Movies to watch to get in the mood for WPO.
Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 5:41 am
With War Plan Orange getting closer as every day passes, I am pretty psyched up. As such, I have been watching a lot of movies (mainly older ones) to get in the feel for the era. A good number I would reccomend are:
Hell Below (1933)
Stars Robert Montgomery and Jimmy Durant. This is definately one of my favorite submarine movies, yet I didn't know about it until last year. It takes place in the Meditteranean in 1918, aboard the Submarine USS AL-14 (In real life the L class was renamed AL to avoid confusion with British boats.). While it does involve a love story, it is nicely interspersed so that at heart, it is a submarine movie. Hardware included in the movie is an L (or possibly an H) class US Submarine, stock footage of an Italian Dreadnought, several US flush deck destroyers, and Curtiss F6C-4s standing in as German biplanes. Very good look at early submarine warfare, and fairly realistic to boot.
Court Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
Color Movie, stars Gary Cooper. Not one of my favorites to watch as a movie, but it does have nice shots of de Havilland DH-4s, and other early Biplanes of the 1920s. Be warned though, the sinking of the Ostfriesland is a little cheesy, its clearly a small model. Still, very cool.
Task Force (1949)
Also stars Gary Cooper. This movie is awsome to watch, both for the hardware as well as a movie. Showcases old footage of the Langley, Enterprise, Yorktown, Franklin, and Saratoga, as well as various types of early aircraft (many scenes with the Vought VE-7). It shows the transition from the Langley (As being "not worth sinking compared to battleships") to the final days of WW2 with US carriers beating off Kamikaze attacks.
Blue Max (1966)
Starys James Mason, George Peppard. Not really related to War Plan Orange, but the biplane combat is pretty cool, with many of the aircraft in the movie being direct predecessors to the planes in War Plan Orange.
Shout at the Devil (1976)
Stars Lee Marvin, Karl Michael-Vogler. Not a great movie, most if it is dull and bland. However, the last half is pretty cool, with Africans trying to sabotage and sink the German Armored cruiser Blucher. While they do succeed, it is a downer considering this is not what happened in real life. Still, the ship is pretty convincing, and it is good to watch for that aspect alone.
Gallipoli (1981)
Stars Mel Gibson. A good look at the first seaborne invasion of history. Also a good watch, as it will demonstrate how WPO's landings would have been done, considering that even by the 1920's, there wasn't much amphibious training.
Hell Below (1933)
Stars Robert Montgomery and Jimmy Durant. This is definately one of my favorite submarine movies, yet I didn't know about it until last year. It takes place in the Meditteranean in 1918, aboard the Submarine USS AL-14 (In real life the L class was renamed AL to avoid confusion with British boats.). While it does involve a love story, it is nicely interspersed so that at heart, it is a submarine movie. Hardware included in the movie is an L (or possibly an H) class US Submarine, stock footage of an Italian Dreadnought, several US flush deck destroyers, and Curtiss F6C-4s standing in as German biplanes. Very good look at early submarine warfare, and fairly realistic to boot.
Court Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
Color Movie, stars Gary Cooper. Not one of my favorites to watch as a movie, but it does have nice shots of de Havilland DH-4s, and other early Biplanes of the 1920s. Be warned though, the sinking of the Ostfriesland is a little cheesy, its clearly a small model. Still, very cool.
Task Force (1949)
Also stars Gary Cooper. This movie is awsome to watch, both for the hardware as well as a movie. Showcases old footage of the Langley, Enterprise, Yorktown, Franklin, and Saratoga, as well as various types of early aircraft (many scenes with the Vought VE-7). It shows the transition from the Langley (As being "not worth sinking compared to battleships") to the final days of WW2 with US carriers beating off Kamikaze attacks.
Blue Max (1966)
Starys James Mason, George Peppard. Not really related to War Plan Orange, but the biplane combat is pretty cool, with many of the aircraft in the movie being direct predecessors to the planes in War Plan Orange.
Shout at the Devil (1976)
Stars Lee Marvin, Karl Michael-Vogler. Not a great movie, most if it is dull and bland. However, the last half is pretty cool, with Africans trying to sabotage and sink the German Armored cruiser Blucher. While they do succeed, it is a downer considering this is not what happened in real life. Still, the ship is pretty convincing, and it is good to watch for that aspect alone.
Gallipoli (1981)
Stars Mel Gibson. A good look at the first seaborne invasion of history. Also a good watch, as it will demonstrate how WPO's landings would have been done, considering that even by the 1920's, there wasn't much amphibious training.