Sinful Davey

An inconsequential but likeable romp, set in early 19th century Scotland and retailing the roguish adventures (allegedly based on fact) of Davey Haggart, who deserts from the army to follow his father's more romantic calling as a not very efficient highwayman, finally laid low by a hard-hit golf-ball. Huston shot it in his beloved Ireland, most of the cast boast Irish brogues, and although this hardly helps credibility, the fact that the director's tongue is firmly in cheek is definitively signalled when a proud Highlander (played by that archetypal screen Paddy, Noel Purcell) coins 'Curse me for an Irishman!' as a particularly relishable oath. A sort of ramshackle Tom Jones, occasionally tiresome but shorn of Tony Richardson's artistic pretensions, it looks attractive, is played with infectious good humour by the entire cast, and boasts an engaging performance from John Hurt as the artful dodger of the title.