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The Long and the Short and the Tall | |
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Written by | Willis Hall |
Characters |
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Mute | Japanese Soldier |
Date premiered | 7 January 1959 |
Place premiered | Royal Court Theatre, London |
Subject | Japanese Invasion of British Malaya during World War II. |
Setting | January 1942 An abandoned tin mine in the Malayan jungle |
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 directed by Lindsay Anderson and starred Peter O'Toole and Robert Shaw. It was Anderson's first major production for the Royal Court, transferring to London's West End in April 1959.[1]
The play's name comes from the lyrics of the 1917 song "Bless 'Em All".
A film adaptation was released in 1961.[2] Directed by Leslie Norman, it stars Laurence Harvey, Richard Harris, Richard Todd and David McCallum.[3] A TV drama followed in 1979 which starred Michael Kitchen, Mark McManus and Richard Morant.[4]