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'
Mexicali Rose (1939)
6.5/10
Director: George Sherman
Starring: Gene Autry
Bad guys interested in oil profits attempt to take a mission away from poor Mexican children, but Gene and Frog save the day. Read more
Gunga Din (1939)
7.5/10
Director: George Stevens
Starring: Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks Jr
The Rudyard Kipling story of the Indian boy who helps the British put down a colonial revolt. Stars Cary Grant and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Read more
Tarzan's Revenge (1938)
5/10
Director: D Ross Lederman
Starring: Glenn Morris, Eleanor Holm, Hedda Hopper
"Ahhhhhaaahhhhaaaaaahhhhhhh!" The cry resounds through the dense African jungle, sending a chill down the spines of villains and a thrill through the... Read more
Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938)
5.1/10
Director: Edward Kull, Wilbur McGaugh
Starring: Herman Brix, Ula Holt, Frank Baker
In this classic Tarzan adventure, culled from 1935's 'The New Adventures of Tarzan' serial, Tarzan (Herman Brix) and his allies are in Guatemala, wher... Read more
Gold Mine in the Sky (1938)
6.6/10
Director: William Morgan
Starring: Gene Autry
As executor of the owner's will, singing ranch foreman Gene must see that the daughter/heiress doesn't marry without his approval. Read more
The Adventures Of Robin Hood (1938)
8/10
Director: Michael Curtiz, William Keighley
Starring: Olivia de Havilland, Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Eugene Pallette
One of cinema's greatest adventure films sees Errol Flynn at his swashbuckling best in a role originally slated for James Cagney. Claude Rains is the... Read more
The Prince and the Pauper (1937)
7.2/10
Director: William Keighley
Starring: Errol Flynn, Claude Rains
pair to experience each other's lives as well. Read more
The Hurricane (1937)
7.3/10
Director: John Ford
Starring: Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall, Mary Astor, C Aubrey Smith, Thomas Mitchell, Raymond M...
In the colonial era, island native Terangi (Jon Hall) spends a blissful honeymoon with his bride, Marama (Dorothy Lamour). Soon after, however, their... Read more
Zorro Rides Again: Episodes 7 - 12 (1937)
6.8/10
Director: John English, William Witney
Starring: John Carroll, Helen Christian, Richard Alexander, Noah Beery, Reed Howes, Duncan...
The California-Yucatan Railroad, being built for the good of Mexico, is under siege by a gang of terrorists hoping to force its sale; no one can prove... Read more
Bulldog Drummond's Bride (1939) / Bulldog Drummond Comes Back (1937) / Bulldog Drummond Escapes (1937)
Director: Louis King, James P Hogan
Starring: John Howard, Ray Milland, John Barrymore, Heather Angel, Reginald Denny
'Bulldog Drummond's Bride' - On his way to the altar, famed adventurer Captain Hugh Bulldog Drummond (John Howard), is sidelined by a bank robbery com... Read more