Film

Women in War

A frivolous American girl volunteers as a wartime nurse in England to escape a scandal, only to discover her strict matron is the mother who abandoned her. It's a low-budget 1940 melodrama that shuffles between comedic banter and sentimental revelation, landing somewhere between screwball and weepie. For patient viewers who enjoy old Hollywood's earnest moral reckoning and don't mind creaky plotting.

If you liked this

Now, Voyager1942

Bette Davis as a repressed woman blooming into independence through wartime circumstances and romantic awakening. Glossier and more emotionally complex than Women in War, but shares its faith in transformation through crisis.

But Relies heavily on psychoanalysis talk that can feel dated, and the romance is conventional studio stuff if you're looking for something grittier.

Now, Voyager poster

Kitty Foyle1940

Ginger Rogers as a working girl navigating class, morality, and independence in Depression-era America. Same era and energy as Women in War, with sharper dialogue and more nuanced characterization.

But Also a bit sentimental by modern standards, and the ending ties things up in ways some viewers find too neat.

Kitty Foyle poster

The White Cliffs of Dover1944

Irene Dunne spans decades as an American woman building a life in wartime Britain. Explores similar themes of sacrifice and duty, with bigger production values and genuine emotional weight.

But Very long and slow by today's standards, with a tragic third act that some find manipulative rather than moving.

The White Cliffs of Dover poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Women in War

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Three Smart Girls Grow Up1939

Both feature a young woman's moral awakening through the discovery of a parent's secret, but one uses songs and comedy to make it bearable, the other uses war and sacrifice.

Deanna Durbin as a young woman using charm and song to reunite her parents, just before the war changed everything. A musical answer to the same problem: can a girl fix broken family through sheer goodwill? But funny, lighter, and genuinely joyful where Women in War is dutiful.

But If you don't like 1930s musicals, the production numbers will feel like interruptions, and Durbin's sweetness can cloy.

Three Smart Girls Grow Up poster
More like this (7)

So Proudly We Hail1943

Claudette Colbert leads a ensemble of military nurses through the Pacific war. Puts female heroism front and center without apology, with better-drawn supporting characters than Women in War offers.

But The portrayal of Japanese soldiers is ugly even by 1943 standards, and some action sequences feel theatrically staged.

So Proudly We Hail poster

Since You Went Away1944

Claudette Colbert again, this time on the home front, managing family and purpose while men fight. Epic in scope, achingly sincere about women's wartime contributions beyond the battlefield.

But Nearly three hours long and deliberately paced; the sentimentality is thick enough to make some viewers restless.

Since You Went Away poster

Waterloo Bridge1940

Vivien Leigh as a dancer whose life spirals after a wartime tragedy. Darker and more psychologically honest than Women in War, with genuine moral ambiguity instead of easy redemption.

But The ending is bleak and sad; if you want uplift, you'll be disappointed.

Waterloo Bridge poster

The Great Lie1941

Bette Davis and Mary Astor as women bound by a secret and a child. Melodrama done with real craft, balancing comedy and heartbreak better than most films of the era.

But The plot hinges on contrivances that strain credibility, and the pace occasionally drags.

The Great Lie poster

Vigil in the Night1940

Carole Lombard's final film: a nurse working against institutional indifference and her own doubt. Quieter than Women in War, with real attention to the daily grind of medical work.

But Released just after her death and shadowed by tragedy; some find the atmosphere suffocating rather than moving.

Vigil in the Night poster

Brief Encounter1945

Both are about women discovering what they've surrendered—connection, identity, passion—through wartime and circumstance, but one is lush melodrama, the other is devastating understatement.

A middle-aged woman and man snatch moments of connection across years of duty and restraint. Noël Coward's script crackles with wit, but the film's real power is in what it doesn't say—the gulf between desire and obligation that defines a generation.

But Nearly plotless; if you need clear narrative momentum and resolution, the quiet emotional register will frustrate you.

Brief Encounter poster

Madame X1929

Both pivot on a hidden mother-child relationship and the impossibility of redemption under moral law, but Madame X is ancient grief without hope, while Women in War offers wartime as a chance for repair.

Ruth Chatterton as a woman destroyed by society's judgment, forced to give up her son and live as a ghost. A silent melodrama about motherhood and shame, predating Women in War by a decade but hitting the same emotional nerve with raw, almost expressionistic power.

But Silent film requires patience; it's slow, the acting is broad by modern standards, and the tragedy is relentless without comic relief.

Madame X poster

People

Cast

Directing

Writing

Recommended by

Tail Spin