Winning seven Academy Awards, 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' (1957) tells the story of British World War II prisoners of war (POWs) who are forced to build a railway bridge across the Kwai River for their Japanese captors in Burma. At the same time, the allied forces are planning to destroy it.

Alec Guinness, who had already been voted the "most popular British star" in 1951, grew in popularity for his appearance in the film and took home the Academy Award for Best Actor. Guinness starred as Colonel Nicholson, one of the POWs based on the real-life Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey (1904-1975) of the British Army.

The film was based on the book 'Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï' ('The Bridge over the River Kwai') by the French author Pierre Boulle (1912-1994). Whilst fictional, the story was inspired by Boulle's two years of forced labour during the Second World War. The titular bridge was also based on real events that took place during the construction of the Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, between 1942 and 1943.

Sir Alec Guinness was a British actor who became well-known for the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the 'Star Wars' movies. During his career, he won a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award (British Academy of Film and Television Arts), a Tony Award and an Academy Award. Guinness died from liver cancer in Midhurst, West Sussex, in 2000.

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