All Night Long (1961 film)
Encyclopedia
All Night Long is a 1962 British
drama film
directed by Basil Dearden
, and starring Patrick McGoohan
, Marti Stevens, Paul Harris, Keith Michell
, Richard Attenborough
and Betsy Blair
. The story, written by Nel King and Paul Jarrico
, writing under the name Peter Achilles, is an updated version of Shakespeare's
Othello
, set in the London jazz scene of the 1960s. The black-and-white
film is notable for featuring performances by a number of prominent British and American jazz musicians.
An ambitious drummer, Johnnie Cousin, wants to start his own band. He promises to persuade Delia to come out of retirement and resume performing, having been told that this is the only way his band will be backed.
Told in no uncertain terms that Delia has no intention of resuming her career, Johnnie begins a series of machinations at the party designed to make Rex believe that Delia has been having an affair with Cass, the band's manager. He even alters a tape recording to distort the meaning of Delia's private conversation.
Johnnie's back-stabbing costs Cass his job. Delia's performance of a song, rehearsed solely for the party, furthers Rex's suspicions that she is unhappy at home. Rex assaults Delia and makes public accusations about her fidelity. In the ensuing conversation, everyone denies any suspicion of an affair, and eventually they realize that Johnnie has fabricated the entire story. The group abandons Johnnie. It is implied that Delia and Rex resume their relationship.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Basil Dearden
Basil Dearden
Basil Dearden was an English film director.-Life and career:Dearden was born at Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. He graduated from theatre direction to film, working as an assistant to Basil Dean...
, and starring Patrick McGoohan
Patrick McGoohan
Patrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and The Prisoner, which he co-created...
, Marti Stevens, Paul Harris, Keith Michell
Keith Michell
Keith Michell is an Australian actor, particularly noted for his television and film performances as King Henry VIII of England.- Early life :He was born in Adelaide and brought up in Warnertown, near Port Pirie...
, Richard Attenborough
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
and Betsy Blair
Betsy Blair
Betsy Blair was an American actress of film and stage, long based in London.Blair pursued a career in entertainment from the age of eight, and as a child worked as an amateur dancer, performed on radio, and worked as a model, before joining the chorus of Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe in 1940...
. The story, written by Nel King and Paul Jarrico
Paul Jarrico
Paul Jarrico was an American screenwriter and film producer who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses during the era of McCarthyism.-Early years:...
, writing under the name Peter Achilles, is an updated version of Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, set in the London jazz scene of the 1960s. The black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
film is notable for featuring performances by a number of prominent British and American jazz musicians.
Plot
The musician Aurelius Rex and his wife Delia, a retired singer, are the recipients of an anniversary party in London thrown by a wealthy music promoter, Rod Hamilton.An ambitious drummer, Johnnie Cousin, wants to start his own band. He promises to persuade Delia to come out of retirement and resume performing, having been told that this is the only way his band will be backed.
Told in no uncertain terms that Delia has no intention of resuming her career, Johnnie begins a series of machinations at the party designed to make Rex believe that Delia has been having an affair with Cass, the band's manager. He even alters a tape recording to distort the meaning of Delia's private conversation.
Johnnie's back-stabbing costs Cass his job. Delia's performance of a song, rehearsed solely for the party, furthers Rex's suspicions that she is unhappy at home. Rex assaults Delia and makes public accusations about her fidelity. In the ensuing conversation, everyone denies any suspicion of an affair, and eventually they realize that Johnnie has fabricated the entire story. The group abandons Johnnie. It is implied that Delia and Rex resume their relationship.
Cast
- Patrick McGoohanPatrick McGoohanPatrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and The Prisoner, which he co-created...
as Johnnie Cousin - Marti Stevens as Delia Lane
- Paul Harris as Aurelius Rex
- Keith MichellKeith MichellKeith Michell is an Australian actor, particularly noted for his television and film performances as King Henry VIII of England.- Early life :He was born in Adelaide and brought up in Warnertown, near Port Pirie...
as Cass - Richard AttenboroughRichard AttenboroughRichard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
as Rod Hamilton - Betsy BlairBetsy BlairBetsy Blair was an American actress of film and stage, long based in London.Blair pursued a career in entertainment from the age of eight, and as a child worked as an amateur dancer, performed on radio, and worked as a model, before joining the chorus of Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe in 1940...
as Emily - Bernard BradenBernard BradenBernard Chastey Braden was a Canadian-born English actor and comedian.Braden was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and educated at Magee Secondary School, Kerrisdale, Vancouver. He produced plays on CJOR Vancouver in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He married Barbara Kelly in 1942 and they moved...
as Berger - Harry TowbHarry TowbHarry Towb was a Northern Irish actor.-Early life and career:Towb's father was Russian and his mother was Irish. He attended the Finiston School and Technical College, Belfast...
as Phales - María Velasco as Benny
- Carol WhiteCarol WhiteCarol White was a British actress.She achieved notability for her performances in the television play Cathy Come Home and the films Poor Cow and I'll Never Forget What's'isname , but alcoholism and drug abuse damaged her career, and from the early 1970s she worked infrequently.-Life and...
as Lucille (uncredited) - Dave BrubeckDave BrubeckDavid Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
as himself - Keith ChristieKeith ChristieKeith Ronald Christie was an English jazz trombonist. He was the brother of Ian Christie....
as himself - Bert Courtley as himself
- John DankworthJohn DankworthSir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE , known in his early career as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist and clarinetist...
as himself - Ray Dempsey as himself
- Allan GanleyAllan GanleyAllan Ganley was a respected English jazz drummer and arranger, who played with many famous names....
as himself - Tubby HayesTubby HayesEdward Brian "Tubby" Hayes was an English jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his tenor saxophone playing in groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and with trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest British jazz instrumentalists.- Early life :Hayes was born...
as himself - Geoffrey HolderGeoffrey HolderGeoffrey Richard Holder is a Trinidadian actor, choreographer, director, dancer, painter, costume designer, singer and voice-over artist.-Early life:...
as himself (uncredited) - Charles MingusCharles MingusCharles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
as himself - Barry Morgan as himself
- Kenny Napper as himself
- Colin Purbrook as himself
- John Scott as himself
Original music
- Philip GreenPhilip Green (composer)Philip Green , sometimes credited as Harry Philip Green, was a film and television composer and conductor. His father was Philip Green, a boot clicker, and his mother was Elizabeth Vogel. Green's first credited work was on 1943's The Sky's the Limit...
- Tubby Hayes (additional music "The Chase")
- Kenny Napper (additional music "Sax Reference")
- John Scott (additional music "Scott-Free")
- Dave BrubeckDave BrubeckDavid Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
(additional music "It's a Raggy Waltz")