The Master of Ballantrae

  

 

The Master of Ballantrae (1953) is based on Robert Louis Stevenson's book of the same name. It's directed by William Keighley and stars Errol Flynn, Roger Livesey, and Anthony Steel. 

If you're not familiar with the summer of '45, when the young pretender did arrive and the defeat of the Jacobins in April of 1746 at Culloden Field, you might still enjoy this movie. Errol Flynn plays one of two Scottish brothers at the heart of this story. He elects to support Bonnie Prince Charlie, leaving his younger brother to side with the British so that whichever side prevailed, one of them would be on the winning side. The plot is complicated by the fact that Jamie (Flynn) is in love with or perhaps even engaged to Lady Allison (played by Beatrice Campbell) and yet also favors a comely serving wench, Jessie Brown (played by Yvonne Furneaux). When Jamie is on the run from the British, Jessie, angered by Jamie's willingness to cast her aside to marry Lady Allison, slips word to the British, allowing an ambush. 

Jamie escapes the ambush, but believes his brother Henry (Anthony Steel) let the cat out of the bag to the redcoats so that he could inherit the Ballantrae title and lands without any difficulties from his brother. Jamie returns to accuse him of the dirty deed and manages to get a misplaced piece of cutlery in his ribs. When Henry, believing he has accidentally slain Jamie, goes for help, Jamie goes or is taken away. Jamie ends up on a ship bound, not for France as he was told and for which passage he was paying, but for the Caribbean (or maybe it was the South Seas, I forget). 

Jamie and his Irish mercenary friend are impressed into service on the ship, but assist the pirates who capture the ship. They join the pirates who are led by Captain Arnaud (played by Jacques Berthier).

After taking the ship, they work together to take another pirate ship loaded with treasure. As you might expect, they have a falling out and Arnaud comes in second in the duel that follows. Naturally, Jamie heads back to Scotland with his friend of the smiling Irish Eyes--MacKellar (played by Mervyn Johns - I think).

He arrives back at the old homestead to discover his father and brother hosting a party attended by a plethora of redcoats. Jamie and MacKellar attend under false names so the British won't recognize them as wanted fugitives. However, when Jamie learns the party is also an engagement party for Lady Allison and Henry, he blows his own cover to fight his brother. They sword-up, but the wandering monster table rolls up a flurry of redcoats (what with them being present with the fight started and all) and it turns into a storm of swordplay betwixt the House of Ballantrae and the Brits. Jamie and MacKellar nearly escape, but are captured.

With the gibbet all in readiness to receive Jamie and MacKellar, Jessie confesses that she was the one who betrayed her lover to the enemy in a fit of jealousy, and Lady Allison reminds him of his family motto, which isn't "Keep looking up" but does involve something of that nature. Jessie aids in the escape and is killed. Jamie and MacKellar escape with Lady Allison, who always loved Jamie and was only marrying his brother as the next best copy when the original was lost.

There's a fair amount of swordplay and even a broadside or two from battling ships. The fights are good but the whole miscommunication and withholding of information between the brothers about the who betrayed Jamie to the redcoats jarred the scales of credibility. The acting and writing weren't terrible, but the story seemed rushed, as though key portions were being skipped to condense the tale to be told in under two hours. I enjoyed the costumes, swordplay, setting, and situation. I give it 3.5 berets out of 5.

___________________

I'm happy to report that I signed a contract for the publication of the sequel to Accidental Pirates - look for it in September (the best of all possible months).

I've also sent in another story featuring my three French cavalry officers and the mysteries of Egypt for consideration in an upcoming anthology, and I've completed a super short story for a more specialized contest. I've got higher hopes after reading it than I did before I wrote it--thanks in no small part to the reaction I received of one of my proofreaders. 

A third book in the Accidental Pirates series and another short story are the current works in progress.