Well, I don’t know anyone who has ever seen this film – and I do know that even the star of the film Richard Todd never saw it.

There seem to be no pictures or film stills for us to use from this film

It starts out in a curious fashion in October of 1967.  Richard Todd was staying at his flat in London one evening when a knock came at the door and he opened it to quite a forlorn looking character who was Peter Everett. He had written a script for a film and was producing and directing it. He begged Richard Todd to read the script which Richard did later that night.  

The following evening Peter Everett came round again and was almost in tears and imploring Richard Todd to take the leading role in his film – he explained that Richard was vital to the film.

Richard Todd had , however been very impressed by the script that Peter Everett had written – they story centred on a former RAF fighter pilot who had seen much action in the War, and now the War was over seemed unable to adjust to the realities of post war life. He became more and more engrossed with memories of those finest hours and about the colleagues who had perished – he became lost in a hideous dream world much to the contempt of his son and the agony of his long suffering wife.   He had in the story, taken on a Pub close to a Wartime airfield in Kent – and proceeded to cram it with memorabilia of the conflict.

Finally almost deranged he dons his RAF uniform and wanders on to the airfield, surrounded in his mind by ghosts of the past.  His son finds him and at last seems to understand his inner turmoil and quietly talks him back to safety.    This is a touching scene that bridges the generations.

Richard Todd was profoundly disturbed by the script – however he found it beautifully written by Peter Everett who was a novelist and poet.

Richard Todd agreed to do it – he had by this time been told that filming would start in a few days time down at Hawkinge in Kent – and he learned that quite a strong cast of well-known British actors had been lined up including Patrick Barr, David Markham, Sonia Dresdel, Sue Jameson and Malcolm Tierney.  Then a  new cast member Gillian Raine was brought in to play the Airman’s wife – on Richard Todd’s recommendation. He said that he loved working with her.

The first day’s filming proved a nightmare of incompetence and chaos – a young cameraman had been assigned who had been a still specialist and no experience of this type of work.  That evening Richard Todd phoned up contacts he had and an experienced film cameraman and crew arrived on set  the next day.

Scenes in the local Pub at Paddlesworth went well –

Other studio scenes were done in a converted Hangar at Panshanger, a former RAF airfield Nr Welwyn.

This film was finished in November 1967. Richard Todd thought that they had managed to produce something really good.

However, he added ‘ What happened to ‘The last of the Long Haired Boys’ I don’t know’ 

Apparently he was out of the country when it was due for release – and he never saw any share of the profits from the film – if indeed there were any.

However one day some time afterwards he was sitting in a Restaurant in London when an old acting friend Trevor Howard came up to him and said ‘ Just seen your film Ther Last of the Long Haired Boys.  Bloody marvellous, Dicky old boy’

As Richard said ‘ I could not have asked for a finer accolade than that from my screen hero’

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If anyone out there knows of – or has seen this film please let me know. I have searched around for years for it – but to no avail. There must be a 16 mm or 35 mm copy somewhere.