Highly advanced visual effects have yielded some amazing action sequences over the last few decades, but Hollywood has been able to deliver some truly thrilling moments since long before the start of the 21st century. In fact, the resources they had available to them in comparison to how things are now have made some of the accomplishments from Hollywood’s Golden Age even more impressive.
Asian films – whether it’s samurai movies from Japan or old-school kung fu flicks from Hong Kong – cornered the market for years when it came to action, and they didn’t really find a real rival in Hollywood until the 1980s. However, specific genres of American-made films did lean heavily on action throughout Hollywood’s Golden Age, a term that describes a period that lasted between the 1920s and the early 1960s.
Outside of a few shootouts and fist fights, movies set in modern times rarely headed in this direction, but Westerns, war movies, historical epics, and swashbuckling adventure films were ripe with this sort of entertainment.
Jason And The Argonauts – Skeleton Fight
One of the most influential fantasy movies of all time, Jason and the Argonauts featured a moment that was unforgettable to a large portion of its original audience. In the 1963 mythological adventure classic, the titular protagonist found himself going up against a group of armed skeletons, setting up an intense sword battle.
Created using stop-motion animation devised by Ray Harryhausen, Jason and the Argonauts’ skeleton fight has earned its place in cinematic history as one of the most iconic fantasy movie battles ever put to the screen.
Stagecoach – Stagecoach Chase
There’s a lot to love about the 1939 John Ford-directed Western that launched John Wayne’s rise to stardom, including the chase scene at the end. Stagecoach hits its climax with a seven-minute sequence where the Ringo Kid and the others have to deal with an attacking force of Apaches.
All of the action happened in motion, with all the characters having to shoot from horseback or from the stagecoach. With Apaches falling from their horses one by one and even a moment where John Wayne’s Ringo Kid had to climb on top of a horse running full speed, Stagecoach delivered stuntwork that was way ahead of its time.
Bridge On The River Kwai – Bridge Explosion
Similar to Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai was a historical war film jointly produced by a British studio and Hollywood. The struggle of the British prisoners of war in the 1957 culminates in a fight to blow up a railway bridge.
The gradual buildup lends itself well to the intensity of the final minutes prior to that pivotal moment, where the main characters stage a desperate attempt to gain an opportunity to destroy the bridge. The explosion, which was intricately crafted and planned by the crew, provided an epic finish to an already-great adventure.
The Adventures Of Robin Hood – Robin Hood vs. Guy Of Gisbourne
Another 1930s classic deserves recognition for groundbreaking action. Released in 1938, The Adventures of Robin Hood set the standard for swashbuckler movies with its extravagant set pieces, costumes, and sword battles. But its best was saved for last, with Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood engaging in an epic sword duel with Basil Rathbone’s Guy of Gisbourne.
Amid a furious battle between the rebel forces and the English soldiers, Robin Hood and Guy faced off in a well-choreographed fight that took them all over the castle, complete with several moving parts and a great deal of stunt work. The battle amounted to an epic finish.
The Mark Of Zorro – Zorro vs. Esteban Pasquale
The Adventures of Robin Hood is rightfully regarded as the quintessential swashbuckler film of Hollywood’s Golden Age, but it’s not the only one of its genre with top-tier swordfighting action. Just two years later, the high bar it had set was met by The Mark of Zorro, which ended in a duel fought between the hero and the villain, played by Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone.
It’s no coincidence that Basil Rathbone contributed to two of the greatest action sequences from this particular period. The skills of the actor, who boasted real-life championships in fencing, helped the filmmakers coordinate a wide-reaching sword battle dripping with intensity.
High Noon – Final Shootout
High Noon is best known for its dramatic tale of a noble sheriff who stands alone against evil even when no one else will, but its use of action also factors heavily into what makes its so good. It pays off the journey of Gary Cooper’s Will Kane with a tense standoff against the outlaw gang at the end, but goes beyond the standard Western shootout between two gunfighters.
True to the theme of Will Kane being on his own against many, High Noon’s ending forces Gary Cooper to meticulously and strategically pick off his enemies, adding an element of suspense to the all-time great Western’s final battle.
The Magnificent Seven – The Magnificent Seven Fight Calvera’s Gang
The Magnificent Seven wouldn’t be thought of as one of the greatest Westerns ever made without its thrilling ending, which centers on its seven heroes as they contend with Calvera’s gang of outlaws.
The diverse skillsets of the main characters translated into a unique blend of action, with expert gunslinging, knife-throwing, and more all rolled into one perfect battle to end the movie. Making it all the more exciting was its high-stakes atmosphere; The Magnificent Seven whittled down both sides of the conflict, not hesitating to kill both its heroes and its villains.
Spartacus – The Final Battle
One of the most iconic moments in movie history came together when Kirk Douglas starred in 1960’s Spartacus. In the now-legendary historical epic, Kirk Douglas’ gladiator hero leads his band of rebels against an overwhelming force of Romans. It’s a losing battle where the “good” side is doomed from the start, but their resilience and commitment to their noble cause is at the heart of the action sequence.
The way in which Spartacus successfully coordinates legions of combatants on both sides and creates the feel of a truly massive battle, the last stand of Spartacus’ army is able to live up to the grand scale of the story.
Lawrence Of Arabia – Train Fight
An American-British co-production from 1962, Lawrence of Arabia features a handful of memorable set pieces, with its best being the attack on the train. The scene in question in the 1962 historical epic sees Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence lead an assault on a Turkish train in the desert.
Unlike the situations with modern films, a real explosion was needed to blow up the train in Lawrence of Arabia, allowing for an impressively realistic depiction of the real-life event, followed by a gritty and violent battle that honored historical accounts of what befell the train in 1917.
Ben-Hur – Chariot Race
The action sequence that stands atop them all – and is amazing even by today’s standards – encompassed 11 minutes of screentime in William Wyler’s 1959 Biblical epic, Ben-Hur. In the second half of the movie, a revenge-seeking Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) enters a deadly chariot race in order to defeat (and kill) his archrival, Messala (Stephen Boyd).
This is no ordinary race, of course, as it’s made clear that there are no rules – as one would expect from an event controlled by the ancient Romans. For several minutes, Ben-Hur has to guide his horses through a challenging gauntlet, surviving collision after collision, with multiple competitors meeting their grisly ends as the race unfolds.