The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about D-Day, the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II. Producer Darryl F. Zanuck paid the book's author, Cornelius Ryan, US$175,000 for the film rights.[3] The screenplay adaptation was written by Romain Gary, James Jones, David Pursall, Jack Seddon, and Ryan. It was directed by Ken Annakin (British and French exteriors), Andrew Marton (American exteriors), Gerd Oswald (parachute drop scene), Bernhard Wicki (German scenes), and Darryl F. Zanuck (uncredited).
The Longest Day, which was made in black and white, features a large ensemble cast including John Wayne, Kenneth More, Richard Todd (an actual Normandy veteran), Robert Mitchum,Richard Burton, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Red Buttons, Rod Steiger, Leo Genn, Peter Lawford, Gert Fröbe, Irina Demick, Bourvil, Curd Jürgens, Robert Wagner, Paul Anka and Arletty. Many of these actors played roles that were virtually cameo appearances.
The film employed several Axis and Allied military consultants who had been actual participants on D-Day. Many had their roles re-enacted in the film. These included: 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),Lord 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).
Although the Canadian Army landed at Juno Beach on 6 June 1944, it was only mentioned but not shown in the film.
Plot[]
The Longest Day is filmed in the style of a docudrama. Beginning in the days leading up to D-Day, the film concentrates on events on both sides of the channel such as the Allies waiting for the break in the poor weather and the anticipation of the Axis forces defending northern France. The film pays particular attention to the decision by General Eisenhower, supreme commander of SHAEF, to go after reviewing the initial bad weather reports as well as the divisions within the German High Command on when an invasion might happen or what response to it should be.
Numerous scenes document the early hours of 6 June when Allied airborne troops were sent in to take key locations. The French resistance is also shown reacting to the news that an invasion has started. The Longest Day chronicles most of the important events surrounding D-Day. From the British glider missions to secure Pegasus Bridge, the counterattacks launched by American paratroopers scattered around Sainte-Mère-Église, the infiltration and sabotage work conducted by the French resistance and SOE agents, and the response by the Wehrmachtto the invasion and the uncertainty to whether it was a feint in preparation for crossings at the Pas de Calais (see Operation Fortitude).
Set piece scenes include the advance in shore from the Normandy beaches, the US Ranger Assault Group's assault on the Pointe du Hoc, the attack on Ouistreham by Free French Forcesand the strafing of the beaches by two lone Luftwaffe pilots.
The film concludes with a montage showing various Allied units consolidating their beachheads before the advance inland begins to liberate France.
Cast[]
Americans[]
British[]
French[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Arletty | Madame Barrault |
| Jean-Louis Barrault | Father Louis Roulland |
| André Bourvil | Mayor of Colleville |
| Pauline Carton | Maid |
| Gil Delamare | Naval Commando (also was the leading stunt director of the film) |
| Irina Demick | Janine Boitard (French Resistance) |
| Fernand Ledoux | Louis |
| Christian Marquand | Capitaine de Frégate Philippe Kieffer
Commander French Navy commandos |
| Madeleine Renaud | Mother Superior |
| Georges Rivière | Sergeant Guy de Montlaur |
| Jean Servais | Contre-amiral Jaujard |
| Georges Wilson | Alexandre Renaud |
Germans[]
Production[]
Filming[]
- The film was shot at several French locations including the Île de Ré, Saleccia beach in Saint-Florent, Haute-Corse, Port-en-Bessin-Huppain filling in for Ouistreham, Les Studios de Boulogne in Boulogne-Billancourt and the actual locations of Pegasus Bridge near Bénouville, Calvados, Sainte-Mere-Eglise and Pointe du Hoc.[4]
- During the filming of the landings at Omaha Beach, the extras appearing as American soldiers did not want to jump off the landing craft into the water because they thought it would be too cold. Robert Mitchum, who played GeneralNorman Cota, became disgusted with their trepidation. He jumped in first, at which point the extras followed 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.[3]
- In the scenes where the paratroopers land, the background noise of frogs croaking "ribbit ribbit" was wrong for northern French frog species and showed that the film probably used an American recording of background night noises.
- Colin Maud loaned Kenneth More the shillelagh he carried ashore in the actual invasion, while Richard Todd wore the actual D-Day helmet worn by Major John Howard.
- In the film, 3 Free French Special Air Service paratroopers jumped into France before British and American airborne landings. This is accurate. 36 Free French SAS (4 sticks) jumped into Brittany (Plumelec and Duault) on 5 June (11 h 30). The first Allied soldier killed in action was Free French Corporal Émile Bouétard: 6 June (0 h 40) in Plumelec, Morbihan.
- The United States Sixth Fleet extensively supported the filming and made available many amphibious landing ships and craft for scenes filmed in Corsica, though many of the ships were of (then) modern vintage. The USS Springfield, and USS Little Rock, both World War II light cruisers (though extensively reconfigured into guided missile cruisers) were used in the shore bombardment scenes, though it was easy to tell they did not resemble their wartime configuration.
- Among historical inaccuracies was the calling up of Engineers to "blow a path" through a "sea wall" to allow forward troop movement. The Sea Wall was, at highest, one meter, made of rocks, and lay at the edge of high tide. This barrier was used to prevent erosion and on 6 June 1944, provided cover for the overwhelmed first two waves.[5]
Casting[]
[1][2]John Wayne in The Longest Day*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. At 55, Wayne was 28 years older than Vandervoort at the time of action (and 10 years older in real life). While everyone else accepted $25,000 as payment, John Wayneinsisted on $250,000 to punish Zanuck for referring to him as "poor John Wayne" regarding Wayne's problems with his lavish movie The Alamo.[6]
- Sergeant Kaffeekanne's name is German for "coffee pot", which he always carries.
- It is a common misconception that Bill Millin, the piper who accompanies Lord Lovat to Normandy with his bagpipes, played himself in the film. He was actually portrayed by Pipe MajorLeslie de Laspee, the official piper to the Queen Mother in 1961.[7][8]
- In Sainte-Mère-Église, Private John Steele from the 82nd Airborne (played by Red Buttons) has been memorialised by the local population with a dummy hanging from a parachute from the church tower on which he accidentally landed.
- Richard Todd, who played Major John Howard, leader of 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 took the part of Major John Howard instead. In the film, shortly after the British have captured the Orne bridge (later renamed Horsa Bridge), one of the soldiers tells Todd, playing Howard, that all they have to do now is sit tight and await the arrival of the 7th Parachute Battalion, to which Todd's character replies dismissively: "the Paras are always late". This was a private joke, Todd had been the adjutant of the 7th Parachute Battalion on D-Day.
- 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 as a serving member of the 505th Airborne Battle Group who provided US Army film extras.
- Former US 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 World War II self. The role of General Eisenhower went to Henry Grace, a set decorator with no acting experience, but who had been in the film industry since the mid-1930s. He was a dead ringer for the younger Eisenhower, though his voice differed.
- The film marked the last film appearance of Sean Connery before he was cast in the role of James Bond. Gert Fröbe (Sergeant Kaffeekanne) and Curd Jürgens (General Günther Blumentritt) would later go onto play Bond villains Auric Goldfinger (Goldfinger (1964)) and Karl Stromberg (The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)) respectively. Connery would later play Major General Roy Urquhart in the 1977 film A Bridge too Far which was also based on a book by Cornelius Ryan. (Likewise Wolfgang Preiss played Major General Max Pemsel in The Longest Day and Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt in A Bridge too Far.)
- Canadian journalist Charles Lynch played an unnamed war correspondent on Juno beach, who calls the homing pigeons "damned traitors" when they fly towards Germany. Lynch, then working for Reuters, was one of a handful of journalists to accompany the troops ashore in the actual invasion.
- Mel Ferrer was originally signed to play the role of General James M. Gavin but withdrew from the role due to a scheduling conflict.[9]
Release[]
The film premièred in France on 25 September 1962, followed by the United States on 4 and 23 October for the UK.
Unique for British and American produced World War II films of the time, all French and German characters speak in their own languages with subtitles in English. Another version, which was shot simultaneously, has all the actors speaking their lines in English (this version was used for the film's trailer as all the Germans deliver their lines in English). However this version saw limited use during the initial release. It was used more extensively during a late 1960s re-release of the film.
The English-only version has been featured as an extra on older single disc DVD releases.
Awards & nominations[]
- Academy Awards for Best Art Direction (1962): Ted Haworth, Léon Barsacq, Vincent Korda and Gabriel Béchir (nominated)[10]
- Academy Awards for Best Cinematography (1962): Jean Bourgoin and Walter Wottitz (won)[10]
- Academy Awards for Best Editing (1962): Samuel E. Beetley (nominated)[10]
- Academy Awards for Best Picture (1962): (nominated)[10]
- Academy Awards for Best Special Effects (1962): (won)