The Long Gray Line (1955)

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Nardi Reeder Campion (book)
Edward Hope (writer)

Release Date:

9 February 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Warms Your Heart! STIRS YOUR BLOOD! and fires your imagination!

Plot:

The life story of a salt-of-the-earth Irish immigrant, who becomes an Army Noncommissioned Officer and...

Plot Keywords:

Military | Military Academy | Immigrant | West Point | Irish Immigrant

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Tyrone Power	...	Martin 'Marty' Maher
Maureen O'Hara	...	Mary O'Donnell
Robert Francis	...	James N. Sundstrom Jr.
Donald Crisp	...	Old Martin
Ward Bond	...	Capt. Herman J. Kohler
Betsy Palmer	...	Kitty Carter
Philip Carey	...	Charles 'Chuck' Dotson (as Phil Carey)
William Leslie	...	James Nilsson 'Red' Sundstrom
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Dwight Eisenhower
Patrick Wayne	...	Abner 'Cherub' Overton
Sean McClory	...	Dinny Maher
Peter Graves	...	Cpl. Rudolph Heinz
Milburn Stone	...	Capt. John Pershing
Erin O'Brien-Moore	...	Mrs. Koehler (as Erin O'Brien Moore)
Walter D. Ehlers	...	Mike Shannon

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Australia:G | West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | Argentina:Atp

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Average Shot Length (ASL) = 13 seconds

Goofs:

Factual errors: According to the plot line of the movie Martin "Marty" Maher retired from the Army in the 50's (Eisenhower was President), in real life Maher retired from the Army in 1928 and stayed at West Point as a civilian employee in the athletic department and retired from that in 1946. He died on Jan. 17, 1961, at the age of 84 and is buried in the West Point cemetery.

Quotes:

Jim O'Carberry: This is Marty Maher. Whitey Larson.
Martin 'Marty' Maher: How do you do, sir?
Jim O'Carberry: If you have any trouble with horses, drop around and see Marty.
Whitey Larson: But he's in the infantry!
Jim O'Carberry: Well naturally! He knows horses. You don't think they'd put him in the cavalry, do ya?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "What's My Line?: (1955-03-27)" (1955)

Soundtrack:

My Country, 'Tis of Thee

Makes my top ten list!

This movie is one of John Ford's best. I have seen this movie many times, and it only improves with age. A truly heart warming story of a man who came from Ireland and found a new home at West Point, home of our oldest Military Academy. If you like tradition and biographies, this movie is one that you can't help but to love. The only bad thing about the movie is that it is not shown enough and doesn't get the credit it deserves.