The Sea Hawk (1940)

The Sea Hawk (1940)

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

The Elusive Pimpernel (1950)

The Elusive Pimpernel (1950)

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

Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)

Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)

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

A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967)

A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967)

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

Bagdad (1949)

Bagdad (1949)

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

The Master of Ballantrae (1953)

The Master of Ballantrae (1953)

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

Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951)

Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951)

Lea Mariotte (Micheline Presle), a mistreated servant and social-climbing Creole woman, is arrested for murder. Captain Michael Fabian (Errol Flynn) gets her off by threatening the powerful Brissac family with a scandal because George Brissac (Vincent Price) was involved. While Fabian is at sea, Mariotte pushes Brissac to murder his uncle, and then blackmails him

Against All Flags (1952)

Against All Flags (1952)

Brian Hawke (Errol Flynn) is an undercover agent among pirates. Capt. Roc Brasiliano (Anthony Quinn) doesn’t trust him. Captain Prudence “Spitfire” Stevens (Maureen O’Hara) switches back and forth between lusting after him and wanting to skewer him. On his first pirate mission with Brasiliano, they capture an Indian princess and her caretaker (Mildred Natwick). Now

The Black Swan (1942)

The Black Swan (1942)

Ex-pirate Henry Morgan (Laird Cregar) has been made governor of Jamaica, much to the distain of its previous governor (George Zucco) and his daughter, Lady Margaret (Maureen O’Hara). Pirate Captain Leech (George Sanders) and his sidekick Wogan (Anthony Quinn) also are not to keen on the new situation, and sail off on The Black Swan

The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)

The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)

The queen of France has twin sons, later named Louis XIV and Philippe. The second is kept secret and sent off to be raised by the musketeer D’Artagnan (Warren William), with the aid of three godfathers: Parthos (Alan Hale), Aramis (Miles Mander), and Athos (Bert Roach). The young prince grows to be an evil king

The Prince and the Pauper (1937)

The Prince and the Pauper (1937)

Edward (half of the Mauch Twins), Prince of England, encounters Tom Canty (the other half of the Mauch Twins), a look-a-like begger child, and the two switch places a short time before the king dies. The Earl of Hertford (Claude Rains), discovering the truth, plans to control Tom as king, and have Edward assassinated. But

The Son of Monte Cristo (1940)

The Son of Monte Cristo (1940)

General Gurko Lanen (George Sanders) controls Lichtenburg with an iron fist, holding the Grand Duchess Zona (Joan Bennett) as his prisonser. Edmund Dantes Jr. (Louis Hayward), son of the famous Count of Monte Cristo, masquerading as a foppish banker, comes to free the beautiful Zona and lead a revolution. A second tier Swashbuckler, The Son