The Fighting Sullivans (1944)
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81% of users liked it
(1,378 ratings)
The Sullivans attempts to find the positives in one of the most tragic chapters of World War II. Edward Ryan, John Campbell, James B. Cardwell, John Alvin and George Offerman Jr. play the Sullivan brothers, sons of an Iowa railroad worker (Thomas Mitchell) and his wife (Selena Royle). The film… More The Sullivans attempts to find the positives in one of the most tragic chapters of World War II. Edward Ryan, John Campbell, James B. Cardwell, John Alvin and George Offerman Jr. play the Sullivan brothers, sons of an Iowa railroad worker (Thomas Mitchell) and his wife (Selena Royle). The film traces the boys from childhood, maintaining a relatively lighthearted tone until the Sullivans sign up en masse for the navy at the outbreak of the war. Refusing to be separated, the boys are all assigned to the cruiser Juneau--and all are killed when the vessel goes down at Guadalcanal. This appalling incident (which made something of a celebrity of the brothers' grieving father when he went on a nationwide patriotic lecture tour) resulted in the Navy's decision to never again allowed all the enlisted members of one family to serve on the same ship. Even from the vantage point of fifty years, the scene in which the family receives the wire from the war department is impossible to watch with a dry eye. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Lloyd Bacon
- Written By
- Mary McCall
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
PG,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1944 Wide
- On DVD
- Jun 29, 1999
- Studio
- VCI
Critic Reviews
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Sentimental but well-balanced.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Anne Baxter
as Katherine Mary
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Thomas Mitchell
as Mr. Sullivan
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Ward Bond
as Lieutenant
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Edmon Ryan
as Al
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Bobby Driscoll
as Al as a child
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Selena Royle
as Mrs. Sullivan
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Trudy Marshall
as Genevieve
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Addison Richards
as Naval Captain
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John Campbell
as Frank
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James B. Cardwell
as George
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John Alvin
as Matt
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George Offerman
as Joe
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Roy Roberts
as Fr. Francis
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Mary McCarty
as Gladys
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Nancy June Robinson
as Genevieve as a Child
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Buddy Swan
as George as a Boy
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Billy Cummings
as Matt as a Boy
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Johnny Calkins
as Joe as a Boy
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John Nesbitt
as Admiral
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Selmar Jackson
as Damage Control Officer
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Barbara Brown
as Nurse
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Marvin Davis
as Frank as a Boy
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Mae Marsh
as Woman
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Elsa Peterson
as Nun
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Harry Strang
as CPO
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Leon Tyler
as Boy
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Ted Offenbecker
as Joe
- Edward Ryan
