The Long Gray Line
The movie is framed as the reminiscences of Master Sergeant Martin Maher (Tyrone Power), who first came to West Point in 1898 as a civilian employee. Arriving from County Tipperary, Ireland, Marty begins as a waiter. When he realizes that enlisted men receive better treatment than do hired laborers, he immediately signs up. Capt. Koehler (Ward Bond), impressed with his boxing skills, wants him as an assistant in athletics instruction.
Marty meets Mrs. Koehler's cook, Mary O'Donnell (Maureen O'Hara), also recently arrived from Ireland. They marry and settle into a house on campus. Marty becomes a corporal, and Mary saves enough money to bring his father (Donald Crisp) and brother (Sean McClory) to America. Mary becomes pregnant, but the baby dies only hours after birth, and Mary learns that she may never have another child. The cadets become the children they will never have. Over time, Marty continues to earn the love and respect of cadets such as Omar Bradley, James Van Fleet, George Patton and Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Mahers grow close to the family of "Red" Sundstrom, a West Point cadet killed in World War I.
Years later, Marty is still at West Point, and James "Red" Sundstrom, Jr. (Robert Francis), along with the sons of others whom Marty had trained, has become a cadet. At the outbreak of World War II Sundstorm confess to Marty that he has illegally married his girlfriend which could disqualify him from graduating. Although his marriage is annulled, Sundstorm resigns from West Point to join the regular U.S. Army. Later, Mary attempts to view one of the parades she so loves but her poor health forces her to watch from her porch. She quietly dies while Marty is fetching her shawl. On Christmas Eve, Marty prepares for quiet evening but is joined by a group of cadets. Kitty (Betsy Palmer) arrives with Red, Jr., who has earned his captain's bars in Europe and wants Marty to pin them on.
After Marty is faced with retirement, he heads to Washington to see the President (a former cadet) about the matter. He is met by the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy along with several high ranking officers on his return to West Point. Slightly bemused by the attention, he is taken to the parade field. The film concludes with a full dress parade in Marty's honor. As the band plays a series of Irish tunes, all the people Marty loves, both living and dead, join the parade to honor him.
romantic, sentimental, flashback