George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were in a nostalgic mood when they joined forces in 1981 to make the first Indiana Jones film. Recalling the thrilling Saturdays of their youths during the 1950s when they devoured the cheesy yet exciting B-flicks and serial movies, they wanted to reintroduce swashbuckling fun and comic high-adventure to film.

Here's a look at some of the pictures that inspired them and a few of the later movies they influenced.

INSPIRATIONS

''She" (1935): Talk about unfinished family business! Inspired by his dying uncle and a mysterious old journal, Leo Vincey (Randolph Scott) travels to the Arctic to find the "Flame of Life" his ancestor discovered five centuries before. His quest takes him to an underground city ruled by an ageless, jealous queen known as She Who Must Be Obeyed (Helen Gahagan) who says he reminds her of a long-lost love.

"Zorro Rides Again" (1937): If you ever wondered where Indiana Jones got his trademark bullwhip, look no further. Set in the modern era of trains and trucks as well as horses, this 12-episode serial -- each installment runs about 15 minutes -- offers crackling cliffhangers as the masked avenger's great-grandson uses a snapping whip and acrobatic stunts to foil the bad guys.

"King Solomon's Mines" (1950): Before Jones there was Allan Quatermain, the intrepid hunter who burst through the pages of . Ridder Haggard's 1885 novel. Stewart Granger stars in this film adaptation as the fearless adventurer a woman (Deborah Kerr) hires to find her husband who went missing while searching for King Solomon's fabled treasure. They cross deserts and mountains, get trapped in a cave, fight animals and cannibals and fall, hesitantly, in love.

"Secret of the Incas" (1954): Jones wasn't the first tough guy to seek exotic riches while wearing a brown Fedora and leather jacket; that honor goes to Harry Steele (Charlton Heston). The action begins when our ignoble hero meets a man (Thomas Mitchell) who says he has the missing piece of a map leading to a fabled Incan treasure, the Sunburst. As luck would have it, archeologists just happen to be digging at Machu Picchu. So the two guys -- who are soon at odds -- and a pretty gal (Nicole Maurey) head down to Peru where they hope to steal the prize.

"Valley of the Kings" (1954): At the dawn of the 20th century, a daughter (Eleanor Parker) sets out to realize her late father's dream: To discover the tomb of the biblical figure Joseph deep in Egypt. With the help of a gold statue and a handsome archeologist (Robert Taylor) she races against time and a nasty rival.

LEGACY

"Romancing the Stone" (1984): A romance writer (Kathleen Turner) finds high adventure when her sister sends her a treasure map just before she is kidnapped in Colombia. In South America she enlists the aid of an American mercenary (Michael Douglas). The sparks, of course, fly, as they try to rescue her sister and locate the treasure.

"King Solomon's Mines" (1985) and "Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold" (1987): Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone star in these unsatisfying comic adventure flicks. The first is a pale remake of the classic tale, the second a confused mess about gold in the jungle. Only for the hardcore.

"The Mummy" (1999): There are many fine places to bury the treasure of Egypt, so why did the Pharoah Set I go and bury it in City of the Dead? Because it's the movies! With the discovery of an old map in an ancient box Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) agrees to help a sister (Rachel Weisz) and brother (John Hannah) find the loot. Of course there's a rival party on a similar search and when they awaken an ancient curse -- look out!

"Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (2001): Based on a Jones-inspired video game, the film stars Angelina Jolie as a teenage boy's fantasy, a gun-totin', butt-kickin' mama who uses her vast wealth to travel the world in spray paint tight commando clothes looking for things "ancient and mythological." In this film she battles the dastardly Illuminati, who are also looking for a powerful stone that can be used to control time.

"National Treasure" (2004) and "National Treasure 2" (2007): Unlike most adventure films, this entertaining series is largely set in America and involves aspects of U.S. history. In the first film, Ben Gates (Nicholas Cage) searches for a treasures hidden by the Founding Fathers; in the sequel Gates tries to prove his grandfather was not involved in Lincoln's assassination by finding a secret book that could lead to the lost City of Gold.

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