D-Day the Sixth of June (1956)

This movie's opening prologue states: "1944 . Half a million men awaited the signal to cross the English Channel. For many it was to be the last day of their lives. It was D-day the sixth of June" . One ship , transporting Special Force Six , is assigned on a dangerous mission , and ahead the main invasion . On board are British Colonel Wynter (Richard Todd who actually took part in the invasion as a parachutist) and American Captain Parker (Robert Taylor who gives a surprisingly fine acting) , both of whom remember their lives in flashbacks . The coming battle results to be a dangerous and nearly impossible assignment into French territory occupied by the Nazis . Five beaches -codenamed Utah , Omaha , Gold , Juno and Sword- were selected as the landings points for the British , Canadian and US Corps , the operation will be preceded by a month-long bombing campaign to disrupt communications , preventing reinforcements from moving quickly into the threatened area and destroy vital bridges and gun positions . As the two American and a British officers reminisce in flashbacks about their previous romances with the same woman , in special their separate involvements with Valerie Russel (Dana Wynter , though Jean Simmons was originally cast in the lead female acting character) . This dramatic film about an unresolved love story , is narrated aboard a ship , en route to Normandy , by means of flashbacks in with two officers reminisce about a triangular love story , including a dramatisation of the Normandy landings . The movie utilizes an often-used plot of the war movie genre which has two soldiers , here Richard Todd and Robert Taylor , in love with the same woman , the gorgeous Dana Wynter . Impressive and breathtaking final scenes when there takes place the Normandy invasion , being confined to the film's last fifteen minutes , though filmmaker used only eighty soldiers and two Higgins Boats or Landing Crafts . The ending images will determine the surprising denouement in which one comes together to her . Trio protagonist is pretty good , Robert Taylor gives a restrained interpretation as the enamored captain who falls deeply with the beauteous Dana Wynter and Richard Tood is nice as the upright and brave Lt. Col. John Wynter . Support cast is frankly well , such as : Edmond O'Brien , John Williams , Jerry Paris and Richard Wyler . Atmospheric and evocative musical score by Lynn Murray . Colorful cinematography in Technicolor by the splendid director of photography Lee Garmes . Shot on location in California , the naval scenes were filmed at the former Long Beach Naval Shipyard at Terminal Island California, and at the Fox Studio back-lot . The motion picture based on the fictional 1955 romantic war novel, 'The Sixth of June' by Lionel Shapiro (who had been a World War II Canadian war correspondent) was professional but slowly directed by Henry Koster . He was an expert on super-productions and epic biographies , such as he proved in : ¨Desiree¨, ¨The Virgin Queen¨, ¨A man called Peter¨, ¨The story of Ruth¨ , ¨The Naked Maja¨ and the successful ¨The Robe¨ . He directed what was his biggest success to date , the James Stewart comedy ¨Invisible Harvey¨ (1950) . Koster directed a few more costume dramas , such as ¨Desirée¨ (1954) with Marlon Brando , then went back to family comedies and musicals, such as ¨Flower Drum Song¨ (1961) . After he finished ¨Dominique¨ or ¨The singing nun¨ (1966) he retired from the film business .

Growing up in the 50's and 60's we saw plenty of movies about WW2. They fell roughly into two groups. There were the British war films, which usually dealt with true stories such as "Reach for the Sky", "The Dam Busters" and "The Cockleshell Heroes". The others were the big Hollywood productions based on novels, which often had as much romance as military action: "Battle Cry", "The Young Lions" and "In Love and War". "D-Day the Sixth of June" was one of those.Set in WW2, Robert Taylor revisits Waterloo Bridge territory as Captain Brad Parker, a married American officer who falls for a British woman, Valerie Russell (Dana Wynter), whose British boyfriend Colonel John Wynter (Richard Todd) is off fighting in the Commandos. Inevitably, the two men come together on a special mission - a prelude to the D-Day landings.Most of the film is played out against the backdrop of wartime Britain and that Britain is mostly on the backlot of Twentieth Century Fox. The film looks rather artificial. However it was made 10-years after the war by many people who had served, and reveals attitudes that must have been current at the time. The way the Americans and British thought about each other comes through in conversation and it isn't always flattering. The self-interest of some senior officers, represented by Edmund O'Brien as Parker's commanding officer, is disturbing. The way Parker forgets that he has a wife waiting for him at home and moves in on Colonel Wynter's girlfriend brings to mind the old WW2 adage about the Americans being 'overpaid, oversexed and over here'. However the ending shows the allies coming together when it counted with mutual respect all round.Although I wasn't overly keen on romantic films as a child in the 50's, I liked the stars. Other than Robert Taylor (a bit old for the part) and Richard Todd (the epitome of the British war hero), the one that really caught my attention was Dana Wynter. She was just so distractingly beautiful. I remember her in other movies around the time: "Something of Value", "In Love and War" and "Sink the Bismarck". She was a bit posh, but maybe that added to the attraction. She passed away a few years ago like nearly all the stars I admired back in the day.There have been plenty of better films since "D-Day the Sixth of June", but it's a movie of its time with some interesting performances and a surprise ending.

D-Day the Sixth of June? My opinion, the title needs to be a sudsy soap opera. Maybe partying in London Fog? If one wants to see a great movie about WW II, see The Longest Day. My opinion, this movie, D-Day the Sixth of June, is a total ripoff. Many of the characters being portrayed are terrible representations of our soldiers performance in this war. My opinion, the kissing scenes seem to be something out of the Three Stooges. It appears the most often scenes are Dana Wynter carrying a tray with tea things. This must have taken a lot of rehearsing to get her performance to the point she did not drop the tray. Maybe one will like the movie if one likes dancing? My opinion, at the very start of the movie show all lead actors standing around being drunk and disorderly and then being hit by a buzz bomb. The movie ends one minute later showing their tombstones. So this would be like a three minute movie sort of like a three minute egg.

A film which springs immediately to mind after watching D-Day the Sixth of June is Abbott and Costello go to Mars. In that cerebral little opus A&C never actually get to Mars - they go to Venus instead, and even then it is only after some considerable preliminaries. Unlike that picture, D-Day the Sixth of June does actually get to the events referred to, but it is only as an aside for ten minutes or so at the end; like Abbott and Costello go to Mars, the title is a complete misrepresentation.For most of its running time this film is actually a boring and clichéd melodrama in which Robert Taylor, Richard Todd and Dana Wynter play three two-dimensional characters involved in a love triangle against a backdrop of wartime England (Hollywood's conception of wartime England, anyway). The three roles may just as well have been played by cardboard cut-outs, but for what it's worth Richard Todd probably comes off best, being the only one of the major cast members who even hints at creating a real-life character. Robert Taylor is at his most wooden, and also possibly a little too old for his role. His love scenes with Dana Wynter generate less passion than an undertaker's convention. But then again, Dana Wynter always did seem to me to be a particularly passionless actress.It can only be regretted that the film's makers did not spend more time on the subsidiary characters, who seem to me to be far more interesting. Brigadier Russell is well played by John Williams, and his resentment of the American interlopers is a theme which could have been developed far more fully. Likewise the flaky nature of Edmond O'Briens Colonel Timmer is never really explored or explained in any sense at all.All in all, I enjoyed Abbott and Costello Go to Mars a lot more.