Top 28 Action Movies Must-Watch Released in 1940

On the eve of World War II, a young American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London. Learn about Foreign Correspondent / IMDB / YouTube

Geoffrey Thorpe, a buccaneer, is hired by Queen Elizabeth I to nag the Spanish Armada. The Armada is waiting for an attack on England and Thorpe surprises them with attacks on their galleons where he shows his skills with the sword. Explore The Sea Hawk / IMDB / YouTube

A young Spanish aristocrat must masquerade as a fop in order to maintain his secret identity of Zorro as he restores justice to early California. Details on The Mark of Zorro / IMDB / YouTube

Union officer Kerry Bradford escapes from Confederate prison and is sent to Virginia City, Nevada, where he finds out that the former commander of his prison, Vance Irby, is planning to send $5 million in gold to save the Confederacy. More about Virginia City / IMDB / YouTube

Although loudmouthed braggart Jerry Plunkett alienates his comrades and officers, Father Duffy, the regimental chaplain, has faith that he'll prove himself in the end. Find out about The Fighting 69th / IMDB / YouTube

In 1885, a Texas Ranger travels to Canada to arrest a trapper who's wanted for murder and who's stirring up the Natives in a rebellion against the Canadian government. Find out about North West Mounted Police / IMDB / YouTube

Tale of prehistoric survival and love between a male and a female belonging to opposing tribes that happen to be at slightly different stages of evolution. See more about One Million B.C. / IMDB / YouTube

A ravaging plague has struck the Earth threatening no less than global extinction. This alien disease is believed to be the evil spawn of Ming, the merciless Emperor of Planet Mongo. The world's only hope now rests with Flash Gordon. Find out about Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe / IMDB / YouTube

Plagued by revolutionaries that harass his plantation in a banana republic, fruit company exec Steve Case rehires former nemesis Nick Butler to restore order and profits. Details on Torrid Zone / IMDB / YouTube

Although the home of cabinet minister Arthur Bennett is a hotbed of spies, moles, and double agents, no one knows the true identity of notorious German spymaster Strendler. Learn about British Intelligence / IMDB / YouTube

An enigmatic gang leader known as The Boss, who is a dead-ringer for Simon, puts The Saint under suspicion of murder. Info on The Saint's Double Trouble / IMDB / YouTube

New York City street principles get an East Side kid in trouble at a Civilian Conservation Corps camp. Info on Pride of the Bowery / IMDB / YouTube

A bootlegger-turned-legal distiller learns he's inherited an English title. He travels to England with a revenge-seeking ex-convict he once betrayed, leaving his business vulnerable while exploring his newfound nobility. Learn about The Earl of Chicago / IMDB / YouTube

A wealthy publisher uses a disguise and calls himself the Green Hornet to fight crime in his city. Get info on The Green Hornet Strikes Again! / IMDB / YouTube

The Shadow battles a villain known as The Black Tiger, who has the power to make himself invisible and is trying to take over the world with his death ray. Get info on The Shadow / IMDB / YouTube

Roy is a bandit who is out to get the man who killed his younger brother. He learns as he rides into the town of Sonora that the man is the owner of the local saloon and gambling hall. See more about The Carson City Kid / IMDB / YouTube

The corpse of a hobo with a $50,000 money belt helps Brass and Gabby crack a cell of fifth columnists bent on sabotage. Learn about Murder in the Air / IMDB / YouTube

Trouble in Colorado is tying up Union troops needed back east during the Civil War and Lieut. Burke is sent to investigate. Macklin and his gang are causing the problems and Capt. Mason joins them. When Burke catches up with them he also finds Mason, his brother. Check out Colorado / IMDB / YouTube

George has won a lot of money at the races but he's paid with counterfeit money. He sets about tracking down the criminals himself. Find out about Trouble Brewing / IMDB / YouTube

Bill Hickok, assisted by Calamity Jane, is after a foreign agent and his guerrilla band who are trying to take over some Western territory just as the Civil War is coming to a close. More about Young Bill Hickok / IMDB / YouTube

The Phantom Robber gets a fortune in jewels and some valuable papers from a robbery on the crack train The Midnight Limited and Val Lennon and his pretty assistant, Joan Marshall, are on his trail. But the Phantom strikes three more times and adds murder to his list. Val decides to use himself as bait, although Chief Harrigan and Joan beg him not to risk his life. B. Get info on Midnight Limited / IMDB / YouTube

A veteran firefighter is forced to retire at age 65 by the Fire Department. Read about The Last Alarm / IMDB / YouTube

Bill, a wrongly imprisoned doctor, escapes jail and finds refuge in an Arizona town, but his freedom is threatened when the gangster who framed him forces Bill to guide his criminal crew across the desert. Learn about Marked Men / IMDB / YouTube

Two mobs fight for control of the jukebox racket. More about Gang War / IMDB / YouTube

A movie company making a film about a famous sheriff hires his grandson as a stand-in for the lead. The grandson's friend scares the actor out of town so he can get the role. Info on Shooting High / IMDB / YouTube

Alcoholic pilot struggles to turn his life around. See more about Men Against the Sky / IMDB / YouTube

While Sam Houston in in the nation's capital trying to get Texas into the Union, his aide is trying to impose a self-serving tax on the use of the Santa Fe trail. The lady owner of a wagon train is using the trail, and a Texas Ranger comes to her assistance. Details on The Ranger and the Lady / IMDB / YouTube

An Eastern doctor is on the run from authorities in New York. Out west he comes to the aid of friends besieged by an outlaw gang known as the border legion. In the end, he is cleared of any wrong-doing back east. Look into The Border Legion / IMDB / YouTube