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1940s War Drama Movies

Public list by WPS with 206 movies or TV shows/series

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199 movies found (page 1/7):

The Best Years of Our Lives(1946)

2h 51min | Drama, Romance / Love, War
3.9/5 (with 258 votes)

It's the hope that sustains the spirit of every GI: the dream of the day when he will finally return home. For three WWII veterans, the day has arrived. But for each man, the dream is about to become a nightmare.

For Whom the Bell Tolls(1943)

3.4/5 (with 76 votes)

Spain in the 1930s is the place to be for a man of action like Robert Jordan. There is a civil war going on and Jordan—who has joined up on the side that appeals most to idealists of that era—has been given a high-risk assignment up in the mountains. He awaits the right time to blow up a crucial bridge in order to halt the enemy's progress.

The Silence of the Sea(1949)

1h 27min | Drama, Romance / Love, War
3.7/5 (with 53 votes)

In a small town in occupied France in 1941, the German officer, Werner Von Ebrennac is billeted in the house of the uncle and his niece. The uncle and niece refuse to speak to him, but each evening the officer warms himself by the fire and talks of his country, his music, and his idealistic views of the relationship between France and Germany. That is, until he visits Paris and discovers what is really going on...

Hangmen Also Die!(1943)

2h 14min | Drama, Thriller, War
3.5/5 (with 47 votes)

During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, surgeon Dr. Franticek Svoboda, a Czech patriot, assassinates the brutal "Hangman of Europe", Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich, and is wounded in the process. In his attempt to escape, he is helped by history professor Stephen Novotny and his daughter Mascha.

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp(1943)

3.8/5 (with 93 votes)

General Candy, who's overseeing an English squad in 1943, is a veteran leader who doesn't have the respect of the men he's training and is considered out-of-touch with what's needed to win the war. But it wasn't always this way. Flashing back to his early career in the Boer War and World War I, we see a dashing young officer whose life has been shaped by three different women, and by a lasting friendship with a German soldier.

Sands of Iwo Jima(1950)

1h 40min | War, Action, Drama, History
3.2/5 (with 54 votes)

The relationship between Sergeant Stryker and a group of rebellious recruits is made difficult by the Sergeant's tough training tactics. At Tarawa, the leathernecks have a chance to see Stryker in action, and begin to appreciate him.

Directed by Allan Dwan - With John Wayne, John Agar, Forrest Tucker, Adele Mara, James Brown, Arthur Franz, ...

Mrs. Miniver(1942)

2h 14min | Drama, Romance / Love, War
3.6/5 (with 104 votes)

Middle-class housewife Kay Miniver deals with petty problems. She and her husband Clem watch her Oxford-educated son Vin court Carol Beldon, the charming granddaughter of the local nobility as represented by Lady Beldon. Then the war comes and Vin joins the RAF.

Five Graves to Cairo(1943)

1h 36min | Thriller, War
3.5/5 (with 47 votes)

The British Army, retreating ahead of victorious Rommel, leaves a lone survivor on the Egyptian border who finds refuge at a remote desert hotel. He is helped by the hotel's owner, despite protest from the French chambermaid, afraid of the imminent arrival of Rommel and the Germans. John assumes the identity of the recently deceased waiter to survive.

The Long Voyage Home(1940)

1h 45min | Drama, War
3.3/5 (with 30 votes)

The crew of the merchant ship Glencairn hope to survive a transatlantic crossing during World War II. Adapted from four Eugene O'Neill one-act plays.

Gung Ho!(1943)

1h 28min | Action, Adventure, Drama, War
2.6/5 (with 8 votes)

A true-life epic that revolves around an exclusive bataillon of the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, "Carlson's Raiders," whose assignment is to take control of a South Pacific island once possessed by the United States but now under Japanese command.

In Which We Serve(1942)

1h 55min | Drama, War
3.5/5 (with 35 votes)

The story of the HMS Torrin, from it's construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship's first and only commanding officer is Captain E.V. Kinross, who trains his men not only to be loyal to him and the country, but—most importantly—to themselves.

The White Cliffs of Dover(1944)

3.4/5 (with 8 votes)

Susan travels with her father to England for a vacation. Invited to a society ball, Susan meets Sir John Ashwood and marries him after a whirlwind romance. However, American Susan never quite adjusts to life as a new member of the British gentry. Upon the outbreak of World War I, Ashwood is sent to the trenches and never returns. When her son goes off to fight in World War II, Susan fears the same tragic fate may befall him too.

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Action in the North Atlantic(1943)

2h 6min | Drama, War
3.6/5 (with 21 votes)

Merchant Marine sailors Joe Rossi (Humphrey Bogart) and Steve Jarvis (Raymond Massey) are charged with getting a supply vessel to Russian allies as part of a sea convoy. When the group of ships comes under attack from a German U-boat, Rossi and Jarvis navigate through dangerous waters to evade Nazi naval forces. Though their mission across the Atlantic is extremely treacherous, they are motivated by the opportunity to strike back at the Germans, who sank one of their earlier ships.

The Fighting Seabees(1944)

1h 40min | Drama, Action, War
3.2/5 (with 19 votes)

Construction workers in World War II in the Pacific are needed to build military sites, but the work is dangerous and they doubt the ability of the Navy to protect them. After a series of attacks by the Japanese, something new is tried, Construction Battalions (CBs=Seabees). The new CBs have to both build and be ready to fight.

Arch of Triumph(1948)

2h 13min | Drama, Romance / Love
3.0/5 (with 15 votes)

In the winter of 1938, Paris is crowded with refugees from the Nazis, who live in the black shadows of night, trying to evade deportation. One such is Dr. Ravic, who practices medicine illegally and stalks his old Nazi enemy Haake with murder in mind. One rainy night, Ravic meets Joan Madou, a kept woman cast adrift by her lover's sudden death. Against Ravic's better judgment, they become involved in a doomed affair.

Dive Bomber(1941)

2h 12min | Drama
3.2/5 (with 12 votes)

A 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.

Dangerous Moonlight(1941)

1h 34min | Drama, Romance / Love, War
3.2/5 (with 4 votes)

Stefan Radetzky, a Polish pilot and famous concert pianist, is hospitalised in England from injuries sustained while in combat, and having lost his memory. As Radetzky plays the piano in a trance-like state, the story moves back in time to war-torn Warsaw. During an air-raid, Radetzky meets American journalist Carole, and there is a mutual attraction. Following the fall of Poland, Radetzky and Irish pilot, Mike, escape to Rumania and then on to America. Radetzky continues his musical career in America and meets up again with Carole.

Directed by Brian Desmond Hurst - With Anton Walbrook, Sally Gray, John Laurie, Guy Middleton, Cecil Parker, Alan Keith, ...

Back to Bataan(1945)

1h 35min | Drama, Action, War
3.1/5 (with 23 votes)

An Army colonel leads a guerrilla campaign against the Japanese in the Philippines.

A Walk in the Sun(1945)

1h 57min | War, Drama
2.9/5 (with 23 votes)

In the 1943 invasion of Italy, one American platoon lands, digs in, then makes its way inland to attempt to take a fortified farmhouse, as tension and casualties mount.

The Small Back Room(1949)

3.3/5 (with 24 votes)

At the height of World War II, the Germans begin dropping a new type of booby-trapped bomb on England. Sammy Rice, a highly-skilled but haunted bomb-disposal officer, must overcome his personal demons to defeat this new threat.

Secret Mission(1942)

1h 34min | Drama, War
2.3/5 (with 4 votes)

World War II drama in which a member of the French Resistance and three British agents undertake a hazardous mission to infiltrate a German HQ in search of vital information that could lead to the overthrow of the Nazis.

The Way to the Stars(1945)

1h 49min | Drama, War, Romance / Love
2.7/5 (with 9 votes)

Life on a British bomber base, and the surrounding towns, from the opening days of the Battle of Britain, to the arrival of the Americans, who join in the bomber offensive. The film centres around Pilot Officer Peter Penrose, fresh out of a training unit, who joins the squadron, and quickly discovers about life during war time. He falls for Iris, a young girl who lives at the local hotel, but he becomes disillusioned about marriage, when the squadron commander dies in a raid, and leaves his wife, the hotel manageress, with a young son to bring up. As the war progresses, Penross comes to terms that he has survived, while others have been killed.

Dragon Seed(1944)

2h 25min | Drama
3.2/5 (with 7 votes)

The lives of a small Chinese village are turned Upside down when the Japanese invade it. An heroic young Chinese woman leads her fellow villagers in an uprising against Japanese Invaders.

Passage to Marseille(1944)

1h 49min | Adventure, Drama, History
3.3/5 (with 23 votes)

A freedom-loving French journalist sacrifices his happiness and security to battle Nazi tyranny.

The Way Ahead(1944)

1h 55min | Drama, War
3.3/5 (with 15 votes)

A mismatched collection of conscripted civilians find training tough under Lieutenant Jim Perry and Sergeant Ned Fletcher when they are called up to replace an infantry battalion that had suffered casualties at Dunkirk.

Blood on the Sun(1945)

1h 33min | Action, Drama, War
2.9/5 (with 13 votes)

Nick Condon, an American journalist in 1945 Tokyo, publishes the Japanese master plan for world domination. Reaction from the understandably upset Japanese provides the action, but this is overshadowed by the propaganda of the time.

Corvette K-225(1943)

1h 38min | Drama, War
3.0/5 (with 5 votes)

The story of a Canadian WWII naval vessel, with a dramatic subplot concerning her first captain.

Guadalcanal Diary(1943)

1h 33min | Action, War, Drama
2.9/5 (with 7 votes)

Concentrating on the personal lives of those involved, a war correspondent takes us through the preparations, landing and initial campaign on Guadalcanal during WWII.

Desperate Journey(1942)

1h 47min | Action, Drama, War, Adventure
3.1/5 (with 11 votes)

During WWII, when an allied bomber is shot down over Germany, the five surviving crew are captured but cleverly escape detention after learning German secret information and knocking out a Nazi major. With the angry major in hot pursuit, aided by military personnel, Gestapo agents and Hitler-loyal citizens, the five wend their way across perilous Germany, intent on reaching the UK with the secrets they have learned.

Singapore(1947)

2.9/5 (with 7 votes)

After the war, Matt Gordon returns to Singapore to retrieve a fortune in smuggled pearls. Arrived, he reminisces in flashback about his prewar fiancée, alluring Linda, and her disappearance during the Japanese attack. But now Linda resurfaces...with amnesia and married to rich planter Van Leyden. Meanwhile, sinister fence Mauribus schemes to get Matt's pearls.

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