Midway (1976)

I considered saving the last U.S. war movie left on my list for a patriotic holiday, much as I like to save horrors for October. But in all likelihood, I wouldn't remember on time. Besides, I was already in the mood for something very different from what else I'd seen lately.

The story begins with the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in April '42. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (Tohiro Mifune overdubbed by Paul Frees) sees it as a blessing in disguise, because now his superiors will give him carte blanche for his next move. Soon after, U.S. intelligence staff supervised by Commander Joseph Rochefort (Hal Holbrook) and monitored by composite character Captain Matthew Garth (Charlton Heston) find inconclusive evidence that Japan's next target is Midway Atoll. By the time of the eponymous battle in June, U.S. naval forces are not fully prepared and consider themselves the underdog.

Hard Times (1975)

I think I chose this movie because I enjoyed Charles Bronson and James Coburn for their roles in westerns, including as two of The Magnificent Seven. In a supporting role is Strother Martin, another western staple. It seemed a little odd to see them all together in a non-western, but they're still recognizable in character.

As befits the title, it's set in the Depression Era. The dour, laconic, brawny Chaney (Bronson) drifts into New Orleans and soon forms a partnership with the curiously nicknamed Speed (Coburn), wherein Chaney street-fights and Speed promotes and takes bets on him. This is not the most reliable way to make money, nor does Speed handle his share wisely. He owes a debt to a dangerous sort, but Chaney seems not to care about his partner beyond the terms of their spoken contract...at first.

Hell Is for Heroes (1962)

Have you ever marked a Netflix suggestion "Not Interested" and later changed your mind? I have several times, but this may be the first time I've gone ahead and watched such an entry on my list. The very title both catches my eye and repels me, but then, isn't that what war movies are supposed to do? Besides, it formed the basis of a popular "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" episode, so it had to offer something.

Steve McQueen headlines as John Reese, a WWII master sergeant demoted to private who still acts too much like an authority for comfort. More surprising are the castings of Bobby Darin as the second most prominent private and, in his silver screen debut, Bob Newhart as a military typist who winds up on the battlefield by accident. There's not much to the premise: A U.S. squad, having mistakenly thought they were about to go home, must hold off a German assault across the Siegfried Line despite the Allied forces being spread too thin.