Basil Dearden has quickly become one of my favorite directors. From his subject matter to his wonderful cinematography ( in this case Edward Scaife), Bearden never fails to deliver a fabulous, if not perfect film. All Night Long is his version of Othello. Set in London it features Johnny Cousin ( Patrick McGoohen ) as the jealous drummer of bandleader Aurelius Rex ( Paul Harris). Rex is married to Delia Lane ( Marti Stevens). Keith Mitchell stars as " Cass ", Rex's best friend and band manager. Richard Attenborough plays Rod Hamilton, a wealthy music promotor who with the help of Rex's friends and wife, throw him a surprise wedding anniversary party.
The plot features Johnny Cousin plotting to not only breakup the marriage of Rex and Delia, but to also come between Rex and Cass and take Delia on the rode with him while he fronts his own band. McGoohen does a excellent job as the villian here. Paul Harris is superb as the stable, charming and charismatic Rex. Cass is excellent here as the loyal friend. As the film goes along you see a transformation with both characters that is just astounding from how they were at the beginning of the film. Attenborough is superb as the laid back music promotor who tries and referees the whole dispute that goes down.
The just EXCELLENT cinematography here is done by Edward Scaife. The exterior street scenes were filmed at Shad Thames, Southwark, London, England, UK. The EXCELLENT score is another MAJOR standout of the film. Dearden uses REAL jazzmen here. I dare CigarJoe to find a better Jazz Noir, lol... There have been numerous versions of Othello done for the screen and I say this modern reworking set to a London backdrop is just fabulous. I rate this a perfect 10 out of 10...
