The Long Gray Line (1955)

The life story of a salt-of-the-earth Irish immigrant, who becomes an Army Noncommissioned Officer and spends his 50 year career at the United States Military Academy at West Point. This ... See full summary »

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Edward Hope (screenplay), Marty Maher (book),

Stars:

Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, Robert Francis

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tyrone Power	...	Martin 'Marty' Maher
Maureen O'Hara	...	Mary O'Donnell
Robert Francis	...	James N. Sundstrom Jr.
Donald Crisp	...	Old Martin
Ward Bond	...	Capt. Herman J. Kohler
Betsy Palmer	...	Kitty Carter
Philip Carey	...	Charles 'Chuck' Dotson (as Phil Carey)
William Leslie	...	James Nilsson 'Red' Sundstrom
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Dwight Eisenhower
Patrick Wayne	...	Abner 'Cherub' Overton
Sean McClory	...	Dinny Maher
Peter Graves	...	Cpl. Rudolph Heinz
Milburn Stone	...	Capt. John Pershing
Erin O'Brien-Moore	...	Mrs. Koehler (as Erin O'Brien Moore)
Walter Ehlers	...	Mike Shannon (as Walter D. Ehlers)

Storyline

The life story of a salt-of-the-earth Irish immigrant, who becomes an Army Noncommissioned Officer and spends his 50 year career at the United States Military Academy at West Point. This includes his job-related experiences as well as his family life and the relationships he develops with young cadets with whom he befriends. Based on the life of a real person.

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Plot Keywords:

military | irish | cadet | military academy | immigrant | 

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Taglines:

Warms Your Heart! STIRS YOUR BLOOD! and fires your imagination!

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Sport

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 February 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ce n'est qu'un au revoir

Box Office

Budget:

$1,748,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Rota Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Walter Ehlers (Mike Shannon) received the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism on July 9/10, 1944 at Normandy France. He was a Staff Sergeant in the 18th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Division.

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Goofs

In the scene where Martin meets Mary outside the gymnasium, he is carrying an armful of boxing gloves, and drops one or two. The dropped gloves change in number and position on the floor as the scene progresses, even Mary gets in the act, changing her position on the floor and relative to the gloves on the floor, and the hat on her head changing its tilt and position from scene to scene.

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Quotes

Jim O'Carberry: This is Marty Maher. Whitey Larson.
Martin 'Marty' Maher: How do you do, sir?
Jim O'Carberry: If you have any trouble with horses, drop around and see Marty.
Whitey Larson: But he's in the infantry!
Jim O'Carberry: Well naturally! He knows horses. You don't think they'd put him in the cavalry, do ya?

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Connections

Referenced in What's My Line?: Episode dated 27 March 1955 (1955)

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Soundtracks

"The Corps"
(uncredited)
Music by W. Franke Harling

User Reviews

All Ford and all heart

You could call "The Long Grey Line" an affectionate tribute by one American institution to another: John Ford to West Point. All the Fordian elements, unashamed sentimentality, boisterious comedy, stark tragedy, are all here, and Ford and his actors convey them all beautifully.

And what actors! Tyrone Power finally proved that he could act in his moving portrayal of Martin Maher, a real-life West Point legend who started out as a fresh-off-the-boat waiter and wound up as the Academy's much-venerated Master of the Sword. Maher died in 1961 at age eighty-four, just as an era he represented was dying, too. Maureen O'Hara gives her usual strong portrayal as his devoted wife, likewise Donald Crisp as his father. Two of the most beloved members of the Ford stock company are here, too. Ward Bond playes Captain Koehler, the previous Master of the Sword who takes young Martin under his wing. And Harry Carey, Jr. has a good spot as the young Dwight Eisenhower, who was going bald even then and trying to stop it with hair-restorer.

A military "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" this may be, but as a heartfelt, human tribute to the Point and the men who made it, as well as good, overlooked Ford, this film is a hidden treasure.