Figure 1.--"The Sullivans" is an American World War II film. It is about a real life close-knit Iowa family. The five brothers grow up during the Depression. Their father was arailway worker. The film begins with the boy's carefree life and how they stick up for each other. Then after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the tone of the film changes.

"The Sullivans" is an American World War II film. It is about a real life close-knit Irish family in Iowa. The five brothers (George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert)grow up during the Depression. Their father was arailway worker. The film begins with the boy's carefree life and how they stick up for each other. Then after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the tone of the film changes. A friend is among those killed on the USS Arizona. The boys all enlist en masse in the Navy. They ask to be assigned to the same ship--the cruiser Juneau. The U.S, Navy after the Marines land on Guadacanal (August 1942) received the almost imposible task of protecting the Marine bridgehead from Japanese naval attacks. The Navy had to fight the Japanese largely with the ships it began the War with. Only in 1943 would large numbers of new carriers and other ships reach the fleet. The outgunned U.S. Navy fought some of the most desperate battles in its history in the waters of the southern Sollomons around Guadacanal. The Juneau was one of several crisers lost in the fighting. All four of the Sullivan brothers perished after the cruiser goes down off Guadalcanal, torpedoed by a Japanese submarine (November 13, 1942). It was the biggest blow to any American family during the War. One of the saddest scenes in American movie history is when the telegram informing the parents of the boys' deaths arrives. The film is not entirely accurate about how the boys died, but the story is essentially true. Their sister Genen vieve became a wave and their little brother Jimmy (not depicted in the film) enlisted when he turned 17 (APril 1943). As a result of the tragedy, the Navy tightened regulations about assigning brothers to the same ship. Johnny Calkins plays Joe Sullivan as a child (uncredited). Billy Cummings plays Matt Sullivan as a child (uncredited). Marvin Davis plays Frank Sullivan as a child (uncredited). Bobby Driscoll plays Al Sullivan as a child (uncredited). This was Bobby's second movie.

Created: 5:29 AM 9/26/2008
Last updated: 5:29 AM 9/26/2008