With its masterful widescreen compositions, this drama spanning 50 years in the life of a sergeant at the West Point Military Academy is ample proof of Ford's genius, says James Oliver.
It’s no secret that John Ford became more conservative as he grew older but it’s sometimes said that this affected the quality of his work: that this great director became more interested in affirming a sometimes reactionary world-view than in exploring the individual human poetry that characterises his best work.
Although it’s not one of his best-known works, The Long Gray Line is an excellent test-case with which to examine this thesis. It is, after all, set in West Point – the academy where the American army nurtures its officer caste – and even features a reverent cameo by President Eisenhower (occupant of The Oval Office when the film was made).
It’s adapted from the memoir of Martin Maher, an Irish immigrant who joined the staff at West Point and worked there for fifty-five years. As played by Tyrone Power, Marty Maher is a bumptious lummox (complete with unfortunate ‘brogue’) who quickly settles into military life there and makes his marks on generations of cadets.
But this is no unqualified, gung-ho celebration of martial values. Having established Marty’s place in things, Ford proceeds to pull the rug from under him. This is a film about duty and obligation but shows all too vividly the cost of such things: individual aspirations have to be sublimated to the collective good. Marty has grand schemes that are never realised and is constantly aware that many of his beloved cadets will end up dead on foreign battlefields.
Ever the consummate craftsman, Ford plays the film beautifully, deftly moving from the near-comedy of the first half into the ambiguities of the second. It also looks great: although this was the first time Ford worked in CinemaScope, his compositions are as masterful as ever.
This, then, is a crucial film in Ford’s body of work. It certainly illustrates his belief in institutions and traditions. But it also exposes his ambivalence towards them: his artistry forbade blind obedience in anything, even in causes he venerated.
Ford was one of America’s great directors – maybe its greatest. While few would argue this is one of his major works, it is ample proof of his genius.
A drama based on the memoirs of Martin Maher, The Long Gray Line tells the story of an Irish immigrant's 50-year career at the US Military Academy at West Point, where much of the film was shot. Tyrone Power stars as the man who rose from dishwasher to non-commissioned officer and athletic instructor. Maureen O'Hara - one of John Ford's favourite leading ladies - plays Maher's wife and fellow immigrant, Mary O'Donnell, while the then President Eisenhower even appears in a cameo role.
