Moonraker

"A Moonraker is a smuggler. One who dumps his contraband in the bottom of a lake then rakes it out by moonlight." (Definitely not to be confused with the James Bond escapade).

I believe this film is now in the public domain as I saw it as an "afternoon matinée" on my local school cable channel, where I usually see titles from the $1 bin.

While the movie was historically interesting, the action less enjoyable than Errol Flynn's Robin Hood and the staging and dialog delivery seemed slow and mechanical to me. If you are a fan of Elizabethan costume dramas, this will be a pleasant diversion for you.

American style period film set in the time of the English Republic, although somewhat more violent and without the hearty laughing.

George Baker is Moonraker, a soldier of fortune taking the son of Charles I across to France. John LeMesurier briefly plays the role of Cromwell, and Marius Goring a roundhead general.

The fight scenes are well choreographed, but the film is otherwise carelessly made with many shots of vehicular tracks and even an asphalt road (I mean come on, they were far from ubiquitous at the time). There is an American boy to enable a release in USA.

The tale takes place in October 1651 , after the battles of Moor , Preston , Naseby (1845) and Worcester at the end of the Civil War , the main purport of Oliver Cromwell's (John Le Mesurier) Commonwealth is to catch Charles Stuart (Gary Raymond's film debut) . The future king's escape depends on the intrepid Earl of Dawlish (George Baker) , who as the Moonraker has already spirited away many Royalists . Dawlish journeys to the Windwhistle Inn on the south coast to prepare the getaway to France , where he meets Anne Wyndham (Silvia Syms) , girlfriend of a top Roundhead officer called Beaumont (Marius Goring) who along with other underlings as Edmund Tyler (Peter Arne) and Captain Wilcox (Patrick Troughton) pursue mercilessly to the hidden Royalist rebel . £500 REWARD! The Moonraker must be captured... DEAD OR ALIVE!

A breathtaking and overblown adventure with historical elements , including great swordplay , colorful cinematography and evocative score. Spectacular historical swashbuckling with fine acting , wonderful locations , glamorous gowns and attention to period detail . In the movie there are historic events , adventure , drama , and a love story between George Baker as The Moonraker and Sylvia Syms as Anne Wyndham who , unfortunately , results to be the fiancée of a villian Roundhead . All Actors , both , main and support cast give nice performances . Great acting by secondary players , such as : Marius Goring , Peter Arne , Gary Raymond , Clive Morton , Richard Leech , John Le Mesurier , Patrick Troughton and a young Michael Anderson Jr. The film is appropriately atmospheric with brilliant cinematography by Mutz Greenbaum and well based on real deeds . First-class production design and sets by Robert Jones are outstanding .The film includes a lively and thrilling musical score by Laurie Johnson and was competently directed by David MacDonald.

Based on historical events which created the only England Republic . The movie deals with take over from Republican government in England . Facing off between Olivier Cromwell and King determined to rid England of a tyrannical rule and an absolutist King : Charles I , it resulted in beheading of the King . There was created two factions : the Roundheads (Cromwell congressmen) and Cavaliers or Royalists (King's nobility) , both sides had generals of considerable skill and undaunted courage as Thomas Farfaix . Cromwell defeated King's army in battles of Moor , Preston and Naseby (1645). Later on , in 1653 , he was named Lord protector of the Republic "Commomwealth" . He imposed a dictatorship ruled by Puritans and vanquished the Irish and Scottish army . Cromwell was a Puritan leader who , according to several historians carried out near genocide in Ireland . He also battled Holland and Spain . Cromwell developed a law of navigation for the British navy . He early died by fever's illness . Richard Cromwell succeeded his father as President but he was rapidly dismissed . Duration Republic was 1648 to 1660 . Charles II went back to British kingdom and the regicides (those who had condemned Charles I to death) were arrested and hanged , drawn and quartered at Charing Cross . The Cromwell's body was disinterred, and his remains were hung from a scaffold.

In this English Civil War action drama the one thing more incongruous during the opening sequence than Ronnie Hilton crooning a 1950's style ballad is the sight of George Baker in costume galloping about on horseback. Get over that and it's plane sailing and you can believe anything. Well I enjoyed it anyway, it shows an aspect of the Interregnum which has been relatively neglected, much like the film itself.

It's the tale of Lord Protector Cromwell briefly played by John Le Mesurier and his army searching high and low for (prospective King) Charles Stuart, who is being protected by the Moonraker, a Loyalist Royalist played by the indefatigable Baker who is trying to get him safely to France. Was a time when brother was against brother over politics and religion, and rabidly too - in fact not like nowadays at all! Careless talk cost lives and no one was to be trusted, a rule not well adhered to in here though. Posh-speaking Baker falls gallantly in love with puritan Sylvia Sims; with the young and healthy as usual the rule is love conquers all. The production values and colour are excellent, the acting OK, the fight scenes bearable when not risible, the soundtrack music occasionally wobbles on the copy I've got but not too distracting and overall 'tis a very pleasant little tale well told, albeit on a low budget. Additionally there's a seemingly endless procession of British "faces" padding out the cast – Peter Arne, George Woodbridge, Marius Goring to name but a few.

If possible though because much stamina is required of the viewer what I would really recommend is to first watch the much applauded 2013 British film A Field In England which also has the English Civil War as its backdrop and then compare it to this. The more artistic and worthy film should hopefully be obvious and put this earlier British effort firmly into context. This is (literally) escapist entertainment which admirably helps keep the real world at bay for ninety minutes.

This is one of those films whose poster I had admired (in an old scrapbook of my father's filled with such vintage ads) long before I ever had the opportunity to watch it; as it happened, I first acquired a mediocre pan-and-scan VHS-sourced edition, which I eventually upgraded to a much superior (but still imperfect) HDTV rip – for the record, the movie was released on R2 DVD not too long ago. Incidentally, it was also known on its home ground back in the day as BLOOD ON THE SWORD and, obviously enough, has nothing whatsoever to do with the much later James Bond extravaganza.

It is a typically handsomely-mounted British historical epic, offering a familiar plot line (set at the time of Oliver Cromwell and Charles Stuart), standard thrills (including plenty of intrigue, disguises, chases, swashbuckling action and, of course, a hesitant romance between people emanating from warring factions), attractive scenery and costumes, etc. Another plus is the sturdy cast: led by George Baker (as the titular avenging figure, at times he bore an uncanny resemblance to Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry!), with Sylvia Syms, Marius Goring (the latter two are engaged to be married and side with the oppressor but, when she learns to respect the enemy and aids in his ultimate escape, her humourless intended – his pride hurt – opts to free the woman from any obligation rather than consign her to the authorities!), Peter Arne (dressed-up for much of the proceedings as a minister, but inevitably emerging a villainous character whose climactic showdown with the hero – starting in the dining-hall of an inn, descending to its cellar and culminating on a rocky shore – leaves both a bloody mess!), Gary Raymond (curiously unbilled during the opening credits – which made me think his was going to be a bit part rather than a pivotal one! – as the hunted royal), John Le Mesurier (surprisingly turning up briefly early on as Cromwell), Patrick Troughton, George Woodbridge and child actor Michael Anderson Jr., among others. A portly and annoyingly cranky traveler also eventually proves heroic and a martyr to the Royalist cause he shamelessly sympathizes with in the face of the enemy. For what it is worth, the fact that the second half takes place almost exclusively within the confines of an inn betrays the script's origins as a stage play.

As I said, the film – which evidently uses "The Scarlet Pimpernel" as a template, down to "The Moonraker" having his own popular ballad reprised throughout the film! – deals with a turbulent period in history that was much in vogue throughout the heyday of British cinema, numbering such disparate films as BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE (1948; though it deals with a different Charles Stuart!), THE SCARLET BLADE (1963; the one it comes closest to in narrative, style and even quality), WITCHFINDER GENERAL (1968; in which Cromwell is, again, no more than a marginal presence) and CROMWELL (1970; a large-scale biopic of the controversial Roundhead leader and Parliamentarian). For what it is worth, as had been the case with the recently-viewed CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS (1949), I also have a Vittorio Cottafavi-directed Italian TV mini-series dating from 1969 dealing with the exploits of Oliver Cromwell in my unwatched pile...