Movies like The Growler Story (1957)
The best movies like The Growler Story (1957) are Operation Pacific (1951), Waiting for Anya (2020) and The Cruel Sea (1953). If The Growler Story hooked you with its drama and war, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)7.8/10 from 2,516 votes
- NewestThose Who Never Left (2025)Released 2025
Operation Pacific (1951)
During WWII, Duke E. Gifford is second in command of the USS Thunderfish, a submarine which is firing off torpedoes that either explode too early or never explode at all. It's a dilemma that he'll eventually take up personally. Even more personal is his quest to win back his ex-wife, a nurse; but he'll have to win her back from a navy flier who also happens to be his commander's little brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWaiting for Anya (2020)
During the harrows of WWII, Jo, a young shepherd along with the help of the widow Horcada, helps to smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cruel Sea (1953)
At the start of World War II, Cmdr. Ericson is assigned to convoy escort HMS Compass Rose with inexperienced officers and men just out of training. The winter seas make life miserable enough, but the men must also harden themselves to rescuing survivors of U-Boat attacks, while seldom able to strike back. Traumatic events afloat and ashore create a warm bond between the skipper and his first officer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRun Silent, Run Deep (1958)
The captain of a submarine sunk by the Japanese during WWII is finally given a chance to skipper another sub after a year of working a desk job. His singleminded determination for revenge against the destroyer that sunk his previous vessel puts his new crew in unneccessary danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
A dramatization of the American general and his court martial for publically complaining about High Command's dismissal and neglect of the aerial fighting forces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wings of Eagles (1957)
The story of Frank W. "Spig" Wead - a Navy-flyer turned screenwriter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Rifleman (2023)
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe War Below (2021)
During World War I, a group of British miners are recruited to tunnel underneath no man's land and set bombs from below the German front in hopes of breaking the deadly stalemate of the Battle of Messines.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe One That Got Away (1957)
Based on the true story of Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, the only German prisoner of war captured in Britain to escape back to Germany during the Second World War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDestination Tokyo (1943)
During World War II, Captain Cassidy and his crew of submariners are ordered into Tokyo Bay on a secret mission. They are to gather information in advance of the planned bombing of Tokyo. Along the way, the crew learn about each other as they face the enemy and some of them lose their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattleground (1949)
Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need is a change in the weather. Without clear skies, they'll never get the air support they need.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLifeboat (1944)
During World War II, a small group of survivors is stranded in a lifeboat together after the ship they were traveling on is destroyed by a German U-boat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Long Voyage Home (1940)
The crew of the merchant ship Glencairn hope to survive a transatlantic crossing during World War II. Adapted from four Eugene O'Neill one-act plays.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCast a Giant Shadow (1966)
An American Army officer is recruited by the yet to exist Israel to help them form an army. He is disturbed by this sudden appeal to his Jewish heritage. Each of Israel's Arab neighbors has vowed to invade the poorly prepared country as soon as partition is granted. He is made commander of the Israeli forces just before the war begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dam Busters (1955)
The story of the conception of a new British weapon for smashing the German dams in the Ruhr industrial complex and the execution of the raid by 617 Squadron 'The Dam Busters'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHell and High Water (1954)
A privately-financed scientist and his colleagues hire an ex-Navy officer to conduct an Alaskan submarine expedition in order to prevent a Red Chinese anti-American plot that may lead to World War III. Mixes deviously plotted schoolboy fiction with submarine spectacle and cold war heroics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWake of the Red Witch (1948)
Captain Ralls fights Dutch shipping magnate Mayrant Sidneye for the woman he loves, Angelique Desaix, and for a fortune in gold aboard the Red Witch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBrand Upon the Brain! (2007)
After returning home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Enemy Below (1957)
The crew of the American destroyer escort, the USS Haynes, detects a German U-Boat—resulting in a prolonged, deadly battle of wits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPiss (2010)
Kurtis Conner and his friends embark on a pissy adventure through the piss forest to find Prague and Lucifer to see how particular he actually is about his cheese.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Daydreaming So Vividly About Our Spanish Holidays (2022)
Hungry for sun, light and warmth, a group of teenagers embark on a dream trip to the Balearic Islands.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Annalyn (2012)
Agnes is not satisfied with her life. She wants a change, but her relationship with her single parent father and dominant girlfriend inhibit her to do something about it. When the father introduces his new wife, Annalyn, everything changes. The same-aged Filipino stepmother helps Agnes see a new path. Soon emerges something that no one could have foreseen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
When Russia's first nuclear submarine malfunctions on its maiden voyage, the crew must race to save the ship and prevent a nuclear disaster.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Arabian Night (2020)
Spending his last night as a civilian in his dream-like local tennis club, Michael, a young British soldier confronts a glimpse of the near future waiting for him on the other side of the night.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Those Who Never Left (2025)
Two years after the Beirut blast, a girl continually revisits the last night she spent with her family in their home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Boy Who Couldn’t Feel Pain (2022)
The Boy Who Couldn't Feel Pain is set in Grants, New Mexico and tells the fictional small-town legend of Chester, a street fighter who can't feel any pain. When Annie, a bowling alley employee who just moved into town challenges him for a fight, things begin to change.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Here (2025)
In East Riding, Yorkshire, seventeen-year-old Kaden reluctantly takes a job at the local strawberry field over the Summer. A quiet introvert, Kaden doesn’t fit in with the other farmhands, who are all older, and more experienced, and treat him with contempt. It is here he encounters Lucas, an aloof eighteen-year-old who has worked at the farm for several Summers now. Underneath his initial indifference, Lucas hides a deeper curiosity for Kaden. Desires disentangle in this new, uninhibited, and sun-drenched environment, as the two boys tentatively begin to explore their feelings towards one another in secret, a kinship that forces them to confront their own internalized homophobia, shame, and sense of belonging.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lamb (2002)
A poor father lives with his blind son, dog and sheep. When he can't find any food, he is forced to make a hard decision.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Nur ein kleines bisschen Liebe (1977)
A young sex worker in search of love...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Growler Story?
The closest matches to The Growler Story are Operation Pacific (1951), Waiting for Anya (2020) and The Cruel Sea (1953). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Growler Story?
Start with Operation Pacific (1951), the closest match to The Growler Story.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Growler Story?
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), rated 7.8/10 by 2,516 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Growler Story?
Those Who Never Left (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Growler Story?
Yes: Operation Pacific (1951), Waiting for Anya (2020) and The Cruel Sea (1953).
How are movies similar to The Growler Story chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Growler Story, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.