The Longest Day

(1962) Darryl F Zanuck’s recreation of the Allied landings in Normandy on D-Day cost the then enormous sum of $10 million to produce, making it one of the most expensive black-and-white films in the history of cinema. The film vividly examines D-Day, not just in terms of the the British and American forces but also of the German troops and of the French. The British contingent is spearheaded by Richard Burton, Kenneth More, Peter Lawford, Richard Todd (who was largely reprising the role he had played during the real D-Day landings), Leo Genn, John Gregson, Sean Connery and Jack Hedley, while the Americans are represented by John Wayne, who held out for $250,000 for four days’ work, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Robert Ryan, Rod Steiger, James Wagner, Red Buttons, Paul Anka, Roddy McDowall and Stuart Whitman. Cinematographers Jean Bourgoin and Walter Wottitz deservedly won an Academy Award for their work and a second Oscar went to Robert MacDonald (visual) and Jacques Maumont (audible) for their impressively realistic special effects., An epic World War II film with an all-star cast, this three- hour classic details the Allied invasion of Normandy., The Longest Day is a mammoth, all-star re-creation of the D-Day invasion, personally orchestrated by Darryl F. Zanuck. Whenever possible, the original locations were utilized, and an all-star international cast impersonates the people involved, from high-ranking officials to ordinary GIs. Each actor speaks in his or her native language with subtitles translating for the benefit of the audience (alternate “takes” were made of each scene with the foreign actors speaking English, but these were seen only during the first network telecast of the film in 1972). The stars are listed alphabetically, with the exception of John Wayne, who as Lt. Colonel Vandervoort gets separate billing. Others in the huge cast include Eddie Albert, Jean-Louis Barrault, Richard Burton, Red Buttons, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Gert Frobe, Curt Jurgens, Peter Lawford, Robert Mitchum, Kenneth More, Edmond O’Brien, Robert Ryan, Jean Servais, Rod Steiger and Robert Wagner. Paul Anka, who wrote the film’s title song, shows up as an Army private. Scenes include the Allies parachuting into Ste. Mere Englise, where the paratroopers were mowed down by German bullets; a real-life sequence wherein the German and Allied troops unwittingly march side by side in the dark of night; and a spectacular three-minute overhead shot of the troops fighting and dying in the streets of Quistreham. The last major black-and-white road-show attraction, The Longest Day made millions, enough to recoup some of the cost of 20th Century Fox’s concurrently produced Cleopatra., The events of D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Allied invasion of Normandy, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view., An epic World War II film with an all-star cast, this three-hour classic details the Allied invasion of Normandy, a recreation that boasts Oscar-winning special effects and cinematography., Darryl F Zanuck’s Second World War drama recreates the Allied landings in Normandy in June 1944. The film vividly examines D-Day from the perspectives of the British, American, German and French forces., War film recounting the Normandy invasion., One of the most notable war films ever made, recounting the Normandy invasion with an international cast. Based on Cornelius Ryan’s bestseller., Epic, Oscar-winning depiction of the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944. An international all-star cast play out the heroics and tragedies of the Allied invasion of Normandy, from the tense wait for the weather to break before the huge armada could set sail, to the bloody battles fought on the beaches of France., Darryl F Zanuck’s Second World War drama recreates the Allied landings in Normandy in June 1944. The film vividly examines D-Day from the perspectives of the British, American, German and French forces. The British contingent includes Richard Burton, Kenneth More, Richard Todd and Sean Connery, while the American troops include John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Rod Steiger and Roddy McDowall. Cinematographers Jean Bourgoin and Walter Wottitz deservedly won an Academy Award for their work and a second Oscar went to Robert MacDonald (visual) and Jacques Maumont (audible) for their impressively realistic special effects. The film cost $10 million to produce, making it one of the most expensive black-and-white movies in the history of cinema. And that sum was bolstered by John Wayne’s impressive contract negotiation, which saw him earn $250,000 for just four days’ work., Epic war film following soldiers, on both sides, during D-Day with an all star cast.