Long Day's Journey Into Night

Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962)

An Irish miser, his morphine addicted wife, their debauched older son, and a gravely ill younger son. A quiet Connecticut vacation home on one foggy day in August 1912 becomes the backdrop for domestic decline.

Date of release
1962-10-09
TMDB
7.0 / 10 (82)
Runtime
2h 50m
Genres
Drama
Director
Sidney Lumet

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Budget: $500K
  • Based on: Long Day's Journey into Night
  • Filmed in: New York City
  • Awards: 1 · Nominations: 1. Including: National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Long Day's Journey into Night is a 1962 American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, adapted from Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer-winning play of the same name. It stars Katharine Hepburn, Ralph Richardson, Jason Robards, and Dean Stockwell. The story deals with themes of addiction and the resulting dysfunction of the nuclear family, and is drawn from O'Neill's own experiences. It was shot at Chelsea Studios in New York City, with exteriors also shot in New York City in the City Island neighborhood of the Bronx.

Production

Producer Ely Landau did a version of The Iceman Cometh for TV. This impressed the widow of Eugene O'Neill enough for her to give him the screen rights to Long Day's Journey. The cast and director formed a cooperative and agreed to work for a lower fee in exchange for a percentage of the profits.

Jason Robards was the only actor from the stage version to also star in the film. He had won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for playing Jamie Tyrone in the 1957 Broadway staging, and reprised the part in O'Neill's sequel A Moon for the Misbegotten. He later played James Tyrone in several productions of the play.

Marlon Brando was offered the role of Jamie, but turned it down.

The film was reportedly shot for $435,000 over 37 days, two days over schedule. The entire film was shot in-sequence, after three weeks of rehearsals. Lumet later wrote that the total budget was $490,000. Exteriors were shot at the house at 21 Tier Street in City Island in the Bronx, and interiors were on sets at Chelsea Television Studios in Manhattan.

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