david-69780

I agree with the reviewer who dismisses critics of this version as pseuds. They have no sense of social history. I've been reading and rereading Buchan's novels for over 70 years and have always enjoyed Hitchcock's 1935 film version regardless of its departures from the novel, which add to rather than detract from the original. The 1959 Kenneth More version still strikes me as attempting but failing to capture Hitch's touch, and, having recently rewatched the 1978 Robert Powell remake, I found it more enjoyable than I had remembered it. I approached this (2008) TV film with some apprehension, but as soon as I saw the opening frames of Hannay dispiritedly spinning a globe in the comfort of his club I knew I was going to like it. My first thought, of course, was to wonder how this version would contrive to introduce a female lead into the story, and in this respect I was not disappointed. As Victoria Sinclair, Lydia Leonard is rightfully as delightful as she is unbelievable. I've always thought Hitchcock did right to follow his inclination to give Hannay a partner. The trouble with all Buchan's novels (to my mind) is that he was incapable of painting a convincing female portrait. He may himself have been married, and even Hannay has a wife in the later stories, but he has absolutely no understanding or appreciation of women. In reflecting the masculine hegemony of Boys' Own tales he reflects the times he lived in, as do all the film versions each in their own way. I find this TV film just right for its time, and look forward to enjoying it again.

I agree with most of the comments here, especially for those praising the all-too-rare Linden Travers, who accounts for at least four of my five stars. But it's also of interest as being the first screen appearance of James Donald, here credited as 'Jim Donald'.