''The Hunley'' is a 1999 American

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

written and directed by John Gray, from a story by Gray and

John Fasano John Michael Fasano (August 24, 1961 – July 19, 2014) was an American screenwriter, film producer and director. In the length of his career, Fasano directed six films, produced twenty more, and wrote screenplays for at least eighteen others. F ...

. 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 miniseries adaptation of Homer's ''The Odyssey'', Nietzsche in '' When Niet ...

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...

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

Michael Dolan Michael Dolan (born June 21, 1965) is an American actor. Acting career Michael Dolan was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His interest in cinema started at the age of 10, when he filmed a remake of '' Summer of '42'' (1971), entitled ''Summer ...

, and Christopher Bauer, and is based on the true story of the '' H. L. Hunley''

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

and the action of 17 February 1864. It aired on

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

on July 11, 1999.

Plot

Horace L. Hunley takes his ship, the '' H.L. Hunley'', out in the

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

harbor and it sinks with all hands. As the blockade still needs to be broken,

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

P. G. T. Beauregard has the ship raised and puts George E. Dixon 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 The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater of the ...

, 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 The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

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,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, 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. George E. Dixon *

as Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard *

as Lt. William Alexander * Christopher Bauer as Simkins *

Gerry Becker Gerry Becker (April 11, 1951 – April 13, 2019)
''lovehardbikeride.org''. Retrieved 20 September 2021. was an ...

as Capt. Pickering *

as Becker * Sebastian Roche as Collins *

Michael Stuhlbarg Michael Stuhlbarg ( ; born July 5, 1968) is an American actor. Known for his character roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including a Drama Desk Award, an Obie Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition ...

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 Civil War films based on actual events American historical drama films American war drama films War 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 (American TV network) original films War television films English-language historical drama films English-language war drama films