10 Great World War II Movies You've Probably Never Seen

During the four years of the War that the United States participated, Hollywood barely made anything except films about it. Most of these were hastily put together propaganda pieces to drum up recruitment to the armed forces and stoke fervour and as a result, few outside of legendary works like Casablanca are talked about to this day.

Alfred Hitchcock moved to America at the start of the war in Britain in 1939. Between then and 1945 was one of his most productive periods as a filmmaker, as he proceeded to direct seven films and two shorts. Aside from Rebecca, none of these seem to ever be part of any conversation about his greatest works and are somewhat obscure in comparison to the likes of Psycho and Vertigo as a result, but three, Saboteur, Foreign Correspondent and Lifeboat, were war films by virtue of their setting.

Of these, Saboteur is perhaps the most ‘Hitchcockian’, being a spy thriller centred around fifth columnist activity, but Lifeboat is the best of the bunch. Set entirely aboard a lifeboat following a German U-boat attack, it is claustrophobic and suspenseful, paving the way for future successes such as Rope.

Controversial during its wartime release for its sympathetic portrayal of a German mariner, it was only given a limited cinematic release. It remains hard to find today, not part of any of the Hitchcock box sets on the market, but is well worth seeking out.