World War II movies
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- DirectorMichael PowellStarsConrad VeidtValerie HobsonHay PetrieEarly in World War II, Danish sea captain Andersen, delayed in a British port, tangles with German spies.
- DirectorPen TennysonStarsClive BrookJohn ClementsEdward ChapmanA tale of the highs and lows of life protecting the vital convoys between America & England during WWII.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneThomas MitchellIan HunterA merchant ship's crew tries to survive the loneliness of the sea and the coming of war.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJoel McCreaLaraine DayHerbert MarshallOn the eve of World War II, a young American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnFred MacMurrayRalph BellamyA military surgeon teams with a ranking Navy flyer to develop a high-altitude suit which will protect pilots from blacking out when they go into a steep dive.
- DirectorBrian Desmond HurstStarsAnton WalbrookSally GrayDerrick De MarneyDuring World War II, an American newswoman falls for a Polish piano virtuoso...who wants to go back and fight.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsTyrone PowerBetty GrableJohn SuttonAn American pilot impulsively joins His Majesty's Royal Air Force in Britain in an attempt to impress his ex-girlfriend.
- DirectorLothar MendesLewis SeilerStarsRonald ReaganOlympe BradnaJames StephensonIn 1941, an American flyer volunteers for the British RAF but must learn to be an obedient team player rather than a risky thrill-seeking individualist.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsGene TierneyBruce CabotGeorge SandersIn 1941, a mysterious Somaliland woman helps the British against the Germans.
- DirectorMichael PowellStarsLeslie HowardLaurence OlivierRichard GeorgeA World War II U-boat crew are stranded in northern Canada. To avoid internment, they must make their way to the border and get into the still-neutral U.S.
- DirectorVincent ShermanStarsHumphrey BogartConrad VeidtKaren VerneRunyonesque Broadway gamblers turn patriotic when they stumble onto a cell of Nazi saboteurs.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsGene TierneyGeorge MontgomeryLynn BariWith America still neutral, an American news photographer on assignment in Burma is courted by both the Japanese and The Flying Tiger volunteers fighting for China to film the strategic Burma Road.
- DirectorDavid MillerStarsJohn WayneJohn CarrollAnna LeeCapt. Jim Gordon's command of the famed American volunteer fighter group in China is complicated by the recruitment of an old friend who is a reckless hotshot.
- DirectorLeslie HowardStarsLeslie HowardDavid NivenRosamund JohnAircraft designer/patriot R. J. Mitchell, alarmed at growing German militarism, works to perfect a defense against the German Messerschmidt at the cost of his health.
- DirectorNoël CowardStarsNoël CowardJohn MillsBernard MilesThis "story of a ship", the British destroyer H.M.S. Torrin, is told in flashbacks by survivors as they cling to a life raft.
- DirectorJohn HustonVincent ShermanStarsHumphrey BogartMary AstorSydney GreenstreetIn December 1941, ex-army captain Rick Leland boards a Japanese ship heading to Asia via the Panama Canal where his Japanese hosts show interest in the American defense plans for the canal zone.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsRobert TaylorBrian DonlevyCharles LaughtonDuring WW2, two Navy officers take command of an obsolete, World War I-vintage, destroyer that is assigned to convoy-escort duty in the Japanese-controlled waters of the South Pacific.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsGodfrey TearleEric PortmanHugh WilliamsDuring a raid on Germany a British bomber crew is forced to bail out after their plane is damaged. They land in Holland and are aided by Dutch civilians.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsErrol FlynnRonald ReaganNancy ColemanWhen the crew of a downed British bomber escape from their Nazi captors with Top Secret intelligence, they make a desperate journey to get out of Germany alive.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsGene TierneyPreston FosterJohn SuttonA veteran American flyer trains new recruits, including the acrophobic son of his dead war buddy. Complications arise when the younger man falls in love with his mentor's girl.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsJoan CrawfordJohn WaynePhilip DornIn German-occupied Paris, a Frenchwoman tries to help smuggle a downed RAF pilot into Portugal despite strict surveillance by suspicious Gestapo officers.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJames CagneyDennis MorganBrenda MarshallInspired by Churchill's Dunkirk speech, brash, undisciplined bush pilot Brian MacLean and three friends enlist in the RCAF but are deemed too old to be fliers.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsPriscilla LaneRobert CummingsOtto KrugerA young man accused of sabotage goes on the run to prove his innocence.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGreer GarsonWalter PidgeonTeresa WrightA British family struggles to survive the first months of World War II.
- DirectorA. Edward SutherlandStarsPat O'BrienGeorge MurphyJane WyattA U.S. Navy crew aboard a merchant marine ship battle Nazis.
- DirectorLloyd BaconByron HaskinRaoul WalshStarsHumphrey BogartRaymond MasseyAlan HaleAn American tanker is sunk by a German U-boat, and the survivors spend 11 days at sea on a raft. Their next assignment - bound for Murmansk through the sub-stalked N. Atlantic.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterRay EnrightStarsEdward G. RobinsonGlenn FordMarguerite ChapmanA new World War 2 destroyer fails its sea trials so it is assigned to mail runs, but the crew ends up having to engage Japanese planes and a submarine anyway.
- DirectorWilliam H. PineStarsRichard ArlenChester MorrisAmelita WardOld rivals are pitted against each other in basic training and fight over the same woman.
- DirectorCharles FrendRobert HamerStarsArthur YoungWalter FitzgeraldRalph MichaelRescue of the tanker MV San Demetrio by parts of her own crew after she had been set afire in the middle of the Atlantic by the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer and then had been abandoned.
- DirectorIrving PichelStarsCedric HardwickeHenry TraversLee J. CobbDuring the Nazi occupation of Norway, a small Norwegian village struggles to cope with the invaders and some locals choose collaboration while others prefer armed resistance.
- DirectorZoltan KordaStarsHumphrey BogartBruce BennettJ. Carrol NaishAfter the fall of Tobruk in 1942, during the Allied retreat in the Libyan desert, an American tank picks-up a motley group of survivors but they face advancing Germans and a lack of water.
- DirectorFrank McDonaldStarsRichard ArlenWendy BarrieNils AstherGerman spies use a stolen shortwave transmitter prototype to broadcast top secret shipping info to an offshore Japanese sub. To nab the spy ring, the U.S. government has the West Coast's top radio engineers fired and shadowed.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsTyrone PowerAnne BaxterDana AndrewsA submarine lieutenant and his commander fall in love with the same girl.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJohn GarfieldJohn RidgelyGig YoungThe crew of an Air Force bomber arrives in Pearl Harbor in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, and is sent on to Manila to help with the defense of the Philippines.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsCary GrantJohn GarfieldAlan HaleIn order to provide information for the first air raid over Tokyo, a U.S. submarine sneaks into Tokyo Bay and places a spy team ashore.
- DirectorAnthony AsquithStarsJohn MillsLouis BradfieldRonald MillarAll leave is cancelled so that a British submarine can be sent after a new German warship. They chase it so far that they have no fuel to get home.
- DirectorRay EnrightStarsRandolph ScottAlan CurtisNoah Beery Jr.The true story of Carlson's Raiders and their World War II attack on Makin Island.
- DirectorWilliam BerkeStarsRichard ArlenJean ParkerRussell HaydenAfter deserting from the U.S. Navy in the 1930s, an officer re-enlists under a fake name after Pearl Harbor and serves on a minesweeper.
- DirectorRichard RossonHoward HawksStarsRandolph ScottJames BrownElla RainesThe story of a Canadian WWII naval vessel, with a dramatic subplot concerning her first captain.
- DirectorRichard WallaceLambert HillyerStarsPat O'BrienRandolph ScottAnne ShirleyMajor "Chick" Davis is convinced that high-level bombing will win the next war. He convinces the powers-that-be to set up a bombardier school. He efficiently sets about training the USAAF's first generation of high-level bombardiers.
- DirectorMark SandrichStarsClaudette ColbertPaulette GoddardVeronica LakeA group of nurses returning from the war in the Philippines recall their experiences in combat and in love.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsFranchot ToneMarsha HuntGene KellyIn March 1942, on the island of Java, Indonesia, a Dutch major selects a pilot for a dangerous mission from the five U.S. Army airmen under his command. While waiting for word from the pilot, the others tell his life story to the major.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsPatricia MorisonJohn CarradineAlan CurtisStory of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, Nazi SS commander, by Czech partisans and the reprisals inflicted by the Nazis on the Czechs.
- DirectorVernon SewellGordon WellesleyStarsRalph RichardsonGoogie WithersEsmond KnightJaap van Leyden (Sir Ralph Richardson) is in charge of a shipyard in newly occupied Holland. At first he collaborates with the Germans because it is the easiest course to follow. Later, a child's rhyme reminds him of his patriotic duty, but how best to resist the Germans without endangering his wife and fellow workers?
- DirectorVictor FlemingStarsSpencer TracyIrene DunneVan JohnsonA dead World War II bomber pilot, Pete Sandidge becomes the guardian angel of another pilot, Ted Randall. He guides Ted through battle and helping him to romance his old girlfriend, despite her excessive devotion to Sandidge's memory.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsSpencer TracyVan JohnsonRobert WalkerIn the wake of Pearl Harbor, a young lieutenant leaves his expectant wife to volunteer for a secret bombing mission which will take the war to the Japanese homeland.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartClaude RainsMichèle MorganFive patriotic convicts are helped to escape imprisonment in Devil's Island so they can fight for occupied Free French forces against the Nazis.
- DirectorEdward LudwigStarsJohn WayneSusan HaywardDennis O'KeefeDuring WW2, the U.S. Navy implements a new idea of forming construction battalions that also are fighting units, in case of Japanese attack.
- DirectorJohn RawlinsStarsLoretta YoungGeraldine FitzgeraldDiana BarrymoreThe story of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, a unit of female pilots during WW II who flew bombers from the factories to their final destinations.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsTallulah BankheadJohn HodiakWalter SlezakSeveral survivors of a torpedoed merchant ship in World War II find themselves in the same lifeboat with one of the crew members of the U-boat that sank their ship.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsDon AmecheDana AndrewsWilliam EytheIn WW2, an American aircraft carrier sails around the Pacific on a decoy mission until it joins the battle of Midway against the Japanese forces.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsGary CooperLaraine DaySigne HassoWhen the U.S. forces withdraw from Java, ahead of the Japanese invasion, U.S. Navy doctor Corydon M. Wassell coordinates the remaining wounded servicemen and leads them to safety towards the last Allied evacuation points.
- DirectorJohn FordRobert MontgomeryStarsRobert MontgomeryJohn WayneDonna ReedA Navy commander fights to prove the battle-worthiness of the PT boat at the start of World War II.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsErrol FlynnJames BrownWilliam PrinceA platoon of special ops are tasked to parachute into the remote Burmese jungle and destroy a strategic Japanese radar station, but getting out isn't as easy.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsJohn WayneAnthony QuinnBeulah BondiIn 1942, after the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese, U.S. Army Col. Joseph Madden stays behind to organize the local resistance against the Japanese invaders.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsGene TierneyJohn HodiakWilliam BendixDuring WWII, U.S. Army Major Joppolo and his troops are tasked with administering the war damaged Italian town of Adano where the locals decry the loss of the town bell.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsGary CooperRobert AldaLilli PalmerIn WW2, the Allies race against time to persuade two nuclear scientists working for the Germans to switch sides.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsEdmond O'BrienRobert StackJohn RodneyDuring World War II, an insubordinate fighter pilot finds the shoe on the other foot when he's promoted.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsClark GableWalter PidgeonVan JohnsonArmy generals struggle with the decision to prioritize bombing the German factories producing new jet fighters over the extremely high casualties the mission will cost.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsGregory PeckHugh MarloweGary MerrillA tough-as-nails general (Gregory Peck as General Savage) takes over a B-17 bomber unit suffering from low morale and whips them into fighting shape.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsVan JohnsonJohn HodiakRicardo MontalbanTrue tale about a squad of the 101st Airborne Division coping with being trapped by the Germans in the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsJohn WayneJohn AgarAdele MaraHaunted by personal demons, Marine Sgt. John Stryker is hated and feared by his men, who see him as a cold-hearted sadist. But when their boots hit the beaches, they begin to understand the reason for Stryker's rigid form of discipline.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsSpencer TracyJames StewartValentina CorteseNewspaperman Royer convinces government officials of a plan to obtain rubber by smuggling it out from under the Japanese. Carnahan is let out of prison to help.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsGary CooperJane WyattWayne MorrisAs he is retiring, Jonathan L. Scott "Scotty" reminisces about his long Navy career and the development of the role of the aircraft carrier from the early 20s.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsTyrone PowerMicheline PresleTom EwellAmerican soldiers stranded in the Philippines after the Japanese invasion form guerrilla bands to fight back.
- DirectorGeorge WaggnerStarsJohn WaynePatricia NealWard BondDuring WWII, a submarine's second in command inherits the problem of torpedoes that don't explode. When on shore, he is eager to win back his ex-wife.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsRichard WidmarkJack PalanceReginald GardinerA company of Marines races against the clock to find a Japanese rocket base.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJames MasonCedric HardwickeJessica TandyThe story of the final years of the respected World War II German general, Erwin Rommel.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsWendell CoreyVera RalstonForrest TuckerIn 1943, Capt. Harold Calvert is sent to Kansas to learn to fly the newest American bomber, the B-29 Superfortress. One of the instructors is Major Tom West, a cousin of the captain. Being pressurized, the B-29 can fly higher, faster and farther than any other bomber. The top brass is closely monitoring the test flights in order to evaluate the new bomber and make recommendations. When the training and testing phase is over, the new bombers and their crews are sent to China to prepare for bombing missions against Japan. After the Americans conquer Iwo Jima and Guam, the B-29s are transferred to Guam to prepare for mass air raids against the Japanese mainland. Harold Calvert and Tom West fall for the same pretty army nurse, Lt. Helen Landers. For the next mass air raid against Tokyo, both Calvert and West are scheduled to fly together on the same bomber. But Tokyo's air defenses are formidable and many American bombers are downed by Japanese flak and Zero fighters. The bomber flown by Calvert and West is hit by AA fire and must somehow limp back home, after dropping its bomb payload. Most of its crew is badly shot-up, including Capt. Harold Calvert.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsJohn WayneRobert RyanDon TaylorMajor Kirby leads The Wildcats squadron into the historic WWII battle of Guadalcanal.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsWilliam HoldenNancy OlsonFrank LovejoyDuring World War II in Italy, an American sergeant and WAC lieutenant take time out for romance.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsRichard WidmarkDana AndrewsGary MerrillThe new commander of a Navy Underwater Demolition Team--nicknamed "Frogmen"--must earn the respect of the men in his unit, who are still grieving over the death of their former commander and resentful of the new one.
- DirectorAlfred L. WerkerStarsDana AndrewsCarla BalendaClaude RainsIn 1943, an American fishing boat has a fateful encounter with a seriously damaged Danish schooner off of Canada's Atlantic coast.
- DirectorCompton BennettStarsTrevor HowardRichard AttenboroughSonny TuftsIn 1940, the Captain of an old Royal Navy destroyer struggles with his crew, as well as the Nazis.
- DirectorMelvin FrankNorman PanamaStarsRobert TaylorEleanor ParkerJames WhitmoreCol. Paul Tibbets piloted the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in World War II.
- DirectorLesley SelanderStarsSterling HaydenRichard CarlsonWilliam PhippsDuring the Korean War, aboard the U.S.S. Princeton, Navy Commander Dan Collier reminisces about his first assignment on the same aircraft carrier in the war against Japan.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenDon TaylorOtto PremingerAfter two Americans are killed while escaping from a German P.O.W. camp in World War II, the barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.
- DirectorCharles FrendStarsJack HawkinsDonald SindenJohn StrattonThe World War II adventures of a British convoy escort ship and its officers.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsRichard BurtonJames MasonRobert NewtonRichard Burton plays a Scottish Army officer put in charge of a disparate band of ANZAC troops on the perimeter of Tobruk with the German Army doing their best to dislodge them.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsBurt LancasterMontgomery CliftDeborah KerrAt a U.S. Army base in 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his commanding officer's wife and top aide begin a tentative affair.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsRichard WidmarkDon TaylorMax ShowalterIn 1944, US Navy specialists run a weather station in the Gobi desert where they are harassed by Japanese warplanes but aided by local Mongol nomads.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiHiroshi Nihon'yanagiMasao ShimizuJapanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, a brilliant tactician, is a loyal subject of the emperor, despite his grave misgivings about leading Japan's navy into war with the United States. He opposes the attack on Pearl Harbor, but overruled, leads his forces to the best of his ability.
- DirectorPhilip LeacockStarsDirk BogardeIan HunterDinah SheridanWar drama about the dangerous and stressful work of Lancaster bomber British crews during World War II.
- DirectorBrian Desmond HurstStarsAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsAnthony Steel1942 and the island of Malta is battling for survival. The threat of invasion by Axis forces is increasing as air raids wear down its defence. Entering this maelstrom is Flight Lieutenant Peter Ross, an RAF photo-reconnaissance pilot.
- DirectorRoy BoultingStarsJeffrey HunterMichael RennieWendy HillerIn 1940, Canadian sailor Andrew Brown is prisoner on a battle damaged German raider and he plans to delay the raider's at-sea repairs until a British naval task-force can destroy it.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsHumphrey BogartJosé FerrerVan JohnsonWhen a U.S. Naval captain shows signs of mental instability that jeopardises the ship, the first officer is urged to consider relieving him of command.
- DirectorJosé FerrerStarsJosé FerrerTrevor HowardDora BryanDuring World War II, German ships are "safely" docked upriver at Bordeaux, but the British send a team of kayakers to attack them.
- DirectorMichael AndersonStarsRichard ToddMichael RedgraveUrsula JeansDrama based on the attempt by the RAF to destroy six dams in Germany during World War II.
- DirectorRalph ThomasStarsJohn MillsJohn GregsonDonald SindenThe attack by British submarines on the German battleship "Tirpitz" in a Norwegian fjord during World War II.
- DirectorJohn FordMervyn LeRoyJoshua LoganStarsHenry FondaJames CagneyWilliam PowellIn the waning days of World War II, the cargo officer of a Navy supply ship chafes at its role far from the action in the Pacific's backwater areas, his frustration rising when its captain denies the crew liberty over petty irritations.
- DirectorJesse HibbsStarsAudie MurphyMarshall ThompsonCharles DrakeThe true WWII story of Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in U.S. history. Based on the autobiography of Audie Murphy who stars as himself in the film.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsHumphrey BogartGene TierneyLee J. CobbAt a Catholic mission in China, long-awaited "Father O'Shea" proves to be a tough guy, disturbingly attractive to mission nurse Anne.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsJohn MillsEric PortmanChristopher RhodesAllied prisoners - British, Dutch, French and Polish - pool their resources to plan numerous escapes from the "escape-proof" German P.O.W. camp housed in a Medieval castle known as "Colditz".
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsJohn WayneLana TurnerDavid FarrarAs World War II begins, German freighter Captain Karl Ehrlich tries to get his ship back to Germany through a gauntlet of Allied warships.
- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsKenneth MoreMuriel PavlowLyndon BrookBiopic of RAF Group Captain Douglas Bader who, after having lost both legs, flew a British fighter plane during WWII.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsJack PalanceLee MarvinEddie AlbertIn 1944, an American Infantry company sets up an artillery observation post, but tensions between Captain Cooney and Lieutenant Costa run high.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsJohn GregsonAnthony QuaylePeter FinchIn the first major naval battle of World War II, the British Navy must find and destroy a powerful German warship.
- DirectorJoseph PevneyStarsJeff ChandlerGeorge NaderLex BarkerThe story of a U.S. Naval ship and its crew in the Pacific, from 1943 to 1945.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneMaureen O'HaraDan DaileyA biography of Navy flier-turned-screenwriter Frank W. "Spig" Wead.