The best Reed Hadley’s war movies

Concentrating on the personal lives of those involved, a war correspondent takes us through the preparations, landing and initial campaign on Guadalcanal during WWII.

Director Henry King's WWII drama about American soldiers occupying a tiny Italian village stars John Hodiak, Gene Tierney, William Bendix, Richard Conte, Glenn Langan, Harry Morgan and Eduardo Ciannelli.

A rookie flyer, Ens. Alan Drake, joins the famous Hellcats Squadron right out of flight school in Pensacola. He doesn't make a great first impression when he is forced to ditch his airplane and parachute to safety when he arrives at the base but is unable to land due to heavy fog. On his first day on the job, his poor shooting skills results in the Hellcats losing an air combat competition. His fellow pilots accept him anyways but they think he's crossed the line when they erroneously conclude that while their CO Billy Gray is away, Drake has an affair with his wife Lorna. Drake is now an outcast and is prepared to resign from the Navy but his extreme heroism in saving Billy Gray's life turns things around.

In 1939, a group of Finnish soldiers defend the border from Russian invaders.

An Iowa drugstore owner becomes embittered when his son is killed in World War II. The druggist believes that the boy's life was cut short before he had an opportunity to truly appreciate his existence.

A bunch of waterfront youths pursue the Sea Raiders, a gang of saboteurs.

A couple of Confederate soldiers, returning home from the Civil War, find Texas transformed into an armed camp with a quasi-dictator gathering up land and power as fast as he can. The two former Rebels take on this despot each in his own way.