Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Brainsbell The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Ed Steele You don't even need to read the credits to recognize the work of John Ford and his band of merry men. The style of story telling, color and camera angles are vintage Ford. Tyrone Power is a small but terrific diversion off the usual casting, but I suppose John Wayne wasn't up to the Irish accent (It has been said that Ford wanted Wayne in the role and the producers said "No."). This is vintage Ford, from the first image to the last, patriotism on his sleeve and a cast uniformly strong and highly recognizable. Being a Ford production means that there are other requirements including not only his usual band of actors but his brand of sentimentality as well. Younger viewers may not get this kind of story telling with its episodic and sentimental nature, but no one ever did it better than Ford and his company of technicians and players. Do yourself a favor and invest the 2 and a quarter hours in a fine film that also shows off West Point.Oh, and you get Maureen O'Hara at her loveliest.

blanche-2 John Ford often veered toward the sentimental, and he gives himself over to it completely in "The Long Gray Line," a 1955 film starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara. The script is based on the book by Marty Maher, "Bringing up the Brass," where Irish immigrant Maher writes about his many years as a noncommissioned officer at West Point.Ford intended John Wayne to play Marty, but when he didn't, he called Power, who was in New York, and offered him the role. Power accepted it before Ford could finish his sentence, saying, if you have a part for me, I'll play it.Maureen O'Hara plays Marty's wife Mary, and the cast includes Betsy Palmer, Robert Francis, Peter Graves, Donald Crisp, Philip Carey, Patrick Wayne, Ward Bone, and Harry Carey Jr."The Long Gray Line" is a real tearjerker, and if you thought Tyrone Power couldn't act, rethink it - he does a beautiful job and really makes you cry as Marty. Have a box of tissues nearby. It's a wonderful performance.I never understand people who think Tyrone Power couldn't act - all it tells me is they haven't seen enough of his films to realize how versatile he was and what dreck Zanuck gave him. He was too handsome for the critics to ever take him seriously. I don't think Zanuck did either.Power and O'Hara made a great team in "The Black Swan," and they make a great one here. The beautiful O'Hara gives a lovely performance.Enjoy it.

ekruper Just watched this movie (again) last night and still love it after more than 50 years! Having read all 27 comments posted here up to this point, there's little to add, but this might be of some interest to Patrick Wayne fans. I thought Wayne looked a bit young to be a West Point cadet, so checked his biography on this site, which said he was born in 1939. That makes him only 15 during the making of this film (assuming it was made in 1954, as it was released in 1955.) Nevertheless, he pulled the part off well, as lots of college-age students look younger than they are.I noted in other comments that Ford had initially wanted John Wayne for the part of Marty, which I can't imagine. Tyrone Power was perfect for the role.

MartinHafer The film is supposed to be a real-life account of a soldier who was on staff at Westpoint for about 50 years--so long that he became a bit of an institution through the first part of the 20th century.The first 20 minutes or so of the movie didn't particularly impress me. Unlike the rest of the film, this was all played for laughs and Tyrone Power played this portion very broadly. Some might like this, but I thought the "dumb newbie" routine wore thin very, very quickly. We get to see Tyrone drop some plates, get in a fight by mistake and be one of the biggest screw ups in army history. Frankly, he was so obnoxious and stupid that I really wondered if this even remotely had any similarity to anyone--let alone the real character. In many ways, these aspects of the film reminded me of the "funny" moments from WINGS OF EAGLES and PATHS OF GLORY. Many like this stuff, but I think the different moods of the film don't work out all that well--as if the movie can't decide whether it's a drama or a comedy (would this make it a "dramady"?).Fortunately, after a very inauspicious start, the film slowed down and dropped the pratfalls and became an excellent film--full of the usual John Ford sentiment and style. I was surprised that Tyrone Power did such a good job with the role--and his Irish accent was also pretty good. He was ably assisted by some of the usual Ford actors--Ward Bond, Donald Crisp and Maureen O'Hara. The overall effect is very inspiring and will nearly bring a tear to your eye--it was exceptional film making after a somewhat rocky start.