Kidnapped

What an excellent film for adults and children alike to have seen at the theaters when it was released over seventy (70) years ago. Roddy McDowell plays a young and naive Scotsman named David Balfour who unbeknownst to him, has inherited a large fortune from a deceased Uncle he hardly knew. It is a film about trust and betrayal, cruel men who are greedy as well as men with morals such as the Scottish rebel Alan Breck played superbly Dan O'Herlihy.

When reviewing a classic film older than five (5) decades I try and take into consideration what the world looked like "at that time period." In the late 1940's the world had already been through two (2) recent World wars and the general population needed to be reminded that there were bad people whose greed would take them to a dark place (such as kidnapping and slave selling). There were also naive people such as the young David Balfour (Roddy McDowell) who had not yet been victimized.

So the world needed this young victim to be saved and who better to be his savior than the Scottish swashbuckler rebel hero, Alan Breck (Dan O'Herlihy). Keep in mind that women of the time period were also seeking adventure, heroes, and of course romance, which is where the beautiful innkeepers daughter Aileen Fairlie (Sue England) comes into the picture.

I thought it was a film filled with adventure, double crossing, and a youth realizing that the world can be cruel and one has to keep their wits about them. The romance between the star crossed lovers of Aileen Fairlie and David Balfour added value to the famous author Robert Louis Stevenson's book, Kidnapped, in a time period after two World Wars when both young and old men and women alike wanted to escape to the movies for a few hours to find adventure and romance and this film delivered it all.

For the above reasons I give it a highly rated 8 out of 10 IMDB rating

'Bout half as good as Uncle Walt's version. Particularly egregious was substituting the sere brown hills of Agoura for Scotland! And while Dan O'Herlihy is a decent actor he's no Peter Finch. As for the two Macs, Dowell and Arthur, they're about the same. Give this version a C.

The above reviewer made the exact points that I would make. Roddy McDowall was a natural for David Balfour, but the addition of a love interest spoiled the plot. They did the same thing in the 1938 version, only the love interest was for Warner Baxter's Alan Breck.

The only version of this tale to stick to the real Stevenson plot was the 1960 Disney version.

Also, I agree that Dan O'Herlihy made Alan Breck too genteel and dainty. Peter Finch fit the character. If only we could pluck Roddy McDowall out of 1948 and drop him down into 1960 to replace James MacArthur in the Disney version! --- Stan

Roddy McDowell (who was also executive producer for this film,) was the perfect David Balfour. His accent was more toward the English than the Scottish, but that can be overlooked. At McDowell's age in 1948, it was natural for him to play this role.

Having been a big fan of the original Stevenson novel, I was disappointed that they felt they had to add a "love interest." It completely changed the point of the movie. In the novel, the focus was upon the relationship between the two characters, Alan Breck and David Balfour; how they liked each other despite their severe political differences, and how they came to respect each other as well.

The addition of the girl just made it into a trite coming of age romance, with Alan Breck turning into hardly more than a colorful sidekick.

I also feel that Dan O'Herlihy played Alan Breck as an entirely too genteel a gentleman. Peter Finch captured him much more closely in the Disney film of 1960. Alan Breck was a gentleman, yes, but also a wild highlander with none of the daintiness affected by O'Herlihy.

It's a good but cheap version of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, with some good casting (Roddy McDowall as David Balfour, Dan O'Herlihy as Alan Breck) good scenic photography and a general level of competence -- a hallmark of the often despised William Beaudine, when given a half-decent budget. On the downside, the fight scenes are very badly choreographed, and I wonder why everyone in Scotland uses the same variety of sword, whether they're sailors, soldiers of the French king or elderly landowners, all with approximately equal levels of competence -- save O'Herlihy who, although he looks to be at the same level, can defeat three other men.

The story is one that has been remade many times, from a major production by Edison in 1917 to a TV movie in 2005. Stevenson basically basically invented the Young Adult Novel with this and TREASURE ISLAND, and his youthful heroes, strong stories and exciting adventures have made him a favorite for movie-makers. Although there are better versions of this story (I prefer the superbly cast Disney version), there's little to complain of in this one -- I have, in my usual manner, already done so -- and MacDowall's performance is perfect.