Movies like Merrill's Marauders (1962)
The best movies like Merrill's Marauders (1962) are The Battle of Okinawa (1971), Halls of Montezuma (1951) and The Fighting Seabees (1944). If Merrill's Marauders hooked you with its war and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Longest Day (1962)7.6/10 from 1,072 votes
- NewestMacArthur (1977)Released 1977
The Battle of Okinawa (1971)
The Americans are swiftly closing on Okinawa, an island just south of the Japanese mainland. The Imperial command sends top generals and several army divisions to defend it at all costs. The mission quickly degenerates as vital resources and troops are diverted to other islands. After a civilian evacuation ends in tragedy most of non-combatants are forced to remain on the island. Many convert to soldier status. Tokyo sends mixed messages that squander time and resources, as when they order the defenders to build an airstrip for aircraft that never come. The truth soon becomes obvious: the high command decides that the island cannot be held and effectively abandons the Okinawan defenders. When the Americans land many troops are deployed in the wrong places. As the slaughter mounts, a suicidal attitude takes hold. Okinawa becomes a death trap, for civilian volunteers and non-combatants as well.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war
Halls of Montezuma (1951)
Richard Widmark leads an all star cast of marine leathernecks including Jack Palance, Robert Wagner, Karl Malden, Richard Boone and Jack Webb into battle on a heavily fortified island. This action-packed story follows the squad as they pick their way through enemy-infested jungles on a time sensitive mission to find the source of the enemy rockets. As the mission progresses, the squad and leader overcome many challenges as they are transformed into an effective and efficient fighting unit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fighting Seabees (1944)
Construction workers in World War II in the Pacific are needed to build military sites, but the work is dangerous and they doubt the ability of the Navy to protect them. After a series of attacks by the Japanese, something new is tried, Construction Battalions (CBs=Seabees). The new CBs have to both build and be ready to fight.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlying Leathernecks (1951)
Major Daniel Kirby takes command of a squadron of Marine fliers just before they are about to go into combat. While the men are well meaning, he finds them undisciplined and prone to always finding excuses to do what is easy rather than what is necessary. The root of the problem is the second in command, Capt. Carl 'Griff' Griffin. Griff is the best flier in the group but Kirby finds him a poor commander who is not prepared to make the difficult decision that all commanders have to make - to put men in harm's way knowing that they may be killed.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThey Were Expendable (1945)
After a demonstration of new PT boats, Navy brass are still unconvinced of their viability in combat, leaving Lt. "Rusty" Ryan frustrated. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, however, Ryan and his buddy Lt. Brickley are told they can finally take their squadron into battle. The PT boats quickly prove their worth, successfully shooting down Japanese planes, relaying messages between islands, and picking off a multitude of enemy ships.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAir Force (1943)
The crew of an Air Force bomber arrives in Pearl Harbor in the aftermath of the Japanese attack and is sent on to Manila to help with the defense of the Philippines.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBack to Bataan (1945)
A U.S. Army colonel leads local fighters in a guerrilla campaign against the Japanese in the Philippines.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSands of Iwo Jima (1950)
Haunted by personal demons, Marine Sgt. John Stryker is hated and feared by his men, who see him as a cold-hearted sadist. But when their boots hit the beaches, they begin to understand the reason for Stryker's rigid form of discipline.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · 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: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisObjective, Burma! (1945)
A group of men parachute into Japanese-occupied Burma with a dangerous and important mission: to locate and blow up a radar station. They accomplish this well enough, but when they try to rendezvous at an old air-strip to be taken back to their base, they find Japanese waiting for them, and they must make a long, difficult walk back through enemy-occupied jungle.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHell in the Pacific (1968)
During World War II, a shot-down American pilot and a marooned Japanese navy captain find themselves stranded on the same small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCommand Decision (1948)
High-ranking officers struggle with the decision to prioritize bombing German factories producing new jet fighters over the extremely high casualties the mission will cost.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & drama
MacArthur (1977)
The film portrays MacArthur's life from 1942, before the Battle of Bataan, to 1952, when he was removed from his Korean War command by President Truman for insubordination, and is recounted in flashback as he visits West Point.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDestination Gobi (1953)
A group of US Navy weathermen taking measurements in the Gobi desert in World War II are forced to seek the help of Mongol nomads to regain their ship while under attack from the Japanese.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & drama
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
In the wake of Pearl Harbor, a young lieutenant leaves his expectant wife to volunteer for a secret bombing mission which will take the war to the Japanese homeland.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle of the Bulge (1965)
In the winter of 1944, the Allied Armies stand ready to invade Germany at the coming of a New Year. To prevent it, Hitler orders an all-out offensive to re-take French territory and capture the major port city of Antwerp.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Naked and the Dead (1958)
Fighting men in World War II learn the value of courage and quickness at the risk of losing their lives.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
The Thin Red Line (1964)
Set during the Allied invasion of the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater during WWII, this film is based on the novel by James Jones. Keir Dullea is Private Doll, who dreads the invasion and steals a pistol to help him protect himself. Sergeant Welsh (Jack Warden), a caustic, battle-scarred veteran, hates Doll, whom he considers a coward. In battle, Doll kills a Japanese soldier and is filled with remorse, which further angers the sergeant. The next day, an emboldened Doll wipes out an entire enemy machine gun post and begins to feel as sadistic as Welsh. The two must work together to clear away some mines, but as they do, their platoon is surprised by a Japanese raid.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war
Too Late the Hero (1970)
A WWII film set on a Pacific island. Japanese and allied forces occupy different parts of the island. When a group of British soldiers are sent on a mission behind enemy lines, things don't go exactly to plan. This film differs in that some of the 'heroes' are very reluctant, but they come good when they are pursued by the Japanese who are determined to prevent them returning to base.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTobruk (1967)
In September 1942, the German Afrika Korps under Rommel have successfully pushed the Allies back into Egypt. A counter-attack is planned, for which the fuel dumps at Tobruk are a critical impediment. In order to aid the attack, a group of British commandos and German Jews make their way undercover through 800 miles of desert, to destroy the fuel dumps starving the Germans of fuel.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGung Ho! (1943)
A true-life epic that revolves around an exclusive bataillon of the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, "Carlson's Raiders," whose assignment is to take control of a South Pacific island once possessed by the United States but now under Japanese command.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Never So Few (1959)
A U.S. military troop takes command of a band of Burmese guerillas during World War II.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMidway (1976)
This war drama depicts the U.S. and Japanese forces in the naval Battle of Midway, which became a turning point for Americans during World War II.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Outsider (1961)
Ira Hayes, a young Pima Indian, enlists in the Marine Corps. At boot camp, he is shunned and mocked by everyone, aside from a Marine named Sorenson, who he befriends. They happen to be two of the six marines captured in the famous photograph of Marines raising the U.S. flag on Suribachi during the battle of Iwo Jima, but Sorenson is killed soon after. Although he is hailed as a hero, Ira's life begins to spiral out of control after the war.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
The Longest Day (1962)
The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied invasion comes they must be stopped on the beach. "For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day"
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn Harm's Way (1965)
A Naval officer, reprimanded after Pearl Harbor, is later promoted to Rear Admiral and gets a second chance to prove himself against the Japanese.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Desert Rats (1953)
In North Africa, German Field Marshal Rommel and his troops have successfully fended off British forces, and now intend to take Tobruk, an important port city. A ramshackle group of Australian reinforcements sent to combat the Germans is put under the command of British Captain MacRoberts. The unruly Aussies immediately clash with MacRoberts, a gruff, strict disciplinarian, however this unorthodox team must band together to protect Tobruk from the German forces.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo Hell and Back (1955)
The true WWII story of Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in U.S. history. Based on the autobiography of Audie Murphy who stars as himself in the film.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnzio (1968)
American troops land unopposed on Italian beaches during World War II, but instead of pushing on to Rome, they dig in and the Germans fight back ferociously.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & action
SnoozefestMovies like this
Like Merrill's Marauders and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Merrill's Marauders?
The closest matches to Merrill's Marauders are The Battle of Okinawa (1971), Halls of Montezuma (1951) and The Fighting Seabees (1944). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Merrill's Marauders?
People who watched Merrill's Marauders most often go on to The Battle of Okinawa (1971), Halls of Montezuma (1951) and The Fighting Seabees (1944).
What is the highest-rated movie like Merrill's Marauders?
The Longest Day (1962), rated 7.6/10 by 1,072 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Merrill's Marauders?
MacArthur (1977) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Merrill's Marauders?
Yes: Halls of Montezuma (1951), The Fighting Seabees (1944) and Flying Leathernecks (1951).
How are movies similar to Merrill's Marauders chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Merrill's Marauders, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.