The Long Gray Line (1955)

Copyright 1955 by Columbia Pictures Corp. New York opening at the Capitol: 10 February 1955. U.S. release: 9 February 1955. U.K. release: April 1955. Australian release: 29 September 1955. Sydney opening at the State: 29 September 1955. 12,317 feet. 137 minutes.SYNOPSIS: When the United States Army tries to retire him, Sergeant Marty Maher, athletic trainer at West Point military academy for over 40 years, protests to the President of the United States, whom he had known as a young West Pointer. In doing so, he relates his life history: how he came to West Point as a young Irish immigrant and got a job as a waiter, then took the oath, married Mary O'Donnell, a lively colleen; how, as athletic trainer, he also became friend and adviser to generations of young cadets, including Eisenhower himself, Omar Bradley and James Van Fleet, and others.NOTES: Negative cost: $1.748 million. Initial gross domestic rentals: $5.635 million, making it number 16 at U.S./Canadian ticket windows for the year. Needless to say, the film took nothing like this coin elsewhere, despite the box-office lure of Tyrone Power, Maureen O' Hara and Robert Francis. In Australia, for example, Columbia's receipts did little more than cover the exchange's modest advertising, print and distribution costs.The same procedure was followed by the critics. Whilst American scribes were excessively generous in their praises, overseas reviewers were more guarded, even lukewarm.Last movie appearance of Robert Francis who was killed in an air accident in 1955. After his stunning debut in "The Caine Mutiny" (1954), Francis made "The Bamboo Prison" and "They Rode West", before "The Long Gray Line".Motion picture debut of Betsy Palmer.COMMENT: For those of us with little love for things military in general and xenophobic institutions American in particular, this paean strikes more than a mildly sour note. The fact that it is directed by John Ford only makes our disappointment the more keen. Ford has pulled out all his usual tricks; but the insubstantial and unsympathetic subject matter serves only to starkly reveal the director's various familiar stratagems and sleights of hand for the obvious conjurer's devices they are.However, Ford can be generously lauded for one thing: He consistently uses the CinemaScope camera most effectively. Seemingly endless lines of marching men are paraded right across the screen, whilst set- pieces like the cadets farewell at West Point railway station maximize the impact of crowd scenes. For more human encounters, Ford frames his picture between archways and colonnades to restore the welcome intimacy of the old postage-stamp ratio. I thought Power's performance improved as the picture progressed and that he seemed more convincing in his old-age characterization than in his fresh-from-Ireland youth where his accent and mannerisms struck me as boisterously artificial. Similarly, Maureen O'Hara aged gracefully. From the gauche colleen of her first scenes of kitchen farce to the tired and spent mother of the Academy, Miss O'Hara presents a devoted portrait that backs up the other main players like Donald Crisp (here at his most winning) and Robert Francis. Newcomers Betsy Palmer and William Leslie are also admirably impressive.In addition to these marvelously worthwhile performances, the movie also offers some great production values, including Charles Lawton's superlative photography. Even the many West Point locations are not without interest.Finally, it must be admitted that I did discover three or four genuinely moving moments and at least as many in a lighter vein. But are eight moments enough to sustain involvement in what is basically a jingoistic exercise that tries our patience for 138 minutes?OTHER VIEWS: Typical John Ford production — it even has a reprise, virtually the director's trademark, which I found moving anyway, maybe I'm a pushover for this sort of guff. The John Ford Stock Company is on hand too (Jack Pennick is a recruiting sergeant) and Tyrone Power is in there with an Irish accent that is more than half-way realistic. True, it's an out-and-out sentimental yarn but it's not dwelt on to the point of nauseousness, nor is its boisterous good-humor turned into the incredibly overdone and mindlessly exaggerated slapstick of "Donovan's Reef" or "The Wings of Eagles"... A long running time, but never boring... Robert Francis turns in his usual very capable performance. - JHR writing as George Addison.

As much as I admire John Ford, I found this film a little overly sentimental and with far too much Fordian Irish humour in the first half of the film.The film tells the story of Martin "Marty" Maher, an enlisted man who spent over 50 years at the West Point Military Academy as an instructor. It covers the period from his arrival at West Point as a newly landed immigrant to his meeting with President Eisenhauer some fifty years later.Tyrone Power does a excellent job as Maher aging as he does from a young man in his 20s to his 70s. His makeup is quite convincing and realistic for the time. The ever beautiful Maureen O'Hara plays Mary O'Donnell, Maher's wife. The film follows their relationship from their first meeting to their last.Ford's affection for the military is quite evident. He gives us seemingly endless march pasts featuring "long gray lines" of cadets along with their marching band. The film is beautifully photographed with plenty of green grass in evidence. There are a couple of beautiful framed shots, one of the wedding of the William Leslie and Betsy Palmer characters and another at a tragic moment in Maher's life.The John Ford stock company is well represented in this picture. Included in the large cast are Ward Bond as Maher's first commanding officer, Donald Crisp as his father, Sean McClory as his brother, Harry Carey Jr. as Dwight Eisenhauer and a very young Patrick Wayne in his first film as the cadet "Cherub" Overton. Willis Boucher and Jack Pennick also have smaller parts.Also in the cast are Robert Francis, who died tragically shortly after completing this film, Phil Carey, Martin Milner, Peter Graves and Milburn Stone.Be sure and have some Kleenex handy for the finale.

John Ford was Irish to the core and brought all his talents and emotion to the beautiful Columbia Pictures film starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O Hara-likely two of the most beautiful people ever to appear on the silver screen. As an Army Veteran and one who has visited West Point many times, I find a special feeling for this film. John Ford pulls the story together and is given fine technical support by the Columbia studio. Mr. Power stars and and is superb. Long passed away, Tyrone Power's work deserves review; Power was a true Movie Star and a fine actor. Maureen O Hara gorgeous to the camera and also a veteran of the Ford films is superb in support. The ending is very moving.We should as Americans value West Point and those who have passed thru those hallowed halls, and this film does the great Academy credit.

The film is supposed to be a real-life account of a soldier who was on staff at Westpoint for about 50 years--so long that he became a bit of an institution through the first part of the 20th century.The first 20 minutes or so of the movie didn't particularly impress me. Unlike the rest of the film, this was all played for laughs and Tyrone Power played this portion very broadly. Some might like this, but I thought the "dumb newbie" routine wore thin very, very quickly. We get to see Tyrone drop some plates, get in a fight by mistake and be one of the biggest screw ups in army history. Frankly, he was so obnoxious and stupid that I really wondered if this even remotely had any similarity to anyone--let alone the real character. In many ways, these aspects of the film reminded me of the "funny" moments from WINGS OF EAGLES and PATHS OF GLORY. Many like this stuff, but I think the different moods of the film don't work out all that well--as if the movie can't decide whether it's a drama or a comedy (would this make it a "dramady"?).Fortunately, after a very inauspicious start, the film slowed down and dropped the pratfalls and became an excellent film--full of the usual John Ford sentiment and style. I was surprised that Tyrone Power did such a good job with the role--and his Irish accent was also pretty good. He was ably assisted by some of the usual Ford actors--Ward Bond, Donald Crisp and Maureen O'Hara. The overall effect is very inspiring and will nearly bring a tear to your eye--it was exceptional film making after a somewhat rocky start.