Three Came Home
Encyclopedia
Three Came Home is a post-war film made by Twentieth Century-Fox, based on the memoirs of the same name by writer Agnes Newton Keith
. It depicts Keith's life in North Borneo
in the period immediately before the Japanese invasion in 1942, and her subsequent internment and suffering, separated from her husband Harry
, and with a young son to care for. Keith was initially interned at Berhala Island
near Sandakan
, North Borneo
(today's Sabah
) but spent most of her captivity at Batu Lintang camp
at Kuching
, Sarawak
. The camp was liberated in September, 1945.
Adapted and produced by Nunnally Johnson
, directed by Jean Negulesco
, the film starred Claudette Colbert
in the lead role. The New York Times reviewer said, "It will shock you, disturb you, tear your heart out. But it will fill you fully with a great respect for a heroic soul."
The film is now in the public domain
and so is available to watch in its entirety online at no charge.
A second unit
filmed locations in Borneo for four weeks.
) live a cushioned colonial life in North Borneo
with their young son in 1942. After the Japanese invasion, they are interned and then taken to separate prison camps, one for men, the other for women and children. Amid the brutality of the internment camp, the camp commander Lieutenant-Colonel Suga
(Sessue Hayakawa
) is respectful to Mrs Keith because he is familiar with her work, and is shown to be kind to the children even when his own family has died in Hiroshima
.
described the film as "[w]ell-made, harrowing", assigning it ** (2 stars out of 4), a rarely-granted high rating.
Agnes Newton Keith
Agnes Jones Goodwillie Newton Keith was an American author best known for her three autobiographical accounts of life in North Borneo before, during, and after the Second World War...
. It depicts Keith's life in North Borneo
North Borneo
North Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1946. After the war it became a crown colony of Great Britain from 1946 to 1963, known in this time as British North Borneo. It is located on the northeastern end of the island of Borneo. It is...
in the period immediately before the Japanese invasion in 1942, and her subsequent internment and suffering, separated from her husband Harry
Harry Keith
Henry George Keith , known as Harry Keith, was a British forester and plant collector. Keith is credited with starting the process of large-scale conservation of the forests of North Borneo . In 1984 a new species of Rafflesia endemic to Sabah, Rafflesia keithii, was named in his honour...
, and with a young son to care for. Keith was initially interned at Berhala Island
Berhala Island, Sabah
Berhala Island is a small forested island situated in Sandakan Bay in Sandakan, Sabah, East Malaysia.The island is approximately 5 hectares in size and has prominent cliffs at its northern end...
near Sandakan
Sandakan
Sandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo. It is located on the east coast of the island and it is the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo...
, North Borneo
North Borneo
North Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1946. After the war it became a crown colony of Great Britain from 1946 to 1963, known in this time as British North Borneo. It is located on the northeastern end of the island of Borneo. It is...
(today's Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
) but spent most of her captivity at Batu Lintang camp
Batu Lintang camp
Batu Lintang camp at Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Borneo was a Japanese internment camp during the Second World War. It was unusual in that it housed both Allied prisoners of war and civilian internees...
at Kuching
Kuching
Kuching , officially the City of Kuching, and formerly the City of Sarawak, is the capital and most populous city of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is the largest city on the island of Borneo, and the fourth largest city in Malaysia....
, Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
. The camp was liberated in September, 1945.
Adapted and produced by Nunnally Johnson
Nunnally Johnson
Nunnally Hunter Johnson was an American filmmaker who wrote, produced, and directed motion pictures.Johnson was born in Columbus, Georgia. He began his career as a journalist, writing for the Columbus Enquirer Sun, the Savannah Press, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and the New York Herald Tribune...
, directed by Jean Negulesco
Jean Negulesco
Jean Negulesco was a Romanian-born American film director and screenwriter....
, the film starred Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
in the lead role. The New York Times reviewer said, "It will shock you, disturb you, tear your heart out. But it will fill you fully with a great respect for a heroic soul."
The film is now in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
and so is available to watch in its entirety online at no charge.
A second unit
Second unit
In film, the second unit is a team that shoots subsidiary footage for a motion picture. Its work is distinct from that of the first unit, which shoots all scenes involving principal actors...
filmed locations in Borneo for four weeks.
Plot outline
American-born Agnes Keith (Colbert) and her British husband (Patric KnowlesPatric Knowles
Reginald Lawrence Knowles was an English film actor who renamed himself Patric Knowles, a name which reflects his Irish descent. He appeared in films of the 1930s through the 1970s...
) live a cushioned colonial life in North Borneo
North Borneo
North Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1946. After the war it became a crown colony of Great Britain from 1946 to 1963, known in this time as British North Borneo. It is located on the northeastern end of the island of Borneo. It is...
with their young son in 1942. After the Japanese invasion, they are interned and then taken to separate prison camps, one for men, the other for women and children. Amid the brutality of the internment camp, the camp commander Lieutenant-Colonel Suga
Tatsuji Suga
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Imperial Japanese Army was the commander of all prisoner-of-war and civilian internment camps in Borneo, during World War II. Suga committed suicide five days after being taken prisoner by Australian forces in September 1945.-Early life:Suga was born in Hiroshima, the...
(Sessue Hayakawa
Sessue Hayakawa
was a Japanese and American Issei actor who starred in American, Japanese, French, German, and British films. Hayakawa was the first and one of the few Asian actors to find stardom in the United States as well as Europe. Between the mid-1910s and the late 1920s, he was as well known as actors...
) is respectful to Mrs Keith because he is familiar with her work, and is shown to be kind to the children even when his own family has died in Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
.
Cast
- Claudette ColbertClaudette ColbertClaudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
... Agnes Newton KeithAgnes Newton KeithAgnes Jones Goodwillie Newton Keith was an American author best known for her three autobiographical accounts of life in North Borneo before, during, and after the Second World War... - Patric KnowlesPatric KnowlesReginald Lawrence Knowles was an English film actor who renamed himself Patric Knowles, a name which reflects his Irish descent. He appeared in films of the 1930s through the 1970s...
... Harry KeithHarry KeithHenry George Keith , known as Harry Keith, was a British forester and plant collector. Keith is credited with starting the process of large-scale conservation of the forests of North Borneo . In 1984 a new species of Rafflesia endemic to Sabah, Rafflesia keithii, was named in his honour... - Florence DesmondFlorence DesmondFlorence Desmond was the stage name of Florence Dawson, an English actress, comedienne and impersonator....
... Betty Sommers - Sessue HayakawaSessue Hayakawawas a Japanese and American Issei actor who starred in American, Japanese, French, German, and British films. Hayakawa was the first and one of the few Asian actors to find stardom in the United States as well as Europe. Between the mid-1910s and the late 1920s, he was as well known as actors...
... Colonel SugaTatsuji SugaLieutenant-Colonel of the Imperial Japanese Army was the commander of all prisoner-of-war and civilian internment camps in Borneo, during World War II. Suga committed suicide five days after being taken prisoner by Australian forces in September 1945.-Early life:Suga was born in Hiroshima, the... - Sylvia Andrew ... Henrietta
- Mark Keuning ... George Keith
- Phyllis MorrisPhyllis Morris-Early career:Phyllis Morris was an American furniture designer known for her colorful persona, her outspokenness on decorating and her distinctive furniture and interior designs, especially her large and highly decorative beds...
... Sister Rose - Howard Chuman ... Lieutenant Nekata
Critical reception
In August 1976, Leslie HalliwellLeslie Halliwell
Robert James Leslie Halliwell was a British film encyclopaedist and television impresario who in 1965 compiled The Filmgoer's Companion, the first one-volume encyclopaedia devoted to all aspects of the cinema. He followed it a dozen years later with Halliwell's Film Guide, another monumental work...
described the film as "[w]ell-made, harrowing", assigning it ** (2 stars out of 4), a rarely-granted high rating.
External links
- Variety review (extract from Variety's contemporary review of the film)
- Time Contemporary review of the book
- Agnes Newton Keith (1946, Reprint 2008) Three Came Home