vincentlynch-moonoi It's interesting to read the other reviews here of this movie. About half with strong praise, the other half with disdain. Perhaps part of that is how you look at the military. I honor the sacrifices of our soldiers and the many necessary military campaigns that our country has undertaken, and my father was military, but I'm not quite the fan that John Ford obviously was. But on the other hand, a few years ago I took a tour of West Point, and I was very impressed, so it was a pleasure seeing this film, much of which was filmed at West Point. It lent a sense of realism to the film.However, if you're expecting a great war story here, you're going to be disappointed. That's not what this is about...although with John Ford as director, what you get is rather surprising -- a rather sentimental tale of a handful of people around which West Point functioned. They weren't the heroes, so this is not about that. This is a simple story which is more about immigrants fitting into a new culture...and a rather odd culture, at that.Perhaps the biggest criticism of this film is that Tyrone Power was about 20 years too old for the role...and it shows. That being said, it's a fine performance, and all the better that it's so atypical of what we expect of Tyrone Power. He clearly did some of his own "stunts" here, which made me think of his fatal heart attack just 3 years later.The other actors here do what's expected of them. Maureen O'Hara is bright and bossy as ever...if anything, perhaps slightly overplayed. Donald Crisp plays Tyrone Power's father (you'll enjoy seeing him do the jig), Ward Bond plays a Captain, and the rarely seen Betsy Palmer has a small role. John Wayne's son Patrick also has a small role, interesting because his dad was who director John Ford wanted for the lead role here. However, it would have been a very different film had Wayne played the role. The ill-fated Robert Francis (memorable from "The Caine Mutiny") has a decent role here; gone too soon.John Ford does an excellent job here of portraying love of country and love of culture, although before you're halfway through the film, you're liable to be just a tad bit tired of the emphasis on the Irish. Yet, that's the way it was back then. And, my respect for Ford has grown as a result of watching this film. It's not a western, nor a war flick (even though it was about a military academy), and you can't help but get choked up several times during the film.Highly recommended.

bob-790-196018 Could be Ford's worst. It is a biopic of some Irish guy named Marty Maher, but after 138 minutes I still couldn't figure out what made him special enough to be the subject of a feature film. In real life, Mr. Maher may well have been a fine man with many attainments, but in this movie, aside from giving kindly advice to cadets on a couple of occasions, his one real achievement is that of being Irish. This may explain why Ford dwells so insistently on Marty's Irishness.I can't even figure out what exactly Marty did at West Point for fifty years. It had something to do with athletics, but that's as much as we know. The reason he merits being saluted by a parade of cadets at the end, playing (of course) Irish tunes in march time, appears to be that he was a nice guy with a colorful accent and everybody liked him.Not exactly the stuff of drama! Ford's involvement in all things Irish is much in evidence. Marty's wife is the stereotypical colleen, with flaming red hair, a flaring temper, flashing eyes, and a thick brogue. We are all asked to share in Ford's delight with this. As for Marty's father, how the devil did he manage to get in good with the brass at West Point and become something of a fixture there himself? And why does he persist in dressing like a leprechaun? We are treated to multiple scenes of cadets drilling, being drilled, and marching on parade, with perhaps more military songs being played than ever were heard in a single movie. In the end, there is a prolonged sequence with hundreds of cadets marching in honor of Marty while he stands there saluting. Enough to make you squirm with embarrassment.A really bad movie.

wes-connors Long biography of a West Point veteran who instructs in swimming and such, despite displaying mediocre athletic skills. Tyrone Power stars - and, he plays the part like an Irish Charlie Chaplin. He isn't awful, but the story and direction (John Ford) fail both he and some other competent performers. Naturally, Maureen O'Hara is introduced, like an Irish Lillian Gish. Can it be a coincidence that Donald Crisp is in this movie? Could this film have been an attempt to fool the Russians into thinking our West Point was vulnerable? My choice for the peak of dramatic sentimental idiocy is the portion where Mr. Power and Ms. O'Hara pray for a son - imagine the long gray faces if they had been blessed with a girl! I would have expected then to pray for a healthy baby; if you watch, you will see Divine revenge. On the plus side, "The Long Gray Line" is presented by filmmakers in possession of obvious money, and skill. If you're in the mood for a long, green line from John Ford and company, it's not unpleasant. ***** The Long Gray Line (1/22/55) John Ford ~ Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, Robert Francis

olarko This beautiful, offbeat story offered Tyrone Power a chance to show new facets of his acting ability -- especially in comedy -- to his audience: He is funny, very warm and tender, a masterful but understanding leader, and a man so embedded in family traditions that fitting into West Point -- which reeks with tradition -- is a natural for him. He and Maureen O'Hara play off each other as if they'd been doing it for years. O'Hara also, by the way, gets a rare chance at this point in her career to show her comedic talents, and her brilliant performance makes obvious the reason why John Ford adopted her as a favorite and a member of his stock company. The supporting cast -- for the most part -- measures up to the very high standards set by the leads, especially Donald Crisp, Ward Bond, O'Hara's brother Charles Fitzsimons, and the huge cast of excellent young actors who play so many cadets, well known and otherwise. The only fly in the ointment is the completely wooden but very pretty Robert Francis, whose film career was extremely short and totally undistinguished by any acting at all. "The Long Gray Line" is a film worth seeing again and again!!!