All Night Long (1962)

Basil Dearden turns away from his socially conscious movies (Sapphire, Victim) to deliver a modern Shakespeare adaptation. All Night Long (1962) updates Othello to the London jazz scene, delivering a compact little drama that doesn't quite reach its potential.

Music producer Rod Hamilton (Richard Attenborough) invites a who's-who of jazz musicians to celebrate the anniversary of band leader Aurelius Rex (Paul Harris) and singer Delia Lane (Marti Stevens). Spoiling the occasion is Johnny Cousins (Patrick McGoohan), a disgruntled drummer who wants to use Delia for his own band. He starts poisoning Rex's mind with tales of Delia's infidelity and affection for sax player Cass (Keith Michell). A doctored tape recording finally pushes Rex over the edge.

All Night Long cleverly sets its entire action in one building. Besides the setting, Dearden provides clever Shakespeare analogues: a faked tape recording, a prized cigarette box, the "funny cigarettes" that send Cass over the edge. Jazz music plays a key role in the story, with a Cass-Delia duet (and Johnny's raucous drum solos) stoking characters' suspicions. Dearden's claustrophobic direction uses deep focus and positively retro double-exposures to increase the tension. However, the climax regrettably doesn't take the Othello story to its conclusion.

Fresh off TV's Danger Man, Patrick McGoohan is quite effective playing a manipulative creep. Paul Harris (Across 110th Street) gives a strong turn, with the requisite mixture of charm and jealousy. Martin Stevens' Delia is less effective, her Desdemona too thinly-sketched to make an impact. Future Henry VIII, Keith Michell, plays Cass, and Betsy Blair (Marty) steals her scenes as Johnny's long-suffering wife. Jazz fans will love the impressive array of cameos: David Brubeck, John Dankworth, Charlie Mingus, Tubby Hayes.

All Night Long is very entertaining, but one feels the filmmakers chickened out towards the end. All the same, it's a unique take on Shakespeare that shouldn't be missed.