Long and the Short and the Tall, The (1961)

Adapted from Willis Hall’s hit West End play (which starred Peter O’Toole in the lead role), The Long and the Short and the Tall tells the story of a seven-man British Army patrol on a hazardous “sonic deception” assignment in the jungle during the 1942 Malayan/Burmese Campaign,

Their mission is to record jungle and troop noises on a portable machine to trick nearby Japanese forces into revealing their positions

Tensions rise when they lose radio contact with their base, and the patrol splits into a fierce ideological clash over what to do when they capture a lone Japanese scout (Kenji Takaki).

Sergeant Mitchem (Richard Todd) wants to keep him alive to interrogate him and gather vital intelligence, while Corporal Johnstone (Richard Harris) thirsts for the scout’s blood and fiercely opposes keeping him alive.

As the situation worsens, the other ordinary soldiers also want to kill the scout. They see him as a liability who could make noise, slow them down, or give away their position to the approaching enemy.

Private Bamforth (Laurence Harvey) – a brash, loudmouthed, and fiercely anti-authoritarian cockney – consistently refuses to kill the prisoner and provokes the group, questioning the humanity of their choices.

As the men argue bitterly among themselves about the prisoner’s fate and their own survival, they lose focus on the situation in the surrounding jungle – leading to a tragic, inescapable ambush where personal arguments are rendered meaningless.

Shot entirely on a soundstage at Elstree Studios (the “jungle” has a touch of Kew Gardens about it), the film was released in the United States and Canada as Jungle Fighters.

Sgt. Mitchem
Richard Todd
Pte. Bamforth
Laurence Harvey
Cpl. Johnstone
Richard Harris
L/Cpl. Macleish
Ronald Fraser
Pte. Whitaker
David McCallum
Pte. Smith
John Meillon
Pte. Evans
John Rees
Japanese Scout (“Tojo”)
Kenji Takaki

Director
Leslie Norman