War Films of The 40's
by robertcunningham-14378 | created - 31 Mar 2017 | updated - 31 Mar 2017 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Night Train to Munich (1940)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
After Germany invades Czechoslovakia, the German and the British intelligence services try to capture Czech scientist Dr. Axel Bomasch (James Harcourt), inventor of a new type of armor-plating.
Director: Carol Reed | Stars: Margaret Lockwood, Rex Harrison, Paul Henreid, Basil Radford
Votes: 5,588
2. The Long Voyage Home (1940)
Approved | 105 min | Drama, War
A merchant ship's crew tries to survive the loneliness of the sea and the coming of war.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter, Ward Bond
Votes: 4,925
3. The Mortal Storm (1940)
Passed | 100 min | Drama
The Roth family leads a quiet life in a small village in the German Alps during the early 1930s. When the Nazis come to power, the family is divided and Martin Breitner, a family friend, is caught up in the turmoil.
Director: Frank Borzage | Stars: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Robert Young, Frank Morgan
Votes: 6,054
4. 40,000 Horsemen (1940)
Approved | 100 min | Drama, History, War
Three young Australians join the army at the beginning of World War I and are assigned to the Australian Light Horse cavalry, which is serving in Palestine. The three eventually take part ... See full summary »
Director: Charles Chauvel | Stars: Grant Taylor, Betty Bryant, Chips Rafferty, Pat Twohill
Votes: 240
5. 49th Parallel (1941)
Not Rated | 123 min | Drama, Thriller, War
A 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.
Director: Michael Powell | Stars: Leslie Howard, Laurence Olivier, Richard George, Eric Portman
Votes: 7,674
6. Man Hunt (1941)
Passed | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
British hunter Thorndike vacationing in Bavaria has Hitler in his gun sight. He is captured, beaten, left for dead, and escapes back to London where he is hounded by German agents and aided by a young woman.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Walter Pidgeon, Joan Bennett, George Sanders, John Carradine
Votes: 6,440
7. 'Pimpernel' Smith (1941)
Passed | 120 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Professor Horatio Smith, while seeming very unassuming, rescues victims of Nazi persecution during World War II.
Director: Leslie Howard | Stars: Leslie Howard, Francis L. Sullivan, Allan Jeayes, Mary Morris
Votes: 1,850
8. Sergeant York (1941)
Passed | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
A Tennessee farmer and marksman is drafted in World War I, and struggles with his pacifist inclinations before becoming one of the most celebrated war heroes.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie, George Tobias
Votes: 19,795 | Gross: $16.40M
9. Sundown (1941)
Passed | 90 min | Drama, War
In 1941, a mysterious Somaliland woman helps the British against the Germans.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: Gene Tierney, Bruce Cabot, George Sanders, Harry Carey
Votes: 1,041
10. Desperate Journey (1942)
Passed | 107 min | Drama, War
When 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.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Coleman, Raymond Massey
Votes: 2,592
11. Flying Tigers (1942)
Approved | 102 min | Action, Drama, Romance
Capt. 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.
Director: David Miller | Stars: John Wayne, John Carroll, Anna Lee, Paul Kelly
Votes: 4,252 | Gross: $3.27M
12. In Which We Serve (1942)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama, War
This "story of a ship", the British destroyer H.M.S. Torrin, is told in flashbacks by survivors as they cling to a life raft.
Director: Noël Coward | Stars: Noël Coward, John Mills, Bernard Miles, Celia Johnson
Votes: 6,454 | Gross: $0.45M
13. Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Approved | 134 min | Drama, Romance, War
A British family struggles to survive the first months of World War II.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Teresa Wright, May Whitty
Votes: 19,479 | Gross: $13.50M
14. One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942)
Not Rated | 82 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
During 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.
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | Stars: Godfrey Tearle, Eric Portman, Hugh Williams, Bernard Miles
Votes: 2,530
15. Spitfire (1942)
Approved | 90 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
Aircraft 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.
Director: Leslie Howard | Stars: Leslie Howard, David Niven, Rosamund John, Roland Culver
Votes: 2,137
16. Went the Day Well? (1942)
Approved | 92 min | Thriller, War
An English village is occupied by disguised German paratroopers as an advance post for a planned invasion.
Director: Alberto Cavalcanti | Stars: Leslie Banks, C.V. France, Valerie Taylor, Marie Lohr
Votes: 4,343 | Gross: $0.02M
17. A Guy Named Joe (1943)
Passed | 120 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A 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.
Director: Victor Fleming | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne, Van Johnson, Ward Bond
Votes: 2,918
18. Air Force (1943)
Approved | 124 min | Action, Drama, History
The 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.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: John Garfield, John Ridgely, Gig Young, Arthur Kennedy
Votes: 3,816
19. Corregidor (1943)
Approved | 73 min | Drama
A doctor and his staff in a hospital on the Philippine island of Corregidor shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor try to treat the sick, injured and wounded as American and Filipino troops desperately try to beat back a ferocious Japanese attack.
Director: William Nigh | Stars: Otto Kruger, Elissa Landi, Donald Woods, Frank Jenks
Votes: 319
20. For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)
Passed | 170 min | Adventure, Drama, History
During the Spanish Civil War, an American allied with the Republicans finds romance during a desperate mission to blow up a strategically important bridge.
Director: Sam Wood | Stars: Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff, Arturo de Córdova
Votes: 10,234 | Gross: $17.80M
21. Hangmen Also Die! (1943)
Passed | 134 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller
After the German administrator of Czechoslovakia is shot, his assassin tries to elude the Gestapo and struggles with his impulse to give himself up as hostages are executed.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Brian Donlevy, Walter Brennan, Anna Lee, Gene Lockhart
Votes: 6,394
22. Hitler's Madman (1943)
Passed | 84 min | Drama, History, War
Story of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, Nazi SS commander, by Czech partisans and the reprisals inflicted by the Nazis on the Czechs.
Director: Douglas Sirk | Stars: Patricia Morison, John Carradine, Alan Curtis, Howard Freeman
Votes: 919
23. Journey Into Fear (1943)
Approved | 68 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller
An American ballistics expert in Turkey finds himself targeted by German agents. Safe passage home by ship is arranged for him, but he soon discovers that his pursuers are also on board.
Directors: Norman Foster, Orson Welles | Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dolores Del Río, Ruth Warrick
Votes: 4,687
24. So Proudly We Hail! (1943)
Passed | 126 min | Drama, Romance, War
A group of nurses returning from the war in the Philippines recall their experiences in combat and in love.
Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake, George Reeves
Votes: 2,086
25. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
Not Rated | 163 min | Drama, Romance, War
From the Boer War through World War II, a soldier rises through the ranks in the British military.
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | Stars: Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook, James McKechnie
Votes: 16,362
26. This Land Is Mine (1943)
Approved | 103 min | Drama, War
A mild-mannered school teacher in a German-occupied town during World War II finds himself torn between collaboration and resistance.
Director: Jean Renoir | Stars: Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara, George Sanders, Walter Slezak
Votes: 3,731
27. Dragon Seed (1944)
Passed | 148 min | Drama, History, War
The lives of a small Chinese village are turned upside down when the Japanese invade it, and a heroic young woman leads her fellow villagers in an uprising against these invaders.
Directors: Harold S. Bucquet, Jack Conway | Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Walter Huston, Aline MacMahon, Akim Tamiroff
Votes: 1,341
28. The Fighting Seabees (1944)
Approved | 100 min | Drama, Romance, War
During WW2, the U.S. Navy implements a new idea of forming construction battalions that also are fighting units, in case of Japanese attack.
Director: Edward Ludwig | Stars: John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Dennis O'Keefe, William Frawley
Votes: 3,917
29. The Purple Heart (1944)
Passed | 99 min | Drama, History, War
This is the story of the crew of a downed bomber, captured after a run over Tokyo, early in the war. Relates the hardships the men endure while in captivity, and their final humiliation: ... See full summary »
Director: Lewis Milestone | Stars: Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, Farley Granger, Kevin O'Shea
Votes: 1,076
30. The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944)
Passed | 140 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
When 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.
Director: Cecil B. DeMille | Stars: Gary Cooper, Laraine Day, Signe Hasso, Dennis O'Keefe
Votes: 1,102
31. The Way Ahead (1944)
Approved | 91 min | Drama, War
World War II drama that follows a group of British draftees, starting with their rigorous basic training, and ending with their deployment in North Africa.
Director: Carol Reed | Stars: David Niven, Stanley Holloway, James Donald, John Laurie
Votes: 2,226
32. Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
Passed | 138 min | Drama, History, War
In 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.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Robert Walker, Tim Murdock
Votes: 6,463
33. Back to Bataan (1945)
Approved | 95 min | Drama, War
In 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.
Director: Edward Dmytryk | Stars: John Wayne, Anthony Quinn, Beulah Bondi, Fely Franquelli
Votes: 4,374
34. Objective, Burma! (1945)
Approved | 142 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A 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.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: Errol Flynn, James Brown, William Prince, George Tobias
Votes: 5,550
35. Rome, Open City (1945)
Not Rated | 103 min | Drama, Thriller, War
During the Nazi occupation of Rome in 1944, the Resistance leader, Giorgio Manfredi, is chased by the Nazis as he seeks refuge and a way to escape.
Director: Roberto Rossellini | Stars: Anna Magnani, Aldo Fabrizi, Marcello Pagliero, Vito Annichiarico
Votes: 29,000
36. They Were Expendable (1945)
Approved | 135 min | Drama, War
A Navy commander fights to prove the battle-worthiness of the PT boat at the start of World War II.
Directors: John Ford, Robert Montgomery | Stars: Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, Donna Reed, Jack Holt
Votes: 9,267
37. A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
PG | 104 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American girl.
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | Stars: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Robert Coote, Kathleen Byron
Votes: 24,932
38. The Captive Heart (1946)
Approved | 86 min | Drama, War
In 1940, a concentration camp escapee assumes the identity of a dead British officer, only to become a prisoner of war.
Director: Basil Dearden | Stars: Michael Redgrave, Rachel Kempson, Frederick Leister, Mervyn Johns
Votes: 1,177
39. The Search (1948)
Approved | 104 min | Drama, War
In post-war Berlin, an American private helps a lost Czech boy find his mother.
Director: Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Montgomery Clift, Ivan Jandl, Aline MacMahon, Wendell Corey
Votes: 4,843
40. Battleground (1949)
Approved | 118 min | Action, Drama, History
True 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.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy
Votes: 7,865 | Gross: $10.29M
41. Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
Approved | 100 min | Action, Drama, Romance
Haunted 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.
Director: Allan Dwan | Stars: John Wayne, John Agar, Adele Mara, Forrest Tucker
Votes: 11,417
42. Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Not Rated | 132 min | Drama, War
A 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.
Director: Henry King | Stars: Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, Millard Mitchell
Votes: 15,810
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