The Master of Ballantrae (film)
| The Master of Ballantrae | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | William Keighley |
| Written by | Robert Louis Stevenson (novel) Herb Meadow Harold Medford (add. dialogue) |
| Starring | Errol Flynn Roger Livesey Anthony Steel |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | August 5, 1953 (USA) |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Master of Ballantrae is a 1953 British adventure film starring Errol Flynn, Roger Livesey, and Anthony Steel. It is a loose and highly truncated adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel of the same title. In eighteenth century Scotland, two sons of a Laird are rivals for the family estate and for a lady.
[edit] Plot Synopsis
At the Durrisdeer estate in Scotland in 1745, the year of the Jacobite Rising, the older son Jamie Durie (the Master of Ballantrae) and his younger brother Henry Durie, decide that one of them will join the uprising while the other will join the loyalists, so whichever side wins, the family's noble status and estate will be preserved. At the toss of a coin, The Master wins and departs to join the Rising, while Henry remains in support of King George II.
The Rising fails at the Battle of Culloden; the Master falls in with an Irish adventurer, Colonel Francis Burke. Later, the Master is betrayed and reported dead and Henry becomes the heir to the estate. Believing it was his brother who betrayed him, Jamie and Burke take ship to the West Indies, where they are captured by a French-captained pirate ship.
Jamie goes into partnership with Captain Arnaud, and they jointly capture a galleon that was earlier seized by Captain Mendoza. They fall out and Jamie kills Arnaud, claiming command of the ship. They sail for Scotland.
Jamie returns to the family estate, now rich with piratical treasure and is initially not recognised. He confronts his brother Henry, now engaged to Lady Alison, Jamie's original intended, and a fight ensues between Burke and Jamie and Redcoat officers. The unequal fight ends with Jamie and Burke condemned to death. But they are enabled to escape by Jessie Brown, who originally betrayed Jamie, with Henry's help. Alison elects to come with them.
Jamie, Alison and Burke gallop off into the sunset to an uncertain future.
[edit] Cast
- Errol Flynn as Jamie Durie
- Roger Livesey as Colonel Francis Burke
- Anthony Steel as Henry Durie
- Beatrice Campbell as Lady Alison
- Yvonne Furneaux as Jessie Brown
- Felix Aylmer as Lord Durrisdeer
- Mervyn Johns as MacKellar
- Charles Goldner as Captain Mendoza
- Ralph Truman as Major Clarendon
- Francis De Wolff as Matthew Bull
- Jacques Berthier as Captain Arnaud
[edit] External links
- The Master of Ballantrae at the TCM Movie Database
- The Master of Ballantrae at the Internet Movie Database
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