LE PIMPERNEL À TARTAN

Screenwriter Murray Watts / A Wokenkord Production

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Donald Caskie, 'The Tartan Pimpernel', is one of the greatest Scottish heroes of faith and courage. His wartime exploits and nobility of character rank him alongside Mary Slessor, David Livingstone and Eric Liddell.

His story has never been made into a film...

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THE TARTAN PIMPERNEL: THE OPPORTUNITY

 

Donald Caskie was the minister of the Scottish Kirk in Paris when the Nazis invaded France. He is one of the most unlikely war heroes of all time. Along with Pat O’Leary and other notable British agents, he oversaw the rescue of at least 1000 British servicemen from occupied France. He was imprisoned, tried and sentenced to death - but his life was saved by a German pastor.

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His story is full of humour, adventure, extreme courage under fire and deep faith in God: all in the context of the brutal Nazi conquest of France. Donald Caskie wrote his own story in The Tartan Pimpernel, published in 1957. The book soon became an international bestseller.

 

Wovenkord has Wovenkord has taken out an exclusive option to develop the project. The screenplay has recently been written by Murray Watts.

 

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God can do more with a man on a rickety bike than a tyrant can do with armoured divisions.

Donald Caskie, The Tartan Pimpernel.

 

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TOWARDS A SCREENPLAY

 

The Tartan Pimpernel has many of the key ingredients needed for a great screenplay. There are perfect ‘bookends’ for the story, with the poignant service at the Scots Kirk in Paris as the Nazis march on the city and the final return to the Kirk after liberation. There is a structure, in Donald Caskie’s beautifully written book, which offers an excellent framework: a terrifying journey to Marseille leading to the ‘inciting incident’ of the whole drama when Caskie refuses to escape and then receives a clear call to save others in France. Everything flows from here, the daring secret work at the Seamen’s mission, the escape routes, the prison breakouts, his arrest and continuing work in Grenoble, his capture and suffering in brutal prisons, the trial, the death sentence and the astonishing reprieve through Hans Peters. The infiltration of Harold Cole, Caskie’s suspicions, the devastating betrayals and executions and the final, climactic encounter and death of Cole in Paris offer a natural through line of extreme jeopardy.

 

There are major and minor characters of great potential: notably Pat O’Leary, one of the most colourful war heroes of all, and a generous ‘gallery’ of figures for the screenwriter, providing leading roles for major actors.

 

The Scottish element, which is so fundamental to this story, is also a rich seam for a wonderful film score: there are Scottish ballads, the rousing bagpipes of the Cameron Highlanders, and the huge potential of Gaelic psalm singing which is some of the most beautiful music to be found anywhere in the world.

 

The Tartan Pimpernel is remarkable for many reasons, not least because it is a war film without battle scenes. It is easy to film in France and Scotland, using many interiors, harbours, landscapes. It is a film about people, their courage and endurance: gripping in every way but far from being an ‘action movie’ with epic scenes and special effects.

 

Finally, there is huge potential in a story of transformation: a hero who, like Donald Caskie and the quote he etched on the wall of a prison cell, has been ‘through fire and water’ and has finally discovered a new depth of faith in God and love for humanity. Caskie made much of the verse: ‘Get up and go into the city, and you will be told what to do'. (Acts 9 v 6). Like the great encounter of Saul on the road to Damascus, this humble Scottish minister believed he had been stopped in his tracks and called by God to stay in Nazi-occupied France and wait for instructions. He had no idea what would happen next… and this is why his story is so gripping and so astonishing and provides the perfect material for a great screenplay.

 

WovenKord is seeking initial investment of £250,000 for the development finance. An investment pack and a full version of this proposal and synopsis are available.