Captain Clegg (aka Night Creatures) (1962)

Set in 1792 on the English coastal village of Dymchurch, the marshes are said to be inhabited by phantoms on horseback which terrorize those bold enough to enter the marsh territory. When a British naval officer (Patrick Allen) arrives to search the town for alcohol smuggled from France, he dismisses the phantoms as myth. But the town holds a secret far more interesting than contraband alcohol. Directed by Peter Graham Scott. While the film is from Hammer studios (known for their horror output in the 1960s) and marketed as a horror film with Peter Cushing (along with Christopher Lee, the kings of Hammer horror), it is only nominally a horror movie and frankly, I wouldn't even attach the label horror to it. The film is a period adventure piece about a bad man and his redemption. It's quite good and one of the best Hammer films of the era. But horror? I don't think so. The film is atmospheric, handsomely shot by Hammer regular Arthur Grant (QUATERMASS AND THE PIT) and contains some of Cushing's best work. If you go in not expecting a typical "horror" film, you should be rewarded with a solid adventure yarn with pirates, smugglers and soldiers. With Oliver Reed, Yvonne Romain, Jack MacGowran and Michael Ripper.