The Long Gray Line

You could call "The Long Grey Line" an affectionate tribute by one American institution to another: John Ford to West Point. All the Fordian elements, unashamed sentimentality, boisterious comedy, stark tragedy, are all here, and Ford and his actors convey them all beautifully.

And what actors! Tyrone Power finally proved that he could act in his moving portrayal of Martin Maher, a real-life West Point legend who started out as a fresh-off-the-boat waiter and wound up as the Academy's much-venerated Master of the Sword. Maher died in 1961 at age eighty-four, just as an era he represented was dying, too. Maureen O'Hara gives her usual strong portrayal as his devoted wife, likewise Donald Crisp as his father. Two of the most beloved members of the Ford stock company are here, too. Ward Bond playes Captain Koehler, the previous Master of the Sword who takes young Martin under his wing. And Harry Carey, Jr. has a good spot as the young Dwight Eisenhower, who was going bald even then and trying to stop it with hair-restorer.

A military "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" this may be, but as a heartfelt, human tribute to the Point and the men who made it, as well as good, overlooked Ford, this film is a hidden treasure.

I've been humbled! I thought of myself as a movie buff. This one slipped past me. I'm a fan of Ford and everyone in this movie. I must admit I had never heard of this movie. Terrific story telling! The music brought back a lot of memories. The old saying "they don't make 'em like that anymore" certainly applies to this one. Telling a good story and characters you care about is more important than spending $100 million. Some of our current film makers could learn from this movie. You can entertain people sitting around a camp fire telling stories. Just tell a good one and make them care. I'll be adding this film to my library!

First of all, I must admit I am biased. My mom went to college with Marty Maher's niece, Maggie. However, as another reviewer pointed out, this is John Ford at his best, with Tyrone Power playing the part of John Wayne.

Although I do like Wayne, this part called for a better actor, and Ford cast Power brilliantly.

I also can usually smell bad Irish accents from miles off (don't get me started on all of those awful 'irish spring' commercials), but Power sounds like Frank McCourt was coaching him.

The main points of the story are fact based, but some of the events at the end were rearranged to flow better in the movie.

Overall, for John Ford fans, this one is a 'don't miss'!

If you like Irish character studies you'll love this movie. This movie follows in flash back 50 years in the true-life story of Irish immigrant Martin Maher. Tyrone Power plays Martin wonderfully. When Martin arrives in America he takes a civilian waiter job at the US Military Academy at West Point. Docked for "breakage", he joins the Army and works at several different jobs at the Point. The last job being assistant to the "Master of the Sword" played by the very versatile Ford stock company player (Ward Bond). At West Point, Martin meets and marries the love of his life Mary O'Donnell marvelously brought to life by Maureen O'Hara. Martin and Mary setup housekeeping and are able to bring Martin's father Old Martin (Donald Crisp) and brother Dinny to America. When Old Martin first meets Mary he is impressed when he asks if she still `Has the Irish' and she is able to speak in Gaelic.

As the movie unfolds you will really care about Martin, Mary, old Martin and the cadets Martin helps through the Academy. Due to talent of the director John Ford and cast, the characters appear to be real people--not just a bunch of actors who made a movie. You'll be fascinated by the class "The Stars Fell On " (graduating class of Generals Eisenhower, Bradley, etc.) This movie will stir up patriotic feelings, but also shows the high cost of war. You will smile and just might shed a tear before this one is over. You will not regret the time spent with Martin Maher--and may find yourself thinking about this movie for a long time after you see it. This is indeed, one of Pappy Ford's finest.

The mix of biography, comedy and drama interested me. There are many films where comedy and drama balance well together, but when biography is included in the mix too it is dependent on who is being depicted. Have said more than once about liking John Ford a lot, especially for 'The Quiet Man' and a lot of his Westerns. Tyrone Power is not one of my favourite actors, but he did show more than once that he could give good performances and the supporting cast that includes Maureen O'Hara and Donald Crisp promises a lot.

From personal view though, 'The Long Gray Line' was another case of promising more than delivering. Not in a very bad way, as it's not bad at all and has a fair share of good things. 'The Long Gray Line' more an uneven film, with it getting better as it went on after a deceptively not so good start. Well made and acted in particular but the script and story could have done with more work and been more consistent, it's not a misfire for Ford but it's not one of his must sees. Nor is it quite one of his worst, 'Tobacco Road' for example was worse and 'The Long Gray Line' felt more like it was directed by Ford.

A lot of great things can be seen here. The best asset to me was the acting. Power is excellent, while knowing that he could do comedy and quite well (and he shows that here) he really stretches his dramatic acting chops here as well and in an authoritative and moving way. O'Hara is alluring and looks as if she was having fun in her role, being at ease with her role. Crisp is in the type of role he played well and plays the role with ease. Ford's direction is much better here than in 'Tobacco Road', it's still not inspired as such but there is more of his recognisable style here and he seemed more involved and opened up. The film looks great, especially the photography which is at its best gorgeous. The costumes are handsome enough and the settings don't look phony. The music has jauntiness and elegance.

Moreover, Ford directs with an expert hand. He doesn't seem uncomfortable with the material, nor is he uninterested in it, even if it is not some of his most inspired. The script does have intelligent moments, when the film gets going a good deal of it is quite touching and even though there is a strong sentiment it is not too over-powering. And the characters at least feel like real people.

However, 'The Long Gray Line' doesn't start off all that promisingly. There is more of a comedic tone and the comedy is not particularly funny and can feel a bit corny and try hard. Some of the dialogue early on is banal and doesn't always flow.

Story-wise, it is a case of starting off dully and in a forced way but gets better if stuck with. It would have been even better if the storytelling wasn't as conventional and took more risks.

Concluding, worth seeing but not an essential. 7/10