The great Alec Guinness, one of the best actors of all time, was born 124 years ago on this date.

Today’s scene of the day comes from the film that won Guinness the Oscar for Best Actor, 1957’s The Bridge on the River Kwai.  In that film (which was one of many that Guinness made with director David Lean), Guinness plays Col. Nicholson, a British POW who is tasked, by the Japanese, with building a bridge.  Though many of his men claim that it will mean collaborating with the enemy, Col. Nicholson feels that the bridge should be a symbol of British ingenuity.  As Nicholson explains it, the bridge will show what the British are capable of doing, even under the most trying of circumstances.  Eventually, Nicholson’s obsession with showing up his captors by constructing the perfect bridge blinds him to everything else that is going on.

In this scene, Nicholson reveals just how obsessed he has become.  It’s a phenomenal piece of acting from Guinness, an actor who — up until the film — was largely known for his comedic performances.