Kidnapped (1960)

Sick Product of a Sick System

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

As most of you know, I am a direct descendant of Robert Stevenson, the grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson, so I tend to be a bit critical of the movies based on RLS's work, and this is certainly one of the least interesting. Admittedly, I'd give it around a fifty percent mark, but, all told, it's a pretty undistinguished remake if ever there was one. I'll admit the acting is serviceable enough, and I always have a soft spot for Peter Finch, a fine actor who really took his profession very seriously indeed. In fact, far too seriously. It killed him in the end. But that's exactly the problem. You can worry too much about your own performance and put far too much of your power into it. If the script asks you to get angry, well then you really do get angry and pour out so much genuine anger that you can really give yourself a heart attack. That's why I stopped acting. I became the person I was portraying, and if he was angry enough to induce a heart attack, then I was equally angry in my own heart and soul. But it really comes down to the director's responsibility. If he thinks I'm too robust, he can tone me down. If he thinks my interpretation is all wrong, he can tell me how he wants it played. But Finchy was always his own taskmaster – and an extremely hard taskmaster at that! He really threw himself into a role! Well, getting back to this movie, another of my main problems is that twenty-two year-old James MacArthur is too old for the part of David Balfour. Maybe I'm wrong, but I see him as a young boy in his early teens – fifteen or sixteen at the most!

Kidnapped is directed by Robert Stevenson, is based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson and stars Peter Finch, James MacArthur, John Laurie, Bernard Lee and Peter O'Toole.David Balfour (James MacArthur)gets caught up in the adventure of a lifetime when he befriends the mysterious Alan Breck Stewart (Peter Finch). Stewart is a Jacobite and is wanted by the British. Stewart and Balfour find themselves pursued by soldiers and must be careful who they trust (including some fellow Scotsmen).This version really focuses on the growing friendship between Balfour and Stewart, they come to trust one another and Stewart is grateful for the younger mans help and loyalty. Finch is excellent portraying Stewart as a brave and fearless man who is easy to like and trust, he also shows that he is quick tempered, a drinker and is very impatient. We also see Balfour being taught how to survive in the world, Stewart teaches him how to trust, how to survive and even when necessary how to kill.There's strong support especially from John Laurie as Balfour's scheming uncle Ebenezer, he steals every scene he is in. Bernard Lee is excellent as a ships Captain who has a conscience despite doing some bad things and a young Peter O'Toole is memorable as Robin MacGregor, the scene where he and Finch have a contest to see who is better at bagpipe playing is a highlight.

Robert Louis Stevenson, born in Scotland in 1850 and sick with tuberculosis most of his adult life, was one prolific author of books of travel and adventure that are read and enjoyed even today. The imagery he creates in his books is so vivid that cinematic adaption is real easy. In fact this version of Kidnapped won high praise in the British Isles for being remarkably faithful to the book.The story was also filmed on location in Scotland lending a real authenticity to the story. A whole slew of Scots players got work in this one and Australian Peter Finch and American James MacArthur fit right in with them. Impossible for me to believe, but this Walt Disney film did not do as good in America as in Europe. I suppose it was both the accents and the knowledge of the political situation in Scotland post the rising in 1745 that Americans did not appreciate or were ignorant of. This American certainly did.Young David Balfour the heir to the manor of Shores has one big problem collecting his inheritance, the presence of his uncle who is the reigning laird. Uncle Ebenezer who is deliciously played by John Laurie arranges a snatch by a sea captain friend of his and David (James MacArthur) is to be sent to the Carolinas in the American colonies as an indentured servant. On the boat young David whose politics and heritage make him a supporter of the Hanoverian George II who is the reigning King of Great Britain finds himself having to make common cause with Scottish soldier of fortune Alan Breck Stewart who is played by Peter Finch and boasts proudly of bearing the name of the true House that ought to be running things. He's a Jacobite, a supporter of the claim of James III, who is exiled in France and who fought at Culloden with Bonnie Prince Charlie. These unlikely allies affect an escape from the ship and make their way back to the House of Shores to set things right. Being a Jacobite and by dint of that, a traitor in Hanoverian eyes makes it all the more dangerous for both of them.James MacArthur, son of playwright Charles MacArthur and Helen Hayes, was a young Disney star during that period, doing a whole bunch of roles for Disney on the small and big screen. Peter Finch makes his second and last appearance in a Disney film, he was memorable as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Disney's Robin Hood film. They have a good easy chemistry between them and if it were not so the film wouldn't have worked at all.Three other players of note here are Bernard Lee as the sea captain who kidnaps Balfour, Finlay Currie as a fellow Jacobite clan leader who gives Finch and MacArthur shelter, and Peter O'Toole who bests Finch in a bagpipe playing contest.Robert Louis Stevenson died in Tahiti in 1894, but in his short life left us a remarkable output of literature like Treasure Island, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Master of Ballantrae, and so much more. Though he went to the South Seas for health reasons and a love of adventure, if that can be combined in one individual, his love of Scotland was never shown better than in Kidnapped and in this classic adaption of that story.

Walt Disney's 1960 film of Robert Louis Stevenson's _Kidnapped_ is not only the best movie version of the 1886 novel but is also one of the finest cinematic treatments of any of the author's works. Filmed on location in Scotland and featuring an outstanding ensemble of mostly British actors, this _Kidnapped_ is faithful to the spirit -- and even, for the most part, to the letter -- of the RLS masterpiece, which is half adventure tale and half meditation on Scottish history, culture, and character. Director Robert Stevenson (presumably no relation to Tusitala) never dumbed down the story or the 18th-century context, which may account for the movie's present limited appeal. It's atmospherically and thematically darker than the ususal Disney fare, and adult viewers may find it surprisingly rewarding.