The Long Voyage Home
The Long Voyage Home, WWII Movie starring John Wayne
(1940) John Ford directed this film about an English cargo ship traveling from the West Indies to Baltimore to England. During WWII Ford was head of the photographic unit for the OSS and worked closely with William Donovan. He made several wartime documentaries.
He is the main reason why I wanted to watch The Long Voyage Home. Plus, my favorite wartime critic from the New York Times, Bosley Crowther, loved it. The movie was nominated for several Academy Awards. Young John Wayne (well, he was 33) had a leading role as a Swedish sailor. His accent was not very convincing but I read that he really tried by working on it with a Danish actress.
I didn’t enjoy the movie as much as Bosley did. I was tempted to fast forward. The camera work was memorable … the photographer was nominated for an Academy Award (well deserved) and went on to work on Citizen Kane.
The Long Voyage Home at amazon.com
