The Bridge on the River Kwai The Bridge on the River Kwai The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British-American epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the novel "Le Pont de la Rivière Kwaï" (1952) by Pierre Boulle. The film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943. The cast included William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Alec Guinness, and Sessue Hayakawa. It was initially scripted by screenwriter Carl Foreman, who was later replaced by Michael Wilson. Both writers had to work in secret, as they were on the Hollywood blacklist and had fled to England in
The Man Who Never Was radio to expect a message from him in an hour, unless British counterintelligence comes for him. Montagu almost makes this very mistake, but realises in time why O'Reilly left his address and, with some difficulty, convinces his superiors not to order O'Reilly to be arrested. O'Reilly then sends a "Martin genuine!" radio message, and the Nazis transfer most of their Sicily-based forces to Greece, making the Allied deceit successful. After the war, Montagu leaves a medal he was awarded at the grave of "the man who never was". Operation "Mincemeat" involved the acquisition and dressing up of a human cadaver