Top 30 Action Movies Picks from 1949

A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist. Details on White Heat / IMDB / YouTube

Expecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter. Look into The Set-Up / IMDB / YouTube

A young woman who has raised a giant gorilla from an infant brings him to Hollywood years later seeking her fortune. Info on Mighty Joe Young / IMDB / YouTube

Two booksellers search for diamonds in Africa, along the way meeting a visually-impaired gunner, a hungry lion, and a tribe of cannibals. Check out Africa Screams / IMDB / YouTube

The great lover Don Juan comes to the assistance of his queen. Learn about Adventures of Don Juan / IMDB / YouTube

During the 1860s in the South Pacific, Capt. Ralls, skipper of the Red Witch, has a series of adventures involving sunken gold bullion, pearls, natives, an unscrupulous ship owner and a giant octopus. Get info on Wake of the Red Witch / IMDB / YouTube

The story of British explorer Robert Falcon Scott's 1912 expedition and his quest to be the first to reach the South Pole. Details on Scott of the Antarctic / IMDB / YouTube

A man abused by a sadistic mining company cop before he could tell where on their desert property he'd found diamonds decides to steal them instead. Info on Rope of Sand / IMDB / YouTube

Fortune seeker Barry Storm stumbles onto some clues that may lead him to the fabulous Lost Dutchman Mine, but others have tried and been murdered. Explore Lust for Gold / IMDB / YouTube

After two U.S. cavalrymen transporting a gold shipment get killed, U.S. Army Intelligence investigator John Haven goes undercover to a mining and logging town to find the killers. Learn about Station West / IMDB / YouTube

A ranch boy is gifted with a colt, grows to love him but the colt escapes, with tragic results. Get info on The Red Pony / IMDB / YouTube

Whaling ship captain Bering Joy takes his grandson Jed on a whaling trip to teach him core life values while First Mate Dan Lunceford is tasked with tutoring Jed. Get info on Down to the Sea in Ships / IMDB / YouTube

Jeff King in his experimental rocket suit battles the evil Dr. Vulcan. Get info on King of the Rocket Men / IMDB / YouTube

A secret London school trains a motley group of men and women for sabotage work in German occupied Belgium during World War II. When one of them is captured by the Germans, five others are parachuted in to rescue him. Learn about Against the Wind / IMDB / YouTube

Three escaped convicts, planning revenge, search for rancher Clay Phillips who, on the way to Sonora with a few horses, stops to help four saloon girls stranded by the roadside. Read about Roughshod / IMDB / YouTube

Tarzan secretly arrives in Blue Valley, the land of the magical fountain of youth, to find the intrepid aviatrix who can save an innocent man. But, is she the same person she used to be? Can Tarzan protect the vale's ultimate mystery? Check out Tarzan's Magic Fountain / IMDB / YouTube

When Lassie's master dies, an old friend tries to convince a judge that the dog's life should be spared. Details on Challenge to Lassie / IMDB / YouTube

A brash young midget car race driver lives in the shadow of his famous father, a drunken womanizer, who was killed in an accident years earlier. Explore The Big Wheel / IMDB / YouTube

Christopher Columbus overcomes intrigue at the Spanish court and convinces Queen Isabella that his plan to reach the East by sailing west is practical. Learn about Christopher Columbus / IMDB / YouTube

Former bandit Jim Dancer becomes marshal of a Kansas town and cleans up the criminal element--with help from an old pal, Jesse James. Read about Fighting Man of the Plains / IMDB / YouTube

A former WW2 naval pilot employed by a Miami civilian company reminisces about his past and present sins while flying a plane into an incoming hurricane. Read about Slattery's Hurricane / IMDB / YouTube

After escorting an Emir's daughter to her father's stronghold, French Foreign Legion Captain Gerard's unit joins an isolated Moroccan outpost facing imminent attack by rebel Bedouin tribes. Details on Outpost in Morocco / IMDB / YouTube

Set in the rural south of the United States, a bereaved war widow learns to to put aside her bitterness and grief as she grows to love a young orphan boy and the dog that belonged to her late son. Punctuated with song-filled interludes. More about The Sun Comes Up / IMDB / YouTube

1933. A city boy arrives in his late mother's birthplace to discover the locals have been pestered by drought, old fights and a cougar. He turns out to be pivotal in all of these. Find out about The Big Cat / IMDB / YouTube

FBI Agent Steve Blair finds himself caught up in Cold War espionage when he boards a plane heading west. Some sensitive papers have disappeared and Steve must keep tabs on a suspect without giving himself away. Learn about Sky Liner / IMDB / YouTube

An arson investigator goes undercover to break up a ring that sets fires in order to collect the insurance. Look into Arson, Inc. / IMDB / YouTube

Government agent Chris Calvert and lady sidekick Joan battle the evil spy Baroda, despite a regular barrage of shootouts, car crashes, and cliffhangers, in this routine Republic serial. Find out about Radar Patrol vs. Spy King / IMDB / YouTube

This modern tale borrows from an old story in establishing Langan, who works on a ship that docks in San Francisco, as a descendant of the Count of Monte Cristo. Crooked Lawyer Brodie sets up a scheme to get at the treasure of Langan's famed ancestor, and using the beautiful blonde Jergens, tries to lure Langan into a trap. Langan proves worthy of his heritage, using . Check out Treasure of Monte Cristo / IMDB / YouTube

U.S. Foreign Service officer matches wits with a Chinese warlord to try to save American citizens threatened with execution. Learn about State Department: File 649 / IMDB / YouTube

The bad guys dynamite a fish hatchery. They're trying to put the hatchery out of business so they can get possession of oil underneath the lake. Roy is a game warden investigating the dynamiting. See more about Susanna Pass / IMDB / YouTube