The film is based on the true story of an Iowa family, whose five sons all enlisted in the United States Navy just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The boys wanted to serve their country together and were determined to be assigned to the same ship, so when their ship was attacked in the Pacific, all five boys perished.
There is very little in the way of battle scenes, as the movie focuses more on their family life when the boys were young. Though not perfect by any means, they were a functional and loving family. Thomas Mitchell portrays the boys' father, and he is alot of fun, especially when he decides that the boys' punishment for smoking is to treat them as "real men" by allowing them to smoke cigars.
The most haunting line in the movie is spoken by Ward Bond, who, as a Naval Officer, visits the Sullivan home to break the news of the deaths. When Mother Sullivan asks, "Which one?", Bond responds, "All five." Those words are haunting and devastating and serve to remind us of the truth that freedom isn't free. The Sullivan family gave so very much for the cause of freedom, as do all our veterans.
The Fighting Sullivans is a perfect Memorial Day movie, so I wanted to review it now---before Memorial Day---so as to give a heads-up about it. See if you can find it in time for the holiday, and if you can obtain a copy with bonus features, be sure to watch them. You'll have a chance to meet a descendant of one of the Sullivan brothers.
Oh Patti, this one of the most wonderful movies ever! I get teared up just reading your post. The scenes where they are being baptized are so precious. And when dad looks up at the water tower at the end. This should be required watching for all who take our country and freedoms for granted. "Freedom Isn't Free."
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dee
Oh, yes, Dee that final water tower scene is a heartbreaker. Wow, the loss and grief that family endured is astounding!! I cannot imagine such horrific pain. I teared up just writing this post and watching the trailer.
DeleteReading your post I thought The Fighting Sullivans sounded reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan and then I noticed the tagline on the DVD cover.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the film but thanks for the heads-up, from what Dee and yourself have said I think I'll have to watch it on my own sometime. Otherwise I'll have the problem of trying to hide my tears from the rest of the family!
Paul, it probably won't surprise you to know that I've never seen "Saving Private Ryan." I think my son has seen it, but I'm not totally sure of that.
DeleteYou can watch "The Fighting Sullivans" on your own (and keep your tears to yourself!) through YouTube. It's available there....in several parts, but it's there.
I watched this one a couple years ago. It was very good and very sad, and I think you summed it up very nicely in this review! I love that you guys have a tradition of watching this one. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteDeb, as I was raising my kids, I was HUGE on having traditions. I wanted my kids to have both a strong sense of family connectedness and wonderful memories of their growing-up years, and I had read that developing traditions was an important part of accomplishing that. So, I've had "traditions" for years; then when we got into classic films in the mid 2000's, it was natural to use them in a "tradition" kind of way. We have must-watch films for Easter, Mother's Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Veteran's Day, and Christmas. I'll be honest, though, by saying that my Mother's Day movies (Stella Dallas, Imitation of Life, and Madame X) and our Veteran's Day movie (The Best Years of Our Lives) are so beloved to me that I have a very hard time watching them only once a year...so I sometimes cheat and catch the film by myself during the year.
ReplyDeleteI love this movie! One of my favorites! Great review Patti as usual!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Monty. It's definitely one of my favorite films of your actress of the month, Anne Baxter.
DeleteThis sounds like a must see for sure! I'm going to search for it on youtube and watch it tomorrow. I wasn't a big fan of Saving Private Ryan, Tom Hanks seemed mis-cast in that part to me but I'm sure I will love this one! I can't even imagine what they must have endured. A great reminder of what our men and women go through to keep this wonderful country of ours alive:)
ReplyDeleteI watched this yesterday, it was very good! I just loved the fathers disciplinary measures, he cracked me up and was my favorite character in the movie. After it was over I watched a little youtube clip about the real brothers, it was very touching. The brother named George had actually been in the Navy for 4 years and he's the one who urged his brothers to join. He also the one who wrote the letter to the Navy asking that they be on the same ship along with 2 of his best friends. They were all missing in action for a few months and the mom wrote a letter to the Navy saying rumors were going around town that her sons had all been killed, the son of a friend of hers was also saying he believed this to be true. She had to plead with them to find out! Can you even imagine what those months of not knowing must have been like? Ugghhh, heart wrenching! Thank you for reviewing this one Patti, I really enjoyed it and it was perfect for Memorial Day!
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