History Movies

Director William A. Wellman adds another to his long line of salutes-to-aviation films in this bio of an aviation pioneer, John Montgomery (Glenn Ford.) In 1883 he built a practical…

A smooth-talking French thief wangles his way into an important position as prefect of police.

An Australian biopic about the life of pioneering aviator Charles “Smithy” Kingsford-Smith. The film is unusually frank about the controversies that occasionally dogged him. PG Taylor and Billy Hughes both…

A short documentary about the life and death of the bullfighter Manuel Rodriguez Manolete. It recounts his career this celebrated Spanish bullfighter who was the inspiration for the ill-fated Montalvo…

The aging Caesar finds himself intrigued by the young Egyptian queen. Adapted by George Bernard Shaw from his own play.

Cutthroat pirate William Kidd captures Admiral Blayne’s treasure ship and hides the bounty in a cave. Three years later, Kidd, posing as a respectable merchant captain, offers his services to…

A married woman finds new thrills as a masked robber on the highways.

Pickpocket Kitty’s life changes when painter Thomas Gainsborough makes her portrait. The artwork gains the attention of Sir Hugh Marcy, who later decides to use her for his benefit.

In the midst of the Hundred Years’ War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.

Set during the early part of his reign, Ivan faces betrayal from the aristocracy and even his closest friends as he seeks to unite the Russian people. Sergei Eisenstein’s final…

In occupied France during the Franco-Prussian War, a young French laundress shares a coach ride with several of her condescending social superiors. But when a Prussian officer holds the coach…

The lives of a close-knit group of brothers growing up in Iowa during the days of the Great Depression and of World War II and their eventual deaths in action…

Poor physics student Marie is studying at the Sorbonne in 1890s Paris. One of the few women studying in her field, Marie encounters skepticism concerning her abilities, but is eventually…

In a Danish village in the early 1600s, a young woman named Anne, whose mother was thought to be a witch, develops sympathy toward an old woman, Marte, who is…

In 1912, the Titanic embarks on its inevitable collision course with history. In the wake of the over-spending required to build the largest luxury ship in the world, White Star…

Spain in the 1930s is the place to be for a man of action like Robert Jordan. There is a civil war going on and Jordan—who has joined up on…

The true story of the massacre of a small Czech village by the Nazis is retold as if it happened in Wales.

A British commando is on a one-man raid to destroy a bomb factory in Nazi-occupied France. He must enlist the aid of French farmers to complete his mission.

Ambassador Joseph Davies is sent by FDR to Russia to learn about the Soviet system and returns to the US as an advocate of socialism.

The story of the Renaissance-era Swiss physician, alchemist and astrologer Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, better known to the world as Paracelsus.

In World War II, American Gates Trimble Pomfret is in London during the Blitz to sell the ancestral family house. The current tenant, Leslie Trimble, tries to dissuade him from…

The tumultuous presidency of 19th-president Andrew Johnson is chronicled in this biopic. The story begins with Johnson’s boyhood and covers his early life. During the Civil War, Johnson stays a…

In the south of Sweden, some farmers get into trouble when the German Count is forcing them to perform day labor for him. But a man refuses to bow to…

This biopic tells the story of the life of Pitt The Younger, who became Prime Minister of Great Britain at the age of 24.

By the start of World War II, Paul Robeson had given up his lucrative mainstream work to participate in more socially progressive film and stage productions. Robeson committed his support…

In 1701, Lord Takuminokami Asano has a feud with Lord Kira and he tries to kill Kira in the corridors of the Shogun’s palace. The Shogun sentences Lord Asano to…

In 1900, a clan attempts to strike a deal with a Chicago industrialist to get him to build cotton mills in their Deep South town.

The story of courtesan and dance-hall girl Emma Hamilton, including her relationships with Sir William Hamilton and Admiral Horatio Nelson and her rise and fall, set during the Napoleonic Wars.

Country boy joins a circus in the 1840s and falls in love with the bare-back rider. Later he falls in love with another circus runaway.

German Julius Reuter sends 19th-century news by carrier pigeon and then by wire, founding a news agency.

Based on the story of the famous Mormon leader, it follows Brigham Young and his challenge to transport his people across the Rocky mountains to settle in Salt Lake City….

Beautiful young Virginian Jane steps down from her proper aristocratic upbringing when she marries down-to-earth surveyor Matt Howard. Matt joins the Colonial forces in their fight for freedom against England….

Dashing pirate Geoffrey Thorpe plunders Spanish ships for Queen Elizabeth I and falls in love with Dona Maria, a beautiful Spanish royal he captures.

Four Sons is a 1940 film directed by Archie Mayo. It stars Don Ameche and Eugenie Leontovich. It is a remake of the 1928 film of the same name.

In flashback, fifty years after inventing the light bulb, an 82-year-old Edison tells his story starting at age twenty-two with his arrival in New York. He’s on his way with…

Based on the Kenneth Roberts novel of the same name, this film tells the story of two friends who join Rogers’ Rangers, as the legendary elite force engages the enemy…

Abe Lincoln in Illinois is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of the life of Abraham Lincoln from his departure from Kentucky until his election as President of…

Inventor Robert Fulton receives support from a tavern owner and a shipyard worker to help realize his dream of a high-powered steamboat.

In the 15th century Richard Duke of Gloucester, aided by his club-footed executioner Mord, eliminates those ahead of him in succession to the throne, then occupied by his brother King…

This period drama frames the tumultuous affair between Queen Elizabeth I and the man who would be King of England.