Growing up in the 50's and 60's we saw plenty of movies about WW2.
They fell roughly into two groups. There were the British war films, which usually dealt with true stories such as "Reach for the Sky", "The Dam Busters" and "The Cockleshell Heroes". The others were the big Hollywood productions based on novels, which often had as much romance as military action: "Battle Cry", "The Young Lions" and "In Love and War". "D-Day the Sixth of June" was one of those.
Set in WW2, Robert Taylor revisits Waterloo Bridge territory as Captain Brad Parker, a married American officer who falls for a British woman, Valerie Russell (Dana Wynter), whose British boyfriend Colonel John Wynter (Richard Todd) is off fighting in the Commandos. Inevitably, the two men come together on a special mission - a prelude to the D-Day landings.
Most of the film is played out against the backdrop of wartime Britain and that Britain is mostly on the backlot of Twentieth Century Fox. The film looks rather artificial. However it was made 10-years after the war by many people who had served, and reveals attitudes that must have been current at the time.
The way the Americans and British thought about each other comes through in conversation and it isn't always flattering. The self-interest of some senior officers, represented by Edmund O'Brien as Parker's commanding officer, is disturbing. The way Parker forgets that he has a wife waiting for him at home and moves in on Colonel Wynter's girlfriend brings to mind the old WW2 adage about the Americans being 'overpaid, oversexed and over here'. However the ending shows the allies coming together when it counted with mutual respect all round.
Although I wasn't overly keen on romantic films as a child in the 50's, I liked the stars. Other than Robert Taylor (a bit old for the part) and Richard Todd (the epitome of the British war hero), the one that really caught my attention was Dana Wynter. She was just so distractingly beautiful. I remember her in other movies around the time: "Something of Value", "In Love and War" and "Sink the Bismarck". She was a bit posh, but maybe that added to the attraction. She passed away a few years ago like nearly all the stars I admired back in the day.
There have been plenty of better films since "D-Day the Sixth of June", but it's a movie of its time with some interesting performances and a surprise ending.
They fell roughly into two groups. There were the British war films, which usually dealt with true stories such as "Reach for the Sky", "The Dam Busters" and "The Cockleshell Heroes". The others were the big Hollywood productions based on novels, which often had as much romance as military action: "Battle Cry", "The Young Lions" and "In Love and War". "D-Day the Sixth of June" was one of those.
Set in WW2, Robert Taylor revisits Waterloo Bridge territory as Captain Brad Parker, a married American officer who falls for a British woman, Valerie Russell (Dana Wynter), whose British boyfriend Colonel John Wynter (Richard Todd) is off fighting in the Commandos. Inevitably, the two men come together on a special mission - a prelude to the D-Day landings.
Most of the film is played out against the backdrop of wartime Britain and that Britain is mostly on the backlot of Twentieth Century Fox. The film looks rather artificial. However it was made 10-years after the war by many people who had served, and reveals attitudes that must have been current at the time.
The way the Americans and British thought about each other comes through in conversation and it isn't always flattering. The self-interest of some senior officers, represented by Edmund O'Brien as Parker's commanding officer, is disturbing. The way Parker forgets that he has a wife waiting for him at home and moves in on Colonel Wynter's girlfriend brings to mind the old WW2 adage about the Americans being 'overpaid, oversexed and over here'. However the ending shows the allies coming together when it counted with mutual respect all round.
Although I wasn't overly keen on romantic films as a child in the 50's, I liked the stars. Other than Robert Taylor (a bit old for the part) and Richard Todd (the epitome of the British war hero), the one that really caught my attention was Dana Wynter. She was just so distractingly beautiful. I remember her in other movies around the time: "Something of Value", "In Love and War" and "Sink the Bismarck". She was a bit posh, but maybe that added to the attraction. She passed away a few years ago like nearly all the stars I admired back in the day.
There have been plenty of better films since "D-Day the Sixth of June", but it's a movie of its time with some interesting performances and a surprise ending.