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The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Not a bad movie but badly in need of restoration. This was a very sad time in Scottish history. Charles brought years of hardship to the Highlands. His grandfather James 2nd tried to get his throne back 56 years earlier in Ireland. He landed there with a French force with the view to conquer Ireland, then Scotland & England. Causing hardship at the Siege of Londonderry, he was finally defeated at the Battle of the Boyne. This crazy ex king & then his nutty grandson 56 years later caused the misery of thousands of people. Charles could not even speak Gaelic, the language of the highlanders. His English was'not very good either.

This movie is excellent - I've been looking for a copy for ages but do not know where to purchase it from. Can you help! I am very interested in Scottish History and find this movie contains all the ingredients I enjoy in a movie. Prince Charles of Scotland was the rightful heir to the throne of England but was duped out of the throne by his English relatives. He was a descendant of James VI of Scotland and I of England which gave him title to the throne of England. That is why he attempted to get the throne back by force. He nearly succeeded but his Army was too small and the English loyalties were elsewhere. They didn't want a Scottish King sitting on the English throne. That would have been anti-English.

Bonnie Prince Charlie was released in 1948. With its then astronomical $4 million budget, its terrific cast, and its basis in a famous old story, the film was expected to be a big hit. Alas, the film failed spectacularly and has since gained a level of notoriety as one of cinema's all-time clunkers. In spite of the fact that it flopped heavily and did incalculable damage to the British film industry, the film subsequently showed up quite frequently on British and American television, belatedly breaking even in financial terms some ten years or so after its release. How could a film about such a popular and romanticised slice of history fail to find an audience? The answer is simple: it's a very badly made film indeed.Prince Charles Stuart, aka Bonnie Prince Charlie (David Niven), is tempted back from the continent to lead an attempt by the Scottish armies to win their independence from Britain (and reinstate the House of Stuart in place of the House of Hanover). The British forces are stretched, with many soldiers committed to the War Of Austrian Succession, and it is felt that the Scots may have a real chance if they strike while the iron is hot. Charles lands in Scotland and successfully defeats the British armies sent to halt him. Aided by Lord George Murray (Jack Hawkins), Charles manages to battle his way across the border into England, getting all the way to Derby before making a controversial decision to retreat back to Scotland. The British king, George II (Martin Miller), is determined to crush this rebellion and entrusts Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (Elwyn Brook-Jones), to carry out these orders. Cumberland eventually catches up with his cousin Charlie's army at Culloden, where he wipes them out. Charles goes into hiding for several months with the help of Flora MacDonald (Margaret Leighton), and eventually makes his escape to the continent. The battle is lost, but thanks to his successful attempts to elude capture Charlie's legend lives on, inspiring generation after generation of Scottish patriots.Bonnie Prince Charlie covers most of the key events quite accurately, but the characters are not treated so truthfully. Since it is a post-war British film, the producers feel it necessary to play down the blood-thirstiness of the Duke of Cumberland's hunt for Charlie. In reality, Cumberland's men massacred many of the families and tribes that they thought might be hiding Charles, but the relentless brutality of their mission is largely disguised in this film. Similarly, Charles is turned into a poetic, heroic figure in this film – but in reality he was nowhere near as sympathetic a figure as we're led to believe here (in fact, he didn't even enjoy total support from the tribes of the Highlands). The film is a long-winded slog with its near-140 minute running time, and Niven as the titular character is somewhat miscast. Fine actor as he is, he doesn't suit this role at all well – during his "rousing" battle speeches, he speaks in a quiet, civilised tone of voice that would barely reach beyond the first two rows of his followers. The script by Clemence Dane is full of flowery dialogue, but never comes close to telling us anything about the inner character of any of these figures. And Anthony Kimmins directs the film at a royally dull pace, provoking more yawns than excitements. All things considered, it's not hard to see why Bonnie Prince Charlie is considered by modern film buffs and critics as a (rather expensive) joke.

It is difficult to imagine the producer choosing to run with such a poor script. The story of Bonnie Prince Charlie is well loved by so many and it deserved a good treatment. The script is uninteresting, the costumes are cheesy and the acting is bland, especially by David Niven as the Prince himself.The story is not well put together. I barely knew I had witnessed the end of Culloden, one of Scotland's most famous battles and that the Prince has moved on to his flight into exile. The characters do not seem to be embodying their parts well. If you like battle re-enactments, it may be worth the checking out, but historical drama this is not (neither well-done history nor dramatic).