Stubborn, feckless and perverse

[anteros_lmc]

Not men of his Britannic Majesty's Royal Navy this time but Robert Louis Stevenson on Highland women.

Partner and I have been watching the really quite fabulous 1978 tv series adaptation of Kidnapped.

Alan Breck Stuart played by the inimitable David McCallum explains to the gormless David Balfour played by the splendidly named Ekkehardt Belle.

"Let me tell you something about highland women, they're stubborn, feckless and perverse."

Being one of the aforementioned Highland women this made be laugh like a drain. So much so that I'm tempted to change the by-line of this journal from Plato to Stevenson.

Considering this series was filmed for tv in the seventies it's really quite remarkable. There are some top notch actors, the costumes are great (David McCallum has the silliest hat I've seen this side of a quarterdeck), that the use of original locations is excellent even if the geography is a bit wonky (Borders to Edinburgh via Glencoe is a wee bit of a detour!) and there's even a lovely boat, The Covenanter. The Highland accents are uniformly awful of course, even from the Scots, but that's to be expected. Episode 6 also has a sequence of scenes that are so outrageously slashy that I almost slid of the couch laughing. I'll try and do some screen caps later, I'm sure sarlania will appreciate them ;)

Comments

[sarlania.livejournal.com]

Oh yes I'm sure I'll appreciate it. =)

[azdak.livejournal.com]

As you can see, I'm trawling through your back entries, and I couldn't resist stopping here to comment (on a post made over two years ago, so I hope you can remember it!). I'm a huge fan of Kidnapped. It's been one of my favourite books for most of my life, so I'm thrilled to find a mention of it. Outrageous slashiness is hard-wired into the the book (Davy and Alan sleep together under Alan's coat! For which Davy has, it must be said, a bit of a fetish. And they have a lover's tiff! And many many other incidents too numerous to mention!).

Much as I love David McCallum, I don't think he's ideally cast as Alan Breck, who is a terrible show-off (which McCallum really, really isn't). I've watched a number of screen adaptations, all with their own particular horrors, and rather to my surprise the one I liked best was the 1960 Disney film, with Peter Finch as an excellent Alan Breck, James MacArthur (of Hawaii 5-0) as an unexpectedly charming David, and John ("We're dooooooomed!") Laurie as the Platonic ideal of Uncle Ebenezer. Of course, the Scottish accents are as wobbly as hell.

Have you read the book? It's utterly fantastic (at least it is if you can get past the first 9 chapters to the point where Alan makes his first appearance). The scene where they try to sail the Covenant past the Torrant rocks is fabulous (she said, temptingly - look, look, a bit with a ship!)

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Heh, I had forgotten about this! I have read Kidnapped, and Catriona too I think. I did Scot Lit for a wee while at uni, but that's a very long time ago now. Sadly I don't remember the slashiness of the book but it's pretty unavoidable in the series isn't it?! It was partner that insisted on getting this series on dvd as he remembered it from his childhood. We were both highly entertained by it! You're right about David McCallum not really getting the measure of Alan Breck though, he's just not quite flash enough. I haven't seen the Disney version but anything with John Laurie in it has to be worth a watch, thanks for the rec!

[azdak.livejournal.com]

Sadly I don't remember the slashiness of the book but it's pretty unavoidable in the series isn't it?!

I never noticed the slashiness of the book until I re-read it after discovering fanfiction, and then I found myself thinking every few paragraphs, "Say no more, say no more, a nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat..." Those damned slash goggles, once you put them on once, they're impossible to remove.

I've tried to read Catriona a couple of times, but failed dismally. It's partly that Davy is a bit of a bore and catriona becomes one, but also that without that romantically doomed Highland setting, most of the emotional charge is gone.

anything with John Laurie in it has to be worth a watch

I wouldn't call it a rec as such - I do realise that most people don't share my obsession with watching screen adaptations of Kidnapped - but I have always thought that John Laurie was bron to play Uncle Ebenezer (in fact, I think several generations stood in line specifically to enable him to be born for this purpose) so when I found out he actually had, there was no stopping me. Finding out that the rest of the fim was eminently wtchable was just a bonus.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Those damned slash goggles, once you put them on once, they're impossible to remove.
Lol! True that! Clearly I need to revisit Kidnapped....

I've tried to read Catriona a couple of times, but failed dismally.
Tbh I don't remember much about it. I have a vague recollection I read it alongside Weir of Hermiston which I do remember being tedious in the extreme.

I do realise that most people don't share my obsession with watching screen adaptations of Kidnapped
Well my partner certainly shares your enthusiasm if not your obsession!