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The Longest Day Overview:

The Longest Day (1962) was a Action - Drama Film directed by Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki and Darryl F. Zanuck (uncredited) and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and Elmo Williams.

Academy Awards 1962 --- Ceremony Number 35 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Art DirectionArt Direction: Ted Haworth, Leon Barsacq, Vincent Korda; Set Decoration: Gabriel BechirNominated
Best CinematographyJean Bourgoin, Walter Wottitz, (Henri Persin)Won
Best Film EditingSamuel E. BeetleyNominated
Best PictureDarryl F. Zanuck, ProducerNominated
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The Longest Day BlogHub Articles:

Looking back on THE LONGEST DAY (1962)

on Jun 6, 2024 From Comet Over Hollywood

On June 6, 1944, one of the most critical events in history took place — D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, which was the catalyst to the eventual end of World War II. Various films have told the story of this event, but one of the best accounts of the day is the film THE LONGEST DAY ... Read full article

The Longest Day (1962)

By Beatrice on Aug 15, 2017 From Flickers in Time

The Longest Day Directed by Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton and Bernhard Wicki Written by Cornelius Ryan et al from Ryan’s book 1962/USA Darryl F. Zanuck Production/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation First viewing/Netflix Instant Yet another 1962 movie for my “Ten Favorite New-to-Me Fi... Read full article

The Longest Day: Actors who fought in D-Day

on Jun 6, 2014 From Comet Over Hollywood

Seventy years ago today, Allied forces stormed Omaha Beach in the Normandy Invasion, known as D-Day. A few of those soldiers were established actors or later pursued a career in Hollywood. Here are a few of those men that served in D-Day: Lt Col David Niven, Royal Marine Commando, Normandy 1944 Dav... Read full article

The Henry Fonda Collection: The Longest Day (1962), The Grapes of Wrath (1940) & Overall Thoughts – Father’s Day Gift Guide

on Jun 4, 2013 From Journeys in Classic Film

The Longest Day is a three-hour opus following all the events leading up to and in execution of D-Day. This 1962 docudrama has the distinction of being the most expensive black and white film made at the time (it would be ousted by Schindler’s List).  At a diffuse three-hours the title isn&#... Read full article

The Longest Day

By Alyson on Nov 30, 2010 From The Best Picture Project

Many of my generation have grandfathers who served in WWII.  Each have their individual stories, whether they were in the Pacific, Europe or just waiting.  My Papa never talked about it, but he was one of the thousands of men who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.  Knowing that has always ... Read full article

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The Longest Day Quotes:

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.
Capt. Colin Maud: [pointing] The war's over there!
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!
Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.: As best I can figure it, we're on the wrong beach. The control boat must have been confused by the smoke from the naval bombardment. They landed us about a mile and a quarter south of where we were supposed to land. We should be up there.
Col. Caffey: I agree with you, but what are we gonna do now? Our reinforcements and heavy equipment will be approaching in a very few minutes. What happens if they land at the right beach?
Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.: The reinforcements will have to follow us wherever we are. We're starting the war from right here. Head inland. We're going inland.
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The Longest Day Facts
The Messerschmitts used to portray Luftwaffe fighters were not Bf-109s, but were actually Bf-108 Taifuns, a four-seat cabin monoplane design with a wider fuselage.
During the making of the film, Darryl F. Zanuck effectively commanded more "troops" than any of the generals during the actual campaign.
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, 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.
An estimated 23,000 troops were supplied by the U.S., Britain 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.
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