# Best All-Time Military Movies -- Pre-Poll Data Gathering **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 26, 2015, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835 "2015-05-26T00:38:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/81 "2015-05-27T04:54:11Z")
For King and Country ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/82 "2015-05-27T05:07:59Z")
_ **Sailor for the King** _ with Jeffrey Hunter _ **The Heroes of Telemark** _ with Kirk Douglas _ **633 Squadron** _ with Cliff Robertson \*\*\*Tunes of Glory \*\*\*with Alec Guinness _and_ John Mills Another vote for _ **The Train** _. Superb! _ **Decision at Dawn** _ _ **13 Rue Madeleine** _ _ **Orders to Kill** _ _ **The Devil’s Brigade** _ _ **Play Dirty** _ _ **Captains of the Clouds** _ _ **Gung Ho!** _ _ **Fighting Seabees** _ _ **Von Ryan’s Express** _ _ **The Wooden Horse** _ _ **Three Graves to Cairo** _ \*\*\*Bataan Thirty Seconds over Tokyo Destination: Tokyo The Purple Heart\*\*\* ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/83 "2015-05-27T05:14:54Z")
\*\*\*Perilous Journey One of Our Aircraft Is Missing 49th Parallel The Seventh Cross\*\*\* with Spencer Tracy ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/84 "2015-05-27T05:17:52Z")
Does Errol Flynn’s _ **The Sea Hawk** _ (English privateers in the time of ER I) count? :dubious: \*\*\*Lives of a Bengal Lancer The Charge of the Light Brigade\*\*\* ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/85 "2015-05-27T05:19:40Z")
\*\*\*The Desert Rats The Desert Fox\*\*\*, both with James Mason as Rommel! :o ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/86 "2015-05-27T05:21:57Z")
Light comedy: _ **Operation Petticoat** _ with Cary Grant _and_ Tony Curtis! _ **Father Goose** _ with Cary Grant \*and \*Trevor Howard! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/87 "2015-05-27T05:30:46Z")
More light comedy: _ **A Private’s Affair** _. Check out that cast: > **[A Private's Affair](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Private's_Affair)** > > A Private's Affair is a 1959 American musical comedy film directed by Raoul Walsh. It stars Sal Mineo and Christine Carère. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1960. > Two men from New York—Luigi, a hip wanna-be beatnik, and Jerry, who's from Long Island—end up in Army basic training in New Jersey, as does Mike, who's a rancher from Oregon. > At a dance, Luigi falls for Marie, a neighbor of Jerry, who in turn develops a romantic interest in Luigi's friend Louise. A WAC named Katie ends up ... Jim Backus, Bob Denver, _and_ a smokin’ hot 20-something Barbara Eden! _Grrrrrrawr!_ :o ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/88 "2015-05-27T05:39:06Z")
OK - I may be giving a repeat or not: Battleground [Battleground (1949) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041163/) Tuskegee Airmen [The Tuskegee Airmen (TV Movie 1995) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114745/?ref_=nv_sr_1) Midway [Midway (1976) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074899/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) And while its more a light-hearted look at the Cold War The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming [The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060921/?ref_=nv_sr_1) ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/89 "2015-05-27T05:43:12Z")
And I know its a stretch but The Invisible Agent (with Peter Lorre as a Japanese intelligence officer) The Bunker - a really thrilling horror movie (2001) [The Bunker (2001) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0252963/) ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/90 "2015-05-27T07:21:25Z")
If Starship Troopers makes the cut, I think Aliens should be on the list too. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/91 "2015-05-27T08:07:27Z")
Some of these are borderline, but it looks like we’re using a wide border Seven Days in May Iron Eagle WarGames Red Dawn Casablanca Beau Geste Born on the Fourth of July The Manchurian Candidate Forrest Gump Excalibur ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/92 "2015-05-27T09:59:59Z")
\*\*\*Guadalcanal Diary Objective: Burma The Stage Door Canteen To Hell and Back\*\*\*, the true story of CMH winner Audie Murphy. \*\*\*Spitfire Stairway to Heaven The Demi-Paradise A Walk in the Sun\*\*\* Has _ **All Quiet on the Western Front** _ (1931) been mentioned yet? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/93 "2015-05-27T10:13:55Z")
A military courtroom drama: _ **Town without Pity** _ with Kirk Douglas and a scrumptious Christine Kaufmann. :o Another tangentially military courtroom drama: _ **Anatomy of a Murder** _, one of the best movies ever made. Jimmy Stewart, George C Scott, Ben Gazarra (whose character was an Army lieutenant), Lee Remick, Arthur O’Connell. Directed by Otto Preminger. They just don’t make 'em like _that_ any more! Another Preminger war flick: \*\*\* In Harm’s Way\*\*\*. John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia O’Neal. Have \*\*\*Sink the Bismarck \*\*\*and \*\*\*The Dam Busters \*\*\*been mentioned yet? 😕 _ **Cockleshell Heroes** _ ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/94 "2015-05-27T10:32:57Z")
[Went The Day Well?](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035429/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) - Doughty British villagers take on a German advance invasion force… [The Password Is Courage](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056335/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) - Would be ludicrous if the exploits of the inappositely named Charles Coward weren’t true… [A Matter of Life and Death](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038733/?ref_=nv_sr_2) AKA ‘Stairway To Heaven’ - Not a war film as such, but set in the war. I always seem to get something in my eye when I watch it… [King Rat](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059358/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) [The Bofors Gun](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062746/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) [The Hill](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059274/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3) I remember a film I watched quite a few years back about German POWs in a Scottish prison camp, some eventually escaping on a U Boat. Great film, but the title escapes me. Does anyone know it? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/95 "2015-05-27T10:36:10Z")
> [@mascaroni](#): > > I remember a film I watched quite a few years back about German POWs in a Scottish prison camp, some eventually escaping on a U Boat. Great film, but the title escapes me. Does anyone know it? _ **The MacKenzie Break** _, starring Brian Keith of \*\*\*Parent Trap \*\*\*and _ **Family Affair** _ fame. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/96 "2015-05-27T10:37:56Z")
_ **Crossbow and Overcast** _, about the Allied campaign against Germany’s V-weapons. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/97 "2015-05-27T10:40:34Z")
> [@](#): > > I remember a film I watched quite a few years back about German POWs in a Scottish prison camp, some eventually escaping on a U Boat. Great film, but the title escapes me. Does anyone know it? [The McKenzie Break](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066064/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) - The title popped into my head as soon as I pressed ‘submit’… Edit: Thanks **Terentii** … too quick for me! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/98 "2015-05-27T10:57:01Z")
A somewhat obscure movie, but one well worth watching: _ **Battle of the Bulge** _ with Henry Fonda and Robert Shaw. This scene alone makes it worthwhile: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/8JDkdc246QQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Panzerlied (Battle of the Bulge with english intro)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JDkdc246QQ) The dude in the grey uniform with the overseas cap was a German in just about every war movie made in the '60s, including _ **The Great Escape** _ and _ **Kelly’s Heroes** _. This movie was my introduction to classical music: > **[Counterpoint (1968) - Ralph Nelson | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes...](https://www.allmovie.com/movie/counterpoint-vm444791)** > > Find trailers, reviews, synopsis, awards and cast information for Counterpoint (1968) - Ralph Nelson on AllMovie - The beauty of classical music confronts the… To this day, I can’t listen to _ **Tannhauser** _ without thinking about it! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/99 "2015-05-27T11:01:12Z")
_ **King of Hearts** _ with Alan Bates _ **Cross of Iron** _ with James Coburn and Maximilian Schell _ **Fail Safe** _ with Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, and Larry Hagman ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/100 "2015-05-27T11:12:52Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I’ve always enjoyed WW2 films and IMO, one of the best is The Eagle Has Landed 1976. I love this movie, but unfortunately my suspension of disbelief is rocked every time I see the 50-star US flag hanging in Larry Hagman’s office. (Yes, you CAN tell the difference, even when the flag is folded!) Of all the stellar performances in this movie, my favorite will always be Donald Pleasance as Heinrich Himmler. I knew he was just an actor playing a role, but he still scared the crap out of me! :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835.md?page=6)