World War II, which shaped the 20th century and produced what’s been called the greatest generation, also inspired many classic films — and a selection of the best is being presented on Island with special introductions by American history scholar Sheldon Hackney.

The series begins on Monday, June 7, with The 49th Parallel, a 1941 British drama and wartime propaganda film starring Laurence Olivier, screening at 8 p.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theatre on Spring street in Vineyard Haven. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

The Martha’s Vineyard Film Society is presenting the series in conjunction with the Martha’s Vineyard Museum as part of its ongoing exhibition in Edgartown, Those Who Serve: Martha’s Vineyard and World War II.

Mr. Hackney is a former provost of Princeton, president of Tulane and University of Pennsylvania, and chairman of the National Endowment of the Humanities

In The 49th Parallel, filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger show their ideas of why the U.S. should join the Allied fight against the Nazis.

A group of Nazi navy men are stranded on Canadian soil (viewers have just seen them refusing food and water to a group of torpedoed British seamen and so there’s little sympathy for the castaways).

The 49th Parallel was the biggest grossing film in the UK in 1941, and the biggest grossing British film to date in the US. It is rated PG and runs 105 minutes.

Admission at door is $8, or $5 for members, with all proceeds to benefit the museum.