The Fighting Sullivans (1944) User Reviews

Heroic and Touching

[paulpsyche · 10/10 · 24 September 2005]

The USS Sullivans is now anchored in a Naval Park in Buffalo, NY. This destroyer was named in honor of the Sullivan Brothers who all lost their life during the battle of Guadalcanal in 1942. After Pearl Harbor they all enlisted in the Navy with the condition of not being separated. While serving on the USS Juno they perished together. Shipmates reported that three of the brothers, when out of harms way, returned to the burning ship for their brothers when it went under. When news of this tragic loss was learned, the government instituted the rule that stands today, no brothers will serve in the same combat theatre. This was due to the Sullivans.

I saw this movie one night with my mother on late night TV in 1981. Let me tell you, the very memory of the ending of this movie brings me to tears. A mixture of pride and sorrow. Do not hesitate, purchase, and watch this film.

A touching tribute to the 5 Sullivan brothers who lost their lives together in WWII.

[gitrich · 29 October 1998]

The Sullivan brothers grew up together in a small town in Iowa. They would eventually join the Navy after Pearl Harbor was attacked and would be killed in action. The story is a true one and heart wrenching to say the least. Thomas Mitchell is perfectly cast as the father. A very young Bobby Driscoll plays little Al, the youngest of the 5 Sullivan boys. Anne Baxter and Ward Bond were magnificent. Get yourself a box of Kleenex for this one folks. It will stay with you for a long time.

KEEPING "THE SULLIVANS" AFLOAT

[renfield54 · 10/10 · 17 June 1999]

This film is presented as vignettes of the boys at different ages, as if seen through a mother's loving eyes. It makes your heart particularly vulnerable to their inevitable fate. Especially poignant to the audiences of the day, note that it was released in 1944, during some of the darker days of World War II.

Five brothers DID die as the result of ONE enemy encounter. It was a terrible tragedy. It made one family's sacrifice TOO great. In their honor, there has always been a "USS The Sullivans" afloat. The newly commisioned ship can be seen, along with the "new" skipper (sometimes), on patriotic holidays when the movie is shown. They have him (and the ship) in the "bumpers" between segments. It adds a new dimension and reality to the film.

My younger children always gather round to watch the "Leave it to Beaver" type antics of the brothers growing up. They very much enjoy the "little troublemakers". They DO follow the film and understand what happens at the end. I'm glad they do. It's not lost on them. And we always salute, along with Pop Sullivan, at the end of the movie.....

REST IN PEACE, BOYS...........

Simply great

[drosse67 · 25 November 2001]

This is one of the few movies I've seen that really made me cry. I agree with others who wrote about this and would definitely put it up there with The Best Years of our Lives as one of the great World War II pictures. Saving Private Ryan didn't move me as much as this mainly because we really don't get to know Private Ryan (or his brothers, for that matter). In this movie, we get to know all of the brothers, especially the oldest and the youngest. It did feel a bit like the Waltons in the first hour (were homes really that apple pie in Iowa in the 30s?) But watching the boys come of age and struggle with basic teenage issues, and then watching them enlist, made their fates all the more powerful. Yes, I knew what was going to happen but I was moved all the same. This movie should be required viewing for everyone who adored Saving Private Ryan.

Every Irishman Sees Red Once in a While

[GradyQ · 21 June 2003]

THE FIGHTING SULLIVANS, as it was known by the time I saw it, is a fantastic WW2 era film. It's more Americana than War film, but it's a truly engrossing story about the loyalty of family and the tragedy of sacrifice. The video box calls it a "story of the fighting navy!" That's not really true, half of the story takes place when the Sullivan brothers are boys, and the sinking of the Juneau is only a five minute scene at the end of the film. They're only in the navy for a few minutes of screen time. The relationships between the brothers and their distinct personalities is what makes this film stand out, and no person with a heart beating in his chest can sit dry eyed through the ending when the father goes to work as usual, even after hearing some devastating news. This film pushes all the right buttons and is a wonderful example of just how strongly a film can manipulate your emotions. I can't watch it without getting a lump in the old throat.

One Of The Best Done WW2 Propaganda Movies

[JackCerf · 6 March 2001]

The five Sullivan brothers had joined the Navy after Pearl Harbor on the condition that they be allowed to serve on the same ship, a recruiting gimmick that the pre-World War II Navy had used. All five were killed when the USS Juneau was sunk by a Japanese submarine during the Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942. The Office of War Information allowed their loss to be a widely reported story at the time, presumably because the family's fortitude in the face of this catastrophe was thought inspirational. (No mention, of course, was made of the fact that the rest of the Juneau's task force sailed away without trying to rescue survivors and that less than 10 of the crew were ultimately saved.) The audience would have gone into the picture knowing how it must end.

Hollywood chose to treat the Sullivan story not as a war story but as a family portrait of how Americans wanted to feel about themselves. The Sullivans are a working class Irish-American family from Waterloo, Iowa with five sons and a daughter. The father was a railroad freight conductor. They are shown as close knit, hard working, good hearted, religious, loyal, loving, pugnacious and having a strong sense of right and wrong. They get through tough times by sticking together, and the boys learn to stand up for what's right. Given their upbringing, it is inevitably that the Sullivan boys (and by inference all the working class GIs and sailors like them), march down to the recruiting office to join up right after Pearl Harbor. The Navy recruiting officer is the picture of benevolent concern, both when he allows them to serve together and when he delivers the fatal Navy Department telegram to the Sullivan household a year later. Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan and the surviving elder sister take the blow with grief, of course, but also with the stoicism that comes from religion and from not expecting too much out of life. The sister joins the WAVES, and there's a brief coda of the five boys entering a nimbus that suggests the Pearly Gates.

It's a well made, highly professional piece of home front propaganda, but one wordless scene makes it stand out. Thomas Mitchell, who had played Scarlett O'Hara's father, played the father of the Sullivan family as the same kind of tough, cocky little Irishman. Early in the movie, we see the family ritual of his going off to work. As he swings up onto the caboose of the freight train, an honest working man proud to provide for his family, his five boys rush pell mell up the ladder of the railroad water tower to the encircling balcony. There they wave goodbye to him, and he waves back. At the end of the picture, after the mourning was over, Mr. Sullivan goes back to work. As he boards the back of the caboose, he looks up and sees the water tower balcony. It's empty. His knees bend, his shoulders slump, and you can see all the hope and pride drain out of him as the blow finally hits home. The shot has been perfectly foreshadowed, but it's completely unexpected. It's the emotional payoff to which the entire picture had been building up; everything after is just obligatory window dressing.

wrenching true story

[dtucker86 · 1 November 2002]

A lot of people know the story of the USS Indianapolis that sank at the end of World War II. It was the ship where only 316 of the 1,196 crew survived because there was a delay in looking for them. This film tells the story of the USS Juneau, it is not as well known but its story is terrible as well. Only 10 out of 700 crew survived. This ship is best remembered as the one where the Sullivans died. There has been a change in policy since where brothers are prohibited from being on the same ship. This film does a wonderful job of bringing the Sullivan saga to life. I can imagine the patriotic impact it had when it was shown at the time. I caught it on an old movie channel and I remember the scene that got me was the one at the end where it made out like they were all ascending to heaven.

Memory Lane

[rod-46 · 9 March 1999]

I lived in Waterloo, Iowa from 1968-73. In that time I drove by the Sullivan home in the North End of Waterloo. Each time I drove by it brought back the scenes depicted in the movie of Waterloo. It also brought back the pain with the Sullivan loss. I had a strange affinity for the area as if every time I drove by I was living the story all over again and with the Sullivans. To this day, the pain of their loss and the infrequent trips back to Waterloo confirm in my heart the deep, deep gratitude I have for the ultimate sacrifice of the five brothers.

Absolutely Wonderful

[lashes1972 · 10/10 · 11 January 2005]

I first saw this movie about 10 years ago. I was sitting up late one night with my mother and she said that she wanted me to see it. At first, i wasn't interested but as i watched it, i became fascinated with this family. I thought they were just so All American and so very close. They were the kind of close that just doesn't exist now days. Anyway, i loved it. When all 5 brothers were killed and the man went to the house to tell the family (what was left), i thought my heart would bleed. I couldn't imagine losing all of my children like that. Watching them grow up was probably the best part though. I loved seeing them all play as children. I think my favorite part was when they decided to "re model" the kitchen. That was priceless! God Bless the Sullivan Family and to anyone who sees this movie.. GET Kleenex READY!

Motivational film for war time America.

[yenlo · 28 May 1999]

This film was made during WWII when the outcome was still uncertain. It served as a strong motivational film for the American theater going crowd much like "Guadalcanal Diary" and Wake Island" to name just two. Most of the picture concerns the brothers growing up and their strong bond with each other. The actual story of them serving in the Navy is very small in relation to the rest of the movie. The spirit of the five brothers is still alive today as the Navy recently named yet another ship after them i.e. USS The Sullivans DDG 68. The story would still make for a fine remake using 90's style film making and with the right director be up there with "Saving Private Ryan". Check this film out and look for a small role by the great character actor Ward Bond whose presence in films always makes a difference.

Heart breaker

[robertgiannola · 10/10 · 30 December 2005]

This has to be the greatest tearjerker of all time. I was only an early teenager when I saw this (now 66), and I cried till the sun came up, as I lie in bed trying to sleep after seeing it. Thomas Mitchell was just too much as the bereaved father, and I have felt a close kinship to him because of what he went through for what seems like all of my life. I wanted to take him in my arms and comfort him somehow. His boys were so filled with wonder and joy, and so young and excited about life. The movie almost culminates everything that is so devastating about war, but makes the point that it has its place in the weaknesses of mankind, and the fact that we all are, after all, just human.

Hits deep in the core of your heart...

[dant51 · 10/10 · 17 March 2005]

I understand this movie did not do well when it was released (1944). At that time, when American hearts were so tender with pain, it is understandable. Today, it reminds us of the magnitude of sacrifice of human life and grief it cost families across this nation.

I have acquired a deeper appreciation for those who went before us so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today.

I hope everyone who reads this will have the opportunity to see this movie. Though a classic it has not lost its ability to stir the mind and heart.

May God hold and keep all those who have lost loved ones in the conflicts this nation has faced in the past and today.

Finest movie

[vhjedi · 10/10 · 14 September 2003]

This is a must see movie to truly apreciate the sacrifices made for our country by the "greatest generation". The heart of the movie is the lives of the brothers growing up. If the film were made today it would probably focus too much on the actual death of the boys, instead this film instead focuses on the lives that were lived by 5 great american men. If you have never seen this film, get a copy of it and watch a cinematic triumph in storytelling.

Memorable one Liner!

[ciceropig-4 · 9/10 · 31 January 2004]

If Ward Bond is not remembered for one word in his long career in movies his line in "The Sullivans" should be. "All Five" when he is asked which one it was that was killed in the Pacific. A truly memorable movie by all. Tearjerker? It would rank number one!

Always in my memory

[rungmc · 9/10 · 30 June 2005]

Very seldom when I was small, we would be allowed to sit up late to catch a movie, but always to the distaste of my mother, who was adamant that bedtime was bedtime, movie or not. So I'll never forget the night that we were actually called out of bed to come up and watch this, the fighting Sullivan's. We sat, engrossed in the lives of these young men, convinced that it was a comedy we were watching. The little rascals-esquire capers of the boys always stuck with me, especially the "dentist" scene. As the Sullivan's grew, we grew closer and closer to them, until the tragic finale; words cannot describe the wave of emotion that flowed over me. In the end, i turned to my dad, teary eyed, to ask him if it really was a true story; more sensitive parents would have said yes, its all made up... A truly special movie, one for everybody.

One of the best wartime films ever!

[rolf-10 · 15 December 1998]

I first saw this film as an eight year old during the war. I regularly showed the video version to my high school history classes during my teaching career. Even though it was on the edge of being brutally hard to take when the Sullivan family learned of the death of all five of their sons, my students regarded the film as one which showed a great deal about the home front and about the sacrifices this generation made to the country.

Excellent family movie

[pbo1701-3 · 17 October 1999]

This movie is a very tender, touching tale of a family's great loss during WWII. I believe it teaches not just the love a family should share, but also the horror of war. Too often we see people die in war and don't realize that they were once children with dreams, hopes and their whole lives ahead of them.

This movie (although the closing scene seems a bit silly now) is an excellent testament to the people who fought and died in war.

Never too old

[lmtempleton · 10/10 · 23 February 2001]

I am in my 50's and was raised by a Mother that drug me to movies whether I stood a chance in hell of knowing or understanding what I was watching or not, so over the years I have been exposed to many, many themes, situations and melodramas that should and have given me a skeptical eye to emotional manipulations. That being said: I NEVER fail to cry in the closing minutes of this excellent film.

memories

[tonight2 · 8/10 · 9 April 2006]

I was a boy of 14 at boarding school in England when I saw this film on release. The memory of it is with me still at 75 so it must have had some merit emotionally if nothing else. The second world war was still on and we were all aware of the horrors daily being brought to notice. Fellow pupils were finding parent(s) and brothers/sisters lost in the conflict. The film I recall we who saw it went back a second time. Thomas Mitchell as the father was the dominant character in the film.I still think of him as a forerunner to characters played later by Ernest Borgnine who was in the same mould. Anne Baxter was not yet at her best but was a sympathetic player demanded by her sorely tested motherhood in this film.

The kind of wartime history pic you don't see often

[Chaff · 1 June 1999]

War movies are typically shown on TV for Memorial Day, and this one about tops them all. On the one hand, it's old-Hollywood style so you have to know how to "watch" it--a woman carrying a big stuffed animal is pregnant, for example. On the other hand, there's minimal war footage and jingoism, uncommon for a wartime movie. It shows, rather than tells, which gives it much more power. Deeply moving after more than half a century.

I was a young boy when I seen the movie

[Ducko137 · 10/10 · 30 December 2006]

I remember when I was a young boy and seeing this movie. It had all the fun and sadness of that time frame. I related to the father since my dad worked on the railroad. The boys receiving their first communion and I begin catholic and my brother in law serving in the navy. I know it had a sad ending and of course it wasn't till later in life did I realize the importance of the story. I have seen it a couple of times over the past years on T V but its been awhile now. I recommend that any father and mother if they can rent or buy this movie for their sons and daughters to watch they should do it. It is truly an Inspiration to America.

A Memorial Day classic

[jlitvin · 10/10 · 1 June 1999]

I first saw this during the Memorial Day weekend of 1998. I made sure to catch AMC's playing of this movie this year. I hope to watch this in honor of Memorial Day from now on.

A Must See

[bigsarge1950 · 10/10 · 23 November 2000]

I love this movie. Its about these brothers that stick together even in death. Its for the whole family to see. It'll make you laugh and cry. Being a Sullivan myself, I had to see this movie. Every time it comes on I have to see it. I would definitely recommend this movie to everyone.

A heart-wrenching story...

[Daryan · 22 January 1999]

This is a heart-wrenching film about love, family, and loss. Based on the loss of all five of the Sullivan boys on the sinking of the USS Juneau in 1942, this movie stayed with me long after I watched it as a small child in the 1970's with my grandfather, a WWII vet. No family should have to lose all five of their sons at once, and certainly not in a war. Surely this one on of the major reasons behind the president-at-the-time's decision that if x-number of sons died in the war, whoever was left living was sent home.

The heartache of this family exists again today with Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan", a movie loosely based on the Sullivan brothers, but yet still completely fictionalized. While "The Sullivans", a docudrama, is extremely hard to find on video in most places, it is a must-own for anyone who collects war films, and a must-see for anyone who truly wants to know about what war really is, and not just the image put forth in the fictionalized Hollywood WWII seen in "Saving Private Ryan". A top-rated film.

Most reviews spoil the ending - but not this one!!

[Libretio · 7/10 · 7 March 2005]

THE SULLIVANS

Aspect ratio: 1.37:1

Sound format: Mono

(Black and white)

A working-class couple (Thomas Mitchell and Selena Royle) raise six children - five boys and a girl - to adulthood, only to suffer an appalling tragedy during wartime.

When America finally entered the Second World War in December 1941, President Roosevelt was advised by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to prohibit family members from serving together on active duty. It was not an idle warning: Within months of the attack on Pearl Harbor, headlines were generated across the world by a smaller - though no less tragic - incident which befell a hard-working Irish-American family from Waterloo, Iowa, an incident which forms the basis of Lloyd Bacon's flag-waving melodrama. Mary C. McCall Jr.'s episodic screenplay (based on an Oscar-nominated story by Jules Schermer and Edward Doherty) is imbued with the kind of homespun values craved by audiences during wartime, and follows the fortunes of the Suillivan brood from adolescence to young adulthood, charting a recognizable course through the ups and downs of their otherwise unremarkable lives. However, their world is changed forever by the onset of war, leading to the worst possible disaster. In fact, the last fifteen minutes of the film are so utterly heartbreaking (particularly the 'water tower' sequence), many theater owners refused to screen the movie until the end of the war, believing it would be too painful for families whose loved ones were still fighting on the front line. Half a century later, Steven Spielberg paid tribute to the Sullivan family by using their experience as a springboard for his own wartime drama, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998).

Director Bacon (a veteran craftsman who began his career in silent films before gravitating toward sound-era classics like 42nd STREET in 1933) tells the story in straightforward fashion, employing close-ups and tracking shots purely for dramatic emphasis at key points in the narrative. He also uses an instrumental version of the old military standard 'Anchors Away' to particularly memorable effect during the latter stages of the film - some will find it corny, others will be deeply moved; either response is valid. Production values are economical but solid, and the cast is a mixed bag of veterans and newcomers, spearheaded by old-hands Royle (THE HEIRESS) and Mitchell (one of Hollywood's most celebrated character actors, usually a supporting player in A-list productions like GONE WITH THE WIND and IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE), while Anne Baxter - so memorable in Orson Welles' THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS - toplines the younger cast in a thankless minor role. The performances of the five Sullivan boys (all played by relative unknowns) are variable, though the young actors who play them as children aren't even credited on-screen! Chief amongst them is Bobby Driscoll (as the youngest family member), a hugely talented child star who won an Oscar for his role in Ted Tetzlaff's superb thriller THE WINDOW (1949) and later provided the voice of the title character in Disney's PETER PAN (1953). Further down the cast list in a small but crucial role is Ward Bond, playing a navy officer who utters the single most wrenching line of dialogue in the entire film ("All five"). Remembered fondly for his role in TV's "Wagon Train", Bond appeared in almost 300 movies during the course of his long career, lending an element of quiet dignity to every role he ever played. Also known as THE FIGHTING SULLIVANS.

NB. Shortly after the events described in this movie, President Roosevelt finally decreed that family members would no longer be allowed to serve together in the US military. This rule has been enforced ever since.