Production
Pridi Banomyong, at the time Minister of Finance in the government of Prime Minister Plaek Pibulsonggram, produced the film, which was based on an English-language novel he had written. The cast of the movie were lecturers and students from Thammasat University, which Pridi had founded.
The film was made with the intent of conveying Pridi's conception of peace to international audiences, and was filmed in English, the first Thai film to do so. The film also took its themes from Buddhist philosophy, that there is no happiness that is greater than peace, but also carried the message that Pridi thought Thailand was ready to fight a war of aggression by any foreign invaders.
The movie was screened in New York City and Singapore.
After Japan invaded Thailand on December 8, 1941, Pridi became a leader of the Free Thai Movement resistance movement, while the Thai military dictators sided with Japan in the Axis Powers and declared war on Great Britain and the United States.
Read more about this topic: King Of The White Elephant
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