After the battle of Worcester at the end of the Civil War, the main aim of Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth is to capture Charles Stuart. The future king's escape depends on the intrepid Earl ... Read allAfter the battle of Worcester at the end of the Civil War, the main aim of Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth is to capture Charles Stuart. The future king's escape depends on the intrepid Earl of Dawlish.After the battle of Worcester at the end of the Civil War, the main aim of Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth is to capture Charles Stuart. The future king's escape depends on the intrepid Earl of Dawlish.
- Martin Strangeways
- (as Michael Anderson Jnr.)
- Lady Dorset
- (as Frances Rowe)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film takes place in October 1651.
- GoofsSeveral proclamations are seen in which Oliver Cromwell is described as "Lord Protector". The film in set in 1651; Cromwell did not adopt that title until 1653.
- Quotes
Edmund Tyler: We have only your word for all this.
Parfitt: My word, sir, was good enough for the late King, it'll more than do for someone who wasn't fit to be his subject.
Colonel Beaumont: Mr. Parfitt, you're under arrest.
Parfitt: It'll be a pleasure, sir.
- SoundtracksThe Moonraker
song
Music by Laurie Johnson
Lyrics by Geoffrey Parsons
Sung by Ronnie Hilton over the Main Titles
It's the tale of Lord Protector Cromwell briefly played by John Le Mesurier and his army searching high and low for (prospective King) Charles Stuart, who is being protected by the Moonraker, a Loyalist Royalist played by the indefatigable Baker who is trying to get him safely to France. Was a time when brother was against brother over politics and religion, and rabidly too - in fact not like nowadays at all! Careless talk cost lives and no one was to be trusted, a rule not well adhered to in here though. Posh-speaking Baker falls gallantly in love with puritan Sylvia Sims; with the young and healthy as usual the rule is love conquers all. The production values and colour are excellent, the acting OK, the fight scenes bearable when not risible, the soundtrack music occasionally wobbles on the copy I've got but not too distracting and overall 'tis a very pleasant little tale well told, albeit on a low budget. Additionally there's a seemingly endless procession of British "faces" padding out the cast – Peter Arne, George Woodbridge, Marius Goring to name but a few.
If possible though because much stamina is required of the viewer what I would really recommend is to first watch the much applauded 2013 British film A Field In England which also has the English Civil War as its backdrop and then compare it to this. The more artistic and worthy film should hopefully be obvious and put this earlier British effort firmly into context. This is (literally) escapist entertainment which admirably helps keep the real world at bay for ninety minutes.
- Spondonman
- Sep 27, 2014
- How long is The Moonraker?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 22 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1