The 25 Best Classic Adventure Movies You've Never Seen
The object here is to list classic adventure flicks which are generally forgotten by many these days, but are worth the effort of hunting down. Thus, you will not see obvious examples like 'Jaws' or 'The African Queen'. 'Classic' is a vague, and somewhat loaded term, but for this list it is used to denote movies that are pre-1980's.
If you find this list helpful, please check out my list of obscure war 'classics' - http://www.imdb.com/list/ls051322304/
If you find this list helpful, please check out my list of obscure war 'classics' - http://www.imdb.com/list/ls051322304/
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- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanJohn WayneStarsJohn WayneLauren BacallPaul FixHis ship seized by the Chinese Communists, American Merchant Captain Tom Wilder languishes in prison but Chinese villagers help him escape to sail them to Hong-Kong.This was an intriguing concept and, unlike many Hollywood flicks set in far away places that failed to ever visually escape their LA backlot sets, this one at least looked like they'd filmed it in the Far East. Wayne is not his usual over-confident, overbearing self - in fact, he is a bit unbalanced (he continually talks to his dead girlfriend), but that only adds to his appeal. The one brutal misstep is the casting of ex-wrestler and screen heavy Mike Mazurki as Chinese. Ouch.
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsDick PowellMärta TorénVincent PriceA post World War 2, US Army agent is assigned to join the Foreign Legion in search of high ranking Nazi war criminal who may have also enlisted.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsPeter O'TooleSiân PhillipsPhilippe NoiretA lone survivor from a British naval ship is obsessed with getting revenge on a German U-boat crew that massacred his shipmates in the water.This is a gritty film, with a protagonist who, while not an anti-hero, is more believable than likable. O'Toole, as brilliant as ever, plays a working class Irish merchant sailor who takes on a German submarine sheltering in a South American lagoon single-handed, out of pure, unadulterated, bull-headed spite, and drawing several innocent bystanders along for the ride. His war is a personal one, not fought for patriotic ideals, but because the Nazi buggers dared to hurt him and his mates. In general concept, it is reminiscent of 'African Queen', but lacks that film's underlying nobility. Murphy brings war down to the level of primitive instinct, and in so doing, reveals its folly and futility.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsLoretta YoungAlan LaddWilliam BendixDuring the Japanese invasion of China, a cynical, macho profiteer meets a compassionate, beautiful schoolteacher.
- DirectorEdward LudwigStarsFernando LamasRhonda FlemingBrian KeithA gorgeous American arrives in Brazilian headhunter country seeking her scapegrace fiancé.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsClark GableSusan HaywardMichael RennieAfter Jane Hoyt's journalist husband disappears, she arrives in Hong Kong determined to find him but instead meets shady shipping magnate Hank Lee.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsLee MarvinErnest BorgnineKeith CarradineIn 1933, during the Depression, Shack the brutal conductor of the number 19 train has a personal vendetta against the best train hopping hobo tramp in the Northwest, A No. 1.Pure camp - and yet pure gold. The screen presence of both Borgnine and Marvin manage to pull off a rather silly concept. While some of the dialogue (especially Carrradine's) is laughable, there are some truly memorable moments, and watching how the two antagonist's go about outwitting each other is thoroughly enjoyable. The level of hate between two men who have never met is a bit of a stretch, but acts like a magnet to keep you glued to their private war.
- DirectorJack CardiffStarsRod TaylorYvette MimieuxPeter CarstenA band of mercenaries led by Captain Curry travel through war-torn Congo across deadly terrain, battling rival armies, to steal $50 million in uncut diamonds. But infighting, sadistic rebels and a time lock jeopardize everything.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsPeter O'TooleJames MasonCurd JürgensAfter being discredited as a coward, a 19th century seaman lives for only one purpose: to redeem himself.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsKenneth MoreLauren BacallHerbert LomSet on the North West Frontier of colonial India in 1905. A British Army Officer, Captain Scott is sent to rescue a five year old Indian Prince and his American governess, Catherine Wyatt from certain death at the hands of rebel tribesman.aka 'Flame Over India'
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsErrol FlynnJulie BishopHelmut DantineA Canadian Mountie of German descent feigns disaffection with his homeland in hopes of infiltrating and thwarting a Nazi sabotage plot.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsErrol FlynnRuth RomanRaymond BurrAn American salvage diver plunges into dangerous intrigue around a sunken treasure in the Philippines.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsRobert RyanMala PowersAnthony QuinnTwo American divers are distracted by fair ladies and skulduggery while trying to salvage a gold ship off Jamaica.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsClark GableJean HarlowWallace BeeryWhen earthy Dolly Portland is rejected by Captain Gaskell in favor of a socialite, she aids Jamesy McCardle, in league with Malay pirates, in his plot to seize Gaskell's ship.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsCharlton HestonEleanor ParkerAbraham SofaerThe Leiningen South American cocoa plantation is threatened by a 2-mile-wide, 20-mile-long column of army ants.Based on the famous short story 'Leiningen vs the Ants, a staple of grade school reading lists, and a favorite of radio drama producers. Heston is his usual guts-n-grit wooden self, but as always, hugely enjoyable, and Parker is simply gorgeous. William Conrad, who also appeared in radio versions, appears all too briefly.
- DirectorMichael PowellStarsConrad VeidtValerie HobsonSebastian ShawA German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.Conrad Veidt is superb as a U-boat commander who infiltrates Britain to set the stage for an attack on Royal Navy ships in Scapa Flow. Plots and counterplots abound.
The film was made prior to the outbreak of the war, but its release was delayed until early October of 1939 - prophetically, one week later, a German U-boat did penetrate Scapa Flow, sinking the battleship Royal Oak. - DirectorCy EndfieldStarsStanley BakerStuart WhitmanSusannah YorkAfter a small aircraft crashes in the Kalahari Desert, one of the seven passengers decides that his survival chances would increase if he eliminates the other men in the group.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsGlenn FordAnn SheridanZachary ScottA wealthy American couple are hostages on an arduous jungle journey.
- DirectorJerry HopperStarsCharlton HestonRobert YoungNicole MaureyAn adventurer searchers for hidden treasure in the Peruvian jungles.Heston's Harry Steele is the inspiration (or at least one of the inspirations) for Indiana Jones, right down to Indy's iconic hat. (the costume designer for Raiders openly admits this). He is a pilot, not an archaeologist, but nevertheless finds himself caught up in a struggle over the location of a precious Inca artifact that, in the right hands, will unite a decimated people, and in the wrong ones, perhaps spark a bloody uprising.
Despite the IMDB description, this is not a jungle adventure - the land of the Incas is high and dry, upland plateaus and mountains, not sweltering jungles. - DirectorNorman FosterOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDolores Del RíoAn American ballistics expert in Turkey finds himself targeted by German agents. Safe passage home by ship is arranged for him, but he soon discovers that his pursuers are also on board.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsJohn WayneLana TurnerDavid FarrarAs World War II begins, German freighter Captain Karl Ehrlich tries to get his ship back to Germany through a gauntlet of Allied warships.I've amended the list to include this film, because it better fits with the rest than does its predecessor, 'The Bedford Incident', which is perhaps too well-known to be included. 'The Sea Chase' is a bizarre novelty, to say the least, in that John Wayne's uber-American hero image is turned on its heel. Here he plays a German ship's captain in WW II. (wtf???) That quirk alone makes the movie worth seeing.
Actually, it isn't quite as uncanny as it sounds - he is no Nazi; he is a German who loves his country and wants to get home at the outbreak of war. Unfortunately, he is not only on the wrong side in the war, but on the wrong side of the Pacific as well. He must elude the British fleet to get there. The conflict goes beyond an exercise in nautical tactics, when his first mate, an eager Nazi, commits atrocities which enrage the pursuing British, led by a former colleague of Wayne's.
Oh, yeah, and then there's the ubiquitous love story thrown in. Sort of one, anyway, which only slows the movie down. - DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsDeborah KerrYul BrynnerJason RobardsA British woman trying to escape Hungary with her freedom fighter lover and a group of Westerners, as the Soviet Union moves to crush the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, finds herself the obsession of an enigmatic Communist officer.A new amendment to the list that is more worthy of inclusion than its predecessor, 'The Steel Lady'. Though at times pushing the envelope of credibility, taut performances and tense, engaging dialogue provide some knife-edge scenes. Yul commands the screen as only Yul could.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsDick PowellWalter SlezakMicheline CheirelCanadian flyer Laurence Gerard finds that his wife has been murdered by a French collaborator. His quest for justice leads him to Switzerland and Argentina.Dick Powell, in typical fashion, delivers a rather one-note character -his emotions range from sour to angry - but is nonetheless enjoyable. The film lacks any sense of locale, but makes up for it in somewhat ham-fisted performances and its ability to keep you guessing.
- DirectorRoy Ward BakerStarsHardy KrügerColin GordonMichael GoodliffeA cocky German fighter pilot is shot down over England in 1940 and makes numerous attempts to escape to fight again.