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'
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
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
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
Hatari! (1961)
7.2/10
Director: Howard Hawks
Starring: Red Buttons, Elsa Martinelli, John Wayne, Hardy Kruger
It's adventure African style in this classic look at big game hunters. The great cast also includes Red Buttons, Elsa Martinelli and Hardy Kruger. Read more
Hercules Unchained (1960)
4.4/10
Director: Pietro Francisci
Starring: Steve Reeves, Sylva Koscina, Sylvia Lopez
Steve Reeves returns as the mighty Hercules in this saga of muscles, maidens and monsters. Robbed of his memory, Herc is a prisoner of the lovely Quee... Read more
North West Frontier (1959)
7.2/10
Director: J Lee Thompson
Starring: Herbert Lom, Kenneth More, Lauren Bacall, Wilfrid Hyde-White
In northwestern India soon after the turn of the 20th Century, Moslem rebels seek to kill a six-year-old Hindu prince to end his family line. Captain... Read more
Hannibal (1959)
5.3/10
Director: Edgar G Ulmer
Starring: Rita Gam, Victor Mature
Victor Mature strains his breastplate as the Carthaginian general who drove an armada of elephants over the Alps as part of his campaign against the l... 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
Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1959)
4.2/10
Director: Henry Levin
Starring: Pat Boone, James Mason, Arlene Dahl, Diane Baker
A gloriously entertaining (in the old fashioned way) fantasy based on the Jules Verne novel. James Mason leads a group of scientists to the earth's co... Read more
Hercules (1959)
4.4/10
Director: Pietro Francisci
Starring: Steve Reeves, Sylva Koscina, Fabrizio Mioni
The original "swords, sandals and sweat" number stars the former Mr Universe Steve Reeves as Herc. On his quest for the Golden Fleece, Hercules just f... Read more