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They might as well have called this one, The Sword and the Rose II since Richard Todd, Glynis Johns, James Robertson Justice, and Michael Gough were all in it again!
Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue tells the story (albeit a more fictionalized and legendary version) of the Scottish outlaw and folk hero, Rob Roy MacGregor. I’ll be honest, I had no idea who Rob Roy was and assumed him to be a completely fictional character. I feel his legend hasn’t entered mainstream culture as much as the English Robin Hood has.
Whatever the reason, let’s take a look at the Harold French-directed Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue!
And remember, SPOILERS AHEAD!
The film takes place during the Jacobite period of Scottish history wherein an effort was made by James Edward Stuart to regain the throne of England, Ireland, and Wales from the German, George I.
It’s not long before we’re introduced to the title character, the highlander warrior, Rob Roy MacGregor, played by Richard Todd. He’s well-liked among his clansmen and soon marries Helen Mary MacPherson, played by Glynis Johns.
The wedding celebrations are interrupted by the army of the Duke of Montrose, played by Michael Gough. Essentially the MacGregor clan hasn’t been pardoned for their role in the Jacobite rebellion and can no longer use their MacGregor name. Rob Roy is also arrested and separated from Helen and his mother, played by Jean Taylor Smith.
Rob Roy doesn’t remain in custody long though as he manages to escape. He along with his loyal clansmen fight against the Duke of Montrose’s regime. In one of the skirmishes, Rob Roy’s mother is killed.
It’s not long before tales of Rob Roy make it to London and books are published about the outlaw. The Duke of Argyll, played by James Robertson Justice, heads into London to defend Rob Roy’s actions in front of King George I, played by Eric Pohlmann. Fortunately enough, the King is a fan of Rob Roy’s and shows leniency towards him, an act despised by the Duke of Montrose.
Long story short, King George I calls Rob Roy to his palace, pardons him, and restores his clan name. The film ends with Rob Roy reuniting with Helen.
And that was Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue! This is a really hard one to rate because as you can see, there’s not all that much going on in the film. Not to mention that I found the first half of the film really hard to focus on as it just didn’t capture my attention. As a result, I apologize that my retelling of the plot is heavily “borrowed” from Wikipedia.
I guess the best way to describe this film is that it’s exactly what you’d expect this film to be. The actors’ performances are what you’d expect this film to be. The pacing is what you’d expect this film to be. The writing is what you’d expect this film to be.
It’s just a fine film with no frills or surprises. Make of that what you will.
So, my final score for this film is 21/35 = 60% (D-) !
The next review will be posted on December 10, 2024.
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I don’t ever remember seeing this movie so it’ll definitely be on my list to watch and review.
Sorry, I’m only now seeing this. I would just say, don’t have your hopes up.
I never felt the need to watch this because of how indifferent I felt towards Treasure Island and The Story of Robin Hood and how everything you said in this review is basically what I assumed. And costume dramas are generally not my go-to entertainment. Especially the overly stagey ones from the fifties.
Yeah, you’re not missing anything.
This was probably my least favorite of the three movies with this exact cast. It’s okay, but it’s so hard to care about any of the political stuff when you have no connection to any of it
I think only Richard Todd and Justice were in all three, but yeah, they may as well have had the same exact cast for Robin Hood as well!
I think you hit the nail on the head. Since I personally have no connection to any of the Scottish history and politics going on, it’s very hard to relate and feel any sort of way.
For some reason I had it in my head that Michael Gough was in there somewhere but looking at it I don’t actually know where that came from lol whoops. In my defense it’s been four or five years 😛
There plenty of movies that portray unfamiliar foreign historical events in an engaging, digestible way but this…. this is not one of them.
I’m convinced Michael Gough was supposed to be in the Robin Hood movie, lol!
I wouldn’t be surprised!
No worries. Guess they all can’t be blockbusters!