Movies like They Gave Him a Gun (1937)
The best movies like They Gave Him a Gun (1937) are Battleground (1949), Blood on the Sun (1945) and The Guns of Navarone (1961). If They Gave Him a Gun hooked you with its war and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedOnce Upon a Time in America (1984)8.4/10 from 6,320 votes
- NewestThe War Below (2021)Released 2021
Battleground (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 thisBlood on the Sun (1945)
Nick Condon, an American journalist in 20s Tokyo, publishes the Japanese master plan for world domination. Reaction from the understandably upset Japanese provides the action, but this is overshadowed by the propaganda of the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Guns of Navarone (1961)
A team of allied saboteurs are assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSergeant York (1941)
Alvin York a hillbilly sharpshooter transforms himself from ruffian to religious pacifist. He is then called to serve his country and despite deep religious and moral objections to fighting becomes one of the most celebrated American heroes of WWI.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHouse of Bamboo (1955)
Eddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Way Ahead (1944)
A mismatched collection of conscripted civilians find training tough under Lieutenant Jim Perry and Sergeant Ned Fletcher when they are called up to replace an infantry battalion that had suffered casualties at Dunkirk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHell's Angels (1930)
As the Great War breaks out in Europe, English brothers Roy and Monte enlist in the Royal Flying Corps to fight for king and country, while their Oxford College friend Karl is ordered back to Germany. As a love triangle develops involving Monte, Roy, and Roy's girlfriend, Helen, the brothers' disparate personalities, and Monte's cowardice in the face of war soon threaten to compromise a top-secret bombing mission over German territory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like this36 Hours (1964)
Germans kidnap an American major and try to convince him that World War II is over, so that they can get details about the Allied invasion of Europe out of him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Devil's Brigade (1968)
At the onset of World War II, American Lt. Col. Robert Frederick is put in charge of a unit called the 1st Special Service Force, composed of elite Canadian commandos and undisciplined American soldiers. With Maj. Alan Crown leading the Canadians and Maj. Cliff Bricker the acting head of the American contingent, there is initial tension -- but the team comes together when given a daunting mission that few would dare to attempt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIce Cold in Alex (1958)
A group of army personnel and nurses attempt a dangerous and arduous trek across the deserts of North Africa during the second world war. The leader of the team dreams of his ice cold beer when he reaches Alexandria.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll Quiet on the Western Front (1979)
At the start of World War I, Paul Baumer is a young German patriot, eager to fight. Indoctrinated with propaganda at school, he and his friends eagerly sign up for the army soon after graduation. But when the horrors of war soon become too much to bear, and as his friends die or become gravely wounded, Paul questions the sanity of fighting over a few hundreds yards of war-torn countryside.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStory of G.I. Joe (1945)
War correspondent Ernie Pyle joins Company C, 18th Infantry as this American army unit fights its way across North Africa in World War II. He comes to know the soldiers and finds much human interest material for his readers back in the States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 2000.
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 thisFlying Tigers (1942)
Jim Gordon commands a unit of the famed Flying Tigers, the American Volunteer Group which fought the Japanese in China before America's entry into World War II. Gordon must send his outnumbered band of fighter pilots out against overwhelming odds while juggling the disparate personalities and problems of his fellow flyers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
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 thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark of the Sun (1968)
A band of mercenaries led by Captain Curry travel through war-torn Congo across deadly terrain, battling rival armies, to steal $50 million in uncut diamonds. But infighting, sadistic rebels and a time lock jeopardize everything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFixed Bayonets! (1951)
The story of a platoon during the Korean War. One by one, Corporal Denno's superiors are killed until it comes to the point where he must try to take command responsibility.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPaths of Glory (1957)
A commanding officer defends three scapegoats on trial for a failed offensive that occurred within the French Army in 1916.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisShaft (1971)
Cool Black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe African Queen (1952)
At the start of the First World War, in the middle of Africa’s nowhere, a gin soaked riverboat captain is persuaded by a strong-willed missionary to go down river and face-off a German warship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMiller's Crossing (1990)
Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOnce Upon a Time in America (1984)
A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThings to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995)
Five different criminals face imminent death after botching a job quite badly.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWe Own the Night (2007)
A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hitmen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElection 2 (2006)
As election time nears, current Triad chairman Lok faces competition from his godsons. At the same time, Jimmy looks to increase his business relations with mainland China.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMurder, Inc. (1960)
Chronicles the rise and fall of the organised crime syndicate known as Murder, Incorporated, focusing on powerful boss Lepke and violent hit man Reles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
The Long Good Friday (1980)
In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUndisputed (2002)
Monroe Hutchens is the heavyweight champion of Sweetwater, a maximum security prison. He was convicted to a life sentence due to a passionate crime. Iceman Chambers is the heavyweight champion, who lost his title due to a rape conviction to ten years in Sweetwater. When these two giants collide in the same prison, they fight against each other disputing who is the real champion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like They Gave Him a Gun?
The closest matches to They Gave Him a Gun are Battleground (1949), Blood on the Sun (1945) and The Guns of Navarone (1961). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after They Gave Him a Gun?
Start with Battleground (1949), the closest match to They Gave Him a Gun.
What is the highest-rated movie like They Gave Him a Gun?
Once Upon a Time in America (1984), rated 8.4/10 by 6,320 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like They Gave Him a Gun?
The War Below (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like They Gave Him a Gun?
Yes: Battleground (1949), Blood on the Sun (1945) and The Guns of Navarone (1961).
How are movies similar to They Gave Him a Gun chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside They Gave Him a Gun, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.