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:

father | bagpipes | scotland | lovable bandit | highlander | 

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Taglines:

Down with virtue! Down with the law! Up With Davey!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

M/PG

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Geraldine Moffat, Sharon Gurney, and Mitzi Rogers were among those on the shortlist for the role of Annie.

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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

What a rascal

John Huston's love of Ireland and Irish country life was rather well known while he was with us. Any chance he had he took to be at his country estate there. What better than to shoot a film there even if the subject is 18th century Scotland and a notorious outlaws known as Sinful Davey.

John Hurt is in the title role and he's a young rascal who deserts the army in a most spectacular fashion and takes up the outlaw trade. His dad was an outlaw who had some legendary exploits of his own and young Hurt wants to live up to his father's legend and even better it.

Nothing serious about Sinful Davey, he's just a good nature rascal who just follows his own beat. That the authorities take a dim view of stealing just shows what narrow minded folks they are. The only thing could stop Hurt is Pamela Franklin from his old village who is a good girl in a debauched age and she's determined he have a moral makeover.

This will never be classified as one of John Huston's better films, but it's entertaining enough. Besides the leads standing out in this cast is Robert Morley as the Duke of Argyll who rather admires Hurt and his unconventional ways and Ronald Fraser as Hurt's somewhat reluctant accomplice in his crimes.

Have fun watching this one and don't take it one bit serious.