the long voyage home film

The Long Voyage Home

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Film Details

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Brief Synopsis

Cast & crew, thomas mitchell, barry fitzgerald, wilfrid lawson, photos & videos, technical specs.

On the long voyage home from the West Indies to Baltimore and then to England, the British tramp steamer the Glencairn takes aboard a cargo of munitions, a circumstance which turns the natural complaining of the crew into a case of genuine fear. Those fears are realized when a heavy gale tests the mettle of the ship and in the storm, mountainous waves hurtle the sailor Yank to the seething deck, thus bringing him to his death as his shipmates, Ole Olson and Driscoll, watch helplessly. As they approach land, the crew begins to suspect their brooding, aloof shipmate, Smitty, of sending signals to the Nazis, but they discover that Smitty has really withdrawn in disgrace from his family and all those around him because of his alchoholism. This revelation forces Smitty to resolve to return to his wife and children, but the reunion is tragically doomed when a Nazi plane swoops down from the skies off England and Smitty is killed in the attack. Safely in port after their harrowing crossing, the crew channel their energies into making sure that Ole leaves the sea to return to his aged mother in Sweden, but after bidding his friends farewell, Ole is shanghaied aboard the Amindra . Rescued by Driscoll and his other mates, Ole's voyage ends happily. Not so for Driscoll, because in the rescue he is taken prisoner and sails off aboard the Amindra in Ole's place. As the remaining seafarers return to the Glencairn to resume their long journey, they learn that Driscoll perished aboard the Amindra when the ship was sunk by a torpedo.

Mildred Natwick

John Qualen

Arthur Shields

Joseph Sawyer

J. M. Kerrigan

Rafaela Ottiano

Carmen morales, carmen d'antonio, david hughes.

Billy Bevan

Cyril mclaglen.

Douglas Walton

Constantine romanoff, edgar "blue" washington, lionel pape, jane crowley, maureen roden-ryan, jack pennick, bob e. perry, constant franke, dan borzage, harry tenbrook, tina menard, judith linden, elena martinez, lita cortez, soledad gonzales.

Harry Woods

James Flavin

Lee shumway, wyndham standing, lowell drew, sammy stein, bing conley, ky robinson, mary aiken carewe, roger steele, luanne robb, guy kingsford, les sketchley, james basevi, r. o. binger, bob burkhardt, lowell farrell, richard hageman, julia heron, r. t. layton, b. f. mceveety, dudley nichols, edward paul, wingate smith, sherman todd, gregg toland, walter wanger, photo collections.

Hosted Intro

Award Nominations

Best cinematography, best editing, best picture, best special effects, best writing, screenplay.

'Wayne, John' was asked by director 'Ford, John' to play the part of Ole Olson, who happened to be Swedish. Wayne wasn't sure he could pull off the Swedish accent, and was worried that the audience would laugh. Ford persuaded Wayne to take the role.

Bound East for Cardiff opened in Provincetown, Massachusetts on 28 July 1916. In the Zone opened in New York on 31 October 1917. The Long Voyage Home opened in New York on 2 November 1917. The Moon of the Caribees opened in New York on 20 December 1918.

According to Life , the picture was filmed aboard the freighter the S.S. Munami at Wilmington Harbor, CA. The film marked the screen debut of stage actress Mildred Natwick. This was the first production of John Ford's Argosy Corp. Modern sources note that under his Fox contract, John Ford was allowed to make one feature per year outside the studio. To make this film, he and Walter Wanger set up Argosy. The next Argosy production was The Fugitive , made in 1947. The Long Voyage Home was nominated for the following Academy Awards: Best Black and White Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Special Photographic Effects, Best Sound and Best Screenplay. It also was included in the National Board of Review 's "ten best" list of 1940.

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Fall November 11, 1940

Released in United States November 1971

Based on the sea plays "Bound East For Cardiff", "In The Zone", "The Long Voyage Home" and "The Moon of the Caribees" by Eugene O'Neill.

Released in United States November 1971 (Shown at FILMEX: Los Angeles International Film Exposition (A Tribute to the American Cinema) November 4-14, 1971.)

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Criterion Channel
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Director : John Patton Ford ,
Producer : Walter Wanger , John Patton Ford ,
Writer : Dudley Nichols , Eugene O'Neill ,
Cinematographer : Gregg Toland ,
Cast : Ian Hunter , Barry Fitzgerald , Wilfrid Lawson , Thomas Mitchell , John Wayne ,
Art Direction : James Basevi ,