Best movies like The Rookie

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A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like The Rookie Starring Tommy Noonan, Peter Marshall, Julie Newmar, Jerry Lester, and more. If you liked The Rookie then you may also like: We're in the Navy Now, The New Lot, Overlord, Baby Blue Marine, Biloxi Blues and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

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A manic young radio network employee enlists in the army at the end of WWII and finds himself the only new recruit at basic training camp. Military comedy.

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We're in the Navy Now

"Stinky" Smith makes off with the prize money when his buddy, "Knockout" Hansen loses a fight with Percival "Sailor" Scruggs. Hansen pursues him him a U.S. Navt recruiting office, and, the next thing they know, both are in the Navy and aboard an overseas transport ship. Madelyn Phillips is on board and Scruggs is the the ship's Master-of-Arms. They overhear a mysterious conversation between Madelyn and the ship's radio officer. Later, Madelun induces the pair to take her off the ship and into a row boat. She disappears and they are picked up by a French ship, which sinks a German U-Boat. When the war ends they learn that Madelyn was an operative of the U.S. Secret Service.

The New Lot

A new batch of Army recruits, from diverse backgrounds and with varying degrees of commitment, is shaped into an efficient fighting unit.

Overlord

During World War II, a young man is called up and, with an increasing sense of foreboding, undertakes his army training ready for D-day, June 6th, 1944.

Baby Blue Marine

A would-be Marine fails basic training, and is sent home wearing the "baby blue" fatigues of a washout. En route, he is mugged by a battle-fatigued Marine Raider, who leaves him to hitch-hike home in an undeserved hero's uniform. A small Colorado town takes him in, treating him like the hero he appears to be.

Biloxi Blues

Eugene, an aspiring writer from Brooklyn, is drafted into the US Army during the final months of World War II. For his basic training, the Army sends him to Camp Shelby in Mississippi, where toil, bad food, and antisemitic jibes await. Eugene takes refuge in his sense of humor and in his diary, but they won't protect him in a battle of wills with an unstable drill sergeant.

Caught in the Draft

Don Bolton is a movie star who can't stand loud noises. To evade the draft, he decides to get married...but falls for a colonel's daughter. By mistake, he and his two cronies enlist. In basic training, Don hopes to make a good impression on the fair Antoinette and her father, but his military career is largely slapstick. Will he ever get his corporal's stripes?

Great Guns

Laurel and Hardy join the army. They are hardly soldiers, but they believe their employer, (Dick Nelson) will need them now he's drafted.

Decision Before Dawn

WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.

Stripes

John Winger, an indolent sad sack in his 30s, impulsively joins the U.S. Army after losing his job, his girlfriend and his apartment.

Private Benjamin

A sheltered young high society woman joins the army on a whim and finds herself in a more difficult situation than she ever expected.

Men of the Sky

A propaganda film, made in the early months of World War II, dramatizing a new group of U.S. Army Air Force pilots receiving their wings from Lt. General H.H. Arnold. An off-screen narrator introduces four of them to us; we see them before the war, during flight training, and in their first assignments as pilots.

Play Dirty

During World War II in North Africa, a group of British commandos disguised as Italian soldiers must travel behind enemy lines and destroy a vital Nazi oil depot.

Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous

When fluffy, bubble gum movie star Megan Valentine suddenly finds herself broke and humiliated in the public eye, she wanders from the wreckage of a car accident and witlessly enlists in the U.S. Army hoping in vain that it will change her life.

Private's Progress

Stanley Windrush has to interrupt his university education when he is called up towards the end of the war. He quickly proves himself not to be officer material, but befriends wily Private Percival Cox who knows exactly how all the scams work in the confused world of the British Army. And Stanley's brigadier War Office uncle seems to be up to something more than a bit shady too - and they are both soon working for him, behind the enemy lines.

Too Young The Hero

TV movie based upon the true story of Calvin Graham, who, as a 12 year old boy, enlisted in the US Navy during WWII.

Tribes

A Marine Corps drill instructor who is disgusted by the fact that the Corps now accepts draftees finds himself pitted against a hippie who has been drafted but refuses to accept the military's way of doing things.

Mr. Walkie Talkie

Military comedy about two sergeant buddies constantly getting into trouble.

Tanks a Million

Chubby William Tracy starred as Dodo Doubleday, a feckless Army draftee blessed (or cursed) with a photographic memory. Inexplicably promoted to sergeant, Doubleday becomes the bane of topkick Sgt. Ames' (Joe Sawyer) existence.

The Adventures of a Rookie

Two bumbling GIs manage to get themselves invited to a dinner party at a boarding house "for women only". When the cook comes down with scarlet fever, the authorities quarantine the house and the pair find themselves locked up in a house full of attractive women.

Tigerland

A group of recruits go through Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana's infamous Tigerland, last stop before Vietnam for tens of thousands of young men in 1971.

Parachute Battalion

Director Leslie Goodwins' 1941 military drama, about various men who become buddies when they join the paratroopers, stars Robert Preston, Edmond O'Brien and Buddy Ebsen.

The Girl He Left Behind

A young man is drafted and goes through the rigors of basic training, ultimately discovering the experience is also character-building. Director David Butler's 1956 film stars '50s teen favorites Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood, with supporting roles played by Jim Backus, Jessie Royce Landis, Murray Hamilton, Henry Jones, James Garner, Alan King, Ernestine Wade, David Janssen and Raymond Bailey.

Private Buckaroo

The film tells the story of army recruits following basic training, with the Andrew Sisters attending USO dances. The film is a mixture of comedy and songs.

Basic Training

Melinda comes to Washington DC to visit her friend Debbie, and to find a job in government, where she hopes to do her part to make it better. She gets a lower echelon administrative position at the Pentagon, and finds things pretty slack. Her boss seems to be more interested in getting into her pants than trying to find lost data on the Russians. Melinda resists his advances and begins working her way up in the Pentagon, finding subtle ways of getting her policies implemented by manipulating the slovenly males that populate the Pentagon, including finding a way to defuse the mounting conflict with the Russians

To the Shores of Tripoli

Chronicle of a spoiled rich boy who joins the Marines with an off-handed attitude and finally becomes a battle-wise soldier. Academy Award Nominations: Best (Color) Cinematography.

Tell It to the Marines

U.S. Marine Sergeant O'Hara has his hands full training raw recruits, one of whom, 'Skeets' Burns, is a particular thorn in his side. If Burns's lackadaisical approach to the military were not bad enough, he also makes advances on nurse Nora Dale, whom Sergeant O'Hara secretly loves. Nora is oblivious to O'Hara's feelings and is attracted to the handsome 'Skeet.' But an indiscretion turns her against him, and it takes an expedition to China and a battle with a warlord's bandit brigade to sort things out among the nurse and her two Marines.

Our Girl

On the evening of her 18th birthday, Molly Dawes finds herself drunk and is sick in the doorway of an army recruitment office. She looks into the window of the office and sees a life-sized photograph of an army girl, everything that Molly isn't but wants to be - respected. The following morning, Molly finds herself back in the recruitment office and is eventually persuaded to complete an aptitude test. No-one thinks she can stick it out, including herself. But slowly and surely, Molly is maturing and learning to believe in herself. She digs in and finds a strength that she never thought she had.

The Fallen

Northern Italy, Autumn 1944, the last days of World War II. Germans and Italians try to defend the Gothic Line and fight the partisans who support the inexorable advance of the US Army.

When Willie Comes Marching Home

When Willie leaves home to join the war effort he is all ready to become a hero, but he is only frustrated when his posting ends up to be in his home town, and he is recruited into training, keeping him from the action. However, when he finds himself accidently behind enemy lines he unexpectedly becomes a hero after all.

Sword of Honour

Guy Crouchback joins the war effort during World War 2, an idealistic quest to join the forces of good in the fight against evil. But his efforts is not rewarded, he never has any chance to join any real fighting, circumstances always prevent it. Instead he finds himself in the middle of an army full of cowards, incompetents and a few outright evil men. They of course reap the fortunes of war, promotions and fame, but never Crouchback. His war is just an endless list of transfers and an hopeless but noble quest for righteousness.

The Bugle Sounds

An old-time cavalry sergeant's resistance to change could cost him his post.

Danny Boy

A U. S. Marines dog is returned to his young owner in the small town of Monrovia at the end of WWII, but a grouchy neighbor believes the animal's military training makes him a threat to the community and files charges to have the dog destroyed.

Rookies on Parade

The story details the misadventures of two itinerant songwriters named Duke (Crosby) and Cliff (Foy) as they try to survive Army boot camp. Intending to boost the morale of their fellow draftees, our heroes stage a big musical show, which they eventually hope will graduate to Broadway.

Top Sergeant Mulligan

During World War I a vaudeville entertainer, Mickey, is helping to recruit officers for the army and finds himself in the service along with his female partner, who is also his girlfriend. At training camp he comes up against Top Sergeant Mulligan, who proceeds to make life miserable for him. If that wasn't enough, it turns out that Mulligan, the captain and a YMCA worker are all making a play for his girlfriend.

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