All Night Long

Basil Dearden's 1962 British film carries Othello into the London jazz scene. At an anniversary party, Johnny Cousin, an ambitious drummer, plants jealousy to break up the relationship between Rex, a Black jazz musician, and Delia, a white singer; the events take place in one night and one location. What stands out is presenting an interracial relationship in 1962 as ordinary rather than a problem; Dearden neither emphasises nor hides it. Musicians including Charles Mingus and Dave Brubeck play on screen as themselves, and the music is the film's strongest element. Patrick McGoohan's drummer is good. The fidelity to Shakespeare makes some passages feel forced. Who it's for: jazz enthusiasts and viewers interested in British cinema of the sixties. Who it's not for: anyone wanting an original story, or troubled by the strains of adaptation.