Noite Insana

For lovers of jazz and racial harmony, this groovy British movie has it all. Some of the best jazz musicians of the era. Blacks and whites getting along just fine. And a fascinating performance by Patrick McGoohan -- who plays a scheming drummer hell-bent on splitting up an inter-racial marriage in order to form his own band.

The movie is set in the docklands area of London with a plot loosely based on Shakespeare's "Othello". The acting and direction are generally good with noirish cinematography. But the main attraction is the jazz -- with such luminaries as Dave Brubeck, Johnny Dankworth, Tubby Hayes, and Charlie Mingus happily jamming throughout the movie.

Paul Harris delivers an impressive performance as an African-American band leader with a stage presence similar to Morgan Freeman. The rest of the cast are natural and convincing, especially the lovely Maria Velasco, who is in another inter-racial relationship. But the movie belongs to McGoohan, whose deeply flawed character, insanely brilliant drumming (not dubbed!), and maniacal scheming are a wonder to behold.

This minor classic is available as a high-quality German all-region DVD (Die Heisse Nacht) with an English sound track.

A rare opportunity to see these two greats in action. Excellent design by producer Michael Relph and cinematography by Edward Scaife. And an auspicious debut by Paul Harris as Othello, excellent work by Patrick McGoohan as Iago and rarely seen Marti Stevens as Desdemona. Major contributions from blacklisted Paul Jarrico for writing and Betsy Blair from "Marty" fame earn a welcome payday in pounds, not dollars. Thanks again, Mr. Shakespeare!

I came to this little-known British movie after watching another film director Basil Deardon had made not long before called "Sapphire" which as its main theme addressed the issue of interracial relationships in today's England. Here, he returns to this territory as he not only transposes the main plot elements of Shakespeare's "Othello" to the then present day but also imaginatively sets it in the jazz world of the time.

I'm no jazz-buff but readily appreciate that for those who are, the presence of big names like Charles Mingus, Dave Brubeck and Johnny Dankworth in the cast will make this film a draw almost for that reason alone. Actually they none of them are on screen for long and only get a few cursory lines and some brief musical interludes between them, so that they don't affect the action elsewhere, but I guess they add a flavour of authenticity to proceedings.

That action revolves around Patrick McGoohan's conniving and devious drummer Johnny, whose only way to forward his career is to co-opt retired singer Marti Stevens into joining his band. To do this he has to remove the two men he sees are in his way, Stevens' former musical accompanist, trumpeter Keith Michell and her new husband, black band-leader Paul Harris.

It all kicks off at a swinging first wedding anniversary party for Harris and Stevens hosted by promoter Richard Attenborough, the guest-list of which includes big-shot record company executive Bernard Braden as Johnny gets to work spinning his web even if it means innocent people's lives will be destroyed.

Deardon daringly posits two mixed-race relationships in the film and laudably does so in a natural and unobstrusive way. The movie itself is very set-bound with the camera rooted in Attenborough's massive apartment, contributing to the theatricality of the piece. McGoohan dominates as the twitchy, scheming Johnny and certainly impresses with his drumming skills, but there's good support for him provided by Michell, Stevens and particularly Harris, who you could easily imagine portraying the tragic Moor in the original "Othello". Betsy Blair also contributes a brief, but telling performance as Johnny's overlooked wife. Interestingly, the tragedy of the original play is given a more Hollywood-style ending, which particularly to those of us familiar with the original, seems a bit of a cop-out, although I can perhaps understand Deardon's reluctance to openly vilify Harris's character, under the circumstances.

Like I said though, the music didn't move me much and the hep-cat jive talk of this cloistered world rather grated after a while, but all in all this was an interesting and provocative modern-day take on the Bard, with a good cast, solid direction and the additional ingredient of some contemporary jazz music for those who really care for it.

Just imagine: That Shakespearian bigger-than-life plot line, a sixties touch of psychoanalysis, a movie set entirely inside a party of swingers, great interludes featuring amazing jazz performances from some great artists such as Charlie Mingus(music scenes that also explain story line and characters), a slight bit of over-acting in colorful black and white, good filmmaking, interracial couples and drug taking in a 1961 movie, love, hate and, of course, jealousy. Who could possible miss out on these ingredients?

Just beautiful.

About 20 to 30 minutes into the film, I felt like I was watching a play--a familiar play, at that. Thanks to IMDb, I learned it's inspired by Shakespeare's Othello. I haven't read it in 40 years, but at least that mystery was solved.

The mystery that's not solved for me is the actual genesis of this project. Whose idea was it to fashion a script loosely based on Othello against the backdrop of the late 1960s British jazz scene? The producer? The script's co-authors? Honestly, that's a head-scratcher, in my book.

As far as the music, it's never truly "featured" in this film. It's either used as a transition from one scene to the next or as a background element. Make no mistake: what performances we do get are high-end, time capsule-like delights; but they are often interrupted with storyline.

If you're a diehard fan of the jazz artists featured in this film or of some members of the cast, like Betsy Blair, Richard Attenborough, or Patrick McGoohan, you'll probably like this movie. And if you are into older movies that test the boundaries regarding interracial relationships, this one may interest you. It's good but definitely an oddity.