D-Day the Sixth of June (1956) User Reviews

Dana and Her Two Guys

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 23 September 2005]

Despite the imposing title D-Day the Sixth of June which might lead one to believe it is an account of the Normandy invasion. It is in fact and old fashioned war romance. For Robert Taylor this was a throwback picture, back to the kind of romantic stuff he did in his early days of being MGM's number one pin-up boy.

Dana Wynter has Richard Todd as her steady beau who's gone to war just as America's gotten into it via Pearl Harbor. Todd goes missing in action and Wynter in her best British stiff upper lip style goes to help in the war effort herself as the Nazis loom perilously close to the island kingdom.

Robert Taylor gets to be one of the first American officers assigned over in Europe and Wynter and he meet via an altercation her father, John Williams, has with some bumptious GIs. Wynter diplomatically smooths things out and she and Taylor develop a relationship. It can't really go anywhere because Taylor's married. But they're both in need of each other at the moment.

Curiously enough this does parallel the situation of the Supreme Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower who carried on an affair with his British driver Kay Summersby. Ike of course was married and Kay was a war widow.

Todd does make it back and that does complicate matters. All this in the shadow of the impending cross-channel invasion.

Richard Todd had a promising career during the 1950s. He became well known to American audiences via his appearance in some Disney films and other American productions. Strangely enough it seemed to halt in the following decade and the international stardom that beckoned never came to fruition. He was a fine player capable of a wide variety of roles, even being a villain in a Hitchcock film. But I personally like him best as a hero.

And a genuine hero he was. He was actually at D-Day as a British Commando and won a whole slew of medals. Bob Taylor also was in the Armed Forces in World War II, he did three years in Uncle Sam's Navy in the Pacific.

Dana Wynter I've always thought of as a British version of Ava Gardner. And she had the talent to match. She also should have had a bigger career. I would say her beauty is regal and lo and behold she actually made that statement true when she portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in a film about Charles and Diana.

For war picture fans there's still enough action to satisfy. The only other role of real significance was Edmond O'Brien as Taylor's boss at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force. Another reviewer said his role was not developed well. I wish it had been myself. But it probably would have taken away from the romance.

Romantic Melodrama With An American Bias

[Theo Robertson · 5/10 · 10 January 2005]

It's rather strange watching D DAY THE SIXTH OF JUNE in 2005 because what strikes you is that it's a war movie made with a female audience in mind . Maybe it wasn't so strange at the time because a large proportion of the female population in Britain at the time could probably relate to having both a British boyfriend and an American lover on the go at the same time , but still the thought of a war movie marketed towards women seems somewhat bizarre since it's a genre most females seem to dislike . For example has anyone seen the comments on BLACK HAWK DOWN from teenage girls confessing they went to the cinema simply to see Orlando Bloom and had to endure two hours of on screen carnage ?

My problem D DAY THE SIXTH OF JUNE is that it's an American movie . Nothing wrong with that since the Yanks make better films than anyone else but since it's based on actual events it's a very poor history lesson . For example we cut via flashback to a radio broadcast in 1942 stating that because of American involvement in North Africa the campaign was now a foregone conclusion . I will state truthfully that Britain couldn't have won the second world war without American assistance , but we won the Battle of Britain without American assistance and in 1941 British Commonwealth forces numbering 36,000 managed to hold back an Italian army numbering 400,000 in North Africa , while the decisive battle in the region at El Alamein was an entirely British commonwealth victory save for some equipment that was made in America . Watching this movie you're led to believe that the Brits didn't have a clue what they were doing unless they had expert help from Uncle Sam . Britain spent almost two years alone fighting the Axis powers , which is not something you'd learn from this movie

There areone or two good points . One is Richard Todd's performance as a British para . Todd spent the second world war as an officer in the parachute regiment and took part in the D Day landings himself so he gives method acting a whole new meaning , though his character isn't on screen as much as he should have been . Despite being filmed 50 years ago the long awaited battle scenes are good and must have been outstanding in their day , and lastly despite having an American bias this movie occasionally points out the Canadian contribution to the Second world war something that THE LONGEST DAY negates somewhat

D-DAY THE SIXTH OF JUNE (Henry Koster, 1956) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 8 April 2006]

Another big-budget WWII adventure, filmed in color and widescreen by Fox in the '50s - and a misleadingly titled one, as it barely concerns the crucial 1944 Normandy invasion it references (not surprisingly Fox returned to this subject, and tackled it much more comprehensively, in THE LONGEST DAY [1962])! As a matter of fact, the film's one genuine battle sequence, while quite well done, occurs only after having gone through some 80 minutes of incessant talk; the bulk of this footage is devoted to a romantic triangle, told in lengthy flashbacks, which comprises American Robert Taylor and Brits Richard Todd and Dana Wynter, plus a rather irrelevant subplot involving maverick Colonel Edmond O'Brien! That said, the film is glossily proficient and remains highly watchable as the kind of unassuming entertainment turned out on a general basis by Hollywood in its heyday...

A romantic and sensitive love story set during the invasion of Normandy , on 6 June 1944

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 20 March 2017]

This movie's opening prologue states: "1944 . Half a million men awaited the signal to cross the English Channel. For many it was to be the last day of their lives. It was D-day the sixth of June" . One ship , transporting Special Force Six , is assigned on a dangerous mission , and ahead the main invasion . On board are British Colonel Wynter (Richard Todd who actually took part in the invasion as a parachutist) and American Captain Parker (Robert Taylor who gives a surprisingly fine acting) , both of whom remember their lives in flashbacks . The coming battle results to be a dangerous and nearly impossible assignment into French territory occupied by the Nazis . Five beaches -codenamed Utah , Omaha , Gold , Juno and Sword- were selected as the landings points for the British , Canadian and US Corps , the operation will be preceded by a month-long bombing campaign to disrupt communications , preventing reinforcements from moving quickly into the threatened area and destroy vital bridges and gun positions . As the two American and a British officers reminisce in flashbacks about their previous romances with the same woman , in special their separate involvements with Valerie Russel (Dana Wynter , though Jean Simmons was originally cast in the lead female acting character) .

This dramatic film about an unresolved love story , is narrated aboard a ship , en route to Normandy , by means of flashbacks in with two officers reminisce about a triangular love story , including a dramatisation of the Normandy landings . The movie utilizes an often-used plot of the war movie genre which has two soldiers , here Richard Todd and Robert Taylor , in love with the same woman , the gorgeous Dana Wynter . Impressive and breathtaking final scenes when there takes place the Normandy invasion , being confined to the film's last fifteen minutes , though filmmaker used only eighty soldiers and two Higgins Boats or Landing Crafts . The ending images will determine the surprising denouement in which one comes together to her . Trio protagonist is pretty good , Robert Taylor gives a restrained interpretation as the enamored captain who falls deeply with the beauteous Dana Wynter and Richard Tood is nice as the upright and brave Lt. Col. John Wynter . Support cast is frankly well , such as : Edmond O'Brien , John Williams , Jerry Paris and Richard Wyler .

Atmospheric and evocative musical score by Lynn Murray . Colorful cinematography in Technicolor by the splendid director of photography Lee Garmes . Shot on location in California , the naval scenes were filmed at the former Long Beach Naval Shipyard at Terminal Island California, and at the Fox Studio back-lot . The motion picture based on the fictional 1955 romantic war novel, 'The Sixth of June' by Lionel Shapiro (who had been a World War II Canadian war correspondent) was professional but slowly directed by Henry Koster . He was an expert on super-productions and epic biographies , such as he proved in : ¨Desiree¨, ¨The Virgin Queen¨, ¨A man called Peter¨, ¨The story of Ruth¨ , ¨The Naked Maja¨ and the successful ¨The Robe¨ . He directed what was his biggest success to date , the James Stewart comedy ¨Invisible Harvey¨ (1950) . Koster directed a few more costume dramas , such as ¨Desirée¨ (1954) with Marlon Brando , then went back to family comedies and musicals, such as ¨Flower Drum Song¨ (1961) . After he finished ¨Dominique¨ or ¨The singing nun¨ (1966) he retired from the film business .

the war of the words

[march9hare · 8 July 2004]

Okay, we'll keep this one short: lots of big stars (Robert Taylor, Dana Wynter, Edmund O'Brien, et al), lots of extras, lots and lots of talking, but absolutely no sense of urgency or feeling of impending action is present in this hour and 46 minute blabfest. In fact, for the first 80 minutes, nothing much happens. Yes, Taylor is quite handsome in his military uniform and, yes, Ms. Wynter is very fetching in her military uniform and, yes, a predictable romance develops with an equally predictable ending, but THAT'S IT!! That's the whole plodding film in a nutshell. Believe us, if movies about the greatest invasion in history are the sort of thing that floats your boat, you would be much better advised to stick with "The Longest Day". This over-processed turkey spread shoulda stayed in the can.

A Thoughtful Look at War

[judithh-1 · 7/10 · 2 October 2013]

Viewers who want an all out action war movie with guns blazing and corpse strewn landscapes should avoid D-Day the Sixth of June. Released in 1956, the film looks back somewhat nostalgically at a war that was already beginning to fade into history. The world depicted seems remote as few people today have actually experienced total war. Today War World II has taken its place in history as the necessary war, the unquestioned war, unlike most of what has happened since—Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The movie explores large issues on a small scale. We follow a few individuals and how their lives were impacted by the events preceding the Normandy invasion. There is an elderly British Brigadier who has been left behind by modern warfare, a car salesman from Minneapolis who wants to be a general, a publisher's son-in-law invalided into a desk job, a British career soldier and a young woman from a sheltered background doing her part in the conflict.

The movie covers a number of themes including British American relations in the last year of the war, the dislocation of normal morality in wartime, the war-weariness of the British population as they hold out for yet another year of suffering. Behind all of it is the war, huge, bloodthirsty and seemingly endless. Everything is impacted—steaks are horse meat, cigarettes are a rarity, nights are pitch black with all light forbidden, sirens blare day and night.

The protagonists are Captain Brad Parker (Robert Taylor), an American who broke his leg on a parachute jump and has been relegated to desk work, Major John Wynter, a heroic British commando (actual war hero Richard Todd) and Valerie Russell (Dana Wynter), the young woman who comes to love them both. Supporting characters include Major Timmons a volatile car salesman (Edmund O'Brien) and Brigadier Russell (John Williams), Valerie's father who is filled with bitterness over the end of his career.

Parker is a married man from New England who has been away from his wife for over three years. Wynter and Valerie Russell are friends but not quite lovers. When Wynter is posted to Africa, Parker and Russell remain in London and become friends and then lovers. She is torn between her feelings of friendship and obligation towards Wynter and her exciting new American lover.

Eventually both Parker and Wynter become part of the Normandy invasion. The last fifteen minutes or so of the movie concern the battle itself which seems tame by modern standards. The lives of both men are changed forever by the events of June 6, 1944. There is no happy ending for most of the characters, no neat solutions to the complications of human life against the background of death.

There are overtones of Waterloo Bridge (1940) in D-Day the Sixth of June. A romance between two very different people against the backdrop of war is central in both films. Robert Taylor is the male lead in both, wearing his signature trench coat each time. Neither has a happy ending. But there is an innocence to the earlier film that has been replaced by a kind of exhaustion in the latter. Most of the main characters spend most of their time living in a phony world where hedonism is the rule. A character at one point speculates about what they'll all be doing after the war. "Going back to our husbands and wives," another replies.

D-Day the Sixth of June is well acted and has good production values. Robert Taylor and Dana Wynter are compatible and their clinches are convincing. Most of the time Taylor convinces us that he is younger than his actual years. His movements are those of a man more youthful than 45. Richard Todd is the good guy, loyal and self-sacrificing. Edmund O'Brien is outstanding as the volatile Col. Timmons. The supporting cast is first rate.

D-Day the Sixth of June is a thoughtful film, looking back at a crucial part of what was then recent history. Even at a distance of almost 60 years, the human dilemmas portrayed here are relevant and timely.

Rather insulting to the British armed forces of World War II.

[DavidW1947 · 7/10 · 5 June 2019]

When I went to see this film at the now long gone Focus cinema in Longton, Stoke on Trent on Thursday, September 12th, 1957, it marked the first time that I, then aged 10 and a half, had gone to the pictures on my own. The film was an eternal triangle love story set against a background of the preparations for the Normandy landings in June, 1944, which, when this film was released, had happened only twelve years earlier. Set in England as it prepared for the invasion, but filmed in California, the film told of the love of married American Captain Brad Parker (Robert Taylor) for English girl Valerie Russell (Dana Wynter), who is engaged to be married to English Colonel John Wynter (Richard Todd) and the film posed the question of which of the two would get killed in the forthcoming battle and not get the girl. I had recently met and fallen in hurtful unrequited love a with local girl of my age, Ann Barlow, and the music in the film by Lyn Murray was very haunting in the romantic interludes and reflected just how I felt in my feelings for Ann and it also featured the hit song of 1944, "You'll Never Know".

That side of the film is what I remember it for. But sixty-two years later in 2019, I can see the flaws in the rest of the film. Notwithstanding the usual hilariously inaccurate Hollywood view of wartime London, there were scenes in it that must have been so insulting to British war veterans who went to see the film that it must have gone down like a lead balloon with them and it's a wonder that the film didn't get banned shortly after release, as "Objective Burma" had been. In one scene, a group of American G.I.s, fresh over on the troop ship, were seen making fun of a Home Guard platoon as they drilled in a village square and in another, one American soldier says to Captain Brad Parker "I don't go for those Limey's. They talk fast and fight slow". I can't remember if I noticed how insulting this was to the British army when I went to see the film in 1957, but I certainly notice it now and I don't like it one little bit. I hope whoever was responsible for these scenes was reprimanded over them at the time. They should never have been included in the final release version of the film.

Waterloo Bridge II

[tomsview · 7/10 · 23 November 2016]

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.

Or, How I Got Sidetracked on the Way to Normandy .

[jemkat · 5/10 · 24 August 2005]

A film which springs immediately to mind after watching D-Day the Sixth of June is Abbott and Costello go to Mars. In that cerebral little opus A&C never actually get to Mars - they go to Venus instead, and even then it is only after some considerable preliminaries. Unlike that picture, D-Day the Sixth of June does actually get to the events referred to, but it is only as an aside for ten minutes or so at the end; like Abbott and Costello go to Mars, the title is a complete misrepresentation.

For most of its running time this film is actually a boring and clichéd melodrama in which Robert Taylor, Richard Todd and Dana Wynter play three two-dimensional characters involved in a love triangle against a backdrop of wartime England (Hollywood's conception of wartime England, anyway). The three roles may just as well have been played by cardboard cut-outs, but for what it's worth Richard Todd probably comes off best, being the only one of the major cast members who even hints at creating a real-life character. Robert Taylor is at his most wooden, and also possibly a little too old for his role. His love scenes with Dana Wynter generate less passion than an undertaker's convention. But then again, Dana Wynter always did seem to me to be a particularly passionless actress.

It can only be regretted that the film's makers did not spend more time on the subsidiary characters, who seem to me to be far more interesting. Brigadier Russell is well played by John Williams, and his resentment of the American interlopers is a theme which could have been developed far more fully. Likewise the flaky nature of Edmond O'Briens Colonel Timmer is never really explored or explained in any sense at all.

All in all, I enjoyed Abbott and Costello Go to Mars a lot more.

WWII soaper

[yerwan1 · 7/10 · 23 March 2020]

The first 90 minutes are romantic soap. Boys meet girl. And one of the guys has the same character last name as the actess's real last name: Wynter. What's with that? Nicely acted picture if you stay awake.

Very misleading

[face-782-656201 · 5/10 · 25 October 2010]

The main issue i have with this film is that 98% of the film has nothing to do with D-DAY , it's about two officers on a boat talking about their romance with a woman. If the film had suggested that this would be the story that would have made it much better like if the title had been say "Two soldiers and a lady" that would have been good but calling it D-day the sixth of June is just totally wrong. It's like calling Manhunter the life of Hannibal Lector (for those of you who didn't get that joke Hannibal only shows up for about five minutes in Manhunter). Aside from the title being wrong the story is really uninteresting mainly because you want the film to show you you the bits with D-day in them because that's what the film has promised in the title but it never bloody shows them. If you want a really boring melodrama about love then yeah it's for you but other wise don't watch it and ignore the title completely.

NOT really a film about D-Day...more about wartime romance.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 28 May 2020]

For many years, I avoided watching "D-Day the Sixth of June" because I assumed it was a film about the D-Day invasion. I was shocked to learn that it really was NOT about D-Day...and was much more a romance than a war film. What a surprise.

The film begins on a transport ship taking some commandos on a raid just before the main D-Day attack. A British officer (Richard Todd) and an American one (Robert Taylor) meet each other for the first time and they both realize they have something in common...they are in love with the same woman. The film then does a brief flashback about the relationship between Todd and Dana Wynter and a much longer flashback about the relationship between Taylor and Wynter. The latter is complicated because Taylor's character happens to be married.

This film plays more like a soap opera in many ways than a war film. In this sense, it's a bit similar to "From Here to Eternity"....though a bit less grand in scope. After all, the battle sequences consists of a few dozen men at a time and lacks the scope of the attack on Pearl Harbor in "From Here to Eternity". However, they both are very good films...soap and all.

Overall, this is a very good film despite the ubiquitous use of the song "You Never Know"...a song you come to hate after a while. Still, very well made and worth seeing.

Please don't call me honey.

[mattiasflgrtll6 · 7/10 · 27 August 2022]

We start off right in the middle of a battle. One of the men seem a little distracted, thinking about his girl back at home. This man is the American colonel John Wynter, who's engaged to Valerie, but was forced to leave for battle. Then we cut to another man, Brad Parker. As it turns out he has a connection with Val as well, having an affair with her while John is away. Who will be able to keep Valerie's heart in their hand at the end?

This movie has gotten some flack due to not really having much to do with D-Day, despite what the title suggests. However, since I had read up on this beforehand I was willing to give the movie a shot just as a romance drama instead. How well does it work?

To start with the positives, Dana Wynter has a delightful innocence to her that makes her very charming. Robert Taylor is all right. Not a groundbreaking performance, but he and Wynter have a solid chemistry together.

My favorite scenes however involve Col. Alexander Timmer. He's a fascinating blend between bravado and a sense of underlying anxiety, trying to put on a hard, cocky surface while having to deal with sheer horror every time he's out on the battlefield. It's hinted that he might be an alcoholic since he always mixes vodka in with his coffee. The banter between him and Brad is enjoyable, and although his exit from the film is rather underwhelming I still got to develop a good deal of empathy for this guy.

John Williams as Val's father Russell doesn't have much screentime, and his development is told more than it's shown, but he has a solid presence with the little material he gets.

The tone is generally pleasant and light despite the background of a brutal war, with a romance that doesn't seem to contain much conflict. And that's where the problems start.

While this makes for an easy watch the story really would have benefited from some higher stakes. Brad and Valerie are both married, yet from how little they fret about the nature of their relationship you never feel any tension through most of it. Dana seems completely enamored with John at the beginning, yet later on she says she's just with John to make him feel secure, suggesting she doesn't love him deep down. This doesn't make much sense. If we had been shown earlier that the relationship between them is flawed this would've been easier to buy into.

What's worse is that Brad is married himself, yet we never see his wife at all. The only thing we learn is that she becomes aware at some point he's cheating on her. I feel like they made his wife a shadow figure so he wouldn't come off as unlikable, but it also makes his character more shallow.

When John eventually returns home you think things are finally gonna get dramatic as he finds out about Val cheating on him, but the filmmaker seems unwilling to focus on his feelings too much as we only get a mildly shocked expression on his face, even becoming friends with Brad by the end.

These nagging issues take away from the emotional impact when Valerie makes her choice to stay with John instead of Brad. It's a shame since Wynter does a great job at depicting her inner torment having to make such a difficult decision. It highlights how much more heartbreaking this could've been if the story would've had a bit more depth throughout.

Overall, I end up having mixed feelings about this movie. If your standards are not too high and you just want a good ol' cheesy romance this might do the trick, and for the most part I can still say I had a decent time watching this. Still, it's hard not to think about the opportunities missed.

Extremely Disappointing

[rcsjr2 · 2/10 · 10 July 2009]

just wasted 90+ minutes of my time watching this on American Movie Classics. This is ANYTHING BUT a "classic". I suppose the director/writers thought we should have empathy for a couple who are cheating on their wife and fiancé (?). And talk about a misleading title - R U kidding me ! The story could've been placed around ANY battle or war and pretty much remained the same. I enjoy WWII movies as much (probably more) than anyone and this is without a doubt one of the worst of literally dozens I've seen on AMC, TMC, or rented via Netflix. I also enjoy a good love story - but this one is just too hard to stomach.

Not the greatest

[witsend64 · 6 March 2003]

This is one of those movies where history (IWW II) seems to get in the way of romance (Taylor and Wynter). He's a married American officer stationed in England, falling in love with a beautiful young Red Cross worker (Wynter), while she's already in love with a gung ho British officer (Todd). Wow! All that with bombs falling, guns firing and secret missions. Taylor and Wynter pull it off nicely, but the movie as a whole will leave you a little disappointed. Mind you, it is a good way to kill a couple of hours.

Promises More Than It Delivers

[zardoz-13 · 4/10 · 28 January 2010]

Although the title promises epic large-scale combat heroism, the Twentieth Century Fox release "D-Day: The Sixth of June," with Robert Taylor, Richard Todd, and Edmond O'Brien, delivers more soap opera bubbles than battlefield bravado. This traditional World War II battlefront melodrama accords its superior officers with respect and honor. Indeed, "D-Day" focuses primarily on officers above the rank of lieutenant; no enlisted men appear in prominent roles. Cigar-chomping sergeants do not flesh out of the cast. Unfortunately, "Harvey" director Henry Koster and scenarists Ivan Moffett of "Bhowani Junction" and Harry Brown of "Eight Iron Men" have tampered so much with the formula that this war picture ranks poorly in comparison to the star-studded 1963 Twentieth Century Fox release "The Longest Day" with John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and Henry Fonda. The locales are suitably convincing and the narrative shows the tension that occurred as a result of Americans intruding on Englishmen. The differences that the English and the Americans experience when they rub each other raw amounts to a minor theme that peters out quickly.

"D-Day: The Sixth of June" suffers from a multitude of flaws. First, our rugged heroes do not embark on top-secret mission until the last twenty minutes of the action. True, the film opens with a briefing and the troops piling aboard the transports, but the action shifts from the now back to the past. Koster and company devote the bulk of the action to the flashbacks about two romances between Taylor and Todd with Dana Wynter. Lieutenant Colonel John Wynter served under British Brigadier General Russell (John Williams of "Dial M for Murder") who received a wound at Dunkirk that put him out of action.

Second, unaccountably Wynter decides to cheat on her valiant boyfriend, British Lieutenant Colonel John Wynter (Richard Todd of "The Longest Day") with U.S. Army Captain Brad Parker (Robert Taylor of "Saddle the Wind") who has arrived in England to serve as a staff officer for Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Timmer (Edmond O'Brien of "White Heat"). When General Russell attacks a U.S. Army Air Force sergeant, Parker and a colleague have to investigate and try to smooth the general's ruffled feathers. During their meeting with the general, Parker meets Red Cross volunteer Valerie Russell (Dana Wynter of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers") and they strike up a relationship. Parker cheats with Russell on his wife back home in the states.

Third, the filmmakers relegate Edmond O'Brien to the thankless role of an ambitious Army officer who cracks up under pressure before the big mission. He has a nasty habit of sharing classified military information with civilians. Overall, this character attracts no sympathy and is on hand as a narrative tool to bring Lieutenant Colonel Wynter back into the action.

Fourth, the actual mission does not last long, no more than a quarter of an hour. The heroes land at Normandy, encounter enough opposition for both heroes to wind up wounded, and then silence a huge artillery piece gun emplacement.

As bad as they come!

[MOscarbradley · 1/10 · 18 February 2010]

Atrocious wartime romance filmed in widescreen and colour and very typical of its period, (it was made in the mid-fifties). Actually it has nothing very much to do with D-Day, (and it's so awful as to be something of an insult to the men who fought and died then). Rather that's when it begins as two of the men on board one of the ships, an American, (the inexplicably popular Robert Taylor), and a Brit, (the somewhat more charismatic Richard Todd), reminiscence in flashback about the woman they both love, (the beautiful but vacuous Dana Wynter). If it were better made, (it's directed by the monumentally untalented Henry Koster), it might have been tolerable but even by the standards of fifties' romantic tosh this is a real turkey, plucked, stuffed and oven-ready.

A first Class War Drama

[alanrgardner · 9/10 · 29 March 2006]

This film had it all. Action,romance,atmosphere & tremendous attention to detail as life was then. People living life to the full not knowing whether that day would be their last. I was only a young child in 1944 but this time period will be remembered long after I am dead & gone. My favourite character was Colonel Winter played by Richard Todd who was himself in volved in the fighting in Normandy & beyond. Colonel Timmer played by Edmund O Brian also stood out as the brash US officer. Dana Wynter's Valerie Russell's beauty typified the English rose of the period. Other performances by Robert Taylor & John Williams added to the sheer class of this film, well worth seeing despite being 50 years old.

A fumbled mishandling

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 14 June 2017]

D-DAY THE SIXTH OF JUNE is a slightly nauseating gung-ho Hollywood version of the famous battle, bogged down in a bog-standard love triangle which occupies much of the running time. The British forces, in the form of Richard Todd, are shown as heroic but slightly stiff, while the Americans, in the form of Robert Taylor, are down to earth and affable. Dana Wynter is the girl caught between the two but the love triangle material couldn't be any less interesting if it tried. The battle scene at the climax is badly handled and staged in the dark for the most part, and the most fun I got out of this was John Williams' (DIAL M FOR MURDER) wry turn as the brigadier. If you want the definitive D-Day picture, look no further than THE LONGEST DAY.

One of my all time WWII favorites with perfect leads.

[raph-6 · 20 January 1999]

This WWII tear-jerker romance centered around the Normandy invasion in 1944 is one of my all time favorites of this genre. Most notably, the pairing of Robert Taylor and Dana Wynter seemed perfect casting. They are very natural together, real old pros. They exemplified the difficult relationships couples shared in wartime, grabbing a piece of life in the few moments available between battles.

Don't bother with this one

[rudge49 · 1/10 · 6 October 2005]

This movie is on my list of ones not to bother with. Among my many peeves are movies that are mislabeled, that use an enticing title-"Battle of the Bulge" is another-and then portray little if any of the events the title implies. "Lafayette Escadrille" is another. Saw this one 40 years ago on the tube, as a 14 year old I was annoyed at the lack of action and real history. One incident stands out in my memory. At the end when the landings finally occur and newsreel footage is spliced in, the soundtracks plays the songs of the various armed forces, the Marine Corps hymn is played, my mother (born in 1913) said to me (the precocious history buff) "They didn't have Marines at D-Day, did they?" The answer of course is no, the ETO was a strict Army-Navy operation. I would call this a "bait and switch" movie, you are lured in by an enticing title, the actual movie is a scam.

Overpaid, overfed and over here

[ubercommando · 4/10 · 10 January 2005]

...and that's just Robert Taylor. There is a style of acting that was in vogue in the 1950's called "dead from the neck down" and that describes Taylor to a T. The film is excruciatingly plodding, and the plot is quite morally vacant. Taylor and Wynter are both cheating on their partners and it's hard to see what they see in each other: He indulges in so much Brit-bashing and bitches about the US allies throughout the movie you would think he wouldn't want to become contaminated by them, and once Richard Todd, Wynter's former love, appears on the scene, the little Englishman just acts Taylor off the screen...even when we, finally, get to the war action, it's Todd who is all testosterone and wins the battle. I actually found the film somewhat offensive and almost a complete waste of time.

A different take

[timmybadger · 8/10 · 30 December 2022]

A lot of the reviewers here seem to be upset that this film isn't a rip-roaring action film, that's because it isn't..

Yes, the setting is the Normandy landings, but this is a story of love and sacrifice and shows what else the brave men and women of that time had to give up and endure.

Imagine falling in love and then that person disappearing at the drop of a hat, with no easy way to message or communicate, always wondering whether they'd ever come back. Heartbreaking.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Great acting and a story that left me sobbing.

So ignore the other reviewers; who can't seem to enjoy a movie set in that era unless their blood thirst is quenched, and enjoy this movie for what it is.

Very disappointing!

[JohnHowardReid · 5/10 · 15 June 2017]

Copyright 1956 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Roxy: 29 May 1956. U.S. release: June 1956. U.K. release: 15 October 1956. Australian release: 6 September 1956. Sydney opening at the Regent. 9,560 feet. 106 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: American army captain falls in love with an English girl who is engaged to his commanding officer.

NOTES: Fox's 55th CinemaScope release did rather well at all ticket windows, despite extremely negative reviews.

COMMENT: I'm tempted to say that this is one of the few war films that's suitable for children, mainly because it's so boring. "D-Day the Sixth of June" should have been an epic, but it emerges not just as a damp squib but as a bore. Yes, this "great love story of the great war" is a plain bore. For a while there, the director and the screenwriters do battle to see who can come across as the dullest. On his record, Koster would not seem to offer much opposition, but it says much for the lack of quality and incredible dullness of the writing, that Messrs Moffat and Brown win handsomely. The Dana Wynter/Richard Todd/Robert Taylor triangle must be one of the least interesting, most predictable and grandly tedious romances in film history. Miss Wynter's frosty personality just can't help being bland. But Robert Taylor's lethargic performance is unexpected and thus doubly disappointing. By way of contrast, Richard Todd and in particular Edmond O'Brien really throw themselves into their roles. Unfortunately they have little to work on or with, but they certainly make the most of the sparse material they're handed. John Williams manages to make some impression, despite being miscast, but the rest of the support players are little help.

Photographer Lee Garmes tries hard to give the picture's lighting a bit of style, but is ultimately defeated by very moderate production values, especially the use of lots of stock footage which is supremely obvious in CinemaScope blow-ups.

Wonderful movie

[burpo40 · 25 May 2003]

Richard Todd is one of the best actors ever. He makes you feel like you are right there with him, living the part. People just don`t seem to know that he was actually there fighting on the real D-Day! You have always been my hero Mr. Todd and you always will be. You know how special you are to me. Thank you! myrna