The Virgin Soldiers
Encyclopedia
The Virgin Soldiers is a 1966 comic novel by Leslie Thomas
, inspired by his own experiences of National Service
in the British Army
.
The novel was turned into a film The Virgin Soldiers in 1969, directed by John Dexter
, with a screenplay by the British screenwriter
John Hopkins
. It starred Hywel Bennett
, Nigel Patrick
and Lynn Redgrave
. A sequel, Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers, followed in 1977 with Nigel Davenport
repeating his role as Sgt Driscoll. David Bowie
cut his hair short to audition for a role, which he didn't receive.
soldier named Private Brigg; a worldly professional soldier named Sergeant Driscoll, and Phillipa Raskin, the daughter of the Regimental Sergeant Major
. The location is a British army base in Singapore during the Malayan Emergency
.
Brigg and Phillipa are virgins in every sense of the word; they're both barely out of adolescence. Brigg is fearful of Phillipa's father and hardly dares go near her. He is equally afraid of the Malayan and Chinese prostitutes in the nearby city. His only outlet is with his mates in the barracks, who fantasize endlessly about what they might do without actually knowing how to go ahead and do it.
Phillipa is getting more and more rebellious, eventually setting herself up with Sgt. Driscoll as a lover while she leads Brigg on in the romance department. Brigg, meanwhile, has finally summoned up the courage and the cash to approach a prostitute, called Juicy Lucy by the troops. The encounter starts out disastrously, but after Lucy realizes Brigg is a virgin, she takes pity on him and begins his education in her own way. This develops into a long-term relationship, at least for Brigg, who she calls affectionately "Bigg". Brigg tries not to think about what Lucy does when he is not with her.
Driscoll is seething with his own inner demons. He keeps taunting a Sgt. Wellbeloved with the phrase "Rusty nails!". Wellbeloved boasts constantly of keeping the Japanese busy during WW2, as a one-man guerilla army. Towards the end of the tale, the secret is revealed: Wellbeloved was a coward, and Rusty Nails was the nickname of the soldier he betrayed to the Japanese. Driscoll beats Wellbeloved into a pulp on behalf of the victim.
The novel crystallizes around violent incidents involving rioting in the city and an attack by Communist guerillas on a train. Several of Brigg's friends are killed. Brigg tries to find Lucy for solace, only to be told she was beaten to death by soldiers.
(In the film, the locomotive destroyed was one of the last four used to haul mainline BR steam - the famous Fifteen Guinea Special
.)
Mere days before he is to be sent home, he confronts Phillipa with his frustrations, with unexpectedly pleasant results. For Phillipa, however, he is a passing fancy. Her Sergeant awaits ...
Eventually Brigg and his remaining friends are about to embark for home. The final scene has them shouting the name of a laundryman whom Brigg's has mistakenly shot in the hand in an earlier episode, a certain Fuk Yew. It symbolizes their relation to Malaya, and Malaya to them, when the tailor responds with the appropriate hand signal, using his damaged hand.
One may compare the British-made 'Virgin Soldiers' serving out their 2 years of National Service in Malaya, with the American-made 'MASH
' portraying US soldiers serving out their 2 years of the draft in Korea
in the same period. There is a stark difference in the style of the humour.
Leslie Thomas
Leslie Thomas, OBE is a British author.- Virgin Soldiers :His novels about 1950s British National Service such as "The Virgin Soldiers" spawned two film versions, in 1969 and 1977, whilst his Tropic of Ruislip and Dangerous Davies, The Last Detective have been adapted for television Leslie...
, inspired by his own experiences of National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
.
The novel was turned into a film The Virgin Soldiers in 1969, directed by John Dexter
John Dexter
John Dexter was an English theatre, opera, and film director.- Theatre :Born in Derby, England, Dexter left school at the age of fourteen to serve in the British army during World War II. Following the war, he began working as a stage actor before turning to producing and directing shows for...
, with a screenplay by the British screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
John Hopkins
John Hopkins (writer)
John Richard Hopkins was an English film, stage, and television writer.Born in southwest London, he graduated from St Catharine's College, Cambridge...
. It starred Hywel Bennett
Hywel Bennett
Hywel Thomas Bennett is a Welsh film and television actor. Bennett is best known for his recurring title role as James Shelley in the television sitcom Shelley from 1979 to 1984 and its sequel The Return of Shelley from 1988 to 1992....
, Nigel Patrick
Nigel Patrick
Nigel Patrick was an English actor and stage director born into a theatrical family.-Biography:...
and Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Rachel Redgrave, OBE was an English actress.A member of the well-known British family of actors, Redgrave trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962...
. A sequel, Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers, followed in 1977 with Nigel Davenport
Nigel Davenport
Nigel Davenport is an English stage, television and film actor.- Early life :Davenport was born Arthur Nigel Davenport, however he goes by the first name of Nigel. Davenport was born in Shelford, Cambridgeshire, the son of Katherine Lucy and Arthur Henry Davenport. Davenport's father was a bursar...
repeating his role as Sgt Driscoll. David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
cut his hair short to audition for a role, which he didn't receive.
Plot summary
The core of the plot is the romantic triangle formed by the protagonist, a conscriptedConscription in the United Kingdom
Conscription in the United Kingdom has existed for two periods in modern times. The first was from 1916 to 1919, the second was from 1939 to 1960, with the last conscripted soldiers leaving the service in 1963...
soldier named Private Brigg; a worldly professional soldier named Sergeant Driscoll, and Phillipa Raskin, the daughter of the Regimental Sergeant Major
Regimental Sergeant Major
Regimental Sergeant Major is an appointment held by warrant officers class 1 in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many Commonwealth nations, including Australia and New Zealand; and by chief warrant officers in the Canadian Forces...
. The location is a British army base in Singapore during the Malayan Emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
.
Brigg and Phillipa are virgins in every sense of the word; they're both barely out of adolescence. Brigg is fearful of Phillipa's father and hardly dares go near her. He is equally afraid of the Malayan and Chinese prostitutes in the nearby city. His only outlet is with his mates in the barracks, who fantasize endlessly about what they might do without actually knowing how to go ahead and do it.
Phillipa is getting more and more rebellious, eventually setting herself up with Sgt. Driscoll as a lover while she leads Brigg on in the romance department. Brigg, meanwhile, has finally summoned up the courage and the cash to approach a prostitute, called Juicy Lucy by the troops. The encounter starts out disastrously, but after Lucy realizes Brigg is a virgin, she takes pity on him and begins his education in her own way. This develops into a long-term relationship, at least for Brigg, who she calls affectionately "Bigg". Brigg tries not to think about what Lucy does when he is not with her.
Driscoll is seething with his own inner demons. He keeps taunting a Sgt. Wellbeloved with the phrase "Rusty nails!". Wellbeloved boasts constantly of keeping the Japanese busy during WW2, as a one-man guerilla army. Towards the end of the tale, the secret is revealed: Wellbeloved was a coward, and Rusty Nails was the nickname of the soldier he betrayed to the Japanese. Driscoll beats Wellbeloved into a pulp on behalf of the victim.
The novel crystallizes around violent incidents involving rioting in the city and an attack by Communist guerillas on a train. Several of Brigg's friends are killed. Brigg tries to find Lucy for solace, only to be told she was beaten to death by soldiers.
(In the film, the locomotive destroyed was one of the last four used to haul mainline BR steam - the famous Fifteen Guinea Special
Fifteen Guinea Special
The IT57 'Fifteen Guinea Special was the last main-line passenger train to be hauled by steam locomotive power on British Railways on 11 August 1968 before the introduction of a steam ban that started the following day...
.)
Mere days before he is to be sent home, he confronts Phillipa with his frustrations, with unexpectedly pleasant results. For Phillipa, however, he is a passing fancy. Her Sergeant awaits ...
Eventually Brigg and his remaining friends are about to embark for home. The final scene has them shouting the name of a laundryman whom Brigg's has mistakenly shot in the hand in an earlier episode, a certain Fuk Yew. It symbolizes their relation to Malaya, and Malaya to them, when the tailor responds with the appropriate hand signal, using his damaged hand.
One may compare the British-made 'Virgin Soldiers' serving out their 2 years of National Service in Malaya, with the American-made 'MASH
MASH (film)
MASH is a 1970 American satirical dark comedy film directed by Robert Altman and written by Ring Lardner, Jr., based on Richard Hooker's novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. It is the only feature film in the M*A*S*H franchise...
' portraying US soldiers serving out their 2 years of the draft in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
in the same period. There is a stark difference in the style of the humour.
External links
- The Virgin Soldiers at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...