The deputy director of PR at the War Office agreed, saying it was difficult to believe that any British commanding officers would have acted in the way that the character Nicholson did.
Letters between the Hollywood producer Sam Spiegel and the UK War Office, from whom he was seeking permission for RAF cooperation in making the 1957 film, show tensions over how its plot depicted the conduct of British officers.
The War Office sought a long disclaimer at the beginning and end of the film, rejected by Spiegel, who favoured a shorter one.
The adventure war film The Bridge on the River Kwai may have swept the board of awards and attracted acclaim as one best films of the 20th century, but the War Office was very nervous “it would not go down well with the British public”, documents reveal.