Kidnapped (1938)

In 1747 Jacobite Scotland young David Balfour's life is threatened by his greedy uncle who wishes to become heir to the considerable Balfour estate.

Director:

Alfred L. Werker

Writers:

Robert Louis Stevenson (novel), Sonya Levien (screenplay),

Stars:

Warner Baxter, Freddie Bartholomew, Arleen Whelan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Warner Baxter	...	Alan Breck
Freddie Bartholomew	...	David Balfour
Arleen Whelan	...	Jean MacDonald
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Duke of Argyle
Reginald Owen	...	Capt. Hoseason
John Carradine	...	Gordon
Nigel Bruce	...	Neil MacDonald
Miles Mander	...	Ebenezer Balfour
Ralph Forbes	...	James
H.B. Warner	...	Angus Rankeiller
Arthur Hohl	...	Riach
E.E. Clive	...	Minister MacDougall
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Dominie Campbell
Montagu Love	...	Col. Whitehead
Donald Haines	...	Ransome

Storyline

In the late eighteenth century David Balfour's evil uncle arranges for him to be kidnapped and sent to sea where he meets exiled Breck. The two make their way back to Scotland and justice.

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Plot Keywords:

uncle | scotland | inn | soldier | impersonation | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 May 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kidnapped: The Adventures of David Balfour

Filming Locations:

Laurel Canyon, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 90 min (FMC Library Print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA High Fidelity Recording)

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Otto Preminger was fired and replaced by Alfred L. Werker after 20th Century-Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck complained that he hadn't followed the script while directing a scene with Freddie Bartholomew and a dog. Although Preminger at first tried to remain calm, insisting that he had followed the script, Zanuck continued to argue with him until Preminger launched into a screaming tirade at him and stormed out of the screening room. The next day Preminger returned to Fox to find the lock on his office changed and his name taken off the door, and his parking space moved to a faraway location on the lot. Although he still had 11 months in his two-year contract, Preminger soon left Fox.

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Goofs

The story takes place in 1747, but Arleen Whelan's hair style is strictly 1938.

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Quotes

Duke of Argyle: Better to deal with one martyr than a nation of martyrs.

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Connections

Version of Kidnapped (1948)

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Soundtracks

"Rule Britannia"
(1740) (uncredited)
Music by Thomas Augustine Arne
Played briefly in the score

User Reviews

A pro-peace film, typical of the Munich spirit in 1938

A pro-peace film, typical of the Munich spirit in 1938. The movie, turn in 1938, is as far from Stevenson that Stevenson himself is -intentionally-from Walter Scott "Rob Roy" for instance.The end, with its pro-peace sentence with"love of country"etc.sounds particularly anachronistic. The plot also neglects the tower scene, which is shorted. We think of what Hitchcock could have done. The novel is such a good plot that something of it does remains in the film. But think of adding a romance in "Treasure Island"for instance..! The casting is good, particularly Freddie Bartholomew and of course Warner Baxter, although not Scottish at all. I appreciate also to find in a second-part John Carradine with his long thin face which could be so impressive in western films and also as the abominable Nazi Heydrich in "Hitler's Madman", some five years later, when the Second World War was at its climax.