The Purple Plain is an overwrought psychological thriller about what we now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Gregory Peck's pilot is "saved" from his descent into madness by Bernard Lee's thoughtful and competent doctor, who gets him involved in the local community. A new romance gives him something to live for, and that will is tested on a harrowing trek back to safety through enemy lines and high desert. Naysayers cannot dissuade him, the enemy never spots them, nature cannot defeat him, and his perseverance wins the day against all odds. Gregory Peck's very fine performance is wasted in a film without subtlety or nuance.
Review of The Purple Plain
