WW2 Movies

Does anyone video archive sections of footage which might help in modelling ?

I've got a section of a WWII film where a Halifax is testing some type of radar but flies into the cable of a barrage balloon. Dunno the name of the film but great Halifax footage!

The Yangtsee Incident has some nice Sunderland footage.

OHMYGOD! What was that film with Cagney and some other guy, stating the film with some fight over the same girl, Cagney stealing work, flying goods around Canada, from the other guy then they both end up joining IIRC a Canadian flying school and them ending up ferrying aircraft to Britain ? Tons of different aircraft in that film.

Richard.

The first film I think I video'd many years back was about David Farrar who ran an RAF rescue launch service, takes a disgruntled RAF pilot under his wing (sorry!) and goes about rescuing downed pilots.

Interesting as it's got a bleedin' moaner in it and is not all "gung ho!"

Richard.

One I remember stumbling on late one night on TV was "Attack Squadron" starring Toshiro Mifune. It was a story loosely based on the 343rd Naval Air Corps, "Genda's Circus", with Mifune as Genda. Kawanishi Shiden Kai models, 1:1 scale. Was pretty impressive on TV. This was made post war, I agree that "Hayabusa Regiment" would be a nice film to have on DVD.

Bill Shuey

"Captains of the Clouds"

Bill Banaszak, MFE

Is'nt it "The lion of the desert" with Anthony Quinn? Great movie!! and no one as mentioned as yet "the guns of Navarone"

Max

"School for Secrets", was about the development of radar in England. I saw it on late night TV many years ago.

Bill Shuey

Okay and thanks. I've not seen that for many, many years so the name doesn't ring a bell.

Richard.

Might you be thinking of "The Best of Enemies?" I believe the star was David Niven as the British commander and some Italian comedian - whose name escapes me at the moment - as the Italian commander. Haven't seen it in years and years, so I'm not sure if it took place in the Mid-Thirties or during WWII. Funny as hell as I recall.

Andy

I suspect these were mentiones before I dropped onto the thread but, just in case:

The Lost Battalion Lawrence of Arabia

"The world would be a much simpler place if every one could pick and choose their obligations, but we can't and we shouldn't." Major Charles W. Whittlesey

I recall seeing a Italian movie, about Italian soldiers on a remote island in the Med. They are so far away from the war (WW2) they don't even know its over till an Italian/American flying a military version of the Piper Cub lands on their beach out of fuel. He tells them its over as he refuels his a/c. Prior to that the movie is a great comic/tragic/satire on war. For the life of me I can't recall the name.

There is also another about Italian POWs who break out of prison just to climb a near by mountain and plant the Italian flag at the top...and then break back into the prison camp..so they can witness the surprise of the British commander who is always talking about climbing the mountian himself. Kind of a dopey movie but after a few glasses of vino I found it entertaining. Mike IPMS

Well it certainly wasn't complimentary toward the Italians, who; IIRC; commit a number of atrocities against the Bedouins throughout the course of the movie. (Maybe the British half kept them honest?)

Y'know, I've managed to see "Force 10 from Navarone" a few times, but so far I've never managed to see "Guns". I'll have to try to rectify that some time...

Not this one. It was about the Italian Fascist government's efforts to "pacify" the Bedouin tribes in their Libyan colonies. There are a number of scenes of the Italian Army killing Bedouin women and children in order to bait the menfolk into ambushes. Quite violent.

"Decision Before Dawn"-Oskar Werner as a German POW recruited as a double agent. Great but grim flick with very authentic look made just a few years after the war. Fox Movie Channel shows it occasionally. Also the rarely

-shown- in- the- US, "Carve Her Name With Pride" , late 50's British film about SOE agent Violette Szabo. Virginia McKenna of "Born Free" fame is the star. The shoot out with the Jerries scene is thrilling. Szabo was a terror with a Sten gun.

"McKenna" stroked a memory of a film about U-boat crews breaking out of a Brit POW camp. Haven't seen that one talked about - it was "The McKenzie Break", AKA "Escape" and "Wolfpack", released in 1970. Brian Keith, Horst Janson (also in "Murphy's War") , and Helmut Griem ("Cabaret") were in it. Not a bad movie...

John Hairell

Yeah, thats the movie, it has a great cast, Anthony Quinn, Oliver Reed, Irene Papas, to name a few. 1980's

About the guns, well, pretty fictional but really fun

Max

I agree. The 'cast' still had that hollow look of people at war and the there was no need for back lot shooting of war debris sets as there was plenty of the 'real stuff' still around to be used. Richard Basehart, in my opinion, just looked too fat and happy when compared to the real life Germans milling around him. He stuck out like a honey moon d*ck. Oskar Werner was just great as he kept a subtle, but scared sh*tless look in his eyes through the whole movie. I don't think any one had to practice their parts as it appeared to me they were all playing them for real just a few years before. Mike IPMS

Edwin Ross Quantrall wrote: : : Y'know, I've managed to see "Force 10 from Navarone" a few times, but so : far I've never managed to see "Guns". I'll have to try to rectify that : some time... : I think "Guns" is much better than "Force". Of course, it could be that I am a sucker for Gregory Peck movies...

Bruce

My wife claims that she slept through "Guns of Navaronne" not once, but twice.

Ditto "Gone with the Wind".

Tom

Didn't the loud bang at the end wake her up?

As for GWTW It's a movie that always gets shown here at Xmas and no one watches it all. I seen it all the way through but it's taken 20 years to do it.