[1] MacLean's personal experiences in the Royal Navy during World War II provided part of the basis for the story.

As the British stronghold of Singapore falls to the invading Imperial Japanese Army, a mixed collection of soldiers, nurses, fleeing civilians, a small boy, and at least one spy attempt to escape the burning city aboard the Kerry Dancer, a battered freighter crewed by a disreputable captain and sailors.

Led by stalwart First Officer John Nicholson, they attempt to flee to safety across the South China Sea, facing death by thirst and exposure, typhoons, and pursuit by the relentless Japanese.

The New York Times said it was "crammed with action and realistically sketched backgrounds but there is a patchness about the escapes from tight fixes that makes South by Java Head a less credible chronicle of derring-do than its remarkable predecessors.

[4] In January 1960 Buddy Adler announced he had bought the film rights for Fox as a vehicle for Alec Guinness and $4 million would be spent on it.