Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson has been adapted many times and in a wide range of media. Here are all the adaptations I’ve been able to identify!
While some of the TV and film adaptations are still widely available on DVD or for streaming, and some of the radio adaptations can be purchased as CDs, others are lost to the sad obscurity of old media. I’ve linked to generally available versions of the older adaptations on Youtube or similar where available. The more recent radio adaptations are still occasionally repeated and may turn up on BBC Sounds from time to time.
Sources made use of in putting together this page:
The list of TV and film adaptations in Robert Louis Stevenson: Life, Literature and the Silver Screen by Scott Allen Nollen (1994; McFarland & Company, New York). Scanned copy available to borrow here.
Some adaptations use material from the sequel Catriona; I’ve marked these with a † where I know about them, though I have not watched/listened to all the adaptations (in fact I haven’t most of them) and can’t guarantee that all those not so marked are free of it. Some of the rest add a non-canonical female love interest for either David or Alan, and I’ve marked these likewise with a ‡.
Radio
The book was dramatised as a radio play by Olive Dehn for the BBC Home Service’s ‘Children’s Hour’ in 1940.[ref]
†Canadian broadcaster CBC Radio aired an adaptation with the title ‘The Adventures of David Balfour’ in 1942; it was adapted by Andrew Allan and narrated by John Drainie.[ref]
Kidnapped returned to ‘Children’s Hour’ in 1944 with a dramatisation by Moultrie R. Kelsall.[ref]
‘Scenes from the book’ appeared on the BBC Home Service’s ‘For the Schools’ programme in 1945, presented by Alexander Reid.[ref]
A six-part adaptation aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1949; it was dramatised by Moultrie R. Kelsall and starred Bryden Murdoch (he of the three appearances as Ewen Cameron!) as David and C. R. M. Brookes as Alan.[ref]
†CBC Radio broadcast a two-part dramatisation in 1949, again adapted by Andrew Allan.[ref][ref]
CBC Radio returned to Kidnapped in 1951 with a dramatisation of the early chapters of the book, written by Margaret Hodges and aired as part of the ‘Fun with Books’ programme in the Ontario School Broadcast.[ref] (NB both this and the 1949 CBC Radio adaptation are erroneously listed by Nollen (1994) as TV adaptations; in fact CBC Television only began broadcasting in 1952.)
Another appearance on ‘Children’s Hour’ took place in 1953, with excerpts from the book dramatised by Marion MacWilliam and Ian G. Ball.[ref]
†An abridged and dramatised reading in thirteen parts was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1968, produced by Gordon Emslie and read by Bryden Murdoch, who reprised the role of David alongside Leonard Macguire as Alan.[ref]
†A dramatisation in ten parts by Catherine L. Czerkawska was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1985, starring David Rintoul as David and Paul Young as Alan.[ref]
Another dramatisation by Catherine Czerkawska was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1994. While this one only has four parts, and the episode titles are different, the list of credits is so similar to that of the 1985 adaptation that I suspect it may simply be a partial or modified repeat of that version.[ref]
An adaptation in four parts aired on BBC Radio 4 in 2012 which, based on the available details, is probably another repeat of the 1985/1994 version.[ref]
A new radio adaptation in two parts was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016; it was dramatised by Chris Dolan and starred Owen Whitelaw as David and Michael Nardone as Alan, with an introduction by David Tennant.[ref] I reviewed this adaptation here; it is available to listen to in two parts here and here.
Television
A six-part TV adaptation was broadcast on the BBC Television Service in 1952, adapted and produced by Joy Harington and starring John Fraser as David and Patrick Troughton as Alan.[ref][ref]
Joy Harington adapted Kidnapped for the BBC again in 1956, again in six parts; this version starred Leo Maguire as David, with Patrick Troughton reprising the role of Alan.[ref][ref] A clip from this series can be seen on Youtube here.
Nollen (1994) lists two adaptations by the CBC in 1952 and 1956; but no details are given, and from the coincidence of dates I suspect these may be the BBC versions, broadcast by the CBC in Canada, rather than different adaptations.
†Not satisfied with just two attempts, Joy Harington adapted Kidnapped a third time in 1963, again for the BBC Television Service. This series had twelve episodes and starred Ian Cullen as David and Roddy McMillan as Alan.[ref][ref]
†Another TV series, produced in collaboration by several French and West German television companies, was made in 1978; it had thirteen episodes and starred Ekkehardt Belle as David and David McCallum as Alan.[ref] This series is available to watch on Youtube here.
Nollen (1994) also lists two adaptations broadcast on BBC Scotland in 1980: a feature, produced by Tom Cottar, and a serial. I’ve not been able to find these in the Radio Times archive or anywhere else, so I’m slightly sceptical of their existence.
†The BBC returned to Kidnapped in 2005, with a three-episode series starring James Anthony Pearson as David and Iain Glen as Alan.[ref][ref]
In 2013 a short comedy film based on the book and aimed at pupils studying it at school was broadcast as part of BBC Two’s ‘Ten Minute Tales’ series.[ref] It is available to watch on the BBC website in three parts here, here and here.
Film
A silent film adaptation was made in 1917, directed by Alan Crosland and starring Raymond Mckee as David and Robert Cain as Alan.[ref][ref] This film is in the public domain and is available to watch here on Wikimedia Commons. My review of it is here.
‡Another film was made in 1938, directed by Alfred L. Werker and Otto Preminger and starring Freddie Bartholomew as David and Warner Baxter as Alan.[ref] The film was recently taken down from Youtube, but can still be seen using the Wayback Machine here (the video is labelled 1948, but it is the 1938 film).
‡The novel was adapted for film again ten years later in 1948; this version was directed by William Beaudine and starred Roddy McDowall as David and Dan O’Herlihy as Alan.[ref]
Disney made a film adaptation in 1960, directed by Robert Stevenson (no relation!) and starring James MacArthur as David and Peter Finch as Alan.[ref][ref] A clip from this film, showing the siege of the round-house, can be watched on Youtube here.
†A German-language adaptation with the title ‘Schüsse unterm Galgen’ (‘Shots under the Gallows’) was made in 1968 by East German film company DEFA; it was directed by Horst Seemann and starred Werner Kanitz as David and Thomas Weisgerber as Alan.[ref]
†Another film was made in 1971, directed by Delbert Mann and starring Lawrence Douglas as David and Michael Caine as Alan.[ref] The film is available to watch on Youtube here.
‡A TV movie was made in 1995, directed by Ivan Passer and starring Brian McCardie as David and Armand Assante as Alan.[ref] This adaptation can be watched on Youtube here.
Animation
An animated TV movie version was made by Australian company Air Programs International in 1973, directed by Leif Gram.[ref]
New Zealand Television produced an animated TV movie adaptation in 1975.[ref]
†Another animated film was made by Australian company Burbank Films in 1986, starring Matthew Fargher as David and Tom Burlinson as Alan.[ref] The film is available to watch on Youtube here.
Stage
In an essay titled ‘Stevenson on the Stage’ in The Theory of the Theatre (1939; available to borrow here), Clayton Hamilton implies that Kidnapped had at that date never been adapted for the stage, and indeed states the opinion that it couldn’t be done! (Of course, this isn’t necessarily reliable; Hamilton also speaks hypothetically of adapting it for film, apparently unaware that two film adaptations already existed by 1939.) Happily, several playwrights and theatre companies have since proved Hamilton wrong.
A play with the title ‘David Balfour of Shaws’ was written by Lilian Cornelius and included in the anthology Plays for Girls and Boys, at some date before 1950.[ref]
A play with the title ‘The Kidnapping of David Balfour’ was written by Lewy Olfson and included in the anthology Classics Adapted for Acting and Reading (1970), which is available to borrow here.
†A stage adaptation of Kidnapped was performed at the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh in 1972, written by Keith Dewhurst, directed by Bob Bryden and featuring music—traditional Jacobite songs and new compositions—performed by folk-rock band Steeleye Span. Some of the songs later appeared on their album ‘Rogues in a Nation’.[ref][ref]
A stage adaptation was produced by Mull Theatre and Perth Theatre in 2003; adapted and directed by Alasdair McCrone, it starred David Fitzgerald as David and Andrew Clark as Alan, and toured to various locations in Scotland.[ref]
Pennsylvania-based theatre company People’s Light produced an adaptation (with the title slightly altered to Kidnapped!) in 2011; adapted by Ernie Joselovitz and directed by Samantha Bellomo, the play starred Aubie Merrylees as David and was performed at the Steinbright Stage, Philadelphia.[ref]
Cumbernauld Theatre Company produced a stage adaptation in 2012, adapted by Ed Robson and with a three-person cast: Scott Hoatson as David, Peter Callaghan as Alan and Alan Steele playing other roles.[ref][ref]
Another theatre adaptation was produced at the Brass Works Theatre in Bristol in 2013; this version was adapted by Bruce Fellows and directed by Adrian Harris.[ref][ref]
‡A new stage adaptation was produced by Sell-a-Door Theatre Company in 2014 and toured widely across Scotland, England and Wales. It was adapted by Ivan Wilkinson and directed by Anna Fox, and starred Stewart McCheyne as David and Simon Weir as Alan.[ref] This play incorporated live music, including traditional Jacobite folk songs.[ref]
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland produced an adaptation at the New Athenaeum Theatre in Glasgow in 2015, in partnership with the National Theatre of Scotland; the play was directed by Graham McLaren and performed by a cast of final-year acting students, with Rebekah Lumsden and Sarah Miele sharing the role of David and Jacob Vigeland and Laurie Scott likewise as Alan.[ref][ref]
The National Theatre of Scotland adapted Kidnapped for the stage in 2023; this adaptation was written by Isobel McArthur with music by Michael John McCarthy, was directed by McArthur and Gareth Nicholls and starred Ryan J. MacKay as David and Malcolm Cumming as Alan, with Kim Ismay as Frances Stevenson (the play’s narrator). The cast performed live music to accompany the action, and the play presented Alan and David’s relationship as a romantic love story.[ref] I like this play so much that I’ve dedicated a whole page to it.
Miscellaneous
The book was adapted as a graphic novel, translated into Dutch, in 1978, with the title De Ontvoering (‘The Kidnapping’).[ref]
Another graphic novel adaptation was made in 2007 as part of the celebrations of Edinburgh’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature. The text was written by Alan Grant with artwork by Cam Kennedy, and the adaptation is also available translated into Scots under the title Kidnappit.[ref]
An abridged and dramatised audiobook was produced as part of a Pocket Classics series in 1984. The recording is available here on the Internet Archive, and is slightly mysterious—I’ve not been able to find out anything more about it.
A short play script adapted from some scenes of the book appears in Social Studies Readers Theatre for Young Adults: Scripts and Script Development by Kathy Howard Latrobe, Carol Casey and Linda A. Gann (1991), a book of readers theatre plays compiled as a resource for secondary school pupils studying literature and history. A copy can be borrowed here.
There is a statue of David Balfour and Alan Breck Stewart on the Corstorphine Road in Edinburgh, sculpted by Sandy Stoddart in 2004 as a memorial to Stevenson.[ref] Here it is (my photo, taken in April 2023):
