15: Lifeboat

Made at the height of WWII, Hitchcock’s underrated gem LIFEBOAT is one of the great films about the war made during the war. Set in the aftermath of a marine battle that destroyed all ships involved, the film is set entirely on a cramped life boat filled with both military and civilian survivors across the class spectrum. The dynamic is further complicated when a German survivor is brought aboard, leading to one of the most morally challenging films of Hitchcock’s career. Another stellar example of a war film made in the middle of the war is the 1942 Best Picture winner MRS. MINIVER. William Wyler’s classic drama is centered on a specific middle class family in midst of the Nazi invasion, and does more to exemplify the Keep Calm and Carry On mantra than any other piece of filmmaking before or since.