The Canadian Army in Movies

I will start this thread and with the help of my fellow canucks hopefully we can add to it.

Dieppe (1993) (TV) Dieppe

The Devil's Brigade (1968) The Devils Brigade(Special Forces)

 

I'm afraid you will need to expand it to include more than the army.

I believe, the RCAF is represented by Christopher Plummer in The Battle of Britain

 

I believe Newkirk in "Hogan's Heroes" was RCAF

 

thanks for the share.

 

Newkirk was RAF.

As far as movies depicting Canadians goes, one I like has Henry Fonda and Thomas Mitchell in it called: The Immortal Battalion. I used to have an original Movie Studio Press Release photo from thsi movie, but about a year or so ago-gave it awa to a Canadian friend of mine. If I think of more Canadians in war-films, i'll gladly post them.

 

Someone ought to make a film about those fellows at Kapelsche Veer. But I guess there wasn't much of an inspiring ending for either side there, just a lot of blood and slogging in frozen muck that was largely devoid of cover.

Maple Leaf Up.

BW

 

I just thought of three more depicting Canadas WWII war effort. One of them I like very much that has James Francis Cagney in it as a pilot training for service with the RCAF. This movie also has Alan Hale Sr in it as well. Captains of the Clouds. Another is the 49th Paralell-which depicts some Uboat Guys on the "lam" in Canada. Another good one was a true story-called: The One Who Got Away-which stars Hardy Kruger as "the one who got away." Im not sure if this is Canadian or British but-The McKenzie Break-with Brian Keith as a PoW Camp Commandant.

 

Ok all Canadian forces then...thanks for the info keep it coming

 

I wish I could but-the only other one im aware of has already been mentioned--Devils Brigade. Now, I THINK this one has to do with Canadians-which is called: D-Day: 6th of June-which has a great cast but-the movie is boring and sucks. Sorry to Robert Taylor fans-of which im one.

 

How about this one:
Corvette K-225 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

this one too Attack on the Iron Coast

Attack on the Iron Coast (1968)

 

Oh, you were watcing that today as well I see... Not a bad film. I have it on DVD. Not one of the best, but it's a good timekiller if you're having a slow day.

 

yeah I was watching it today...The Canadian History channel had movies&shows that relate to D-Day(Longest day,SPR,)

 

I couldn't find any channel that we now get-out of 130 channels-not one of them showed any war movies. I was pretty disgusted in that. Instead, I founf crap like: Titanic, Maid in Manhatten, etc etc etc.

 

Wow! As a proud Canadian I've always grumbled (over a cup of Tim Hortons coffee) that Canadians need more attention in movies. But I guess everyone besides the British and the Americans thinks the same thing Didn't know about alot of these movies though, thanks y'all!!! Although its WWI, Passcheandale (spelling that word is a b*tch) is devoted entirely to Canadians, and if you can ignore the romance its actually a really good movie IMO.

 

Actually, on this Forum and its sister site WW2Talk, I've actually found that many Americans and British know more about Canada's roles than many of our fellow citizens - particularly after a generation of comedians belittled the military to the point that most Canadians ignored much of our military history unless they were the children/grandchildren of Vets. On the other hand, I do enjoy finding information on Canada's variety of roles during WWII and sharing them them here.

I enjoyed Paul Gross' Passchendaele as well. The love story was the weakest part, but it was a storytellers way to show human vulnerability versus being all action. I hoped it would get international distribution so that there might be interest in making some movies that involved Canadian stories from WWII, as Hollywood ignored that area as Canadian stories were not seen as something likely to build up their bank balances. Who knows, with some Canadian series being purchased for distribution in the U.S. and other markets such as Australia (where I saw Corner Gas) without changing it to be somewhere other than Canada, perhaps there will eventually be interest in movies about WWII Canadians. After all, they are the stories that haven't been told before.....

 

From Non-Canadian Canadian Movies I found the following:

I included ones that weren't just the forces, but that had a Canadian WWII reference or character....

The African Queen (USA)(1951) Katherine Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart.....Classic romantic/comedy/adventure set in Africa during the early part of the first World War (which I erroneously identified as the Second WW, until a friendly e-mailer corrected me). The behind the scenes story is that, in the source novel, Bogart's boat captain character was British. This was crucial to the story (if I recall) 'cause Bogart's country is supposed to be at war, but Hepburn, as an American missionary, isn't. But Bogart couldn't do the accent. So, for the movie, the character was made a Canadian (Canadians having entered the war long before the United States). Canadian filmmakers often insist that a film featuring a Canadian protagonist can't find an audience, but of course this flick is a bona fide classic. Go figure. Trivia note: director John Huston's dad (actor Walter Huston) was Canadian.

The Bridge on the River Kwai (British)(1957) Alec Guiness, William Holden.....Classic war suspense-drama about P.O.W.s in a Japanese prison camp. It's been a while since I've seen it, but an e-mailer said that one of the characters in the climax is identified as being Canadian.

The Brylcreem Boys (British)
(1996) Bill Campbell.....Apparently during World War II, Ireland was neutral and would intern soldiers of any nation caught on Irish soil. Campbell plays a Canadian pilot, a P.O.W. in Ireland, who gets involved in a romantic rivalry with a fellow, German P.O.W. for a local Irish girl.

Captains of the Clouds (USA)
(1942) James Cagney.....World War II drama about pilots in the Canadian air force. Thanks to an e-mailer for suggesting this one.

Circle of Deception (British)
(1961) Bradford Dillman, Suzy Parker, Harry Andrews.....W.W. II espionage about Canadian soldier Dillman sent behind enemy lines, unaware that his British superiors want him to fail.

Corvette K-225 (USA)
(1943) Randolph Scott, James Brown, Ella Raines....War flick about the exploits of a ship in the Canadian navy.

The English Patient (USA/British)
(1997) Ralph Fiennes, Kristen Scott-Thomas, Juliette Binoche, Willem DaFoe, Naveen Andrews.....Reactions seem to run really hot or cold for this hugely successful, but slow-moving adaptation of Canadian Michael Ondaatje's war-time romance (including scoring a few Oscars) set partially at a Canadian field hospital in North Africa. People either love it or utterly loathe it. Apparently Fiennes character was loosely inspired by a real person. Binoche (who I think received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar), DaFoe, Andrews and others play Canadian characters. Canadian actors have bit parts at the hospital including Torri Higginson and Geordie Johnson.

The 49th Parallel (British)
(1941) Eric Portman, Laurence Oliver.....Well regarded war flick about a German U-boat coming aground on Canadian shores. Olivier plays a French-Canadian woodsman -- his accent isn't great, but, by golly, he actually tries for a French-Canadian accent, rather than just a standard French-European accent.

Hope and Glory (UK)
(1987) Sarah Miles.....Critically acclaimed coming of age reminiscence set in England during World War II. A couple of Canadian characters crop up in supporting parts. Thanks to an e-mailer for suggesting this one (the same e-mailer who suggested Happy Time above).

The Key to Rebecca (USA)
(1985) Cliff Robertson, David Soul.....Made for TV mini-series about World War II espionage set in North Africa and based on the Ken Follett novel. According to a guy who signed the Guestbook, star Robertson plays a Canadian (he also played a Canadian in The Devil's Brigade -- see above). I saw it years ago, but I don't remember too much about it, except that some scenes seemed surprisingly racy for a network television production.

A League of Their Own (USA)
(1992) Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Tom Hanks.....Hit comedy-drama about the World War II era professional women's baseball league. One of the team is identified as being from Saskatchewan. Thanks to an e-mailer for suggesting this one.


The Mosquito Squadron (UK)(1969) David McCallum, Suzanne Neve, David Buck....War yarn with McCallum as a Canadian-born British pilot on a mission behind enemy lines. Thanks to Will Thomas for suggesting this one.

Northern Pursuit (USA)(1943) Errol Flynn.....World War II adventure with Flynn as a mountie pursuing a Nazi through Canada. Thanks to a Guestbook signer for suggesting this one.

The One That Got Away (British)(1957) Hardy Kruger.....True story of a World War II German P.O.W. who kept escaping from Allied prisons. According to an e-mailer, at one point in the story he's been relocated to a Canadian P.O.W. camp and escapes across the border into the then-neutral U.S.

Submarine X-1 (UK)
(1968) James Cann, Rupert Davies.....WW II flick with Cann as a Canadian put in charge of a British mini-sub fleet. Thanks to Will Thomas for this one.

Tobruk (USA)(1967) Rock Hudson, George Peppard.....World War II actioner about an Allied commando unit fighting Nazis in North Africa. According to a guy who signed the Guestbook (see main page) Hudson plays a Canadian.

WAR BRIDES * * 1/2 setting: CDN.
(1980) Sonja Smits, Layne Coleman, Elizabeth Richardson, Geoffrey Bowes, Wendy Crewson, Timothy Webber, Sharry Flett, Ken Pogue.....Tale of four "war brides" who come to Canada after W.W. II to be with their new husbands. Strong cast and good scenes, especially with German Smits and the prejudice she encounters. However, too many plots make this CBC TV movie too unfocused and episodic to really get into. Won Best script Nellie. sc: Grahame Woods. dir: Martin Lavut. app. 100 min

 

Hi Michelle, i'd forgotten about Flynn in Northern Persuit--great film and one of his I still need to get ;-))

Jeff, just think about it--an American with the last name of Allnut ;-D

 

I found another one:

Above and Beyond

Amazon.com: Above and Beyond: Joss Ackland, Richard E. Grant, Jason Priestley, Kenneth Welsh, Robert Wisden, Robert Latimer, Jonathan Scarfe, Liane Balaban, Allan Hawco, Mark Critch, Leah Lewis, Sturla Gunnarsson: Movies & TV

"....In 1940 Germany's submarine forces are winning the war in the Atlantic, and massive tonnage of allied shipping, including shipments of military aircraft, make it only to the bottom of the sea. This Canadian made-for-TV mini-series uses this dire situation as a backdrop.

Since submarine warfare is slowly strangling Britain's ability to defend herself something has to be done to get materials across the Atlantic. A bold military officer and his capable female assistant take on the responsibility of setting up a risky yet vital plan to fly planes across the north Altantic from Newfoundland to Britain.

When the officer and his assistant arrive at a small Newfoundland airfield, they face the challenges of recruiting and retaining pilots, and training them to fly across the north Altantic (a risky venture at best), and dealing with the local townsfolk. "

One of the actors in it, Allan Hawco, read portions of my Dad's letter to my Mum from Sept 1944 as part of a special Rememberance Day episode of "E-Talk Daily" Nov 10, 2005. I wish I could add the video but I can't find it online and have never been able to convert the bit we videotaped. Dad's letter is here: http://www.ww2f.com/wwii-general/20781-sharing-copies-wwii-documents-2.html#post257134