The 25 Best Classic Adventure Movies You've Never Seen

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.

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.

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.

aka 'Flame Over India'

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.