War Favorites: 5-Movie Collection

5 Classic War Tales!

This is the Army (1943) Color Not Rated Ronald Reagan, George Murphy, Joan Leslie

In this Oscar-winning film, a musical is put on for the servicemen fighting in World War I and a soldier who performed in the show heads off to war, where he is wounded and is forced to give up his career as a performer and become a producer. When World War II breaks out, the cast of the original musical decide to stage a new version for the servicemen heading off to fight. The producer's son, soon to be heading off to battle, is torn by his love for his fiancée and his call to duty so he refuses to marry her until after the war.

Go For Broke (1951) B&W Not Rated Van Johnson, Lane Nakano, George Miki

In this Oscar-nominated film, a group of Japanese-American volunteers is organized into the 442nd Regimental Combat Team for deployment into the European theatre of operations. Led by Lt. Mike Grayson, a bigoted Texan with no faith in the skills or conviction of the men under his command, the recruits train hard to prove themselves to their commander, the army and themselves.

Blood on the Sun (1945) B&W Not Rated James Cagney, Sylvia Sidney, Porter Hall

This Oscar-winning film begins prior to the outbreak of World War II. Nick Condon (James Cagney), the American editor of a Tokyo newspaper, suspects the Japanese military is responsible for the deaths of his two friends. Discovering information about the Tanaka Plan, a Japanese military outline for world conquest, Condon vows to secure the document and get it into the hands of the American military at any cost. Teaming up with a half-Chinese woman, Condon sets out to secure the plans in spite of the problems brought upon him by the Tokyo police, the Japanese High Command, and the traitorous actions of a fellow journalist.

Thunderbolt (1947) Color Not Rated James Stewart, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Lowery

The documentary chronicles the exploits of the P-47 Thunderbolt pilots of the Fighting Gamecocks of the 65th Fighter squadron, 57th Fighter Group. Based on the island of Corsica off the northwest coast of the Italian boot, they flew from behind the enemy's flank. As part of "Operation Strangle," they continuously attacked highways, bridges, ammo dumps, railroads and just about anything that moved to choke off the flow of supplies to the Axis front line.

Combat America (1943) Color Not Rated Clark Gable, Bob Hope, Frances Langford

This documentary was produced in 1943 under the guidance of then Army Air Force Lieutenant Clark Gable. This film features a single 8th Air Force B-17 crew from the 351st Bombardment Group based in England. The documentary follows the ground and aircrew from their training through a series of bombing missions over Europe.