Return to Unusual Items & Production Prototypes

Description Bridge on the River Kwai Model
Category Custom Item
Remarks

This model was used in the filming of the 1957 movie The Bridge on the River Kwai.  In 1958, the it was offered as a prize at the Gala May Fair, a fund raising benefit sponsored by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, which took place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on May 25, 1958.  Pictured in the photo at the bottom are Mrs. Fred Joyce, wife of the director of public relations for Hilton Hotels (owner of the Waldorf Astoria), Candy Jones (a model and pin up girl of the 40's and 50's), and Miss Josephine Feely, a student nurse at St. Vincent's hospital School for Nursing. 

The Gilbert set shown on the bridge is the 30320 set from 1957. 

Original model of the Bridge On the River Kwai used in the movie production
Photos courtesy of
The Eli Whitney Museum and Walter Zawalich
Bridge on River Kwai Model
 
Bridge on River Kwai Full Photo