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.
After years of searching I have found 68 films/TV shows across 9 wars along with the VA/peace time.
The top five categories are WWII with 21, WWI at 14, VA and peace time 11, with The Crimean War 5, The Korean War and Vietnam both tied with 4.
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
Of Human Hearts (1938)
Based on the short story Benefits Forgot by Honore Willsie Morrow [First Published in 1917]. Jason Wilkins is the son a strict circuit preacher Ethan Wilkins in Ohio and a loving mother Mary Wilkins. Jason grows up dissatisfied with the life and expectations of the clergy. After a fight with his father, he runs away and goes to medical school and joins the army as a Doctor and raising to the rank of Captain. Through this he keeps minimal contact with his family until President Lincoln meets with him and teaches him a lesson about sacrifice and family.
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.
Davos 1917 (2023)
Nurse Johanna Gabathular returns to Davos, Switzerland after volunteering Red Cross due to becoming pregnant. As the WWI continues Johanna becomes involved is a spy network.
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 Lieutenant Commander 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 of the island.
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 are captures 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 traveled 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 McCawley and Danny Walker become army pilots at the start of WWII (before the US became officially involved) Rafe falls in love with a Navy Nurse Evelyn Johnson. 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 19 books are the source material of the based-on or inspired by material. It is listed by first publication newest to oldest.
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]
Pearl Harbor by Wallace Randall [First Published in 2001]
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]
Benefits Forgot by Honore Willsie Morrow [First Published in 1917]
The Life of Florence Nightingale by Sir Edward Tyas Cook [First Published in 1913]
This was on updated 11/11/2025
