The Longest Day (film)

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The Longest Day

original movie poster
IMDB Image:4of5.png 7.8/10 (8,662 votes)
Directed by Ken Annakin (British exterior episodes)
Andrew Marton (American exterior episodes)
Bernhard Wicki (German episodes)
Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck
Written by Romain Gary
James Jones
David Pursall
Cornelius Ryan
Jack Seddon
Starring John Wayne
Henry Fonda
Robert Mitchum
Sean Connery
Music by Maurice Jarre
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date(s) September 25, 1962
Running time 178 min.
Language English
German
French
Budget $10,000,000 US (est.)
IMDb profile

The Longest Day is a 3-hour-long 1962 war film with a very large cast, based on the 1959 book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, during World War II.

Contents

[edit] Background

The movie was adapted by Romain Gary, James Jones, David Pursall, Cornelius Ryan and Jack Seddon from the Ryan book. It was directed by Ken Annakin (British exteriors), Andrew Marton (American exteriors), Gerd Oswald (parachute drop scene), Bernhard Wicki (German scenes) and Darryl F. Zanuck (uncredited).

Many of the military consultants and advisors who helped with the film's production were actual participants in the action on D-Day, and are portrayed in the film. The producers drew them from both sides. Among them are Günther Blumentritt (a former German general), James M. Gavin (an American general), Frederick Morgan (Deputy Chief of Staff at SHAEF), John Howard (who led the airborne assault on the Pegasus Bridge), The Earl of Lovat (who commanded the 1st Special Service Brigade), Philippe Kieffer (who led his men in the assault on Ouistreham), Pierre Koenig (who commanded the Free French Forces in the invasion), Max Pemsel (a German general), Werner Pluskat (the major who was the first German officer to see the invasion fleet), Josef "Pips" Priller (the hot-headed pilot) and Lucie Rommel (widow of Erwin Rommel).

One thing that sets the film apart from most films set in the Second World War is that all characters speak in their own languages, with subtitles in English wherever the characters speak either French or German. The usual Nazi stereotypes are avoided, and most German characters are portrayed as human beings. The words "Sieg, heil!", for instance, are not uttered even once in The Longest Day, although they are seen written on a bunker wall in Ouistreham.

[edit] Cast and roles include

Actor Role
Eddie Albert Col. Thompson
Paul Anka U.S. Army Ranger
Arletty Madame Barrault
Patrick Barr Group Capt. James Martin Stagg (uncredited)
Jean-Louis Barrault Father Louis Roulland
Michael Beint Bit Part
Richard Beymer Schultz
Hans Christian Blech Maj. Werner Pluskat
Bourvil Mayor of Colleville-sur-Mer
Vicco von Bülow German Officer
Richard Burton RAF Flying Officer David Campbell
Wolfgang Buttner Maj. Gen Dr. Hans Speidel
Red Buttons Pvt. John Steele
Lucien Camiret Bit Part
Pauline Carton Maid
Jean Champion Bit Part
Brian Coleman Ronald Callen
Sean Connery Pte. Flanagan
John Crawford Col. Caffrey
Jo D'Avra French Navy Captain
Mark Damon Pvt. Harris
Ray Danton Capt. Frank
Richard Dawson British soldier
Eugene Deckers Nazi officer
Irina Demick Jaine Boitard
Colin Drake Zanuck
Michael Duchaussoy Extra
Fred Dur U.S. Army Ranger Major
Fabian U.S. Army Ranger
Mel Ferrer Maj. Gen. Robert Haines
Frank Finlay Pvt. Coke
Henry Fonda Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
Steve Forrest Capt. Harding
Harry Fowler Bit part
Bernard Fox British soldier
Robert Freitag Meyer's aide
Bernard Fresson Bit part
Gert Fröbe „Unteroffizier [Sgt.] Kaffeekanne“
Lutz Gabor Bit part
Leo Genn Brig. Gen. Edwin P. Parker Jr.
Harold Goodwin Bit part
Henry Grace Dwight D. Eisenhower
John Gregson British Padre
Clement Harari Bit part
Paul Hartmann Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt
Ruth Hausmeister Lucie Rommel
Jack Hedley RAF briefing officer
Peter Helm Young GI
Werner Hinz Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
Michael Hinz Manfred Rommel
Donald Houston RAF pilot at flight base
Jeffrey Hunter Sgt. (later Lt.) John H. Fuller
Karl John Wolfgang Hager
Curd Jürgens Maj. Gen. Günther Blumentritt
Til Kiwe Helmuth Lang
Alexander Knox Maj. Gen. Walter Bedell Smith
Michael Knox
Simon Lack Trafford Leigh-Mallory
Peter Lawford Lord Lovat
Fernand Ledoux Louis
Rudy Lenoir Bit part
Joseph Lowe Ranger at Pointe du Hoc
Wolfgang Lukschy Alfred Jodl
Howard Marion-Crawford Doctor
Christian Marquand capitaine de corvette Philippe Kieffer
Dewey Martin Pvt. Wilder
Neil McCallum Bit part
Roddy McDowall Pte. Morris
Michael Medwin Pvt. Watney
Edward Meeks
John Meillon Alan G. Kirk
Kurt Meisel Ernst During
Bill Millen Himself
Sal Mineo Pvt. Martini
Robert Mitchum Brig. Gen. Norman Cota
Tony Mordente Cook
Kenneth More Commander Colin Maud
Louis Mounier Arthur William Tedder
Richard Munch Erich Marcks
Bill Nagy Bit part
Edmond O'Brien Gen. Raymond D. Barton
Kurt Pecher German commander
Rainer Penkert Fritz Theen
Leslie Phillips Royal Air Force officer
Sian Phillips WREN
Wolfgang Preiss Maj. Gen. Max Pemsel
Maurice Poli Jean
Ron Randell Joe Williams
Hartmut Reck Bernard Bergsdorf
Trevor Reid Bernard L. Montgomery
Madeleine Renaud Mother Superior
Heinz Reincke Josef Priller
Georges Riviere Guy de Montlaur
John Robinson Bertram Ramsay
Norman Rossington Pvt. Clough
Paul Edwin Roth Col. Schiller
Marcel Rouze Bit part
Robert Ryan Brig. Gen. James M. Gavin
Tommy Sands U.S. Army Ranger
Dietmar Schonherr Luftwaffe major
Ernst Schröder Gen. Hans von Salmuth
George Segal Commando #1 up cliff
Jean Servais RAdm. Janjard
Hans Sohnker Deutscher Offizier
Heinz Spitzner Helmuth Meyer
Bob Steele Paratrooper
Rod Steiger Destroyer commander
Lee Strasberg Sgt. Forster
Nicholas Stuart Omar N. Bradley
Alice Tissot Housekeeper
Richard Todd Major John Howard
Serge Tolstoy German officer
Tom Tryon Lt. Wilson
Peter van Eyck Lt. Col. Ocker
Lionel Vitrant the first landed paratrooper, in a garden
Robert Wagner U.S. Army Ranger
Richard Wattis British soldier
Stuart Whitman Lt. Sheen
Georges Wilson Alexandre Renaud
John Wayne Lt. Col. Benjamin H. Vandervoort
Dominique Zardi Bit part

[edit] Awards

It won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White and Best Effects, Special Effects, and was nominated for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White, Best Film Editing and Best Picture.

[edit] Theme lyrics

The music is also the authorized march of Le Régiment de la Chaudière, the Canadian Parachute Centre, and the former Canadian Airborne Regiment of the Canadian Forces.

[edit] Casting

  • Sergeant Kaffeekanne's last name is from the German for "coffee pot", which he always carries.
  • Bill Millin, the piper who accompanies Lord Lovat to Normandy with his bagpipes, played himself in the film. He used the same set of bagpipes he played on D-Day.
  • In Sainte-Mère-Église, Private John Steele from the 82nd Airborne (played by Red Buttons) has been memorialized by the local population with a dummy hanging from a parachute from the church tower on which he accidentally landed.
  • Richard Todd, who plays the Major John Howard leading the British Airborne assault on the Pegasus Bridge, took part in the real bridge assault on D-Day. Todd was offered the chance to play himself but thought the part would be too small, so he asked to play the part of his former commanding officer.
  • Joseph Lowe landed on Omaha Beach and scaled the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc on D-Day. He repeated the climb for the cameras 17 years later.
  • Curd Jürgens, who plays the German General Blumentritt who muses on the incompetence of his superiors, was actually imprisoned by the Nazis in his youth.
  • As well as featuring 007 himself (Sean Connery), this film boasts two James Bond villains: Curd Jürgens played the lunatic industrialist Karl Stromberg in "The Spy Who Loved Me" while Gert Fröbe played Auric Goldfinger in "Goldfinger".
  • Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was considered for the role of himself in the film, and he indicated his willingness. However, it was decided that makeup artists couldn't make him appear young enough to play his WWII self.
  • The role of Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin H. Vandervoort was actively sought by Charlton Heston but the last-minute decision of John Wayne to take a role in the film prevented Heston from participating.
  • Acclaimed British actor Christopher Lee auditioned for a role but was turned down as he did not look like a military man. However, he served in the RAF during World War II.

[edit] Filming

  • During the filming of the landings at Omaha Beach, the American soldiers appearing as extras didn't want to jump off the landing craft into the water because they thought it would be too cold. Robert Mitchum, who played General Norm Cota, finally got disgusted with them and jumped in first, at which point the soldiers had no choice but to follow his example.
  • The Rupert paradummies used in the film were far more elaborate and lifelike than those actually used for the decoy parachute drop (Operation Titanic) which were actually just canvas or burlap sacks filled with sand. In the real operation six Special Air Service soldiers jumped with the dummies and played recordings of loud battle noises to distract the Germans.
  • At $10,000,000, this film was the most expensive black-and-white film made until 1993, when Schindler's List was released. (Source: Turner Classic Movies).

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] DVD Reviews