There are several films on Turner Classic Movies this month that at least use the First World War as a plot device.  Three days into the month and two have already been shown, and they show up frequently on TCM, as do most of this month’s films.  The two already shown are:

–East of Eden which is set at the onset of the American involvement in the war, and aired on July 1st.

–On Moonlight Bay, a a light-hearted musical which also ends with the country going to war.  That aired this morning, July 3rd.

Still to air this month–and all times are Central:

–Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942).  You might have guessed this one, which might be one of the most shown movies on TCM.  But if you can’t get enough of “Over There,” then this biopic of George M. Cohan is right up your (tin pan) alley.  This classic with James Cagney, Joan Leslie, and Walter Huston airs at 7:00 p.m. on the 4th of July.

–Mare Nostrum (1926) is a silent film where a Spanish army captain falls for a German spy.  This airs at 11:30 p.m. on July 8th.

-The Battleship Potemkin (1925).  Technically not a WWI film, it’s still worth mentioning this Sergei Eisenstein film from the early days of the Soviet Union.  Airs at 9:15 a.m. on July 9th.

–Paths of Glory (1958).  One of the WWI films that is usually on everyone’s list of the best WWI films.  Stanley Kubrick directed, stars Kirk Douglas and Adolph Menjou.  It airs twice this month–first at 1:15 p.m. July 9th, then again at 7:00 p.m. on July 28th.

–Ever in My Heart (1933).  A woman believes her husband to be a German spy.  Stars Barbara Stanwyck, Otto Kruger, and Ralph Bellamy.  Airs at 2:30 p.m. on July 16th.

–Strike (1925).  Czarist rulers try to thwart a worker’s strike.  For the same reason we list The Battleship Potemkin, we list this Sergei Eisenstein film.  Airs at 7:00 a.m. on July 25th.

Sometimes I miss a WWI film while looking through the TCM schedule.  If you happen to know of one that I missed, please comment!

Blair Tarr is the Museum Curator of the Kansas State Historical Society. He oversees the three-dimensional collections of the Society, but has special interests in the Civil War, Wichita-made Valentine diners, and Leavenworth's Abernathy Furniture. In the last few years he has also done a lot of cramming on The Great War. He is a past president of the Kansas Museums Association and the Civil War Round Tables of both Kansas City and Eastern Kansas. He is currently a board member of the Heritage League of Greater Kansas City.