★ 7 / 10
I always enjoyed this adventure yarn when I
CinemaSerf
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…
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.
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★ 6 / 10
Splendid Swashbuckler flick based on the confrontation between Roudheads and Royalists , while successor Charles Stuart attempting to escape
ma-cortes
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…
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.
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45%
AUDIENCE
5.9/10
546
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I always skipped this one because I heard it was too campy, but its actually pretty good and unlike any other Bond film