The 40 most popular 1920s adventure movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


The Gold Rush
1925 · 1h 35m
country: United States
A gold prospector in Alaska struggles to survive the elements and win the heart of a dance hall girl.


Der Fremdenlegionär
1928
country: Germany
No overview available


The Thief of Bagdad
1924 · 2h 29m
country: United States
A recalcitrant thief vies with a duplicitous Mongol ruler for the hand of a beautiful princess.


The Navigator
1924 · 1h 5m
country: United States
The wealthy and impulsive Rollo Treadway decides to propose to his beautiful socialite neighbor, Betsy O'Brien. Although Betsy turns Rollo down, he still opts to go on the cruise that he intended as their honeymoon. When circumstances find both Rollo and Betsy on the wrong ship, they end up having adventures on the high seas.


Robin Hood
1922 · 2h 13m
country: United States
Amid big-budget medieval pageantry, King Richard goes on the Crusades leaving his brother Prince John as regent, who promptly emerges as a cruel, grasping, treacherous tyrant. Apprised of England's peril by message from his lady-love Marian, the dashing Earl of Huntingdon endangers his life and honor by returning to oppose John, but finds himself and his friends outlawed, with Marian apparently dead. Enter Robin Hood, acrobatic champion of the oppressed, laboring to set things right through swashbuckling feats and cliffhanging perils!
Alma rifeña
Alma rifeña
1922
country: Spain
No overview available


Die Nibelungen: Siegfried
1924 · 2h 28m
country: Germany
Siegfried, son of King Siegmund of Xanten, travels to Worms, capital of the Burgundian kingdom, to ask King Gunther for the hand of his sister, the beautiful Kriemhild.


Deerslayer
1920
country: Germany
Chingachgook, son of the chief of the Delaware Indian tribe and faithful friend of Hawkeye the Deerslayer is raised by his tribe after being orphaned.


Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
1925 · 2h 23m
country: United States
Erstwhile childhood friends, Judah Ben-Hur and Messala meet again as adults, this time with Roman officer Messala as conqueror and Judah as a wealthy, though conquered, Israelite. A slip of a brick during a Roman parade causes Judah to be sent off as a galley slave, his property confiscated and his mother and sister imprisoned. Years later, as a result of his determination to stay alive and his willingness to aid his Roman master, Judah returns to his homeland an exalted and wealthy Roman athlete. Unable to find his mother and sister, and believing them dead, he can think of nothing else than revenge against Messala.


The Mark of Zorro
1920 · 1h 47m
country: United States
Don Diego Vega pretends to be an indolent fop as a cover for his true identity, the masked avenger Zorro. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.


The Black Pirate
1926 · 1h 34m
country: United States
A nobleman vows to avenge the death of his father by the hands of pirates. To this end, he infiltrates the pirate band; Acting in character, he single-handedly captures a merchant vessel, but things are complicated when he finds that there is a beautiful young woman of royal blood aboard.


Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge
1924 · 2h 9m
country: Germany
When Kriemhild, thirsty for revenge, marries to Etzel, king of the Huns, she invites King Gunther and his court to visit them, intending to finally take the life of the man responsible of her disgrace.


The Adventures of Prince Achmed
1926 · 1h 6m
country: Germany
Taken from The Arabian Nights, a wicked sorcerer and the beautiful prince Achmed battle one against the other during a series of wondrous adventures.


The Isle of Sunken Gold
1927 · 2h 30m
country: United States
Isle of Sunken Gold is a 1927 American adventure film serial directed by Harry S. Webb. The film was long considered to be lost, however, chapters 4, 5, and 6 and reel 1 of chapter 7 were recently discovered in a European archive and retranslated back into English. A sea captain obtains half of a map directing him to an enormous treasure on a south sea island. The princess who rules the island possesses the other half of the map, and together they fight off the pirates and natives who would prevent their retrieval of the treasure.


The Mysterious Lady
1928 · 1h 29m
country: United States
A beautiful Russian spy seduces an Austrian military officer in order to obtain secret plans. When she falls in love with him, both are placed in danger.


The Holy Mountain
1926 · 1h 46m
country: Germany
In the mountains, Diotima meets Karl and fall in love and have an affair. Karl's friend Vigo mistakenly believes she's in love with him, causing rifts in all relationships.


Soft Cushions
1927 · 1h 10m
country: United States
Douglas MacLean stars as The Young Thief, who falls in love with The Girl, played by Sue Carol. Alas, the Girl has been sold into the harem of The Wazir (Albert Prisco), forcing the Thief to sneak into the palace to rescue her.


Jüri Rumm
1929 · 1h 41m
country: Estonia
The story of the legendary thief of the late 19th century. Jüri Rumm, a young valet for an Estonian noble, risks imprisonment to save his beloved Madli. Like Robin Hood, he takes revenge against the social and political order.


Abrek Zaur
1926 · 1h 25m
country: Soviet Union
The dashing mountaineer Zaur kills a Russian "imperialist" thereby becoming an abrek, member of a roving band of outlaws.


Chasing Trouble
1926 · 50m
country: United States
"Blizz" Ballard, summoned by the Homesteaders' League to track down a gang of cattle rustlers, arrives in Paradise Valley. In the saloon, he is taunted by Jerome Garrett, who hopes to intimidate him but is himself beaten in a fight. Ballard, after proving himself by riding an outlaw horse, is taken on at the Gregg ranch. Garrett, in the family's favor and admired by Emily, the judge's daughter, accuses Ballard of being a cattle thief, while his accomplices capture and torture the sheriff.


The Lost World
1925 · 1h 44m
country: United States
The first film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel about a land where prehistoric creatures still roam.


The Iron Mask
1929 · 1h 43m
country: United States
King Louis XIII of France is thrilled to have born to him a son - an heir to the throne. But when the queen delivers a twin, Cardinal Richelieu sees the second son as a potential for revolution, and has him sent off to Spain to be raised in secret to ensure a peaceful future for France. Alas, keeping the secret means sending Constance, lover of D'Artagnan, off to a convent. D'Artagnan hears of this and rallies the Musketeers in a bid to rescue her. Unfortunately, Richelieu out-smarts the Musketeers and banishes them forever.


Jimmy Higgings
1928
country: Soviet Union
Jimmy Higgings is a worker of the plant making weapons for the Tsarist Russia and the German Empire. During World War I, Jimmy speaks at a spontaneous rally against the war. He is arrested. When released, he becomes unemployed. He is happy to hear the news about the revolution; he volunteers into the American expeditionary force thinking that having the weapons he can fight against Germans – the enemies of the Russian revolution. However, finding himself in Russia, Jimmy soon realises that the expeditionary force of American volunteers fights not against the Germans, but against the young Socialist Russia. Without any hesitations, he takes the path of revolutionary struggle, he spreads propaganda among the American soldiers and distributes Bolshevik leaflets. Captured by the American military police, Jimmy Higgings does not betray his friends. He is sentenced to twenty years in a military prison. Jimmy cannot stand it and loses his mind. Lost movie.
Jungle Woman
Jungle Woman
1926 · 1h 7m
country: Australia
Englishman Martin South (Eric Bransby Williams) is leading an expedition into the Dutch New Guinea hinterland to search for gold, being joined by George Mardyke (Jameson Thomas), who he thinks is his friend. The expedition is attacked by headhunters and Mardyke leaves Martin for dead so he can pursue the latter's fiancee, Eleanor (Lillian Douglas), the daughter of a plantation manager. Meanwhile, Martin is nursed back to health by native girl, Hurana (Grace Savieri), who falls in love with him and helps him escape from some angry natives. Hurana is bitten by a snake and dies, and Martin arrives back to civilisation in time to rescue Eleanor from Mardyke. Was partially filmed back to back on Thursday Island with 'The Hounds of The Deep'


Le Bled
1929 · 1h 44m
country: France
A young French woman inherits her uncle's property in Algeria, and finds herself plotted against by her envious cousins, but also romanced by a handsome but previously irresponsible young man from a neighbouring farm.


Treasure Island
1920 · 1h 16m
country: United States
Young Jim Hawkins is caught up with the pirate Long John Silver in search of the buried treasure of the buccaneer Captain Flint, in this adaptation of the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson.


Belphégor
1927 · 4h 53m
country: France
Belphégor deals with a series of mysterious appearances by a masked-and-robed figure in the Louvre; a security guard is murdered, and a later police trap is foiled when the phantom—“Belphégor” (the name of a legendary demon)—uses knock-out gas. Journalist Jacques Bellegarde of “Le Petit Parisien” (the real-life newspaper which published the original story in serial installments), investigates, and eventually discovers famous detective Chantecoq and his vivacious daughter Colette are also on the case.
Luis Candelas' Odd Adventure
Luis Candelas' Odd Adventure
1926 · 1h 6m
country: Spain
Luis Candelas, the mythical bandit, just and generous, comes to the aid of a nobleman who saved his life. Adventure film directed by José Buchs.


The Last of the Mohicans
1920 · 1h 13m
country: United States
As Alice and Cora Munro attempt to find their father, a British officer in the French and Indian War, they are set upon by French soldiers and their cohorts, Huron tribesmen led by the evil Magua. Fighting to rescue the women are Chingachgook and his son Uncas, the last of the Mohican tribe, and their white ally, the frontiersman Natty Bumppo, known as Hawkeye.


The Adventurer
1920 · 1h
country: United States
Don Caesar de Bazan, a reckless nobleman, falls for Maritana, a gypsy dancing girl. When Maritana is insulted by a drunk, Don Caesar wins her love by coming to her rescue. The two go to Madrid, where the girl is summoned to dance before the Queen. Maritana also attracts the attention of King Charles. Don Jose, the prime minister, who secretly loves the Queen, plots to get Maritana for the King. To do this, he schemes to have Maritana marry a nobleman so she can enter the King's court.


Auf den Trümmern des Paradieses
1920
country: Germany
No overview available
National Treasure
National Treasure
1927 · 1h 26m
country: Brazil
A group of bandits look for a treasure map.


A Throw of Dice
1929 · 1h 14m
country: Germany
Two neighboring kings addicted to gambling, Ranjit and his cousin Sohat, vie for the same beautiful young woman, Sunita, daughter of the hermit Kanwa.


Burning Words
1923 · 50m
country: United States
David Darby and his younger brother Ross are both members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Ross is accused of murdering Slip Martin, but David doesn't believe his brother committed the murder and, not wanting to see him executed, takes the blame himself.


Monte Cristo
1929 · 3h 43m
country: France
Young sailor Edmond Dantès is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes, finds treasure, and reinvents himself as the wealthy Count of Monte Cristo to exact revenge on those who betrayed him.


Princesse Mandane
1928 · 1h 14m
country: France
Brazen embrace of fashionable costume and glamour creates a witty celebration of Orientalism and cinema itself.


Captain Kidd
1922 · 3h 20m
country: United States
Swashbuckling serial starring Eddie Polo. Chapter titles: 1. Shanghaied 2. The Pirate's Slave 3. Hidden Treasure 4. The Lost Fortune 5. The Missing Plans 6. Trapped 7. The Secret Passage 8. Outwitted 9. The Third Degree 10. Double-Crossed 11. [unknown] 12. A Fight for a Fortune 13. [unknown] 14. A Fight in Mid-Air 15. Victory and Happiness.


Dog Scents
1926 · 23m
country: United States
A short western/crime film.
Silent Pal
Silent Pal
1925 · 1h
country: United States
New Yorker David Kingston, a university student involved in the study of mine engineering, is falsely accused of theft and expelled from school. David's mother soon dies of grief, and he decides to end it all by jumping in the river. David is deterred from suicide, however, when he adopts a stray pup, which he names "Thunder." The dog later finds a map indicating the location of a gold mine, and David heads west to Northern California.


Pirate Gold
1920
country: United States
No overview available
The 1920s were silent cinema's artistic peak, when directors had perfected a purely visual storytelling language just as sound arrived to displace it. German Expressionism and Soviet montage both date from here.
Adventure films are built on journey and discovery: lost worlds, long voyages, and heroes far from home. The genre overlaps heavily with fantasy and action, but its engine is always forward motion into unfamiliar territory.