The Bridge on the River Kwai by the other prisoners. Julie Summers, in her book "The Colonel of Tamarkan", writes that Boulle, who had been a prisoner of war in Thailand, created the fictional Nicholson character as an amalgam of his memories of collaborating French officers. He strongly denied the claim that the book was anti-British, although many involved in the film itself (including Alec Guinness) felt otherwise. Ernest Gordon, a survivor of the railway construction and POW camps described in the novel/film, stated in a 1962 book, "Through the Valley of the Kwai": "In Pierre Boulle's book "The Bridge over the River Kwai" and the
Harold Goodwin (English actor) Harold Goodwin (English actor) Harold Goodwin (22 October 1917 – 3 June 2004) was an English actor born in Wombwell, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Goodwin trained at RADA and was a stage actor at Liverpool repertory theatre for 3 years. He appeared in numerous British films of the 1950s and 1960s, usually playing 'flat cap' wearing working class characters from Northern England or low ranks in the military. He had significant parts in the war films "The Dam Busters" (playing Guy Gibson's batman, 'Crosby'), "Bridge on the River Kwai" and "The Longest Day." He can also be seen in