Kidnapped
Tags: intrigue, action

Plot synopsis:
The central character and narrator is 17-year-old David Balfour. (Balfour is Stevenson's mother's maiden name.) His parents have recently died, and he is out to make his way in the world. He is given a letter by the minister of Essendean, Mr. Campbell, to be delivered to the House of Shaws in Cramond, where David's uncle, Ebenezer Balfour, lives. On his journey, David asks many people where the House of Shaws is, and all of them speak of it darkly as a place of fear and evil.
David arrives at the ominous House of Shaws and is confronted by his paranoid Uncle Ebenezer, who is armed with a blunderbuss. His uncle is also miserly, living on "parritch" and small ale, and the House of Shaws itself is partially unfinished and somewhat ruinous. David is allowed to stay and soon discovers evidence that his father may have been older than his uncle, thus making David the rightful heir to the estate. Ebenezer asks David to get a chest from the top of a tower in the house but refuses to provide a lamp or candle. David is forced to scale the stairs in the dark and realises that not only is the tower unfinished in some places, but the steps simply end abruptly and fall into an abyss. David concludes that his uncle intended for him to have an "accident" so as not to have to give over his nephew's inheritance.
David confronts his uncle, who promises to tell David the whole story of his father the next morning. A ship's cabin boy, Ransome, arrives the next day and tells Ebenezer that Captain Hoseason of the brig Covenant needs to meet him to discuss business. Ebenezer takes David to a pier on the Firth of Forth, where Hoseason awaits, and David makes the mistake of leaving his uncle alone with the captain while he visits the shore with Ransome. Hoseason later offers to take them on board the brig briefly, and David complies, only to see his uncle returning to shore alone in a skiff. David is then immediately struck senseless.
David awakens, bound hand and foot, in the hold of the ship. He becomes weak and sick, and one of the Covenant's officers, Mr. Riach, convinces Hoseason to move David up to the forecastle. Mr. Shuan, a mate on the ship, finally takes his routine abuse of Ransome too far and murders the unfortunate youth. David is repulsed at the crew's behaviour and learns that the captain plans to sell him into slavery in the Carolinas.
David becomes the slain cabin boy's replacement, and the ship encounters contrary winds which drive her back toward Scotland. Fog-bound near the Hebrides, they strike a small boat. All of the small boat's crew are killed except one man, Alan Breck Stewart, who is brought on board and offers Hoseason a large sum of money to drop him off on the mainland. David later overhears the crew plotting to kill Alan and take all his money. David and Alan barricade themselves in the round house, where Alan kills the murderous Shuan, and David wounds Hoseason. Five of the crew members are killed outright, and the rest refuse to continue fighting.
Alan is a Jacobite who supports the claim of the House of Stuart to the throne of Scotland. He is initially suspicious of the pro-Whig David, who is also loyal to King George II. Still, the young man has given a good account of himself in the fighting and impresses the veteran soldier.
Hoseason has no choice but to give Alan and David passage back to the mainland. David tells his tale to Alan, who in turn states that his birthplace, Appin, is under the tyrannical administration of Colin Roy of Glenure, the King's factor and a Campbell. Alan vows that should he find the "Red Fox" he will kill him.
The Covenant tries to negotiate a difficult channel without a proper chart or pilot, and is soon driven aground on the notorious Torran Rocks. David and Alan are separated in the confusion, with David being washed ashore on the isle of Erraid, near Mull, while Alan and the surviving crew row to safety on that same island. David spends a few days alone in the wild before getting his bearings.
David learns that his new friend has survived, and David has two encounters with beggarly guides: one who attempts to stab him with a knife, and another who is blind but an excellent shot with a pistol. David soon reaches Torosay, where he is ferried across the river, receives further instructions from Alan's friend Neil Roy McRob, and later meets a catechist who takes the lad to the mainland.
As he continues his journey, David encounters none other than the Red Fox (Colin Roy) himself, who is accompanied by a lawyer, a servant, and a sheriff's officer. When David stops the Campbell man to ask him for directions, a hidden sniper kills the King's hated agent.
David is denounced as a conspirator and flees for his life, but by chance reunites with Alan. The youth believes Alan is the assassin, but Alan denies responsibility.
The pair flee from redcoat search parties until they reach James (Stewart) of the Glens, whose family has heard of the murder, is burying their hidden store of weapons, and is burning papers that could incriminate them. James tells the travellers he will have no choice but to "paper" them (distribute printed descriptions of the two with a reward listed), but provides them with weapons and food for their journey south, and David with a change of clothes (which the printed description will not match).
Alan and David then begin their flight through the heather, hiding from government soldiers by day. As the trek drains David's strength, his health rapidly deteriorates; by the time they are set upon by wild Highlanders who are sentries for Cluny Macpherson, an outlawed chief in hiding, the lad is barely conscious.
Alan convinces Cluny to give them shelter. The Highland chieftain is offended when David covenantly refuses to play cards but defers to the respected Alan's opinion of the lad. David is tended by a Highland doctor and soon recovers, though in the meantime Alan loses all of their money at cards with Cluny, only for Cluny to give it back when David practically begs for it.
When David and Alan resume their flight in cold and rainy weather, David becomes ill again and nurses a childish anger against Alan over the affront of having to beg for their money. Alan patiently tries to help the sulking David for several days, but he finally gives in to his own pride and begins taunting him. David forces a showdown with swords by insulting Alan's courage and loyalty, but Alan cannot bring himself to fight him. David, now sick in the extreme, at last feels contrition and realizes a plea for help can do what an apology will not: mend the rift between them. Alan carries David on his back down the burn to reach the nearest house, fortuitously that of a Maclaren, Duncan Dhu, who is both an ally of the Stewarts and a skilled piper.
David is bedridden and given a doctor's care, while Alan hides nearby, visiting after dark. During David's nearly month-long recuperation, he is visited by many curious but loyal neighbours in the region and by a foe of Alan's, Robin Oig, the son of Rob Roy MacGregor and a wanted outlaw. Alan and Robin nearly fight a duel, but Duncan persuades them to leave the contest to bagpipes. Both play brilliantly, but Alan admits Robin is the better piper, so the quarrel is resolved. Alan and David prepare to leave the Highlands and return to David's country.
In one of the most humorous passages in the book, Alan convinces an innkeeper's daughter from Limekilns (unnamed in Kidnapped but called "Alison Hastie" in its sequel) that David is a dying young Jacobite nobleman, despite David's objections, and she ferries them across the Firth of Forth. There, they meet a lawyer of David's uncle's, Mr. Rankeillor, who agrees to help David receive his inheritance. Rankeillor explains that David's father and uncle had once quarrelled over a woman, David's mother, and the older Balfour had married her, informally giving the estate to his brother while living as an impoverished schoolteacher with his wife. This agreement had lapsed with his death.
David and the lawyer hide in bushes outside Ebenezer's house while Alan speaks to him, claiming to be a man who found David nearly dead after the wreck of the Covenant and says he is representing folk holding him captive in the Hebrides. He asks David's uncle whether Alan should kill David or keep him. The uncle flatly denies Alan's statement that David had been kidnapped but eventually admits that he paid Hoseason "twenty pound" to take David to "Caroliny". David and Rankeillor then emerge from their hiding places, and speak with Ebenezer in the kitchen, eventually agreeing that David will be provided two-thirds of the estate's income for as long as his uncle lives.
The novel ends with David and Alan's parting ways; Alan returns to France, and David goes to a bank to settle his money.

Review: This classic story of romantic adventure by Daniel Mann , filmed in location , comes to life enriched by the brilliant photography , as the color of the Scotland's fields is stunning and being freely based on historical events .
A good clean fun with a legendary Scottish adventurer against the British army , the Red Coats .
In 18th century Scotland , during the Jacobite Rebellion , David Balfour (a feeble Lawrence Douglas) claims his inheritance from his uncle (Donald Pleasence who turns a fine studio of evil) , but he is sold as a slave who has him shanghaied on a ship where David meets fugitive Jacobite rebel , a Highland patriot called Alan Breck (the cockney Michael Caine who gives a lift just when it needs it most ) .
Breck is a dash and adventurous rebel who is escaping from Bonnie Prince Charlie's defeat at Culludon .
As they getaway from the slave ship and return to battle the British ."Kidnapped" is an amusing adventure movie that certainly hits the mark ; being plenty of action , thrills , colorful cinematography , luxurious costumes and catching score ; all meld together under Delbert Mann's fine direction .
This version covers both the novel "Kidnapped" and the first half of its sequel "Catriona¨ .
It is a little slow , at times , in the telling , mainly because of the stolid acting of the sad couple playing David and Catriona .
As Lawrence Douglas seems a little frail for the adventurous David Balfour and Vivien Heilbron is hardly casting as Catriona Stewart .
But Michael Caine is magnificent , though uneasily cast with his cockney accent , he lends the part sufficient swashbuckling gusto to make it work .
The support cast is frankly excellent -though many of them were not paid because of cash problems- such as Trevor Howard as Lord Advocate , Donald Pleasence as Ebenezer Balfour , Gordon Jackson as Charles Stewart , Freddie Jones , normally seen in comedy characters , as Cluny and Jack Hawkins who had lost his voice in 1966, was dubbed by Charles Gray .
Being luxuriously shot by Paul Beeson , he was also the Director of Photography for the film Kidnapped (1960) .
The flick will appeal to adventures buffs .They are several versions based on Robert Luois Stevenson classic novel , though producers do seem to choose the most unlikely players to perform Stevenson's Alan Breck : the American Warner Baxter , subsequently Australian-raised Peter Finch , then , the Cockney Michael Caine and finally the New Yorker of Italian descent Armand Assante .
1960 a Disney movie by Robert Stevenson with Peter Finch , Jamez MacArthur , Peter O'Toole .
It is loosely based on two Robert Louis Stevenson novels, Kidnapped and its sequel Catriona.
The plot may not be entirely accurate in detail (the Appin murder, etc), but the portrayal of the Jacobite Rebellion is both very accurate and insightful, surprisingly so for a big-time film.
Michael Caine makes the movie.
I love that this version follows the true chronicle, especially in the beginning and I felt like I was truly along with the characters in every scene.
Donald Pleasence played Ebenezer Balfour brilliantly and his scenes with David are true to the original story.
Actually, comparing with the many filmed interpretations it is a fair representation of Robert Louis Stevenson's grand story.
At least it was filmed for the most part in Scotland and the lovely scenic shots add to the authenticity.I think there have been some unfair comments made on this particular interpretation but in general I would say it deserves a far better reception than some have given.
I have no problem with the English actors playing Scottish characters, Caine here is a passable lowland Scots as Allan Breck.
However, I'm not sure that Caine's costume would be one anyone would be seen dead in, it was clearly awful, and hardly the sort of attire a rebel would be running around in.What matters is, that it is a fine interpretation of Stevenson's story..
This is an adaption of the famous Robert Louis Stevenson novel.
Set in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden in 18th century Scotland, a young man is sold into slavery by his unscrupulous uncle.
The two men form an alliance of sorts and subsequently become involved in an incident that creates various complications.The first thing that stands out from the outset here is that the cockney actor Michael Caine is starring in the role of Alan Breck, the Jacobite rebel.
It seems like it must be a bit of miscasting, as it is difficult imagining Caine in such a role, however, pleasingly he is very good here and his film star charisma is used to very good effect for this particular character.
The film also benefits a lot from plenty of nice on-location photography from around Scotland.
The story-line is compelling and the direction is well-paced, while the events depicted are less over-the-top than in later Scottish adventures set in historical times such as Braveheart (1995) and this for me is a good thing.
The story-line eventually dove-tails to a very bittersweet ending that seems like the only appropriate way to round things off..
The plot involves a young man accidentally caught up in the political events in Scotland following the Battle of Culloden..
The plot revolves around a young man who is betrayed by his uncle and is kidnapped for service aboard a ship.
On board the ship, he is befriended by Alan Breck, a rebel Scotsman.
The ship is wrecked off the coast of Scotland and Balfour (the young man) and Breck (played by Michael Caine) are forced to seek aid from some of Breck's relatives.
Balfour to confront his uncle and Breck to hire a ship for his escape to France.
Michael Caine plays the role with the same flair and style that he always brings to the screen.
He portrays a man who is a true patriot yet he must face the realization that the Clans have now been effectively destroyed by the British--the Scotland he loved and fought for no longer exists.
In doing so I shall not attempt a review of the film itself, other than to note here that it is reasonably well-made and entertaining.Whatever the rights and wrongs (ethically speaking) of the breakup of the old clan system in the Scottish Highlands, and the claims of the Jacobite Succession, it is just plain wrong (factually speaking) to refer to the English as the "British" by contrast with the Scots.
The term British refers to anyone who was a subject of the British Crown, subsequent to the Act of Union of 1707; it can refer indifferently to Scots, Welsh, English and Northern Irish, and historically (prior to Home Rule) to the Irish generally.There may be some sentimentality on the part of American viewers who, mindful of their own War of Independence, wish to identify with others struggling against "British" rule.
The BBC broadcast an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's KIDNAPPED a couple of months ago ( I really must get round to reviewing that sometime )so I found myself comparing it with this version and unfortunately this is very much inferior The problem lies in that the movie has very little in the way of action .
There's a set piece on a boat that is skimmed over far too quickly , there's a sniper attack and Alan Breck killing a couple of redcoats and that's basically it as far as action scenes go with much of the running time taken up with Breck telling everyone what a wonderful patriot he is .
I guess the dialogue scenes taking precedent over sword fights and battles is caused by the producers hiring the services of some fine actors and wanting them to appear on screen as long as possible .
It's fairly well acted , though I'm afraid Caine is rather miscast and he makes Alan Breck boorish and unlikable There is one thing that puzzles me in this movie and it happens fairly often , and that is people recognise Breck as soon as they seem him even though they've not met him before but why should this be ?
There was no mass media in the mid 18th Century so they'd be no TV cameras or photography and I doubt if a " Wanted " poster for Breck would capture his likeness and yet nearly every time Breck is spotted someone always gasps " It's Alan Breck !
" Oh and can I just add something about the English / British debate that the redcoats are the Hanoverian British army while the Highlanders are Jacobites , they're Highlanders supporting the Jacobite heir Bonnie Prince Charlie and it's unlikely they considered themselves to be all that Scottish never mind British.
This is a well made atmospheric romp through the Scottish Highlands.Action,romance,murder,treachery and Michael Caine.Beautiful scenery and good soundtrack.I really enjoyed it..
This is my favourite version of the Kidnapped novel.
Michael Caine is excellent as is all the cast.
The film takes the viewer from the Jacobite battlefields of 1745 to Edinburgh Castle with a chase adventure in between.
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.
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.
A Good Movie; Falters A Bit At The End. As a history lesson about the Jacobite Rebellion this fails, but as a movie for the whole family it's entertaining and a good cast makes it fun to watch.Michael Caine is Alan Breck, determined that the Stuarts should have retained the throne of England, who befriends young David Balfour (Lawrence Douglas) and sets off on a journey with him to Edinburgh, sharing a variety of adventures along the way.
In a limited role, Donald Pleasance added to the fun of the movie as the curmudgeonly Ebenezer Balfour (David's uncle).It was all working together quite well, I thought, until the very end of the movie, and I thought too much was left hanging with the way it concluded.
So an entertaining but historically inaccurate movie ended with a bit of a letdown.
When this film was released, although still young, I was a film buff (not just in terms of cinematography but history, political biases etc.) of at least 25 years.
I have to admit that I was severely biased against this version of 'Kidnapped' with Caine's casting and I am still puzzled as to the how/why of it's production.
What does come across, presumably from the script, particularly the comments of Trevor Howards character, and Michael Caine's 'less is more portrayal' of Alan Breck, is the sense of loss of the 'Celtic' past.
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.
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.
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.
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..
A compelling adventure film from the early-'70s.
This adventure film from 1971 is a highly credible cinematic adaptation.
Also in one early scene at the curmudgeonly Uncle Ebeneezer's bleak House of Shaws when young David is introduced to Captain Hoseason and is subsequently kidnapped, the morning sun-light shining on the door in the background gives the surface of the door a pure silver effect which seems profoundly metaphysical.
Indeed the Lord Advocate - played with flair by Trevor Howard, is very much a figure from the Scottish Enlightenment.
Michael Caine in one of his most committed performances plays the character of Jacobite soldier of fortune, Alan Breck Stuart: he sports green, blue and grey tartan with a silver brooch embossed with an amber gem.
The fight scene in the ship's cabin is a bravura set-piece..
Such is the Robert Louis Stevenson story Kidnapped.As far as period pieces go, this isn't a very good one.
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.
I saw this film only once the year it was released and the only thing I can actually remember about it has me chomping at the bit to see it again.
It is the final scene where Allan Breck was led out into the beautiful Scotland countryside by his captors, presumably to certain execution.
I love this film in spite of its alleged inaccuracies in dress, accent and history.
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.
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.
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..
Mr Donald Pleasance - clearly basing his performance on Spike Milligan's interpretations of The Great McGonagall - is given a rare opportunity to air his "Scottish" accent.So,unfortunately,are Mr Freddie Jones,Mr Jack Watson,Mr Jack Hawkins and Sir Michael Caine,who,in "Kidnapped"is forced to wear clothes a P.G. Wodehouse bookmaker would regard as de trop.
Mr Delbert Mann is as entitled as the next person to have a pop,much as fellow American Mr Mel Gibson did many years later,but he was taking the p*ss a bit using big name English actors to do it.
It is a fact universally acknowledged that anything more subtle than the "See you Jimmy!" brand of Scottish dialect is beyond all but the finest mimics.Here,that beautiful treasure - house is raped,plundered then trampled over in favour of a generic accent like a third - rate touring company fumbling their way through "The Scottish Play" on a wet Tuesday night in Hull.An honourable exception is Mr Trevor Howard as the Advocate - General,a splendid exposition of the Upper - Class Scotsman,at home neither with the English nor his own countrymen.
Mr Caine decides on a "Gorblimey Guv'nor - the noo" style of speech that never works for me.At least Mr Jones gives it the whole eye - rolling Robert Newton routine,no half - measures there.
The exterior sequences are competent if not particularly exciting and there is a nice sense of the rugged countryside at times,but much of the movie is static,almost stagey in nature.The fight in the ship's cabin is clumsily handled and I feared some of the scenery was actually going to collapse under the weight of the flying bodies.
Mr Robert Louis Stephenson himself once wrote..."Sometimes it is better to travel hopefully than to arrive" - words to consider if you are to avoid disappointment after deciding to watch this version of "Kidnapped"