North American theatregoers who have not been able to attend plays starring two of Canada's major theatre actors, Martha Henry and William Hutt, will see them up close Sept. 19, when PBS broadcasts the award winning film adaptation, "Long Day's Journey Into Night."

The picture, named Best Film at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1996, is based on a staging presented at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, where Hutt and Henry are mainstays. Peter Donaldson and Tom McCamus also star in the Eugene O'Neill classic, as the troubled sons of an aging actor and their drug-addicted mother.

The films airs on "Great Performances" 9 PM (ET) on PBS. Check local listings for exact air time and date.

The film was produced by Toronto-based Rhombus Media, the company that produced the award-winning 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould.

A wide American release never happened, apparently because there was talk of an American film version starring a major box office star. Such an adaptation has not yet materialized. Hutt and Henry were seen in New York City in November 1998, when the Stratford Festival presented The Miser and Much Ado About Nothing at City Center. In Much Ado, Henry was a mature Beatrice to Brian Bedford graying Benedick.

-- By Kenneth Jones