The True Glory
“The story of your victory...told by the guys who won it!”
About The True Glory
General Dwight D. Eisenhower introduces a record of the Allied campaign from training in Britain through the Normandy landings to the collapse of the Third Reich. The narration is a series of first-person voices: an American soldier, a British soldier, a Canadian, a French resister, a Parisian family, an African-American tank gunner, a nurse, and clerical staff. The last caption quotes Francis Drake: the continuing of a great matter until it is finished yields the true glory.
Cast & crew
More about The True Glory
Garson Kanin and Carol Reed directed. The picture was cut at Pinewood from front-line film, including material from nearly 1,400 cameramen. Paddy Chayefsky, Harry Brown, Eric Maschwitz, and Guy Trosper are among the writers. Marc Blitzstein wrote a score the British side rejected as too avant-garde. William Alwyn's replacement was played by the London Symphony Orchestra. Peter Ustinov and Sam Levene are among the voices. Russ Meyer is credited on the camera.
Themes
Background
A joint American and British official film of the Western Front, from D-Day to the fall of the Reich.
Making
The British Ministry replaced Marc Blitzstein's score with William Alwyn's after objecting to the first music.
Look
Combat footage from a large pool of cameramen, with Russ Meyer credited, cut into one campaign narrative.
Music
William Alwyn's score, played by the London Symphony Orchestra, replaced Marc Blitzstein's.
Notes
- Commentators on screen include George S. Patton as well as Eisenhower.
- The Drake line in the final caption is the source of the title.
- James Chapman published a 1996 study of the Anglo-American fight over the edit, in the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television.
Awards
- Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
- National Board of Review Award for Best Film
- National Board of Review Top Ten Films
Scenes
- Eisenhower opens the film.
- The Drake sentence closes it.
Influenced by
- Tunisian Victory (1944)
Also available
- Internet Archive (gov.dod.dimoc.20363)
Quotes
There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory.
