''The Long Haul'' is a 1957 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Ken Hughes Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...

and starring

Victor Mature Victor John Mature (January 29, 1913 – August 4, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include ''One Million B.C.'' (1940), '' My Darlin ...

Patrick Allen John Keith Patrick Allen (17 March 1927 – 28 July 2006) was a British actor. Life and career Allen was born in Nyasaland (now Malawi), where his father was a tobacco farmer. After his parents returned to Britain, he was evacuated to Canada ...

and

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was pr ...

Plot

An American ex-serviceman leaves

Allied-occupied Germany Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...

after World War II and is persuaded by his English wife to settle in Liverpool. Looking for work, he becomes a lorry driver. He comes into contact with criminals involved in theft from commercial vehicles and draws close to the girlfriend of a major crime figure.

Cast

as Harry Miller *

as Lynn *

as Joe Easy * Gene Anderson as Connie Miller * Peter Reynolds as Frank *

Liam Redmond Liam Redmond (27 July 1913 – 28 October 1989) was an Irish character actor known for his stage, film and television roles. Early life Redmond was one of four children born to cabinet-maker Thomas and Eileen Redmond. Educated at the Christi ...

as Casey *

John Welsh John Welsh may refer to: *John Welsh of Ayr (1568–1622), religious leader *John Welsh of Irongray, religious leader *John Welsh (actor) (1904–1985), Irish actor *John Welsh (Australian footballer) (born 1938), Australian rules football player f ...

as Doctor *

Meier Tzelniker Meier Tzelniker (1 January 1894 – 8 October 1980) was a Yiddish-speaking actor born in Hotin County, Romania. He appeared mainly in Yiddish theatre, but was sometimes a character actor in English-language plays and films, such as ''It Always Rai ...

as Nat Fine * Michael Wade as Butch Miller * Dervis Ward as Mutt * Murray Kash as Jeff *

Jameson Clark Jameson Clark (8 July 1907, Kilbirnie, North Ayrshire, Scotland – 4 January 1984, Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, ScotlandJohn Harvey John Harvey may refer to: People Academics * John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician * John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture ...

as Superintendent Macrea * Roland Brand as Army sergeant * Stanley Rose as Foreman * Barry Raymond as Depot manager *

Norman Rossington Norman Rossington (24 December 1928 – 21 May 1999) was an English actor best remembered for his roles in ''The Army Game'', the ''Carry On'' films and the Beatles' film '' A Hard Day's Night''. Early life Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, ...

as Liverpool driver *

Arthur Mullard Arthur Ernest Mullard (né Mullord; 19 September 1910His obituary in ''The Times'' gives his date of birth as 10 November 1910 but conflicts with the birthdate given in his death registration. His year of birth appears as 1908, 1910, 1912 and 1 ...

as Minor role *

Alfred Burke Alfred Burke (28 February 1918 – 16 February 2011) was an English actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Frank Marker in the drama series '' Public Eye'', which ran on television for ten years. Early life Born in London's south-east ...

as drunk in Club (uncredited) *

Sam Kydd Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 1960s, as the smuggler Orlando O'Connor in '' Crane'' and its sequel ''Orlando''. He als ...

as Taxi Driver *

Madge Brindley Madge Brindley (15 October 1901 – 28 August 1968) was a British repertory and film actress. Life She was born, Doreen Ilse Johnson in Bedford Park, London, England. She was an actress, known in later life for her character parts, usually as lou ...

as Café Proprietress

Original novel

The film was based on the novel by Mervyn Mills, published in 1956. It was Mills' first novel. According to his obituary, the novel "stemmed from his journeys through early post-war Britain on a moped, before the advent of the motorways, when he absorbed, on the Great North Road, something of the lives of the long-distance lorry drivers, their roadside cafes and the people, often women, who frequented them. The book was turned down by 12 publishers, then accepted by the 13th, and even then Mills had to fight for his artistic integrity with the director and general editor

Lovat Dickson Lovat Dickson, born Horatio Henry Lovat Dickson (June 30, 1902 – January 2, 1987), was a notable publisher and writer, the first Canadian to have a major publishing role in Britain. He is best known today for his biographies of Grey Owl, Ric ...

to retain the more colourful passages. After so many rejections, this took courage." The ''Irish Times'' called it "an exciting and unusually vivid book."

Development

Film rights were bought by Todon Productions, the film company of Tony Owen and

Donna Reed Donna Reed (born Donna Belle Mullenger; January 27, 1921 – January 14, 1986) was an American actress. Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more than 40 films. She is well known for her portrayal of Mary Hatch Bailey in ...

, run by

Maxwell Seton Maxwell may refer to: People * Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist * Justice Maxwell (disambiguation) * Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage of ...

. Ken Hughes, who had made films for them before, signed to write and direct. In July 1956

agreed to play the female lead. Like many Todon films, it was distributed through Columbia. The production was credited to Seton's company, Marksman Films. Columbia were financing a number of films in Britain at the time.

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

originally was announced as the male star. In January 1957 Victor Mature signed. Mature had just made three films in England for Warwick Productions, which also distributed through Columbia: ''Zarak'', ''Safari'' and ''Interpol''. Mature had driven trucks for his father's business when younger. Setton tried to get

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

to support Mature and Dors but was unable to secure him. A lead role was played by newcomer Patrick Allen whom Setton signed to a three-picture contract over three years.

Production

Filming started 18 February and took place at British Lion studios in Shepperton. There was location filming in the Scottish Highlands.

Critical reception

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

dismissed the film as "Minor fare"; whereas

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

commended a "Completely satisfying British B-noir. Sure the story is familiar, but it's handled with cold, professional skill. The performers are perfectly cast here. I'm highly recommending ''The Long Haul''." ''Filmink'' called it "a decent little movie, and Dors was as beautiful and warm as ever, reminding everyone what she was capable of."

Alternative Title

In Spain, the original poster gave it the title 'El Precio de un Hombre', 'The Price of a Man'.

References

External links

* *
''The Long Haul''
at BFI {{DEFAULTSORT:Long Haul (1957) 1957 films 1957 crime drama films British crime drama films Films directed by Ken Hughes Films set in Glasgow Films set in England Films set in Liverpool Columbia Pictures films Trucker films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films