War/Military Movies and Television: sub-genre: Medical

War/Military Movies and Television: sub-genre:  Medical

Medical = of or relating to the science or practice of medicine.

This list is on film and television that has its main focus about military hospitals, doctors, nurses, and other medical personal. I broke it down by war.

These films is a way of seeing war and military service from a different perspective. 

The Crimean War: October 1853 - March 1856

Florence Nightingale (1915)
Silent film about the most well-known nurse in history; Based on the book The Life of Florence Nightingale by Sir Edward Tyas Cook [First Published in 1913] 

The White Angel (1936) 
A biopic of Florence Nightingale and her life. She is credited with modernizing nursing making it a profession. 

The Lady With The Lamp (1951) 
Based on the stage play The Lady With A Lamp by Captain Reginald Berkeley [First Published in 1929]. This film is set during her early years of her career. 

Florence Nightingale (1952) 

TV Movie about Nurse Florence Nightingale Born May 12, 1820 - Died August 13, 1910. 

Florence Nightingale (1985) 

Made for Television biopic of Florence’s Nightingale career with the bulk of the movie covering her war years. 

The US Civil War: April 1861 – May 1865

The Horse Soldiers (1959)
Based on the book The Horse Soldiers by Harold Sinclair [First Published in 1956]. Set in the last half of the US Civil War Colonel John Marlow is assigned to lead a company behind enemy lines to destroy a rail line, a train depot, and as many supplies as possible. Assigned to the company is an unwanted ARMY Surgeon, Major Henry Kendall who clashes with the Colonel on the limitations of medicine, and the price of war. 

Mercy Street (2016 -2017) 

The Stories of the Doctors, Nurses, Patients, and others that worked at The Mansion House Hospital located in Union occupied Alexandria, Virginia during the US Civil War.

The Spanish American War: April 1898 – December 1898

Yellow Jack (1938) 

During the Spanish-American War, the plague of yellow fever leads the U.S. Army to send a team of Physicians to beat the disease. 

World War I: July 1914 – November 1918

Dawn (1928) 

Silent film about Nurse Edith Cavell. Am English Nurse working in Germany that helped soldiers behind enemy lined to escape.  

War Nurse (1930) 

Women volunteers along with professional nurse's volunteers are assigned to work near the front lines as Nurses in WWI France.

A Farewell To Arms (1932, 1957, 1966)
Based on the novel A Farewell To Arms by Earnest Hemmingway [First Published in 1929]. American Fredrick Henry is a Lieutenant in the Italian Ambulance Core of the Italian Army.  While serving as a medic and ambulance driver he meets English Nurse Catherine Barkley and is instantly attracted to her. After an injury on the front lines, he is put into Nurse Barkley’s care and the two of them fall in love and face the challenges of war and the strain the war on their relationship.

I Was A Spy (1933) 

A hospital Nurse in German Occupied Belgium spies for the British and has a romance with a high-ranking Officer in the German Army. 

Nurse Edith Cavell (1939) 

Story Nurse Edith Cavell a nurse that helped helping some 200 allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during WWI before being found out and sentenced to death. Based on the book Dawn: A Biography of Edith Cavell by Captain Reginald Berkeley [First Published in 1928].

Army Surgeon (1942) 

A fighter pilot, an Army Doctor and a Nurse are involved in a love triangle while in France during WWI.

In Love and War (1996)
Based on the book Hemmingway In Love and War: The Lost Dairy of Agnes von Kurowsky by Henry Serrano Villard and James Nagel [First Published in 1989]. During WWI 19-year-old Earnest Hemmingway is working as a volunteer ambulance driver for the Red Cross on the Italian Front. Ernest is injured while helping a comrade in an attack and is sent to a hospital where he is placed under the care of American Nurse Agnes von Kurowsky. Ernest falls in love with Agnes who helped to save his life but is unsure about having a romantic relationship with her former patient. The two of them exchange letters until Agnes ends things. Ernest hurt by the rejection, and it affects his life and work. The events from this time influence his first book, A Farewell To Arms [First Published in 1929]. 

Regeneration (1997) AKA Behind The Lines (1998) 

Psychiatrist Dr. William Rivers works in a British military mental institution during World War I, treating shell-shocked soldiers and getting ready to return them to battle.

Britannic (2000)

Britannic was a sister ship of the Titanic. During WWI; the Britannic was pressed into service as a hospital ship and was sank in 1916. The story is a fictional story of what may have happened on the ship on its final voyage before hitting a mine and sinking.  

ANZAC Girls (2013) 

During World War I, true stories of Australian and New Zealand nurses serving at Gallipoli and the Western Front. Based on the book The Other Anzacs: Nurses At War 1914-1918 by Peter Reese [First Published in 2008]. 

The Crimson Field (2015) 

In a tented field hospital on the coast of France, a team of doctors, nurses, and volunteers work together to heal the men wounded in the trenches of World War I.

The Ottoman Lieutenant (2017) 
Young nurse Lillie Rowe from Philadelphia joins American Physician Dr. Jude, to a medical mission in the Ottoman Empire just before the start of WWI. Once there she develops a romantic relationship with Lieutenant Ismail Veli of the Ottoman Army.

Les Combattantes (2022)
Set in 1914 France in a town between the front lines and Paris four women of different social and economic classes and background become involved in the War and each other lives through a field hospital located in the town. 

Rif War A.K.A. The Second Moroccan War: June 1921 - May 1926 

Morocco: Love In A Time Of War (2017) 

In 1921 a military hospital is opened in Melilla for Soldiers fighting in the RIF War. This series mainly concentrates on a group of upper classes nurse trainees from Madrid.

World War II: September 1939 – September 1945

Dive Bomber (1941) 

Collaborative efforts of a Navy flight surgeon a squadron commander and a researcher trying to find ways to prevent blackouts and altitude sickness affecting dive bombers.

Parachute Nurse (1942)

A pair of hospital nurses enlist and then start the training in a newly formed unit of parachute nurses to be sent to sites where medical aid is inaccessible.

Corregidor (1943) 

A Doctor and his staff help live and work on the island of Corregidor. When the Japanese invade the island. The Doctor and other professionals treat the military personal.  

Cry Havoc (1943)
US Army Hospital in Bataan is in need of experienced nurses. It being war time the head nurse has to take what she can get; in this case women of varied backgrounds that are stuck in the area and need employment are used to fill the openings. 

So Proudly We Hail! (1943) 

A band of Army nurses is bound for Honolulu, Hawaii until the attack on Pearl Harbor redirects them to Bataan.

The Story of Doctor Wassell (1944) 

Based on the book The Story of Doctor Wassell by James Hilton [First Published in 1943]. Based on a true story of how Navy Doctor Corydon M. Wassell MD., who saved more than a dozen wounded sailors who were left behind when the able-bodied men were evacuated from Java Island to Australia ahead of the Japanese Invasion. 

China Sky (1945)

Based on the novel China Sky by, Pearl S Buck [First Published in 1941]. Dr. Grey Thompson and Dr.  Sara Durand run a mission hospital in rural China. When Dr. Thompson brings his new wife to the mission tensions arise between the two women. While the Japanese Army comes closer the mission hospital treats and supports Chinese Guerilla Fighters.    

The Hasty Heart (1949)  
Set in a military hospital in Burma (Myanmar) at the end of WWII. A dying Corporal is befriended by the other soldiers recovering from their wounds. Based on the stage play The Hasty Heart by John Patrick [First Published in 1945].

Bright Victory (1951) 

Based on the novel Bright Victory by Baynard H Kendrick [First Published in 1951] Sergeant Larry Nevins is blinded by a sniper and begins his rehabilitation at the military hospital. 

Ice Cold In Alex (1958) 

Based on the novel Ice Cold In Alex by Cristopher Landon [First Published in 1957] In North Africa an Army Captain Anson and a Sergeant Major Tom Pugh have to get a couple of Nurses and an Ambulance from behind enemy lines to the British Lines in Alexandra, Egypt. 

Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) 

Based on the book Captain Newman, M.D. by Leo Rosten [First Published in 1961]. In 1944 Captain Newman is put in charge of the neuropsychiatric ward for an Army Hospital in Arizona. Where he takes on a variety of tough cases. 

Red Angel (赤い天使, Akai Tenshi) (1966)

Army Nurse Sakura Nishi is sent to the front-line field hospitals where she faces the grim realities of war and falls in love with Surgeon Okabe who also works at the hospital. 

Dr. Bethune (1977) 

Life story of Canadian Surgeon Norman Bethune, 1890-1939. Among other things medical activist Norman Bethune traveled to China built hospitals, provided care, and trained medics.

Woman of Valor (1986) 

A Group of US Military Nurses serving in the Philippines survive as POW's after they are taken prisoner by the Japanese.  

Bethune: The Making of a Hero (1990) 

Life story of Canadian Surgeon Norman Bethune, 1890-1939. After becoming a successful MD in his home country. Dr. Bethune left Canada and went to China where he built hospitals, provided care, and trained medics. Based on the book The Scalpel, The Sword: The Story of Norman Bethune by Ted Allan and Sydney Gordon [First Published in 1952]. 

Korczak (1990)

As the Nazis invade Poland, Dr. Korczak does everything in his power to protect children from a dire fate.

Pearl Habor (2001)

Two lifelong friends Rafe and Danny become army pilots at the start of WWII (before the US became officially involved) Rafe falls in love with a Navy Nurse Evelyn. When Rafe goes MIA, Danny and Evelyn who are both stationed near Pearl Harbor. They become close. When Rafe returns alive a love triangle is formed just before the attack on December 7, 1941. Which changes their lives forever. 

Sisters of War (2010) 

Sisters of War is a movie based on the true story of the friendship between Australian women, Lorna Whyte, an army nurse and Sister Berenice Twohill, a Catholic nun from New South Wales who survived as prisoners of war in Papua New Guinea during World War II.

Hacksaw Ridge (2016) 
Based on The Unlikeliest Hero: The Story of Desmond T Doss updated to Redemption at Hacksaw Ridge by Booton Herndon [First Published in 1967 updated edition First Published in 2016] Private Desmond T. Doss, a conscientious objector who becomes a hero while serving as an unarmed medic during his tour of duty and going above and beyond during the brutal and bloody fight for Okinawa. 

Charite' At War (2019)

Following the Series Charite' (2017), this series begins in 1943, and the series continues through the fall of Berlin in 1945 based on real Doctors, Nurses, and medical students as they lived through the war and the time period.

Battle for Saipan (2022)
During the battle for Saipan one of the battle fronts was a military hospital. Doctors, Nurses, other medical personal, as well as able bodied and wounded soldiers fought against the Japanese Army taking the hospital as well as the island. 

Korean War: 1950 -1953?

Battle Circus (1953)
New Nurse Lt. Ruth McGara is assigned to a MASH unit. There she is romanced by a Major Jed Webb the Chief Surgeon. The pair become close as they work and survive attacks on the unit.

Flight Nurse (1953)
Lt. Polly Davis USAF is assigned to the Medical Air Evacuation unit where she works with Nurses and pilots transport the wounded soldiers from Korea to Japan aboard the Douglas C-47 Skytrain. 

MASH (1970) 

MASH Unit operating during the Korean War. Based on the book MASH: A Tale of Three Army Doctors by, Richard Hooker [First Published in 1968].

M*A*S*H (1972 -1982) 

In this award-winning television series, based on the book and film. A group of Army surgeons show the difficulties they face in their attempt to survive and save lives at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in the Korean War.

Vietnam War: November 1955 – April 1975

Purple Hearts (1984) In middle of the Vietnam war a Navy Surgeon Lieutenant Don Jarden, falls in love with Lieutenant Deborah Solomon RN -US Navy while serving in Vietnam. Don volunteers for heavy combat and dangerous missions just to have time with her as they are stationed in different parts of the country. 

China Beach (1988 – 1991) Award winning television series set at an evacuation hospital/R&R base based on the book Home Before Morning: The Story of an Army Nurse in Vietnam by former U.S. Army Nurse Lynda Van Devanter [First Published in 1983]. 

Which Way Home (1991)
American Nurse Karen Parsons sets out to get a group of orphans out of Cambodia with the help of a smuggler near the end of the Vietnam War.

Last Full Measure (2020) 

The true story of Airman First Class William H. "Pitts" Pitsenbarger Jr. a pararescueman who saved 60 men on the day of his death and how he was awarded the Medal of Honor 35 years after his death. 

Afghanistan:  October 2001 – December 2014

Combat Hospital (2011) 

Medical drama focusing on a joint Canadian Allied military hospital located in Afghanistan. The Doctors, Nurses and other personnel come from different military's, backgrounds and parts of the world.

68 Whiskey (2020)

Set in Afghanistan, a team of Flight Medics, Doctors, base personal, and mercenaries (and a goat) from different are stationed and live at a NATO Coalition forward operating base named Guardian. 

Iraq War: March 2003 - December 2011

Cherry (2021)

Based on the novel Cherry by, Nico Walker [First Published in 2018]. Starting in 2003 A college student falls in love and has a major heartbreak. He ends up dropping out of college and then enlists in the US Army as a medic. Just before leaving for basic, he reunites and marries the love of his life Emily. After training he is posted to Iraq where he struggles with the realities of war and develops PTSD. Upon returning home from war, he and his wife develop drug addictions. To pay for their addictions he turns to robbing banks before eventually getting caught. 

The US Dept of Veteran Affairs:  August 1921 – Present

After MASH (1983-1985) 

After the Korean War ended Colonel Potter, Sergeant Klinger, and Father Captain Mulcahy work at a Veteran's Hospital state side.

Article 99 (1991) 

A band of renegade doctors at Kansas City's Veteran's Administration Hospital who decide to circumvent the system, doing everything they can to keep treating patients who have gotten lost in a governmental loophole and have their benefits cut.

Other/Peace Time

The Command (1954) 

After Captain Forsyth the commanding officer of a cavalry unit dies from injuries obtained in battle. US Army Doctor Captain Robert MacClaw is placed in command of the unit which ends up being assigned to escort a wagon train headed West through Indian Territory.

They Rode West (1954) 

1st Lt. Allen Steward MD is a newly commissioned officer is sent to his first posting at a western fort near an Indian reservation for Kiowa. In his new post he clashes with the fort commander Col. Waters and the tribes Medicine Man in regard to the treatment and prevention of malaria. 

Hennesey (1959-1962) 
The adventures of Lt. Charles Hennesey MD working at a US Naval Station located in San Diego, California.  

Flight From Ashiya (1964)
Based on the book Flight From Ashiya by Elliott Arnold [First Published in 1956]. US Air Force Air Rescue Service stationed at out of the Ashiya Air Base in Japan using the HU-16 Albatross work to save a group of civilians stranded in a life raft in bad weather.  

The Guardian (2006) 
Fictional story about the US Coast Guard: Search and Rescue training. Experienced sailor Ben Randall is tasked with training class of recruits into rescue swimmers including Jack Fisher a young prideful hot shot rookie.

Yomigaeru Sora - Rescue Wings (2006) 
An anime series of the search and rescue wing of the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) Through the eyes of a young helicopter pilot new to the unit. 

Our Girl (2014-2018)
Upon reaching 18 Molly joins the British Army as a medic. The first season goes from enlistment thru her first tour in Afghanistan. The second season changes focus to a different medic and her tours, missions and adventures in different parts of the world.

Descendants of the Sun (2016),(2018),(2020)

A Special Forces Officer and a civilian Doctor become romantically involved and face many challenges together as they serve their country, oaths, and philosophies. 

Charlie Golf One (2016-2020)

TV series from Israel about Battalion Aid Station 33 a base out in the remote desert and the medics and base personal that live and work there. 

The Hot Zone (2019) 

Based on the book The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus by Richard Preston [First Published in 1994] Late in 1989, the Ebola virus appears in chimpanzees at a research lab in the suburbs of D.C. US Army Scientists risk their lives and careers to keep the disease from reaching humans.

My Christmas Hero (2023)

US Army reservist Nicole Ramsey MD works at a joint military base in Washington State. To help one of her patients a Major Daniel Ross she looks into the contributions and death of her grandfather who died in battle during WWII while celebrating Christmas. 

Books

These are the books that inspired or is the based-on material listed by first publication. 

Cherry by, Nico Walker [First Published in 2018]

Redemption at Hacksaw Ridge by Booton Herndon [First Published in 2016]

Heroines of Mercy Street: The Real Nurses of the Civil War by Pamela D. Toler [First Published in 2016] 

The Other Anzacs: Nurses At War 1914-1918 by Peter Reese [First Published in 2008]

The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus by Richard Preston [First Published in 1994]

Hemmingway In Love and War: The Lost Dairy of Agnes von Kurowsky by Henry Serrano Villard and James Nagel [First Published in 1989]

Home Before Morning: The Story of an Army Nurse in Vietnam by former U.S. Army Nurse Lynda Van Devanter [First Published in 1983]

MASH: A Tale of Three Army Doctors by, Richard Hooker [First Published in 1968]

Captain Newman, M.D. by Leo Rosten [First Published in 1961]

Ice Cold In Alex by Cristopher Landon [First Published in 1957]

The Horse Soldiers by Harold Sinclair [First Published in 1956]

Flight From Ashiya by Elliott Arnold [First Published in 1956]

The Scalpel, The Sword: The Story of Norman Bethune by Ted Allan and Sydney Gordon [First Published in 1952]

The Story of Doctor Wassell by James Hilton [First Published in 1943]

China Sky by, Pearl S Buck [First Published in 1941]

A Farewell To Arms by Earnest Hemmingway [First Published in 1929]

Dawn: A Biography of Edith Cavell by Captain Reginald Berkeley [First Published in 1928]

The Life of Florence Nightingale by Sir Edward Tyas Cook [First Published in 1913] 

This was on updated 9/2024