Good, but not great, picaresque tale of a young Scottish rogue.
Trying to emulate the Oscar-winning Tom Jones and others of its ilk, Sinful Davey is enjoyable, light-hearted entertainment. The scenery is gorgeous, the cinematography catching, and the acting good.
John Hurt is fine as Davey, and Pamela Franklin is sweet as the lass who loves him and tries to get him to change his ways. Robert Morley's character is very likeable as well. I particularly enjoyed Nigel Davenport as the decent but determined inspector--his looks and manner reminded me of Ted Levine's police captain on Monk.
The script, while pleasant, could be better, though. I kept waiting for something truly outrageous to occur, for the film to go over the top in some way (after all, it was made in the late sixties), but it never did. Still, it is an enjoyable story.
While Sinful Davey is a good, not great film, it still deserves a higher rating than it has on this site. Just enjoy it for what it is: a picaresque, humorous tale about a young Scottish rogue during the early 19th century.
John Hurt is fine as Davey, and Pamela Franklin is sweet as the lass who loves him and tries to get him to change his ways. Robert Morley's character is very likeable as well. I particularly enjoyed Nigel Davenport as the decent but determined inspector--his looks and manner reminded me of Ted Levine's police captain on Monk.
The script, while pleasant, could be better, though. I kept waiting for something truly outrageous to occur, for the film to go over the top in some way (after all, it was made in the late sixties), but it never did. Still, it is an enjoyable story.
While Sinful Davey is a good, not great film, it still deserves a higher rating than it has on this site. Just enjoy it for what it is: a picaresque, humorous tale about a young Scottish rogue during the early 19th century.
- tclark55
- 2 ago 2023