World War II

In Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), Charlie, Carrie, and Paul have been evacuated from war-torn London and sent to live in the country with Eglantine Price – who turns out to be an apprentice witch. Eventually the kids, Miss Price, and wizard Emelius Browne, the head of Miss Price’s witchcraft correspondence school, discover a spell that enables them to defeat a Nazi U-boat invasion. And there’s an enchanted bedknob. Rated G.

In Casablanca (1942), in the early days of World War II, cynical Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) runs a nightclub in Morocco that has become a haven for refugees attempting to escape to America. A wonderful story that ends with the beginning of a beautiful friendship. A must-see.  Rated PG.

In the awesome The Great Escape (1963) – based a true story – prisoners in an “escape-proof” German prisoner-of-war camp plan a massive breakout. It’s funny, tense, exciting (Steve McQueen leaping barbed wire on a motorcycle), and – in parts –  painfully sad. Not rated, but not for the very young.

The Monuments Men (2014) is the story of an unlikely World War II platoon whose mission is to rescue art masterpieces from the Nazis. Rated PG-13.

In Darkest Hour (2017), it’s 1940 and Winston Churchill must decide whether to negotiate with Hitler or continue the war, which could mean the end of the British Empire. Gary Oldman plays a spectacular Churchill. Rated PG-13.

Dunkirk (2017) is the gripping story of the evacuation of many thousands of Allied soldiers, trapped on the coast of France by the German army – many saved by volunteer civilians in a motley armada of small boats. Rated PG-13.

In The King’s Speech (2010), King Edward VIII of England has abdicated, leaving the throne to his younger brother, the new King George VI (Colin Firth). The new king has a stutter, and unconventional speech therapist Lionel Logue is hired to help him overcome it – and to enable him to give the important speech that follows England’s declaration of war with Germany. It’s rated R for some bad language, which seems excessive.

Enigma (2001), set at Bletchley Park, is the story of the race to crack the German Enigma code, to which end the authorities have brought in mathematical genius Tom Jericho. Excitement, betrayal, romance, and code-breaking. It’s rated R for a sex scene and some bad language.

Band of Brothers (2001) is a ten-episode mini-series depicting the mission of Easy Company of the U.S. Army’s 101^st Airborne Division in World War II Europe,  from Operation Overlord through V-J Day. Not rated.