1940s
War movies from the 1940′s
Twelve O’Clock High (1949)
Every so often you get thrown a gem of a classic, this time it's 1949's Twelve O'Clock High, starring (most notably) Gregory Peck. Instead of a wartime epic full of heroes and battles and celebrating the machines and the glory of victory, we get to examine the toll of constant action on the men,... »
Captains of the Clouds (1942)
What? There was a Canadian Air Force during World War II? Who knew!? Well, 1942's Captains of the Clouds takes us into the Canadian Air Force, which looks to have been kinda-sorta an arm of the RAF. The big problem though is it takes half the movie, with a strange and convoluted love-story plot... »
Gung Ho! (1943)
Have you ever seen those old Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck cartoons where somebody holds up a flag with a picture of a screw and a baseball (screwball!) or an ear of corn (corny!) in response to somebody? Well, I'm gonna hold up the corn flag for this film. I'm sure the creators of... »
Flying Tigers (1942)
1942's Flying Tigers pays homage to the group of American volunteers who risked their lives to help the Chinese under Japanese occupation before World War II. John Wayne stars as Capt. Jim Gordon, in a role (although not the same character) he would play several more times in his career, such as in Flying... »
Bombardier (1943)
In the same vein as the thoroughly enjoyable Air Force and the dreadful Wake Island comes the light-hearted yet still deadly serious Bombardier. It's basically a War Department-sponsored (with real Air Corps Brass no less!) bit of propaganda which follows the development of the first group of precision high altitude "bombardiers" through to the... »
A Walk in the Sun (1945)
Man, I can honestly say I've just seen the most bleak, dark, depressing, demoralizing... and downright dull war movie I've seen to date.... A Walk in the Sun follows a squad of soldiers as they land on a beach in Italy, and proceed to an occupied farmhouse in a quest to blow up a... »
Wake Island (1942)
Two words: Um. Yeah. Two more words: Don't bother. Look, I'm all for classic war movies, and Wake Island just ain't one of 'em. Now, I understand the need for a little artistic license, especially in the name of much-needed (and wanted) wartime propaganda flicks. I'm not against that. But there's a line. First... »
Sergeant York (1941)
Before the movie-generating events of World War II, there was "the big one" and the heroes that emerged from it. "Sergeant York" explores the events surrounding one of the most legendary heroes of the war, one Alvin C. York, masterfully played by Gary Cooper. Once you get past the first oh, hour or so,... »
The Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
It's John Wayne for cryin out loud! The Duke! How can you not enjoy this! Seriously, "The Sands of Iwo Jima" takes us to that hell-hole of an island in the Pacific, and the steps along the way. Sergeant John Stryker (John Wayne) is the seasoned and gruff company Sgt. who takes his band... »
To The Shores Of Tripoli (1942)
OK, So maybe "To The Shores of Tripoli" isn't so much a "war movie" as a "wartime movie", but I think it still fits the bill.... It's the journey of one Chris Winters (John Payne) who joins the Marines in chase of a dame, one Mary Carter (Maureen O'Hara), who it seems is also... »
