Memorial Day poll - top 10 WW2 movies

[John Picard]

Das Boot (possibly the ultimate submarine movie)

Perhaps, I go for Run Silent, Run Deep myself. But this is the Trekbbs and The Enemy Below was basically starfeeted to make Balance of Terror.

Oooohhh, two fantastic recommendations

 

[Star Wolf]

They Were Expendable
Stalag 17
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Das Boot
Twelve O'Clock High
The Great Escape
The Dam Busters
The Longest Day
Patton
The Sands of Iwo Jima


No one's mentioned They Were Expendable. John Ford and John Wayne, can't go wrong there, plus Robert Montgomery had just been a PT boat skipper in real life before playing one in the movie. Even though a lot of movies made during the war were kind of rah-rah propaganda, TWE has a downbeat feel, like the Philippines in 1942 is still a fresh wound. It's on TCM this Saturday (May 23), 5:30 Eastern.

Someone mentioned Band of Brothers, which is terrific of course. Another outstanding tv original is the British ITV mini-series Danger UXB, which was also broadcast on PBS in the early '80s. It follows a squad of Royal Engineers on- and off-duty as they defuse unexploded Luftwaffe bombs around Britain. Produced by John Hawkesworth, who also did Upstairs, Downstairs and some of the '80s Sherlock Holmes series. My wife was skeptical of watching a 13 hour show on bomb disposal, but was absolutely riveted. Nobody in the cast is safe, for sure.

--Justin

Great choices! I think I recall the John Wayne bio, that he didn't become John Wayne the icon until after Sands of Iwo Jima. So the scenes which use the phrase John Wayne as an adjutive in WWII films are in error.

Danger USB came on PBS Masterpiece Theatre and they repeated it many times. It held up under repeat viewings. I'm now remembering he was ramped up to Lt so fast he didn't know how to wear his uniform and the utter horror that it was not a volunteer assignment. It was slow at times but the tension as he defused that first and that last bomb.

Also from PBS, but without the staying power was Piece of Cake. It was about a Spitfire squadron from the Phony War to Eagle day.

 

[J.T.B.]

Great choices! I think I recall the John Wayne bio, that he didn't become John Wayne the icon until after Sands of Iwo Jima. So the scenes which use the phrase John Wayne as an adjutive in WWII films are in error.

I have also read (or seen?) in interviews that John Ford (commander, USNR) teased and disparaged the Duke mercilessly on the set of They Were Expendable about not going into the service.

And speaking of stars in the war and movies reminds me of a pretty good air force movie with Clark Gable (who flew some combat missions with the 8th Air Force) called Command Decision. Similar to Twelve O'clock High, maybe not quite as good, but definitely worth seeing.

Danger USB came on PBS Masterpiece Theatre and they repeated it many times. It held up under repeat viewings. I'm now remembering he was ramped up to Lt so fast he didn't know how to wear his uniform and the utter horror that it was not a volunteer assignment. It was slow at times but the tension as he defused that first and that last bomb.

I saw some of it when I was about 10 or 11, and remember I recognized the guy that played Alan Carter on Space 1999 in one episode (he played a navy bomb expert). I got it on DVD about five years ago and was really impressed.

Also from PBS, but without the staying power was Piece of Cake. It was about a Spitfire squadron from the Phony War to Eagle day.

I had forgotten about that one. Pretty good aerial stuff as I recall, even though the (Spanish) Messerschmitts sounded like Spits! IIRC things got steadily gloomier as the pilots realized how real the war was and the BoB loomed on the horizon.

--Justin

 

[Star Wolf]

^
Both the LT and his Sergeant came out of that Masterpiece Theatre showing to become much in demand actors in Hollywood. Since the VHS tapes I made have long ago worn out I guess I need to search for the DVDs now. I

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

1. Kelly's Heroes
2. The Bridge on the River Kwai
3. The Longest Day
4. The Battle of the Bulge (that its inaccuracies pissed off Ike is a bonus)
5. The Dirty Dozen
6. Sahara (the original)
7. Bataan
8. Merril's Marauders
9. Downfall
10. Lifeboat

 

[Bloodwhiner]

How did ever forget Lifeboat? It is one of my alltime favorite films...

Another that I have not seen mention is Charles Chaplins "The Great Dictator." It portrayed the evils and dangers (in a comedic way no less) of the third reich before most Americans paid them any attention.

I need to amend my original list --

Bataan (1943) - one of the best endings to a defeat possible, very rousing
Patton (1970) - a terrific biography of a military genius and flawed individual.
Tora Tora Tora (1970) - perhaps the definitive film of the attack on Pearl Harbor
Das Boot (1981) - claustrophobia on the big screen
Downfall or Der Untergang (2004) - sympathy for Hitler, hardly but you can't help but feel it for the German people being led by this madman.
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1944) - historically inaccurate but served the purpose of rousing the populace. Terrific propaganda
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) - Not all heroes come home to tickertape
Schindler's List (1993) - words still escape me to describe this
Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) - soldiers are soldiers no matter the uniform
The Great Dictator (1940) - Chaplin's warning to America that was released nine months to the day before Pearl Harbor

That dropped Casablanca - A great film but more romance than war oriented.

Despite being a personal favorite, I won't put Lifeboat (1944) in the top ten. Thirty Seconds over Tokyo just edges it out (Though I would watch Lifeboat instead of 30-secs any day).

I'm not going to count Band of Brothers in the final tally. A tremendous series (that I own on DVD) but it's scope and length allows it to explore and develop both characters and events to a far greater extent than a theatrical release. To allow it would mean bringing in several other television productions including the greatest documentary of all (IMHO) - 1985's Shoah.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I agree with many of the others mentioned, but I'm gonna throw out several that are great films but not necessarily part of the standard fare of The Great Escape, Tora, Tora, Tora!, Stalag 17, and Patton.

I'll Bold the ones which are my top picks:

Mrs. Miniver (1942) - Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon
Command Decision (1948) - Great Clark, Walter Pidgeon, Van Johnson
Homecoming (1948) - Clark Gable, Lana Turner
Foreign Correspondent (1940) - Joel McCrea (set on the eve of WWII, but the story is really about the beginning of the war in Europe)
Objective, Burma! (1945) - Errol Flynn
Destination Tokyo (1943) - Cary Grant, John Garfield
The 49th Parallel (1941) - Laurence Olivier, Leslie Howard
Since You Went Away (1944) - Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten (great life on the homefront story)
The Purple Heart (1944) - Dana Andrews
Where Eagles Dare (1968) - Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood
A Walk in the Sun (1945) - Dana Andrews
Story of G.I. Joe (1945) - Robert Mitchum
Notorious (1946) - Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman
13 Rue Madeline (1947) - James Cagney
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) - John Wayne
Heaven Knows Mr. Allison (1957) - Robert Mitchum, Deborah Kerr
From Here to Eternity (1953) - Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra (again, set at the outset of the war - this time around Pearl Harbor)
The Red Danube (1949) - Walter Pidgeon, Ethel Barrymore
Morning Departure (1950) - John Mills, Richard Attenborough
Damn Busters (1955) - Michael Redgrave
The Americanization of Emily (1964) - James Garner, Julie Andrews
The Train (1964) - Burt Lancaster
Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) - Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) - Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews
The Battle of Britain (1969) - basically the dream team of British actors at the time, including Laurence Olivier, Trevor Howard, Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, Michael Redgrave, etc)
The Fighting Seabees (1944) - John Wayne

 

[apostle83]

Oops..... this is supposed to be for WW2 movies, and I accidentally included one from WW1 - Sergeant York. I come by it honestly, though. That's such a favorite of mine that I tend to think of it almost auromatically when the subjkect of war films is broached.

That's one of my favorite movies. We'll let it slide as a WWII movie, since it was made as a propaganda film for the good guys!

 

[Bloodwhiner]

Well there hasn't been any new additions since Friday so I think it is safe to tally the results -

The forum top 15 in order

1. Patton (8 votes)
2. Das Boot (5 votes)
2. Saving Private Ryan (5 votes)
2. The Longest Day (5 votes)
5. Schindler's List (4 votes)
5. Best Years of Our Lives (4 votes)
5. Tora, Tora, Tora (4 votes)
5. Bridge Over River Kwai (4 votes)
5. Stalag 17 (4 votes)
5. Dirty Dozen (4 votes)
11-15 Mr. Roberts; The Great Escape; 12 O'Clock High; Downfall; Casablanca; Run Silent, Run Deep (3 votes each)


Solid List, there is only one I would question in the top 10 and 2 in the top 15.

 

[Thespeckledkiwi]

I know not a lot of people saw it but HBO did a movie called When Trumpets Fade, right around Saving Private Ryan...actually just after I believe. Took place during the Battle of the Bulge. Very well done.

 

[captcalhoun]

John Wayne was medically unfit for service. he did go overseas to meet troops and so on, however...

The Longest Day
Where Eagles Dare
Saving Private Ryan
633 Squadron
The Dam-busters

that's the only WWII movies i've seen all the way through.

 

[Nathan_Heller]

My selections are:

Patton
Stalag 17
Battle of the Bulge
The Longest Day
Saving Private Ryan
A Bridge Too Far
The Bridge Over the River Kwai
The Fighting Seabees
The Dirty Dozen
Kelly's Heroes

 

[Star Wolf]

John Wayne was medically unfit for service. he did go overseas to meet troops and so on, however...
.

But in those days unless you were blind or an amputee society didn't see deferments the way they did during the Vietnam era. Especially out of a Cowboy hero

 

[J.T.B.]

John Wayne was medically unfit for service. he did go overseas to meet troops and so on, however...

Not so, his draft status at first was 3-A, family/dependent deferment, then reclassified as 1-A (draftable), but quickly got another deferment (2-A, "national interest"). He told people he would join up after making a couple more movies to make sure his family was provided for, but he never did.

--Justin

 

[Bloodwhiner]

John Wayne was medically unfit for service.

Not true- he received two separate deferments. He was initially classified 3A due to his age and marital status. Later he was made 2A at Republic Studios request as essential to public morale.

He could have served but while not actively avoiding it, did not go out of his way to embrace the idea.

The following wiki entry is correct:

As the majority of male leads left Hollywood to serve overseas, John Wayne saw his just-blossoming stardom at risk. Despite enormous pressure from his inner circle of friends, he put off enlisting. Wayne was exempted from service due to his age (34 at the time of Pearl Harbor) and family status, classified as 3-A (family deferment). Wayne's secretary recalled making inquiries of military officials on behalf of his interest in enlisting, "but he never really followed up on them."[26] He repeatedly wrote to John Ford, asking to be placed in Ford's military unit, but continually postponed it until "after he finished one more film."[27] Republic Studios was emphatically resistant to losing Wayne, especially after the loss of Gene Autry to the Army.[28]
Correspondence between Wayne and Herbert J. Yates (the head of Republic) indicates that Yates threatened Wayne with a lawsuit if he walked away from his contract, though the likelihood of a studio suing its biggest star for going to war was minute.[29] Whether or not the threat was real, Wayne did not test it. Selective Service Records indicate he did not attempt to prevent his reclassification as 1-A (draft eligible), but apparently Republic Pictures intervened directly, requesting his further deferment.[30] In May, 1944, Wayne was reclassified as 1-A (draft eligible), but the studio obtained another 2-A deferment (for "support of national health, safety, or interest").[30] He remained 2-A until the war's end. Thus, John Wayne did not illegally "dodge" the draft, but he never took direct positive action toward enlistment.

 

[Bad Bishop]

It's not on anyone's Top 10 list, but I like MacArthur (1977), starring Gregory Peck as the famous general. Peck was brilliant (as usual) in a film that follows Douglas MacArthur's career during WWII and the Korean War. Ed Flanders was also memorable in the film as President Harry Truman.

 

[Star Wolf]

It's not on anyone's Top 10 list, but I like MacArthur (1977), starring Gregory Peck as the famous general. Peck was brilliant (as usual) in a film that follows Douglas MacArthur's career during WWII and the Korean War. Ed Flanders was also memorable in the film as President Harry Truman.

I guess it just doesn't measure up to Patton in the same category. The movie I do want to see is MacArthur in WWI.