one of my favourite pastimes when i was a kid was watching old movies, and i especially loved good fencing scenes, up and down staircases, in and out of windows, backwards, forwards, in silhouette ...
1. basil rathbone has tremendous fencing credentials (and a tremendous villanous moustache) and therefore was the ultimate villain, sneering down his swordstick at all sorts of heroes, one of the best, errol flynn as robin hood:
2. the court jester with danny kaye. it has all the derring do you could wish for. capes and princesses, castles by the sea and insane swashbuckling, with the jester going point for point with the ever villanous basil rathbone
3. in the great race, the evil baron wears the black moustache required of all villains. the great leslie and the baron fence with foils and then swap to "a man's weapon", the sabre! huzzah!!
4. scaramouche! with stewart grainger in leotards and a silly mask.
here the villain exchanges a dark moustache for a powdered wig and they fence along the velvet ballustrades of an opera house, how dashing,
5. gene kelly in the three musketeers, a soupy, soppy movie, but has some beautiful overthetop costumes, and a particularly cheeky sword fight with kelly wiggling a saucy bottom
6. last but definitely not least, is the wicked & witty sword play in all about eve, tongues as sharp as rapiers...
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