The Long Haul

1957

1h 28m

IMDb RATING

5.7/10

YOUR RATING

Rate

POPULARITY

Play trailer

1 Video

15 Images

Crime

Drama

Thriller

An American ex-GI takes a job as a truck driver to support his British war bride Connie. It isn't long, however, before Harry is blackmailed into joining a smuggling operation run by a conniving criminal.

Directors

Ken Hughes

Writers

Mervyn Mills(novel by)

Ken Hughes(screenplay by)

Stars

Victor Mature

Diana Dors

Patrick Allen

See production, box office & company info

Videos1

Trailer
Watch THE LONG HAUL (1957) ♦RARE♦ Theatrical Trailer

Photos15

Top cast

Harry Miller

Lynn

Joe Easy

Connie Miller

Frank

Casey

Doctor

Nat Fine

Johnny "Butch" Miller

Mutt

Jeff

Supt. Macrea

Army Sergeant

George H. Mills

Fat Woman at The Wayside

Stanley Rose

Foreman

Raymond Barry

Depot Manager

Susan Campbell

Mabel

Directors

Ken Hughes

Writers

Mervyn Mills(novel by)

Ken Hughes(screenplay by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews1

Review

Featured review

7/10

Watch out I don't drop you right back among the pigs. The Long Haul is directed by Ken Hughes and Hughes adapts the screenplay from the Mervyn Mills novel. It stars Victor Mature, Diana Dors, Patrick Allen, Gene Anderson and Peter Reynolds. Music is by Trevor Duncan and cinematography by Basil Emmott. Harry Miller (Mature) is an American serviceman who after the war has relocated to Northern England to live with his British wife and their son. He hankers to get back to America but his wife is not keen, so he takes up a truck driving job and quickly learns that corruption and under the table deals are the order of the day. Refusing to bend to that way on account of his moral fibre, this puts him on a collision course with violent racketeer boss Joe Easy (Allen), more so when he steps in to help Easy's girlfriend, Lyn (Dors), during an altercation and Lyn becomes quite smitten with Harry. Gritty and grimy Brit noir that pulses with violence, simmering sexuality and big roaring lorries! By the time of film's release, the plot device of a returning soldier finding things less than worth fighting for had been done to death, but in the case of Hughes' movie it has a relocation slant that gives it a bit of zest. This gives the pic a rock solid foundation from which to tell its tale, and in the main it delivers all the requisite requirements for the film noir buff. Narratively it revels in film noir tropes, not content with the confused ex-soldier angle, it throws in a classic femme fatale (Dors sexually charged) and a trick up its sleeve that puts some extra oomph into the culmination of story. The look is a suitably shadowy world of wet winding roads and smoky road side diners, while the dockside scenes are so excellently filmed you can practically smell the damp and salt wafting across the working class backdrop. Some supporting performances are, shall we say too keen, and some of the dialogue leaves a lot to be desired, but this is well worth a spin for anyone interested in British noir. Mature and Dors, both under rated actors in their day, are great value as characters desperately trying to find some solid meaning in life, while Allen has a great time playing the cigar chomping - square jawed - bastardo Joe Easy. Check it out, a better than average Brit noirer, pushing boulders and trying to move emotional mountains, indeed! 7/10

John Chard12 Apr, 2014