manner and there is nothing whatsoever about the creation of A Town Like Alice.Those who have not read the novel might feel impressed by the depiction of the march. Those who are familiar with the novel wil probably feel let down by the omission of the second half and the perfunctory treatment of how the hero and heroine met up after the war.

This is a good version of the book and movie but really a teaser. The acting and photography are professional and story line is accurate. But it ends about half or two thirds thru the book and the Australian mini-series. So you miss everything that happens when she goes to Australia, which is a lot! I bought this because it's very hard to find the mini-series on DVD, it's out there but expensive. I bought this just as a substitute. The book is awesome and could be taught on many levels. I can't wait for the full DVD to be released. I probably would have given this 3.5 stars because it is cut short.

I had already seen the miniseries before buying this movie. I really wanted to see this movie because I am a fan of Virginia McKenna and a fan of WW 2 stories. Read the book and/or see the miniseries before seeing this, and you will not be disappointed. True that it leaves out what happens to her in Australia which is why you should see the miniseries first, but if you like Miss McKenna and WW2 stories about Japanese occupied countries and the people there, get this movie! Also if you like war torn romance!

In a single "episode", this based-on-real-events movie is true to the book, a much older rendition that I only recently discovered. I have watched several times the Masterpiece Theater mini-series of the book from decades ago. I enjoyed the casts of both this movie and the mini-series, lovely photography, and a poignant reminder of how war affects many more than those who fight in them. It is a tale of romance and bravery.

This was a gift but the recipient was very happy to receive it. I have an older DVD of this film in Region 2 format so I can't rate the quality of this DVD release. It is a good film about a different aspect of WW2 than Americans typically see. If you liked the old Bryan Brown miniseries of this story (based on Neville Shute's novel) this movie is about the POWs in Malaya, not the Australia portion of the novel (but it didn't have as much time as the miniseries to tell it's story).

bought as a gift, a Pastor had heard of it and expressed such a strong interest in it to me. thrilled to find it on Amazon, so bought it for him, he was thrilled.

this is a story of a group of women and children who where captured during the 2 world war yet never put into a camp, instead walked from camp to camp until settling in a village for the remaining of the war. This story is fiction, but based on real life.It also is a story of how one woman cared enough to change a small out back town into a place that people WANT to come to. Excellent story from Nevil Shulte.I suggest that you also read or listen to the book that this movie was based on for more continuation of the story

It is a classic black and white film which tells a story based in truth. The Japanese didn't want a bunch of women prisoners so they put a soldier in charge of them and marched them from one place to another. Virginia McKenna looked good throughout and turned in a fine performance as did the rest of the cast.This one is a must see.

I ordered a Town Like Alice on Blu Ray and DVD. They sent me two discs both for Region 1 which is OK for Americans but not for someone with my address. Their consideration for their customers could be improved. They also sent me two repeat two Hoover Whirlwind cleaners. I asked only for one. They refuse to collect the second box and expect me to post it it back to them.

EXCELLENT! This is a very good adaptation of an exceptionnally brilliant novel. I liked this film a lot, even if it is absolutely heartbreaking for most of its duration. Below, more of my impressions, with some limited SPOILERS.In post-Second World War London, a young woman, Jean Paget (Virginia McKenna), inherits a large sum of money. Asked by her sollicitor what she wants to do with it, Jean answers "I want to go to a small village in Malaya and build a well". Seeing the surprise of the lawyer, she starts telling him the story of her tribulations in Malaya during WWII - and with this the story begins...This is the adaptation of a wonderful novel by Nevil Shute and it follows the book quite faithfully - although only the first half of it. The main character, Jean Paget, is a genuine power woman, in the best meaning of the term - nothing to do with feminazi hysteria... She will face all the ordeals the cruel war time will throw at her with amazing strength of mind (if not always body) and a dignity which forces respect. She will also meet, in most horrible circumstances, a certain Joe Harman (Peter Finch), a guy somehow simpler than her - but if possible even more courageous and as noble as one can imagine a man. Joe and Jean story in those horrible war time will be short and ultimately simple - but as intense as possible... I will say no more about it.This film shows well the horrible suffering of white civilians who were seized by the Japanese during WWII - however, being made in 1956, it doesn't show the worse crimes... But it is still a horrible, horrible story, which will break your heart at every step the women and children shown here make - before offering just a tiny little bit of, well, something else, just towards the end.The fact that this film doesn't cover the second part of the book makes it almost impossible to understand why the heck the title is "A town like Alice" - but on another hand, once you watched it, you can read the book and still be impressed by it, as it contains many a treasure not treated on the screen.The one thing I missed a lot in this film is that Joe Harman never says "Oh my word" - something that in the book is his personal version of comas and dots in almost every sentence...)))I liked this film a lot, I was impressed by the actors, it shocked and moved me and I will definitely watch it again - and therefore this DVD is a keeper. ENJOY!

Having lived in Singapore in the 50s and frequently visited Malaysia in those days, ie not long after the war, I can appreciate the film's realistic background, landscape and plot. McKenna's acting is excellent as usual

If a film has Virginia McKenna and Peter Finch in, you have a bloody good film. See how the Japanese treat our own women in this second world war drama. A very moving film well worth buying and watching. I give it 10 out of 10. It is filmed in Black / White. But is very impressive to watch. PC. 14. 11. 2018.