Shown on Turner Classics in May 2009, this period piece opens with a narrator describing Frenchman Anatole de Keroual and his compatriots imprisoned in a British castle in Edinburg. They are digging an escape tunnel so that they can rejoin Napoleon's army. Vanessa Brown is "Floria Gilchrist", who comes to the castle to visit the prisoners. The hero de Keroual is played by Richard Ney; it appears Ney's claim to fame was making "Mrs. Miniver" with Greer Garson, who he would later marry in real life, if only for four years. The jailer is played by Henry Daniell, probably best known for his roles in Jane Eyre and numerous appearances in Sherlock Holmes films. Story by the prolific Robert Stevenson, who more famously wrote "Treasure Island" and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde". Things move pretty slowly until about halfway through, then things pick up a little. Directed by Phil Rosen; this was the last film he made, as Rosen died in 1951.
Review of The Secret of St. Ives
