The King's Thief

This is an old-fashioned adventure movie, but there's nothing wrong with that! Our time period is the 1660's or so, with Charles II on the English throne. That the film is in color helps a great deal, allowing us to fully enjoy the fine costumes and the beauty of the leading lady. There is some good swordplay and other good action scenes. The knowledgeable film fan will spot a number of familiar faces in the cast. This film puts many of the backlot locations of MGM to good use. They're gone now; you can appreciate them here. Recommended.

Glorious CinemaScope. Some BIG BIG names, in their early days. Roger Moore, waaaay before he was James Bond. Ann Blyth. George Sanders... who could be hit or miss in his movies. David Niven in another prim and proper English role. Of course, Niven had ALSO played Bond in Casino Royale! Period piece from England, on Charles II, who actually lived from 1630 to 1685. History says he died of kidney illness, which may or may not have been brought on by poison. In our story, Dermott is played by Edmund Purdom; fun bio on IMDb.... Purdom has the distinction of being the only actor to have his hand-prints removed from the sidewalk at G's Chinese Theater. Swordfights. Chases on horseback. Brampton (Niven) is the evil dude, having his opponents knocked off with false accusations. The usual palace adventures. Its okay. Fun to see some of those big names from back in the day, but the acting is all pretty stilted, as if they are reading off cue cards. Directed by Robert Leonard... one of his last films.

Under the reign of Charles the Second , his counsellor ,the Duke of Brampton is making things rough all over ; in a screenplay taken by force from Robin Hood, complete with a band of nobles deprived of their possessions and a lady Mary(an) , it's nevertheless an entertaining sword and sandal yarn ,with glittering colors. George Sanders,as usual ,has style in his royal part ,athough I wished he had been cast as the villain .....played by cast against type David Niven ; both easily steal the show from bland Edmund Purdom. Gorgeous Ann Blyth provides the love interest .

Forget history : Cromwell replaces the crusades and the counsellor the sheriff of Nottingham.

Edmund Purdom plays "Michael Dermott" a petty crook and the hero in this tale of a 17th Century plot by the evil, ambitious "Duke of Brampton" (David Niven) to amass a fortune by denouncing as many wealthy nobles as he can before he can depose the weak Charles II (George Sanders) and rule Britain. Ann Blyth is the daughter of one such man who was hung for treason. She enlists the help of Purdom and they set out to foil these dastardly plans with the aid of the Duke's self-incriminating little black book. It's a fine looking film, and Niven and Sanders put some class into it. Otherwise, though, the leads are quite feeble as is the script.

How bad is this thing? Well, let's just say Robert Z Leonard was brought in to rescue it. Just think about that for a second. I mean, to paraphrase George Clooney in "Michael Clayton", Robert Z Leonard isn't the guy you bring in to RESCUE a piece of crap. He's the friggin guy you FIRE so you can bring in a guy (like Vince Minnelli on "The Bribe") to rescue a piece of crap. Also, it's most disconcerting to see David Niven in a moustache twirling villain part. He's such a good actor that he's ok but it speaks volumes about how his career was languishing at this mid 50s point, before Hecht Hill Lancaster rescued him and it in "Separate Tables", that he was consigned to parts that Christopher Lee would have spat upon. C minus.

PS...A previous reviewer wrote that this is his favorite Robert Z Leonard film. That's like saying Chad is your favorite poverty stricken nation.