The Long Gray Line

1955 "Warms Your Heart! STIRS YOUR BLOOD! and fires your imagination!"
7.2| 2h18m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 09 February 1955 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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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.

Genre

Drama, Comedy

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Director

John Ford

Production Companies

Columbia Pictures

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The Long Gray Line Audience Reviews

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.
SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
Married Baby Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
HotToastyRag If you start out watching The Long Gray Line and think it's a silly comedy, keep watching. This touching biopic of Martin Maher, a man who spent fifty years at West Point, gets better, I promise. Tyrone Power stars as the Irish immigrant who, upon his coming to America, immediately goes to West Point for a job as a dishwasher. He keeps breaking plates, which come out of his paycheck, so he joins the army to avoid paying damages. I know, it sounds silly. And when he first sees Maureen O'Hara, they both give each other cow eyes and forget how to speak-which is equally silly. Once Tyrone and Maureen get married, the movie turns into a serious drama. I've seen a lot of Tyrone Power movies, and while he's pretty inoffensive, I've never thought of him as an especially strong actor. In The Long Gray Line, he shows his hidden talents. He gives an excellent performance, developing his character and keeping his memories on the surface as he ages. Without giving the story away, I'll just say the film gets more touching as it continues. You might need a Kleenex.Maureen O'Hara, Donald Crisp, Robert Francis, Philip Carey, Patrick Wayne, Betsy Palmer, Ward Bond, Peter Graves, William Leslie, and Harry Carey Jr. support Tyrone in smaller roles, each of them memorable and vital to the story. Some are family, some are fellow soldiers, but all show the impact one man had on the many different generations that came to West Point. If you like military biopics or Tyrone Power, you're not going to want to miss this one.
rickdumesnil-55203 i had never seen this film before. and I'm a die hard Tyrone power fan even though some say he was just a pretty face. well this pretty face could act and renders all emotions perfectly. had he lived longer he would have been one of the greatest actors who ever lived.....same par as Lawrence Olivier or Orson Welles. to think this role of Marty nearly went to John W Wayne...i would not have watched it. Maureen O'Hara is true to herself classy and a good actress. the story is heart wrenching although it makes us feel good all over. wonder who won the academy award that year for best actor.....well frankly my dear i don't give a dam. one last thing is it just me or a bit of the theme song sounded like LOVE ME TENDER.
MartinHafer 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.
Jim Duffy I saw this movie on TV in the early to mid 60's and then recently caught it again. It is a bit corny and a bit dated and it does play a little loose with the facts of the real Marty Maher's life BUT I did enjoy it immensely. I think it is one of Tyrone Power's best performances and it makes me wonder what kind of a career he might have had if he did not die so young. Having known a number of real Irishmen, I thought his accent was pretty good. He did appear a bit old for the character in the early going. Power was not aging well. He looked even worse in "The Sun Also Rises" and "Witness for the Prosecution". I suppose that might be due to the health problems that resulted in his death at age 44.