He wrote the screenplay for the sci-fi classic The Fly (1958), co-wrote The Great Escape (1963) and wrote and directed the Sidney Poitier film To Sir, with Love (1967).ĭuring a screenwriters strike, Clavell began working on his first novel, King Rat, a fictionalized version of his experiences in Changi. In the U.S., Clavell began a career in screenwriting. In 1953, Clavell moved to the United States (he became a naturalized citizen in 1963). He married April Stride in 1951, with whom he had two children. He left military service in 1946 and attended the University of Birmingham for two years. Of the 150,000 people interred, only 10,000 survived. The Changi POW camp was notorious for its inhumane treatment of prisoners. He was captured by Japanese forces in Malaysia, and taken to Changi prison in Singapore where he was held for over three years. In 1940, Clavell joined the Royal Artillery and fought in the Pacific theatre of World War Two. Clavell was born in Australia, the son of a British Navy officer. James Clavell (1921-1994) was born Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell.
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