Movies - The Virgin Soldiers

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	Movies - The Virgin Soldiers

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 in 1969, 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.

Plot

The core of the plot is the romantic triangle formed by the protagonist, the conscripted soldier Private Brigg, the worldly professional soldier Sergeant Driscoll, and Philippa Raskin, the daughter of the Regimental Sergeant Major. The location is an army base in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency.

Brigg and Philippa are virgins in every sense of the word, both barely out of adolesence. Brigg is fearful of Philippa's father and hardly dares go near her. He is equally afraid of the Malay 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.

Philippa 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, finally summons 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 plot, the secret is revealed: Wellbeloved was a coward and collaborator, 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 a violent incident involving an attack by communist guerillas on a train, combined with rioting in the city. 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.

Mere days before he is to be sent home, he confronts Philippa with his frustrations, with unexpectedly pleasant results. For Philippa, 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 their favorite local tailor, a certain Fuk Yew. It symbolizes their relation to Malaya, and Malaya to them, when the tailor responds with the appropriate hand signal.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for The Virgin Soldiers ]

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