The Longest Day (1962)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Directors:

Ken Annakin
Andrew Marton
(more)

Writers:

Cornelius Ryan (screenplay)
Cornelius Ryan (book)
(more)

Release Date:

4 October 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

42 STARS IN THE LONGEST DAY

Plot:

The events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view.

Plot Keywords:

Invasion | 1944 | D Day | Normandy | England

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

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 (scenes deleted)
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 Paratrooper
Stuart Whitman	...	Lt. Sheen
Georges Wilson	...	Alexandre Renaud
John Wayne	...	Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Daniel Gélin	...	Undetermined Role (French Version) (scenes deleted)
Françoise Rosay	...	Undetermined Role (French Version) (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	...	German soldier (uncredited)
Pipe Major Leslie de Laspee	...	Bill Millin - piper on beach (uncredited)
Colin Drake	...	Zanuck (uncredited)
Michel Duchaussoy	...	Extra (uncredited)
Frank Finlay	...	Pvt. Coke (uncredited)
Harry Fowler	...	British Paratrooper (uncredited)
Bernard Fox	...	British soldier (uncredited)
Robert Freitag	...	Meyer's aide (uncredited)
Bernard Fresson	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Lutz Gabor	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Harold Goodwin	...	British Infantryman (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)
Patrick Jordan	...	British Soldier talking to Major Howard (uncredited)
Til Kiwe	...	Capt. Helmuth Lang (uncredited)
Mickey Knox	...	(uncredited)
Simon Lack	...	Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory (uncredited)
Harry Landis	...	British Soldier (uncredited)
Rudy Lenoir	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Joseph Lowe	...	Ranger at Ponte du Hoc (uncredited)
Wolfgang Lukschy	...	Col. Gen. Alfred Jodl (uncredited)
Victor Maddern	...	Pvt. Hutchinson (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)
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)
Lee Strasberg	...	Sergeant Forster (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)

Directed by
Ken Annakin		(British exterior episodes)
Andrew Marton		(American exterior episodes)
Bernhard Wicki		(German episodes)
Darryl F. Zanuck		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Cornelius Ryan		(screenplay)
Cornelius Ryan		(book)
Romain Gary		(additional episodes written by) &
James Jones		(additional episodes written by) &
David Pursall		(additional episodes written by) &
Jack Seddon		(additional episodes written by)

Produced by
Elmo Williams	....	associate producer
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	producer

Original Music by
Maurice Jarre

Cinematography by
Jean Bourgoin		(photography)
Walter Wottitz		(photography)

Film Editing by
Samuel E. Beetley

Art Direction by
Léon Barsacq		(as Leon Barsacq)
Ted Haworth		(as Ted Aworth)
Vincent Korda

Production Management
Julien Derode	....	production manager (uncredited)
Christian Ferry	....	production manager (uncredited)
Lee Katz	....	production manager (uncredited)
Louis Wipf	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bernard Farrel	....	assistant director
Tom Pevsner	....	assistant director
Louis Pitzele	....	assistant director
Gerard Renateau	....	assistant director
Jean Herman	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Gerd Oswald	....	director: parachute drop scene (uncredited)
Gerd Oswald	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Henry Sokal Jr.	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Elmo Williams	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
Gabriel Béchir	....	set designer (uncredited)
Sam Gordon	....	property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Joseph de Bretagne	....	sound (as Jo De Bretagne)
Jacques Maumont	....	sound
Gene Radzik	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby (2004 5.1 update)
William Robert Sivel	....	sound (as William Sivel)

Special Effects by
Karl Baumgartner	....	special effects (uncredited)
Joseph de Bretagne	....	special effects (uncredited)
Karl Helmer	....	special effects (uncredited)
Augie Lohman	....	special effects (uncredited)
Robert MacDonald	....	special effects (uncredited)
Alex Weldon	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Jean Fouchet	....	optical effects
Bob Cuff	....	matte painter (uncredited)
David S. Horsley	....	additional visual effects (uncredited)
Wally Veevers	....	visual effects (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)
Ian Yule	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Pierre Levent	....	cinematographer: incidental photography (uncredited)
Henri Persin	....	cinematographer: incidental photography (uncredited)
Vincent Rossell	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Guy Tabary	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Maude Spector	....	casting: UK

Costume and Wardrobe Department
John McCorry	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Paul Anka	....	composer: thematic music
Maurice Jarre	....	conductor
Mitch Miller	....	music arranger: thematic music

Other crew
Jean Barral	....	technical advisor: France (as Commandant Jean Barral)
Roger Bligh	....	technical advisor: USA (as Lt. Col. Roger Bligh)
Günther Blumentritt	....	military consultant (as General Günther Blumentritt)
Willard L. Bushy	....	technical advisor: USA (as Commander Willard L. Bushy)
Hubert Deschard	....	technical advisor: France (as Commandant Hubert Deschard)
James M. Gavin	....	military consultant (as Lieutenant General James Gavin)
A.J. Hillebrand	....	technical advisor: USA (as Lt. Col. A.J. Hillebrand)
John Howard	....	military consultant (as Major John Howard, D.S.O., C. de G.)
James R. Johnson	....	technical advisor: England (as Col. James R. Johnson, D.S.O., O.B.E.)
Philip Kieffer	....	military consultant (as Capitaine De Fregate Philippe Kieffer)
Pierre Koenig	....	military consultant (as General D'Armee Pierre Koenig)
Helmut Lang	....	military consultant (as Captain Helmut Lang)
The Earl of Lovat	....	military consultant (as Brigadier, The Earl of Lovat, D.S.O., M.C.)
Sir Frederick Morgan	....	military consultant (as General Sir Frederick Morgan)
E.C. Peake	....	technical advisor: England (as Lt. Commander E.C. Peake R.N.)
Max Pemsel	....	military consultant (as Lieutenant General Max Pemsel)
Werner Pluskat	....	military consultant (as Major Werner Pluskat)
Fernand Prevost	....	technical advisor: France (as Capitaine Fernand Prevost)
Josef Priller	....	military consultant (as Colonel Josef Priller)
Lucie Marie Rommel	....	military consultant (as Frau Lucie Maria Rommel)
Friedrich Ruge	....	military consultant (as Vice Admiral Friedrich Ruge)
Albert Saby	....	technical advisor: France (as Colonel Albert Saby)
Joseph B. Seay	....	technical advisor: USA (as Colonel Joseph B. Seay)
Elmo Williams	....	coordinator of battle episodes
Gilbert Chomat	....	helicopter pilot: additional photography (uncredited)
Romain Gary	....	script consultant (uncredited)
Fred Hift	....	publicist (uncredited)
Jonny Jendrich	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
James Jones	....	script consultant (uncredited)
Mickey Knox	....	dialogue coach (uncredited)
Lucie Lichtig	....	continuity (uncredited)
Colin Maud	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
David Pursall	....	script consultant (uncredited)
Erich Maria Remarque	....	script consultant (uncredited)
Jack Seddon	....	script consultant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1962) (USA) (theatrical) (as Twentieth Century Fox)
• Centfox (1962) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Fox Films (1962) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1969) (USA) (theatrical) (reissue)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1971) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1984) (Finland) (TV) (MTV1)
• TV3 (1992) (Finland) (TV)
• Oy Europa Vision AB (1995) (Finland) (VHS)
• FS Film Oy (2001) (Finland) (DVD) (2006)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Fox Film (1962) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• CBS/Fox (USA) (laserdisc)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2004) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2006) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Germany (1989) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Germany (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

178 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Australia:PG | South Korea:All | New Zealand:PG | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1962) | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:G | West Germany:12 (f) (bw)

Filming Locations:

Calvados, France

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

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.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

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...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Longest Day

One of the Greatest War Films Ever Bar None!!!

The Longest Day is one of the greatest war films ever. Bar none. The acting, the cinematography, the storline and the acuraccy are great. if any of you fans watch AMC watch the Backstory behind this movie. It's amazing that it was even made. This is Zanuck's greatest work. The perspective from the different combatants regardless of their rank is great. Like somebody else said it did not portray the Germans as cartoonish evil doers. It gave a good honest portrayal that I wish more war movies would have. As a history buff I love to see movies from other countries soldier perspectives. This captures it better than every other war movie. The only one that comes close is Tora, Tora, Tora. There is one drawback however and that is the rangers at Pointe De Hoc. They did find the big guns but,they were further inland and later destroyed before they could be used. Zanuck used this to show the futility and waste of war. Other than that is a classic with very few flaws. The comparison between SPR and TLD are well like comparing apples and oranges. Yes, SPR has gritty realism that stuns you, but like another reviewer said, this was 1962 and the movie was about the entire scope of the battle. It was not meant to be up close and personal like SPR. Many of us appreciate movies from different perspctives. This is not a movie you should not rent. You should own it as part of your video collection. This movie may appear to be pro-war and patriotic, but Zanuck himself said he wanted to make an anti-war film. I think he did so magnificantly. He captured the essence of the book where Cornelius Ryan said he wrote about the men,not the battles. That is why Zanucks film is so successful. He captured the men and their feelings, whether they were American, British,German's or French and what they were feeling going into one WW2's most decisive battle. This is a Four Star Classic!!!!