THE LONGEST DAY

PRODUCED BY DARRYL F. ZANUCK
DIRECTED BY KEN ANNAKIN,(Briish episodes)
ANDREW MARTIN(American episodes)
BERNHARD WICKI(German episodes)
MUSIC BY MICHAEL JARRE and PAUL ANKA
20th.CENTURY FOX

333170

INFORMATION FROM IMDb

Plot Summary

Tells the story of the D-Day invasion of Normandy in WWII. There are dozens of characters, some seen only briefly, who together weave the story of five separate invasion points that made up the operation.

Summary written by John Vogel

England in June 1944. Unseasonal storms. Allied troops are massed ready for the invasion of France, some already on the boats. The Normandy beaches will be their destination while paratroopers are dropped inland to take key towns and bridges. On the other side of the Channel the Germans still expect the invasion at Calais, and anyway the weather makes them think nothing is likely to be imminent. Eisenhower decides to go. Hitler sleeps on.

Summary written by Jeremy Perkins

The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, the US, Britain, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied invasion comes they must be stopped on the beach. "For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day. The longest day."

Summary written by Michael Daly


Full Cast
in alphabetical order

Eddie Albert .... Col. Thompson
Paul Anka .... U.S. Army Ranger
Arletty .... Madame Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault .... Father Louis Roulland
Richard Beymer .... Schultz
Hans Christian Blech .... Maj. Werner Pluskat
Bourvil .... Mayor of Colleville
Richard Burton .... Flight Officer David Campbell
Wolfgang Büttner .... Maj. Gen. Dr. Hans Speidel
Red Buttons .... Pvt. John Steele
Pauline Carton .... Maid
Sean Connery .... Pvt. Flanagan
Ray Danton .... Capt. Frank
Irina Demick .... Janine Boitard (as Irina Demich)
Fred Dur .... U.S. Army Ranger major
Fabian .... U.S. Army Ranger
Mel Ferrer .... Maj. Gen. Robert Haines
Henry Fonda .... Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
Steve Forrest .... Capt. Harding
Gert Fröbe .... Sgt. Kaffekanne
Leo Genn .... Brig. Gen. Edwin P. Parker Jr.
John Gregson .... British Padre
Paul Hartmann .... Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt
Peter Helm .... Young GI
Werner Hinz .... Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
Donald Houston .... RAF pilot at flight base
Jeffrey Hunter .... Sgt. (later Lt.) John H. Fuller (as Jeff Hunter)
Karl John .... Gen. Wolfgang Hager
Curd Jürgens .... Maj. Gen. Gunther Blumentritt (as Curt Jürgens)
Alexander Knox .... Maj. Gen. Walter Bedell Smith
Peter Lawford .... Lord Lovat
Fernand Ledoux .... Louis
Christian Marquand .... Cmdr. Philippe Kieffer (commando leader)
Dewey Martin .... Pvt. Wilder
Roddy McDowall .... Pvt. Morris
Michael Medwin .... Pvt. Watney
Sal Mineo .... Pvt. Martini
Robert Mitchum .... Brig. Gen. Norman Cota
Kenneth More .... Capt. Colin Maud
Richard Münch .... Gen. Erich Marcks
Edmond O'Brien .... Gen. Raymond D. Barton
Leslie Phillips .... Royal Air Force officer
Wolfgang Preiss .... Maj. Gen. Max Pemsel
Ron Randell .... Joe Williams
Madeleine Renaud .... Mother Superior
Georges Rivière .... Sgt. Guy de Montlaur (as Georges Riviere)
Norman Rossington .... Pvt. Clough
Robert Ryan .... Brig. Gen. James M. Gavin
Tommy Sands .... U.S. Army Ranger
George Segal .... U.S. Army Ranger
Jean Servais .... RAdm. Janjard
Rod Steiger .... Destroyer commander
Richard Todd .... Maj. John Howard
Tom Tryon .... Lt. Wilson
Peter van Eyck .... Lt. Col. Ocker (as Peter Van Eyck)
Robert Wagner .... U.S. Army Ranger
Richard Wattis .... British soldier
Stuart Whitman .... Lt. Sheen
Georges Wilson .... Alexandre Renaud
John Wayne .... Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort

rest of cast;-
Daniel Gélin .... Bit part (scenes deleted)
Françoise Rosay .... (scenes deleted)
Patrick Barr .... Group Capt. J.N. Stagg (uncredited)
Michael Beint .... Bit part (uncredited)
Lyndon Brook .... Lt. Walsh (uncredited)
Lucien Camiret .... Bit part (uncredited)
Jean Champion .... Bit part (uncredited)
Bryan Coleman .... Ronald Callen (uncredited)
John Crawford .... Col. Caffey (uncredited)
Mark Damon .... Pvt. Harris (uncredited)
Jo D'Avra .... French Navy captain (uncredited)
Richard Dawson .... British soldier (uncredited)
Eugene Deckers .... Nazi officer (uncredited)
Colin Drake .... Zanuck (uncredited)
Michel Duchaussoy .... Extra (uncredited)
Frank Finlay .... Pvt. Coke (uncredited)
Harry Fowler .... Bit part (uncredited)
Bernard Fox .... British soldier (uncredited)
Robert Freitag .... Meyer's aide (uncredited)
Bernard Fresson .... Bit part (uncredited)
Lutz Gabor .... Bit part (uncredited)
Harold Goodwin .... Bit part (uncredited)
Henry Grace .... Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower (uncredited)
Clément Harari .... Bit part (uncredited)
Ruth Hausmeister .... Frau Rommel (uncredited)
Jack Hedley .... RAF briefing officer (uncredited)
Michael Hinz .... Manfred Rommel (uncredited)
Til Kiwe .... Capt. Helmuth Lang (uncredited)
Mickey Knox .... (uncredited)
Simon Lack .... Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory (uncredited)
Rudy Lenoir .... Bit part (uncredited)
Joseph Lowe .... Ranger at Ponte du Hoc (uncredited)
Wolfgang Lukschy .... Col. Gen. Alfred Jodl (uncredited)
Howard Marion-Crawford .... Doctor (uncredited)
Neil McCallum .... Bit part (uncredited)
Edward Meeks .... (uncredited)
John Meillon .... RAdm. Alan G. Kirk (uncredited)
Kurt Meisel .... Capt. Ernst During (uncredited)
Bill Millin .... Himself (piper on beach) (uncredited)
Tony Mordente .... Cook (uncredited)
Louis Mounier .... Sir Arthur William Tedder (uncredited)
Bill Nagy .... Bit part (uncredited)
Kurt Pecher .... German commander (uncredited)
Rainer Penkert .... Lt. Fritz Theen (uncredited)
Siân Phillips .... WREN (uncredited)
Maurice Poli .... Jean (uncredited)
Hartmut Reck .... Sgt. Bernhard Bergsdorf (uncredited)
Trevor Reid .... Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery (uncredited)
Heinz Reincke .... Col. Josef 'Pips' Priller (uncredited)
John Robinson .... Adm. Sir Bertram Ramsay (uncredited)
Paul Edwin Roth .... Col. Schiller (uncredited)
Marcel Rouzé .... Bit part (uncredited)
Dietmar Schönherr .... Luftwaffe major (uncredited)
Ernst Schröder .... Gen.Hans von Salmuth (uncredited)
Hans Söhnker .... Deutscher Offizier (uncredited)
Heinz Spitzner .... Lt. Col. Helmuth Meyer (uncredited)
Bob Steele .... Paratrooper (uncredited)
Nicholas Stuart .... Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley (uncredited)
Alice Tissot .... Housekeeper (uncredited)
Serge Tolstoy .... German officer (uncredited)
Lionel Vitrant .... The first landed paratrooper, in a garden (uncredited)
Vicco von Bülow .... German officer (uncredited)
Dominique Zardi .... Bit part (uncredited)

Stunts

Ken Buckle .... stunts (uncredited)
Yvan Chiffre .... stunts (uncredited)
Jack Cooper .... stunts (uncredited)
Gil Delamare .... stunts (uncredited)
Joe Powell .... stunts (uncredited)
Nosher Powell .... stunts (uncredited)
Alexandre Renault .... stunts (uncredited)
John Sullivan .... stunts (uncredited)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Romain Gary
James Jones
David Pursall
Cornelius Ryan screenplay
Jack Seddon

Filming Locations

Château de Chantilly, Chantilly, Oise, France
(Kommandantur scenes)

Cyprus

Fox Boulogne Studios, Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France
(studio)

France

La Pointe du Hoc, Calvados, France

La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, France

Orne, France

Ouistreham, Calvados, France

Plage de Lotu, Saint-Florent, Haute-Corse, France

Plage de Saleccia, Saint-Florent, Haute-Corse, France

Pont-du-Bessin, Calvados, France

Sainte-Mère-Eglise, Manche, France

Île de Ré, Charente-Maritime, France

Trivia

* Richard Todd (Major Howard of the British 6th Airborne) was himself in Normandy on D-Day, and participated as Capt. Todd of the 7th Battalion, 5th Brigade, British 6th Airborne in the glider assault on the Orne River Bridge. His battalion actually went into action as reinforcements, via a parachute jump after the gliders landed and completed the initial coup de main assault. He was moved from the plane he was originally scheduled to jump from, to another. The original plane was shot down, killing everyone on board.

* As a 22-year-old private, Joseph Lowe landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day with the Second Ranger Battalion and scaled the cliffs at Point-Du-Hoc. He scaled those hundred-foot cliffs all over again, for the cameras, some 17 years later.

* Darryl F. Zanuck was quoted in an interview as saying that he didn't think much of actors forming their own production companies, citing The Alamo (1960), produced by John Wayne, as a failure of such ventures. Wayne found out about this interview before being approached by Zanuck, and refused to appear in the film unless he was paid $250,000 for his role (when the other famous actors were being paid $25,000). Wayne got his requested salary.

* Henry Grace was not an actor when being cast as Dwight D. Eisenhower, but his remarkable resemblance to Eisenhower got him the role.

* Sean Connery, who made his debut as James Bond also in 1962, acted in the movie along with Gert Fröbe and Curd Jürgens - two future Bond villains.

* 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.

* Red Buttons was cast in the film after he ran into Darryl F. Zanuck in a Paris cafe.

* Due to the massive cost overruns on the film Cleopatra (1963) (which was filming contemporaneously), Darryl F. Zanuck had to agree to a fixed filming budget. After he had spent the budgeted amount he started using his own money to pay for the production.

* When cost overruns on Cleopatra (1963) threatened to force 20th Century Fox to shut down production of this film, Darryl F. Zanuck flew to New York to save his project. After an impassioned speech to Fox's board, Zanuck regained control of the company he founded, ultimately finishing this picture and getting the production of "Cleopatra" under control.

* According to fellow veterans major Werner Pluskat was not at his command bunker in Omaha Beach when the first wave of the invasion forces landed, instead he was in a bordello in Caen.

* The theme song to the movie, by Paul Anka, was used as the Regimental march of the Canadian Airborne Regiment (1968-1995)

* The piper who played the bagpipes as Lord Lovat's commandos stormed ashore is played by the actual man who did this stirring deed on D-Day. His name is Bill Millin. He recently donated that very set of pipes to the national war memorial in Edinburgh Castle.

* While clearing a section of the Normandy beach near Ponte du Hoc, the film's crew unearthed a tank that had been buried in the sand since the original invasion. Mechanics cleaned it off, fixed it up and it was used in the film as part of the British tank regiment.

* One of producer Darryl F. Zanuck's big worries was that, as filming of the actual invasion drew near, he couldn't find any working German Messerschmitts, which strafed the beach, or British Spitfires, which chased them away. He finally found two Messerschmitts that were being used by the Spanish Air Force, and two Spitfires that were still on active duty with the Belgian Air Force, and rented all four of them for the invasion scenes.

* An estimated 23,000 troops were supplied by the U.S., England and France for the filming. (Germans only appeared as officers in speaking roles.) The French contributed 1,000 commandos despite their involvement in the Algerian War at the time.

* The Spitfire planes needed to be fitted with new Rolls-Royce engines before being usable.

* No gliders of the sort used in the invasion were available, so Darryl F. Zanuck commissioned new duplicates from the same company that built the originals.

* The fleet scenes were filmed using 22 ships of the U.S. Sixth Fleet during maneuvers off Corsica between June 21-30, 1961. The cameras had to avoid shooting the area where the fleet's aircraft carrier was positioned, as there were no carriers in the invasion.

* Just before shooting began in Corsica, Darryl F. Zanuck was approached by a man stating he represented the beach owners. He insisted on a $15,000 payment or else they would drive modern cars along the beach. Zanuck paid the money, but it was later discovered to be a scam as there were no private beaches in Corsica. Zanuck eventually won damages after an eight-year lawsuit.

* As there was a nudist colony two miles inland from the Corsican beach, it was necessary to post signs warning the colonists not to approach the water during filming.

* During shooting in Ste. Mère-Eglise, traffic was stopped, stores were closed and the power was shut down in order not to endanger the paratroopers who were unused to night drops in populated areas. Still, the lights and staged fire proved too difficult to work around, and only one or two jumpers managed to land in the square - with several suffering minor injuries. One of the initial jumpers broke both legs in landing. Ultimately, plans to use authentic jumps were abandoned, opting instead for rigged jumps from high cranes.

* Eddie Albert, who played Colonel Thompson, was a World War II veteran. However, Albert actually served in the Pacific, not in Europe.

* As would be done again later in the WWII epic, Patton (1970), the Twentieth-Century Fox logo is never shown onscreen in this film.

* With a $10,000,000 budget, this was the most expensive black & white film ever made until Schindler's List (1993).

* 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.

* In Italy for the filming of Cleopatra (1963), Roddy McDowall became so frustrated with the numerous delays during its production, he begged Darryl F. Zanuck for a part in this picture just so he could do some work. He ended up with a small role as an American soldier.

* A number of sources credit Christopher Lee and Geoffrey Bayldon as being in this project but Lee denies working on the film and Bayldon is nowhere to be seen in the final print.

* One of the very first World War II films made by an American studio in which the members of each country spoke nearly all their dialogue in the language of that country: the Germans spoke German, the French spoke French, and the Americans and Britishers spoke English. There were subtitles on the bottom of the screen to translate the various languages.

* Richard Todd, real live hero of the attack on Pegasus Bridge (see Item 1 above), was offered the chance to play himself but joked, "I don't think at this stage of my acting career I could accept a part *that* small." He played his Commander instead.

* Alec Guinness was sought for a cameo.

* The role of Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin 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.


Goofs

* Revealing mistakes: The shots that kill Private Martini occur too quickly in succession to have been fired from the indicated bolt-action rifle.

* Factual errors: A compound fracture of the ankle indicates blood and/or protruding bones, of which Vandervoort's ankle had none. It also would have been impossible to put any weight on the ankle.

* Crew or equipment visible: Shadow of the dolly against the smoke of battle during the invasion of Omaha Beach. The direction of the shadow and the geography of the beach indicate that this scene, while set at dawn, was filmed in the afternoon.

* Anachronisms: Features LCM-8s, which weren't built until 1954.

* Anachronisms: German general Max Pemsel says: "Wir haben starke RADAR-störungen" (We have strong radar interference). The word "radar" was not used, perhaps even not known in Germany in 1944. They used a somewhat similar system, but called it "Funkmeßgeräte" (radio measuring equipment).

* Errors in geography: During the final scenes of the movie, when an American general is taken up "Omaha" beach, it's actually Juno beach, where the Canadians landed.

* Continuity: When two German planes strafe Gold-Juno beaches, the airborne camera overruns the set exposing the empty beach ahead which has no obstacles, vehicles, or men.

* Factual errors: Before Oberstleutnant Priller and Unteroffizer Wodarczyk attack the Allies there is some stock footage of weaponless BF-108 "Taifun" liason/observation aircraft. Priller and Wodarczyk flew FW-190s on that mission.

* Factual errors: Most of the Americans armed with Thompson submachine guns are wearing M1 rifle clip ammo belts instead of Thompson magazine belts.

* Errors in geography: The German observer who first sees the invasion fleet does so with binoculars made in Germany. We know this because it is written so on the bottom of the binoculars, in English.

* Revealing mistakes: When Pvt. Schultz is lost and finds fellow soldiers across the wall from him, he crosses the wall by swinging his leg over it. When he does, it shakes.

* Factual errors: There's a typo on the caption introducing General Pemsel. It says "Befehlssab 7. Armee" where has to be "Befehlsstab 7. Armee"

* Anachronisms: When the ships are about to begin bombarding the beaches you see a group of planes fly by the camera these are Douglas Sky Raiders which did not see service until the late 1940s.

* Continuity: During the British glider assault on the bridge, the same glider lands three times.

* Revealing mistakes: When LTC Vandervoort uses his flashlight to illuminate his map (while having his broken ankle taped), the flashlight illuminates the map, but displays a flashlight-shaped shadow in the center of the map (indicating the stage light used to "really" illuminate the map).

* Continuity: When the coded radio messages are read out in French, the awaited second line of the poem by Verlaine, "Blesse mon coeur d'une langueur monotone" ("Wounds my heart with a monotonous languor") sets the French resistance-group in motion. They leave the hiding Allied pilots and take up rifles. The next line heard on the radio before it is shut off is "J'aime les chats siamois" ("I like Siamese cats") But when the Germans hear and are recording the identical broadcast and hear the line of poetry, the coded message after that is a message heard before the French resistance-fighters heard the poetry line: "Daphné à Monique: Il y a le feu à l'agence de voyage. Inutile de s'y rendre." ("Daphne to Monique: There is a fire at the travel agency. It is no use to get there").

* Factual errors: When we see Lovat's British commandos land, one of the men is carrying an M-3 "Grease Gun". That was an American weapon never given to the British.

* Revealing mistakes: When the two men are on the rocking boat in the beginning, the straps on their helmets remain at a 90 degree angle to the car they're sitting in despite the boat's drastic rocking back on forth, showing that it was the camera, not the boat wobbling.

* Factual errors: When Lord Lovat leads his men to Pegasus Bridge, he can clearly be seen holding a Mannlicher Schoenauer Model 1903 carbine. One of the well-known eccentricities of Lord Lovat was that he always carried an old Winchester rifle in combat.

* Anachronisms: During the go/no go sequence, a jet can be heard flying overhead as the naval representative is speaking.

* Factual errors: The real Ouistreham casino had been destroyed and replaced by a German bunker before the D-Day landings, rather than having a bunker built into its basement as shown. The casino seen in the film was a set built on the harbour at Port-en Bessin.

* Errors in geography: In the scene where the gliders land at Pegasus Bridge, the caption on screen states "Orne River" and the bridge can be seen below. Pegasus Bridge, where Major Howard's glider landed, is on the Caen Canal, not the Orne.

* Revealing mistakes: During a long continuous shot on the deck of a troop ship involving one soldier discussing his "Dear John" letter to another soldier, a young soldier playing a harmonica can be heard and seen in the background, playing a variant of the film's title score. In the middle of his playing, the musical key changes, and then returns to the original key. With a harmonica (capable of only playing one key), the soldier would have been required to change harmonicas, and never does.

Previous discussion:-
The Longest Day ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Hi,
I have this film both, in the original black and white,
and also the colour version, which is screened in a different
format, and different dialogue captions!
I really rate this film, with it's massive cast of cameos
of almost every actor in the world, so it seems!!
Curiously Duke was only in the film 8 times,
for a total of 12 minutes and 15 seconds!
but with careful editing, he appears to be in it all the way through.
He got paid $250'000 , for 4 days work, not bad heh??
The crew consumed 63'000 meals, 145,000 bottles of wine and drinks,.
These costs amounted to almost one-tenth of the budget!!!
I thought he played a credible part, and looked
confident and at ease with his role.
I thought the whole thing was great, and I could watch it endless times,
and still see something, I'd missed.
Rating 9/10

Click on Previous discussion

The Longest Day ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Hard to argue with that Ethan, one of the best war films to date and we get Duke to boot.

The Longest Day is a great movie and when you think of all the star performance in that film it is the scenes with Duke that are most remembered.

It also cost Darryl Zannuck a lot of money to get Duke which paid him back for his comments on The Alamo.

Memorable Quotes

Here are a few, there are many,many more, if you click on the link below:-

Flight Officer David Campbell: The thing that's always worried me about being one of the few is the way we keep on getting fewer.

[Coded radio message to the French Resistance]
Radio announcer: There is fire at the travel agency.

Brigadier General Norman Cota: I don't have to tell you the story. You all know it. Only two kinds of people are gonna stay on this beach: those that are already dead and those that are gonna die. Now get off your butts. You guys are the Fighting 29th.

Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Vandervoort: You can't give the enemy a break. Send him to hell.

Flight Officer David Campbell: He's dead. I'm crippled. You're lost. Do you suppose it's always like that? I mean war.

[a coded message to the Resistance, spoken in French]
Radio Announcer: Wounds my heart with a monotonous languor

Major General Gunther Blumentritt: [in German] This is history. We are living an historical moment. We are going to lose the war because our glorious Führer has taken a sleeping pill and is not to be awakened. Sometimes I wonder which side God is on.

Private John Steele: Bonjour, mademoiselle. Je suis américain.

Destroyer Commander: You remember it. Remember every bit of it, 'cause we are on the eve of a day that people are going to talk about long after we are dead and gone.

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel: Just look at it, gentlemen. How calm... how peaceful it is. A strip of water between England and the continent... between the Allies and us. But beyond that peaceful horizon...

[to his generals, observing the English Channel]
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel: Just look at it, gentlemen. How calm... how peaceful it is. A strip of water between England and the continent... between the Allies and us. But beyond that peaceful horizon... a monster waits. A coiled spring of men, ships, and planes... straining to be released against us. But, gentlemen, not a single Allied soldier shall reach the shore. Whenever and wherever this invasion may come, gentlemen... I shall destroy the enemy there, at the water's edge. Believe me, gentlemen, the first 24 hours of the invasion will be decisive. For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day... The longest day.

[On whether to commence the Normandy invasion in marginal weather conditions]
General Dwight D. Eisenhower: I'm quite positive we must give the order. I don't like it, but there it is. Gentlemen, I don't see how we can possibly do anything... but go.

[upon landing on beach]
Private Flanagan: Come on out, you dirty slobs! Flanagan's back!

[a coded message to the Resistance, spoken in French]
Radio Announcer: John has a long mustache.

Capt. Colin Maud: [pointing] The war is that way!

Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.: Well, as near as I can figure it; the landing craft have put us ashore about a mile from where we were supposed to land.
Col. Caffey: I agree with you. Ted; but what are we going to do? Our reinforcements and equipment are coming in the second wave. What happens if they land in the right place?
Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.: Gentlemen, we start the war from right here. The reinforcements will have to find us wherever we are. Move inland.

Mayor of Colleville: [meeting the British on the beach] Welcome; welcome, friends. I brought champagne, but I do know think it will be enough for all of you.
Lord Lovat: Quite alright. We have a pressing engagement; the war. Move inland.
[to his bagpiper]
Lord Lovat: Millen, Blue Bonnett!
[as British troops march inland to the bagpipe playing of Millen, the mayor of Colleville raises his champagne bottle in salute, which earns the bemused observation of Clough and Flanagan]
Pvt. Clough: [to Flanagan] I tell you, there are some pretty peculiar blokes on this beach.

Col. Josef 'Pips' Priller: [speaking in German] Thank you, my dear Hans! You have just killed both of us!
[slams down phone]
Luftwaffe major: It is getting very difficult to get any sleep around here.
Col. Josef 'Pips' Priller: Your prospects for a long sleep have just improved. The invasion has begun at Normandy. We are to fly there and attack with our two planes.

Capt. Colin Maud: [walking up to a stalled vehicle] My old grandmother used to say anything mechanical, give it a good bashing.
[Hits hood with his swagger stick]
Capt. Colin Maud: Try it now.
[vehicle cranks]
Private Flanagan: [to Clough] Sure, now; that did it.
[notices Maud looks at him]
Private Flanagan: Ah, now that's what I call a hell of a man!
Pvt. Clough: Aye, I like his dog too.
Capt. Colin Maud: Move inland. The war's that way.

Maj. John Howard: [charging the Orne River Bridge] Up the Ox and Bucks! Up the Ox and Bucks!

Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Vandervoort: I don't think I have to remind you that this war has been going on for almost 5 years. Over half of Europe has been overrun and occupied. We're comparative newcomers. England's gone through a blitz with a knife at her throat since 1940. I'm quite sure that they, too, are impatient and itching to go. Do I make myself clear?
Capt. Harding: Yes, sir. Quite clear.
Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Vandervoort: 3 million men penned up on this island all over England in staging areas like this. We're on the threshold of the most crucial day of our times. 3 million men out there, keyed up, just waiting for that big step-off. We aren't exactly alone. Notify the men, full packs and equipment 1400 hours.
Capt. Harding: Yes, sir.

Lt. Col. Ocker: [Pluskat, inside a bunker, has just realized the Normandy invasion has begun and is warning Ocker, who is skeptical] And just where, my dear Pluskat, are those ships?
Maj. Werner Pluskat: Straight for me!

[Millen plays the bagpipes as British troops march toward the Germans]
Pvt. Clough: There it is, he's at it again! Have you ever heard such a racket in all your life?
Private Flanagan: Yeah, it takes an Irishman to play the pipes.

Maj. Werner Pluskat: [on the phone again] You know those five hundred thousand ships you say the Allies haven't got? Well, they've got them!

INFORMATION IMDb

Hi
It is the last Duke's film that I have seen, it was released here not long ago. It is a great movie, I like it very much. I have black and white widescreen version.
And it was mainly interesting for me because I knew this war better from the other fronts.
Regards,
Vera

This is an excellent huge scale ware movie that is completely engrossing, even though John Wayne has a very small part in it he is still excellent and is a major force in holding the movie together.

I honestly believe that this movie is better than 'Saving private Ryan' and for me in one of the best war movies ever made.

:agent:

Hi

Two books which give a great deal of information on the making of the Longest Day are:

Zanuck the biography of the Direct Darryl F Zanuck by Leonard Mosely

and

MItchum by Lee Server

The second contains a great deal of information about the stars involvement with the making of the film and of the battles he had with the army.

Another great article on the film is Itdo's article in The Trail Beyond Volume VI issue 2004 which is probably still available from Tim Lilley.

And finally the souvenir brochure from the film is also worth a read.

Regards

Arthur

Hi

Sean Connery who appeared in the film had been at twentieth century for a number of years and the only film he appeared in for the studio was The Longest Day shortly before his contract expired.

Travelling on a crowded train during the journey because of his lowly station he was forced to sit on the floor.

When asked by a British companion what his future plans were he said I'm going to play a special agent called James Bond in a lousy movie called Dr No.

The companion later revealed that after that not only would he be guaranteed a seat he would have probably been able to buy the train.

Regards

Arthur

Originally posted by arthurarnell@Jan 29 2006, 01:12 AM
The companion later revealed that after that not only would he be guaranteed a seat he would have probably been able to buy the train.
26135
Isn't that the truth?

Sean Connery is up there awful close to John Wayne in my book.

Not so much for the James Bond movies, but we especially enjoyed him in Darby O'Gill and the Little People and the Indiana Jones movie, The Last Crusade.

The Longest Day is probably one of the best non-documentary WWII movies around, and is available at Deep Discount DVD ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) as part of a boxed set, and you can purchase it from Amazon ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), where you pay through Amazon and arrange for local pick-up at a store near you.

Chester :newyear:

This is another of my all-time most favorite movies. The cast cannot be beat and I (upon learning it here) do wish that Charlton Heston had made it into the movie but in another role. I can't imagine John Wayne NOT being in this fine movie.

A bit more trivia for you.

General Norman D. Cota was the C.G. of the "Keystone" Division nicknamed: The Bloody Bucket Division." They were to get this name because of losing so many men in the Battle of the Huertgen Forest-which took place later in 1944-to early 1945.

Also on Cota: This General was known as "The G.I. General" because he rose up through the ranks from Buck Private to his current position as General.

_______

A good friend of mine who lives in Washington owns a complete Corporals uniform to a soldier who fought with Richard Todd. This man was one a a VERY few who came through that fight uninjured. Sadly, this man passed away last year. :-((

I must repeat what everybody else has said: one of the very best war movies ever. I especially like how it is all about strategy, chances, mistakes and the people involved in the both fronts, and not about ideologies or other reasons behind the war. The black and white photography is brilliant, and so is the way how the bits and pieces form a coherent picture of the invasion.
All actors are good, and so is Duke, but he also manages to stand out more than anybody during his 12 minutes on screen.

There is a special edition vesion coming out on DVD which will get the annoying letterbox version a nice goodbye. The video and audio will be enhanced and it will be in the widescreen format. Look for it in June. I posted on this site the exact dates but I cannot remember where I posted it at. :headbonk:

I have to say that The Longest Day is by far my favorite of the Duke's war movies. The cast is supurb, and the acting is excellent. One of my favorite of JW's lines is from this movie. When he is on the ship and is addressing the men "You can't give the enemy a break. Send 'em to hell." That line chills me.

Absolutely stunning, fantastic cinematography, great acting and a mind boggling, all encompassing view of the invasion on D-Day. I just saw this one on tv because it was remembrance day and I can't compliment it enough. Despite knowing the actual outcome of the invasion, I was holding my breath during parts of the movie, unsure just what would happen next.

The only problem that I have with the movie is that it is just a little too spread thin. By which I mean, you don't have a chance to get attached to many of the characters. I know that with an epic like this (and I most certainly believe that it is an epic) some character development is lost. But a small price to pay for a fantastic movie.

A must for any John Wayne fan or anyone who appreciates the sacrifices made so that we can all be here now.

Beautiful and gritty.

10/10

Duke's Movie Locations

Cyprus

Château de Chantilly, Chantilly, Oise, France
(Kommandantur scenes)

Fox Boulogne Studios, Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France
(studio)

La Pointe du Hoc, Calvados, France

La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, France

Orne, France

Ouistreham, Calvados, France

Plage de Lotu, Saint-Florent, Haute-Corse, France

Plage de Saleccia, Saint-Florent, Haute-Corse, France

Pont-du-Bessin, Calvados, France

Île de Ré, Charente-Maritime, France


SAINTE- MARIE- EGLISE

966
Information from
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sainte-Mère-Église is a small town and commune of the Manche département, in the Cotentin Peninsula near the coast of Normandy, France.

The town's main claim to fame is that it played a significant part in the World War II Normandy landings because this village stood right in the middle of route N13, which the Germans would have most likely used on any significant counterattack on the troops landing on Utah and Omaha Beaches. In the early morning of 6 June 1944 mixed units of the U.S. 82nd Airborne and U.S. 101st Airborne Divisions occupied the town in Operation Detroit, giving it the claim to one of the first towns liberated in the invasion.

The early landings, at about 0140 directly on the town, resulted in heavy casualties for the paratroopers. Some buildings in town were on fire that night, and they illuminated the sky, making easy targets of the descending men. Some were sucked into the fire. Many hanging from trees and utility poles were shot before they could cut loose. The German defenders were alerted.

A famous incident involved paratrooper John Steele, whose parachute caught on the spire of the town church, and could only observe the fighting going on below. He was later captured by a German soldier. The incident was portrayed in the movie The Longest Day.

Later that morning, about 0500, a force led by Lt. Colonel Edward C. Krause of the 505th PIR took the town with little resistance. Apparently the German garrison was confused and had retired for the rest of the night. However, heavy German counterattacks began later in the day and into the next. The lightly-armed troopers held the town, until reinforced by tanks from nearby Utah Beach in the afternoon of June 7. Other notable soldiers in the Allied assault on the town:

Lt. Colonel Benjamin H. Vandervoort (Played by John Wayne)
Lt. Turner B. Turnbull

Krause and Vandervoort both received the Distinguished Service Cross for their actions in the capture of the town.

Modern day Sainte-Mère-Église trades heavily on its invasion history. There are many small museums and World War II-related giftshops and eating places. A dummy paratrooper hangs from the church spire, commemorating the story of John Steele.

This movie is one of my earliest memories of movies and of John Wayne. Over the years and consertively speaking, I have seen this film at least 80 times being seconded by The Green Berets. I might add that I "broke in" my portable DvD player with The Longest Day playing on it as I sat eating lunch at a Mexican Restaurant. People at the table next to me were also watching and commenting on the movie (positive comments of course ;-))

AMC is showing The Longest Day right now. And I noticed something a bit strange. Jeff Hunter is in the movie and it seems like he played two different characters. They just showed a scene where he and Tommy Sands are on one of the transports heading for the invasion. Well, the troops on that ship are Rangers heading for Pointe du Hoc. But, in later scenes, Hunter is on Omaha Beach heading up a demolition crew trying to blow a hole for the U.S. troops to rush through. Now, he was either a Ranger or he was with one of the divisions on Omaha but, he couldn't be two places at once. And he couldn't have gone astray ending up from the Rangers on Pointe du Hoc to Omaha. I think the director might have forgot just where Hunter character was supposed to be.

Echoing a few comments in this thread, it is a great war movie, just a pity Duke had so little screen time

I was initially reluctant to watch this film, cause it was a war film and for the longest time I had the strongest aversion to that genre. But after deciding to suck it up and watch it, I found it to be an extremely enjoyable film with no weak parts whatsoever other than a miner deficiency of vitamin Duke.

With no weak parts whatsoever other than a miner deficiency of vitamin Duke.

That's sharp writing, even Jim will enjoy that line.

I'm glad you liked this movie and I hope you will watch all of John Wayne's war movies.

:agent:

Someday when I get the time I should make a little mini movie of The Longest Day with just Duke's scenes. It should stand up quite well by itself.

Mike

I'm glad you liked this movie and I hope you will watch all of John Wayne's war movies.

:agent:

I have seen all of Duke's war movies, The Longest Day helped get me past my Genre avoidance stage, and my favorite Duke war film is The Green Berets. Dunno why, but I always enjoy watching that film.

Here is an example of the book. It goes into alot more detail than the movie could. I recommend it as a very good read for war buffs. Enjoy!

Mark

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

When the rifle bolt is mistaken for the hand held recognition device, and so many other scenes that draw you right into the movie. This is a good film about a sad chapter in History.