20 movies like Wake Island, ordered by similarity : The Fighting Seabees(1944), Sands of Iwo Jima(1949), The Enemy Below(1957), Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo(1944), The Cockleshell Heroes(1955), The Bridge on the River Kwai(1957), Beachhead(1954), Marine Raiders(1944), The Wooden Horse(1950), Jungle Fighters(1961), Dunkirk(2017), Letters From Iwo Jima(2006) ...
War
USA
1942
87 Minutes
Brian Donlevy Robert Preston Macdonald Carey William Bendix Albert Van Dekker Walter Abel Mikhail Rasumny Rod Cameron Bill Goodwin Damian O'Flynn Frank Albertson
marine major lieutenant captain private enemy intense gritty patriotic wake island military base world war ii showdown survival bravery invasion outnumbered quest underdog rivalry
December, 1941. With no hope of relief or re-supply, a small band of United States Marines tries to keep the Japanese Navy from capturing their island base.
War
USA
1944
100 Minutes
John Wayne Susan Hayward Dennis O'Keefe William Frawley Leonid Kinskey J.M. Kerrigan Grant Withers Paul Fix Ben Welden William Forrest Addison Richards
construction worker soldier coworker marine enemy doctor heartwarming patriotic japan military base island construction war jealousy instincts invasion love triangle quest rescue rivalry
During WW2, the U.S. Navy implements a new idea of forming construction battalions that also are fighting units, in case of Japanese attack.
War
USA
1949
110 Minutes
John Wayne John Agar Forrest Tucker Adele Mara Wally Cassell James Brown Richard Webb Arthur Franz Jacqueline Wells James Holden Peter Coe
sergeant marine private corporal woman patriotic gritty intense hawaii pacific ocean iwo jima, japan battlefield apartment world war ii military life war training respect survival sacrifice
Haunted by personal demons, Marine Sgt. John Stryker is hated and feared by his men, who see him as a cold-hearted sadist. But when their boots hit the beaches, they begin to understand the reason for Stryker's rigid form of discipline.
War
USA
1957
98 Minutes
Robert Mitchum Curt Jurgens Theodore Bikel Al Hedison Russell Collins Kurt Kreuger Frank Albertson Biff Elliot Alan Dexter Doug McClure Joe Di Reda
captain sailor soldier enemy friend doctor gritty tense gripping ocean ship world war ii battle showdown survival respect quest rivalry 1940s
During World War II, an American destroyer discovers a German U-boat, thus ensuing in a deadly duel between the two ships. The American Captain must draw upon all his experience to defeat the equally experienced German commander.
War
1944
138 Minutes
Spencer Tracy Van Johnson Robert Walker Phyllis Thaxter Scott McKay Robert Mitchum Don DeFore Stephen McNally Louis Jean Heydt Leon Ames Paul Langton
colonel captain lieutenant pilot wife patriotic rousing tense japan china ship naval base air raids survival world war ii stranded heroism bombing quest rivalry
Lt. Col. James Doolittle (Spencer Tracy) leads B-25s off the USS Hornet's deck on a 1942 mission to bomb Japan.
War
UK|USA
1955
97 Minutes
Jose Ferrer Trevor Howard Anthony Newley Victor Maddern David Lodge Peter Arne Percy Herbert Graham Stewart John Fabian John Van Eyssen Robert Desmond
british officer british soldier submarine officer major captain nazi tense suspenseful witty patriotic england bordeaux, france submarine river shipyard coast world war ii secret mission suicide mission kayaking
During World War II, German ships are "safely" docked upriver at Bordeaux, but the British send a team of kayakers to attack them.
War, Drama
UK|USA
1957
161 Minutes
William Holden Alec Guinness Sessue Hayakawa Jack Hawkins James Donald Geoffrey Horne Andre Morrell Peter Williams John Boxer Percy Herbert Harold Goodwin
soldier captain rival prisoner of war captor gritty military base bridge burma world war ii munitions construction military battle bombing rivalry quest revenge 1940s
British POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors, not knowing that the allied forces are planning to destroy it.
Drama, War
USA
1954
90 Minutes
Tony Curtis Frank Lovejoy Mary Murphy Eduard Franz Skip Homeier John Doucette Alan Wells
marine planter daughter enemy sergeant major intense gripping thrilling pacific ocean island jungle world war ii espionage survival courage daunting task quest rescue underdog
In 1943, in the wake of the Allied amphibious landing on the Japanese-held Bougainville Island, four Marines are sent to scout the location of Japanese minefields.
War
USA
1944
91 Minutes
Pat O'Brien Robert Ryan Ruth Hussey Frank McHugh Barton MacLane Richard Martin Edmund Glover Russell Wade Bob Anderson Michael St. Angel Martha Vickers
marine major captain lieutenant love interest soldier thrilling patriotic melodramatic guadalcanal australia papua new guinea naval base bar hospital world war ii marines war injury military life friendship
A U.S. Marine major tries to keep his captain on the right track through combat on Guadalcanal, training new recruits in San Diego, and a relationship with a WAAAF while on leave in Australia.
War
UK
1950
101 Minutes
Leo Genn Anthony Steel David Tomlinson David Greene Peter Burton Michael Goodliffe Anthony Dawson
prisoner of war captain british soldier british officer nazi commandant lieutenant intense tense suspenseful gripping engaging gutsy nazi germany concentration camp survival prisoners of war world war ii nazism tunneling gymnastics
True story of three British POWs and their attempt to escape from Nazi Germany.
War
UK
1961
105 Minutes
Richard Todd Laurence Harvey Richard Harris David McCallum Ronald Fraser John Meillon John Rees Kenji Takaki
sergeant prisoner of war corporal private soldier tense emotional gritty burma jungle dangerous assignment military world war ii competition survival prisoners of war quest rivalry 1940s
In 1942, a group of British soldiers is sent on a mission in the Malaysian jungle and gets lost into the Japanese controlled zone.
War, Drama, History
UK|Netherlands|France|USA
2017
107 Minutes
Fionn Whitehead Tom Glynn-Carney Jack Lowden Harry Styles Aneurin Barnard James D'Arcy Barry Keoghan Kenneth Branagh Cillian Murphy Mark Rylance Tom Hardy
soldier enemy captain pilot chilling emotional gripping inspiring intense beach europe boat world war ii invasion escape battle rescue survival escape rescue
Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire, and France are surrounded by the German Army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.
War, Drama, History
USA|Japan
2006
141 Minutes
Ken Watanabe Kazunari Ninomiya Tsuyoshi Ihara RyƓ Kase Shido Nakamura Yuki Matsuzaki Hiroshi Watanabe Takumi Bando Nobumasa Sakagami Takashi Yamaguchi Nae
soldier military officer athlete baker intense thrilling island tunnel japan cave showdown world war ii death daunting task invasion survival fall metamorphosis rivalry 1940s
The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
War
USA
1970
133 Minutes
Michael Caine Cliff Robertson Ian Bannen Henry Fonda Harry Andrews Denholm Elliott Ronald Fraser Lance Percival Percy Herbert
interpreter soldier lieutenant commanding officer private tense gripping gutsy island japan war zone military base world war ii heroism death military dangerous mission fear sacrifice quest
A reluctant hero, American Lieutenant Sam Lawson, is secunded to a motley British unit tasked with destroying a Japanese radio on a Philippine island.
War
USA
1950
113 Minutes
Richard Widmark Jack Palance Robert Wagner Jack Webb Reginald Gardiner Karl Malden Philip Ahn
lieutenant soldier enemy doctor thrilling patriotic gripping rousing japan island world war ii invasion battle courage quest rescue sacrifice 1940s
A company of Marines races against the clock to find a Japanese rocket base.
War
1958
102 Minutes
Richard Burton Curt Jurgens Ruth Roman Raymond Pellegrin Anthony Bushell Alfred Burke Christopher Lee Sean Kelly Nigel Green Harry Landis
captain major guide wife soldier general tense emotional fiery gutsy libyan desert military base london airplane nightclub camp journey power struggle cowardice love triangle
A British captain (Richard Burton) goes on a raid in World War II Libya with a major (Curt Jurgens) he knows his wife (Ruth Roman) has slept with.
War
USA
1951
102 Minutes
John Wayne Robert Ryan Janis Carter Jay C. Flippen Don Taylor William Harrigan
marine pilot major captain sergeant brother-in-law intense thrilling inspiring military base airplane guadalcanal okinawa, japan world war ii aviation obsession discipline resistance alcohol quest
Major Kirby leads The Wildcats squadron into the historic WWII battle of Guadalcanal.
Drama, War
Italy
2002
117 Minutes
Paolo Briguglia Pierfrancesco Favino Luciano Scarpa Emilio Solfrizzi Thomas Trabacchi Piero Maggio Giuseppe Cederna Roberto Citran Silvio Orlando Antonio Petrocelli
private lieutenant sergeant soldier gritty tense africa desert battlefield horrors of war survival desert trek battle fatigue world war ii underdog sacrifice escape 1940s
War seen through the eyes of Serra, a university student from Palermo who volunteers in 1942 to fight in Africa. He is assigned to the Pavia Division on the southern line in Egypt. Rommel ... See full summary »
War
USA
1951
111 Minutes
John Wayne Patricia Neal Ward Bond Scott Forbes Philip Carey Paul Picerni William Campbell Kathryn Givney Vincent Fotre Martin Milner Cliff Clark
submarine officer captain ex-wife pilot commander enemy gripping tense emotional submarine sea pearl harbor hospital naval base world war ii navy brother relationship divorce duty sea rescue
During WWII, a submarine's second in command inherits the problem of torpedoes that don't explode. When on shore, he is eager to win back his ex-wife.
War
USA
1958
93 Minutes
Clark Gable Burt Lancaster Jack Warden Brad Dexter Nick Cravat Mary LaRoche Don Rickles Eddie Foy III
commander military officer sailor enemy thrilling patriotic submarine military base pacific ocean world war ii vengeance rebellion naval warfare obsession pursuit revenge rivalry 1940s
A U.S. sub commander, obsessed with sinking a certain Japanese ship, butts heads with his first officer and crew.
Drama, War
USA
1956
107 Minutes
Jack Palance Eddie Albert Lee Marvin Robert Strauss Richard Jaeckel Buddy Ebsen Jon Shepodd Peter Van Eyck Jimmy Goodwin Steven Geray Jud Taylor
soldier lieutenant german troops coward captain suspenseful gripping patriotic belgium battlefield war world war ii arrogance battle of the bulge revenge escape rivalry 1940s
In 1945, an American Infantry company sets up an artillery observation post, but tensions between Captain Cooney and Lieutenant Costa run high.