5 Films & TV Shows Set In New Zealand During The 1940s

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  Bread & Roses

  🇳🇿 New Zealand The 1950s The 1940s

  A survivor for whom mere survival was not enough — Based upon the life of activist and trade unionist (and later MP) Sonja Davies. The film covers her life up to 1956, when, at age 33, she was elected to the Nelson Hospital Board. During this period she develops strong socialist beliefs, marries and divorces, at age 17 trains as a nurse, has a romance (and a child) with an American marine who is killed in WWII action. She battles tuberculosis and marries a former boyfriend when he returns from the war. She becomes part of a women's ill-fated campaign to save the Nelson railway line from closure and begins to be elected to political bodies.

  Released in 1993 • 194 minutes
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  Ngati

  🇳🇿 New Zealand The 1940s

  Set in and around the fictional town of Kapua in 1948, Ngati is the story of a Māori community. The film comprises three narrative threads: a boy, Ropata, is dying of leukaemia; the return of a young Australian doctor, Greg, and his discovery that he has Māori heritage; and the fight to keep the local freezing works open.

  Released in 1987 • 92 minutes
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  Came a Hot Friday

  🇳🇿 New Zealand The 1940s

  Set in post-war (1949) rural New Zealand, this film traces the efforts of two con men to run a betting scam in a small town (Tainuea) already rife with illegal gambling corruption, and eccentricity.

  Released in 1985 • 101 minutes
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  Tarawa Beachhead

  🇰🇮 Kiribati 🇳🇿 New Zealand 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands The 1940s

  Director Paul Wendkos' 1958 WWII drama stars Kerwin Mathews, Julie Adams, Ray Danton, Karen Sharpe and Onslow Stevens.

  Released in 1958 • 77 minutes
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  Until They Sail

  🇳🇿 New Zealand The 1940s

  They couldn't have the love they wanted, so they took the love they could get! — Four sisters in New Zealand fall for four U.S. soldiers en route to the Pacific theater in WWII.

  Released in 1957 • 94 minutes