If you start out watching The Long Gray Line and think it's a silly comedy, keep watching. This touching biopic of Martin Maher, a man who spent fifty years at West Point, gets better, I promise. Tyrone Power stars as the Irish immigrant who, upon his coming to America, immediately goes to West Point for a job as a dishwasher. He keeps breaking plates, which come out of his paycheck, so he joins the army to avoid paying damages. I know, it sounds silly. And when he first sees Maureen O'Hara, they both give each other cow eyes and forget how to speak-which is equally silly. Once Tyrone and Maureen get married, the movie turns into a serious drama. I've seen a lot of Tyrone Power movies, and while he's pretty inoffensive, I've never thought of him as an especially strong actor. In The Long Gray Line, he shows his hidden talents. He gives an excellent performance, developing his character and keeping his memories on the surface as he ages. Without giving the story away, I'll just say the film gets more touching as it continues. You might need a Kleenex.Maureen O'Hara, Donald Crisp, Robert Francis, Philip Carey, Patrick Wayne, Betsy Palmer, Ward Bond, Peter Graves, William Leslie, and Harry Carey Jr. support Tyrone in smaller roles, each of them memorable and vital to the story. Some are family, some are fellow soldiers, but all show the impact one man had on the many different generations that came to West Point. If you like military biopics or Tyrone Power, you're not going to want to miss this one.

As much as I admire John Ford, I found this film a little overly sentimental and with far too much Fordian Irish humour in the first half of the film.The film tells the story of Martin "Marty" Maher, an enlisted man who spent over 50 years at the West Point Military Academy as an instructor. It covers the period from his arrival at West Point as a newly landed immigrant to his meeting with President Eisenhauer some fifty years later.Tyrone Power does a excellent job as Maher aging as he does from a young man in his 20s to his 70s. His makeup is quite convincing and realistic for the time. The ever beautiful Maureen O'Hara plays Mary O'Donnell, Maher's wife. The film follows their relationship from their first meeting to their last.Ford's affection for the military is quite evident. He gives us seemingly endless march pasts featuring "long gray lines" of cadets along with their marching band. The film is beautifully photographed with plenty of green grass in evidence. There are a couple of beautiful framed shots, one of the wedding of the William Leslie and Betsy Palmer characters and another at a tragic moment in Maher's life.The John Ford stock company is well represented in this picture. Included in the large cast are Ward Bond as Maher's first commanding officer, Donald Crisp as his father, Sean McClory as his brother, Harry Carey Jr. as Dwight Eisenhauer and a very young Patrick Wayne in his first film as the cadet "Cherub" Overton. Willis Boucher and Jack Pennick also have smaller parts.Also in the cast are Robert Francis, who died tragically shortly after completing this film, Phil Carey, Martin Milner, Peter Graves and Milburn Stone.Be sure and have some Kleenex handy for the finale.

John Ford was Irish to the core and brought all his talents and emotion to the beautiful Columbia Pictures film starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O Hara-likely two of the most beautiful people ever to appear on the silver screen. As an Army Veteran and one who has visited West Point many times, I find a special feeling for this film. John Ford pulls the story together and is given fine technical support by the Columbia studio. Mr. Power stars and and is superb. Long passed away, Tyrone Power's work deserves review; Power was a true Movie Star and a fine actor. Maureen O Hara gorgeous to the camera and also a veteran of the Ford films is superb in support. The ending is very moving.We should as Americans value West Point and those who have passed thru those hallowed halls, and this film does the great Academy credit.

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.