A brash young rebel inspires a fight for freedom!
1966-10-01
N/A
110 min
Ireland 1587. Hugh O'Donnell inherits the title of The O'Donnell, the prince of Donegal, and tries to unite Ireland to make war on England. But then Hugh is kidnapped and imprisoned by the Viceroy of Ireland and held ransom for the Clans' good behavior. Hugh must escape prison and the Viceroy's villainous henchman, Captain Leeds, before he can fight.
Almost good, but <em>'The Fighting Prince of Donegal'</em> just falls short.
It goes through too many peaks and troughs to be classed as enjoyable, but I do like the vibe of the film and the idea of the premise; which begins slowly, hits a purple patch before frustratingly reverting back immediately; quite literally given how the plot 'progresses'.
The casting, meanwhile, is solid if not perfect. Peter McEnery (Hugh) and Susan Hampshire (Kathleen) both do impressive things in earlier 1960s productions <em>'The Moon-Spinners'</em> and <em>'The Three Lives of Thomasina'</em> respectively, but they don't work together here; I sense zero chemistry between them or their characters. Gordon Jackson (Capt. Leeds) is my pick of the rest.
Should've been better. 3*.
