The King's Thief
Encyclopedia
The King's Thief is a 1955 swashbuckling
adventure film
directed by Robert Z. Leonard
. Released on August 5, 1955, the film takes place in London
at the time of Charles II
and stars Ann Blyth
, Edmund Purdom
, David Niven
, and George Sanders
.
and, though innocent, is executed. Lady Mary travels to London to confront his accuser, the Duke of Brampton (Niven). While there, she meets Michael Dermott (Purdom), a highwayman
, who is also an enemy of the Duke. Dermott is in possession of the Duke's notebook, detailing all the highest ranking and richest people in kingdom. Adventure abounds as the Duke tries to retrieve his property before it can be used against him
Swashbuckler films
Swashbuckler films are an action-adventure subgenre often characterised by swordfighting and adventurous heroic characters, often set in Renaissance Western Europe with appropriately lavish costumes. Morality is often clear-cut, heroic characters are clearly heroic and even villains tend to have a...
adventure film
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
directed by Robert Z. Leonard
Robert Z. Leonard
Robert Zigler Leonard was an American film director, actor, producer and screenwriter.He was born in Chicago, Illinois...
. Released on August 5, 1955, the film takes place in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at the time of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
and stars Ann Blyth
Ann Blyth
Ann Marie Blyth is an American actress and singer, often cast in Hollywood musicals, but also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in the 1945 film Mildred Pierce was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.-Life and career:Blyth was born in Mount Kisco,...
, Edmund Purdom
Edmund Purdom
Edmund Anthony Cutlar Purdom was a British actor.-Early life:Purdom was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England and educated at St. Augustine's Abbey School, Ramsgate, then by the Jesuits at St. Ignatius Grammar School and Welwyn Garden City Grammar School...
, David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
, and George Sanders
George Sanders
George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
.
Plot
In this period film, Lady Mary's (Blyth) father is accused of treasonTreason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
and, though innocent, is executed. Lady Mary travels to London to confront his accuser, the Duke of Brampton (Niven). While there, she meets Michael Dermott (Purdom), a highwayman
Highwayman
A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...
, who is also an enemy of the Duke. Dermott is in possession of the Duke's notebook, detailing all the highest ranking and richest people in kingdom. Adventure abounds as the Duke tries to retrieve his property before it can be used against him
Cast
- Ann BlythAnn BlythAnn Marie Blyth is an American actress and singer, often cast in Hollywood musicals, but also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in the 1945 film Mildred Pierce was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.-Life and career:Blyth was born in Mount Kisco,...
... Lady Mary - Edmund PurdomEdmund PurdomEdmund Anthony Cutlar Purdom was a British actor.-Early life:Purdom was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England and educated at St. Augustine's Abbey School, Ramsgate, then by the Jesuits at St. Ignatius Grammar School and Welwyn Garden City Grammar School...
... Michael Dermott - David NivenDavid NivenJames David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
... James - Duke of Brampton - George SandersGeorge SandersGeorge Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
... Charles IICharles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War... - Roger MooreRoger MooreSir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
... Jack - John DehnerJohn DehnerJohn Dehner was an American actor in radio, television, and films, playing countless roles, often as a droll villain. Between 1941 and 1988, he appeared in over 260 films and television programs. Prior to acting, Dehner had worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios, and later became a radio...
... Captain Herrick - Sean McClorySean McClorySean McClory was an Irish actor whose career spanned six decades and included well over 100 films and television series.-Early years:...
... Sheldon - Tudor Owen ... Simon
- Melville CooperMelville CooperGeorge Melville Cooper , best known as Melville Cooper, was a British stage, film and television actor. Among his roles are the cowardly Sheriff of Nottingham in The Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn, and Mr...
... Henry Wynch - Alan MowbrayAlan MowbrayAlan Mowbray MM, , was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood.Born Alfred Ernest Allen in London, England, he served with distinction the British Army in World War I, being awarded the Military Medal for bravery...
... Sir Gilbert Talbot - Rhys WilliamsRhys Williams (actor)Rhys Williams was a Welsh character actor in movies and television, whose career spanned several decades.He made his film debut in How Green Was My Valley . This movie takes place in rural Wales with a large cast of Welsh characters, but was actually filmed in Hollywood with Canadian, American,...
... TurnkeyTurnkeyA turn-key or a turn-key project is a type of project that is constructed by a developer and sold or turned over to a buyer in a ready-to-use condition.-Common usage:... - Joan Elan ... Charity Fell
- Charles DavisCharles Davis (actor)Charles Davis was an Irish character actor.Davis was born in Dublin, Ireland. He started his acting career at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and had over 1000 performances on Broadway....
... ApothecaryApothecaryApothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers.... - Ashley Cowan ... Skene
- Ian WolfeIan WolfeIan Wolfe was an American actor whose films date from 1934 to 1990. Until 1934, he worked as a theatre actor. Wolfe mostly found work as a character actor, appearing in over 270 films...
... Fell - Paul CavanaghPaul CavanaghPaul Cavanagh was an English film actor. He appeared in over 100 films between 1928 and 1959. He was born in Chislehurst and died in London from a heart attack....
... Sir Edward Scott - Lillian Kemble-Cooper ... Mrs. Fell
- Isobel ElsomIsobel ElsomIsobel Elsom was an English screen, stage, and television actress.-Career:Born as Isobel Jeannette Reed in Cambridge, England, Elsom usually was cast as an aristocratic lady of the upper class. Over the course of three decades she appeared in 17 Broadway productions, beginning with The Ghost Train...
... Mrs. Bennett - Milton Parsons ... Adam Urich
- Jacob Hall ... Lord Layton
- Queenie LeonardQueenie LeonardQueenie Leonard was a British character actress and singer.-Early life and career:She was born as Pearl Walker in London in 1905 and began her career on stage in 1921, and debuted on film in 1931. She had already amassed 20 years of stage and screen experience when, in 1941, she made the first of...
... Apothecary's Wife - Owen McGiveney ... Hoskins
- Robert Dix ... Husky
- Michael Dugan ... Husky
- James Logan ... Guard
- Jimmy AubreyJimmy AubreyJimmy Aubrey was an English actor who worked with both Charlie Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy, having gone with Fred Karno's company to America. However he left to start on his own in Vaudeville...
... Little Man (uncredited) - Leonard CareyLeonard CareyLeonard Carey was a British-born character actor who very often played butlers in Hollywood movies of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. He was also active in television during the 1950s. He is perhaps best known for his role as "Dusty" in the 1941 film, Moon Over Her Shoulder...
... Servant (uncredited) - Leslie Denison ... Beadle (voice) (uncredited)
- Ronald Green ... Hired Swordsman (uncredited)
- Peter HansenPeter Hansen (actor)Peter Hansen is an American actor, best known for his role as a lawyer, Lee Baldwin, on the soap opera General Hospital. He played the role from 1965 to 1986 and again from 1992 to 2004...
... Isaac Newton (uncredited) - Ramsay Hill ... Lord (uncredited)
- Charles Keane ... Guard (uncredited)
- Keith McConnell ... Usher (uncredited)
- John Monaghan ... Shaddy (uncredited)
- Matt Moore ... Gentleman (uncredited)
- Clive Morgan ... Captain of Guards (uncredited)
- Vesey O'Davoren ... Courier (uncredited)
- Gordon Richards ... Courier (uncredited)
- Lewis L. RussellLewis Lord RussellLewis Lord Russell was an American actor of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s who starred in a number of vaudeville shows, Broadway dramas, and Hollywood films, including The Lost Weekend and the Marx Brothers film, A Night in Casablanca .-Early life and work:Born "George Lewis Lord" in Farmington,...
... Gentleman (uncredited) - Gilchrist Stuart ... Clerk (uncredited)
- Trevor Ward ... Perspiring Man (uncredited)
- Trude Wyler ... Celestine (uncredited)
Crew
- Robert Hardy Andrews ... Story writer
- Christopher Knopf ... writer
- Edwin H. KnopfEdwin H. KnopfEdwin H. Knopf was an American film producer, film director, and screenwriter.-Biography:He was born in New York City and went to work early in his life in the editorial department of his brother Alfred A. Knopf's publishing business.After trying his hand at acting, Edwin turned to producing in 1928...
.... producer - Miklós RózsaMiklós RózsaMiklós Rózsa was a Hungarian-born composer trained in Germany , and active in France , England , and the United States , with extensive sojourns in Italy from 1953...
... Original Music - Robert H. Planck ... CinematographyCinematographyCinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
- John McSweeney, Jr. ... Film EditingFilm editingFilm editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...
- Malcolm Brown ... Art Direction
- Cedric GibbonsCedric GibbonsAustin Cedric Gibbons was an Irish American art director who was one of the most important and influential in the field in the history of American film. He also made a great impact on motion picture theater architecture through the 1930s to 1950s, the period considered the golden-era of theater...
... Set Decoration - Richard PefferleRichard PefferleRichard Pefferle was an American set decorator. He was nominated for six Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:Pefferle was nominated for six Academy Awards for Best Art Direction:...
... Set Decoration - Edwin B. Willis ... Set Decoration
- Walter PlunkettWalter PlunkettWalter Plunkett was a prolific costume designer who worked on more than 150 projects throughout his career in the Hollywood film industry....
... Costume Design - Sydney Guilaroff .... hair stylist
- William J. Tuttle .... makeup artist
- Robert Saunders .... assistant director
- Warren Newcombe .... special effects
- Alvord Eiseman .... color consultant
- Eugene Zador .... orchestrator (uncredited)