Though Alan Ladd is associated mostly with Film Noir and Westerns he found the time for a few swashbucklers during his career.
THE BLACK KNIGHT (1954) – During the time of Camelot, King Arthur and Guenevere, a blacksmith and swordsmith named John (Alan Ladd) is in love with Lady Linet (Patricia Medina). John has no chance of winning her as a mere blacksmith, so he forges a special sword for himself and is covertly taught fencing, riding and jousting by a sympathetic knight named Sir Ontzlake (Andre Morell).
Meanwhile, treacherous Knight of the Round Table Sir Palamides (PETER CUSHING) has allied himself with Pagan Cornish ruler King Mark (PATRICK TROUGHTON, so two Doctor Who stars) against King Arthur. Sir Palamides is plotting to help the armies of King Mark overthrow Arthur and Guenevere, then outlaw Christianity.
John the Blacksmith accidentally stumbles upon part of the villains’ schemes and tries to warn King Arthur but isn’t believed against the word of King Mark and a Knight of the Round Table. Sir Ontzlake helps the now fugitive John adopt a false identity called the Black Knight. Using that nom de guerre, Alan Ladd repeatedly foils the villainy of King Mark and Sir Palamides.
The Black Knight also saves Lady Linet from becoming a Pagan sacrifice by Mark’s sinister allies at Stonehenge. In the end the invading troops are defeated and John kills King Mark and Sir Palamides in battle. Lady Linet, who knew the Black Knight was John all along vouches for him to King Arthur, who knights him for real so that he and Linet can get married. Continue reading
THE MARK OF ZORRO (1940) – Tyrone Power starred in this semi-remake of 
Not even Diego’s father knows about his son’s dual identity, so he is just as contemptuous of the cowardly, buffoonish figure he pretends to be as everyone else. Eligible ladies of California look down on Diego, too, despite his family’s wealth. They all have the hots for the dashing Zorro who strikes the oppressors with his sword, pistols and whip, then vanishes into the night. 
THE FLAME AND THE ARROW (1950) – In 1100s Lombardy, evil Count Ulrich (Frank Allenby) rules on behalf of Emperor Frederick the First. Ulrich abuses his power and even takes the unfaithful wife of Dardo Bartoli (Burt Lancaster) into his own court as one of his mistresses. This drives archer and swordsman Dardo into opposition against him. 
Dardo now goes all out against the Count, leading rebels both high born and low in Robin Hood style banditry against Ulrich from an old Roman fortress in the hills. At one point Dardo and his allies abduct Count Ulrich’s niece Anne (Virginia Mayo) in hopes of exchanging her for Rudi. The Count instead captures Dardo’s father and several other villagers, threatening to kill them all unless the rebel and outlaw surrenders. 
TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN CONDOR (1953) – Cornel Wilde stars as the swordsman Jean-Paul, a Frenchman whose evil uncle the Marquis de St. Malo (George Macready) robs of his royal title and his inherited lands. He flees France and sails for Guatemala. 
SON OF SINBAD (1955) – Dale Robertson stars as Sinbad II, son of the original hero of the seven seas. Vincent Price plays his sidekick, the poet Omar Khayyam, so if anachronisms bother you, stay far away from this movie, because there are plenty more on the way. But Price steals the flick!
Traitors kill Simon and make off with Kristina, who alone holds the secrets of Greek Fire now. The Khalif agrees to set Sinbad and Omar loose to find and return with Kristina. Assorted action scenes follow, and ultimately the Son of Sinbad joins forces with the Daughters of the Forty Thieves – beautiful women warriors who rob caravans and the like. 
ROB ROY: THE HIGHLAND ROGUE (1953) – Accurate history has no place in this Disney film in which Richard Todd stars as Scottish Clan leader and legendary outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor. The film begins in 1715 as Clan MacGregor is among the Scottish forces fighting against King George the First of England in the Jacobite Uprising. 
Montrose pardons all the Jacobite Clans except the MacGregors, who are forbidden to even use their surname, hence their leader being renowned as simply Rob Roy. Our hero is imprisoned by Montrose but escapes and leads his kinsmen and loyalists in rustling Montrose’s cattle and looting his estates. 
THE SPANISH MAIN (1945) – In the 1600s, Dutch Captain Laurent van Horn (Paul Henreid) is using his ship to transport refugees from the current war in Holland to safety in the Carolina Colonies. Storms and other misfortunes cause the ship to go wildly off course, ultimately wrecking near Cartagena. Spanish Colonial Governor Don Juan Alvarado (Walter Slezak) imprisons Laurent and his crew, sentencing them to hang. 
Captain van Horn and his crew take the Contessa to the port where the Barracuda and other pirate vessels hide out. A very inaccurate rendition of pirate Anne Bonny (Binnie Barnes) is jealous that Francesca has taken her man Laurent. She joins forces with pirate captains who resent van Horn’s leadership to deliver Francesca to Alvarado. 
THE DESERT HAWK (1950) – This fun but hilariously inauthentic Arabian actioner starred Yvonne De Carlo as Scheherazade, whose father is forcing her into a marriage to the evil Prince Murad. Word of the lavish wedding reaches Omar the Blacksmith (Richard Greene) who is secretly the roguish bandit leader called the Desert Hawk. 
The real Murad is furious about the theft, so he has his men slaughter some innocents and blame it on Omar and his band in order to justify an all-out war against the Desert Hawk. Scheherazade realizes how vile the real Murad is and escapes him disguised as a slave girl. 
RAGE OF THE BUCCANEERS (1961) – Montalban stars as 1600s buccaneer Captain Gordon aka the Black Pirate (no relation to 
Romero’s most dangerous ally is Captain Tortuga (Jose Jaspe), a ruthless slaver who has clashed with Captain Gordon over the years. Montalban shines as the hero viewers can’t help but cheer for, especially when he thwarts the efforts of slavers to dump their chained human “cargo” overboard to drown rather than have our pirate captain liberate them. 
RAIDERS OF THE SEVEN SEAS (1953) – John Payne plays the real-life 1500s pirate Barbarossa (Redbeard) in this fictional version of his exploits. While working as a corsair for the Sultans of the Middle East, the daring and accomplished seadog spends a little too much time with a Sultan’s harem and is sentenced to death. 
Eventually, during a raid of Tortuga, our hero seizes the incumbent Spanish governor Alida – played by Donna Reed in uncharacteristic spitfire mode – and holds her for ransom. Barbarossa and his crew take on Spanish galleons and Alida’s treacherous betrothed Captain Salcedo (1950s smug jackass Gerald Mohr). 
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