By Vlad Zakh · January 31, 2026
William Bendix brought burly, working-class warmth to Hollywood and became one of the era’s most reliable, beloved character actors. The Blue Dahlia makes a returning veteran the prime suspect in his wife’s murder, Lifeboat shares a boat with the U-boat captain who sank them, The Babe Ruth Story dramatises the slugger’s rise, and Detective Story unravels a rigid cop’s life in one tense day. Wake Island and The Glass Key round out the list.
01 A rigid, uncompromising police detective's harsh worldview is shattered by a devastating personal revelation.
Directed by William Wyler · 1h 43m
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Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, Sky Store, YouTube
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Amazon Video
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Rent: Amazon Video
02 William Bendix stars in a dramatisation of the baseball slugger's rise from a troubled boyhood to fame.
Directed by Roy Del Ruth · 1h 46m · Rated NR
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Rent or buy: Google Play Movies, YouTube
03 Alan Ladd stars as a returning war veteran who becomes the prime suspect in his unfaithful wife's murder.
Directed by George Marshall · 1h 39m · Rated NR
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Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Amazon Video
Rent: Amazon Video
04 Survivors of a torpedoed ship must cooperate to survive despite harbouring a hidden enemy.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · 1h 36m · Rated NR
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Rent: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, Sky Store, YouTube · Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, CosmoGo, YouTube, Amazon Video
Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
05 Rod Cameron features in this war film about a small garrison of Marines who mount a desperate defence of a remote Pacific outpost against the Japanese.
Directed by John Farrow · 1h 27m · Rated NR
06 Alan Ladd plays a political fixer investigating a murder that threatens to destroy his boss's career and reputation.
Directed by Stuart Heisler · 1h 25m · Rated NR
Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.
