The Long Gray Line

The Long Gray Line
220px 1955 Theatrical Poster
Directed by	John Ford
Produced by	Robert Arthur
Written by	Nardi Reeder Campion
Screenplay by	Edward Hope
Based on	Bringing Up The Brass: My 55 Years at West Point (1951) by Martin Maher
Starring	Tyrone Power Maureen O'Hara
Narrated by	Tyrone Power
Music by	George Duning
Cinematography	Charles Lawton Jr. Charles Lang
Edited by	William A. Lyon
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	January 22, 1955 (1955-01-22)
Running time	138 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,748,000 (estimated)
Box office	$4.1 million (US)

The Long Gray Line is a 1955 American Technicolor drama film in CinemaScope directed by John Ford based on the life of Marty Maher. Tyrone Power stars as the scrappy Irish immigrant whose 50-year career at West Point took him from a dishwasher to a non-commissioned officer and athletic instructor. Maher was buried there in January 1961.

Maureen O'Hara, one of Ford's favorite leading ladies, plays Maher's wife and fellow immigrant, Mary O'Donnell. The film costars Ward Bond as Herman Koehler, the Master of the Sword (athletic director) and Army's head football coach (1897-1900), who first befriends Maher. Milburn Stone appears as John J. Pershing, who in 1898 swears Maher into the Army. Harry Carey, Jr., makes a brief appearance as the young cadet Dwight D. Eisenhower. Philip Carey plays (fictional) Army football player and future general Chuck Dotson.

The phrase "The Long Gray Line" is used to describe, as a continuum, all graduates and cadets of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Many of the scenes in the film were shot on location at West Point, including the "million dollar view" of the Hudson River near the parade grounds. The film was the last one in which actor Robert Francis appeared before his death at age 25 in an air crash. His rising stardom had reached third billing behind Power and O'Hara at the time of his death.

Plot

The movie is framed as the reminiscences of Master Sergeant Martin Maher (Tyrone Power), who first came to West Point in 1898 as a civilian employee. Arriving from County Tipperary, Ireland, Marty begins as a waiter. When he realizes that enlisted men receive better treatment than do hired laborers, he immediately signs up. Capt. Koehler (Ward Bond), impressed with his boxing skills, wants him as an assistant in athletics instruction.

Marty meets Mrs. Koehler's cook, Mary O'Donnell (Maureen O'Hara), also recently arrived from Ireland. They marry and settle into a house on campus. Marty becomes a corporal, and Mary saves enough money to bring his father (Donald Crisp) and brother (Sean McClory) to America. Mary becomes pregnant, but the baby dies only hours after birth, and Mary learns that she may never have another child. The cadets become the children they will never have. Over time, Marty continues to earn the love and respect of cadets such as Omar Bradley, James Van Fleet, George Patton and Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Mahers grow close to the family of "Red" Sundstrom, a former cadet killed in World War I.

Years later, Marty is still at West Point, and James "Red" Sundstrom, Jr. (Robert Francis), along with the sons of others whom Marty had trained, has become a cadet. Later, Mary attempts to view one of the parades she so loves, but her health is poor and she is forced to watch the proceedings from her porch. As Marty is fetching her shawl, she quietly dies. On Christmas Eve, Marty prepares for quiet evening but is joined by a group of cadets. Kitty (Betsy Palmer) arrives with Red, Jr., who has earned his captain's bars on the battlefield and wants Marty to pin them on. The film concludes with a full dress parade in Marty's honor. As the band plays a series of Irish tunes, all the people Marty loves, both living and dead, join the marching cadets on the field.

Cast

• Tyrone Power as Martin Maher
• Maureen O'Hara as Mary O'Donnell
• Robert Francis as James N. Sundstrom, Jr.
• Donald Crisp as Old Martin
• Ward Bond as Captain Herman Koehler
• Betsy Palmer as Kitty Carter
• Philip Carey as Charles "Chuck" Dotson (as Phil Carey)
• William Leslie as James Nilsson "Red" Sundstrom
• Steve Forrest as Sergeant
• Harry Carey, Jr. as Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Patrick Wayne as Abner "Cherub" Overton
• Sean McClory as Dinny Maher
• Peter Graves as Corporal Rudolph Heinz
• Milburn Stone as Captain John J. Pershing
• Erin O'Brien-Moore as Mrs. Koehler (as Erin O'Brien Moore)
• Walter D. Ehlers as Mike Shannon
• Willis Bouchey as Major Thomas
• Russell Reeder as Commandant

Reception

Variety called The Long Gray Line "..a standout drama on West Point". Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called the film sentimental but a rich and rousing tribute to West Point, and likens Power's Martin Maher to "'Mr.Chips' with a brogue".

See also

• List of American films of 1955

External links

• The Long Gray Line at IMDb
• The Long Gray Line at AllMovie
• The Long Gray Line at the TCM Movie Database
• The Long Gray Line at the American Film Institute Catalog