Best movies like They Were Expendable

A Tribute to Those Who Did So Much... With So Little!

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like They Were Expendable Starring Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, Donna Reed, Jack Holt, and more. If you liked They Were Expendable then you may also like: Victory Through Air Power, The Wings of Eagles, The Navy Comes Through, Operation Pacific, Remember Pearl Harbor 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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Victory Through Air Power

This is a unique film in Disney Production's history. This film is essentially a propaganda film selling Major Alexander de Seversky's theories about the practical uses of long range strategic bombing. Using a combination of animation humorously telling about the development of air warfare, the film switches to the Major illustrating his ideas could win the war for the allies.

Operation Pacific

During WWII, Duke E. Gifford is second in command of the USS Thunderfish, a submarine which is firing off torpedoes that either explode too early or never explode at all. It's a dilemma that he'll eventually take up personally. Even more personal is his quest to win back his ex-wife, a nurse; but he'll have to win her back from a navy flier who also happens to be his commander's little brother.

Remember Pearl Harbor

A man tries to redeem himself after ducking out on his comrades before the fatal attack.

The Caine Mutiny

When a US Naval captain shows signs of mental instability that jeopardize his ship, the first officer relieves him of command and faces court martial for mutiny.

The Final Countdown

During routine manoeuvres near Hawaii in 1980, the aircraft-carrier USS Nimitz is caught in a strange vortex-like storm, throwing the ship back in time to 1941—mere hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Okinawa

On the eve of their return to the states, the crew of the U.S.S. Blake is unpleasantly surprised when their new captain, Lt. Commander Hale, announces that they've been reassigned to the upcoming invasion of Okinawa. With the news turning the crew against him, Hale must rise to the occasion to keep his men inline.

The Cruel Sea

At the start of World War II, Cmdr. Ericson is assigned to convoy escort HMS Compass Rose with inexperienced officers and men just out of training. The winter seas make life miserable enough, but the men must also harden themselves to rescuing survivors of U-Boat attacks, while seldom able to strike back. Traumatic events afloat and ashore create a warm bond between the skipper and his first officer

From Here to Eternity

In 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his captain's wife and second in command are falling in love.

In Harm's Way

A naval officer reprimanded after Pearl Harbor is later promoted to rear admiral and gets a second chance to prove himself against the Japanese.

Tora! Tora! Tora!

In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words use by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, covers the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged America into the Second World War.

Midway

The story of the Battle of Midway, and the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, fortitude and bravery to overcome massive odds.

Midway

This war drama depicts the U.S. and Japanese forces in the naval Battle of Midway, which became a turning point for Americans during World War II.

The Enemy Below

The crew of the American destroyer escort, the USS Haynes, detects a German U-Boat—resulting in a prolonged, deadly battle of wits.

The Fighting Sullivans

The lives of a close-knit group of brothers growing up in Iowa during the days of the Great Depression and of World War II and their eventual deaths in action in the Pacific theater are chronicled in this film based on a true story.

Flying Leathernecks

Major Daniel Kirby takes command of a squadron of Marine fliers just before they are about to go into combat. While the men are well meaning, he finds them undisciplined and prone to always finding excuses to do what is easy rather than what is necessary. The root of the problem is the second in command, Capt. Carl 'Griff' Griffin. Griff is the best flier in the group but Kirby finds him a poor commander who is not prepared to make the difficult decision that all commanders have to make - to put men in harm's way knowing that they may be killed.

Flying Tigers

Jim Gordon commands a unit of the famed Flying Tigers, the American Volunteer Group which fought the Japanese in China before America's entry into World War II. Gordon must send his outnumbered band of fighter pilots out against overwhelming odds while juggling the disparate personalities and problems of his fellow flyers.

Task Force

After learning the finer points of carrier aviation in the 1920s, career officer Jonathan Scott and his pals spend the next two decades promoting the superiority of naval air power. But military and political "red tape" continually frustrate their efforts, prompting Scott to even consider leaving the Navy for a more lucrative civilian job. Then the world enters a second World War and Scott finally gets the opportunity to prove to Washington the valuable role aircraft carriers could play in winning the conflict. But what will it cost him and his comrades personally?

Texas to Bataan

In the 17th of the 24 films in Monogram's "Range Buster" series, Texas ranch owner Conroy returns from Washington with an order for horses to be shipped to the Philippines. The Range Busters, Dusty, Davy and Alibi, are selected to take the horses there but, before leaving, they capture three spies who are trying to steal the horses and also learn that the ranch cook, Cookie, is a Japanese spy, but he manages to escape. In the Philippines, they go to a café for dinner and see Cookie and Miller, a German spy. Eavesdropping, they learn that Ken Richards, a neighboring Texas rancher, is the Axis contact back in the states. They capture Cookie and break up the spy ring in the Phillipines, and then return to Texas intent on settling matters with Richards. They do so and are honored by the U.S. Government just as the radio blares forth the December 7, 1941 announcement of the Pearl Harbor bombing. They head for the nearest enlistment station.

I Was an American Spy

An American nightclub singer in 1940's Singapore becomes a spy for America in an effort to get back at the invading Japanese army. Based on a true story.

USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage

The harrowing true story of the crew of the USS Indianapolis, who were stranded in the Philippine Sea for five days after delivering the atomic weapons that would eventually end WWII. As they awaited rescue, they endured extreme thirst, hunger, and relentless shark attacks.

Torpedo Run

A submarine commander is on a relentless pursuit of a Japanese aircraft carrier in the South Seas during World War II.

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.

Run Silent, Run Deep

The captain of a submarine sunk by the Japanese during WWII is finally given a chance to skipper another sub after a year of working a desk job. His singleminded determination for revenge against the destroyer that sunk his previous vessel puts his new crew in unneccessary danger.

The Gallant Hours

A semi-documentary dramatization of five weeks in the life of Vice Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey, Jr., from his assignment to command the U.S. naval operations in the South Pacific to the Allied victory at Guadalcanal.

Drain The Ocean: WWII

What lies beneath the ocean? World War Two left a great number of ships and submarines hidden beneath the waves. Now, as the oceans drain, each vessel reveals its secrets through new data-based 3D reconstructions. From the Arizona in Pearl Harbour’s shallows, whose destruction brought America into the war, to Nazi super ship the Bismarck and its mysterious end three miles down. From the flaming merchant ships secretly torpedoed by U-boats off tourist beaches of the USA, to the covert inventions of the Allies' costly D-Day beachhead, and lastly to the troopship Leopoldville sunk with the needless deaths of 400 soldiers. Drain The Ocean exposes the truth.

Sacrifice at Pearl Harbor

Evidence that the United States and Britain knew beforehand of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

National Geographic: Untold Stories of World War II

Showcases 3 major events during World War 2 involving both the Europeans & Pacific conflicts. The Raids to destroy Nazi Germany's heavy water production based in Norway, plus the final desperate act to deny them what had already been stockpiled. The Japanese midget submarines role and participation in the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. What they achieved plus what was their ultimate fate. The attacks on United States warships in the Pacific late in World War 2 by the Japanese Kamikaze and Okha Squadrons. The Kamikaze attacks were in whatever planes the Japanese forces were able to gather. The Okha attacks were made in specially built flying bombs that were towed by larger and usually slower aircraft that were not suitable for fighter work.

Away All Boats

The story of USS 'Belinda', a U.S. naval ship, and its crew during the battle of the Pacific 1943-1945, as it prepares for action and landing troops on enemy beachheads.

December 7th

"Docudrama" about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 and its results, the recovering of the ships, the improving of defense in Hawaii and the US efforts to beat back the Japanese reinforcements.

The Fighting Lady

Oscar winner William Wyler directed this 1944 "newsdrama," narrated by Lieut. Robert Taylor, USNR (Bataan), and photographed in zones of combat by the U.S. Navy. The film follows one of the many new aircraft carriers built since Pearl Harbor, known as THE FIGHTING LADY in honor of all American carriers, as it goes into action against the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean in 1943. See the ship and its pilots undergo their baptism of fire, attacking the Japanese base on Marcus Island. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation.

Design for Death

Documentary Feature winner "Design for Death" (1947) examines Japanese culture and how it led to Japan's role in WWII.

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