This History Channel documentary received mixed reviews from critics, but if you like the typical History Channel format—commentary from historians, reenactments, etc.—you'll enjoy this film.

In this Anthony Quinn film about the War of 1812, pirate Jean Lafitte (played by Yul Brynner) is torn between supporting the United States and joining forces with Great Britain, the side far more likely to win. It’s no surprise which side, in fact, ultimately prevails. Still, we think you’ll find this fictionalized tale of this real-life buccaneer to be an exciting twist in the basic narrative about this famous American war.

In one of her first big-screen starring roles, Angela Lansbury (“Murder She Wrote”) plays an English gold-digger who complicates the plans of Captain Jim Marshall, the man commanding a U.S. naval ship en route to France to collect gold for the war effort. Will Marshall make it back to America with the riches needed to defeat the British?

Western film icon John Wayne stars in this comedy-action flick about a Kentucky militiaman who falls in love with a French émigré in the immediate aftermath of the War of 1812.