Classic Adventure
Remember those moments where the main character finds himself in a difficult or precarious dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation, those thrill-a-minute extravaganzas, those rip-roaring spectacles, swashbuckling and derring-do action, cliff-hanger endings .... that was what Saturday Matinees were made of.
Below is a compilation of the 'essence' of this wonderful genre. See also 'Cliff-Hanger Serials'
The Big Sombrero (1949)
6.1/10
Director: Frank McDonald
Starring: Gene Autry
Gene heads South in a fiesta of melody and a jamboree of romance. He fights for the right of rancheros to live on their rancho. Outlaws fear him and s... Read more
The Biggest Bundle of Them All (1968)
5.3/10
Director: Ken Annakin
Starring: Vittorio De Sica, Raquel Welch, Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner, Raquel Welch, and some incompetent European gangsters kidnap an American gangster who they think has a lot of money. Read more
The Black Rose (1950)
6.4/10
Director: Henry Hathaway
Starring: Jack Hawkins, Michael Rennie, Orson Welles, Robert Blake, Tyrone Power
After orchestrating an unsuccessful rebellion against the Normans, a 13th-century Saxon nobleman (Tyrone Power) must flee his homeland. His journey le... Read more
The Black Shield of Falworth (1954)
6.5/10
Director: Rudolph Mate
Starring: Barbara Rush, David Farrar, Herbert Marshall, Janet Leigh, Tony Curtis
In one of his earliest and most dashing performances, a young Tony Curtis pursues his real-life bride Janet Leigh, while defending the British throne... Read more
The Black Swan (1942)
6.9/10
Director: Henry King
Starring: Laird Cregar, Maureen O'Hara, Tyrone Power, Thomas Mitchell, George Sanders, Ant...
Tyrone Power is his usual stylish and articulate self in this classic swashbuckling pirate tale adapted from Sabatini's novel. The starry cast, music... Read more
The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)
7.6/10
Director: Rowland V Lee
Starring: Louis Calhern, Robert Donat, Sidney Blackmer, Raymond Walburn, Elissa Landi
Robert Donat stars in this classic swashbuckler based on the 1844 novel by Alexandre Dumas. It tells the story of Edmond Dantes, a common seaman false... Read more
The Crimson Pirate (1952)
7.3/10
Director: Robert Siodmak
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Nick Cravat, Eva Bartok
This rip-roaring, swashbuckling adventure (among the best) stars Burt Lancaster and Nick Cravat as buccaneers in the Mediterranean. It has it all - p... Read more
The Fuller Brush Girl (1950)
6.7/10
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Starring: Lucille Ball, Eddie Albert
Scatterbrained Sally Elliott tries to get a job as a Fuller brush girl and desperate for money she borrows her friend's kit without permission and her... Read more
The Giant of Marathon (1959)
5.1/10
Director: Jacques Tourneur
Starring: Mylene Demongeot, Steve Reeves, Daniela Rocca
Steve Reeves, cinema's most famous muscleman, stars as the real life hero of Greek history. In 'The Giant of Marathon', Reeves plays Philippides, an O... Read more
The Guns of Navarone (1961)
7.6/10
Director: J Lee Thompson
Starring: Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Baker, Anthony Quayle, Irene P...
Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn star as a team of Allied military specialists recruited for a dangerous but imperative mission: to infilt... Read more