- Screenwriting -
Adaptations of Matt Zullo's definitive books about the On-the-Roof Gang - the true story of the birth of US Navy radio intelligence and the men who helped turn the tide of World War II in the Pacific.
Best Screenplay Finalist
Official Selection
Best War Screenplay
Best Student Screenwriter
Official Selection
Finalist
Drama Screenplay Quarter-Finalist
The On-The-Roof Gang
Feature Film
Logline: When a gifted young Navy radioman joins a secret intelligence program on the eve of World War II, he and a hidden fraternity of codebreakers wage an invisible war across the Pacific—turning intercepted radio signals into battlefield victories while confronting love, loss, guilt, and the devastating human cost of survival.
Synopsis: Based on the declassified true story written by Matt Zullo.
In 1940, a group of young Navy radiomen are recruited into a clandestine communications school hidden atop the roof of the Main Navy Building in Washington, D.C. Under the guidance of Chief Radioman Harry Kidder and intelligence pioneers Laurance Safford and Agnes Meyer Driscoll, they learn the emerging art of radio intelligence—an unglamorous discipline dismissed by many senior officers as little more than academic curiosity.
Among them is Ray Rundle, a charismatic but emotionally wounded young sailor from Montana. After graduating, Ray is assigned to Station HYPO in Hawaii, where he reconnects with his cousin Louie Kern and struggles with unresolved feelings for Louie’s fiancée, Bernice O’Connor.
When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, Ray witnesses Louie’s death during the opening moments of the war. Consumed by guilt and grief, he throws himself into the increasingly dangerous world of naval intelligence. As the conflict spreads across the Pacific, Ray becomes one of the Navy’s most skilled intercept operators, helping transform enemy radio traffic into intelligence that shapes some of the war’s most consequential victories.
From the Coral Sea to Midway, from the hidden war rooms of Station HYPO to the deck of USS NEW MEXICO at Okinawa, Ray and his fellow operators fight a war few people know exists. Along the way, he discovers that intelligence is not simply about information—it is about understanding people, anticipating choices, and saving lives.
As victory finally approaches, Ray must confront the guilt that has haunted him since Pearl Harbor and decide whether honoring the dead means remaining trapped in the past—or finding the courage to embrace the future they never had.
The On-the-Roof Gang is an epic wartime drama about the birth of modern intelligence warfare and the ordinary sailors whose ability to listen changed the course of history.
Comps: The On-The-Roof Gang is not just a war movie but a story about the cost of vengeance. It explores the psychological toll of being the "ear" that directs the sword. While the world celebrates the admirals, this film reveals the terrifying intimacy of the radiomen who monitored the enemy's communications. It is The Imitation Game with the visceral combat stakes of Greyhound.
The On-The-Roof Gang
TV Miniseries
Logline: As the Pacific descends into war, a secret cadre of Navy radiomen and codebreakers discover that information can be deadlier than gunfire, transforming intercepted signals into victories that help turn the tide of history.
Synopsis: Based on the declassified true story written by Matt Zullo.
In the months before Pearl Harbor, a handful of young U.S. Navy radiomen are secretly recruited into a clandestine intelligence program hidden atop the Main Navy Building in Washington, D.C. Under the watchful eye of Chief Radioman Harry Kidder, they learn the Japanese katakana telegraphic code and the art of intercepting enemy communications inside a rooftop classroom so secret that few in the Navy know it exists.
They call themselves The On-the-Roof Gang.
What begins as an obscure training assignment soon places them at the center of history.
As tensions rise across the Pacific, the young operators intercept fragments of a coming catastrophe. They sense danger but cannot yet understand its shape. Then Pearl Harbor explodes into their lives. In a matter of hours, innocence vanishes, friendships are shattered, and futures disappear. For radioman Ray Rundle, the attack brings a devastating personal loss that fuels a relentless desire to strike back at the enemy.
Scattered across the Pacific, the members of the On-the-Roof Gang fight a different kind of war. While soldiers and Marines battle on beaches and in jungles, these sailors wage a hidden conflict fought with headphones, radio signals, and fragments of intercepted messages. Their battlefield stretches from Hawaii to Australia, from the tunnels of the Philippines to Japanese prison camps and the remote deserts of China.
As the war intensifies, the radio intelligence network they helped build becomes one of America’s most powerful weapons. Their work contributes to the Doolittle Raid, helps unlock the mystery of Midway, tracks Admiral Yamamoto across the Pacific, and supports operations that help turn the tide of the war. Yet every success carries a personal cost. The more effective they become, the more distant they grow from the lives they once imagined.
While Ray descends into grief, vengeance, and survivor’s guilt, fellow operator Markle Smith faces a different struggle. Captured after the fall of Guam, he endures years of brutal imprisonment where survival itself becomes an act of resistance. Duane Whitlock rises from uncertain analyst to respected intelligence leader. Ted Wildman ventures deep into China and the Gobi Desert, confronting dangers that test both his ingenuity and humanity. Through it all, Harry Kidder watches the students he trained become veterans, heroes, and casualties, knowing that every success sends them deeper into danger.
At the heart of the series lies a profound contradiction: as the operators’ ability to shape the war grows, their ability to preserve themselves steadily erodes. Intelligence victories bring neither recognition nor peace. Revenge offers no healing. Survival provides no answers.
As the conflict nears its end, each member of the On-the-Roof Gang must confront a question more difficult than defeating the enemy: Who will they be when the war is over?
Spanning from the months before Pearl Harbor to a reunion four decades later, The On-the-Roof Gang is an epic story of friendship, sacrifice, resilience, and the birth of modern information warfare—revealing how a small group of unseen men and women helped change the course of World War II one intercepted signal at a time.
Comps:
- Deep character explorations and emotional stakes of: Band of Brothers, The Pacific, & Masters of the Air
- The codebreaking and intellectual intrigue of: The Imitation Game
- The visceral naval combat danger of: Greyhound
- The powerful redemptive survival of: Unbroken