Too Young the Hero (1988)

The true story of Calvin Graham who at the age of twelve, but looking quite a lot older, succeeded in joining the navy during World War II. In spite of his young age, he received a purple ... See full summary »

Director:

Buzz Kulik

Writers:

Calvin Graham (manuscript), Gary Thomas (manuscript)

Stars:

Ricky Schroder, Jon DeVries, Debra Mooney

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ricky Schroder	...	Calvin Graham
Jon DeVries	...	Captain Gatch (as Jon De Vries)
Debra Mooney	...	Calvin's Mother
Rick Warner	...	Holbrook
Tom Wood	...	Davy Cluff (as Thomas Mills Wood)
Christopher Curry	...	Laslo
John Linton	...	Scotty Bloxom
Markus Flanagan	...	Sparky
David Gianopoulos	...	MacBride
Shelley Reid	...	Cracker (as Ron Shelley)
Christopher Yohe	...	Frank (as Christopher Yore)
Terry Loughlin	...	Necker
Thomas McGovern	...	Turkel
Carl Mueller	...	Shriver
Mert Hatfield	...	Harry

Storyline

The true story of Calvin Graham who at the age of twelve, but looking quite a lot older, succeeded in joining the navy during World War II. In spite of his young age, he received a purple hart for his bravery in the battle of Guadalcanal. When he reported back to his unit after a leave, his world collapsed. Due to a misunderstanding he is reported as a deserter which is the start of a real nightmare.

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Plot Keywords:

blond boy | teenage boy | prison rape | u.s. navy | young soldier | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

While the movie depicted Calvin Graham as being second to the youngest in the family, he was in real life the youngest sibling. The idea that he had a younger baby sister being raised by his older sister Pearl was fictionalized for "dramatic" purposes.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film, when Calvin goes into the office of the OD and is made to wait, the "cops" who turn up to arrest him are MPs (Military Police, U.S. Army). On a U.S. Naval Air Station, they should be SPs (Shore Patrol), not MPs.

User Reviews

A good designed film for its age

When you see Rick in the film it's easy to understand that it is impossible to be a 12 years old boy. I think he is around 20 in the film but the director may used this actor because he though that this was the only that he could find and fit for the role. Of course some things in the movie never happened but they were created so the film could be success. I hoped that films like that would be produced even today. As an overview of the film its shows the World War II at the side of U.S. Navy through the eyes of a young boy.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 March 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Herói ou Desertor

Filming Locations:

Battleship USS North Carolina Museum, North Carolina, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rick-Dawn Enterprises, Pierre Cossette Enterprises, Landsburg Company

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1