View source for The Long and the Short and the Tall (play)

{{for|the 1961 film|The Long and the Short and the Tall (1961 film)}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2009}}
{{Infobox play
| name       = The Long and the Short and the Tall
| image      = The long and the short and the tall Cast.jpeg
| image_alt  =
| caption    =
| writer     = [[Willis Hall]]
| chorus     =
| characters =     {{plainlist|
* Sergeant R. 'Mitch' Mitchem
* Corporal Edward 'Johnno' Johnstone
* Lance-Corporal A. J. Macleish
* Private C. 'Bammo' Bamforth
* Private T. E. 'Taff' Evans
* Private P. 'Smudger' Smith
* Private Samuel 'Sammy' Whitaker}}
| mute       = Japanese Soldier
| setting    = January 1942<br/>An abandoned tin mine in the Malayan jungle
| premiere   = {{Start date|1959|01|07|df=y}}
| place      = [[Royal Court Theatre]], London
| orig_lang  =
| series     =
| subject    = [[Malayan Campaign|Japanese Invasion]] of [[British Malaya]] during [[World War II]].
| genre      =
| web        =
}}
'''''The Long and the Short and the Tall''''' is a play written by British playwright [[Willis Hall]]. Set in the [[Second World War]], the play premiered at the [[Royal Court Theatre]] in [[London]] in January 1959; it was [[theatre director|directed]] by [[Lindsay Anderson]] and starred [[Peter O'Toole]] and [[Robert Shaw (British actor)|Robert Shaw]]. It was Anderson's first major production for the Royal Court, transferring to [[West End theatre|London's West End]] in April 1959.<ref>{{cite book|last=Roberts|first=Philip|title=The Royal Court Theatre and the Modern Stage|url=https://archive.org/details/royalcourttheatr0000robe|url-access=registration|year=1999|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, UK|isbn=0-521-47438-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/royalcourttheatr0000robe/page/68 68–75]}}</ref>
The play's name comes from the lyrics of the 1917 song "[[Bless 'Em All]]".
A [[The Long and the Short and the Tall (film)|film adaptation]] was released in 1961.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6af1f521|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307085329/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6af1f521|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 7, 2016|title=The Long and the Short and the Tall (1961)|website=BFI}}</ref> Directed by [[Leslie Norman (director)|Leslie Norman]], it stars [[Laurence Harvey]], [[Richard Harris]], [[Richard Todd]] and [[David McCallum]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/472950/index.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Long and the Short and the Tall, The (1960)|website=www.screenonline.org.uk}}</ref> A [[The Long and the Short and the Tall (1979 film)|TV drama]] followed in 1979 which starred [[Michael Kitchen]], [[Mark McManus]] and [[Richard Morant]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b73aef97d|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019175126/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b73aef97d|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 19, 2021|title=The Long and the Short and the Tall Part 1 (1979)|website=BFI}}</ref>
==Plot==
The play is set in [[British Malaya]] in 1942, during the [[Battle of Malaya]]. The characters are a patrol of [[British Army]] soldiers; the play's events take place in an abandoned hut in the middle of the Malayan jungle. Tension rises as the patrol's radio malfunctions and a [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese]] soldier stumbles upon them.
==Characters / cast==
* [[Sergeant]] R. 'Mitch' Mitchem - The leader of the [[patrol]], tough and experienced ([[Robert Shaw (actor)|Robert Shaw]])
* [[Corporal]] Edward (Ted) 'Johnno' Johnstone - The [[second-in-command]], as tough and experienced as Mitchem, but far more callous ([[Edward Judd]])
* [[Lance-Corporal]] A. J. 'Mac' Macleish - A [[Scottish people|Scotsman]], recently [[Promotion (rank)|made up]] to lance-corporal, but has no more experience than the privates (none of whom have seen action), [[intelligent]], short-tempered and [[moral]] ([[Ronald Fraser (actor)|Ronald Fraser]])
* [[Private (rank)|Private]] C. 'Bammo' Bamforth - A [[Cockney|Londoner]], witty, [[rebellious]] and hates authority, a classic barrack-room lawyer ([[Peter O'Toole]])
* Private T. E. 'Taff' Evans - A [[Welsh people|Welshman]], pleasant and easy-going ([[Alfred Lynch]])
* Private P. 'Smudger' Smith - A Northerner, a quiet, family man ([[Bryan Pringle]])
* Private Samuel 'Sammy' Whitaker -  A [[Geordie]], the youngest member of the patrol and its radio operator, very nervy ([[David Andrews (director)|David Andrews]])
* Japanese Soldier -  Doesn't speak at any point during the play, but still plays a major role ([[Kenji Takaki]])
[[Albert Finney]] was originally cast as the [[Northern England|North Country]] Private Bamforth but due to appendicitis he was replaced by the then unknown O'Toole, who turned the character into a [[Cockney]].  O'Toole's [[understudy]] (who never went on) was [[Michael Caine]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/mar/12/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries1|title=Obituary: Willis Hall|first=Dennis|last=Barker|date=March 12, 2005|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref> Caine later played O'Toole's role on a Scottish tour of the play with [[Frank Finlay]] as Sergeant Mitchem and [[Terence Stamp]] as Whitaker.<ref>pp. 146-147  Caine, Michael ''What's It All About?'' Random House, 31 Mar. 2012</ref>
==Television adaptation==
A 30 minute excerpt of the play was filmed for British TV in 1959 with the play's original cast.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/16c12c75896b462b9b0c1589549612e0|title=A scene from The Long and the Short and the Tall|date=April 9, 1959|issue=1847|pages=21|via=BBC Genome}}</ref><ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3355836/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt TV Adaptation] at [[IMDb]]</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long and the Short and the Tall}}
[[Category:1959 plays]]
[[Category:British plays]]