Ever since Douglas Fairbanks donned a mask and cape in The Mark of Zorro (1920), movie theatre audiences have been captivated by the clashing swords, heroic duels and courageous fights to the finish as heroes rescue damsels from evil villains and protect the innocent from their oppressors.  As one of the preminent silent film stars, Fairbanks would rule as the swashbuckling king.  Perhaps no actor since has epitomized our gallant heroes of old more than he.  To follow The Mark of Zorro would be such classics as The Three Musketeers (1921), Robin Hood (1922), The Thief of Bagdad (1924), Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925), The Black Pirate (1926), The Iron Mask (1929) and his final role in The Private Life of Don Juan (1934).  Publishers such as Grosset & Dunlap and A.L. Burt were quick to capitalize on the huge success of these films with PhotoPlay editions of several of them.

Coined the Modern Dumas, Rafael Sabatini's best selling novels would form the basis for three memorable silent film swashbucklers, Captain Blood (1924) The Sea Hawk (1924) and Bardelys the Magnificent (1926).

By the 1930s, the runaway success of many of these silent classics would lead to remakes by the major studios.  Errol Flynn and Olivia De Havilland would appear together in two memorable swashbuckling classics, Captain Blood (1935) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), both featuring the unforgettable film scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

By the 1940s, several more classics would be remade including The Mark of Zorro (1940) [Tyrone Power & Linda Darnell], The Sea Hawk (1940) [Errol Flynn & Brenda Marshall], The Three Musketeers (1948) [Gene Kelly & Lana Turner]. 

The 1950s and 60s had no shortage of the adventure / swashbuckling films, now with a return emphasis towards pirates and navy encounters. Morgan the Pirate, H. M. S. Defiant, Mutiny on the Bounty and The Buccaneer are popular examples. One can see the increasing interest in science fiction and space adventure films in the 1960s. It is interesting how fencing in the films evolved to laser beam swords in the Star Wars films of the 1970s.

Webmaster: arnoldgdavis@gmail.com (Thanks to "Database" Dave and Frank for this website / database design)

Last Revision:  October 22, 2025