La spada di d'Artagnan

I always enjoyed this adventure yarn when I was a kid, and despite George Baker being about as wooden as a picket fence, I think it's still an entertaining Cavalier/Roundhead story. With King Charles I now dead, the forces of the Commonwealth are focussing on catching his heir, the new King Charles II who is being helped by a few loyal royalists to make it to the safety of France. Hot on his heels, though, are the tenacious "Col. Beaumont" (Marius Goring) and the master of disguises "Maj, Greig". We know all along who the mysterious "Moonraker" is, and for the next eighty minutes we follow his escapades as he tries to smuggle his very valuable cargo out of harms way. It all comes to an head in a seaside inn where a coach party are gathered and where you just know the swords are going to be flourishing. Sylvia Syms, whose "Anne" just happens to be the fiancée of the pursuing Colonel is also amongst their number, though her role is reduced to one of a rather simpering character and there is a great deal of script for us to wade through here but Paul Whitsun-Jones raises his game as the amiably pompous "Parfitt" who manages to make "nincompoop" sound a great deal nastier than we are used to. It moves along nicely with plenty happening until an exciting cliff top denouement that might have come from Daphné du Maurier, and if you like your derring-do done Hammer style, then you ought to like this. I did.

The tale takes place in October 1651 , after the battles of Moor , Preston , Naseby (1845) and Worcester at the end of the Civil War , the main purport of Oliver Cromwell's (John Le Mesurier) Commonwealth is to catch Charles Stuart (Gary Raymond's film debut) . The future king's escape depends on the intrepid Earl of Dawlish (George Baker) , who as the Moonraker has already spirited away many Royalists . Dawlish journeys to the Windwhistle Inn on the south coast to prepare the getaway to France , where he meets Anne Wyndham (Silvia Syms) , girlfriend of a top Roundhead officer called Beaumont (Marius Goring) who along with other underlings as Edmund Tyler (Peter Arne) and Captain Wilcox (Patrick Troughton) pursue mercilessly to the hidden Royalist rebel . £500 REWARD! The Moonraker must be captured... DEAD OR ALIVE!

A breathtaking and overblown adventure with historical elements , including great swordplay , colorful cinematography and evocative score. Spectacular historical swashbuckling with fine acting , wonderful locations , glamorous gowns and attention to period detail . In the movie there are historic events , adventure , drama , and a love story between George Baker as The Moonraker and Sylvia Syms as Anne Wyndham who , unfortunately , results to be the fiancée of a villian Roundhead . All Actors , both , main and support cast give nice performances . Great acting by secondary players , such as : Marius Goring , Peter Arne , Gary Raymond , Clive Morton , Richard Leech , John Le Mesurier , Patrick Troughton and a young Michael Anderson Jr. The film is appropriately atmospheric with brilliant cinematography by Mutz Greenbaum and well based on real deeds . First-class production design and sets by Robert Jones are outstanding .The film includes a lively and thrilling musical score by Laurie Johnson and was competently directed by David MacDonald.

Based on historical events which created the only England Republic . The movie deals with take over from Republican government in England . Facing off between Olivier Cromwell and King determined to rid England of a tyrannical rule and an absolutist King : Charles I , it resulted in beheading of the King . There was created two factions : the Roundheads (Cromwell congressmen) and Cavaliers or Royalists (King's nobility) , both sides had generals of considerable skill and undaunted courage as Thomas Farfaix . Cromwell defeated King's army in battles of Moor , Preston and Naseby (1645). Later on , in 1653 , he was named Lord protector of the Republic "Commomwealth" . He imposed a dictatorship ruled by Puritans and vanquished the Irish and Scottish army . Cromwell was a Puritan leader who , according to several historians carried out near genocide in Ireland . He also battled Holland and Spain . Cromwell developed a law of navigation for the British navy . He early died by fever's illness . Richard Cromwell succeeded his father as President but he was rapidly dismissed . Duration Republic was 1648 to 1660 . Charles II went back to British kingdom and the regicides (those who had condemned Charles I to death) were arrested and hanged , drawn and quartered at Charing Cross . The Cromwell's body was disinterred, and his remains were hung from a scaffold.

The Moonraker is directed by David MacDonald and adapted to screenplay by Robert Hall, Wilfred Eades and Alistair Bell from the Arthur Watkin play. It stars George Baker, Sylvia Syms, Marius Goring, Peter Arne, Clive Morton, Richard Leech, Iris Russell and Paul Whitsun-Jones. Music is by Laurie Johnson and cinematography by Mutz Greenbaum.

With the English Civil War just finished, Oliver Cromwell (John Le Mesurier) aims to capture Charles Stuart (Gary Raymond) to stop him replacing his executed father on the throne. However, a Royalist hero known as The Moonraker (Baker) plots to smuggle Stuart to France before Cromwell and his Roundhead followers enact their plans.

A British swashbuckler full of derring-do heroics, sword fights, boo- hiss villains and gorgeous Technicolor photography. Why then is The Moonraker little known or under seen? Perhaps it comes down to availability on home formats over the years? Or TV rights preventing it from being shown elsewhere other than good old Blighty? Either way it's a shame and fans of swashbucklers should definitely consider seeking this one out.

The name Moonraker in this parlance is put to a smuggler who would hide his goods in the village pond and then go back at midnight to rake said goods out. Here the " Moonraking" involves smuggling important human beings out of harms way. The Moonraker in question is Earl Anthony of Dawlish, a Royalist Cavalier Scarlet Pimpernel type, a bally hero of devilish good looks and courage unbound; I mean why jump through a gap when you can dive through it instead? Cue under cover disguise, bluffings between hero and villains, simmering romance and a base station inn where many shenanigans unfold. It's not based on historical facts, it's a work of fiction, but much thought has gone into the period design, collectively impressive in architecture, weapons and clothing. How nice to actually see an English Civil War based buckling of the swash!

Location work is spread about the place, where even though much of the second half of film is based inside the crafty Royalist supporting inn, there's still some lovely exteriors to enjoy. The makers missed a trick by not homaging the lead character by doing some work at beautiful Dawlish in Devon, but Wiltshire, Dorset and Kent prove to be appealing places for scenes. Ronnie Hilton's theme song over the opening credits is a bit off the pace of the movie, in that it doesn't quite fit as a starting point, but the song itself proves to play well as part of the narrative.

Cast are mixed but nobody stinks the film out, Baker is no Flynn, Power or Granger, but he makes for a very likable handsome hero and he is very comfortable performing the excellently choreographed fight sequences. Syms looks radiant and gorgeous, even if the character doesn't call for her to thesp greatly. While elsewhere the most fun performance comes from Whitsun-Jones as Parfitt, a big rotund Royalist full of bluster and bravado, when asked his occupation he bellows "gentleman", you hear him and believe him and he will later on in the film get "one" of those great cinematic moments.

The Moonraker, hooray! If you be a swashbuckling fan then you owe it to yourself to put this on your list of must sees! 7.5/10

"A Moonraker is a smuggler. One who dumps his contraband in the bottom of a lake then rakes it out by moonlight." (Definitely not to be confused with the James Bond escapade).

I believe this film is now in the public domain as I saw it as an "afternoon matinée" on my local school cable channel, where I usually see titles from the $1 bin.

While the movie was historically interesting, the action less enjoyable than Errol Flynn's Robin Hood and the staging and dialog delivery seemed slow and mechanical to me. If you are a fan of Elizabethan costume dramas, this will be a pleasant diversion for you.

"The Moonraker" is an account of the escapades of a dedicated Cavalier gentleman, Anthony Earl of Dawlish, aka Mr Rice, pursued by Roundhead soldiers seeking King Charles II after the Battle of Worcester in 1651. George Baker, as Dawlish, brings to life a Scarlet Pimpernel type character, who skillfully manages to assume the identity of a puritan scholar whilst rescuing supporters of the late King's son from the army of Cromwell.

This is a neglected film, which deserves more attention than it has received. Although in the second half it tends to restrict action to the environs of an inn, there is much to enjoy in the detail. The personal motivations of protagonists are also laid bare, and more than one is called to question their convictions.