The Longest Day
All team (98)
Short description
The Longest Day recounts the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, following the operation from the planning stages through the landings themselves. The film moves between the different sides involved, showing American, British, Canadian and Free French forces preparing to cross the English Channel while German commanders, including Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, assess the defenses of the Atlantic Wall and conclude that the attack must be stopped at the water's edge. The date is set despite uncertain weather, airborne troops drop inland before dawn, and troops come ashore on five beaches, where the outcome remains in doubt for both sides.
The film is based on Cornelius Ryan's book, and Ryan worked on the screenplay with David Pursall and Jack Seddon. It was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck for 20th Century Fox and Darryl F. Zanuck Productions, with a large ensemble cast led by John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Richard Burton, Sean Connery and Leslie Phillips, and it credits 140 performers and 99 crew members. Zanuck and Gerd Oswald, Bernhard Wicki, Ken Annakin and Andrew Marton share the directing credit; for Wicki it followed The Bridge, and for Annakin it came after Swiss Family Robinson.
Released on September 25, 1962, the film runs 178 minutes and cost about 10 million dollars, returning roughly 50 million worldwide. It holds a 7.7 rating on IMDb from 63,000 votes, a 7.6 on TMDB from 1,058 votes, and a critics' rating of 7.5 from 24 reviews, leaving audience and critical assessments closely aligned.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film was based on the historical novel "The Longest Day" from 1959. The author of the book, Cornelius Ryan, collected extensive documentary material in the form of interviews with eyewitnesses.
- Darryl F. Zanuck, producer of 20th Century Fox Studios, purchased the film rights to the novel from the author for $175,000.
- Zanuck's task was to create a large-scale and authentic film. Whenever possible, filming was done in real historical locations and in weather conditions as close as possible to those described in the book.
- The novel was adapted into a screenplay by the writer and World War II veteran Romain Gary.
- To save time and because different segments of the film were shot in their original languages, several directors worked on the film: Ken Annakin shot the British and French scenes, Andrew Morton shot the American scenes, and Gerd Oswald and Bernhard Wicki shot the German scenes.
- While clearing a section of beach in Normandy for filming, workers found a tank in the sand that had directly participated in the landing in June 1944. It was cleaned and repaired, and then used in the filming.
- The role of General Dwight Eisenhower was played by Henry Grace. He was not an actor, but was given the role due to his physical resemblance to Eisenhower.
- During the filming of the beach landing, the actors playing American soldiers initially refused to jump from the landing craft into the water, believing it would be cold. This angered Robert Mitchum, who played Brigadier General Norman Cota, so much that he jumped into the water first, after which the extras had no choice and followed him.
- Richard Todd himself participated in the Normandy landings. He was offered to play himself, but he refused, jokingly stating that “such minor roles” were no longer for him. As a result, Todd was given the role of Major John Howard. According to the script, at one point a soldier ran up to Todd, playing Howard, and began to report on the situation on the front lines. In other words, a soldier playing Todd ran up to Todd himself, playing Major Howard, and informed him of information that the real Todd once reported to the real Howard.
- Joseph Lowe, in his youth (he was a private and was 22 years old), participated in the landing operation and climbed the cliff. Seventeen years later, he had to climb the same cliffs again, but this time for the camera.
- The USA, Great Britain, and France provided approximately 23,000 military personnel for the filming (Germans appeared on screen only in roles of officers with lines). The French were at war in Algeria at the time, but sent 1,000 commandos.
- Just before filming began in Corsica, a man approached producer Darryl F. Zanuck, claiming to represent the beach owners. He demanded $15,000, stating that otherwise modern cars would drive across the beach and disrupt filming. Zanuck paid the requested amount, but it later turned out to be a hoax, as there were no private beaches on Corsica at all. Zanuck filed a lawsuit seeking damages, and eight years later the court ruled in his favor.
- Roddy McDowall was in Italy filming the historical drama “Cleopatra” (Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Reuben Mamoulian, 1963), and he was so tired of the endless problems and delays in filming that he literally begged Darryl F. Zanuck to give him any role at all in “The Longest Day.” As a result, he got a bit part as an American soldier. Richard Burton, busy filming “Cleopatra” as Mark Antony, also appeared in the film directed by Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Gerd Oswald, Bernhard Wicki and Darryl F. Zanuck. He played a small role as a British pilot.
- Filming of the landing itself was nearing completion, but Darryl F. Zanuck still couldn't find working aircraft. He needed German “Messerschmitts” and British “Spitfires.” Almost at the last moment, he found the former in Spain and the latter with the Belgian Air Force, and rented them for filming.
- This is one of the first American films about World War II in which actors from different countries spoke almost all of their lines in their native language (i.e., Germans speak German, French speak French, and Americans and British speak English). Subtitles with the translation were shown at the bottom of the screen. The film was released in two versions. In one, everyone spoke English, in the other (the more famous one) actors from Germany and France spoke in their national languages.
- By making this film, the “20th Century Fox” film company took a significant risk. The film’s budget was $10 million, so the risk was truly substantial, but an even greater risk was posed by the concurrent filming of “Cleopatra.” “Cleopatra” was undeniably a box office success, but the film did not recoup the money spent on filming, and the studio almost went bankrupt. Fortunately, “The Longest Day” turned out to be one of the most commercially successful projects of “20th Century Fox,” which somewhat mitigated the financial situation created by “Cleopatra.”
- During filming in Sainte-Mère-Église, traffic was blocked, shops were closed, and the power supply to the town was cut off to make it easier for the paratroopers, who had never before made night jumps in densely populated areas. In any case, only two paratroopers managed to land in the square, and several people received injuries upon landing (one, for example, broke both legs). After that, the filmmakers decided to replace the drops from passing aircraft with jumps from a crane.
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