Robin Hood at the Movies: 06 “Rogues of Sherwood Forest” 1950.

 

King John is out to prevent the Magna Carta. He knows The Earl of Huntingdon, son of Robin Hood, will oppose him. Huntingdon is soon to joust against Sir Baldrick at a festival, so the King has his armour tampered with, that Baldrick can kill him. The plan does not end well for Baldrick, and Huntingdon thinks Lady Marian, seated next to the King, must have known in advance of this attempt on his life.

King John is still angry about his past encounters with the original Robin Hood, and decides to punish his son, Huntingdon. Huntingdon, with Little John, returns to Nottingham and sees excessive taxes being collected. No better to reason for a swordfight. Robin and Little John are arrested and sentenced to hang. Lady Marian, recovered from her little spat with Robin a short while previous, helps them to escape, after which the King officially declares them to be outlaws with a price on their heads.

Lord Flanders, with all his troops, is after the reward. Robin realises he needs to regroup his father’s merry men. He finds Tuck eating, Alan A Dale serenading, and Scarlet in the stocks. If the viewing audience has any doubts about them being “merry men”, the “Hey Nonny No” song they sing as they go, plus the obligatory bouts of laughter, should put their concerns at rest.

Marian is persuaded to send Robin, via carrier pigeon, the details of each day’s tax collections. Robin himself tries to garner the support of a group of barons headed for a banquet with the King. They reject Robin, not knowing that the King plans to murder them all. One survives, and is able to provide troops to support Robin against Flanders’ army, after which King John is depicted signing the Magna Carta.

It’s a poor movie. If any of the cast were to win an award it would probably go to Marian’s carrier pigeon. The whole “son of” premise raises more questions than it answers. For example, if the original Earl of Huntingdon (mentioned but not seen in this movie), had this particular Son of Robin Hood with the original Marian (not mentioned at all herein), then isn’t it a bit of a stretch for this Robin to also meet a Lady Marian? Really?

Note: Alan Hale Snr also took the role of Little John once before in “The Adventures or Robin Hood” (1938). “Rogues of” would be his final movie.