Entführt – Die Abenteuer des David Balfour (1959)

Entführt – Die Abenteuer des David Balfour: Directed by Robert Stevenson. With Peter Finch, James MacArthur, Bernard Lee, John Laurie. In Scotland in 1751, young David Balfour is shanghaied aboard a ship where he meets Jacobite rebel Alan Breck Stewart with whom he escapes to the Scottish Highlands, dodging the redcoats.

“Equating Disney movies to u0026quot;family entertainmentu0026quot; is a bit trite, but here it works. Young men looking for adventure in their lives will be as pleased with this film as parents looking for a quality movie to which they can take their kids. This is the brilliant Scottish raconteur Robert Louis Stevensonu0026#39;s tale of two Scotlands, Highland and Lowland, as personified by the dour young Mr. David Balfour and the spirited Highlander Alan Breck Stewart (who proudly u0026quot;bears a Kingu0026#39;s nameu0026quot;). On the run for their lives in their own native country of Scotland, now occupied by English redcoats and their Hessian merceneries, the protagonists must overcome their mutual distrust of one another, which is based primarily on political differences (but also on cultural differences as well). In fighting to keep their health and lives, they come to respect and even appreciate one another, in part because (ironically) they are from different worlds. The acting is simply first-rate; the producers could not (and did not) rely on special effects to make this movie work. The scenery of the Scottish Highlands is breathtaking. But itu0026#39;s the plot and character development made so viable by the brilliant acting of Peter Finch and James MacArthur that make the movie a stand-out. Rent it, bring it home, and watch it with your girlfriend, your boyfriend, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, friends, parent, grandparents, or perfect strangers. By the end of the movie, youu0026#39;ll value the friendship that young Mr. Balfour and the spirited Highlander find for themselves.”