During
World War 1
1915
-
How Lieutenant Rose RN Spiked
the Enemy's Guns (Imdb)
- Britain's Naval Secret (Imdb)
1916
- the Hero of Submarine D-2 (Imdb)
- The British "D-2" was sunk on the
25th November 1914 off the German Ems
Estuary; any connection I wonder?
Inter-War
Years
1919
-
The Log of the U-35
(Imdb)
1921
- The Battle of Jutland
- The greatest naval battle ever.
It took place in the North Sea off the
Skagerrak (the German name for the battle)
on 31st May-1st June 1916 - the British lost
tactically, but still held the battleground
the next day. The 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf,
although involving more ships was a series
of battles.
1924
- Zeebrugge - The brilliant and
incredibly heroic raid of April 1918. It's
aim, combined with a raid on Ostend, was to
block the Flanders U-boat and destroyer
flotillas in their Belgium bases
1926
- Mare Nostrum - "Our
sea" - whose?
1927
- Battle of the Coronel and Falkland
Island - The two
battles between ships of the Royal Navy and
the German East Asiatic Squadron commanded
by Admiral von Spee. In Coronel, two old
British armoured cruisers were totally
overwhelmed on the 1st November 1914 and
went down off the Chile coast. Five weeks
later von Spee's two armoured cruisers and
two of his three light cruisers were
dispatched by a superior British force off
the Falkland Islands.
1927
- The Emden
- Originally one of von Spee's
light cruisers, she was detached for
commerce raiding in the Indian Ocean. After
a short but spectacular career, sunk by
Australian light cruiser "Sydney", November
1914
1928
- Q Ships (Imdb) - I
believe the famous Q-ship commander
Captain
Gordon Campbell VC
was technical adviser during the making of
the film. Still photographs are included in
the book "Q-ships"
by Carson Ritchie.
(1933
- Adolph Hitler comes to power)
1935
- Brown of Resolution (also
Forever England) - I only know the 1953
version of the film based on the book by C S
Forester - the Hornblower author. It appears
to be loosely based on the one German light
cruiser that escaped destruction at the
Battle of the Falklands. The story is both
heroic and poignant, although the more
recent version provided an alternative
"happy" ending.
1938
-
Submarine Patrol
1939
- The Spy in Black (also
U-boat 29 - Imdb). Conrad Veidt as
the German naval spy and Valerie Hobson as a
double agent. I enjoyed the atmosphere
Post-World
War 2
1951
- The African Queen (Imdb)
- Humphrey Bogart
and Katherine Hepburn in their classic based
loosely on the German East Africa Lakes
campaigns. On the British side this included
two armed steamboats named "Mimi" and "Fifi"
operating on Lake Tanganyika in 1915/16.
1953
- Sailor
of the King (also
Brown on Resolution or Single Handed - Imdb)
- Enjoyable remake of the the 1935 film
1990's
- Battleships
at War, Pegasus
CVB 1171 - Includes some good footage of
World War 2 battleships and other warships -
British and German (documentary)
1992
- The
Battleships,
U.S. News Video - Possibly includes the
World War 1 period (documentary)
1992
- Submarines,
U.S. News Video - The review suggests it
covers submarines in World War 1
(documentary)
1996
- Last
Voyage of the Lusitania,
National Geographic' Society - The British
liner sunk off the Irish coast in May 1915
with the loss of many American lives and a
major factor in eventually bringing the
United States into the war in April 1917.
Still the subject of minor "conspiracy
theories" - for example, Churchill as First
Lord of the Admiralty ordered the sinking to
alienate US opinion against the Germans etc.
(documentary)
2006
- Blood and Oil: The Middle East in World
War 1 - as oil was the life-blood of
the Royal Navy, I've included this excellent
documentary here
MILITARY
- DOCUMENTARIES
date?
Battle Of Verdun: Great Days
1964
- The
Guns of August
(Imdb) - Based on American
historian Barbara Tuchman's best-selling and
very readable book, it covers the period
from 1910 to the Armistice, November 1918.
Described as "competent" with lots of rare
combat footage
1964
- The Finest Hours (Imdb),
Le Vien Films - An earlier TV
production on the life of Sir Winston
Churchill (see 1991 following). I re-watch
it every year or so, and have to admit that
for me Winston Churchill for all his human
failings is one of the greatest men in
history.
1980's?
-
World
War I
- 26 part US Public Broadcasting Service
production
1980's
- Soldiers, British
television series - I particularly remember
the programme on artillery and the
absolutely horrifying account of the French
'poilu' under almost volcanic bombardment at
Verdun in 1916
1991
-
Biography:
The Complete Churchill
- Written and presented by Martin Gilbert,
Churchill's official biographer. I haven't
seen this production, but Sir Winston
Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty
1911-1915, resigned over the Dardanelles
campaign, served in the French trenches as
an infantry officer, and in 1917 became
Minister of Munitions and developed the
tank. It should cover some of World War 1
1995
-
Doughboys,
The: Heroes of WWI
- The US Army on the Western Front, late
1917 to November 1918
1996
-
Great
War and the Shaping of the 20th Century
- Described by a reviewer as "a
truly superb documentary and ranks alongside
The World At War (World War 2) as a 'must
see' production"
1997
- Aces
- A Story of the First Air War
- US production
c
1998 - 1914-18,
BBC Television - Excellent six one-hour
length series on the First World War. Little
if any naval coverage, but it includes many
fascinating quotes from those who took part
as well as rarely-seen film footage.
2003
- World War 1 in Colour - TV
mini-series using computer colorized footage
2006
- World War 1: American Legacy -
stories of American men and women who
served. Interesting to watch
MILITARY
- FILMS/MOVIES
I know
nothing about most of the pre-World War 2
films, but they are listed for interest
1914
- Start of World War 1
1914
- By The Kaiser's Orders - Called To The
Front - England Expects - the German Spy
Peril - the Fringe of Wall - the Great
European War - In the name of the Prince of
Peace (also
Prince of Peace - Imdb)
- It's a long way to Tipperary - the Last
Volunteer (Imdb)
- One of Millions (Imdb)
- the Ordeal (also
The Mothers of Liberty 1918 reissue - Imdb)
- Saving the Colours - Shannon of the Sixth
(Imdb)
-
The War Extra (Imdb)
1915
- 1914 (Imdb)
- the Battle Cry of Peace - Brother
Officers (Imdb)
- the Campbells Are Coming (Imdb)
-
Captain Macklin (Imdb)
- a Continental Girl (also
Daughter of the War 1918 reissue - Imdb)
-
the Coward (Imdb)
- the Crimson Wing
(Imdb)
- the Despoiler (also
War's Women, and The Awakening 1920 reissue
- Imdb)
- the Doorway of Destruction (Imdb)
- Friends and Foes (Imdb)
-
From Flower Girl to Red Cross Nurse
(Imdb)
- the German side of the War (Imdb)
- the Gray Nun of Belgium (Imdb)
- If England Were Invaded (possibly
also Britain Prepared - Imdb)
- I'm Glad My Boy Grew Up to be a
Soldier (Imdb)
- On the Russian Frontier (Imdb)
- the Outrage (Imdb)
- the Patriot and the Spy (Imdb)
-
the Rights of Man: A Story of War's Red
Blotch (Imdb)
-
Somewhere in France (1916 -
Imdb)
- Tommy Atkins (Imdb)
-
Under the German Yoke (Imdb)
- Unfit - War is hell - Wenn
Voelker streiten (Imdb)
- the White Sister
1916
- According to the Code (Imdb)
- the Battle of the Somme (Imdb)
-
Behind the Lines (Imdb)
-
the Bugler of Algiers (also
We Are French - Imdb)
- Civilizations - the Crisis (Imdb)
- the Fall of the Nation - the Great Red War
(Imdb)
-
the Heart of a Hero (Imdb)
- War Brides - the War Bride's secret - We
French - Wien im Krieg (Imdb)
-
You
(Imdb)
1917
- Arms and the Girl - the Battle Of Arras
(possibly also The Retreat of the Germans or
Retreat of the Germans at the Battle of
Arras - Imdb) - the Birth of
Patriotism (Imdb) - Blood-Stained
Russian (Imdb) - the Dark Road (Imdb)
- For France (Imdb) - For
Liberty (Imdb) - For the Freedom
of the World (Imdb) - For Valour
(Imdb) - the Gown of Destiny (Imdb)
- the Greatest Power - the Hostage (remade
in 1939? - Imdb)
- How Britain Prepared (but see 1915, If
England Were Invaded - Imdb) -
Joan the Woman - the Little American -
the Man Who Made Good (Imdb) - On
Dangerous Ground (Imdb) - Over
There (Imdb) - the Patriot (Imdb)
- the Secret Game - the Slacker -
Shame - the Spy (Imdb) - Treason (Imdb)
- a Trooper of Troop K (Imdb)
- War and the Woman (Imdb) - the
Warrior (Imdb) - Womanhood, the
Glory of the Nation (also
Battle Cry of War or Womanhood - Imdb)
- the Woman's Land Army
1918
- Good-bye, Bill
(also Gosh Darn the Kaiser - Imdb)
-
Hearts of the World (Imdb)
- the Hun Within (Imdb)
-
I'll Say So (Imdb)
- the Invasion of Britain - the
Kaiser-Beast of Berlin - Kaiser's
Finish (Imdb)
-
the Kaiser's Shadow
(also The Triple Cross - Imdb)
- Kiddies in the Ruins - Mrs.Slacker -
My Four Years in Germany
(Imdb)
- the Prussian Cur (Imdb)
-
Shoulder Arms - Till I Come back to you (Imdb)
-
To Hell with the Kaiser (Imdb)
- the Unbeliever (Imdb)
- the Woman the Germans Shot (also
The Cavell Case - Imdb)
After
World War 1
1919
- Comradeship (also Comrades in Arms - Imdb)
- J'accuse! - the Unpardonable Sin (Imdb)
- Yankee-Doodle in Berlin
1920
- Humoresque
1921
- the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - How
Lord Kitchener Was Betrayed
1923
- Armageddon - the Hero
1924
- the Enchanted Cage - Reveille - the
Sideshow of life
1925
- The
Big Parade
(Imdb) - a reviewer describes it
as "one of the best WW1 films ever ..... and
some of the most harrowingly realistic
battle scenes ever filmed. A gem."
also
Ypres (also Wipers - Imdb)
1926
- Behind the Front - Mademoiselle from
Armentieres - Mons
(the great British fighting retreat of 1914)
-
Roses of Picardy (Imdb)
-
What Price Glory?
(remade in 1952 with same title? Imdb)
1927
- Blighty
(Imdb) -
Mademoiselle Parley-voo - the
Somme (Battle
of 1916 - the British had nearly 60,000
casualties on day one in a battle partly
aimed at relieving the pressure on Verdun)
- the Strong Man - Verdun, Visions
d'Histoire (or
1929 (Imdb) - the 1916 German
attack aimed at bleeding the French armies
white, but both sides suffered hugely and
equally)
- Wings (Imdb)
1928
- Captain Swagger - Dawn - the Guns of Loos
- the Legion of the Damned (or
Condemned?) -
Lilac Time (also
Love Never Dies -
Imdb)
- Poppies of Flanders
1929
- the Cock-Eyed World - the Burgomaster of
Stilemonde
1930
- All
Quiet on the Western Front
(Imdb) - Often
described as the greatest of anti-war films,
whatever that means! Certainly a brilliant
portrayal of life and death amongst the
horrors of the Western Front trenches as an
entire German 'Class of 1914' goes to war
and is steadily wiped out. The 1979 version
starring Ernest Borgnine was possibly as
good as the original
Hell's
Angels
(Imdb) - A reviewer describes the
action in this US film as "unmatched for
aerial spectacle" but found the story
slow-moving. Stars Ben Lyon (is this the
same Ben Lyon who partnered Beebie Daniels
at least on BBC radio?) and Jean Harlow
The
Dawn Patrol (also Flight Commander - Imdb)
- Another inter-war classic about
the British Royal Flying Corps losing pilots
as fast as the German "Class of 1914' lost
soldiers.
Westfront
1918 (also
Comrades of 1918 - Imdb)
-
German stars and director
also
Journey's End (Imdb) - the W
Plan
1931
-
Dishonored
- starring Marlene Dietrich as secret agent
X-27!
also
the Doomed Battalion (also Berge in
Flammen, 1932 - Imdb)
- Hell on Earth (also No
Man's land or Niemandsland -
Imdb) - Tell England
(also Battle of Gallipoli - Imdb)
1932
- a Farewell to Arms (Imdb) - the
Man I Killed - Pack Up Your
Troubles (Imdb - Laurel & Hardy
capture an entire regiment) - Sky
Devils
(1933
- Adolph Hitler comes to power)
1933
- Ace of Aces (Imdb) - the Eagle
and the Hawk (Imdb) - I Was a Spy
- Morgenrot (Imdb)
1936
- the Road to Glory - Sons o' England
1937
- Grand Illusion (La Grande Illusion)
1938
- The
Dawn Patrol
(Imdb) - Excellent remake of the
1930 film, starring Basil Rathbone, Errol
Flynn and David Niven. I believe it is in
this version that a new pilot is asked how
many hours he had flown as he is about to go
into combat - something like "two or three"
was the reply!
World
War 2
1939
- Enemy Agent - the Hostages
(also Les Otages, 1938 - Imdb)
- Nurse Edith Cavell (the British nurse
shot in Belgium for helping Allied escapees)
- We're in the Army Now (also
Pack Up Your Troubles - Imdb)
1941
- Sergeant
York
(Imdb) - Real-life
American backwoodsman and pacifist who
became a highly decorated US Army hero in
the 1918 campaigns. Gary Cooper stars
Post-World
War 2
1958
- A Farewell to Arms
- Ernest Hemingway's account of
his Italian service and the disastrous 1917
Battle of Caporetto when the Germans smashed
through the Italian front
Paths
of Glory (or 1957 - Imdb) -
Kirk Douglas as a convincing French
officer defending men who mutinied in 1917,
partly as a result of the appalling losses
on the Western Front at Verdun in 1916.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Lafayette
Escadrille
- The Squadron of US volunteers formed in
1916 to fly with the French Air Force. Clint
Eastwood and Tab Hunter star
1962
- Lawrence
of Arabia
(Imdb) - A magnificent film in all
ways although the importance of Captain
Lawrence's role in the Arab revolts and the
impact of the Arab Army on the Turks is
still debated. Starring Peter O'Toole at his
very best, directed by David Lean.
also
Lawrence
of Arabia - 30th Anniversary Collector's
Edition
1964
- Thomas L'Imposteur
1966
- The
Blue Max,
alias the "Pour la Merite", the highest
German decoration - The aircraft are
interesting and aerial photography
excellent.
1968
- 1917
1969
- Oh! What a Lovely War -
Another "anti-war" film
1971
- Zeppelin
- Starring Michael York,
the Zeppelins are interesting, especially as
they played a scouting role in German High
Seas Fleet operations.
1971
- Von Richthofen and Brown
(also The Red Baron - Imdb) -
The aircraft were interesting too
1971
- Johnny Got His Gun (Imdb)
1979
- All
Quiet on the Western Front
- Excellent remake of the1930 film with
Ernest Borgnine as the grizzled NCO trying
to keep his boys alive. He, his co-star and
the film received Emmy nominations
1981
- Gallipoli
(Imdb)
- Excellent film, with brilliant but
horrific combat scenes. As in other accounts
of this campaign, it does seem to try too
hard to show what "butchers and bunglers"
the Allied leadership were. My reading is
that the Dardanelles
and Gallipoli campaigns
were brilliant strategic concepts that
failed for a number of reasons. Although a
defining point for the Australian and New
Zealand nations and their ANZAC forces, all
the Allies suffered heavily - 7,600
Australian, 28,000 British, 10,000 French
and 2,400 New Zealanders died.
1988
- The
Lighthorsemen
(Imdb) - An account of
the equally brave but this time successful
Australian cavalry in the battles to capture
Palestine from the Turks.
1997
- Battle of Vimy Ridge (TV Series - Imdb)
- The Battles of Vimy Ridge have,
I understand, the same place in Canada's
history as Gallipoli does in Australia and
New Zealand's
2008
- Passchendaele - Canadian movie, includes
some powerful and brutal battle scenes
