All Night Long

All Night Long is a 1962 British neo noir drama film directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Patrick McGoohan, Marti Stevens, Paul Harris, Keith Michell, Richard Attenborough and Betsy Blair. The story, by Nel King and Paul Jarrico, writing under the name Peter Achilles, is an updated version of William Shakespeare's Othello, set in the London jazz scene of the 1960s. The action takes place in a single evening, during an anniversary party. The black-and-white film features performances by several prominent British jazz musicians – among them Tubby Hayes and John Dankworth – as well as the Americans Dave Brubeck and Charles Mingus, who were in the UK in 1961 when filming took place and were recruited to participate. Plot Musician Aurelius Rex and his wife Delia, a retired singer, are the recipients of a big, one-year wedding anniversary party in London thrown by a wealthy music promoter and jazz aficionado, Rod Hamilton, in a Thames-side warehouse he has remodeled to create a space for the kind of all-night sessions that can't be done in Mayfair. Johnny Cousin, a drummer with aspirations of starting his own band, has promised booking agent Lou Berger that Delia has come out of retirement and will resume performing, not with Rex but with Johnny. On the phone, Berger tells Johnny that Delia's presence is absolutely necessary. Delia tells Johnny in no uncertain terms that she does not intend to resume her career. Music plays an important role in the film, as party guests take it in turn to join in, and we learn more about all the characters. Johnny begins a series of complex machinations, all designed to make Rex believe that Delia has been having an affair with Cass, the band's manager. Johnny's back-stabbing costs Cass his job, when he plies Cass—a recovered addict—with marijuana (possibly heroin). Johnny records a conversation between Cass and Benny, who are lovers, talks to Cass about how much he loves Benny, and tapes Delia promising Cass that she will get Rex to forgive him. He edits the material to distort the meaning. Delia's performance of a song, rehearsed solely for the party, furthers Rex's suspicions that she is unhappy at home.