The Fighting Sullivans (1944)

Information from IMDb

Plot Summary
The lives of a close-knit group of brothers growing up in Iowa
during the days of the Great Depression and of World War II
and their eventual deaths in action in the Pacific theater are chronicled
in this film based on a true story.
Written by JD-2

Full Cast
Anne Baxter ... Katherine Mary Sullivan
Thomas Mitchell ... Mr. Thomas F. Sullivan
Selena Royle ... Mrs. Alleta Sullivan
Edward Ryan ... Albert Leo 'Al' Sullivan
Trudy Marshall ... Genevieve 'Gen' Sullivan
John Campbell ... Francis Henry 'Frank' Sullivan
James Cardwell ... George Thomas Sullivan
John Alvin ... Madison Abel 'Matt' Sullivan
George Offerman Jr. ... Joesph Eugene 'Joe' Sullivan
Roy Roberts ... Father Francis
Ward Bond ... Lt. Cmdr. Robinson
Steve Barclay ... Naval Talkers (uncredited)
Charles Bates ... Rival Boy (uncredited)
Barbara Brown ... Maternity Nurse (uncredited)
Johnny Calkins ... Joe Sullivan as a Child (uncredited)
Michael Chapin ... Rival Boy (uncredited)
Roger Clark ... Minor Role (uncredited)
Gene Collins ... Rival Boy (uncredited)
Billy Cummings ... Matt Sullivan as a Child (uncredited)
Marvin Davis ... Frank Sullivan as a Child (uncredited)
Bobby Driscoll ... Al Sullivan as a Child (uncredited)
Betty Farrington ... Mrs. Griffin (uncredited)
Ronald Harris ... Chauncey Griffin (uncredited)
Joe Haworth ... Stretcher Bearer (uncredited)
Henry Hebert ... Politician at Boat Launching (uncredited)
Selmer Jackson ... Damage Control Officer (uncredited)
Mike Killian ... Junior Officer (uncredited)
Bobby Larson ... Rival Boy (uncredited)
George Lynn ... Officer (uncredited)
Gerald Mackey ... Rival Boy (uncredited)
Knox Manning ... Radio Commentator (uncredited)
Mae Marsh ... Neighbor of Mrs. Griffin (uncredited)
Mary McCarty ... Gladys (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse ... Naval Officer at Boat Launching (uncredited)
John Nesbitt ... Admiral (uncredited)
Eddie Nichols ... Rival Boy (uncredited)
Elsa Peterson ... Nun (uncredited)
Grandon Rhodes ... Naval Doctor (uncredited)
Addison Richards ... Naval Captain (uncredited)
Nancy June Robinson ... Genevieve Sullivan as a Child (uncredited)
Merrill Rodin ... Rival Boy (uncredited)
Bernard Sell ... Stretcher Bearer (uncredited)
Harry Shannon ... Chief Petty Officer (uncredited)
Mel Shubert ... Junior Officer (uncredited)
Harry Strang ... Chief Petty Officer (uncredited)
Buddy Swan ... George Sullivan as a Child (uncredited)
Larry Thompson ... Yeoman (uncredited)
Leon Tyler ... Rival Boy (uncredited)
John Whitney ... Naval Talkers (uncredited)
Frank Wilcox ... Officer (uncredited)
Sally Yarnell ... Minor Role (uncredited)

Writing Credits
Edward Doherty story
Mary C. McCall Jr.
Jules Schermer story

Original Music
Cyril J. Mockridge

Cinematography
Lucien N. Andriot

Trivia
According to the Australian DVD sleeve notes, this movie "was originally pulled from cinemas after its devastating effect on audiences of the time."

According to the book 'The Films of World War II' by Joe Morella, Edward Z. Epstein and John Griggs (1973), this film " . . . had undergone a title change between its initial New York release and subsequent bookings. Originally it was entitled 'The Sullivans' but proved to be a disappointment at the box office until the new title was appended, whereupon it became an unqualified success."

America became familiar with the Sullivans story during World War II and knew the boy's mother affectionately as "Mom Sullivan".

This film's opening preamble states: "This is a true story."

The meaning and relevance of this movie's title, The Fighting Sullivans, is that they were five Irish-American brothers who died about the same time whilst serving on the American light cruiser USS Juneau (CL-52) during World War II. This vessel was torpedoed and sunk in the South Pacific on 13 November 1942 during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. The names of the brothers, the Fighting Sullivans, were Frank, Joe, Matt, Al and George.

American President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said of the The Fighting Sullivan five brothers, "This is the spirit which in the end must triumph!"

After the deaths of the five Sullivan brothers during World War II, their parents, went on to assist in the war effort as a tribute to their five sons.

This movie features the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Guadalcanal is situated in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean, north-east of Australia. Its local name is Isatabu and contains the country's capital, Honiara. The island is humid and mostly made up of jungle with a surface area of 2,510 square miles or 6,500-km². Guadacanal was named after Pedro de Ortega's home town Guadacanal in Andalusia, Spain. de Ortega worked under Álvaro de Mendaña who charted the island in 1568.

Steven Spielberg has stated that both the story of the Niland brothers and the Sullivans brothers acted as his inspiration for making Saving Private Ryan.

As a direct result of the five Sullivan brothers fatalities, the United States War Department developed and initiated the Sole Survivor Policy. It is a myth that following the five Sullivan brothers deaths, the US Government enacted the "Sullivan Act", an act made to prevent siblings serving together on the same boat. At the time of the Second World War, the US Navy did have a policy of separating siblings. This policy was not enforced by the book though.

A Department of Defense Dependents Elementary School in Yokosuka, Japan is named after the five Sullivan brothers.

After the deaths of the five Sullivan brothers, the United States Navy named two ships after them. They were the Fletcher class destroyer, USS The Sullivans (DD-537) and the Arleigh Burke class destroyer, USS The Sullivans (DDG-68). The former was the first American navy vessel ever to be named after more than one person. Each of the two vessels shared the same motto which was the Sullivan brothers motto: "We Stick Together."

The movie implies that the five brothers died at the same time. In reality, USS Juneau survivors reported that Joe, Matt and Frank died when the torpedo struck the ship, Al died of drowning the next day whilst George actually lived for four to five days after the attack.

Actual film footage from this film was used in the Caroline's Spine music video, "Sullivan". Band member Jimmy Newquist was moved to write the song after learning of the fates of the five brothers.

In real life two of the brothers, Frank and George, had actually served in the US Navy prior to the five brothers enlisting but this story element is not represented in the film.

Goofs
Anachronisms
Al meets Katherine Mary at a dance in 1939, where the band is playing "You'll Never Know". This song wasn't introduced until 1943, in the Fox film "Hello, Frisco, Hello," for which it won an Oscar as Best Song.

Boom mic visible
When Tom Sullivan comes in from searching for George and admonishes the rest of his sons for staying up late, the mic's shadow is visible on the kitchen table.

Factual errors
At the induction center, the Petty Officer the Sullivan brothers bull past has his Crow (Navy Chevrons) sewn on the mid-line of his sleeve with a crease running through the center of the chevrons. Navy uniforms have the stripes sewn forward of the crease, not on the crease.

When confronting Lt. Cmdr. Robinson for the first time, both George and Frank are calling him Admiral and showing no respect for him. This would go against their training, as both had served previously in the Navy and had been recently discharged prior to Pearl Harbor (May 1941).

In the end of the movie, George (the oldest Sullivan brother) was in Sick Bay when the remaining four brothers go to rescue him. In reality, George and Al were the only Sullivan brothers to survive the sinking of USS Juneau. Al drowned the next day and George succumbed 4-5 days later to dementia, when he shed his uniform and swam off in search of his brothers.

In the time line for the movie, the motorcycle race George was in happened in 1939. However, one of the bikes in the race was a 1940 or later Indian Chief. Indian motorcycles up to and including 1939 had open fenders, and from 1940 though 1953 had the valanced fenders. Given the movie was made in 1944, the motorcycle was somewhere in the 1940 through 1942 range, as Indian did not make civilian motorcycles during the war years of 1943 and 1944.

Revealing mistakes
At the end of the film when the U.S.S. 'The Sullivans' is launched, the hull number 450 is visible on its bows. The hull number of the real 'The Sullivans' is DD-537.

Filming Locations
Unknown

The Fighting Sullivans, originally released as The Sullivans,
is a 1944 American biographical war film directed by Lloyd Bacon
and written by Edward Doherty, Mary C. McCall Jr. and Jules Schermer.
It was nominated for a now-discontinued Academy Award for Best Story.

The story follows the lives of the five Irish-American Sullivan brothers,
who grew up in Iowa during the days of the Great Depression
and served together in the United States Navy during World War II.
Their eventual deaths in the Pacific theater aboard the light cruiser USS Juneau
(sunk on November 13, 1942 during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal)
are also chronicled in this film, which is based on the brothers' true life story.

Look out for
Ward Bond as Lt. Cmdr. Robinson
and
Mae Marsh as a neighbor of Mrs. Griffin

User Review

Quote

Every Irishman Sees Red Once in a While
21 June 2003 | by GradyQ (Culver City, California)

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.