October 4, 1962: "The Longest Day" Premieres

Robert Mitchum on the film's original poster

October 4, 1962: The Longest Day premieres, based on Cornelius Ryan's 1959 book about the D-Day invasion. It has 3 directors: Andrew Marton shot scenes involving American troops, Ken Annakin shot scenes involving British and French troops, and Bernhard Wicki shot scenes involving German troops.

It was one of the first movies shown in the Allied nations that showed scenes from the war from the Nazis' perspective. It was also one of the first that showed the characters speaking their native languages: The French soldiers spoke French, and the German soldiers spoke German, with English subtitles on the screen.

It wasn't just, a rarity at the time, filmed in its historical locations: My mother was a junior in high school when it came out, and she said it was the 1st movie she ever saw where everybody was shown speaking the correct language, with the subtitles on the screen. (In French, it was Le Jour Le Plus Long: The Day the Most Long.)

But she also said it was so long, it should’ve been called “The Longest Movie.” It was a shade under 3 hours, but she said, "Seemed more like 5 hours. But it was worth it. If only there had been an intermission."

What's more, several actual D-Day participants served as consultants, and even actors, for the film. These included American General James Gavin; British brigade commander Simon Fraser, Lord Lavat; Werner Pluskat, a German major who was the 1st officer to see the invasion fleet; and Lucie Rommel, widow of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.

Among the Americans: Henry Grace played General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Alexander Knox played General Walter Bedell Smith, Nicholas Stuart played General Omar Bradley, and Henry Fonda played General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. The Rough Rider's son was the assistant commander of the 4th Infantry Division, and was warned by his doctor that participating could kill him even if he sustained no battle wound. He didn't listen, and died a month later.

Other notable American actors in this "cast of thousands" film: John Wayne, Rod Steiger, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Eddie Albert, Red Buttons, Gary Collins, Jeffrey Hunter, Richard Beymer, Sal Mineo, Roddy McDowall, George Segal, Robert Wagner, and singers Paul Anka (borrowed from Canada), Tommy Sands and Fabian, all playing U.S. Army Rangers.

Having to watch John Wayne play yet another version of John Wayne must have made it seem longer. Wayne played Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin H. Vandervoort, commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The real Vandervoort later rose to the rank of a full Colonel, and lived until 1990. At 55, Wayne was 28 years older than Vandervoort had been on D-Day, and 10 years older than Vandervoort was in 1962.

Among the British: Trevor Reid (as General, later Field Marshal, Bernard Montgomery), Peter Lawford (as Lord Lovat), Richard Burton, Sean Connery, Bernard Fox, Siân Phillips, and future game-show host Richard Dawson.

Connery was about to begin playing James Bond. Three of the German actors would go on to play Bond villains: Gert Fröbe, Auric Goldfinger in Goldfinger, Curd Jürgens, Karl Stromberg in The Spy Who Loved Me; and Walter Gotell, who played General Antoly Gogol, head of the KGB, in 5 straight films, starting with The Spy Who Loved Me.

The film was nominated for 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It won 2, for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, and Best Special Effects. None of the actors were nominated, either for Best Actor or for Best Supporting Actor.

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October 4, 1962 was a Thursday. There was only 1 score on this historic day. Game 1 of the World Series was played at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, the 1st World Series game played in Northern California.

The New York Yankees beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-2. Whitey Ford was the winning pitcher for a record 10th time in Series play, but it would be for the last time, and his record streak of 33 2/3 scoreless World Series innings was stopped.

Also on this day, Issiac Holt III (no middle name, and that's how his first name is spelled, not "Isaac") is born in Birmingham, Alabama. A cornerback, he was with the Dallas Cowboys when they won Super Bowl XXVII. But in the following off-season, he told head coach Jimmy Johnson he shouldn't have so many "voluntary" workouts, and Johnson cut him. He never played in the NFL again.