WWII Movies

Okay, I admit it.  I’m obsessed with watching movies about World War II.  The ones I enjoy most are those filmed during that era.  They are wonderful visualizations of what life was like then and how Hollywood portrayed the war.  Each month I browse the Turner Classic Movie site and schedule my U-Verse to record movies I want to see.  I’m always grateful if Robert Osborne or a guest host is on to share historical tidbits about the film or the actors.  Here is a running list of the movies I’ve seen. 

  • 12 O’clock High (1949) - a classic film, based on true events, about 8th Air Force flight crews. Gregory Peck as General Frank Savage commands the “918th” bomber squadron.

    • Consider yourselves already dead. Once you accept that idea, it won’t be so tough. (General Frank Savage in “12 O’Clock High”)

  • 13 Rue Madeleine (1947) This film was produced and directed by the same team that made “The House on 92nd Street.” In the beginning it feels like a documentary as the narrator describes the training of “O77″ agents (as the movie referred to OSS agents.) I loved seeing the offices in Washington, DC, imagining Hedy there. When the OSS team parachutes into France, the movie quickly becomes a spy thriller with James Cagney as our hero.
  • 633 Squadron (1964) Another British film that got off to a slow start but half way through I couldn’t wait to see how it ended. An RAF squadron is given an almost impossible job to do. Cliff Robertson was a great pilot who had some difficult decisions to make. At one point I wondered … now how is he going to talk his way out of this one? George Chakiris didn’t really fit the part … he was too cute. His hair was too perfect. The best line of the movie was the last line: “You can’t kill a squadron.”
  • Above and Beyond (1952) - The story of Col. Paul Tibbits who piloted the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the 1st atomic bomb. I was especially interested in how Tibbits organized and trained this first nuclear strike force, all top secret. The movie also shows the strain this brought on his marriage to Lucy who tried to be supportive but never understood why he couldn’t take her into his confidence. Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker played the lead roles. The Enola Gay was named after Tibbits’ mother whose quiet confidence was a powerful influence in his life.
  • Across the Pacific (1942) A spy caper with Humphrey Bogart outsmarting  the Japanese.  Interesting to see how the Japanese were portrayed just before Pearle Harbor (film was released afterward.)  Bogart is a cynical American ex-soldier whose name is Rick.  Hmm. The next year he was in Casablanca.
  • Air Force (1943) It is December 6, 1941. The crew of a B-17 leaves San Francisco on a routine unarmed flight to Hawaii. En route, they are puzzled to hear Japanese voices over the radio. What! They land with some difficulty in the devastation just after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. I watched the movie trying to put myself in the mood of the audience that was watching it then.. There was obvious anti-Japanese sentiment. At one point they are shot by what they describe as local Japanese who lived on the island, and I have read that this never happened. It was good to watch the crew on the B-17 (an earlier version than the one Herman flew in) as they flew, fought and repaired “The Mary Ann.”
  • American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950) The story is based on a book written by the man who lived it. I did enjoy that it was filmed on location in the Philippines and that it showed how the Filipino people helped the navy-ensign-turned-intelligence-officer create a network of radios up and down the coast to spy on the Japanese. There is the obligatory love story as well as the victorious return of General MacArthur at the very end.
  • A Woman in Berlin (2008) This is a true story, written by a woman who wanted to remain anonymous because she feared political and social aftereffects. (Her name was leaked out after her death.) When the Red Army occupied Berlin at the end of the war, Berlin was inhabited by primarily women, children, and elderly men. The movie shows how the women suffered and survived the horrors (the rapes!) brought about by the invaders. English subtitles but I was enraptured by this movie after just a few moments.
  • Back to Bataan (1945) The raid on the horrific Japanese prison camp on Cabanatuan occurred on January 30, 1945. This movie was already in production but they were still able to include scenes of the amazing rescue. Several of the actual POW’s were shown in the film. The first time I watched this movie was around the same time I listened to the book “Ghost Soldiers.” It was just as good this time around.
  • Battle at Bloody Beach (1961) Even though the locale was the Phillipines during World War II, this movie reminded me more of one of the cowboy movies we used to watch on Saturdays at the movie theater when we were growing up. It stars Audie Murphy, the decorated World War II soldier, who went on to Hollywood to star in primarily westerns. In one scene, the Japanese soldiers are lined up at the top of a hill as if they were Indians, ready to attack the cowboys down below in the valley.
  • Battleground (1949) This movie was nominated for an Oscar in 1950. For some reason, the beginning didn’t grab me but halfway through it did. The 101st Airborne Division is trying desperately to defend the town of Bastogne in Belgium, an important transportation crossroads. The Germans had surrounded them and sent some of their men to the commanding General, advising the Americans to surrender. The General’s reply was “Nuts.” The movie was as much about the individual men as it was about the battle. And the snow, the cold, the fierce weather they had to endure. Memorable moment: James Whitemore leading the men as they march “Cadence Count: One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four!”
  • Battle of Britain (1969) This movie was particularly interesting to me because at the time I watched it I was also listening to the audio book, “The Few” which tells about the U.S. pilots who in 1940 ignored the laws of American neutrality and joined the RAF in order to fly the British Spitfires. Both the movie and this book tell the story from the English (sorely outnumbered) and from the German points of view. An excellent visualization of the spectacular and terrifying air battles and what the young pilots on both sides went through.
  • The Battle of Britain (1943) Part of the World War II documentary series, “Why We Fight.” The US Government wanted to show our soldiers as well as people at home why we were at war. This film depicted the bombing of London by the Germans. Directed by Frank Capra and narrated by Walter Huston. Although this shows what was happening in London before Hedy arrived in January of 1944, it is good background for what she found there. Later note: I watched this film again right after watching the 1969 “The Battle of Britain.” This one, as I said, is documentary style and focuses more on the citizens of England and how they coped.

    • Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. (by Winston Churchhill, as quoted in both “Battle of Britain” and “The Few”)

  • Battle of the Bulge (1965)  This movie was so long (3+ hours) that it had an intermission.  I have read that the scriptwriters took liberties with the factual details but the gist of it came through.  Our boys went through hell.
  • Beachhead (1954) Based on a book that was written by a Marine.  I thought the movie was filmed just so that Tony Curtis could win the affections of the beautiful girl.  I trust the book was better.
  • Berlin Correspondent (1942) Dana Andrews stars as Bill Roberts, an American radio announcer stationed in Germany. He is broadcasting in code phrases. For example, if he says the word “tale,” then that means what comes next is a falsehood. I found it difficult to understand the German accents. I hate to say it, but this movie was like a book that I close up if the first chapter just doesn’t cut it for me. Sorry, Dana.
  • Berlin Express (1948) This is actually a post-war story.  What is memorable is that it was filmed in Germany and shows what the cities looked like after the bombings.  I also enjoyed the 1940’s train ride. 
  • The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) TCM’s Robert Osborne noted that “many people consider this the best movie ever made.” I totally understand … particularly if one is sensitive to the challenges that veterans face when coming home from war. This was not the first time I had seen this film, but it meant so much more to me now. Like Herman, Fred Derry (Dana Andrews) was a B-17 bombardier. The most amazing scene in the movie was near the end, when Derry was at the airfield, walking among hundreds … maybe thousands of scrapped bombers and fighter planes. He pulled himself up into a B-17 and sat in the nose. It was surreal … to him and to me.
  • The Big Lift (1950) Filmed in Berlin right after the war … I am sure everyone back home was interested in seeing what the bombed out city looked like. When the Russians tried to prevent food and supplies from reaching Berlin with the hopes that they could gain complete control of the city, the Allies flew in necessary provisions daily. This lasted for nearly a year. Except for the two main actors, Montgomery Clift and Paul Douglas, all the military personnel roles were played by members of the Armed Forces on duty in Germany.
  • The Big Red One (1980) The author of this movie (he also wrote the book) was a member of the 1st Infantry Division, known as the “Big Red 1.” The action follows a Sergeant (Lee Marvin) and four privates through combat in North Africa, Sicily and D-Day. It was brutal but I appreciated that it was such a realistic portrayal of what these men went through. The original movie was restored with 40+ minutes added and then rereleased at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004. I watched the 1980 version.
  • Black Book (2006) This Dutch film based on real events revolves around happened to the Jews when the Germans occupied Holland. A young girl survives the murder of her family by the Gestapo and becomes a spy in the Resistance. I quickly stopped noticing the subtitles. Our heroine found herself in so many precarious situations it’s hard to imagine she could have survived … confirming what it took for a Jew to live through the nightmare of Nazi occupation. I loved that it was filmed in the Netherlands, using many historic spots.
  • Bombardier (1943) - About the training of USAAF bombardiers with the top secret Norden bombsight. Particularly interesting to me because Herman was a bombardier.
  • The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008) - The story of two little boys … one is in a Nazi Concentration Camp, and the other is the son of the camp commandante.
  • The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) Now this might be one of the best films ever made. Sir Alec Guiness plays Colonel Nicholson, the ranking officer of a group of British POW’s in a Japanese labor camp. The camp commandant, played by Sessue Hayakawa, is no match for the stubborn Colonel who simply will not budge from his principles. The story was suspenseful until the end. One of the most memorable moments in any movie has to be the POW’s marching into camp whistling the “Colonel Bogey March.”
  • Casablanca (1942) - I love this film because I think that Rick’s Cafe must be very much like the restaurants in Stockholm where people from many countries mingled together and spied on each other. The intrigue was always there with the drinking, dining, and piano playing in the background.

Play it, Sam. Play “As Time Goes By.” (Ilsa in “Casablanca”)

  • Command Decision (1948) Clark Gable wrestles with the agonizing decisions associated with the job of commanding the B-17 bomber crews. See what was happening behind the scenes by the head guys who called the shots.
  • Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) TCM’s Robert Osborne introduced this movie by describing it as causing quite an international hoopla, being the first Hollywood movie to attack the Nazi party … coming out before the US had entered World War II. Edward G. Robinson, who starred as the FBI agent who uncovered a startling Nazi spy network, received death threats as did the Warner brothers who produced it. The story is based on articles written by FBI agent Leon G. Turrou, as shown in the credits. I was astonished when I realized how effectively the Germans were able to infiltrate our military.

    • “How do we know he isn’t a United States government agent?” … “The United States government doesn’t think it’s necessary to have a counter espionage system.” (Two Nazi’s speaking to each other about one of their American spy recruits)

  • Confirm or Deny (1941) This movie takes place in September 1940, when the London Blitz was in full force. When it came out, our country was not yet in the war. A good visualization of what was happening in London at that time … the bombings, the air raid shelters, how the English people coped. I enjoyed watching how a news office operated with the teletype machine and the censor looking over every story. Don Ameche plays a reporter who believes, because of a note flown in on a carrier pigeon, that Hitler is en route to invade Britain. This never happened of course but I imagine that it was such a terrifying thought that it increased the popularity of this film.
  • Counter-Attack (1945) It was hard for me to “get into” this movie with Paul Muni about two Russians trapped in a building with seven German soldiers. The movie was adapted from a play … from what I remember, the entire story takes place in this basement.
  • The Dam Busters (1955) This is a wonderful movie, a true story and so British. Sir Michael Redgrave is the “mad scientist” character who has conceived of a way to destroy dams in Germany that were critical to Nazi water supply and warfare production. I was literally on the edge of my seat as the planes flew toward their target.
  • Dangerous Moonlight (AKA Suicide Squadron - 1941) The music was wonderful. “Warsaw Concerto” was written just for this film. The Nazis had just invaded Poland. A concert pianist/fighter pilot determines to fight with the British. Although I do love these early British movies, I just didn’t quite “get” this one.
  • Darby’s Rangers (1958)  “Suggested” by the book of the same name by historian Major James Altieri, about the elite commando unit headed by Colonel William Darby.  There are too many subplots where the Rangers are chasing local ladies.  The NYT reviewer at the time the movie was released said it was a “recruiting officer’s dream.”  The movie doesn’t disclose that Colonel Darby was killed in combat in 1945 at the age of 34.  The story and history of these highly skilled commandos deserve better.  They worked hand in hand with the OSS.
  • Decision Before Dawn (1951) This motion picutre was made entirely in Europe, where the story took place. It feels very authentic, filmed in the bombed out ruins of Germany. Immediately I picked up that this was almost certainly about an OSS mission because early in the story the Richard Basehart character narrates that he had just been assigned to report to “G-2 SSS.” I have read that the OSS would not allow filmmakers to use the name “OSS”. This film is based on the book “Call it Treason” by George Howe who actually was in the OSS. A German POW is recruited to go back behind German lines to gather critical information about troop movements. Almost the entire movie is about this young man and his conflicting feelings as he works through this mission. The movie was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. I’m ordering the book.
  • The Desert Fox (1951)  James Mason played Rommel, and  Jessica Tandy was his adoring wife.  There was a huge whiplash against 20th Century Fox when this film came out, six years after the end of the war, because it was so sympathetic toward the German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.  I totally understand.  I felt sympathetic toward him too. 
  • The Desert Rats (1953) Lots of explosions. Lots of sand.  Hard to breathe.  The best scenes were those few with James Mason as German Field Marshal Rommel.
  • Desperate Journey (1942) When I saw that Ronald Reagan and Errol Flynn were the stars of this movie, I thought, “puhleeze.” But I enjoyed watching it. Errol was better than Ronnie. A bomber crew crash lands in Nazi-occupied territory, and the survivors fight hard to get back to England, with the help of the anti-Nazi underground. The best part is when Errol Flynn and company capture a plane that the Germans were going to use against London. The romantic moment was between Mr. Flynn and a nurse. Surely he went back to find her after the war was over.
  • Destination Tokyo (1943) I thoroughly enjoyed this story about a submarine that slipped into the ultra-defended Tokyo Bay just two years after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It was one of the most popular movies of the year (released in January 1944) and, according to TCM’s Robert Osborne, inspired Tony Curtis to become an actor when he was on sub duty himself in World War II. The submarine’s captain was Cary Grant, and he led his crew on a very dangerous mission to collect primarily weather information in Tokyo so that the Air Force could carry out a successful bombing raid. Yep, no weather.com during World War II.
  • The Devil’s Brigade (1968) An amazing true story about a group of American and Canadian soldiers who were trained to become a highly skilled special forces unit. The first half of the movie could be summed up in two words: “fist fights.” But I did get to know the individual soldiers, and once the action started, I really cared what happened to them. William Holden, as usual, carried the film.
  • The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) This is such a wonderful movie. I am glad that before I watched it (first time since I was in high school) I watched director George Steven’s: D-Day to Berlin.  As TCM’s Robert Osborne explained, after Stevens filmed the Dachau death camp he admitted that he was never the same.  Before beginning this movie, he gathered his cast together and showed them the Dachua footage.  Shelley Winters received an Oscar for her performance and donated it to the Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam.  
  • The Dirty Dozen (1967) I’ve watched this movie twice this year. The 1st time I didn’t realize that Major Reisman, played by Lee Marvin, was an officer of the OSS. It all makes sense now that the army superiors were so critical of his unorthodox behavior, his “behind-the-lines nonsense.” The height of the action takes place on the eve of D-Day at a gorgeous French chateau being used as a gathering spot by German officers and their guests. The beginning and the end are gory but from start to finish it’s a great story. Better done I thought than “The Devil’s Brigade.”
  • Dive Bomber (1941) Released in the summer of 1941 as the US Navy prepared for war–Scenes were filmed on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. Dedicated to the flight surgeons whose job it was to keep their pilots safe in the air.  Being able to see the Navy in action was more interesting than the plot.  Errol Flynn looked as good as ever, and it was fun to see the ”My Three Sons” Dad, Fred MacMurray, in a early film.
  • Edge of Darkness (1943) Errol Flynn again, as a Norwegian this time.  A tiny town in Norway fights back against the Nazi’s.  For the audiences in America, a melodramatic look at what was happening in Europe as the Nazi’s conquered one country after another.  It looked pretty bad, but they would learn later that it was really much worse.  Doesn’t everyone love Norway?
  • Enemy at the Gates (2001) Amid the brutality of the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-19443, a fascinating story about dueling snipers.  There was a Russian expert sniper, Vasily Grigorevich Zaytsev, upon whom one of the characters is based.   
  • The Enemy Below (1957) I’m surprised at how much I enjoy movies about submarines.  You get to know (and care about) the crews, in particular the Captains, of two warring vessels - a US battleship and a German U-boat.  Based on a novel written by a British naval officer. 
  • The English Patient (1996) The movie takes place (and was filmed) in northern Africa and Italy, beginning just prior to World War II. The patient was a cartographer whose maps of the desert were intended to help the Allies but in the end assisted the Germans. I’ve watched the movie 3 or 4 times … I am mesmerized by it. This time I paid attention to the WWII connections. It won 9 academy awards, including best picture. An unforgettable scene, in the church.
  • Escape (1940) What could be more melodramatic than a son who discovers that his mother is being held in a concentration camp, about to be executed? According to the review that year by the New York Times: “far and away the most dramatic and hair-raising picture yet made on the sinister subject of persecution in a totalitarian land.” Hollywood was introducing America in a subtle way (the word Germany was never used) to the horrors of what was happening in Europe. However, this concentration camp looks more like a reform school than an Auschwitz. America was clueless as to what was yet to come. Comments by TCM guest programmer.
  • Five Graves to Cairo (1943) This is one of the earliest movies that Billy Wilder (”Some Like it Hot”) directed, and in the midst of Nazi danger it has its lighthearted moments.  Most of the action and intrigue takes place in an Egyptian hotel as the British battle Rommel for North Africa.  This characterization of Rommel (in 1943) was much different than that of James Mason in 1951 in The Desert Fox.  Actually, my favorite actor was the hotel owner Farid, played by Akim Tamiroff.
  • Force 10 from Navarone (1978) This was a sequel to the (more exciting) Guns of Navarone. Both movies were based on books written by Alistair MacLean, the Scottish author, so they are about British Commando raids. Robert Shaw plays the lead character that was played by Gregory Peck in the 1st movie. A young Harrison Ford also starred. What was most interesting to me was that their mission was to capture a spy, and I assume that Shaw’s character was a member of British intelligence.
  • From Here to Eternity (1953) What it was (supposedly) like in Hawaii just prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. All about military life on base and the different personalities of the men and women there. Top billing went to Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed and of course … Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr who made famous their most passionate embrace in the surf.
  • The Gallant Hours (1960) Is there any actor better than James Cagney? He portrays Admiral William F. “Bull” Halsey who has just been given command of the Guadalcanal campaign in 1942. It is an unusual war story in that it is told almost like a documentary, narrated by the director, Robert Montgomery. Shown are not the actual battles but the behind the scenes strategies by the commanding officers of both sides. I liked the way each personality, both American and Japanese, was introduced, explaining his background and, often, his fate in the war. A great tribute to our Navy.
  • Gangway for Tomorrow (1943)  According to “The Internet Movie Database,” the tagline for this movie was ‘Sensational Drama That X-rays the Secret Hearts of 5 “Ordinary” Men and Women!’  The five worked in a World War II airplane factory, and each had a secret past … by today’s standards, not very sensational.  But they were helping the war effort, and I think Hollywood wanted to give viewers at home a warm and fuzzy feeling about those who did stay behind and helped “in the American way.” 
  • George Stevens: D-Day to Berlin (1994) This excellent one hour documentary was made by the son of a Hollywood filmaker who headed a special film unit during the war assigned to document the war in Europe.  Beginning with D-Day at Normany to the spectacular liberation of Paris and then to the death camps of Dachau.  George Stevens, Jr. discovered the film, a diary in Kodak color, only after his father died.  He noted that before the war his Father liked to make light hearted comedies, but after the war his movies were more serious.  In 1959, he directed “The Diary of Anne Frank.”
  • God is my Co-Pilot (1945) The story of World War II ace Robert Lee Scott, Jr. as written by him.  He describes his combat experiences with the “Flying Tigers” who were actually part of the Chinese Air Force.  You will recognize their fighter planes by the shark teeth painted on their noses.  
  • The Good German (2006) A throwback to the classic B/W movies of the 1940’s.  Old film clips from bombed out Berlin were used throughout.  The double dealings supposedly going on in postwar Berlin were eye-opening.   A suspenseful story but I had a hard time following the characters, and somehow the two main actors (Clooney and Blanchett) never seemed to click.  Especially at the Casablanca inspired airport ending.  I had to laugh.
  • The Great Escape (1963) Based on a book of the same name, this is the amazing story of POW’s who built a series of tunnels in an “escape-proof” German camp. What a great line-up of stars, but no one can come close to Steve McQueen, the “King of Cool.”  It’s worth it just to watch him in action.  To learn more about the actual escape, with interviews of former prisoners who were involved,  you can watch “The Great Escape: The Untold Story” on youtube.  Here is Part 1 of 5.
  • The Guns of Navarone (1961) Another movie based on the book of the same name by Scottish author Alistair MacLean.  Gregory Peck is the head of a commando unit charged to destroy a pair of gigantic Nazi guns at the top of a mount in the middle of the Aegean Sea.  Quite a thriller with many good guy/bad guy confrontations.
  • Hangmen Also Die (1943) Inspiration for this movie was the assasination of Reinhard Heydrich, a high ranking Nazi who terrorized the Czech people and was nicknamed “The Hangman.”  It reminded me of a silent movie, and yes, the Austrian director was famous for his silent films.   Particularly when I see a film of this decade I like to look up the New York Time’s original review.  The reviewer from 1943 agreed with me.  This movie was about an hour too long.  I did appreciate this early depiction of the horrors of the Gestapo rule.
  • Hart’s War (2002) About a German prisoner of war camp in Belgium.  Colin Ferrell plays the young man who is captured and sent to the camp where Bruce Willis plays the ranking American officer.  Exciting to the very end, and Colin Ferrell is so easy to watch.
  • Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)  A US Marine (Robert Mitchum) is stranded on an island with a Nun (Deborah Kerr.) Sparks fly.
  • Hitler (1962) A story of Hitler’s rise to power and fall to defeat and the influence of the women in his life, in particular his mother, his niece, and Eva Braun.

    • Let there be no mistake … I shall remake the world in my image or destroy it! (Hitler in the 1962 movie “Hitler”)

  • Hitler’s S.S.: Portrait in Evil (1985) A made-for-TV movie shown on the History Channel.  The first time I started to watch it I gave up.  The 2nd time, I was patient and enjoyed references to actual Nazi leaders and events that took place around them.                                   
  • Hope and Glory (1987) Written and directed by John Boorman who grew up during the London Blitz.  
  • The House on 92nd Street (1945) A film noir … which I just learned means that it is a black and white crime drama.  When it first began, it reminded me of Jack Webb’s TV Show “Dragnet.”  During the years leading up to the war, Germany planted thousands of sleeper agents in the US, and this movie illustrated how the FBI would uncover them.  This particular spy ring was sending details of top secret atomic bomb experiments to Germany.   The movie was made with the full cooperation of the FBI and Hoover himself is shown in the beginning scene.  I was fascinated by the espionage aspects of it.
  • Inglourious Basterds (2009) Read my post here.  I loved it. 
  • In Harm’s Way (1965) John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Dana Andrews, etc. etc.  Naval Officers and their wives in Hawaii during the early years of the war.  Many interesting characters and sub plots.  John Wayne was seriously ill with lung cancer during the filming. 

    All battles are fought by scared men who’d rather be someplace else. (Rear Admiral Rock Torry in “In Harm’s Way.”)

  • In Love and War (Hallmark - 1996)  A romantic story that happened to occur during World War II.  Apparently a true story about how an Italian village hid an English soldier. 
  • Journey for Margaret (1942) Another true story about an American couple who lose their unborn baby during a London bombing raid.  John (Robert Young) finds two orphans that he wants to adopt.  An early story about the terrible things happening to the children during the bombings in England. 
  • Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) Based on the Nuremberg war cime trials right after the war. Unforgettable. I knew I had seen this movie years ago, and it all came back the moment Burt Lancaster came onto the screen. Who could ever forget Spencer Tracy, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, and Marlene Dietrich translating the song, Lili Marlene for Spencer Tracy.   Our mother loved to sing that song … it took her right back to those years of war.
  • Julia (1977) I loved this movie, the story of Lillian Hellman, American playwright, and how she helped her friend Julia smuggle money into Berlin to use against the Nazi’s.  “We can’t be sure who anyone is anymore.”  Jane Fonda (yes, Jane) played the role of Lillian, and the great Vanessa Redgrave was Julia.  Jane was wonderful, as was Vanessa.  This was Meryl Streep’s first movie role - I recognized her voice before I recognized her face.  Ah, the cigarettes.
  • Kelly’s Heroes (1970)  This movie was filmed during the Vietnam war and you can feel the antiwar cynicism.  I have found this movie on a list of  “Best World War II Movies” so I kept waiting for the good part.  There was Don Rickles, sneering.  Telly Savalas, shouting.  And Clint Eastwood, I thought, must have really wanted this movie to be a western.  Their plan was to rob a bank, and the shoot out could have easily been on a street in the wild wild west. 
  • King Rat (1965) Not my favorite POW movie. Maybe because of the rats.  Out of respect for James Clavell, author of the book it was based on who was actually a POW in the Changi prison camp near Singapore, I watched more than half of it. 
  • The Last Warrior (1989) “Rambo” on a Pacific island.  Supposedly an update of the classic Lee Marvin film “Hell in the Pacific.”  After 30 minutes, I decided to wait and watch that one.
  • Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) Along with Flags of our Fathers, this is one of two movies about the Battle of Iwo Jima produced by Clint Eastwood.  This story is from the Japanese perspective and is based on actual letters written during the war. 
  • MacArthur (1977) First of all, if Gregory Peck plays the main character in a movie, I enjoy watching it.  We see the “rebel” General from his ousting from the Phillipines on through to his retirement. My favorite scene was the signing of the Japanese Surrender on the USS Missouri.  It was just like I’ve seen it in the news reels.
  • Memphis Belle (1990)  Based on the story of the crew of the B-17 Memphis Belle that completed the coveted 25 missions that allowed them to go home.  Said to be not as technically or historically accurate as 12 O’Clock High but is still a good movie to watch if you are interested in the crews of the B-17’s.
  • Midway (1976) A star studded cast … so many I had a hard time keeping them straight! Although criticized for its inaccuracies, it was a good review of what generally happened at that critical time.  I was particularly interested in the codebreaker, Joseph Rochefort.  Lots of action and WWII combat footage.
  • Miracle at St. Anna (2008) Directed by Spike Lee, the story takes place in Tuscany.  Almost everyone ends up dying in this little Italian village.  Two who do survive meet years later and try to come to terms with what happened.
  • Mission to Moscow (1943)  This film is an adaptation of the 1941 book by Joseph E. Davies, the former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union.  As Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies explained, this was one of the films that Roosevelt requested be made in order to give Americans a warm and fuzzy feeling about their Russian allies.  It was interesting to watch from that perspective.
  • The Mortal Storm (1940) Based on a book by a British author who lived in Germany at the time she wrote it in the late 1930’s.  The story takes place in 1933 in a small Bavarian town, and we see what happens when Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany.  The film, and all others made by MGM, was banned in Germany.  America had not yet entered the war, and some in this country thought the film was “war mongering.”  They were still hoping that the US could lay low and let Europe handle its problems alone.  Stars Jimmy Stewart, Robert Young (a Nazi?) and Robert Stack.
  • The Most Beautiful (1944) I watched enough of this movie to get the gist of it.  Made in Japan, with subtitles, it is about a group of teenage girls who live in a dormitory and work in a lens factory.  They are very dedicated to their country and proud that what they are doing is critical to the war effort.  I would have titled it “The Most Driven” …  when the men’s quotas were increased more than the girls’ were, the girls were upset.  Sounds like every sales managers’ dream come true.
  • Never so Few (1959) I really wanted to like this movie.  It is based on a book of the same name about an OSS unit that served in Burma, which was an important location in the war against Japan.  Frank Sinatra stars as the head of this unit, and he has an excellent supporting cast in Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Dean Jones, Paul Henreid.  Frank looked like he had his mind on something else throughout most of the movie, and it wasn’t Gina Lollobrigida.  Everytime she showed up, “Captain, you have a visitor,” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.  There were some beautiful location and aerial scenes.  I appreciated the OSS connection and learned about one of their critical operations in this part of the world. 
  • The Night of the Generals (1967) The book this movie was based on was written by a German World War II veteran.  During the first half I had a hard time following which Nazi General was doing what. Then all of a sudden there were familiar scenes: Rommel’s auto was bombed, the failed assasination attempt of Hitler on July 20, 1944 (Valkyrie,) and I started to pay better attention, particularly to Peter O’ Toole who was mesmerizing.
  • Night Train to Munich (1940) At first it was difficult to understand the British accents … but stick with it!  It ended up being a suspenseful battle of wits between the Brits and the Nazi’s.  And what could be better than a young Rex Harrison?  Paul Henreid helped our heroine escape from a concentration camp and later turned out to be the German agent whose mission was to capture her and her scientist father.  (Two years later, Paul played Ingrid Bergman’s anti-Nazi husband in Casablanca.)  I read that Winstson Churchill watched this movie several times.
  • The North Star (1943) Like Mission to Moscow, this was another movie meant to warm the hearts of Americans toward their allies, the Soviet Union.   The movie opens in a village in the Ukraine where life is wonderful, peaceful, almost too good to be true.  Then they are attacked by Nazi Germany, and everything changes.  To my horror, I learned that when the Nazi doctors needed blood for their wounded soldiers, they bled the village children, even to their deaths.  What I thought of when watching this movie was my Jewish grandfather’s family in Lithuania.  They were happy and entrenched in their community and even when they realized that it might not be safe for them to stay, refused to leave their homes and their businesses.  When my Grandfather returned to find them after the war, they had all been murdered by the Gestapo.
  • Notorious (1946) To my delight, Robert Osborne and Alec Baldwin shared background information on this excellent film when it was shown on Turner Classic Movies.  (Yes, I’m warming up to Alec Baldwin.)  This was the first movie that Alfred Hitchcock both produced and directed, and it delivers Hitchcock’s signature suspense perfectly.  The story took place in 1946, just after the war ended.  Intelligence agents (the OSS?  Perhaps …) are tracking down Nazi scientists in Brazil who are experimenting with uranium.  Ingrid Bergman’s gorgeous gowns were designed by Edith Head.  She is head over heels in love with Cary Grant but agrees to marry another all for the sake of the cause.  
  • Objective, Burma! (1945) So suspenseful that I had to watch it in stages.  Released in February of 1945, about the time that the Marines arived at Iwo Jima so for sure the anti-Japanese sentiments were intense here at home.  I read that Winston Churchhill was incensed that the movie didn’t give credit to the Brits for their Burma efforts, and the release of the film in Britain was delayed until 1952.   I am now an Errol Flynn fan.  He was cool, calm, collected, caring. 
  • The Outsider (1961) I didn’t realize it at first … the “Outsider” was Ira Hayes, the native American who joined the Marines and became one of the immortalized flag bearers on Iwo Jima.  I first learned about Ira from “Flags of our Fathers.”  He never adjusted to the fame forced upon him.   Tony Curtis did an excellent job.  I thought he was so so young but this was actually filmed two years after “Some Like it Hot.”
  • Paradise Road (1997) 30 minutes into this movie, I was hoping that it was a true story.  And it is  … a group of women are imprisoned by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in 1942.  They are in a concentration camp in Sumatra.  As soon as the film ended, I went to google maps to see where is Sumatra!  Where is Singapore?  Many of them do survive the ordeal, and some are still alive today … inspiring this moving story.   
  • Paratroop Command (1959) A short action movie focused on a mistake of one paratrooper and its aftereffects. 
  • Patton (1970) A great movie on many levels.  It won seven academy awards … one for best picture, another for George C. Scott, who famously declined it.  It followed General Patton’s footsteps fairly accurately through critical battles.  I was fascinated by his love of history with references to ancient crusades … and by his unabashed love of war. 

    “I love it. God help me, I do love it so.” (George C. Scott as General George S. Patton)

  • The Pianist (2002) This autobiography of the Polish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman was directed by none other than Roman Polanski.  The movie relates the horrific fate of the Polish Jewish communities as Germany invades their country.  At one the point, a Captain of the German army saves his life, and Wladyslaw survives the holocaust to perform again. 
  • Pride of the Marines (1945) The story of Marine Al Schmid and how he coped with injuries received at Guadalcanal.  This was a well received and appreciated movie in 1945 as many of our soldiers came home battle scarred.
  • PT 109 (1963) was the PT boat commanded by John F. Kennedy.  I don’t remember ever seeing this movie during the Kennedy years.  Watching it now was exciting, and I was impressed with the actions of the 109’s Skipper.  The movie was released shortly before President Kennedy’s death.
  • The Purple Plain (1954) Fast moving story about a British fighter pilot seeing action in Burma, played by Gregory Peck, who for most of the film exhibits deep distress.
  • The Reader  (2009) The World War II connection was the basis for this story of a former SS Guard who befriends a 15 year old boy.  Over the course of a summer they have a passionate affair … and his life is changed forever. 
  • Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) The author of the book this film is based on was a decorated submarine officer during the war.  Although the movie doesn’t depict a real event, it does give a true picture of many aspects of of submarine life … the perils, the camaraderie, the tactics, the suspense as the crew hears a torpedo coming toward them and waits to see if it will hit.  Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster are the two stars but Burt steals the show.  When it came out, the New York Times reviewer said, “You have to like submarine movies to like “Run Silent, Run Deep …”  Well, I do.
  • Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) John Wayne (42 yrs old in this film) was the tough Sergeant who trained a squadron of Marines.  The writers worked hard (too hard) to add a little romance.  The 1st rough action we saw was on Tarawa.  It wasn’t until the last 30 minutes that they landed on Iowa Jima.  The battle scenes would have been hard to watch in 1949 … some actual combat footage was used.  At the very end, the three living survivors of the historic  flag raising on Mount Suribachi actually portrayed themselves.  This included navy corpsman John H. Bradley whose son James went on to write “Flags of our Fathers” in 2000. 

    Now, nobody knows exactly what they’ve got on this island, but they’ve had forty years to put it there. (Briefing the troops in Sands of Iwo Jima.)

  • Saving Private Ryan (1998) I own this move, and it’s still almost impossible for me to write about it.  It is so real.  I wish it weren’t.  We can never honor our Veterans enough.
  • The Scarlet and the Black (1983)  Can you think of anyone more suited than Gregory Peck to play the role of a Vatican Priest who outsmarts the Nazis?  Monsignor Hugh O’Flattery was a real life Irish priest who saved the lives of thousands of Jews and allied soldiers.  Col. Kappler, the SS Chief in Rome was determined to out him but could not.  
  • Schindler’s List (1993) Steven Spielberg directed this movie, about Oskar Schindler, a German businesman who was able to save more than a thousand Jews during World War II.  Won the Oscar for best picture.  Even more wonderful because it’s true.
  • The Sea Wolves (1980) It might get off to a slow start but wait just a bit and things happen fast.  This true story takes place on the coast of India, in the Portuguese colony Goa.  I had to do a little research to discover how very important India was to the Allied cause during World War II.  Gregory Peck and Roger Moore are British intelligence officers … In 1980 Roger Moore was also filming his 007 movies, and he appears to be quite the same light hearted playboy here.  Until he discovers that you are a Nazi spy!   Most of the supporting actors play the parts of retired soldiers who seize the opportunity to return to action in order to carry out a top secret mission.  I loved watching David Niven who at 70 was the leader of the Senior Citizens (the Light House Brigade.)  Niven died only 3 years later … but not until he had made two more Pink Panther movies. 
  • The Seventh Cross (1944) A haunting movie set in a German concentration camp in 1936.  The movie was based on a novel written in 1942 by a German anti-fascist author, Anna Seghers.  Spencer Tracy and six others escape from the camp.  As each man is caught, he is brought back to camp dead or alive and hung on one of seven crosses.   One of my favorite parts was seeing Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy.  Already married, this was their first film together.
  • Shining Through (1992) When I watched this movie and discovered that the heroine’s boss worked for the OSS, I immediately went into “high alert!”  Just like Hedy!  What Melanie Griffith goes through after she agrees to spy on the Nazi’s for Michael Douglas is a bit implausible but I loved the “OSS” connection.
  • Shutter Island (2010) Okay, okay … it’s not a World War II movie (the story takes place in 1954) but there are flashbacks to when the main character (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) was a soldier whose unit liberated a Nazi concentration camp.  I was drawn to these scenes because it is what happened to my father-in-law during the war. He could never speak of it. As for Shutter Island, I was on the edge of my seat for the entire movie, and I shrieked out loud at the end.
  • Sink the Bismark (1960) This British movie is based on the sinking of Germany’s prize battleship in 1941.  After the Bismark sank the Royal Navy’s HMS Hood, Chuchhill pretty much ordered, “Sink the Bismark …” or else!  It was interesting to watch both sides plan their strategies.  I loved seeing Edward R. Murrow recreate his radio broadcasts from London. 

    This is London, Ed Murrow reporting. This island, which is no stranger to bad tiding, received news today that HMS Hood, largest warship in the British fleet and pride of the British navy, has been sunk by the German battleship Bismarck. From the Hood’s compliment of 1500 men, there were three survivors.

  • Sophia Scholl: The Final Days (2005) Mesmerizing, even with subtitles. That it is spoken in German makes it even more intense. True story of the anti-Nazi student resistance group that worked to get out their protest message in a peaceful way. 
  • Spring 1941 (2008) What it must have been like when the Nazi’s murdered my Grandfather’s family in Lithuania.
  • Stalag 17 (1953)  I thought this depiction of a German POW camp for American airmen seemed a little theatrical, with splashes of comedy and musical routines.  Then I read that before it was a movie, it actually was a Broadway play, based on the experiences of its two authors, both POW’s.  Otto Preminger, the director, who played the Camp Commander was a standout.  You hated to see him but enjoyed his performance.  William Holden was the star and received an Oscar for his role.  His character carried the story through until the end when you finally began to like him.
  • The Story of GI Joe (1945) was the story of Ernie Pyle, war correspondent.  I enjoyed this movie so much that I wrote an entire post about it. 

    For those beneath the wooden crosses, there is nothing we can do, except perhaps to pause and murmur, “Thanks pal, thanks.” (Ernie Pyle in “The Story of G.I. Joe”) 

  • Suicide Battallion (1958)  I was hoping it might be a true story, possibly based on a real mission … It takes place on an island called Baluyanna, and I could find no evidence of such an island.  When I discovered that the writer of the screenplay also wrote “The She-Creature” and “Dragstrip Girl” I quit searching.     (I would still be grateful if someone told me otherwise.  The men these actors played paid the ultimate price.)
  • Sunshine (1999) I can’t stop thinking about this movie about a Jewish Hungarian who becomes an Olympic medalist and is brutally murdered by the Nazi’s in front of his son.  Based on very similar events that happened to Attila Petschauer, the Hungarian fencer. 
  • Tank Commandos (1959) The filmmaker dedicated this to the courage of the demolition men.  The Americans need to find out where the German tanks are getting across a river.  A young Italian boy leads them to it.  I enjoyed the parts with Diano, the little boy.
  • Tea with Mussolini (1999) A delightful film, based on actual events, about a group of British ladies who live in Florence and watch how the country changes as Italy goes to war.  The author was a young boy who was raised by one of these women and all her friends.  Suddenly, the polical climate changes.  They can no longer have tea in the Uffizi Gallery.  Oh, no!  One of them, widow of the former American Ambassador, visits Mussolini and has tea with him. Even though, when Italy declares war on England the ladies are interned in another (yes, fabulous) Italian town, San Gimignano, City of the Beautiful Towers.  If you love Italy, you will love watching this movie. 

  • The Germans and the Italians couldn’t get rid of us. There is absolutely no reason why we should surrender to the Scots.  (Lady Hester in “Tea with Mussolini”)

  • They Were Expendable (1945) Based on the book of the same name, written in 1942.  The story revolves around the PT boats used in the Phillipines as they were being attacked by the Japanese.  Noteworthy in that it was directed by John Ford who had filmed documentaries for the OSS.  In the opening credits, the Office of Strategic Services is thanked for their cooperation.  When the book was written, the fate of the soldiers who were left on Bataan was  not yet known … by the time the movie was finished, everyone knew what would happen to the men who were left behind. 
  • Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1944) The story of the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo 131 days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, based on the book written by Captain Ted Lawson, one of the pilots.  When the movie was filmed, the fate of all the crew members was not yet known.  Great movie … won the Academy Award for best special effects.  I loved watching how the crews trained to fly their B-25’s off the aircraft carrier USS Hornet.
  • To Hell and Back (1955) Based on the autobiography of Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier of World War II … and the author actually played himself.  I was struck by the contrast between the beginning of the film which resembled an episode of Lassie and then later, the fierce fighting as Murphy’s platoons battled it out with the Germans.  These foot soldiers did go to hell and back as they fought for every inch of enemy ground.  Audie Murphy wasn’t even 20 years old when he won the Congressional Medal of Honor. 
  • The Train (1964) What could be better?  An exciting movie that begins in Paris, revolves around some of the finest paintings ever made, and stars Burt Lancaster.  French Resistance fighters risk their lives to save the “glory of France.”  This fiction story is based on a book by the curator of the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume where many looted works of art were stored by the Nazis.
  • Two Women (1960) What I loved is that it is set in Italy, made by Italians, and spoken in Italian … and soon enough after the war that they could be authentic to what was happening in rural Italy during that time.  Starring Sophia Loren, who won an academy award, and produced by Carlo Ponti.  He had met his beautiful star in 1950 then married her in 1957.  Sort of married her, that is  That is another story …
  • Up Periscope (1959) I am surprised at how much I enjoy watching the movies about submarines, and this was no exception.  One of James Garners’ earliest movies, and he was looking pretty good.
  • Valkyrie (2008) Tom Cruise bears a remarkable resemblance to Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg who was in the center of the 1944 failed plot to assasinate Hitler.  Even though I knew how the story would end, I felt the tension and appreciated the details of the intricate plan.  The producers, with difficulty, were able to obtain permission to film in the historic Bendlerblock, the Berlin building where much of the resistance movement took place.
  • Wake Island (1942) Although apparently not totally accurate in details, this was an emotional depiction of what happened at Wake Island right after Pearle Harbor.  William Bendix stole the show.  I find it very interesting to look up the New York Times review that was written at the time each movie originally aired.  Wake Island was released just eight months after the island was first attacked by the Japanese.   When the NYT reviewer first saw the film with 2000 Marines at Quantico who “cheered it with thunderous applause.”  Certainly everyone who watched the movie was close to someone who was in the thick of the war somewhere … or who soon would be.  I wonder if the Moms and Dads and wives cheered too.  It would have been tough to watch, so soon afterward.
  • War Comes to America (1945) The 7th and final film of Frank Capra’s World War II documentary series, “Why We Fight.”  The first half hour  is a highly patriotic history of America.  I thought it to be a bit much until I remembered how much Nazi propaganda was being circulated in our country.  The reason the US government commissioned this series was to promote support for the war and to explain what factors had led us there.  The 2nd half hour included a recap of the wartime events which led to the Gallup poll results of first isolationism, then support for entering the war if necessary.  We also see footage of the motion picture (”Confessions of a Nazi Spy”) which had exposed Nazi espionage in America.  All in all, the 2nd half was interesting to watch.
  • A Wing and a Prayer (1944) We follow the crew of an American carrier soon after the bombing of Pearle Harbor when the Japanese were at the height of their manpower.  Based on actual events around the time of the Battle of Midway. 
  • Where Eagles Dare (1968) - Another Alistair MacLean novel and screenplay starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood.  Burton is the classic British secret intelligence agent, a member of MI6.    And Clint is an American with the OSS!  Now I was hooked.  Lots of action, espionage, and plenty of twists here and there.  The setting is this gorgeous castle on top of a mountain in the Austrian alps.  One of my favorites for all these reasons.
  • Windtalkers (2002)  The Navaho Indian code talkers played a critical role in World War II in the Pacific.  Even though this particular story is fictional, even though I never could visualize Nicolas Cage in World War II, even though the film was primarily graphic battle scenes … I cried at the end.
  • Yesterday’s Enemy (1959) I watched two excellent movies about the war in Burma, one right after the other.  During “Objective, Burma!” I was on the edge of my chair.  At the end of this British movie, I gasped.  The producers described it as “the most controversial … ever filmed.”  No musical score.  Just jungle birds and raw emotion.