The 40 most popular 1930s adventure movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


The Wizard of Oz
1939 · 1h 42m
country: United States
Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow brick road to talk with the Wizard and ask for the things they miss most in their lives. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only thing that could stop them.


The Adventures of Robin Hood
1938 · 1h 42m
country: United States
Robin Hood fights nobly for justice against the evil Sir Guy of Gisbourne while striving to win the hand of the beautiful Maid Marian.


King Kong
1933 · 1h 40m
country: United States
Adventurous filmmaker Carl Denham sets out to produce a motion picture unlike anything the world has seen before. Alongside his leading lady Ann Darrow and his first mate Jack Driscoll, they arrive on an island and discover a legendary creature said to be neither beast nor man. Denham captures the monster to be displayed on Broadway as King Kong, the eighth wonder of the world.


Tarzan the Ape Man
1932 · 1h 40m
country: United States
James Parker and Harry Holt are on an expedition in Africa in search of the elephant burial grounds that will provide enough ivory to make them rich. Parker's beautiful daughter Jane arrives unexpectedly to join them. Jane is terrified when Tarzan and his ape friends abduct her, but when she returns to her father's expedition she has second thoughts about leaving Tarzan.


Mutiny on the Bounty
1935 · 2h 12m
country: United States
Fletcher Christian successfully leads a revolt against the ruthless Captain Bligh on the HMS Bounty. However, Bligh returns one year later, hell bent on revenge.


The Most Dangerous Game
1932 · 1h 3m
country: United States
When legendary hunter Bob Rainsford is shipwrecked on the perilous reefs surrounding a mysterious island, he finds himself the guest of the reclusive and eccentric Count Zaroff. While he is very gracious at first, Zaroff eventually forces Rainsford and two other shipwreck survivors, brother and sister Eve and Martin Towbridge, to participate in a sadistic game of cat and mouse in which they are the prey and he is the hunter.


Captain Blood
1935 · 1h 59m
country: United States
Dr. Peter Blood, unjustly convicted of treason and exiled from England, becomes a notorious pirate.


The Son of Kong
1933 · 1h 10m
country: United States
Beleaguered adventurer Carl Denham returns to the island where he found King Kong.


Only Angels Have Wings
1939 · 2h 1m
country: United States
A traveling performer arrives at a remote South American port town where the head of an air freight service must risk his pilots' lives to earn a major contract.


Gulliver's Travels
1939 · 1h 16m
country: United States
Gulliver washes ashore on Lilliput and attempts to prevent war between that tiny kingdom and its equally-miniscule rival, Blefiscu, as well as smooth the way for the romance between the Princess and Prince of the opposing lands. In this he is alternately aided and hampered by the Lilliputian town crier and general fussbudget, Gabby. A life-threatening situation develops when the bumbling trio of Blefiscu spies, Sneak, Snoop, and Snitch, manage to steal Gulliver's pistol.


Tarzan and His Mate
1934 · 1h 44m
country: United States
Harry Holt returns to Africa with his friend Martin Arlington to head up a large ivory expedition.


Jamaica Inn
1939 · 1h 40m
country: United Kingdom
In early 19th-century Cornwall, young Mary Yellan travels to live with her aunt and uncle at the remote Jamaica Inn, where she discovers the inn is a front for a violent gang of wreckers who lure ships to their doom along the coast. As she becomes entangled in their crimes, Mary must fight to survive and uncover the truth behind the terror that haunts the moors.


Treasure Island
1934 · 1h 43m
country: United States
In this early film adaptation of the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, young Jim Hawkins is caught up with the pirate Long John Silver in search of buccaneer Captain Flint's buried treasure.


Gunga Din
1939 · 1h 57m
country: United States
British army sergeants Ballantine, Cutter and MacChesney serve in India during the 1880s, along with their native water-bearer, Gunga Din. While completing a dangerous telegraph-repair mission, they unearth evidence of the suppressed Thuggee cult. When Gunga Din tells the sergeants about a secret temple made of gold, the fortune-hunting Cutter is captured by the Thuggees, and it's up to his friends to rescue him.


Captains Courageous
1937 · 1h 55m
country: United States
Harvey, the arrogant and spoiled son of an indulgent absentee-father, falls overboard from a transatlantic steamship and is rescued by a fishing vessel on the Grand Banks. Harvey fails to persuade them to take him ashore, nor convince the crew of his wealth. The captain offers him a low-paid job, until they return to port, as part of the crew that turns him into a mature, considerate young man.


Tarzan Escapes
1936 · 1h 29m
country: United States
White hunter Captain Fry tries to take Tarzan back to civilization, caged for public display. He arrives in the jungle with Jane's cousins, Eric and Rita, who want Jane's help in claiming a fortune left her.


Lost Horizon
1937 · 2h 12m
country: United States
British diplomat Robert Conway and a small group of civilians crash-land in the Himalayas, where they are rescued by the inhabitants of the hidden, idyllic valley of Shangri-La. Protected by the mountains from the world outside, where the clouds of World War II are gathering, Shangri-La provides a seductive escape for the world-weary Conway.


A Tale of Two Cities
1935 · 2h 6m
country: United States
Set against the conditions leading up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, French doctor Alexandre Manette serves an 18-year imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris, followed by his release to live in London with the daughter he has never met.


The Four Feathers
1939 · 2h 9m
country: United Kingdom
A disgraced officer risks his life to help his childhood friends in battle.


China Seas
1935 · 1h 27m
country: United States
Captain Alan Gaskell sails the perilous waters between Hong Kong and Singapore with a secret cargo: a fortune in British gold. That's not the only risky cargo he carries; both his fiery mistress and his refined fiancee are aboard!
Phantom Gold
Phantom Gold
1937 · 1h 4m
country: Australia
Harold Lasseter claims he knows the location of a gold reef and in 1930 manages to raise funds for an expedition to discover it. He discovers the reef but dies of thirst.


The Prisoner of Zenda
1937 · 1h 41m
country: United States
A kingdom's ascending heir, marked for assassination, switches identities with a lookalike, who takes his place at the coronation. When the real king is kidnapped, his followers try to find him, while the stand-in falls in love with the king's intended bride, the beautiful Princess Flavia.


The Call of the Hoggar, In the Heart of Atlantis
1935 · 1h 3m
country: France
Documentary on the French Alpine expedition to Hoggar in Algeria, starring Roger Frison-Roche, Raymond Coche, Pierre Lewden, and François de Chasseloup-Laubat. The 1935 French Alpine Expedition to Hoggar was conceived and prepared by Lieutenant Raymond Coche, the ideal leader for an expedition that would combine alpine and Saharan terrain in Algeria. Among his goals, he set himself the task of leading a French rope team to the still-untouched summits of Atakor and Tefedest and planting the French flag there. His old friend, Pierre Lewden, an athlete and journalist, was soon on the team, and to complete their project and complete the trio, they called on Roger Frison-Roche, a guide from Chamonix and one of the best climbers of this generation. A few days before their departure from Paris, filmmaker Pierre Ichac joined them.


Water for Canitoga
1939 · 1h 59m
country: Germany
In the spring of 1905, the water conduit project in the Canadian city of Canitoga is set to be completed. For years, the completion had been marred by sabotage. Engineer Oliver Montstuart commands the last blasting operation. But again, the explosive charge is too large and thus, further construction is forestalled again. When Montstuart confronts foreman Westbrook, the foreman threatens him with a knife. In self-defence, Montstuart shoots him. Now, he has to flee.


Call of the Wild
1935 · 1h 31m
country: United States
Jack Thornton has trouble winning enough at cards for the stake he needs to get to the Alaska gold fields. His luck changes when he pays $250 for Buck, a sled dog that is part wolf to keep him from being shot by an arrogant Englishman also headed for the Yukon. En route to the Yukon with Shorty Houlihan -- who spent time in jail for opening someone else's letter with a map of where gold is to be found -- Jack rescues a woman whose husband was the addressee of that letter. Buck helps Jack win a $1,000 bet to get the supplies he needs. And when Jack and Claire Blake pet Buck one night, fingers touch.


Shadow of Pancho Villa
1933
country: Mexico
A 1933 film.


The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
1935 · 1h 49m
country: United States
In the Northwest Frontier of India, the 41st Bengal Lancers led by the harsh Colonel Tom Stone are having trouble with the rebellious leader Mohammed Khan. Surly McGregor and wry, blue-blooded Forsythe are officers in charge of newcomer Lieutenant Stone, the commanding officer’s inexperienced son. Motivated by a grudge toward his father, Lt. Stone allows himself to be captured by the enemy.


David Copperfield
1935 · 2h 10m
country: United States
A young man journeys from a difficult childhood to maturity, exploring social injustice, personal development, and the complexities of human relationships.


If I Were King
1938 · 1h 41m
country: United States
King Louis XI masquerades as a commoner in Paris, seeking out the treachery he is sure lurks in his kingdom. At a local tavern, he overhears the brash poet François Villon extolling why he would be a better king. Annoyed yet intrigued, the King bestows on Villon the title of Grand Constable. Soon Villon begins work and falls for a lovely lady-in-waiting, but then must flee execution when the King turns on him.


Tabu: A Story of the South Seas
1931 · 1h 26m
country: United States
On the South Pacific island of Bora Bora, a young couple's love is threatened when the tribal chief declares the girl a sacred virgin.


The Mask of Fu Manchu
1932 · 1h 8m
country: United States
The villainous Dr. Fu Manchu races against a team of Englishmen to find the tomb of Ghengis Khan, because he wants to use the relics to cause an uprising in the East to wipe out the white race.


The Garden of Allah
1936 · 1h 19m
country: United States
The star-crossed desert romance of a cloistered woman and a renegade monk.


The Game of Love
1935 · 55m
country: Soviet Union
The film is about 3 friends falling in love with a girl. One of them changes his bad character under the girl's influence.


Adventure Girl
1934 · 1h 9m
country: United States
Faux documentary told in first-person narration, about an "adventuress" who sets sail to Guatemala with her father and two male crewmen, rescues them when their fresh-water supply is compromised, finds a treasure map, and attempts to steal a fabulous emerald from a ruined temple, much to the aggrevation of a worshipful native princess and her subjects.


Tarzan Finds a Son!
1939 · 1h 22m
country: United States
A young couple die in a plane crash in the jungle. Their son is found by Tarzan and Jane who name him Boy and raise him as their own. Five years later a search party comes to find the young heir to millions of dollars. Jane agrees, against Tarzan's will, to lead them to civilization.


The Count of Monte Cristo
1934 · 1h 53m
country: United States
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.
Typhoon Treasure
Typhoon Treasure
1938 · 1h 29m
country: Australia
Alan Richards is the sole survivor of a pearling lugger which has been shipwrecked on Pakema Reef during a typhoon. He sets out to recover some pearls which went missing in the wreck, crossing through the jungle and fighting headhunters.


The Barrier
1937 · 1h 30m
country: Unknown
Gale, a store owner, lives in an Alaskan village with his grown ward, Necia, whom he had rescued years before from her murderer father, Captain Bennett. Now Bennett, disguised as Ben Stark, has arrived in the village seeking vengeance and his daughter.


Code of the Secret Service
1939 · 58m
country: United States
Secret Service agents try to solve the theft of treasury banknote plates.


The Drum
1938 · 1h 44m
country: United Kingdom
Set in the India of the British Raj, the evil and untrustworthy Prince Guhl (Raymond Massey) plans to wipe out the British troops as they enjoy the hospitality of Guhl's spacious palace. It's up to the loyal young Prince Azim (Sabu) to warn the troops of Guhl's treachery by tapping out a message on his drum.
The 1930s were the studio system at full power, with sound now fully integrated and the Production Code arriving mid-decade to sharply narrow what films could depict. It's the decade of the Universal monster cycle, screwball comedy, and the first Technicolor spectacles.
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.