Sinful Davey 1969

In a British prison in the early 1800s, Davey Haggart John Hurt is seen writing his memoirs while awaiting execution, and the tale unfolds largely through his voice-over as a long string of flashbacks. He begins as a drummer in the British Army, marching in step, but deserts by leaping from a bridge and letting his drum drift away. His father, a highwayman, was hanged at twenty-one for attempting to rob the Duke of Argyll Robert Morley, and Davey is determined to outdo his father’s infamous record. Annie Pamela Franklin, a childhood friend who loves him, follows his path at times, pulling him back from trouble but always hoping for reform.

Davey teams with MacNab Ronald Fraser, a skilled thief, and the two drift from one petty crime to the next, sometimes joining forces with others before they end up in custody. Inside, Davey slips into the women’s quarters and starts a raucous party led by Jean Carlisle Fidelma Murphy, turning the cell into chaos. Annie’s bail frees him, but he then enables MacNab’s escape and slips back into highway robbery, chasing a family legacy rather than peace.

Constable Richardson [Nigel Davenport] tries to recruit Annie to help capture Davey, but she refuses. Davey hides in the Scottish Highlands, yet old impulses pull him toward trouble. Almost by accident, he foils an attempted assault and robbery on Sir James Graham Donal McCann, a nephew of the Duke of Argyll, who invites Davey to his uncle’s manor.

At the manor, Duke of Argyll Robert Morley and his family open their doors to him, while MacNab, Jean Carlisle, Annie, and Richardson converge on the estate at different moments. He stages an elaborate jewel caper during a grand ball hosted by the Duchess of Argyll [Maxine Audley](/actor/maxine-audley, but Annie returns the stolen jewels, complicating the thief’s plan. When Richardson recognizes Davey as the thief he has pursued, a tense chase erupts, with Davey stealing a horse and tearing away until a low-hanging tree branch knocks him from his ride.

Back in a prison cell, Davey finishes his memoirs, convinced his execution is near. Yet in a final reversal, Annie and MacNab sabotage the gallows, freeing Davey once more, and the trio rides away into the night.