Wordiezett So much average

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

HotToastyRag Lawrence Douglas has inherited some money, but when he tries to collect it from his uncle Donald Pleasance, Donald tries to kill him. When that doesn't work, he sells him off to slavery on a ship headed for the colonies. Such is the Robert Louis Stevenson story Kidnapped.As far as period pieces go, this isn't a very good one. Yes, the scenery is very beautiful, but it looks like every character popped up out of the '70s—which, let's face it, they did. Veteran actors Jack Hawkins and Trevor Howard take supporting roles, but they aren't really enough to save the movie. I got a kick out of the reversal of fortune, though; ten years earlier, Michael Caine had small roles in films starring Jack Hawkins, and in Kidnapped, the billing was reversed.Michael Caine fans won't be very happy with this movie; they'd be better off watching the other Robert Louis Stevenson adaptation Jekyll & Hyde, in which he does a very good job. He doesn't really add anything to the role—but then again, neither does anyone else in the cast—and he has an extremely muddled accent. It wasn't until he greeted Vivien Heilbron by calling her "Lassie" did I realize he was attempting a Scottish accent! Unless your absolute favorite genre of films is swashbuckling pirate movies, you might not want to sit through this one, especially since there really aren't too many swashbuckling pirates in the film.

bkoganbing One gets a fuller and more rounded picture of the times that the famous Robert Louis Stevenson novel Kidnapped is set in with this version of Kidnapped. Not only is the famous Stevenson novel taken to David Balfour's return and vindication, but we go a bit farther with the story based on Stevenson's successor novel Catriona and we get the Kidnapped story firmly entrenched in the times it happened.Those times being the days after the Battle Of Culloden where the Scottish people chose between the returning French speaking Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Hanover monarchy of George II in 1745. At Culloden the Stuart forces were destroyed and the Hanoverians firmly in control after that. Those were bad times to be a Highlander and a supporter of the Stuarts.Lawrence Douglas plays young David Balfour and Michael Caine is Alan Breck his friend and rescuer during the kidnapping of young Balfour by Captain Jack Hawkins at the behest of Balfour's uncle Donald Pleasance.I'll not say more as the story of Kidnapped is well known. As for the continuing material from Catriona, the differences between Alan Breck and David Balfour are brought out. Lawrence Douglas is a Hanoverian supporter and Breck a soldier in the army of Prince Charles. However Douglas is an honest young man and goes to bat for a Stuart accused of a crime he did not commit. That sets the rival Campbell clan against him and puts Advocate General Trevor Howard in a delicate position.Howard's character is not in the first novel and he's a decent man in an impossible political position. It's Alan Breck however who sets things right in the end for all concerned.Previous versions with Warner Baxter and Freddie Bartholomew and Peter Finch and James MacArthur only concentrated on the Kidnapped story. The Finch/MacArthur version was from Disney and marketed for kids. This film is more adult and firmly set in the politics of the time with a good ensemble cast. I'd check this out especially if I liked the work of Robert Louis Stevenson.

colfromkirk I love this film in spite of its alleged inaccuracies in dress, accent and history. It was after all based on a novel not a history. It is certainly better than the Disney version with Peter Finch. I love the memorable set pieces such as the fight between Alan and David and the duel between Duncansby and David who 'doesn't know the back end of a sword from its front' and who won't 'play at the cards' with Freddie Jones, due to his promise to his father. The locations were good with little studio work like the Disney version. The over the top Donald Pleasance and Freddie Jones are wonderful but so are all the rest. I especially liked the nervous dithering lawyer played by Gordon Jackson. Micheal Caine was at his peak so must have been a coup for the producers who were hardly likely to make him a minor character. As previously stated, Lawrence Douglas was suitably downtrodden and dowdy. My only question is why he responded to Duncansby's insult so swiftly and violently. As he is portrayed as thoughtful and principled I would have at least thought he would have tried to elicit an apology by reason rather that demanding immediate satisfaction in the knowledge of certain death. I think the only better version was the serialised version with David McCallum as Alan Breck but as a serial had much greater time to give an in depth portrayal.

ClanDonald This is certainly not the worst film in history, but also far from great cinema. Despite dating from 1971, it has the look and feel of a film from the '40s."Kidnapped" follows the story of David Balfour, an orphaned Lowland Scots boy betrayed and cheated by his drunken oaf of an uncle on the cusp of his eighteenth birthday.The British uniforms and civilian attire are done well, but the "Highland" clothing is laughably inaccurate.Michael Caine is a very good actor, though horribly miscast in the role of "Allan Breck". The idea of having an Englishman play the role only adds weight to the fiction that anything here resembles genuine Highland history. The "i" is dotted with the garish swashbuckle mustachio sported by Caine. And that hair. Why?It is also interesting that most of the characters seem to have amazing skill in keeping their hair perfectly clean, straight and shiny and if they just left a hair salon when they are yomping around the Trossachs hiding from the English!The dialogue is wrought with semi-condescending, boring statements. I can not count how many times I heard words like "heather", "bonnie", or "lassie" from people who should not even be speaking English. It is overtly evident that none of the people involved with this movie, from the caterers to the director, had ANY historical background into Highland history and no knowledge of the culture apart from stereotype and myth.It was well-intentioned and not cynical, so it does have some strengths. See Rob Roy if you want a historically accurate film on the Highland experience.5/10