The situation escalated for Marvin when Joe asked him to act as their agent and broker the stolen cotton for them in Memphis:We want you in with us.Reportedly, director Wilder was inspired for the film by watching David Lean""sBrief Encounter (1946)with a short scene about a man who vacates his apartment for a couple""s secret tryst (Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson)." When Saito accuses the workers of sabotage and threatens shooting them, Clipton points out to Saito how gunning the soldiers down would violate his own set of principles, illustrating how the Japanese colonel is caught in a no-win dilemma - he will lose face if the bridge is not completed by the rigid deadline, and he will also lose face if he accedes to Nicholson""s demands:Saito: Enlisted prisoners sabotaged the work." As images of her appear (including one of them making love) during his dozings, he hears her insecurely asking and affirming: "Do you love me Joe? Do you love me? Love me? You""re the only one Joe.She gasped and then was obliterated and disintegrated to death with one more final blow that caused her to explode into pieces.