The movie is very pretty. The production design and art direction are swell, and the filming locations are choice. Set design and decoration are fetching, and the costume design is stunning. Hair and makeup are decidedly a tad overdone, given some of the wigs on hand, but I admire the effort. Especially at its most dramatic, Tony Banks' score is enjoyable. Jack Cardiff's cinematography is sharp; Michael Winner's direction seems competent in building shots and scenes, and his editing in arranging them. From a technical standpoint, and in considering work put into the feature from behind the scenes, 'The wicked lady' is very well made.

Of course, fine as the labor may be, it is the least of what makes a film worth watching. Very importantly, I think the screenplay devised between Winner and Leslie Arliss is, generally, actually very good. A bored noblewoman becoming a highwayman and reveling in the rush of it is a great concept, and there are a lot of terrific ideas herein. While the dialogue and characters mostly just serve their purposes, they do it well, and there are some worthwhile complexities here and there. The core of the narrative is quite strong, though overall it could stand to be more tightly focused. Still, even in those instances that seem a digression, the scene writing is gratifyingly varied and dynamic, and engaging. And in those moments characterized by action, adventure, or genuine comedy, the writers' enthusiasm for sensationalism is a bit tawdrily common, yet these are the moments that are the best strength of 'The wicked lady,' not least of all as they are contrasted with more quiet drama.

Broadly speaking I feel the acting is perfectly suitable. Performances at large aren't terribly remarkable, but nor do I find fault. On the contrary, there are a few faces that stand out to me as noteworthy. Though hers is only a small (and unnamed) supporting part - and, let's face it, not written well - it's a minor joy to see Marina Sirtis take on a role that's surely among the more action-oriented of any we've seen from her, including even in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' and its feature films. It's always a pleasure to see Denholm Elliott, and if inconsistently, his role as Sir Skelton allows him to demonstrate a different side compared to what we're used to seeing. Above all, John Gielgud is an unlikely surprise in his major supporting role as Hogarth. Presupposing for a moment that all others in the cast were instructed to be very straightforward in their depictions, Gielgud didn't get the memo, for he illustrates welcome nuance and poise defying the scope of this title. Good for him!

More so than not, I think 'The wicked lady' is just what filmmaker Winner had intended from the start - a wild, fun, sometimes violent romp, constructed from a period picture. There's quite a lot to like here. Unfortunately, there's no getting around the fact that it's definitely weighed down by some aspects that just don't make the grade. I spoke of sensationalism in the scene writing, and in that I speak not least of all of a needless bounty of gratuitous nudity, frankly tasteless and crude. The movie mostly keeps a steady pace, but only after the first half hour, which seems to drag on interminably. In addition, there are some points throughout the remainder that still give the nagging feeling of being a little too long, and unnecessary. And while star Faye Dunaway accordingly mentioned in interviews that she enjoyed making this movie, to be blunt it doesn't really show in the performance she's turned in. From the beginning Dunaway would seem to adopt an appropriate air of haughty, self-confident imperiousness in portraying protagonist Barbara, but it comes across as stilted and forced, as though she were on medication at the time that dulled her senses and she had to forge through the stupor. And in the very last scene, where one would think it matters most, her acting is altogether unconvincing. It's possible my assessment is colored by having read ahead of time that Dunaway was nominated for a Golden Raspberry award for her show, and it's also possible that director Winner had a guiding hand in her approach to her scenes. Whatever the case may be, however, the result is the same, and the lead performance is lacking.

I began watching with low expectations, and those expectations were exceeded. On the balance I believe there's more value in 'The wicked lady' than it would seem to be credited with, and I really do think there's a strong foundation here for an excellent period adventure film. Regrettably, sometimes in the moments of utmost daring-do the vigor just isn't shared with the audience, and other distinct shortcomings absolutely hold it back. Why, there are some themes in the writing that deserved more exploration - but, for example, the classism that's rampant in the attitudes of Sir Skelton's fellow lords is of more use in establishing the setting than in propelling the narrative. When all is said and done I think 'The wicked lady' is entertaining, and worth a look if you chance upon it - but there's no need to go out of your way, and a small asterisk should be appended for where it stumbles. Alas.

The original 1940s version of this film, starring Margaret Lockwood is a really enjoyable campfest. This dire remake is one of the worst films I have had the misfortune to see! Being a fan of the original, I was curious to catch this version which was broadcast on satellite last night (I had not seen it previously). Viewers are expected to believe that the grandfatherly Denholm Elliot would be the object of love/lust for a beautiful young Glynis Barber and then a (totally charmless) Faye Dunaway. At times, the poor old lad has trouble getting around the set let alone keeping two women happy. Faye Dunaway is meant to be Ms. Barber's 'friend' whilst actually looking like her mother. Ms. Dunaway (even then an old broiler with the head stuck out of an aeroplane window pulled-back face look) is lusted after by Alan Bates and Oliver Tobias. The whole premise is ludicrous. Hopelessly miscast, badly acted and directed the film is a total mess and one views it with the horrible fascination of a car crash! Whether or not it is meant to be tongue in cheek I don't know, but it certainly caused a few laughs! I'm afraid that Michael Winner's crime against cinema is far worse than Captain Jerry's highway robbery so in my view it should be MW swinging from the gibbet at Tyburn!!!

Michael Winner.

Oh, Michael Winner.

He called the film "Bonnie and Clyde in the 17th century" and sure, I guess it is, but it's also filtered through the lens of, you know, Michael Winner.

And Faye Dunaway, the star of this movie agreed, saying "I really feel it will be a fun picture. A period romp, it's a mixture between Bonnie and Clyde and Tom Jones." She also claimed that it was "the only film I've ever enjoyed making," but hey, she was coming off Mommie Dearest, a movie that she found "harrowing" and critics destroyed.

Cannon sealed the dea by purchasing a film that Dunaway and her husband - and Winner's friend - Terry O'Neill had wanted to make, Duet for One, which Cannon would still make with neither involved.

As for Cannon head Menahem Golan, well it all came down to money. "Stars who would never have worked with us before are now happy to sign. We pay them peanuts - but we give them big percentages. Faye, Alan and John were happy to sign for The Wicked Lady because they have 50% of the film. And we have small overheads, so they'll get their money."

Caroline (Glynis Barber) is about to be married, so she invites her sister Barbara (Dunaway) to be her maid of honor, but within seconds she's scooped up Caroline's man, Sir Ralph Skelton (Denholm Elliott). But money don't matter tonight. She wants the thrill, so she soon hooks up with a highway robber Jerry Jackson (Alan Bates) and starts alternately having rough sex with him when she isn't stealing from the very upper crust that she's part of.

Of course, she also has a whip fight with future Deanna Troi Marina Sirtis that so upset British censors that they demanded it be removed. Winner refused to cut the notorious sequence, gathering luminaries such as Lindsay Anderson, Karel Reisz and John Schlesinger, as well as author Kingsley Amis to defend his movie. And it worked!

None of these folks had seen Winner personally cutting Sirits' costume with scissors to ensure the most skin possible.

But hey, it was Winner's dream to make this movie since he was a kid, as he'd loved the 1945 original but thought it needed more than to be set in a studio. He probably also wanted more woman on woman whip violence.

In the documentary Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, Sirtis would say that she felt that this movie could have been Winner's grab for respectability , but then he wanted so many nude women in the film.

This is the kind of movie that Sir John Gielgud picked after winning a Best Supporting Oscar for Arthur. That said - it did seem like it had some class. Some. And Winner would shoot it with cinematographer Jack Cardiff, who upset Dunaway at one point because of a camera angle issue. Cardiff got mad and demanded that Winner fire her, but Winner told him that Dunaway was the lead. So he sucked it up and made the movie. I mean, this is the man who shot The Red Shoes, The African Queen, Ghost Story and directed The Freakmaker. More class? How about a soundtrack by Tony Banks from Genesis? No?

So close to the original that that film's writer Leslie Arliss is credited as a writer, this all starts over losing a brooch in a bet and turns into a life of crime. And by crime, I mean killing villagers and both poisoning and suffocating Gielgud, who is Rasputin-like in his ability to stay alive. There's also a public hanging that - spoiler - Jackson survives, only to be murdered moments later by our female antagonist. And then she gets her heart broken.

Dunaway joked about making a sequel - Daughter of Wicked Lady - in which she would be an older and wiser Lady Barbara Skelton, who is raising a wicked daughter.

I'd watch that.