Kidnapped

Dir: Delbert Mann

1971

**

1971’s Kidnapped is a woeful affair, a film that had neither the swash or buckle that it promised. The film was based on the novel Kidnapped and the first half of the sequel Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson and starred a number of well-known British character actors such as Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Jack Hawkins, Freddie Jones, Gordon Jackson and Donald Pleasence. I was particularly disappointed in Delbert Mann’s direction, as I grew up watching reruns of his made-for-TV classics and especially loved his adaptation of Heidi. Kidnapped was meant to be made-for-TV and it looks like it. The film tells the story of young David Balfour (Lawrence Douglas) as he arrives at a bleak Scottish house, the House of Shaws, to claim his inheritance after his father’s passing. The house and land have been under the custodianship of his father's brother, Ebeneezer Balfour (Donald Pleasence), but on reaching adulthood, the land and property become David's. Ebeneezer however is having none of it, so he first tries to murder him, then has him kidnapped by sea captain Hoseason (Jack Hawkins who had lost his voice in 1966, so had to be dubbed by Charles Gray), with whom he has a venture for trade in the West Indies. David is shipped off to be sold as a slave in the Carolinas. He strikes up a friendship with Alan Breck (Michael Caine with a mustache), escaping from Prince Charles Edward Stuart's defeat at Culloden. Breck is in a cobble which is run down in the fog by Hoseason's ship and once aboard, asks Hoseason to take him to France. When Hoseason refuses, Breck offers him sixty guineas to put him down on Loch Linnhe. On discovering that Breck has a money belt full of Jacobite gold, Hoseason and his crew try to kill Breck, but he is forewarned by David and the two kill half a dozen of the crew before the others retreat. Hoseason offers terms to end the fighting, but the ship runs aground. Only Breck and Balfour appear to survive and they manage to get to land. They set out for Edinburgh, dodging the ruthless Redcoats. Numerous adventures follow as they meet up with Breck's family, friends and foes alike. These include Breck's cousin, James Stewart, and his daughter Catriona, with whom David falls in love. The big question at the end of the story is whether or not Breck is the friend David thinks he is, although by that point you’d be forgiven for not caring much either way. There is very little action here and all of the exciting parts of the novel are skipped over. Mann somehow does the opposite to what he did with Heidi and makes a beautiful location look as dull as can be. It didn’t look like 18th Century Scotland, in fact I was convinced either an Austin Maxi or a Morris Marina was going to drive past at any moment. None of the great actors featured were paid thanks to the mishandling of money but they all carried on even though they knew their performances would end up being for free. These were class acts. Michael Caine has since admitted that he realised after three months of filming that he wouldn’t be paid but decided to stay anyway and enjoy the scenery. He also admitted that he drank a lot and smoked up to 100 cigarettes a day as he knew the film would be a failure. The performances are all pretty good, so the fact that the film feels so boring and lifeless is due to the staggered pace and the way the film skips months and distance within seconds. It’s an adventure film with no purpose, or indeed adventure. It desperately needed more colour and just one or two static scenes that lasted more than a couple of minutes that would have given the actors a little more time to really get their teeth into their performances. I was never convinced by the characters and as wonderful as Michael Caine looked with long curly hair and a splendid mustache, he wasn’t the life and soul of the party that he should have come across as. It’s a thrilling story that could have become a classic had it been told right but as it is it’s an uninteresting flat tire of a film that made me feel sorry for all the great actors who were convinced to be a part of it.