Kidnapped

It is actually a bit of a testament to Michael Caine's charisma, that I didn't give this one star. As a Scot, I ought to have hated it. Oddly enough, though, it's not awful. Sure, his accent is all over the place but somehow the thrust of the story is reasonably handled. It all starts with "David Balfour" (Lawrence Douglas) trekking to his uncle "Ebenezer" (Donald Pleasance) to tell him his father has passed away. The venal old gent has no intention of sharing his meagre fortune and soon "Davie" in underway across the sea under the guidance of "Capt. Hoseason" (Jack Hawkins). That ship hits a smaller one which introduces us to the Jacobite, tartan-clad, Caine ("Alan Breck Stewart") who is on the run from King George's red coats. After literally having to fight their way off the brig they have some adventures, get caught up in an high level assassination and end up with both trying to achieve their objectives against the odds. The production is pleasing to look like, and the score sets up some lovely Scottish location photography. The cast? Well, Hawkins looks like he has had way too much port; Trevor Howard is quite effective as the duplicitous Lord Advocate and the young Douglas does fine as the naive but decent young "Balfour". It is all about Michael Caine, though - and for all it's many flaws, there is no denying that the solid underpinning adventure story serves as a strong enough bedrock for this not to end up the laughable nonsense it could have been. Not a patch on the Disney version from 1959, but I didn't hate it...

This classic story of romantic adventure by Daniel Mann , filmed in location , comes to life enriched by the brilliant photography , as the color of the Scotland's fields is stunning and being freely based on historical events . A good clean fun with a legendary Scottish adventurer against the British army , the Red Coats . In 18th century Scotland , during the Jacobite Rebellion , David Balfour (a feeble Lawrence Douglas) claims his inheritance from his uncle (Donald Pleasence who turns a fine studio of evil) , but he is sold as a slave who has him shanghaied on a ship where David meets fugitive Jacobite rebel , a Highland patriot called Alan Breck (the cockney Michael Caine who gives a lift just when it needs it most ) . Breck is a dash and adventurous rebel who is escaping from Bonnie Prince Charlie's defeat at Culludon . As they getaway from the slave ship and return to battle the British .

"Kidnapped" is an amusing adventure movie that certainly hits the mark ; being plenty of action , thrills , colorful cinematography , luxurious costumes and catching score ; all meld together under Delbert Mann's fine direction . Although the story has been told before , tight filmmaking and nice acting win out . Combination of overwhelming battles , and full of villainy , romance , swashbuckler and heroism . This version covers both the novel "Kidnapped" and the first half of its sequel "Catriona¨ . It is a little slow , at times , in the telling , mainly because of the stolid acting of the sad couple playing David and Catriona . As Lawrence Douglas seems a little frail for the adventurous David Balfour and Vivien Heilbron is hardly casting as Catriona Stewart . But Michael Caine is magnificent , though uneasily cast with his cockney accent , he lends the part sufficient swashbuckling gusto to make it work . As Caine play his character with rush and swagger . The support cast is frankly excellent -though many of them were not paid because of cash problems- such as Trevor Howard as Lord Advocate , Donald Pleasence as Ebenezer Balfour , Gordon Jackson as Charles Stewart , Freddie Jones , normally seen in comedy characters , as Cluny and Jack Hawkins who had lost his voice in 1966, was dubbed by Charles Gray . The Scottish Highlands are a treat for your eyes in glamorous Technicolor similarly to recent TV series ¨Outlander¨ . Being luxuriously shot by Paul Beeson , he was also the Director of Photography for the film Kidnapped (1960) . Sensitive as well as thrilling musical score by Roy Budd . The movie was well directed by Delbert Mann (Separate tables, Desire under the Elms, Marty) . However , the film would be a failure and panned by critics , it nowadays is best considered . The flick will appeal to adventures buffs .

They are several versions based on Robert Luois Stevenson classic novel , though producers do seem to choose the most unlikely players to perform Stevenson's Alan Breck : the American Warner Baxter , subsequently Australian-raised Peter Finch , then , the Cockney Michael Caine and finally the New Yorker of Italian descent Armand Assante . These are the followings : 1938 produced by Daryl F Zanuck , directed by Alfred Werker with Warner Baxter , Freddie Bartholomew , Arlene Whelan , John Carradine . 1960 a Disney movie by Robert Stevenson with Peter Finch , Jamez MacArthur , Peter O'Toole . 1955 Cable rendition by Ivan Passer with Armand Assante , Brian Blessed , Brian McCardie , Patrick Malahide .

The BBC broadcast an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's KIDNAPPED a couple of months ago ( I really must get round to reviewing that sometime )so I found myself comparing it with this version and unfortunately this is very much inferior

The problem lies in that the movie has very little in the way of action . There's a set piece on a boat that is skimmed over far too quickly , there's a sniper attack and Alan Breck killing a couple of redcoats and that's basically it as far as action scenes go with much of the running time taken up with Breck telling everyone what a wonderful patriot he is . I guess the dialogue scenes taking precedent over sword fights and battles is caused by the producers hiring the services of some fine actors and wanting them to appear on screen as long as possible . It's fairly well acted , though I'm afraid Caine is rather miscast and he makes Alan Breck boorish and unlikable

There is one thing that puzzles me in this movie and it happens fairly often , and that is people recognise Breck as soon as they seem him even though they've not met him before but why should this be ? There was no mass media in the mid 18th Century so they'd be no TV cameras or photography and I doubt if a " Wanted " poster for Breck would capture his likeness and yet nearly every time Breck is spotted someone always gasps " It's Alan Breck ! "

Oh and can I just add something about the English / British debate that the redcoats are the Hanoverian British army while the Highlanders are Jacobites , they're Highlanders supporting the Jacobite heir Bonnie Prince Charlie and it's unlikely they considered themselves to be all that Scottish never mind British

This is an adaption of the famous Robert Louis Stevenson novel. I haven't read it myself but hear that this film is pretty faithful to the book. Set in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden in 18th century Scotland, a young man is sold into slavery by his unscrupulous uncle. He is soon rescued by a Jacobite rebel who is presently an outlaw wanted by the British government. The two men form an alliance of sorts and subsequently become involved in an incident that creates various complications.

The first thing that stands out from the outset here is that the cockney actor Michael Caine is starring in the role of Alan Breck, the Jacobite rebel. It seems like it must be a bit of miscasting, as it is difficult imagining Caine in such a role, however, pleasingly he is very good here and his film star charisma is used to very good effect for this particular character. The film also benefits a lot from plenty of nice on-location photography from around Scotland. It gives the whole production more of an authentic feel. The story-line is compelling and the direction is well-paced, while the events depicted are less over-the-top than in later Scottish adventures set in historical times such as Braveheart (1995) and this for me is a good thing. The story-line eventually dove-tails to a very bittersweet ending that seems like the only appropriate way to round things off.

I enjoyed this movie very much. It is loosely based on two Robert Louis Stevenson novels, Kidnapped and its sequel Catriona. Those who would religiously stick to the contents of these novels will be disappointed in the adaptation. However, the film has, as it should IMHO, a world and plot of its own. Moreover, the plot is engaging and quite exciting.

The film movingly portrays a culture and political cause on the verge of destruction and the politics behind it. To a certain extent, it has to modify the plot of the two novels to effectively do so. Now it might have been nice if we could have heard the Scottish language spoken amongst the Highlanders. This absence makes it harder to portray the cultural conflict which was important both in the period and in the novels. However, we can forgive the film's makers by remembering that such was rarely done in the early 1970s.

The plot may not be entirely accurate in detail (the Appin murder, etc), but the portrayal of the Jacobite Rebellion is both very accurate and insightful, surprisingly so for a big-time film. The ending is a terrific and original attempt to convey the thoughts and psychology of a man through the medium of film.

All that aside, it is a historical adventure. One either likes that genre or doesn't. If the former, then the chances are you will like this.