Sinful Davey (1969)

hyped garbage

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

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.

Despite its large budget, including some attractive Irish locations, Sinful Davey (played by John Hurt) doesn't quite come off. Perhaps one of the movie's major faults lies in the casting of John Hurt. When all's said and done, he does make rather a charmless villain or anti- hero. The support players all manage to steal every scene from him, even the heroine, played by Pamela Franklin – an attractive minx if ever there was one – and that throws the whole film off balance. That's a real shame! It's also a matter of regret that there were not a lot more genuine Scot's accents in evidence. Nevertheless, the movie is vigorously staged and the unusual nature of its period and scenery does lend it a certain bizarre appeal.

Everything about Sinful Davey is excellent, with one unfortunate exception: James Webb's dull as dishwater screenplay, which is boring, poorly structured, and not very funny. John Hurt does his best as the titular character, a mischievous Scotsman who deserts the army in favour of a life of crime and general naughtiness; Pamela Franklin is lovely to look at as spurned love interest Annie; and Robert Morley is Robert Morley, which is enough. Freddie Young's widescreen cinematography is frequently breathtaking, and I must admit a fondness for Esther Ofarim's interpretation of the title big ballad, which of course sounds much more late 20th century than 18th. But, oh that screenplay: it tries to conjure memories of Tom Jones, but fails miserably.

SINFUL DAVEY is based on the true story of Scottish highwayman and thief Davey Haggart (played by a very young John Hurt), who wants to be just like his deceased (guess how he died) father.It is a light-hearted movie that really is neither very spectacular nor special, but is very well-done. A nice movie to see on a rainy afternoon, to say it with a cliché. The film has good performances all around (especially Hurt and Franklin) and some funny bits. It is however nowhere near as funny as the recent ORDINARY DECENT CRIMINAL (also based on a true story).6/10