War

Cottage to Let is a taut British wartime spy thriller, laced with moments of genuinely hilarious comedy. The “maguffin” in this instance is a revolutionary new bombsight, designed by inventor John Barrington (Leslie Banks). A group of Nazi spies intend to steal the blueprints for the invention (hence the film’s alternate title Bombsight Stolen), and to that end dispatch one of their top agents (John Mills), who parachutes into the story posing as wounded RAF pilot Lt. Perry. Hailed as a war hero by the gullible locals, Perry rents a cottage from the unsuspecting Barrington and his wife (Jeanne de Casalis). The treacherous Nazi meets his match in the unlikely form of oafish Charles Dimble (Alastair Sim), who turns out to be a British undercover agent.Read More »

A chronicle of events that led to the British involvement in the Crimean War against Russia and which led to the siege of Sevastopol and the fierce Battle of Balaclava on October 25, 1854 which climaxed with the heroic, but near-disastrous cavalry charge made by the British Light Brigade against a Russian artillery battery in a small valley which resulted in the near-destruction of the brigade due to error of judgment and rash planning on part by the inept British commanders.Read More »

In what must be the longest lapse of time between a film and its sequel, 70-year-old Abel Gance continues his nearly legendary, 1927 historical drama Napoleon with this tale of Napoleon’s life after his victories in Italy. The first half of Austerlitz delves into the private life of Napoleon Bonaparte (Pierre Mondy), the prodigal son of Corsica. The supreme commander of the French armed forces goes about his family life and dallies with Josephine (Martine Carol) and mistress Mlle. de Vaudey (Leslie Caron). He occasionally displays bursts of temper that presage some of the macho violence of the battle scenes in the second half of the film, after Napoleon has proclaimed himself Emperor. This sequel shows that Gance has not lost his directorial touch. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie GuideRead More »

The war has ended leaving a deep trace in people. Going trough a different conflicts in the first days of peace – dealing with a former enemy’s collaborators and executing traitors – a former soldier continues with killing even in peace.Read More »

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A short film which documents the “April War” or the beginning of World War II with the German’s invasion of Yugoslavia.Read More »

During World War II a special fighting unit is formed combining a crack Canadian outfit and a conglomeration of US Army misfits previously serving time in military jails. After an initial period of conflict between the two groups, their enmity turns to respect and friendship and the unit is sent to Italy to attempt a dangerous mission which has heretofore been considered impossible to successfully complete.Read More »

Alexander Belov (Lyubshin) is a Russian spy in the Nazi Germany, working under cover name as Johann Weiss. His perfect German and cool demeanor allows him to make a career in the SS Headquarters in Berlin. Now he is risking his life while getting the Nazi war plans and delivering it to his contact for the sake of Victory. Written by Steve ShelokhonovRead More »

This film is a sequel to Yasuzo Masumura’s popular “Hoodlum Soldier”. In this the two soldiers desert in Manchuria, steal an army truck, and end up in the hands of the military police. They also become involved with a brothel-keeper and eventually start a brothel themselves. Again captured they break out and face yet more adventures.Read More »

1939 national policy film set in Manchuria.

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Song of the White Orchid was a co-production of Toho and Mantetsu, the railway that served the colonial region of Manchuria, and the first film in the Kazuo Hasegawa/Shirley Yamaguchi (Ri Koran) “Continental Trilogy.” Handsome Hasegawa (representing Japan) runs up against an impertinent Yamaguchi (representing the continent); not surprisingly, in the course of the film the woman comes around and realizes the benevolent intentions of the Japanese. In Song of the White Orchid Yamaguchi leaves Hasegawa, who plays an expatriate working for the railway, because of a misunderstanding. She joins a communist guerilla group plotting to blow up the Manchurian railway. Learning of the subterfuge that led to the misunderstanding, she renews her faith in Hasegawa—and by extension Japan—and tries to undermine the plot.Read More »