The Virgin Soldiers is a 1966 comic novel by Leslie Thomas, inspired by his own experiences of National Service in the British Army.
The novel was turned into a film The Virgin Soldiers in 1969, directed by John Dexter, with a screenplay by the British screenwriter John Hopkins. It starred Hywel Bennett, Nigel Patrick and Lynn Redgrave. David Bowie cut his hair short to audition for a role, but can only be seen in a brief shot in the finished movie. A sequel, Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers, followed in 1977 with Nigel Davenport repeating his role as Sgt Driscoll.
Read more about The Virgin Soldiers: Plot Summary
Famous quotes containing the words virgin and/or soldiers:
“But see, the Virgin blest
Hath laid her Babe to rest:
Time is our tedious song should here have ending;
Heaven’s youngest teemed star,
Hath fixed her polished car,
Her sleeping Lord with handmaid lamp attending;
And all about the courtly stable,
Bright-harnessed angels sit in order serviceable.”
—John Milton (1608–1674)
“... children do not take war seriously as war. War is soldiers and soldiers have not to be war but they have to be soldiers. Which is a nice thing.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)