World War Two Timeline in Movies - It's was a funny old war

In reality Hitler was far from funny, but that didn't stop film-makers on both sides of the Atlantic from poking fun at the dictator - blowing raspberries had been outlawed by the Hays Code in 1932 when Charles Laughton caused controversy by blowing one in 1932's If I had a Million, but the censors had to look the other way when the Donald Duck cartoon, Der Fuehrer's Face used a pop song about blowing raspberry's at Hitler as a title song. The song won an Academy Award and propelled the obscure pop group, Spike Jones and his City Slickers to stardom. The cartoon is embedded below.

Gasbags (1940) starred the Crazy Gang and saw them crossing Europe on a barrage balloon and ending up in a concentration camp in Germany. Here they came across a battalion of doubles for Hitler who were being trained to impersonate their leader. The gang eventually escape by stealing a secret weapon, the burrowing submarine. And in that same year Charlie Chaplin made his famous, The Great Dictator which was so effective in lampooning Hitler that the great comedian found himself on Hitler's death list. And in 1942 the original,To be or not to be took great delight in reducing Hitler to an absurd comic figure.

In 1942 Hal Roach produced the short, Hitler with the Devil which saw the lord of darkness outdone in the evil stakes by Adolf Hitler and countless movies followed suite, but perhaps the most successful comedy set during the dark days of the second world war came not from the big screen but television. The British sitcom, Dad's Army is superb and is arguable the greatest British sitcom ever produced. Telling the story of a team of home guard volunteers, the show ran for nine seasons and also produced a spin off big screen movie, as well as a radio series and several stage plays.

Originally intended to be called The Fighting Tigers, Dad’s Army was based partly on co-writer and creator Jimmy Perry’s real-life experiences in the  Home Guard. Perry had been 17 years old when he joined the 10th Hertfordshire Battalion and with a mother who did not like him being out at night and fearing he might catch cold, he bore more than a passing resemblance to the character of Frank Pike. An elderly lance corporal in the outfit often referred to fighting under Kitchener against the "Fuzzy Wuzzies"  and proved to be a perfect model for Jones as played by the wonderful Clive Dunn. Other influences were the film Whisky Galore!, and the work of comedians such as Will Hay whose film Oh, Mr Porter! featured a pompous ass, an old man and a young man which gave him Mainwaring, Godfrey and Pike.

So popular was the series that in June 2010, a statue (pictured) of Captain George Mainwaring was erected in the Norfolk town of Thetford where most of the TV series  was filmed. The statue features Captain Mainwaring sitting to attention on a simple bench in Home Guard uniform, with his swagger stick across his knees. The statue is mounted at the end of winding brick pathway with a Union Flag patterned arrow head to reflect the opening credits of the TV series, and the sculpture has been designed so that members of the public can sit alongside Captain Mainwaring for the purpose of having their photo taken.

It certainly was a funny old war.

Check out Herr Donald Duck below

World War II timeline in movies - 5 D Day

June 6th 1944 -

The most complicated and difficult mission ever to take place - Winston Churchill

The destruction of the enemy's landing is the sole decisive factor in the whole conduct of the war and hence it's outcome - Adolf Hitler

Operation Overlord was the most daring and complicated military operation of the entire war. It was the greatest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare and the risks were immense. The consequences of failure were unthinkable - a bloodbath on the beaches and the continued domination of Nazi Germany in the West. Nothing could ever truly recapture the horror and daring of that day but that hasn't stopped film makers from trying.

Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan (1998) attempts in its opening scenes to show what it must have been like on the Normandy beaches. It was the American, particularly those landing on Omaha Beach who took the worse of the enemy fire, and this movie perfectly depicts the horror, confusion and downright carnage of the beach landings. It is a powerful if viscerally graphic film that has made us realize how much we owe to the men and women of the rapidly dwindling "Greatest Generation.

1962's The Longest Day is an expensive attempt to show just what happened on D Day, and although it is a great war film it is somewhat flawed in that it relies too much on typical Hollywood heroics. The all star cast also works against the story of ordinary men living in extraordinary times. Still it's well worth watching but for realism look elsewhere.

D Day 6th June (1956) is not really a D Day movie at all but rather a melodramatic romance set in Britain during the build up to D Day. Robert Taylor plays a married U.S. Army colonel who’s in love with Valerie Russell (Dana Wynter), who’s also involved with Lt. Col. John Wynter (Richard Todd). The film is essentially an extended flashback as the two officers head to the Normandy beaches and exchange tales about the woman they are unwittingly both in love with. 






 

Band of Brothers (2000) Who would have thought that a TV mini series could best all the other D Day movies out there? That's just what Band of Brothers did though.

Fresh from their triumph with ,Saving Private Ryan, Hollywood insiders Spielberg and Hanks undertook an even more ambitious World War II project: a ten-part series following a single infantry company from training through combat, victory, and occupation.  Their reward—and ours—is an incomparable film of shared sacrifice and uncommon heroism.  As good as "Saving Private Ryan" is, "Band of Brothers" raises the bar. 

Where Eagles Dare (1968) This is an oddity amongst movies that use D Day to tell their story.Richard Burton stars as Major John Smith, a British agent during WWII who is in charge a group of six Allied soldiers given the task of rescuing an American general--who is reportedly in possession of the plans for D-Day--from a seemingly impregnable German fortress. The film also features Clint Eastwood which makes it OK in my book.

World War II Timeline in movies - 4 The Propaganda War

When war broke out in 1939 Britain's cinemas were closed, however the value of films in keeping up morale was soon realized and the cinemas were reopened. They had been closed for only ten days before an Parliament decided to reopen them and they became the main source of entertainment and recreation during the troubled times.

The earliest British war film, The Lion has wings which produced at a breakneck speed by Alexandra Korda was a curious mix of documentary and drama and whilst it may not have worked as a film, copies were laughed t in Berlin it did lead to more effective propaganda being worked into dramatic presentations.

The movies were effective in saying that the old class system should be put aside and that this was was the people's war, and the Ealing war films represented these new ideas. The same studio made The Foreman went to France in 1942) which showed how an ordinary man, a working stiff, retrieved a vital piece of machinery from from France. And 1943's The Bells go Down showed the work of the fire service in London and placed stress on the ideals of comradeship and bravery. The movies showed that it was ordinary people who would win this war and the studio went so far as to completely destroy the image of the old style officer and gentleman in 1943's, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.

Comradeship, cooperation, dedication to duty and self sacrifice typified the early British World War II movies.  In Which we Serve (1942) was perhaps one of the first of the truly classic war movies. The three main characters are the captain, a petty officer and an ordinary seaman but they are all equal in their devotion to the ship and their duty to country. And The Way Ahead (1944) showed how a group of conscripts from all walks of life were turned into an elite fighting unit.

And it wasn't only the men who were fighting the war and 1943's The Gentle Sex showed how a group of women were turned into defenders of the nation in the territorial army. Britain was at war and the cinema had no time to question what was going on, or stand back and consider the morality of war, there were battles to be won and on screen as in life we were going to get on with it.

It was a case of, keep a stiff upper lip old boy.

Second World War Timeline in movies - 3 Land, sea and air

There have been more movies made about World War II than  any other conflict in history - the war was fought on many fronts, in a diverse range of theaters and over the years film-makers have tackled them all.

The Battle of Britain (1969) is regarded a classic, though when viewed today it seems rather plodding - it runs for 132 minutes and in striving for historical accuracy it does sag at times, but it depicts a series of events that saved the UK from being overrun by the Jerry and in doing so it does it well. The aerial battles are intense and expertly filmed. The current special edition DVD is superb value with wealth of special features including a documentary which puts everything in historical context.

 If I had to pick one film to represent the attack on Pearl Harbour which occurred in 1941 and brought America into the war it would be, Tora, Tora, Tora (1970). Forget Michael Bay's Pearl Harbour (2001) which may have had better effects but came nowhere near the quality of Tora, Tora Tora. This single event may have finally dragged America into the war, but in truth they were already involved in supporting the UK and supplying both arms and  aid. The entry of the US into the global conflict but the majority of the American public were against the US fighting another war in Europe, until that day in December 1941 when death reigned down on the Hawaiian military base. Like Battle of Britain before it, Tora Tora Tora is made in a semi documentary style, and because of this both films are plodding on times though the aerial effects make up for any shortcomings in dramatizing the events.

And from the air to the sea we come to Sink the Bismark (1960) - this British production looks at the cat and mouse game between the Brits and the Jerrys which culminated in the sinking of the Bismark. It stars Kenneth Moore,  a regular in Brit war films, and realistically depicts the events after the British became obsessed with destroying this particular warship. The film was praised for its accuracy on its original release, though some critics thought the acting was wooden on times and far too formal. Though this was reflective of the actual times and the film is thrilling an exciting in a boy's own style. The film is currently available as a DVD double pack, twinned with another sea based world war II classic in The Enemy Below (1957) which stars sleepy eyed Robert Mitchum and is itself an impressive movie.

And we're back on dry land for a look at the battle between The Desert Rats and the the respected German commander Rommel. There's a great DVD double pack containing The Desert Rats (1953) and The Desert Fox (1951) - and for anyone wanting a celluloid recreation of these events this DVD set it pretty much indispensable. James Mason plays Rommel in both movies which adds some continuity between pictures.

The Desert Fox, released six years after the end of the War, is a solemnly respectful tribute to Erwin Rommel, Germany's most celebrated military genius. James Mason's portrayal of this gallant warrior became a highlight of his career iconography. The film itself is oddly disjointed, though: a pre-credit commando raid to liquidate Rommel is followed by a flashback to the field-marshal's lightning successes commanding the Afrika Korps--a compressed account via documentary footage and copious narration (spoken by Michael Rennie, who also dubs Desmond Young, the Rommel biographer and one-time British POW appearing briefly as himself). The dramatic core is Rommel's growing disenchantment with Hitler (Luther Adler), his involvement in the plot to assassinate the Fuhrer, and his subsequent martyrdom.

The Desert Rats stars Richard Burton in only his second Hollywood role (between Oscar-nominated turns in My Cousin Rachel and The Robe), as a Scottish commando put in charge of a battalion of the 9th Australian Division defending Tobruk. The Aussies don't like him, and with a year of grim North African duty already under his belt, he's not too crazy about his new responsibilities either. The outfit is charged with staving off the battering assaults of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel for two months, to give the British Army time to regroup in Cairo and prepare for a counterattack. In the end, the "desert rats" play hell with the Desert Fox for 242 days, during which time they and their commander develop some mutual respect.

Next up in our World War movie timeline - Russia

Second World War Timeline in movies 2 - 1939 to Dunkirk

The series which provides a time-line of the second world war in movies can not be complete and list every aspect of what was a truly global war. However by selecting key movies we can provide the viewer with a list of films that when watched in order will give a good grounding of the sequence of events during this terrible period of history. It will also point you towards some great movies.

The Lion has Wings - This docu-drama was made and rush released in 1939 and convinced the British government of the use of film as a propaganda tool. The film stars Michael Powell and Ralph Richardson and is worth watching for its historical importance.

The Lion Has Wings, intended to reassure the public of the might of the British Air Force, was already well on the way to completion by the time war broke out. In the end, shooting took just twelve days. The Ministry of Information assigned an Air Force advisor to the production and several sites were identified for filming. This is the reason why the film has three directors - film was shot simultaneously in various locations, including Mildenhall in Suffolk for the preparations for the first bomber raid and Hornchurch in Essex for Fighter Operations. The film was completed in five weeks and was released in early November. The all-star cast were all paid a flat fee of £5, although all were compensated by Korda once the film started to do well.



1939 saw a period of relative peace - a time that has become to be known as the phony war - The Winter War (1989) tells of late November of that year when Russia attacked Finland. The film is available on DVD as a part of a double pack with Ambush. Both movies are absolute classics.  The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939—three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland—and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty.

Defiance (2008) is set during Germany's occupation of Poland and gives Daniel Craig one of his finest roles - he is excellent as Tuvia Bielski, the eldest of four Jewish brothers and the eventual leader of the Bielski partisans. The film is both action packed and thoughtful and when watched as pure entertainment it is faultless. It also offers a graphic reminder of the horror of the times in which it is set, and of how the Jewish people faced the horror that befell them with dignity and courage. A great film with great performances and telling a story that needs to be told.

Dunkirk (1958) tells of events that are still celebrated today by the British, of how the country turned a defeat into a triumph and bravery and strength. That Dunkirk spirit is still evoked today in times of trouble.


The movie stars John Mills and Richard Attenborough and is told in a captivating fashion. It still works when viewed today, even if some of its patriotism seems simplistic by today's standards. The film relates the story of Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of surrounded British and French troops from the beaches of Dunkirk. It does so principally from the viewpoints of two people: a newspaper reporter and a soldier. n May 1940, during the Battle of France, the British Expeditionary Force in France aiding the French, was cut off from the rest of the French Army by the German advance. Encircled by the Germans they retreated to the area around the port of Dunkirk. The German land forces could have easily destroyed the British Expeditionary Force, especially when many of the British troops, in their haste to withdraw, had left behind their heavy equipment.

Winston Churchill ordered any ship or boat available, large or small, to pick up the stranded soldiers, and 338,226 men (including 123,000 French soldiers) were evacuated – the miracle of Dunkirk, as Churchill called it. It took over 900 vessels to evacuate the Allied forces.

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Second World War Timeline in movies - 1 - towards global warfare

All this week the Archive will be presenting a timeline of the second world war as told in the movies - that's the entire story of the conflict which lasted from 1939 to 1945 and resulted in between 50 - 70 million fatalites. It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million military personnel mobilised. In a state of "total war", the major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the service of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. The global conflict remains the most global war the world has ever seem, resulting in both the holocaust and the only use of nuclear weapons in a warfare.

Of course this series of articles is not intended to be a history of the conflict, but rather to highlight some of the better war movies which strive for both historical accuracy and viewer excitement.

To start the series the Archive points the interested reader towards Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003) which depicts the rise of Hitler, from impoverished child to leader of the National Socialist Party and instigator of the war in Europe which would eventually go global. The movie was originally made as a TV mini-series and shown on television, before being released as a theatrical movie. Reviews at the time were mostly negative but the production was nominted for several Emmys and did in fact win two.

Robert Carlyle in the role of Hitler is nothing short of remarkable with virtually every possible character trait of the Nazi dictator being captured and portrayed in an incredibly convincing manner. It does resort to stereotype on times and can not be said to be totally historically accurate but it does contain most of the important elements of the storyl. And although it only takes us upto Hitler becoming Chancellor of Germany, it provides a useful introduction to the start of our World War II timline.

Next - 1939 - Dunkirk.