World War II

Twelve O’Clock High, starring Gregory Peck, Dean Jager

Synopsis of Twelve O’Clock High

An Allied flight commander and his successor run daylight bombing raids out of England. Directed by Henry King. Best supporting Oscar for Dean Jagger.Read More »Twelve O’Clock High

The Hasty Heart (1949) starring Richard Todd, Ronald Reagan, Patricia Neal

Synopsis of The Hasty Heart

In The Hasty Heart, a group of Allied soldiers are recovering in a hospital of Burma, when a dour Scot is added to their ranks. The Scot is dying, unknown to himself. Can the soldiers and nurse reach out to him?

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December 6, 2016May 4, 2022

Destination Tokyo (1943) starring Cary Grant, John Garfield

Synopsis of Destination Tokyo

It’s a daring and dangerous underwater adventure with Oscar-winner Cary Grant (The Awful Truth, Suspicion, North by Northwest) as the captain of a U.S. submarine bound for a search and destroy mission in Tokyo harbor during WWII. Co-starring Oscar-nominee John Garfield (Gentleman’s Agreement, The Postman Always Rings Twice). Look for the screen debut of young John Forsythe (TV’s Dynasty and the voice of Charlie on Charlie’s Angels). Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

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February 19, 2016March 4, 2023

Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1944) starring Van Johnson, Phyllis Thaxter, Spencer Tracy, Robert Walker, Robert Mitchum

The old adage says that you shouldn’t judge a book by its’ cover — and that goes for DVD cases as well. Judging from the DVD case, you would think that Thirty Seconds over Tokyo is starring Spencer Tracy — and you would be wrong. Spencer Tracy does appear, and he does a fine job portraying James Doolittle, the man behind the World War II raid on Tokyo. But the central character in this movie is pilot Ted Lawson. Van Johnson portrays him excellently. The movie breaks into three parts:

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July 2, 2015January 10, 2022

Sahara (1943) starring Humphrey Bogart, Bruce Bennett, J. Carrol Naish, Lloyd Bridges

Sahara is, in short, an excellent movie — set in World War II, in the desert conflict, it involves a ragtag multi-national group of Allied soldiers (Humphrey Bogart, Bruce Bennett, Lloyd Bridges) as well as their Italian prisoner of war (played memorably by J. Carrol Naish) who come upon an oasis in the desert — a crumbling ruin.

The ruin has a cistern — not a well, but a storage place for water, that’s nearly dry. The GI’s no sooner find it than they’re surrounded by Nazi soldiers, who are dying of thirst — but are armed to the teeth.

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April 22, 2015May 4, 2023

Mr. Winkle Goes to War (1944) starring Edward G. Robinson

review of an excellent patriotic war movie, Mr. Winkle Goes to War, where Edward G. Robinson gives a truly wonderful performance as the title character

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April 13, 2015February 17, 2022

Bataan (1943) starring Robert Taylor, Desi Arnaz

Bataan is a World War II movie of a desperate delaying action. It’s remembered as Desi Arnaz’ best dramatic role

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March 18, 2015June 12, 2022

Panama Hattie (1942) starring Red Skelton, Ann Sothern, Rags Ragland, Virginia O’Brien

Synopsis

In Panama Hattie, the brassy but gold-hearted proprietress of a Canal Zone hotel, where she performs, is used to a rough-and-tumble crowd of sailors. But she falls for a wealthy socialite soldier, and doesn’t know how to handle herself.