Foster on Film

In a time of conflict between Queen Elizabeth I of England (Flora Robson) and King Philip II of Spain (Raymond Massey), an English privateer ship is captured, resulting in young Michael Ingolby (Laurence Olivier) recovering in secret with a Spanish friend of his father’s and that man’s daughter Elena (Tamara Desni). He returns to England,

I’ve always thought of the The Prisoner of Zenda as a “smart” Swashbuckler, and it is, in dialog, character, and structure, if not in story.  The action is first rate, but secondary to the film, for in this case, it is all about words—superbly crafted words—and the voices that pronounce them.  While fun to watch, the true joy

Charismatic but foolish Fanfan (Gérard Philipe) is on his way to a shotgun wedding when a gypsy girl (Gina Lollobrigida, dubbed by Claire Guibert) tells him he is fated to become a great soldier and marry the princess. He escapes and joins the army, only to learn that the gypsy was really the daughter of

Captain Blood marked the beginning of the golden age of Swashbucklers (yes, every genre has an era known as its golden age; just go with it).  Before it, the complications in recording sound while filming the movement inherent in the genre made these films impractical.  Sure, a silent Douglas Fairbanks could leap off a mast, but sound swashbuckling

Singer Deborah McCoy (Yvonne De Carlo, best known as Lily Munster) is a stowaway on Capt. Duval’s ship when it is captured by the infamous pirate, Baptiste (Philip Friend). She escapes and ends up in New Orleans under the tutelage of Mme. Brizar (Elsa Lanchester), where she is trained to be an entertainer at high

The Sea Hawk is a well-filmed, well-acted adventure yarn of pseudo-pirates and romance on the high seas, based, in name only, on a Rafael Sabatini novel.  Errol Flynn plays privateer Geoffrey Thorpe with the charisma and bravado that was his trademark in the 30s and 40s.  For two hours, we are taken into the Swashbuckling world where Thorpe

In London, Sir Percy Blakeney (David Niven) is an effete loudmouth and fool, but in France he is the heroic Scarlet Pimpernel, who frees the innocent from the worst excesses of the French Revolution. His adversary is Chauvelin (Cyril Cusack), who will stop at nothing to attain the Pimpernel’s head or torch him or shoot

While I cannot say that each of the Swashbucklers I chose changed the genre, I can claim that each is a signpost in the genre’s development (or in some cases, its stability).  But Cyrano de Bergerac is an exception, it is not on that road; it is a detour.  It is different than its predecessors

Robin (Barrie Ingham)—this time a Norman and named “de Courtenay” instead of “Loxley”—is framed for the murder of his cousin by his other cousin (Peter Plythe). He escapes to the woods with Friar Tuck (James Hayter) to join outcasts currently lead by a grumpy Alan-a-Dale (Eric Flynn). Even though they all hate Normans, they immediately

A Bedouin princess (Maureen O’Hara) returns home from England to find her father murdered. She wants revenge, and so takes up with the sleazy Pasha (Vincent Price). The assumed murderer is Hassan (Paul Hubschmid), but is he the leader of the savage Black Robes or a hero on the run? I’ll include Bagdad as a

During a Scottish uprising, a family decides to hedge its bets to save their fortune. Jamie Durie, the headstrong older brother (Errol Flynn), will join the rebellion while Henry (Anthony Steel), the younger and more reasonable one, will claim to be faithful to England. The rebellion fails and Jamie makes his escape with Francis Burke

Rocky and Puddin’ Head (Bud Abbott & Lou Costello) accidentally swap a love letter between Lady Jane (Fran Warren) and Bruce (Bill Shirley) with Captain Kidd’s (Charles Laughton) treasure map. Kidd and Captain Bonney (Hillary Brooke) gather all the trouble makers together and everyone heads off to find his buried treasure. I was a fan of