On 6/2/2024 8:40 AM, Evelyn C. Leeper wrote:
Before SAVING PRIVATE RYAN came out, THE LONGEST DAY was
considered the definitive D-Day film, and in some sense it still
is. While SAVING PRIVATE RYAN covers D-Day, a lot of time is
spent on the (fictional) story of trying to find the fifth brother
from a family after the first four have been killed in combat that
day. THE LONGEST DAY, on the other hand, is strictly about the
D-Day invasion and sticks pretty much to the facts. Yes, the
dialogue is not necessarily exactly what was said, and some some
incidents might be fictionalized, but it doesn't invent an entire
story line.
Most of the major actors in The Longest Day were much older than the
actual service members. John Wayne was 55 when he played Lt. Col.
Benjamin Vandervoort who was 24 in WWII. Average age of officers was
around 28.
Richard Todd played Major John Howard of the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry
who led a glider force to capture the Pegasus and Ranville bridges.
Under heavy German fire they were reinforced by the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion, the first officer to report to Major Howard being
Lt. Richard Todd. And yes, that scene is in the movie.
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