John Wayne’s 1962 war movie The Longest Day is assessed by historian Dan Snow. Following Allied and German forces, The Longest Day portrays real-life figures who invaded and fought on the beaches of Normandy during World War II. Praised for its depiction of D-Day, the Oscar-nominated movie is often considered among the most realistic in that category. Along with Wayne, who portrayed Benjamin H. Vandervoort, the cast includes Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Eddie Albert, Richard Burton, Rod Steiger, and more.
In a recent video for History Hit, Snow looked at scenes from The Longest Day, including when Allied soldiers used gliders to land in Normandy, which he described as “ one of the most famous, one of the most celebrated actions on D-Day. ”
Snow discussed the background and accuracy of these sequences, as well as the combined effort that went into various military operations. Read Snow’s comments on The Longest Day below:
For me, the big lesson from The Longest Day is that filmmakers want to emphasize the collaboration that was required on D-Day. Now bear in mind, this movie is made less than 20 years after D-Day takes place. That is less time than between us and 9/11. So, there would have been people in the audience, there would have been people involved in the production process who knew a lot about D-Day, who experienced D-Day, and as a result, they wanted to emphasize that this was a job in which lots and lots of different people, doing lots of different tasks, work together and overcame the massive, massive challenge of landing in Northwest Europe. You see paratroopers, you see planners, you see infantrymen, you see people in communications, you see people storming the beaches, and it’s all of those small little pictures that combined give us the giant, dramatic image of what happened on D-Day.
How Accurate Is The Longest Day?
The Longest Day Gets Many Details Right
The Longest Day was adapted from Cornelius Ryan’s book, a piece of non-fiction that recounts D-Day from varying perspectives. Snow explained how the film accurately presented the forethought of Allied troops, who used paradummies to misguide the Germans before invading Normandy. When discussing the messenger pigeons, he stated, “It is a really important reminder of how difficult it was to communicate on D-Day,” adding that military forces could have employed radios and lights too.
The movie navigates several events leading up to and surrounding D-Day and, as Snow mentioned, it features English, French, and German dialogue. The Longest Day is one of Wayne’s better-known war movies, and the character of Vandervoort was a real Lieutenant Colonel who was part of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Because other actors, including Fonda and Albert, were enlisted in the United States military during the events of World War II, they likely had some experience to draw on while playing the real-life individuals as well.
It is interesting to learn about the accuracy of The Longest Day and how the depiction of Normandy’s invasion was received by Snow, an actual historian. Details could have been added, and some parts may have been changed for the screen (which is not uncommon for productions based on real or historical events), but it seems that Wayne’s 62-year-old war movie largely reflects what occurred during D-Day. It also likely inspired many World War II movies that came out afterward, many of which no doubt drew inspiration from the very real story the film told.
How The Longest Day Inspired World War II Movies In Later Decades
The Film’s Historical Accuracy Makes It An Important War Movie
The accuracy of The Longest Day is a factor that carried over into many memorable World War II movies that came out in the decades that followed. One of the most famous examples is Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, often considered one of the greatest war movies ever made. Much like Wayne’s film, D-Day plays a major part in the movie, as the three brothers of the titular Private James Ryan (Matt Damon) are killed in the battle. What follows is a mission led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) to find the young soldier and bring him home.
Much like The Longest Day, Saving Private Ryan draws inspiration from real events that transpired during World War II. While the soldiers themselves are fictional characters, Ryan pulls inspiration from the real-world Niland brothers, two of whom were killed during the war. While the film is more fictionalized compared to the movie Wayne starred in, its inspiration from history shows how important accuracy to the time period is, even when a movie exploring the war includes original characters.
While The Longest Day isn’t the first war movie to ever be produced, its popularity coupled with five Oscar nominations helped usher in an era of historically accurate war movies.
Beyond Spielberg’s film, though, are a whole host of realistic World War II movies that have weaved their stories together with the realities of the time period. This includes films close to The Longest Day’s release, like 1970’s Patton, to newer movies like Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. Decades of World War II movies show how important historical accuracy is to filmmakers, something that helps illustrate the realities of the war in a fictionalized setting. But it also underscores the reverence held for the time period, even after so many decades have passed.
Why Accuracy In World War II Movies Is So Important
The Longest Day Helped Set An Important War Movie Trend
While The Longest Day isn’t the first war movie to ever be produced, its popularity coupled with five Oscar nominations helped usher in an era of historically accurate war movies. While there have been plenty of inaccurate World War II films since Wayne’s was released, many war movies in general do their best to be as accurate to their respective time periods as possible. While this may have happened regardless of the 1962 movie’s performance, its critical praise was a key factor in how other movies that came after it were influenced.
It’s likely that, as more war movies from various time periods are inevitably made in the years to come, The Longest Day will still be remembered for having plenty of accurate details that helped inspire future films. By staying true to the history of World War II, this movie and others like it pay tribute to one of the most horrifying global conflicts in human history. The cost of war is something explored in many a movie, but Wayne’s holds key historical importance that cannot be overlooked.