Sinful Davey (1969)

The humorous adventures of the notorious Scottish highwayman and thief Davey Haggart during the 1820s in Britain.

Director:

John Huston

Writer:

James R. Webb (as James R Webb)

Stars:

John Hurt, Pamela Franklin, Nigel Davenport

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Hurt	...	Davey Haggart
Pamela Franklin	...	Annie
Nigel Davenport	...	Richardson
Ronald Fraser	...	MacNab
Robert Morley	...	Duke of Argyll
Fidelma Murphy	...	Jean Carlisle
Maxine Audley	...	Duchess of Argyll
Fionnula Flanagan	...	Penelope (as Fionnuala Flanagan)
Donal McCann	...	Sir James Campbell
Allan Cuthbertson	...	Captain Douglas
Eddie Byrne	...	Yorkshire Bill
Niall MacGinnis	...	Boots Simpson (as Niall MacGinniss)
Noel Purcell	...	Jock
Judith Furse	...	Mary
Francis De Wolff	...	Andrew (as Francis de Wolff)

Storyline

Davey Haggart is quite certain of his paternity (even if nobody else is) and determined to emulate his father, a notorious rogue and highwayman. This includes breaking a man out of Stirling jail, holding up the stagecoach, and robbing the Duke of Argyll, amongst other feats. Unfortunately, he is handicapped by the fact that his childhood playmate Annie is equally determined to track him down and save his soul.

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Plot Keywords:

bare breasts | rock cairn | coffin | stagecoach robber | quill pen | 

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Taglines:

The Seven Deadly Sins have never been so lively! Grave-robbing, Maid-snatching, Jail-breaking, Jewel-thieving, Smuggling, Piracy and Wife-stealing. (Leave it to Davey to invent No. 8!)

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexuality/nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Hurt got to know director John Boorman while filming in Ireland. After Hurt's death, Boorman recalled his belief that John Huston had "decided after the first week that the film was a dud and if he could kill or seriously injure his star it would be cancelled and the insurance would pay up," and that Huston had him undertake dangerous horse-riding scenes for this very reason.

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Goofs

10 minutes in, when Davey and McNab hear Annie calling, the sky above them is gray and overcast, but a few seconds later as they run down the hill, it has cleared and is bright blue.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Davey Haggart: [narrating] When fame comes to a man at so early an age, it can only be deserved.

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Connections

Referenced in Century of Cinema: Ourselves Alone? (1995)

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Soundtracks

Sinful Davey
Music by Ken Thorne
Lyrics by Don Black
Sung by Esther Ofarim

User Reviews

Amazingly tepid....at best.

John Hurt stars as David Haggart, a man who longs to be a bigger thief and scoundrel than his father...who was hung at age 20. Throughout the film, Davey commits a long list of evil deeds all in this quest to be truly dreadful!

While this brief summary might make it sound like "Sinful Davey" is a rollicking comedy, don't think that at all. While it's SUPPOSED to be funny and quite bawdy, I never once smirked or thought any of this was fun to watch in any way. Oddly, despite Davey trying to be a sinful jerk, watching his antics I was shocked how unfunny and dull the whole thing was. I think Hurt tried (despite not being Scottish, like his character)...but the script simply wasn't funny nor all that interesting. Overall, an uninspired and tepid (at best) movie...one that lost money when it debuted and surely deserved such a fate.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 May 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sinful Davey

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios, Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mirisch-Webb, The Mirisch Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1