Back home

The Fighting Sullivans

20 votes

Producing House

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.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 1944-02-03

Runtime: 112 mins

Director: Lloyd Bacon

Writer: Mary C. McCall, Jr.

Spoken language: English

Genres: Drama, History, War

Original title: The Fighting Sullivans

Production Companies: 20th Century Fox

Production Countries: United States of America

Reviews

G

Geronimo1967
After a rather noisily slow, child-led start, this becomes one of the more touching films based on the true story of the Irish-American "Sullivan" family. Selena Boyle (Mum") and Thomas Mitchell ("Paw") are good as they go through all the usual scrapes gradually moulding their six children into a formidable family unit that must deal with the ups and downs of the American depression in the 1920s through to the boy's participation in the Pacific theatre of WWII. The factual elements of their fate are well documented - indeed they even had a destroyer named after them, so there is no real jeopardy in this. It is a straightforward story of courage, bravery and sibling loyalty that like so many other of the better wartime dramas, focusses on the achievements and integrity of the ordinary folks who fought in WWII with charm, humour, "Greensleeves" and Ward Bond. It is a very slow burn, the first hour borders on the melodramatic as the kids all go a-courting, teasing and brother-baiting but it is well worth wading through the slush as once it gets going it is quite compelling to watch.
2022-06-30

Recommendations

Delta of Venus
2.1

Delta of Venus

1995-06-09

A struggling American writer and a fellow American expatriate begin a sordid affair among the chaos

Nico - Sphinx of Ice
0

Nico - Sphinx of Ice

2014-03-20

Nico, born Christa Päffgen in Cologne, Germany just before the outbreak of the Second World War is o

Mediterraneo
3.8

Mediterraneo

1991-02-02

Greek Sea, World War II. An Italian ship leaves a handful of soldiers in a little island; their miss

Reversal of Fortune
3.3

Reversal of Fortune

1990-10-19

Wealthy Sunny von Bülow lies brain-dead, husband Claus guilty of attempted murder; but he says he's

Limonov: The Ballad
3.1

Limonov: The Ballad

2024-09-05

A revolutionary militant, a thug, an underground writer, a butler to a millionaire in Manhattan. But

Elvis
3.4

Elvis

1979-02-10

This biopic traces Elvis Presley’s life from his impoverished childhood to his meteoric rise to star

Princess Kaiulani
2.9

Princess Kaiulani

2010-05-14

Ka'iulani, a 19th-century Hawaiian princess, is raised in England but determined to maintain her peo

Truth
3.3

Truth

2015-10-16

As a renowned producer and close associate of Dan Rather, Mary Mapes believes she’s broken the bigge

The Jack King Affair
2.9

The Jack King Affair

2015-11-02

England, 1940, during World War II. An MI5 officer, codenamed Jack King, infiltrates a network of co

Gypsy
3.1

Gypsy

1962-11-01

Gypsy's mother Rose dreams of a life in show business for her daughters, but Louise becomes a huge b

Il granchio nudo
0

Il granchio nudo

Reaping the Whirlwind
0

Reaping the Whirlwind

2025-05-11

In the final weeks of WW2, as the Nazis are on the verge of surrender, a young British stenographer

Carla
3.6

Carla

2021-11-08

The extraordinary life of Carla Fracci, the greatest Italian ballerina of all time, told from her fi

McCarthy
0

McCarthy

A personal look at the influential former politician who rose to fame as a driving force behind anti

Fear and Loathing in Aspen
2.4

Fear and Loathing in Aspen

2021-07-23

The true story of Hunter S Thompson's curious, bizarre and entertaining run to be sheriff of Pitkin

Badding
2.8

Badding

2000-08-18

The life of Rauli "Badding" Somerjoki, a Finnish singer.

Freud: The Secret Passion
3.3

Freud: The Secret Passion

1962-12-12

An examination of Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud's career when he began to treat patients diagn

Hawking
3.5

Hawking

2004-12-10

The story of Professor Stephen Hawking's early years. It is 1963, and our young cosmologist celebrat

The Conspirators
3

The Conspirators

1944-10-24

A guerilla leader falls in love with a mysterious woman in World War II Lisbon.

The Unknown Soldier
3.6

The Unknown Soldier

1955-12-23

It is the summer of 1941. An eastern-Finnish machine gun company receives an order to turn in their