13 Rue Madeleine (1946) James Cagney as one of a trio of O.S.S. agents working behind enemy lines during the War. Buy this movie!
5 Fingers (1952) Based on a true story of an ambitious valet to the British Ambassador to Turkey during WW II. Starring James Mason. Buy this movie!
Above and Beyond (1952) Robert Taylor portrays Col. Tibbets, who piloted the Enola Gay over Hiroshima and changed all our lives forever. Buy this movie!
Above Suspicion (1943) Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, and Basil Rathbone in a spy thriller set in Europe in 1939. Buy this movie!
*Across The Pacific (1942) Exciting spy thriller directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart,
Mary Astor, and Sydney Greenstreet. Buy this movie!
Action in the North Atlantic (1943) Exciting sea yarn with Humphrey Bogart as the captain of a Liberty ship trying to make it alone to Murmansk through U-Boat-infested waters. Buy this movie!
The Adventures of Tartu (1943) Originally released in the UK as Sabotage Agent, this World War II espionage film stars Robert Donat as Captain Terence Stevenson, a British undercover agent who becomes Jan Tartu, a member of the Rumanian Iron Guard, in order to sabotage a German gas factory. Valerie Hobson and Glynis Johns co-star. Buy this movie!
Air Force (1943) High-flying epic of the crew of the "Mary Ann," a B-17 in action in the Pacific Theatre. Directed by Howard Hawks, using his usual device of examining the professionalism and camaraderie of a tight-knit group.* Buy this movie!
All Through the Night (1942) Humphrey Bogart plays a gambler named "Gloves" who hunts Nazi spies in New York. It's a pretty campy film, as evidenced by the presence of Phil Silvers and Jackie Gleason in a bit part. Buy this movie!
The Angry Hills (1959) Robert Mitchum as an American soldier in Greece pursued by both Nazis and Greek resistance fighters.
Another Time, Another Place (1958) Journalist Lana Turner has an affair with BBC correspondent Sean Connery during WW II.
Anzio (1968) Robert Mitchum and Peter Falk fight the war in Italy, in one of the bloodiest battles of the Italian campaign. With Robert Ryan and Arthur Kennedy as generals. Buy this movie!
Arch of Triumph (1948) From Erich Maria Remarque's novel. Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman are lovers in France just before the German invasion. Buy this movie!
Away All Boats (1956) Adventures of the Attack Transport USS Belinda, captained by Jeff Chandler, in the Pacific campaign. Buy this movie!
Background to Danger (1943) George Raft, Peter Lorre, and Sidney Greenstreet doing what they do best, this time in Nazi-infested Ankara. Buy this movie!
Bataan (1943) Grim story of a desperate fight against the invading Japanese. Starring Robert Taylor and a decidedly unfunny Desi Arnaz. Buy this movie!
Battle at Bloody Beach (1961) The second Audie Murphy WW II movie after To Hell and Back.
Battle Cry (1955) Raoul Walsh directed this movie version of the Leon Uris novel, starring Aldo Ray, Van Heflin, and James Whitmore. Buy this movie!
Battle of Britain (1969) Reenactment of the air war over England, starring a Who's Who of war-weary British actors, including Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Harry Andrews, Chistopher Plummer, Michael Redgrave, Ralph Richardson, Robert Shaw, and Sir Larry, too. An earlier version was made in 1944. Buy this movie! (1969)
Battle of Midway (1942) A John Ford documentary narrated by Henry Fonda, among others. Not to be confused with Midway, which Hank didn't make until 1976, playing Admiral Nimitz. Buy this movie!
Battleground (1949) Stirring story of the ordinary but valiant soldiers who saved the day at the Battle of the Bulge. Directed by William Wellman, Oscar nomination for James Whitmore as the tough sergeant. Final scene of the bedraggled survivors marching out with pride past their fresh replacements is justly famous. Buy this movie!
The Bells Go Down (1943) Tribute to London's Auxiliary Fire Service, who fought the fires of the German blitz.
*The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) This great story of WW II veterans returning home to small-town America stars Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Fredric March, and Teresa Wright. Buy this movie!
Betrayed (1954) This beautifully-photographed WWII spy adventure/romance was the fourth and final pairing of Clark Gable and Lana Turner, and Gable's final film for MGM. Victor Mature plays a resistance leader in Holland. Buy this movie!
The Big Blockade (1942) Lots of familiar names in this WW II propaganda film about the economic blockade of Germany.
(Escape of) The Birdmen (1972-TV) This TV-movie adaptation of Escape from Colditz is one of those films that people tend to remember because of its unusual subject matter, but can't remember where or when they saw it! Lots of familiar faces but no superstars in the cast. Buy this movie! (Never released on video or DVD, this copy made from a TV broadcast is a little rough, but it's watchable and enjoyable.)
Blood on the Sun (1945) The Japanese are nasty and Cagney is heroic in this story of an American reporter in Tokyo who uncovers the plot to bomb Pearl Harbor. Buy this movie!
Bombardier (1943) Semi-documentary tale of the development of high-altitude bombing, starring Pat O'Brien as the head of the bombardier school, Major Chick Davis. Buy this movie!
The Bridge at Remagen (1969) George Segal, Robert Vaughn, Ben Gazzara, and others in a story about the last bridge over the Rhine. Buy this movie!
A Bridge Too Far (1977) Though a little past the deadline for "classic" films, this one has almost as many classic stars wearing helmets as The Longest Day! Buy this movie!
Bright Victory (1951) Arthur Kennedy was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his role as a soldier blinded during World War II. Peggy Dow and Julie Adams portray his love interests, and the supporting cast includes Jim Backus, Will Geer, James Edwards, Murray Hamilton, Richard Egan, and a pre-stardom Rock Hudson. Buy this movie!
*The Caine Mutiny (1954) Humphrey Bogart as the disturbed ship captain is brilliant in an unusual role for him. Buy this movie!
Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) A comedy/drama with Gregory Peck, Tony Curtis, and Angie Dickinson running the psychiatric unit of a U.S. Veterans Hospital. Buy this movie!
The Captive Heart (1946) Michael Redgrave stars in this story of British soldiers captured by the Germans after Dunkirk. Buy this movie!
*Casablanca (1942) Though not technically a "war" movie, this great film was as much about WW II as anything else. With Bogart, Bergman, Henreid, and Rains ganging up on them, the Nazis (who wore grey) didn't have much of a chance. Buy this movie!
Catch-22 (1970) Mike Nichols' filmed version of Joseph Heller's great novel has its moments, despite what a few critics said, helped by some great and often goofy casting, including Art Garfunkel as Nately and Bob Newhart as Major Major Major. Buy this movie!
China (1943) Alan Ladd and William Bendix play a couple of tough American entrepreneurs who travel to China to sell oil to the invading Japanese, but experience a major change of heart after meeting American missionary Loretta Young and witnessing Japanese atrocities. Buy this movie!
China Girl (1942) Henry Hathaway directed this adventure/romance starring George Montgomery as an American news cameraman in the Orient just before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He escapes from a Japanese prison camp and falls in love with Gene Tierney (who wouldn't?). Buy this movie!
The Clock (1945) Charming WWII love story set in New York and starring Judy Garland and Robert Walker. Directed by Liza's dad Vincent Minnelli. Buy this movie!
Cockleshell Heroes (1956) Exciting action as Jose Ferrer and Trevor Howard arrive in kayaks to wreak havoc on German shipping in France. Buy this movie!
The Colditz Story (1955) Exciting prisoner-of-war drama set in the German's maximum-security Colditz castle, starring John Mills. (See The Birdmen.) Buy this movie!
Command Decision (1948) Clark Gable, Walter Pidgeon, and Van Johnson star in this film adaptation of the stage play about war and politics. Buy this movie!
The Conspirators (1944) A great cast, headed by Peter Lorre, Hedy Lamarr, Sydney Greenstreet, and Paul Henreid, in a WW II spy thriller set in Lisbon. Buy this movie!
Cornered (1945) Edward Dmytryk directed this complex, noirish tale of intrigue set in post-war Argentina, with a grizzled Dick Powell, his dancing shoes put away, doing battle with Nazis and Nazi collaborators, including an appropriately menacing Walter Slezak. Buy this movie!
Corvette K-225 (1943) This time Randolph Scott is a Canadian captaining a newly-built Corvette (not the car, the ship), whose crew includes James Brown (not the singer, the actor). Buy this movie!
The Cruel Sea (1953) Jack Hawkins serves as captain in this British tale of a convoy escort ship in the early days of the War. Buy this movie!
Cry Havoc (1943) Nurses Margaret Sullavan, Ann Sothern, Joan Blondell, Fay Bainter, Ella Raines, and Marsha Hunt face bombing raids and potential capture by the enemy on Bataan in this dramatic film set mostly in an underground bunker and based on a stage play of the same name. Buy this movie!
