''Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue'' is a 1953

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...

produced by RKO-Walt Disney British Productions which is about

Rob Roy MacGregor Robert Roy MacGregor ( gd, Raibeart Ruadh MacGriogair; 7 March 1671 – 28 December 1734) was a Scottish outlaw, who later became a folk hero. Early life Rob Roy was born in the Kingdom of Scotland at Glengyle, at the head of Loch Katrine, a ...

. It was the last Disney film released through

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

Plot

The film begins in the early 18th century with Rob Roy leading his McGregor clansmen against King George I's forces commanded by the Scottish

Duke of Argyll Duke of Argyll ( gd, Diùc Earraghàidheil) is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerfu ...

. While determined to establish order in the Highlands, Argyll is sympathetic to "the bonny blue bonnets" whom he is fighting, even refusing to unleash German mercenaries against them. A final charge by royal

dragoons Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...

scatters the clansmen but honour appears satisfied and Rob Roy returns to his village to wed his beloved Helen. The wedding celebrations are interrupted by

fencible The Fencibles (from the word ''defencible'') were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the Frenc ...

s – the private army of the Duke of Montrose who has been appointed as the King's Secretary of State for Scotland and who lacks Argyll's regard for the highlanders. All clans involved in the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts. At Braemar, Aberdeenshire, ...

are pardoned except for the McGregors. Rob Roy is arrested and the Clan McGregor is deprived of the right to use its name. Rob Roy escapes, leaping a waterfall and subsequently leads McGregor opposition to the increasingly repressive regime imposed by Montrose through his agent Killearn. During a skirmish with the fencibles McGregor's mother is killed. A fort is stormed by the clan and its garrison of royal soldiers taken prisoner. The Duke of Argyll goes to King George to plead the case for leniency for the Clan McGregor, who have been forced into rebellion. Montrose urges repression. At this crucial point Rob Roy appears at the royal court, heralded by a piper. Rob Roy's self-evident qualities quickly convince the king to pardon him and his clan. After an exchange of compliments: "Rob Roy – you are a great rogue"; "and you sire are a great king", the McGregor returns to his people and his wife.

Cast

Production

Proposed Gainsborough Versions

In 1938,

Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...

announced plans to make a Rob Roy film starring Will Fyffe,

Margaret Lockwood Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), ''Night Train to Munich' ...

and

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elec ...

directed by

Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for '' Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), ''The Third Man'' (1949), and ''Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded the ...

Leslie Arliss Leslie Arliss (6 October 1901, London – 30 December 1987, Jersey, Channel Islands) was an English screenwriter and director. He is best known for his work on the Gainsborough melodramas directing films such as '' The Man in Grey'' and ''The Wi ...

and

Curt Siodmak Curt Siodmak (August 10, 1902 – September 2, 2000) was a German-American novelist and screenwriter. He is known for his work in the horror and science fiction film genres, with such films as '' The Wolf Man'' and '' Donovan's Brain'' (the ...

wrote a script. The film was postponed due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In 1945, J. Arthur Rank, who by then owned Gainsborough, announced that he would make a film of the story, and that

Stewart Granger Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame thr ...

would star in it. However the film was not made.

Walt Disney

Disney had enjoyed success with its first live-action film, ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'' (1950), shot in England. He followed it up with two more costume adventure tales, ''

The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men ''The Story of Robin Hood'' is a 1952 action-adventure film produced by RKO- Walt Disney British Productions, based on the Robin Hood legend, made in Technicolor and filmed in Buckinghamshire, England. It was written by Lawrence Edward Watkin and ...

'' and '' The Sword and the Rose'' both directed by

Ken Annakin Kenneth Cooper Annakin, OBE (10 August 1914 – 22 April 2009) was an English film director. His career spanned half a century, beginning in the early 1940s and ending in 2002, and in the 1960s he was noticed by critics with large-scale adventu ...

and starring Richard Todd. In September 1952, Disney announced that Todd would star in a film about Rob Roy immediately after ''Sword and the Rose'', and that the film would have a budget of approximately $1.8 million. The story would be based on "history and legend" rather than the novel by Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

. (He was considering making a film about

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as ...

afterwards. ) (Another report said the script would be based on a book by Daniel Dafoe.) Todd's fee was £15,000. He said that Roy "instituted the first

protection racket A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from viol ...

." "I like history," said Disney. "It's universal. Subjects like Robin Hood and the Tudors appeal to everyone. And costumes don't date, you know. I can release these films over and over again and they won't get the kind of laugh you get from modern subjects made ten years back." When the

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribut ...

refused to loan Annakin out to Disney again, Disney chose Harold French (who had worked with Annakin on some Somerset Maugham

portmanteau film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...

s) to direct the film. ''Rob Roy'' was filmed just as ''Sword and the Rose'' was released. The casting of

Glynis Johns Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (born 5 October 1923) is a South African-born British former actress, dancer, musician and singer. Recognised as a film and Broadway icon, Johns has a career spanning eight decades, in which she appeared in more than ...

was announced in March 1953. The other lead was James Robertson Justice, who had just made ''The Sword and the Rose'' with Johns and Todd.

Shooting

''Rob Roy'' was shot on location in Scotland, including at Corriegrennan.WALT DISNEY'S Highland Fling: In "Rob Roy" 500 Scots, fresh from Korea, impersonate their ancestors to fight the most realistic battle ever filmed Berg, Louis. Los Angeles Times 27 Dec 1953: H8. Richard Todd related in his autobiography that the extras were soldiers of the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

who had just returned from the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. Todd said that as well as providing thrilling battle scenes for the viewers, the soldiers used the opportunity to enthusiastically get back at their

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

s.Todd, Richard. ''Caught in the Act'', Hutchinson, 1986. Todd also sheepishly admitted that his first scene leading a charge, led to an injury when he stepped in a rabbit hole. The soldiers only received their normal pay of seven shillings a day. The

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

received 25 shillings a day. Questions about these payments were raised in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

. Filming took place near Aberfoyle. Studio scenes were shot at

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

Release

The film premiere was the

Royal Command Performance A Royal Command Performance is any performance by actors or musicians that occurs at the direction or request of a reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Although English monarchs have long sponsored their own theatrical companies and commis ...

Film Gala on 26 October 1953 at the

Odeon Leicester Square The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...

in London.

Reception

Critical

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

described it as "a fine lot of fighting among the hills, shooting of rifles, banging of claymores, skirling of pipes and buzzing of burrs, filmed and recorded in color on the actual Scottish countryside. And while Mr. Todd is not precisely the Rob Roy that history records, he is indeed a satisfactory fabrication until a better Rob Roy comes along."

Box Office

In June 1954 Walt Disney admitted that the box office returns of this and ''The Sword in the Rose'' were "not up to expectations" in the US but they performed better in other countries and were expected to return their costs. However he pulled back on making costume pictures as a result.

References

External links

* * * * {{Harold French 1953 films 1950s historical adventure films American biographical films American historical adventure films British historical adventure films Walt Disney Pictures films Films shot at Associated British Studios Films set in Scotland Films shot in Scotland Films set in the 18th century Films set in the 1720s British biographical films Cultural depictions of Rob Roy MacGregor Films directed by Harold French Films produced by Perce Pearce Films produced by Walt Disney 1950s biographical films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films 1950s British films