Moustroll
Good movie but grossly overrated
Griff Lees
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
Janae Milner
Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
rtogr81
I saw this movie in Germany while stationed there from 69-72. I found it to be very enjoyable and fun. I have been hoping it would come out on DVD so I could own it. It is a great movie to immerse yourself in a story of the period. It was romantic, adventurous and at times witty. If you are looking for a movie that will create a few hours of escape from your own reality then this is a movie for you. I especially found the ending to be delightful lending to the feeling of a potential sequel giving the character a new adventure in the Americas. As with most of Stanley Baker's movies I thought it was well done even thought it may have been a bit self serving, non-the-less a very enjoyable movie.
loza-1
Even though I saw this film when I was very young, I already knew the story of Wild the Thief-Taker and Shepherd who famously escaped from Newgate prison.Apart from the liberty taken right at the end, the film more or less faithfully follows the true story. The temptation to bend the facts which is the hallmark of so many so-called historical films is resisted in this film and the film makers must be praised for that.Of the performances, There is scarcely a poor performance, and Tommy Steele is ideally cast. Also good is Stanley Baker as the Thief-Taker and Alan Badel is good as always.Because the film sticks to the facts, it makes it suitable to be watched by all the family.
farne
Jonathan Wild was one of the most interesting characters in 18th century London. Long before the city had a police force, Wild turned himself into the capital's "thief-taker", arresting and bringing criminals to trial and making himself rich in the process. At the same time, he was also the greatest criminal mastermind in the country and had most of the city's major criminals under his control. When they became troublesome Wild would set them up for arrest, and then collect his bounty as thief taker.In this film Wild is played, rather well, by Stanley Baker, who also produced through his production company Oakhurst, with the novelist James Clavell directing. The story focuses on Wild's relationship with another notorious 18th century criminal, Jack Shepherd, here played by the '60s singing star Tommy Steele. Shepherd is forced to work for Wild to save his brother from the hangman, but then manages to assert his independence and work for himself. Wild then sets him up, only for Shepherd to escape from one jail after another. Shepherd's exploits, especially his escapes, make him a celebrity, and Wild's attempts to capture him become increasingly important to the maintenance of his image as thief taker. Steele isn't ideal casting as Shepherd, but he does manage to acquit himself reasonably well, and his scenes with Stanley Baker are among the best in the film. Overall, the film is something of a mixed blessing, however. The story is a winner, there are some interesting character bits and, as was increasingly the fashion in the '60s, it shows the grot, grime and filth of 18th century London quite well. But it does go overboard at times with the local colour, the pace slackens a bit occasionally, and there are some decidedly cheesy 1960s songs on the soundtrack. However, it's an interesting story and is probably worth a couple of hours of your time, especially if you're interested in the period.
Simon Peters
This film is distinguished both in art direction and cinemaphotography.Unfortunately the script is poorly structured and repetitive and overall the film fails to engage the viewer. Performances vary with, surprisingly, Tommy Steele finding a fairly confident middle ground between Stanley Baker's melodramatic approach and Fiona Lewis's ludicrous and unconvincing stab at Cockney. At a whisker under two hours long the film would have benefited from some cutting - Jack Shephard surrendering once to Jack Wild because he has captured Edgworth Bess seems possible, for him to do it again suggests the writers had seriously run out of ideas.
