Prismark10 The Long and the short and the tall is a stage adaptation but was also a set text for English exams for 16 year olds.The film is during Burma in 1942 which is occupied by the Japanese. A group of seven soldiers expert in sonic deception take refuge in an abandoned hut in the jungle because the Japs are nearby.When a lone Japanese soldier is captured tension rise further. Sergeant Mitchem who is in command wants to take the prisoner back to HQ for interrogation. However the soldiers argue amongst each other, even if it concerns a seemingly innocent item such as a cigarette pack that the Japanese soldier has amongst his possession.Gruff Private Bamforth a barrack room lawyer who dislikes authority also becomes becomes the conscience of the platoon as the others wish to kill the captured soldier.I read the play for my English exams and also watched the film at the time. I recently rewatched it after almost three decades. Its a low budget affair directed by Leslie Norman (father of famed film critic, Barry Norman.)You can tell that it is a studio bound production, the jungle scenes look very fake and its also too brightly lit. The film also has a lot of shouting which indicates its stage origins. You would have thought that with all the shouting the Japs would have discovered the soldiers much earlier.The cast is very much a who's who of 1960s British cinema. Laurence Harvey is the standout in a film that also contains Richard Harris, David McCallum, Ronald Fraser and Richard Todd. It examines the morality and psychology of war but looks rather dated.

writers_reign It's difficult to believe that as late as the sixties they were still unable to 'mix' a soundtrack effectively. The way each line of dialogue is crystal clear and redolent of sound-stage 'atmos' verges on the amateur and this is compounded by the real 'jungle' noises which are kept right down to a minimum. And that's before the so-called acting kicks in and let's face it with two of the most 'wooden' actors who ever graduated from the Forestry Commission - Richard Todd and Laurence Harvey - in leading roles it has to be downhill from square one. I didn't see the play upon which the film is based but the fact that only one member, the Japanese prisoner, made it to the screen should tell us something. As if auditioning for the title Mr. Mahogany were not sufficient Laurence Harvey throws in an execrable accent that makes Dick Van Dyke seem polished. This is one of those films which feature a group of actors who contrive to give the impression that they are working in several different films. I'm really sorry I wasted my time on this merde.

df48 An excellent character study of the effects of war on a small British patrol in the Burmese jungle during WWII. Things heat up when they capture a Japanese soldier and then find themselves pinned down by enemy troops. Sets are stagy but it's the acting and writing that carry this story. An all star British cast lead by Lawrence Harvey and Richard Todd are first rate.Todd is the no nonsense leader trying to get his men out of a potentially deadly situation. Harvey plays a hard case enlisted man whose fundamental decency gives the movie it's moral force. A young David McCallum (Man From UNCLE) plays a spineless radio operator in what must be his first role.And to top it off a theme song to rival the Bridge on the River Kwai. All in all a movie that should saved from obscurity because it's so good.

ubercommando A terrific cast and a talked about play does not make for a good big screen adaptation. The stagey sets; trying to make a Burmese jungle in a sound stage, detracts from the procedures and gets in the way of what little action there is.For me, the biggest problem is one of credibility and this goes back to the play itself. I just don't believe in characters who, under such pressure to escape, would just bicker at each other when the enemy is just around the corner. Maybe that was the point of the play, but it doesn't resonate with truth. Some characters don't want to shoot the Japanese prisoner because it will make too much noise and alert the enemy, but that doesn't stop them from yelling at the top of their voices! No one considers an idea to just tie up the prisoner and leave him behind as they make their escape and they just dawdle for the sake of more dialogue scenes about justice and seniority. The characters have some interesting ambiguities; Harvey is a barrackroom lawyer but has the most tactical nouse, Todd is a hard bitten professional solider but cannot control his section and Harris is the bully who surrenders at the end. But if this is a piece of wartime kitchen sink drama, designed to expose hypocricy in the British army, then it doesn't work. "The Hill" is a far, far better film that deals with these issues.