I have fond memories of dark winter afternoons by the fire as a kid, watching movies like Von Ryan's Express and The Train ("I sink I saw somesing") with Mum & Dad... and I loved thick-ear stuff like Garrison's Guerillas, so I enjoyed the Dirty Dozen series too, even though they were nonsense.
Now whenever we go to visit my in-laws they always seem to be sat watching a 50s Western or a war film, and the last time we went they were watching "Counterfeit Commandos" (apparently the inspiration behind "Inglorious Bastuerds"). I'd never seen this... an Italian movie I think... it was daft yet hugely enjoyable in that nostalgic way: although it was made quite late on it still has that same almost madcap quality. Here's a link:
http://www.radiotimes.com/film/cvxxy...eit-commandos/
And I also remember Mickey Rooney luring those Japanese soldiers to their fate in that movie you described; I guess you just have to consider that it was of its time too, and the audience (and maybe the film-makers) weren't as hard-bitten as they are now. After all, we wouldn't put up with fake Tiger tanks and dodgy armoued cars these days either, the way we did we did back then.