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Dangerous Exile
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Dangerous Exile
Dangerous Exile is a 1957 British historical drama film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Louis Jourdan, Belinda Lee, Anne Heywood and Richard O'Sullivan. It concerns the fate of Louis XVII, who died in 1795 as a boy, yet was popularly believed to have escaped from his French revolutionary captors.
In 1795, the Duke Philippe de Beauvais smuggles his own son into the prison cell where Louis XVII is kept. Thus Louis XVII can escape unnoticed to England. Unfortunately the aerostat, steered by Duke Philippe de Beauvais, lands accidentally on a remote island. There an American spinster, Virginia Traill, takes care of the strange child. She finds the dauphin profoundly traumatised and not interested in becoming a king. Meanwhile, Louis' uncle Louis XVIII in Vienna has declared himself the new French king. In order to safeguard his claim on the throne, he sends assassins who shall murder the dauphin.
Being unaware of the exchange, he has Richard de Beauvais killed. But now the dauphin's torturers recognise that they have been deceived. Informed by a message of an English spy they send a ship to the island where the real dauphin hides. They attack the house of Virginia Traill and stop at nothing to detect the dauphin's hiding-place.
The film was based on the novel A King Reluctant by Vaughan Wilkins, which was published in 1952. The New York Times called it "a rousing, colourful tale and historically convincing."
In February 1956 Rank announced A King Reluctant would be their expensive historical picture for the year with location filming to be done in Italy, Spain and the West Indies. Sir John Davis of Rank said "We cannot copy Hollywood's spectacular epics but we can provide good stories well-made - that is the answer to television competition." (Other historical spectacles made by Rank around this time included Robbery Under Arms, Campbell's Kingdom, The One That Got Away, Seven Thunders, Windom's Way, and The Gypsy and the Gentleman and The Wind Cannot Read.)
Pat Jackson said he was offered the film to direct but turned it down as "I thought it was absolutely terrible" and claims it turned out to be a "ghastly flop".
The female lead went to Belinda Lee. It was a key early performance from Anne Heywood.
The film was shot in Pinewood Studios and on location in Cornwall starting 11 March 1957. Lee was injured when her hair caught fire during a scene. Vyvyan Holland, son of Oscar Wilde, worked on the film as a historical adviser.
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Dangerous Exile
Dangerous Exile is a 1957 British historical drama film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Louis Jourdan, Belinda Lee, Anne Heywood and Richard O'Sullivan. It concerns the fate of Louis XVII, who died in 1795 as a boy, yet was popularly believed to have escaped from his French revolutionary captors.
In 1795, the Duke Philippe de Beauvais smuggles his own son into the prison cell where Louis XVII is kept. Thus Louis XVII can escape unnoticed to England. Unfortunately the aerostat, steered by Duke Philippe de Beauvais, lands accidentally on a remote island. There an American spinster, Virginia Traill, takes care of the strange child. She finds the dauphin profoundly traumatised and not interested in becoming a king. Meanwhile, Louis' uncle Louis XVIII in Vienna has declared himself the new French king. In order to safeguard his claim on the throne, he sends assassins who shall murder the dauphin.
Being unaware of the exchange, he has Richard de Beauvais killed. But now the dauphin's torturers recognise that they have been deceived. Informed by a message of an English spy they send a ship to the island where the real dauphin hides. They attack the house of Virginia Traill and stop at nothing to detect the dauphin's hiding-place.
The film was based on the novel A King Reluctant by Vaughan Wilkins, which was published in 1952. The New York Times called it "a rousing, colourful tale and historically convincing."
In February 1956 Rank announced A King Reluctant would be their expensive historical picture for the year with location filming to be done in Italy, Spain and the West Indies. Sir John Davis of Rank said "We cannot copy Hollywood's spectacular epics but we can provide good stories well-made - that is the answer to television competition." (Other historical spectacles made by Rank around this time included Robbery Under Arms, Campbell's Kingdom, The One That Got Away, Seven Thunders, Windom's Way, and The Gypsy and the Gentleman and The Wind Cannot Read.)
Pat Jackson said he was offered the film to direct but turned it down as "I thought it was absolutely terrible" and claims it turned out to be a "ghastly flop".
The female lead went to Belinda Lee. It was a key early performance from Anne Heywood.
The film was shot in Pinewood Studios and on location in Cornwall starting 11 March 1957. Lee was injured when her hair caught fire during a scene. Vyvyan Holland, son of Oscar Wilde, worked on the film as a historical adviser.