In this Second World War prison drama set in a Japanese PoW camp, George Segal plays the opportunist and arch-manipulator who is the custodian of everything of value, from coffee to rats. It's a great performance - he is the sole American amid the pukka English accents and class warfare of James Fox, Tom Courtenay and Denholm Elliott. Directed by Bryan Forbes from James Clavell's novel, and shot in Hollywood (not that you'd notice), this gripping if overlong film is also notable for one of John Barry's finest musical scores.

When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, the Allied POWs, mostly British but including a few Americans, were incarcerated in Changi prison. Among the American prisoners is Cpl. King, a wheeler-dealer who has managed to establish a pretty good life for himself in the camp. King soon forms a friendship with an upper-class British officer who is fascinated with King's enthusiastic approach to life.