Robin Hood at the Movies: 10 "The Son of Robin Hood", (1958).

 

Robin Hood has been dead for ten years. His son, Deering Hood, is living in Spain. Duke Del Roches is plotting to take the thrown. Baron Dorchester informs the aging men of Sherwood that Deering is coming back to England to stop Del Roches’ plan. Someone has informed Del Roches of their meeting. Their hut is surrounded, Dorchester is arrested, and Will Scarlet is killed.

The man assumed to be Deering Hood rows himself ashore in Liverpool. Once again Del Roches troops have been informed and are waiting. A swordfight ensues, during which he is suddenly assisted by a stranger who is knocked out during the fight. He carries the stranger to an inn, not realising that the body he is carrying is a girl. Little John visits, thinking the girl must be Deering Hood’s wife. However, it soon transpires that girl is actually Deering Hood, daughter of Robin Hood.

Little John takes her to Sherwood Forest. They are attacked and she proves herself a capable fighter. But they keep her sex a secret, and let the man first thought to be Deering, use her name. That man, along with herself, then visit Del Roches to learn more of his plans. He also spends the night with another Lady, killing her husband in a subsequent dual. Deering tells him she understands about “sins of the flesh” but is obviously jealous. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more complicated, the man ends up in a prison cell next to Dorchester, and reveals himself to be Dorchester’s brother, Jamie. Not long now until the swordfight finale kicks in.

There are some nice ideas in the movie: The tunnel under the castle (there are many in real life Nottingham), the Prioress informer, and the sight of a bald Alan A Dale on the torture ramp. June Laverick, as Deering Hood, Robin Hood’s daughter, is more deserving of the lead role than anyone else in the cast. A pity it wasn’t promoted that way.

Robin Hood at the Movies: 09 "The Men of Sherwood Forest", (1954).

 

King Richard is being held to ransom in Germany whilst Prince John is trying to usurp the throne. The film begins with a man in Sherwood Forest killed and robbed by outlaws. They take from him a silver model of a Saracen knight. Richard increases the reward for capturing Robin Hood, but Sir Saltire and Duke Moraine know that the silver Saracen is worth far more. Moraine wonders how he might contact Robin, just to get it.

Saltire and Moraine, in disguise, get Little John to take them to Robin Hood’s cave, where they reveal their true identity and inform him that the silver Saracen holds the secret to where King Richard is about to come ashore on his return to England. Robin agrees to help them. He soon locates the two outlaws who took the model, and who they did it for. Sir Guy of Belton is the mastermind, so Robin disguises himself as a minstrel to visit Belton Castle serenading one Lady Alys before the evening is out. Whilst they are suspicious of Robin he is kept captive. However, the message the silver Saracen holds is soon revealed. Lady Alys helps Robin escape (of course), sword fights and chases through the forest ensue, and many an arrow finds its target in the race to protect King Richard.

It’s a really good movie. Made by Hammer, it has a slightly darker feel than other Robin Hood movies of the era, in my opinion the best since Errol Flynn. A good script, with new ideas not repetitious of things gone before, and fine casting.

Robin Hood at the Movies: 08 “The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men”, (1952).

 

The story begins with Robin and Lady Marian frolicking in the forest. Marian is the daughter of the Earl of Huntingdon. The Earl is leaving for the Crusades with King Richard, and leaves Marian in the Queen mother’s care. King Richard leaves the throne in the temporary care of his brother Prince John, who in turn appoints a new Sheriff of Nottingham, with instructions to form a new ruthless “army” to collect his taxes. An archery competition for a golden arrow is set up to select the best men for this job.

Robin wins the Golden Arrow, albeit on a technicality, and gifts it to Lady Marian. He also refuses to join Prince John’s army of tax collectors, so Prince John hires archer Red Gill to assassinate him. Gill’s arrow kills Robin’s friend, Robin kills Gill in return, and so the legendary story of meeting and enlisting Little John, Friar Tuck, Stutely and Scathelock, begins.

Meanwhile, King Richard is imprisoned in Austria. The Queen mother tries to raise the ransom money, but Prince John will not help, blaming the outlaws in Sherwood Forest for loss of funds. Disguised as a boy, Marian persuades Alan A Dale to stop singing for a few minutes and take her to meet Robin Hood. She is soon persuaded Robin is loyal to King Richard, and plans to take the outlaws’ contribution to the king’s ransom to Nottingham Market, where the Sheriff is forced to add his own money to the pile.

The film’s final chapters see the Sheriff imprisoning Lady Marian, disguising his soldiers as outlaws to retrieve his money, engaging in a swordfight with Robin, and meeting a grisly end. A stranger comes to town (you’ve guessed who), with the authority to make Robin the Earl of Loxley and marry him to Marian.

Made by Disney, with family entertainment in mind, it’s one of the better Robin Hood movies, although the Alan A Dale ballads illustrating parts of the story do become tiresome. The assassin Red Gill (Archie Duncan) will be more familiar to fans as Little John in later years. Lady Marian (Joan Rice) introduces the idea of her being something of a “tom boy”; shades of Patricia Driscoll in the 1950s TV series, or Uma Thurman in 1991’s “Robin Hood”.

Robin Hood at the Movies: 07 “Tales of Robin Hood”, (1951).

 

The Earl of Chester, in his Loxley Castle, refuses to pay his taxes to the Norman overlord Sir Gui. (Correct spelling). To ensure the safety of his son, Robin, he puts him in the care of his servant Will Stutely, and sends them off to Sherwood Forest, exiting via a secret passage by the fireplace. (There’s always a secret passage). And the rest, as they say, is history.

The well know parts of the legend are here, such as Robin Hood meeting Little John over the river, the Golden Arrow competition, and all the usual members of his merry gang. It is an enjoyable low-budget romp, in black and white, apparently originally intended for TV rather than a cinema audience. (A good colorized version is now in circulation).

Robin Hood at the Movies: 03 “The Adventures of Robin Hood” (1938).

 

King Richard is taken prisoner during the Crusades. Prince John, with the help of Guy of Gisbourne, seizes the moment to take over his throne. In Sherwood Forest, Sir Robin of Loxley (already kitted up in his Lincoln Green costume!) saves Much from Gisbourne, when he is caught poaching the King’s deer.

Later, Marian, a Norman girl of high standing, is feasting with Prince John. Robin interrupts the proceedings with the dead King’s deer over his shoulders. Prince John announces he is taking over the throne from his brother Richard. That is the moment Robin decides on an outlaw life, and so the scene is set.

Little John and Friar Tuck are both recruited in the traditional river-crossing manner. Will Scarlet (wearing the reddest costume in movie history) was already a close friend. Marian, being a Norman, takes rather more persuasion. However, after the Golden Arrow competition leads to Robin Hood’s capture, it is Marian who will go to his rescue, an act which will see her locked up for treason.

A “stranger” comes to town in disguise (although the gold trimmings on his robe might be a clue!) It is, of course, King Richard. The King, Robin, and his men, descend on Nottingham, a battle which climaxes in the most famous duel to ever come out of Hollywood.

A huge commercial success, winning 3 Academy Awards, “The Adventures of Robin Hood” retains its popularity today. A colourful mix of action and romance. Perhaps a little too colourful for today’s tastes, and the speeded-up sequences are a little quaint, but the image of Errol Flynn as Robin Hood, persists.