The Longest Day (film) - Filming

Filming

• During the filming of the landings at Omaha Beach, the extras appearing as American soldiers did not want to jump off the landing craft into the water because they thought it would be too cold. Robert Mitchum, who played General Norman Cota, became disgusted with their trepidation. He jumped in first, at which point the extras followed his example.
• The Rupert paradummies used in the film were far more elaborate and lifelike than those actually used for the decoy parachute drop (Operation Titanic), which were actually just canvas or burlap sacks filled with sand. In the real operation, six Special Air Service soldiers jumped with the dummies and played recordings of loud battle noises to distract the Germans.
• At $10,000,000, this film was the most expensive black-and-white film made until 1993, when Schindler's List was released.
• In the scenes where the paratroopers land, the background noise of frogs croaking "ribbit ribbit" was wrong for northern French frog species and showed that the film probably used an American recording of background night noises.
• Colin Maud loaned Kenneth More the shillelagh he carried ashore in the actual invasion, while Richard Todd wore the actual D-Day helmet worn by Major John Howard.
• In the film, 3 Free French Special Air Service paratroopers jumped into France before British and American airborne landings. This is accurate. 36 Free French SAS (4 sticks) jumped into Brittany (Plumelec and Duault) on 5 June (11 h 30). The first Allied soldier killed in action was Free French Corporal Émile Bouétard: 6 June (0 h 40) in Plumelec, Morbihan.
• The United States Sixth Fleet extensively supported the filming and made available many amphibious landing ships and craft for scenes filmed in Corsica, though many of the ships were of (then) modern vintage. The USS Springfield, and USS Little Rock, both WW2 light cruisers (though extensively reconfigured into guided missile cruisers) were used in the shore bombardment scenes, though it was easy to tell they did not resemble their wartime configuration.
• Among historical inaccuracies was the calling up of Engineers to "blow a path" through a "sea wall" to allow forward troop movement. The Sea Wall was, at highest, one meter, made of rocks, and lay at the edge of high tide. This barrier was used to prevent erosion and on June 6, 1944, provided cover for the overwhelmed first two waves.