I pledged myself to do every black deed my father did, and more.
Whenever Turner Classic Movies sees fit to show a John Huston film I haven't seen before, I always make a point of capturing it on tape for later study. Such was the case earlier this month when they aired Sinful Davey, one of two films Huston made in 1969. (The other was A Walk With Love and Death, which marked the screen debut of his daughter Angelica.) An early starring role for John Hurt, Sinful Davey is a riotous comedy set in 19th century Scotland that tells the story of the son of a notorious thief who decides to follow in his old man's footsteps and even do him one or two better if possible.
For starters, he deserts the army, believing that "the trouble with the king's service is the service you have to give him." From there he hooks up with a pickpocket by the name of MacNab (Ronald Fraser) with whom he graduates to grave-robbing, but they're soon caught and sent to prison. Upon his release, he takes up the life of a highwayman and even attempts a little piracy before setting his sights on the Duke his father was unable to rob (the always-amusing Robert Morley). Along the way he's shadowed by Annie (Pamela Franklin), a girl from his village who's sweet on him and tries to get him to go straight, and a determined constable (Nigel Davenport) eager to see him meet the same end as his father, namely the end of a hangman's rope. The question is which one Hurt would actually prefer.