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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

The Longest Day BlogHub Articles:

Looking back on THE LONGEST DAY (1962)

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)

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

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

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

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:

Capt. Colin Maud: [pointing] The war's over there!

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.

Maj. John Howard: [charging the Orne River Bridge] Up the Ox and Bucks! Up the Ox and Bucks!

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: [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.
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The Longest Day Facts
A number of sources credit Christopher Lee and Geoffrey Bayldon as being in this project but Lee denies working on the film and Bayldon is nowhere to be seen in the final print.

The biggest grossing black and white film up until the advent of Schindler's List.

Eddie Albert, who played Colonel Thompson, was a World War II veteran. However, Albert actually served in the Pacific, not in Europe.

Henry Grace was not an actor when being cast as Dwight D. Eisenhower, but his remarkable resemblance to Eisenhower got him the role.

While clearing a section of the Normandy beach near Ponte du Hoc, the film's crew unearthed a tank that had been buried in the sand since the original invasion. Mechanics cleaned it off, fixed it up and it was used in the film as part of the British tank regiment.

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