The Rat Patrol

This 1966-1968 ABC-TV series was set in North Africa. The Rat Patrol were Allied soldiers who tracked and sabotaged Rommels Afrika Korps and Nazi war aims. Rat Patrol as inspired by the British Commonwealth's Long Range Desert Group made up of troops from New Zealand, the UK, and Rhodesia.

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Tom Hanks on His New WWII Project

Hanks, executive producer of Beyond All Boundaries, on his new WWII project. Sounds awesome. More here. And here.

Stars Enlist For National WWII Museum Epic

Wow. From the NY Post today -- The National World War II Museum in New Orleans and Tom Hanks have announced the roster for voicing their new WWII epic Beyond All Boundaries premiering at The Museum on November 6. It seems like Hanks must have drafted the help of half of Hollywood as the cast list reads like a who's who of A-Listers including Hanks, its narrator and executive producer, joined by Kevin Bacon, Corbin Bleu, Patricia Clarkson, Kevin Connolly, James Cromwell, Blythe Danner, Viola Davis, Jessie Eisenberg, John Goodman, Neil Patrick Harris, Kevin Jonas, Justin Long, Tobey Maguire, Daran Norris, Wendell Pierce, Chris Pine, Brad Pitt, Bill Sadler, Gary Sinise and Elijah Wood, among others. Are there more? Keep coming back to Hollywood at War for more information about this special cinematic experience opening in New Orleans.

To Be or Not To Be

On the 70th anniversary of the Nazi's invasion of Poland here is the opening gag of the 1942 comedy To Be or Not to Be directed by Ernst Lubitsch. This clip shows you the lunacy that runs through the film that stars Jack Benny and Carole Lombard as a husband-wife team of actors in Warsaw at the start of WWII. This was the last movie Lombard made before her death in a plane crash in January 1942 selling war bonds. The film was remade in 1983 by Mel Brooks as a vehicle for his wife the late Anne Bancroft.

Is "Inglorious" Glorious? The Critics Respond

Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds is hitting theaters this weekend and the reviews are rolling in. A play on the many cinematic conventions that WWII movies have taken in the past, the movie starring Brad Pitt is both controversial and shoot-em-up entertainment. We're not taking sides, but we are providing links to thoughtful reviews both pro and con.

Wall Street Journal
LA Times
The New York Times
The Washington Post
The New Yorker
Time Out: New York
Boston Phoenix
Orlando Sentinel

Great WWII suggestions from Twitter

On Twitter @WWIIToday posted a link to Time Out London's "50 Best WWII Films" only to see a big response from followers mentioning a host of WWII films they felt deserved more recognition, or higher ranking. Follower Petrov Dempski @petrovdempski kindly compiled the list below. What do you think? You can follow the conversation @WWIIToday, search Twitter #WWIIflix or just note them here. I'll add more as they come in.

12 O'clock HIgh
633 Squadron
Battleground
Best Years of Our Lives
Casablanca
Cross of Iron
Das Boot
Enemy at the Gates
Europa Europa
Germany Year Zero
GI Joe
Grave of the Fireflies
Guadalcanal Diary
Hell in the Pacific
Heroes of Telemark
Judgement at Nuremberg
Kelly's Heroes
Memphis Belle
Mrs Miniver
Night & Fog
Objective Burma
Operation Daybreak
Patton
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Plate
Rats of Tobruk
Sahara
Saints and Sinners
Saving Private Ryan
Since You Went Away
So Proudly We Hail!
Stalingrad (1992)
The Battle of Britain
The Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the River
The Big Red One
The Longest Day
Tora Tora Tora
The Cockleshell Heroes
The Cruel Sea
The Dambusters
The Glenn Miller Story
The Great Escape
The Life and Times of Colonel Blimp
The Train
Too Late The Hero
When Trumpets Fade
Where Eagles Dare
Windtalkers

Are These WWII's 50 Best?

Magazine editors love these stories. This one is right up this blog's alley. “The 50 Greatest WWII Movies” published recently in the London edition of Time Out magazine with commentary by Inglorious Basterds director Quentin Tarantino, features some surprises – Casablanca is not even in the Top 10. As for their Number One choice, the film is unknown to me (but now in my NetFlix queue). To make it easy for you, I’ve hot linked the pages. Take a look. What do you think of the rankings?

Numbers 2-10
Numbers 11-20
Numbers 21-30
Numbers 31-40
Numbers 41-50