Sinful Davey
1969 film by John Huston
Sinful Davey is a 1969 picaresque adventure/crime/comedy film directed by John Huston and starring John Hurt, Pamela Franklin, and, in an early appearance, Fionnula Flanagan. Huston's daughter Anjelica Huston appears uncredited as an extra.
John Huston later said the film was "very good" but "spoiled beyond recognition" by the producers.
Plot
In a British prison in the early 1800s, Scottish rogue Davey Haggart is seen writing his memoirs while waiting to be hanged. Most of his story is told in flashback with voice-over narration by Davey. His story begins as he is seen marching and beating a drum for the British Army, but he quickly deserts by jumping off a bridge with his drum and floating away. His father had been a highwayman who was hanged at the age of 21 for attempting to rob the Duke of Argyll and that Davey is determined to exceed the number of his father's crimes. Annie, a childhood friend who is in love with him, follows him at different times, sometimes getting him out of trouble but hoping that he will reform.
Davey winds up becoming a partner with MacNab, a pickpocket and thief, sometimes teaming up with other criminals. Eventually, the two land in prison, where Davey is able to break into the women's quarters and start a raucous party with the female prisoners, led by Jean Carlisle.
The public source identifies “Sinful Davey” as 1969 film by John Huston. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Sinful, Davey and film.
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Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q855882. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1969.
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This entry incorporates text from “Sinful Davey” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.