The Long and the Short and the Tall
The Long and the Short and the Tall is a play written in 1958 by Willis Hall that was adapted into a 1960 film of the same name. The play, directed by Lindsay Anderson and starring Peter O'Toole, premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 1959. The film stars Laurence Harvey, Richard Todd, Richard Harris, David McCallum and Ronald Fraser, and was directed by Leslie Norman. Harvey took Peter O'Toole's role in the play.
A patrol is sent into the Malayan jungle to monitor the Japanese in 1942. Tensions arise when the radio malfunctions and a lone Japanese soldier stumbles across the patrol's location.
The name comes from the second line of the soldier's song "Bless 'em All." In the U.S. the film was retitled Jungle Fighters (film).
Synopsis
The name The Long And The Short And The Tall is used as a suggestion of inherent differences in the main characters, with their only shared trait being their membership of the patrol and their stationing in the Malayan Peninsula. The play addresses the issue of British public perception of the Japanese after the conclusion of WWII.
This unlikely group of people encounter an ethical situation, upon the capture a lone Japanese soldier who later becomes a prisoner of war. It explores war related issues about the treatment of Prisoners of War, and the justification of killing a man just because he has been labelled an 'enemy'.
The play features eight characters (original stage actor/film actor):
- 465 Sergeant R. 'Mitch' Mitchem - The leader of the patrol, tough and experienced (Robert Shaw/Richard Todd)
- 839 Corporal Edward (Ted) 'Johnno' Johnstone - The second-in-command, as tough and experienced as Mitchem, but far more callous (Edward Judd/Richard Harris)
- 594 Lance-Corporal A. J. 'Mac' Macleish - A Scotsman, recently made up to lance-corporal, but no more experienced than the privates (none of whom have seen action), intelligent, short-tempered and moral (Ronald Fraser/Ronald Fraser)
- 877 Private C. 'Bammo' Bamforth - A Londoner, witty, rebellious and hates authority, a classic barrack room lawyer (Peter O'Toole/Laurence Harvey)
- 777 Private T. E. 'Taff' Evans - A Welshman, pleasant and easy-going (Alfred Lynch/John Rees)
- 611 Private P. 'Smudger' Smith - A Northerner, a quiet family man (Bryan Pringle/John Meillon)
- 632 Private Samuel (Sammy) Whitaker - A Geordie, the youngest member of the patrol and its radio operator, nervy (David Andrews/David McCallum)
- Japanese Soldier - Doesn't speak at any point during the play, but still plays a major role (Kenji Takaki/Kenji Takaki)
The entire action takes place within a storage hut attached to an old, abandoned tine mine in the jungle.
External links
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