Kidnapped (1960 film)

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Kidnapped
Kidnapped1960poster.jpg
Original theatrical poster by Reynold Brown
Directed by Robert Stevenson
Written byRobert Stevenson
Based on Kidnapped
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Produced by Walt Disney
Starring Peter Finch
James MacArthur
Bernard Lee
Cinematography Paul Beeson
Edited byGordon Stone
Music by Cedric Thorpe Davie
Production
company
Distributed by Buena Vista Distribution
Release date
  • February 24, 1960 (1960-02-24)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish, Scots

Kidnapped is a 1960 American adventure drama film. It is based on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic 1886 novel Kidnapped . It stars Peter Finch and James MacArthur, and was Disney's second production based on a novel by Stevenson, the first being Treasure Island . It also marked Peter O'Toole's feature-film debut.

Contents

Plot

In 18th-century Scotland, young David Balfour (James MacArthur) takes a letter of introduction from his recently deceased father to the House of Shaws, where he is greeted without much enthusiasm by his miserly uncle Ebenezer (John Laurie). David finds that Ebenezer is disliked by his neighbours and begins to ask questions about family affairs. Ebenezer tries to arrange a fatal accident for David. David accompanies Ebenezer to a meeting with a seafaring associate, Captain Hoseason (Bernard Lee). Hoseason lures David aboard his ship and shanghais him, at Ebenezer's instigation.

At sea, David learns he is to be sold into indentured servitude. A fog comes up and the ship collides with a boat. Alan Breck Stewart (Peter Finch), the only survivor of the boat, is brought aboard and pays for his passage, but the captain plots to kill him for the rest of his money. David warns Alan, and they overcome the crew. Alan coerces Hoseason into putting them ashore. The ship founders, but David manages to reach land.

After several dangerous encounters, he is rescued by Alan, who turns out to be a Jacobite wanted by the authorities. Evading the soldiers, the two make their way back to the House of Shaws, where Alan tricks Ebenezer into admitting his crimes within the hearing of a hidden witness, allowing David to claim his inheritance.

Cast

Production

Development

Robert Stevenson was making Disney's Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959) in England when Walt Disney visited the set and suggested they adapt Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Kidnapped for their next project. Stevenson re-read the novel, was enthused, and wrote a treatment on a working holiday in Scotland. When another project he was working on fell through, Stevenson wrote a screenplay for Kidnapped. [1] Despite having the same first and last names, and with Disney press materials claiming for years that he was a distant relative of author Robert Louis Stevenson, the director said that they were unrelated. [2]

Earlier film adaptations of the novel had been produced by Edison Studios in 1917 and by 20th Century Fox in 1938 and in 1948. 20th Century Fox had registered rights to the title but waived them and the film was announced in December 1958. [3]

Stevenson says Walt Disney was of great use when working on the script. Many people advised Stevenson to put a woman in the story, but Disney resisted, saying it was not true to the novel. By the time filming started, Stevenson estimated he had read the novel "eight to ten times". [4]

Casting

The lead role was given to James MacArthur, who had just made The Light in the Forest (1958) and Third Man on the Mountain (1959) for Disney and been signed to a two-picture deal with the studio (the second film would be Swiss Family Robinson ).

The other lead role was given to Peter Finch who had just appeared in The Nun's Story (1959).

Peter O'Toole was given a small role at the suggestion of Peter Finch. [1] It was O'Toole's first released film; he would shortly become a sensation of the London stage with his performance in The Long and the Short and the Tall . [5]

Shooting

Filming started 27 April 1959 on location in Oban in Scotland, with studio work done at Pinewood in London. [6] [4]

Stevenson wanted to film the assassination of Colin Roy Campbell in the actual locale, a few miles from Ballachulish, but the original spot was now the site of a forest of Norwegian pines, so he filmed it on the slopes of Ardgour, about twelve miles away. [1]

Reception

Box office

Kine Weekly called it a "money maker" at the British box office in 1960. [7]

Critical

Upon the film's original release, New York Times film critic Eugene Archer gave the film a negative review by stating that, "either Mr. Disney, who made a vigorous Treasure Island ten years ago, has lost his touch in the intervening decade, or the kids have been spoiled by Gunsmoke and Peter Gunn . Yesterday's audience was definitely not amused". [8]

See also

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Kidnapped may refer to:

<i>Kidnapped</i> (novel) 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson

Kidnapped is a historical fiction adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, written as a boys' novel and first published in the magazine Young Folks from May to July 1886. The novel has attracted the praise and admiration of writers as diverse as Henry James, Jorge Luis Borges, and Hilary Mantel. A sequel, Catriona, was published in 1893.

<i>The Trials of Oscar Wilde</i> 1960 film by Ken Hughes

The Trials of Oscar Wilde, also known as The Man with the Green Carnation and The Green Carnation, is a 1960 British drama film based on the libel and subsequent criminal cases involving Oscar Wilde and the Marquess of Queensberry. It was written by Allen and Ken Hughes, directed by Hughes, and co-produced by Irving Allen, Albert R. Broccoli and Harold Huth. The screenplay was by Ken Hughes and Montgomery Hyde, based on an unperformed play The Stringed Lute by John Furnell. The film was made by Warwick Films and released by Eros Films.

<i>Kidnapped</i> (1995 film) 1995 film directed by Ivan Passer

Kidnapped is a 1995 TV adventure drama film directed by Ivan Passer and starring Armand Assante as Highlander Alan Breck and Brian McCardie as Lowlander David Balfour. Among the supporting actors are Michael Kitchen and Brian Blessed. The film was based on the 1886 novel Kidnapped by author Robert Louis Stevenson. Christopher Reeve had originally been cast as Breck prior to his spinal cord injury in a horse race which left him a quadriplegic on May 27, 1995.

<i>Kidnapped</i> (1971 film) 1971 British adventure film directed by Delbert Mann

Kidnapped is a 1971 British adventure film, directed by Delbert Mann and starring Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Jack Hawkins and Donald Pleasence, as well as a number of well-known British character actors. The film is based on the 1886 novel Kidnapped and the first half of the 1893 sequel Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson.

<i>Kidnapped</i> (1938 film) 1938 adventure film by Alfred L. Werker en Otto Preminger

Kidnapped (1938) is an adventure film directed by Otto Preminger and Alfred L. Werker, starring Warner Baxter and Freddie Bartholomew, and based on the 1886 novel Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson.

<i>The Day They Robbed the Bank of England</i> 1960 British film by John Guillermin

The Day They Robbed the Bank of England is a 1960 British crime film directed by John Guillermin and starring Aldo Ray, Elizabeth Sellars and Peter O'Toole. It was written by Howard Clewes and Richard Maibaum and based upon the 1959 novel of the same title by John Brophy.

<i>Catriona</i> (novel)

Catriona is an 1893 novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson as a sequel to his earlier novel Kidnapped (1886). It was first published in the magazine Atalanta from December 1892 to September 1893. The novel continues the story of the central character in Kidnapped, David Balfour.

<i>The Young Doctors</i> (film) 1961 film by Phil Karlson

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Breck Stewart</span> Scottish soldier and Jacobite

Allan Breck Stewart was a Scottish soldier and Jacobite. He was also a central figure in a murder case that inspired novels by Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson.

<i>Hour of Decision</i> (film) 1957 British mystery film directed by C.M. Pennington-Richards

Hour of Decision is a 1957 British mystery film directed by C. M. Pennington-Richards and starring Jeff Morrow, Hazel Court and Anthony Dawson. It is based on the novel Murder in Mayfair by Frederic Goldsmith.

The Torran Rocks are a group of small islands and skerries located between the islands of Mull and Colonsay in Scotland.

Kidnapped is a two-part BBC television adaptation of the 1886 novel of the same name by Robert Louis Stevenson. The show is directed by Brendan Maher and stars James Anthony Pearson as Davie Balfour and Iain Glen as Alan Breck.

Three Steps to the Gallows is a 1953 British second feature crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Scott Brady, Mary Castle and Gabrielle Brune. It was released in the USA by Lippert Pictures as White Fire.

<i>Kidnapped</i> (1948 film) 1948 film by William Beaudine

Kidnapped is a 1948 American historical adventure film directed by William Beaudine and starring Roddy McDowall, Sue England and Dan O'Herlihy. It is based on the 1886 novel of the same name by Robert Louis Stevenson. The former child star McDowall plays David Balfour in the story about a young man cheated out of his birthright by his wicked, covetous uncle Ebenezer.

<i>Kidnapped</i> (1917 film) 1917 silent film directed by Alan Crosland

Kidnapped is a 1917 American silent adventure film directed by Alan Crosland for Edison Studios. It was based on the 1886 novel Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film only included selected parts of the story, and reinforced the then-developing romanticisation of the Scottish Highlands.

Kidnapped, also known as The Adventures of David Balfour, was a 1978 TV miniseries, based on Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Kidnapped, with some elements taken from his novel Catriona. It was a French - West German co-production.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Arnold, Jeremy. "Kidnapped". Turner Classic Movies.
  2. ↑ "Kidnapped (1960)". AFI Catalog. American Film Institute . Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  3. ↑ "FILM EVENTS". Los Angeles Times. 25 December 1958. ProQuest   167354795.
  4. 1 2 S. W. (14 June 1959). "' KIDNAPPED' IN THE HEART OF THE HIGHLANDS". New York Times. ProQuest   114653605.
  5. ↑ S. W. (24 January 1960). "REPORTS ON BRITAIN'S VARIED MOVIE FRONTS". New York Times. ProQuest   115236724.
  6. ↑ THOMAS M PRYOR (26 January 1959). "MOVIE TO CO-STAR COWARD, GUINNESS". New York Times. ProQuest   114715321.
  7. ↑ Billings, Josh (15 December 1960). "It's Britain 1, 2, 3 again in the 1960 box office stakes". Kine Weekly. p. 9.
  8. ↑ "Screen: A Double Bill: 'Kidnapped' Is Shown With 'Breakout'". The New York Times . 19 May 1960. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
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