The Japanese, during WWII, are building a railroad from Burma to Siam, using British prisoners-of-war to do the work. Colonel Nicholson is the commanding officer of 500 prisoners in a camp led by the sadistic drunkard, Colonel Saito. Saito orders the prisoners, officers and man alike, to build a bridge across the River Kwai. Nicholson refuses to allow the officers to work, demanding instead that discipline calls for officers as supervisors. He is beaten and starved but refuses to give in. The prisoners sabotage the bridge-building effort in every way they can. Saito realizes that the only way he can get his bridge built is to give in to Nicholson Nicholson organizes the prisoners, and they soon begin building a bridge bigger, stronger and better than any other in the Japanese theater of war. Meanwhile, three British commandos have been given the task of sabotaging the railroad. They plan on laying charges and exploding the bridge just as the first train crosses. Joyce, a young man on his first mission, hides in the woods with the plunger. Shears, the leader, was across the river to provide covering fire. Warden was up on a nearby hill with a mortar to create a diversion. The night before the planned attack, the water level in the river goes down, exposing the charges on the girders and the wire leading to Joyce’s position. Nicholson walks across the bridge and sees the charges. He gets suspicious and sees the wire. He approaches Joyce, followed by Saito. Joyce jumps out and kills Saito with a knife, yelling to Nicholson that he is a British officer. Nicholson, so consumed by pride in his bridge, cannot bear to see it destroyed. He jumps on Joyce and calls for help. Joyce cannot bring himself to kill Nicholson and so is captured by Japanese troops summoned by Nicholson’s shout. Shears sees what is happening and rushes across the river, only to be captured also. The wire is cut and the train crosses safely. Warden, on the hill, makes a quick decision and aims his mortar fire at the group, killing, with one shot, Nicholson, Joyce and Shears. He alone makes it back to headquarters to report on the mission.

A good story, but not as good as it could have been. Nicholson’s story was told from the point of view of Clipton, a British medical officer who realizes that Nicholson is out of hand but does nothing about it. Shears and Warden exist basically to worry about whether Joyce can fulfill his mission.