Best War Movies of 1956

1.

War and Peace

4.9
6.7/10 IMDB

Napoleon's tumultuous relations with Russia including his disastrous 1812 invasion serve as the backdrop for the tangled personal lives of two aristocratic families.

Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer, Vittorio Gassman, Herbert Lom, Oskar Homolka, Anita Ekberg, Barry Jones, May Britt, Jeremy Brett ..
Directed by: King Vidor
Release date: 1956-08-21
2.

Attack

4.4
7.4/10 IMDB

Battle of the Bulge, World War II, 1944. Lieutenant Costa, an infantry company officer who must establish artillery observation posts in a strategic area, has serious doubts about Captain Cooney's leadership ability.

Starring: Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Buddy Ebsen, Strother Martin, Jon Shepodd, Peter van Eyck, James Goodwin ..
Directed by: Robert Aldrich
Release date: 1956-09-19
3.

Friendly Persuasion

3.8
7.3/10 IMDB

The story of a family of Quakers in Indiana in 1862. Their religious sect is strongly opposed to violence and war. It's not easy for them to meet the rules of their religion in everyday life but when Southern troops pass the area they are in real trouble. Should they fight, despite their peaceful attitude?

Starring: Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins, Richard Eyer, Robert Middleton, Phyllis Love, Peter Mark Richman, Walter Catlett, Richard Hale, Joel Fluellen ..
Directed by: William Wyler
Release date: 1956-11-25
4.

The Man Who Never Was

3.8
7.4/10 IMDB

The true story of a British effort to trick the Germans into weakening Sicily's defenses before the 1943 attack. A dead soldier is dressed as a British officer and outfitted with faked papers showing that the Allies were intending to invade occupied Greece. His body is put into the sea where it will ultimately drift ashore and the papers be passed along to German Intelligence.

Starring: Clifton Webb, Gloria Grahame, Robert Flemyng, Josephine Griffin, Stephen Boyd, Laurence Naismith, Geoffrey Keen, Cyril Cusack, André Morell, Michael Hordern ..
Directed by: Ronald Neame
Release date: 1956-04-03
5.

Reach for the Sky

3.6
7.2/10 IMDB

The true story of airman Douglas Bader who overcame the loss of both legs in a 1931 flying accident to become a successful fighter pilot and wing leader during World War II.

Starring: Kenneth More, Muriel Pavlow, Lyndon Brook, Lee Patterson, Alexander Knox, Dorothy Alison, Michael Warre, Sydney Tafler, Charles Carson, Ronald Adam ..
Directed by: Lewis Gilbert
Release date: 1956-07-05
6.

A Town Like Alice

3.6
7.2/10 IMDB

In 1941, The advancing Japanese army captures a lot of British territory very quickly. The men are sent off to labor camps, but they have no plan on what to do with the women and children of the British.

Starring: Virginia McKenna, Peter Finch, Kenji Takagi, Tran Van Khe, Jean Anderson, Marie Lohr, Maureen Swanson, Renée Houston, Nora Nicholson, Eileen Moore ..
Directed by: Jack Lee
Release date: 1956-03-01
7.

The Rack

3.5
6.8/10 IMDB

Army Captain Edward Hall returns to the US after two years in a prison camp in the Korean War. In the camp he was brainwashed and helped the Chinese convince the other prisoners that they were fighting an unjust war. When he comes back he is charged for collaboration with the enemy. Where does loyalty end in a prison camp, when the camp is a living hell?

Starring: Paul Newman, Wendell Corey, Walter Pidgeon, Edmond O'Brien, Anne Francis, Lee Marvin, Cloris Leachman, Robert Burton, Robert F. Simon, Trevor Bardette ..
Directed by: Arnold Laven
Release date: 1956-11-02
8.

Between Heaven and Hell

3.4
6.5/10 IMDB

Sam Gifford remembers : In prewar years he was an arrogant southern cotton plantation owner, married to the daughter of a colonel. At the beginning of the war he was mobilized with his National Guard unit as a sergeant. Came the day when, revolted by the cowardice of his lieutenant, who had fired at his own men, he hit him. Downgraded, he was sent to a disciplinary battalion. Sam now discovers his new detachment, his new commanding officer, just another cowardly brute, Captain Waco Grimes. While in combat, Sam will gradually become closer to the privates, working-class people he used to despise. He will become another man, a better man.

Starring: Robert Wagner, Terry Moore, Broderick Crawford, Buddy Ebsen, Robert Keith, Brad Dexter, Mark Damon, Ken Clark, Harvey Lembeck, Skip Homeier ..
Directed by: Richard Fleischer
Release date: 1956-10-11
9.

The Battle of the River Plate

3.4
6.6/10 IMDB

In the early years of the World War II, the Royal Navy is fighting a desperate battle to keep the Atlantic convoy routes open to supply the British Isles, facing the great danger posed by the many German warships, such as the Admiral Graf Spee, which are scouring the ocean for cargo ships to sink.

Starring: John Gregson, Anthony Quayle, Peter Finch, Ian Hunter, Jack Gwillim, Bernard Lee, Lionel Murton, Anthony Bushell, Peter Illing, Michael Goodliffe ..
Directed by: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Release date: 1956-10-30
10.

The Great Locomotive Chase

3.4
6.8/10 IMDB

During the Civil War, a Union spy, Andrews, is asked to lead a band of Union soldiers into the South so that they could destroy the railway system. However, things don't go as planned when the conductor of the train that they stole is on to them and is doing everything he can to stop them. Based on a true story.

Starring: Fess Parker, Jeffrey Hunter, Jeff York, John Lupton, Eddie Firestone, Kenneth Tobey, Don Megowan, Claude Jarman Jr., Harry Carey, Jr., Leonard P. Geer ..
Directed by: Francis D. Lyon
Release date: 1956-06-08
11.

Helen of Troy

3.3
6.1/10 IMDB

Prince Paris of Troy, shipwrecked on a mission to the king of Sparta, meets and falls for Queen Helen before he knows who she is. Rudely received by the royal Greeks, he must flee...but fate and their mutual passions lead him to take Helen along. This gives the Greeks just the excuse they need for much-desired war.

Starring: Rossana Podestà, Cedric Hardwicke, Jacques Sernas, Stanley Baker, Niall MacGinnis, Nora Swinburne, Robert Douglas, Torin Thatcher, Harry Andrews, Janette Scott ..
Directed by: Robert Wise
Release date: 1956-01-26
Best War Movies of 1956 : Away All Boats
12.

Away All Boats

3.1
6.2/10 IMDB

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.

Starring: Jeff Chandler, George Nader, Lex Barker, Julie Adams, Keith Andes, Richard Boone, William Reynolds, Charles McGraw, Jock Mahoney, Frank Faylen ..
Directed by: Joseph Pevney
Release date: 1956-08-16
13.

Alexander the Great

3.1
5.8/10 IMDB

He was a fierce military commander who led huge armies into battle without a single defeat; a magnificent warrior who many believed was part god - this was Alexander the Great (Richard Burton), the legendary Greek hero hailed by his countrymen as "The King of Kings". Born in 356 B.C. into a turbulent world of political unrest, educated by Aristotle (Barry Jones) and chosen to lead his people in the grand tradition of his powerful father (Fredric March), this glamorous world conqueror rose above all conflict to unite the continents of Europe and Asia to become one of the most celebrated rulers of all time! Written, produced and directed by Oscar - winner Robert Rossen and featuring the extraordinary Claire Bloom and a remarkable cast of thousands, this stunning portrait of one of history's most fascinating figures is colossal entertainment and an amazing spectacle.

Starring: Richard Burton, Fredric March, Claire Bloom, Barry Jones, Harry Andrews, Stanley Baker, Niall MacGinnis, Peter Cushing, Michael Hordern, Danielle Darrieux ..
Directed by: Robert Rossen
Release date: 1956-03-28
14.

D-Day the Sixth of June

2.9
6.0/10 IMDB

En route to Normandy, an American and a British officer reminisce in flashback about their romances with the same woman.

Starring: Robert Taylor, Richard Todd, Dana Wynter, Edmond O'Brien, John Williams, Jerry Paris, Robert Gist, Richard Wyler, Alex Finlayson, Ross Elliott ..
Directed by: Henry Koster
Release date: 1956-05-29
Best War Movies of 1956 : A Short Vision
15.

A Short Vision

2.9
7.2/10 IMDB

"Wild creatures flee in terror as a strange missile flies overhead. As it passes over the sleeping city, the world's leaders and wise men look upwards. The missile explodes, destroying humans, wild creatures and the Earth itself. A Short Vision became one of the most influential British animated films ever made when it was screened on US television as part of the popular Ed Sullivan Show. Although children were advised to leave the room while it played, it still caused outrage and alarm with its graphic representation of the horrors of nuclear war.

Starring: James McKechnie ..
Directed by: Peter Foldès, Joan Foldes
Release date: 1956-01-01
Best War Movies of 1956 : The Bold and the Brave
16.

The Bold and the Brave

2.8
6.0/10 IMDB

An assortment of American types come together in the Italian campaign of 1944.

Starring: Wendell Corey, Mickey Rooney, Don Taylor, Nicole Maurey, John Smith, Race Gentry, Wright King, Stanley Adams, Bobs Watson, Tara Summers ..
Directed by: Lewis R. Foster
Release date: 1956-01-04
Best War Movies of 1956 : A Hill in Korea
17.

A Hill in Korea

2.7
6.1/10 IMDB

Based on real events, A Hill in Korea charts the fortunes of a small group of British soldiers serving in the Korean War. Out on a routine patrol, the soldiers find that Chinese troop movements have cut them off from their own lines. They try to fight their way back to safety but with the enemy surrounding them on all sides, the prospects look bleak. Facing almost insurmountable odds, they decide to stand a fight.

Starring: George Baker, Harry Andrews, Stanley Baker, Michael Medwin, Stephen Boyd, Victor Maddern, Harry Landis, Robert Brown, Barry Lowe, Robert Shaw ..
Directed by: Julian Amyes
Release date: 1956-09-18
Best War Movies of 1956 : Private's Progress
18.

Private's Progress

2.7
6.4/10 IMDB

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.

Starring: Ian Carmichael, Richard Attenborough, Terry-Thomas, John Le Mesurier, William Hartnell, Dennis Price, Ian Bannen, Peter Jones, Christopher Lee, Miles Malleson ..
Directed by: John Boulting
Release date: 1956-02-17
Best War Movies of 1956 : Toward the Unknown
19.

Toward the Unknown

2.7
6.5/10 IMDB

Tortured into a false confession while a POW in Korea, Major Lincoln Bond returns to active service as a test pilot. Determined to clear his name, Bond battles a hard-nosed base commander, prejudiced officers and his own insecurities.

Starring: William Holden, Lloyd Nolan, Virginia Leith, Charles McGraw, Murray Hamilton, Paul Fix, James Garner, L.Q. Jones, Karen Steele, Bartlett Robinson ..
Directed by: Mervyn LeRoy
Release date: 1956-09-27
Best War Movies of 1956 : The First Texan
20.

The First Texan

2.6
6.1/10 IMDB

After arriving in Texas to escape a scandal back east, lawyer Sam Houston just wants to hang out his shingle, keep a low profile, and stay out of any political intrigue. However, when President Jackson personally orders him to lead the fight for Texan independence, he overcomes his reluctance to become involved and leads his compatriots to a string of victories over the Mexican army.

Starring: Joel McCrea, Felicia Farr, Jeff Morrow, Wallace Ford, Abraham Sofaer, Jody McCrea, Chubby Johnson, William Hopper, Dayton Lummis, Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. ..
Directed by: Byron Haskin
Release date: 1956-06-29
Best War Movies of 1956 : Battle Stations
21.

Battle Stations

2.6
6.0/10 IMDB

The crew of a U.S. Navy ship in World War II goes into battle against the Japanese fleet.

Starring: John Lund, William Bendix, Keefe Brasselle, Richard Boone, William Leslie, John Craven, Jimmy Lydon, Claude Akins, George O'Hanlon, Eddie Foy III ..
Directed by: Lewis Seiler
Release date: 1956-02-01
Best War Movies of 1956 : Hold Back The Night
22.

Hold Back The Night

2.5
6.1/10 IMDB

A Marine officer (John Payne) goes through Korea with the bottle of Scotch that his wife (Mona Freeman) gave him in the last war.

Starring: John Payne, Chuck Connors, Peter Graves, Mona Freeman, Robert Easton, Audrey Dalton, Stuart Whitman, Robert Nichols, John Wilder, Stanley Cha ..
Directed by: Allan Dwan
Release date: 1956-07-29
Best War Movies of 1956 : Screaming Eagles
23.

Screaming Eagles

2.4
5.8/10 IMDB

A group of young soldiers parachute into France in preparation for D-Day.

Starring: Tom Tryon, Jan Merlin, Alvy Moore, Martin Milner, Jacqueline Beer, Ralph Votrian ..
Directed by: Charles F. Haas
Release date: 1956-05-27

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