The Fighting Sullivans (1944), which is being broadcast on TCM at 1:30pm ET today (3/21/09) is based on the real life heroic tragedy of five Iowa-born brothers who enlisted in the Navy together after Pearl Harbor and were all assigned to the USS Juneau.The brothers had reportedly stipulated that they serve together when they enlisted.In November, 1942 during the Battle of Guadacanal, George, Francis, Joseph, Madison and Albert Sullivan perished together, along with 700 others, wiping out a generation of a family and changing military policy from then on when it came to assigning relatives to one theater of operations, (though, based on a number of fathers and sons and spouses recently assigned to Iraq and Afghanistan, that policy has eased in recent years).
While Thomas Mitchell as their father is deeply touching and Selena Royle as their mother is quite effective as well, the exaltation of such a waste of life, however noble, has always made me quite queasy, even as I feel compassion for the characters and respect for their self-sacrifice. I suspect that it is hard for me to watch from a present day perspective due to the subsequent wars that America has chosen to be involved in, and should be viewed as a heartfelt piece of propaganda, as well as a document reflecting its time. The film's power as a personal story may be overshadowed by the fact that the brothers were lost at a time when it was by no means clear that the Allies would win the war. As a movie directed by journeyman Lloyd Bacon, the film follows the boys as they grow up, the story rarely rises above the conventional, but, in the tragic scene in which the father played by the always believable Mitchell asks, with his voice cracking with pain as he comprehends the truth, “…all five?” remains one of the most powerful in American film history.
A Letter from Mrs. Aletta Sullivan
A Reply from Franklin Roosevelt
An article about the commissioning of the destroyer, the U.S.S. Sullivan in 1997.
The Fighting Sullivans (1944) directed by Lloyd Bacon
Cast
(For complete cast and crew, please click here)
Anne Baxter as Katherine Mary Sullivan
Thomas Mitchell as Mr. Thomas F. Sullivan
Selena Royle as Mrs. Alleta Sullivan
Edward Ryan as Albert Leo 'Al' Sullivan
Trudy Marshall as Genevieve 'Gen' Sullivan
John Campbell as Francis Henry 'Frank' Sullivan
James Cardwell as George Thomas Sullivan
John Alvin as Madison Abel 'Matt' Sullivan
George Offerman Jr. as Joesph Eugene 'Joe' Sullivan
Roy Roberts as Father Francis
Ward Bond as Lt. Cmdr. Robinson
Below is a montage in tribute to this film and the five young men who lived and perished together:
3 comments:
A deeply affecting movie. I agree that Thomas Mitchell's scene is one of the most powerful in American film history. I haven't seen it in years, but I do recall the movie being difficult to watch, that it had a kind of forced patriotism to it that was more bitter than rallying. Those were tough days, early in the war.
I can recall seeing a documentary about the son of the only one of the Sullivan brothers to have a child, how strange and difficult it was for him to grow up without any male relatives, to have this shadow of the enormous family tragedy following him. I believe he eventually joined the Navy himself and to his surprise and satisfaction, found a sense of belonging, or completeness, or at least closure with these new "brothers."
The first time I watched this movie I didn't know anything about the Sullivan brothers. I don't know how this family bore such a loss. I watched this again on TCM and I cried at the end. All the actors turned in great performances.I wonder what the family thought of the movie....could they even watch it?
While I too wonder if the Sullivan family could bear to see this film, I believe that the Sullivan parents were actively involved in the film's preparation and that Thomas and Alleta Sullivan toured the country during the war asking those they spoke with to buy war bonds to help prove that none of their sons died in vain.
Alleta Sullivan, who lived until 1972, christened the first destroyer named after her children, the USS The Sullivans, and the son of Al Sullivan, James, served on board that ship. The second destroyer named after the brothers was christened by Al's granddaughter Kelly Ann Sullivan Loughren
The brothers only surviving sibling, Genevieve, served in the WAVES during the war as well. Genevieve's boyfriend was Bill Ball, whose death at Pearl Harbor prompted her brothers to join the Navy to avenge him.
The Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum opened in 2008 in Waterloo, IA and you may find more info here
as well.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post and to comment.
All the best,
Moira
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