1950s
War movies from the 1950′s
Fires on the Plain (1959)
Fires on the Plain manages to compress all of the inhumanity, desolation, and desperation of war into the scope of a two hour span, and yet still manages to maintain the humanity, albeit just barely, of the main character, Tamura. (Eiji Funakoshi) Taking place in the Philippines as Allied forces sweep over Leyte in... »
Flame Over India (aka Northwest Frontier, 1959)
In another browsing-thru-netflix-streaming-WTF-is-this-one? moment, I found this little gem, Northwest Frontier, or Flame Over India. It takes place in British occupied India, more specifically the territory still squabbled over between India and Pakistan, just after the turn of the century when the British foothold in the region was sketchy at best. Capt. Scott (Kenneth... »
Sabre Jet (1953)
I really, really wish I could find more information on this little-known movie, because as cliched and strange as it is, I found it highly interesting. Not so much for the plot, but for some of the subject matter therein. Quick plot summary: At a rear-ward fighter base in Japan during the Korean War,... »
Go For Broke! (1951)
"Go For Broke!" was the motto of the 442nd Combat team, famous for being comprised of Japanese-Americans, a number of which were from the internment camps (more on this below.) This film is an early tribute to these men, and in fact, a number of them actually star therein. Lieutenant Grayson (Van Johnson) is... »
Tank Battalion (1958)
Wow. Just wow. What a totally dreadful movie. OK, it starts out well enough, with a group of guys in a tank under fire in combat during the Korean war. Mission accomplished, they head back to base after about five minutes of screen time. And then they get stuck there shmoozing it up with... »
Bombers B-52 (1957)
Take a story that likely resonated with a lot of people circa 1957, add in a dash of romance with an attractive leading lady, an overprotective father figure, and top it off with lots of cold war paranoia... oh, and I almost forgot. AIRPLANES. Lots of them. Big ones. Like the B-52. Yeah, now... »
On The Beach (1959)
1959's On The Beach is a chilling look at what a post-apocalyptic future might look like, from the viewpoint of people who escaped the initial torrent of destruction. It seems that Australia has "dodged the bullet" as it were, and was spared annihilation. US Submarine captain Lionel Towers (Gregory Peck) brings his ship into... »
Between Heaven and Hell (1956)
Part social commentary, part war movie, 1956's Between Heaven and Hell is all of one thing: dark. Not that dark is bad, and in this case, actually makes for one hell of a good film. The story revolves around one Francis Gifford (Robert Wagner), an affluent plantation owner in "the South." As luck would... »
The Dam Busters (1955)
You'd think that a film about developing a one-off weapon that defies all logic would be incredibly un-interesting, right? Wrong!! The Dam Busters takes a look at one of the more ingenious weapons devised and implemented during World War II, and then follow the men who had to deploy the thing in action.... »
Attack! (1956)
Attack!, based on the play The Fragile Fox, is one of those timeless officers vs. enlisted men movies that is made about all wars. Here we pit one Lt. Costa (Jack Palance) vs. Captain Cooney (Eddie Albert), and as usual, much drama ensues. It seems Cooney failed to follow through on support for one... »
