Pierre François Marie Louis Boulle was a French author. He is best known for two works, The Bridge over the River Kwai and Planet of the Apes, that were both made into award-winning films. Boulle was an engineer serving as a secret agent with the Free French in Singapore, when he was captured and subjected to two years' forced labour. He used these experiences in The Bridge over the River Kwai, about the notorious Death Railway, which became an international bestseller.