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'
Phantom from Space (1953)
4/10
Director: W Lee Wilder
Starring: Dick Sands
A cop and a pair of scientists are lured to an observatory by a series of murders, links to an invisible alien (Dick Sands) who has crash-landed on Ea... Read more
Prince of Foxes (1949)
7.1/10
Director: Henry King
Starring: Everett Sloane, Orson Welles, Tyrone Power, Wanda Hendrix
Tyrone Power stars as Orsini, an ambassador to the despotic Cesare Borgia (Orson Welles) who grows weary of serving as a political pawn to the powerfu... Read more
Prince Valiant (1954)
6.3/10
Director: Henry Hathaway
Starring: Debra Paget, James Mason, Janet Leigh, Robert Wagner, Sterling Hayden
Young Prince Valiant (Robert Wagner), son of the exiled King of Scandia, journeys to Camelot to become a knight at King Arthur's Round Table. He hopes... Read more
Roadracers (1958)
6.7/10
Director: Arthur Swerdloff
Starring: Skip Ward, John Shay, Gloria Marshall
About a driver who is kicked out of the U.S racing circuit when he's involved in a racing death that was caused by his own carelessness. He goes to Eu... Read more
Robinson Crusoe (1954)
6.9/10
Director: Luis Bunuel
Starring: Dan O'Herlihy, Felipe de Alba, Jaime Fernandez
The year is 1659. There is a shipwreck and the sole survivor, Robinson Crusoe, is washed ashore on a deserted tropical island. Suddenly faced with a h... Read more
Samson (1961)
6.3/10
Director: Gianfranco Parolini
Starring: Brad Harris, Brigitte Corey, Alan Steel
Bodybuilder Brad Harris brings down the house as the strongman of Old Testament fame, splitting tree trunks with his bare hands, tackling whole legion... Read more
Samson and Delilah ( Blu-ray ) (1949)
6.8/10
Director: Cecil B DeMille
Starring: Angela Lansbury, George Sanders, Hedy Lamarr, Henry Wilcoxon, Victor Mature
Journey through time to a gloriously extravagant setting of lust, violence, and treachery in this Oscar-winning adventure from legendary filmmaker Cec... Read more
Samson and the Seven Miracles of the World (1963)
Director: Riccardo Freda
Starring: Gordon Scott, Yoko Tani
In the 13th Century, hordes of sadistic Mongol warriors descend upon China, enslaving the people and plotting to defile and assassinate the virgin pri... Read more
Sea Devils (1953)
5.7/10
Director: Raoul Walsh
Starring: Rock Hudson, Yvonne De Carlo
Rock Hudson stars in this swashbuckling tale of spies, counter-spies, and star crossed love! The threat of Napoleonic invasion hangs heavy over Britai... Read more
Shark (1968)
7.1/10
Director: Samuel Fuller
Starring: Burt Reynolds, Barry Sullivan, Arthur Kennedy, Silvia Pinal
Aka 'Man-eater'. Burt Reynolds plays a tough American smuggler in the Mediterranean hired by what he thinks a scientific expedition. The voyage turns... Read more