Why I like swashbuckler movies

Perhaps none of them is realistic. But they have a flair and flash to them that is appealing. In some of the better of them the musical scores are outstanding. And then, of course, there are the sword fights. The most memorable of them involved Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, and Tyrone Power, but there were others. Nothing like a good swashbuckler.



 "I enjoyed swordsmanship more than anything because it was beautiful. I thought it was a wonderful exercise, a great sport. But I would not put it under the category of sport; I would put it under the category of the arts. I think it's tremendously skillful and very beautiful. . . . The only actor I actually fought with on the screen was Flynn, and that's the only time I was really scared. I wasn't scared because he was careless but because he didn't know how to protect himself." (Basil Rathbone, as quoted in Castle of Frankenstein)