THE LONG, THE SHORT AND THE TALL (aka JUNGLE FIGHTERS) 1961This 1961 UK production takes place during World War two in the Burmese jungle. The film stars, Richard Todd, Richard Harris, David McCallum, Laurence Harvey, Ronald Fraser, John Rees, John Meillon and Kenji Takaki.Richard Todd is in charge of a squad testing some "sonic" warfare gear in the Burmese Jungle. The equipment, loudspeakers etc is to be used to fool Japanese about troop movements etc. The tests are not going well and Todd orders the squad deeper into the jungle to try a diff location.The squad is made up of a group of men who all have a beef with each other, the jungle and the army in general. The biggest arse of the group is played by, Laurence Harvey. Harvey would much rather be home in London than rotting in the jungle. He makes sure everyone knows his views on everything. This in particular rubs the unit corporal, Richard Harris the wrong way.The squad holes up in an abandoned tin mine to get out of the daily rains. The close quarters, of course brings out the worst in the bunch. They are soon at each other over everything. (The stage origins of the film are evident as the scenes are quite heavy with dialogue) There is even a fight between Harvey and Ronald Fraser.David McCallum, the man in charge of the radio gear, picks up a Japanese signal. McCallum figures from the strength of said signal, that the Japanese are very close. Just then, a single Japanese scout wanders into the area of the mine. The man, Kenji Takaki, is captured when he enters the building the men are hiding in.Sgt Todd sends several of the men, Fraser and Meillon out to have a look further up the trail. Todd figures it is time for the squad to hightail it back to headquarters. The news about the Japanese being this close needs to be turned in. The squad radio is having trouble reaching to the British camp.Fraser and Meillon are soon back to report to Todd that there are indeed Japanese troops coming. They had a run in with two of the Japanese, killing one. Todd orders all to grab their stuff for a bug out. Todd had originally wanted to take the prisoner along, but now decides it will just slow them down. Of course there is an argument about who is to kill the Japanese soldier.They drag the man along planning to dump him up the trail a piece. Now they find that the escape route they planned on using is flooded from the afternoon rain. The squad will need to wait a few hours for the water level to drop before continuing. This of course leads to more bickering among the squad.By the time the squad gets a move on, the Japanese advance forces have closed in. Todd fights a rear guard action while he sends Harris and the rest forward. Harris and the others however run right into an ambush and are shot up. Harris, though wounded, staggers back to where Todd is firing on the Japanese. The Japanese though are far too many and the entire patrol is wiped out.

What at first seems to be your typical British war film about a squad of soldiers behind enemy lines in Burma actually turns out to be something far, far different - and better. THE LONG AND THE SHORT AND THE TALL is actually a morality play about the importance of human life, the nature of warfare, and mankind's humanity towards his own kind. It was based on a play and occasionally feels very staged and studio-bound, but it overcomes these flaws to become something very compelling.What's especially good about this film is that it takes careful time to develop each of the main characters in turn. So we get Richard Todd as the tough, incredibly ruthless sergeant, and Richard Harris as his volatile corporal. Ronald Fraser does well as a man conflicted between kindness and brutality, and David McCallum is a delight as the coward of the group. Best of all is Laurence Harvey, who plays a racist on the outside but at the same time becomes the most humane one of the lot.THE LNG AND THE SHORT AND THE TALL doesn't pack a great deal of action into the running time, but when it does occur it's incredibly hard-hitting due to the aforementioned characterisation. Kenji Takaki also deserves kudos for playing the Japanese soldier; without a single word of English, he manages to create a thoroughly sympathetic character. Less is more, and this underrated war movie is a great example of that ethos.

I haven't watched this film for a long time and, having just seen it on BBC2 TV, I felt that it hasn't aged well. Perhaps it was better as a stage play? Ubercommando in his review summed it up well: "I just don't believe in characters who, under such pressure to escape, would just bicker at each other when the enemy is just around the corner... Some characters don't want to shoot the Japanese prisoner because it will make too much noise and alert the enemy, but that doesn't stop them from yelling at the top of their voices!"The only characters I felt any sympathy for were Private Smith (who seemed the most sensible of the squad) and the Japanese prisoner. Sergeant Mitchem had an impossible task, with a hostile corporal and the intractable Pte Bamforth, but he didn't come over as a likable character. As for the others, I several times thought "what a bunch of losers".Of course, all this was what (probably) we were expected to feel, but other films portraying a small, disparate group of men up against it have done so far better.Enough has already been written about Laurence Harvey, who was mis-cast. OK, the character may have been a brash, street-wise London wide boy before he joined the army, but his sympathy for the prisoner did not convince.

A great film which I had not watched for twenty years or so.But what really struck me was Lawrence Harvey's terrible accent.What was it supposed to be? I think it was on a par with Dick Van Dyke's in Mary Poppins.Some actors can move effortlessly between upper class and working class and be totally believable but in this case it almost ruined the film for me.It was a little "stagey" I agree and I think it could have been much better if the actors had swapped their parts around in a couple of cases.I would like to see a new version put onto film with a really good cast of contemporary actors and maybe shot on location.