''The Hunley'' is a 1999 American

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

written and directed by John Gray, from a story by Gray and John Fasano. The film stars

Armand Assante Armand Anthony Assante Jr. (; born October 4, 1949) is an American actor. He played mobster John Gotti in the 1996 HBO television film ''Gotti'', Odysseus in the 1997 mini-series adaptation of Homer's ''The Odyssey'', Nietzsche in ''When Nie ...

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) a ...

Alex Jennings Alex Jennings (born 10 May 1957) is an English actor of the stage and screen, who worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. For his work on the London stage, Jennings received three Olivier Awards, winning fo ...

, Michael Dolan, and Christopher Bauer, and is based on the true story of the ''

H. L. Hunley ''H. L. Hunley'', often referred to as ''Hunley'', '' CSS H. L. Hunley'', or as ''CSS Hunley'', was a submarine of the Confederate States of America that played a small part in the American Civil War. ''Hunley'' demonstrated the advantages and th ...

'' submarine and the

action of 17 February 1864 The Sinking of USS ''Housatonic'' on 17 February 1864 during the American Civil War was an important turning point in naval warfare. The Confederate States Navy submarine, made her first and only attack on a Union Navy warship when she staged ...

. It aired on TNT on July 11, 1999.

Plot

takes his ship, the '' H.L. Hunley'', out in the Charleston, South Carolina harbor and it sinks with all hands. As the blockade still needs to be broken, Brig. Gen.

P. G. T. Beauregard Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 - February 20, 1893) was a Confederate general officer of Louisiana Creole descent who started the American Civil War by leading the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is commonly ...

has the ship raised and puts

George E. Dixon George Erasmus Dixon (1837? – February 17, 1864) was a first lieutenant in the Confederate Army in the American Civil War. He is best known as the commander of the Confederate submarine ''H.L. Hunley'' during her successful mission to sink t ...

in charge. He starts looking for a crew and after some difficulty finally finds enough volunteers to man it. They practice cranking the propeller. The crew do not all get along with each other. Dixon flashes back to the Battle of Shiloh, where a gold coin given to him by his wife (who was later killed in a steamboat explosion caused by a drifting mine) deflected a bullet and saved his life. They take the ship down and sit on the bottom to see how long they can stay down and almost get stuck. The U.S. Navy is warned about the sub. The crew votes that if after an attack they are stuck on the bottom, they will open the valves, flooding the ship, rather than suffocate. They go out to attack the USS ''Wabash'', but the attack fails. Following the warning the ship has draped metal chain netting over the side. Also the rope which was attached to the torpedo they were to release under the ship gets loose and becomes entangled in the propeller. It has to be cut loose while sailors on the ''Wabash'' shoot at the ''Hunley''. Beauregard proposes putting the torpedo at the end of a long spar. The is ordered to change its position in the harbor and always be ready to steam, meaning it cannot hang metal netting over the side. The ''Hunleys second in command, Lt. Alexander, is ordered to

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

, and a young soldier who had been volunteering to join the crew is allowed to do so. On February 17, 1864, the CSS ''H. L. Hunley'' sails out and attacks the USS ''Housatonic''. The torpedo is rammed into the side of the ship. It blows up and the ''Housatonic'' is the first ship ever sunk by a sub. A bullet from the ship breaks a window in the conning tower and wounds Dixon. The explosion opens the seams on the ''Hunley'' and it takes on water. It settles to the bottom and the crew cannot release the ballast or pump the ship. As agreed the crew opens the valves and the ship floods, killing the entire crew. General Beauregard attends a memorial service in Charleston for the ''Hunley'' and her crew, while inside the flooded submarine, Dixon sees a vision of his wife, welcoming him into the afterlife.

Cast

as Lt.

as Brig. Gen.

as Lt. William Alexander * Christopher Bauer as Simkins * Gerry Becker as Capt. Pickering * Michael Dolan as Becker *

Sebastian Roche Sebastian may refer to: People * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons with the name Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Sebastian'' (1968 film), British spy film * ''Sebastian'' (1995 film), Swedish drama film ...

as Collins * Michael Stuhlbarg as Wicks *Jeff Mandon as Miller *Frank Vogt as Ronald White *Jack Baun as Ridgeway * Kevin Robertson as Carlson * Caprice Benedetti as Dixon’s wife

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunley, The 1999 television films 1999 films 1999 drama films 1990s American films 1990s English-language films 1990s historical drama films 1990s war drama films American Civil War naval films American drama television films American films based on actual events American historical drama films American war drama films Drama films based on actual events Films about submarine warfare Films directed by John Gray (director) Films scored by Randy Edelman Films set in 1864 Films set in Charleston, South Carolina Films with screenplays by John Fasano Historical television films Seafaring films based on actual events Television films based on actual events TNT Network original films War films based on actual events War television films