Plot
In order to avoid the material copyrighted by Douglas Fairbanks Sr. for his 1922 Robin Hood, the scripters of this Flynn version relied on several legendary episodes that had never before been filmed, notably the battle between Robin and Little John (Alan Hale Sr., who played this part three times in his long career) and the "piggy-back" episode between Robin and Friar Tuck (Eugene Pallette). The film ties together the various ancient anecdotes with a storyline bounded by the capture in Austria of Richard the Lionheart (Ian Hunter) on one end and Richard's triumphant return to England on the other. Robin Hood is already an outlaw at the outset of the film, while Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland) is initially part of the enemy camp, as one of Prince John's (Claude Rains) entourage. Marian warms up to Robin's fight against injustice (and to Robin himself), eventually becoming a trusted ally. James Cagney was originally announced for the role of Robin Hood, just before Cagney left Warner Bros. in a salary dispute. William Keighley was the original director, but he worked too slowly to suit the tight production schedule and was replaced by Michael Curtiz (both men receive screen credit). A lengthy opening jousting sequence was shot but removed from the final print; portions of this sequence show up as stock footage in the 1957 Warners film The Story of Mankind. The chestnut-colored Palomino horse ridden by de Havilland in the Sherwood Forest scenes later gained screen stardom as Roy Rogers' Trigger. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviReview
The Adventures of Robin Hood is one of the screen's greatest adventure films and an excellent example of how the studio system's production-by-committee method could create synergistically what, in that era, likely could not have been created by any single force. The hero behind the camera is co-director Michael Curtiz, who was installed by the corporate chiefs at Warner Bros. midway through production. Curtiz had little to do, though, with the impeccably selected cast. Errol Flynn may not have been the studio's first choice, but he is the screen's greatest Robin Hood. Among the film's many pleasures, you can watch for the meticulous attention to detail that was a hallmark of Curtiz's work. Incidentally, if you're wondering how the special effects were done on the split arrow stunt, there were no special effects. The astonishing shot was performed by professional archer Howard Hill who needed only one take. ~ Richard Gilliam, RoviCast
- Errol Flynn - Robin Hood
- Olivia de Havilland - Maid Marian
- Basil Rathbone - Sir Guy of Gisbourne
- Claude Rains - Prince John
- Patric Knowles - Will Scarlett
Credit
Carl Jules Weyl - Art Director, Fred Cavens - Consultant/advisor, Howard Hill - Consultant/advisor, Milo Anderson - Costume Designer, Michael Curtiz - Director, William Keighley - Director, Ralph Dawson - Editor, Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Composer (Music Score), Leo F. Forbstein - Musical Direction/Supervision, Perc Westmore - Makeup, Tony Gaudio - Cinematographer, Sol Polito - Cinematographer, Henry Blanke - Producer, Hal B. Wallis - Producer, C.A. Riggs - Sound/Sound Designer, Seton Miller - Screenwriter, Norman Reilly Raine - Screenwriter, Walter Scott - Book Author| The Adventures of Rex and Rinty [Serial] (1935 Film), The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994 Film) | |
| The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000 Film), The Adventures of Ruth [Serial] (1919 Film) |
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