review for Robert Louis Stevenson's St. Ives on AllMovie

Now here's something you don't see everyday: A comedy farce set in 1813, with snappy one-liners, broad slapstick and loveable eccentrics. There is enough dark drama -- provided by the backdrop of war and the subplot regarding the violent brother -- to keep a certain level of intensity, but otherwise, this is a feather-light soufflé, not a heavy meal. One wonders how much the film has to do with Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, but no matter: The lushly produced and fancifully acted light-hearted romp will appeal to those who enjoy well-mounted period pieces with (brief) swashbuckling action. Dashing Jean Marc Barr exhibits shadows of early Daniel Day-Lewis and Richard E. Grant, a bit too broad at times, provides much of the comic diversion with his usual panache.