One of the most popular, long-running mystery film series of the late 1930s through the early 40s featured the Saint, a mysterious, sophisticated, and debonair British detective named Simon Templar. The half-crooked sleuth, a rogue-turned crusader for Scotland Yard, was derived from Leslie Charteris' popular crime novels of the late 20s. Eight films (of the nine films) in the 15-year long series were from RKO, with one entry from Republic in 1943. In the first and last Saint films, Louis Hayward played the role of Simon Templar. The other two actors were George Sanders and Hugh Sinclair:

Download British Detectives - The Saint

Other historical swashbuckler films included the retelling of Alexandre Dumas' classic novels. In Dumas' often-told tale of revenge in The Count of Monte Cristo (1912, 1934, 1974, and 2002), an unjustly imprisoned sailor Edmond Dantes escaped after fifteen years from an island prison and returned to 1820s Paris to find revenge. British-born actor Robert Donat appeared in the 1934 version - the only film he made in Hollywood. Director James Whale's The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 and 1998) was about twin brothers (one - the tyrannical Louis XIV, the other - exiled and imprisoned with an iron mask) in 18th century France separated at birth - one eventually became a swashbuckling member of the Three Musketeers. Alexander Dumas' classic, The Corsican Brothers (1942) repeated the plot twist of twins (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in both roles) separated at birth but later reunited to join together to defeat a tyrannical Corsican baron.

Download Historically-Based Swashbucklers of the 30s and 40s

The popular, Hong Kong kung fu genre was catapulted to world-wide prominence in the 1970s with Bruce Lee's four martial-arts films, with spectacular fight scenes. Unfortunately, many of them were dubbed and had poorly-contrived plots containing copy-cat James Bond elements. Lee's best films were his last two - they were released post-humously after he died at the young age of 32:

Download Foreign Shore Influences on the Action Film: Martial Arts

Other notable, low-budget supernatural/horror films in the late 1950s through the 1970s included:

* Bell, Book, and Candle (1958), a romantic fantasy adapted from the Broadway stage comedy of the same name, with pre-Vertigo James Stewart (as a stodgy book publisher) and Kim Novak as his bewitching Greenwich Village neighbor
* The Innocents - 1961William Castle's ghost-infested B-movie House on Haunted Hill (1959), starring Vincent Price as a wealthy and eccentric man who offers $10,000 to his wife and others to survive one entire night in a ghostly manse; with decapitated heads, vats of lye, crashing chandeliers; inspired the parody Saturday the 14th (1981), and was remade in 1999
* 13 Ghosts (1960), another haunted house thriller from William Castle, memorable for its "Illusion-O" process (viewers were given the option of using ghost-viewing glasses)

Download Recent Ghostly-Supernatural Tales

Cast:

John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Cusack, Alan Arkin, Jeremy Piven, Hank Azaria, Mitchell Ryan

Review:
Grosse Pointe Blank should come with a warning against advertisement-induced expectations which might diminish a viewer's appreciation of the film. The previews and TV commercials make the movie look like a frothy romantic comedy. In
Martin's profession is a bit more exotic than that of any of his former schoolmates. After joining the army and spending five years as a covert operative for the CIA (during this stint, he killed the President of Paraguay with a fork), he went into business for himself as a hit man. Over the years, Martin has developed quite a reputation. His latest job requires him to return to Grosse Pointe, Michigan during the weekend of his ten-year high school reunion. So, on the advice of his reluctant therapist (Alan Arkin), he agrees to try to patch things up with his one true love, Debi (Minnie Driver), and attend the event. Things don't exactly go as planned, however. A rival hit man (Dan Aykroyd) shows up, and soon bullets are flying all over Grosse Pointe.



Download Grosse Pointe Blank

Cast
Channing Tatum as Marcus Flavius Aquila
Jamie Bell as Esca
Donald Sutherland as Aquila's uncle
Mark Strong as Guern
Tahar Rahim as Liathan, Prince of the Seal People
Ned Dennehy as Chief of the Seal People


Download The Eagle

Cast
Konstantin Lavronenko - Jiří Kajínek
Tatiana Vilhelmová - JUDr. Klára Pokorová
Boguslaw Linda - Mr. Doležal
Michal Dlouhý - Lecko
Werner Daehn - Perner
Vladimír Dlouhý - Novotný
Václav Bárta - Mr. Křížek
Deana Horváthová - Judge
Ken Duken - Bukovský
Hynek Cermak - Prison Officer Pakosta
Jana Krausová - Mrs. Doležalová
Alice Bendová - Mrs. Křížková
Daniel Daden Svoboda - Commander of URNA

Download Kajinek

Stars: Daniell Edwards, Sami Darr and Anna Bård


Download Westbrick Murders

Cast:
Robert De Niro as Jack Byrnes
Ben Stiller as Greg Focker
Owen Wilson as Kevin Rawley
Teri Polo as Pamela Byrnes
Blythe Danner as Dina Byrnes

Download Little Fockers