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 Long Ships (1964)
6.1/10
Director: Jack Cardiff
Starring: Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, Russ Tamblyn
A thrilling seafaring saga in which Viking warrior Richard Widmark and Moorish Chieftain Sidney Poitier race to find a fabled treasure known as the Go... Read more
Swallows and Amazons (2016)
6.2/10
Director: Philippa Lowthorpe
Starring: Kelly Macdonald, Rafe Spall, Jessica Hynes, Andrew Scott
Four children (the Swallows) on holiday in the Lake District sail on their own to an island and start a war with rival children (the Amazons). In the... Read more
Viking Women and the Sea Serpent (1958)
Director: Roger Corman
Starring: Susan Cabot, June Kenny, Abby Dalton, Brad Jackson
First, Roger Corman's "Viking Women and the Sea Serpent" has a group of heroic gals venturing out on a dangerous journey to find their missing men. Bu... Read more
Fury at Smuggler's Bay (1961)
Director: John Gilling
Starring: Peter Cushing, Bernard Lee, Michele Mercier, John Fraser, William Franklyn, Geor...
In 17th century Cornwall, sailors hit with heavy taxes turn to smuggling to make a living. Village squire Peter Cushing has put an army together to qu... Read more
Taras Bulba (1962)
6.4/10
Director: J Lee Thompson
Starring: Yul Brynner, Tony Curtis, Christine Kaufmann, Sam Wanamaker, Brad Dexter
The legendary tale of the Cossacks' fight for freedom from the Poles over 400 years ago. Yul Brunner stars as a powerful Cossack chieftain leading his... Read more
Soldier of Fortune (1955)
6.3/10
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Starring: Clark Gable, Gene Barry, Michael Rennie, Susan Hayward
This top-notch adventure saga stars Clark Gable as a smuggler/soldier of fortune who helps beauty Susan Hayward when her photojournalist husband is ar... Read more
Ulysses (1954)
6.7/10
Director: Mario Camerini
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Kirk Douglas, Silvana Mangano
It's high adventure, Homer-style, with Kirk Douglas as the brave adventurer who battles the one-eyed Cyclops, encounters sorceress Circe (who turns hi... 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
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
Burt Lancaster: Local Hero / The Flame and the Arrow / Executive Action / Seven Days in May (1950)
5.5/10
Director: Bill Forsyth, David Miller, Jacques Tourneur, John Frankenheimer
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Fredric March, Kirk Douglas, Peter Riegert, Robert Ryan, Virgini...
Burt Lancaster Box Set. 'Local Hero' (1983) - Burt Lancaster and Peter Riegert star in the wonderfully whimsical comedy of an oil company's planned bu... Read more