Original artwork, not a still
I don't mind being one of the few; trouble is we keep getting fewer.
— The Longest Day • 1962
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Dave makes a dry joke out of the phrase 'the few', the name given to the pilots of 1940, to cover his grief at losing yet another friend from that summer. The film uses it to show the war wearing the airmen down on the night before the invasion, and the line is quoted whenever a group of old hands is shrinking.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The Longest DayShow the scene
In The Longest Day (1962), on the eve of D-Day, Flying Officer David Campbell, an RAF fighter pilot, comes into the squadron's bar and asks for his friend Johnny. He is told Johnny has been lost over the Channel: shot at by flak over Calais, he jumped clear but his parachute failed. Johnny was one of the 1940 veterans who flew in the Battle of Britain, which leaves Dave as the last of the old squadron. Dave answers that what has always worried him about being one of the few is how they keep getting fewer. The talk then turns to whether the invasion is on for that night.
Sources (2)
- Springfield! Springfield! Longest Day scriptbar scene on the eve of the invasionReference checked
- Wikipedia, The Longest Day (film)cast tableReference checked
Context reviewed
