Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Cooktopi The acting in this movie is really good.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

TxMike When viewing this movie it is important to remember that the world was a lot different in 1942, and even more different when you consider that we were at war. Many young men under the age of 17 were falsifying their age to enlist in one of the military branches, some to get out and help the fight, others because even the military was better than being poor and/or homeless.The fine young actor Ricky Schroder, about 16 or 17 during filming, plays Calvin Graham who at age 12, living in Houston, falsified a document to say he was 17. He went to war on the USS South Dakota, the lead of her battleship class. He saw action, was wounded, and received the bronze star and the purple heart.Eventually it was discovered that he was only 12 and, no matter how fine a sailor he was, there was no government regulation that would let him remain in the Navy.The movie starts with him reporting to a Naval Station with sealed papers, only to find out that he was considered to be a deserter and was thrown in the brig. Then most of the story is shown as flashbacks. When he had been sent home from New York when the ship was in for repairs, he was told to report to his local recruiter in Houston, where his case would be handled. He thought he would get a new assignment but instead they wrote the desertion papers. He was finally released when his sister found out where he was and she went to the newspapers with the story.That is where the movie ends, but his tale of woes continued for a long time, his medals were taken away, he was discharged dishonorably, and in later years presidents Carter and Reagan restored some of what he earned.

yenlo The makers of this made for TV film of course had a tough call when it came to casting the part of the principal character Calvin Graham. They had to find a professional actor who could pass for a 12 yr old who just happened to look a little older (at least 17). They chose Rick Schroder who was 18 at the time this film was made which in my opinion is pretty close. The film is certainly not of Oscar caliber as most made for TV films are but it isn't all that bad. If it does nothing else it at least tells yet another chapter of the U.S. in WWII. This time the story of underage boys who managed to get in the service. It is hard however to believe that the U.S. Navy could not detect the fact that this was just a 12 yr old kid. In most of the other cases it involved 15 and 16 yr olds passing for 17. It shows in the film how he got past his induction physical but once in basic training at additional physicals and dental exams he would have been detected by qualified medical and dental personnel and sent home. So as a Naval veteran myself it left me with the feeling that the Navy knew they had a way underage boy on their hands and decided to look the other way on it until the heat came down on them as they always seem to do. I was not surprised in the least however at how the Navy handled the affair once it was unmasked. Aside from the true tale of this the film is not bad and has the always enjoyable human interest side to it to help it along.

nicoal When you see Rick in the film it's easy to understand that it is impossible to be a 12 years old boy. I think he is around 20 in the film but the director may used this actor because he though that this was the only that he could find and fit for the role. Of course some things in the movie never happened but they were created so the film could be success. I hoped that films like that would be produced even today. As an overview of the film its shows the World War II at the side of U.S. Navy through the eyes of a young boy.

UPSETTER-2 There are several troubling components of this movie other than the criticism that Shroder was not 12 years old when playing the role. This lad enlisted fraudently as did many other under-aged enlistees in World War 2. Some because of patriotism but in the case of this boy it was because of economic deprivation. He performed his war duties well enough to be awarded citations for bravery. Due to some bureaucratic foul-up he was jailed when returning from leave for desertion. The sad part of this story is that he was raped while in the brig and even the chaplain admitted he was not authorized to write to family members indicating where he was. A fellow prisoner upon release did courageously call the victim's sister and she contacted a local paper to secure his release. But the final absurdity is seen when an officer tells the released victim to not divulge what happened to him. The navy did not want its dirty wash shown to the world.