The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)

The Adventures of Robin Hood
Directed by	Michael Curtiz William Keighley
Produced by	Hal B. Wallis
Written by	Norman Reilly Raine Seton I. Miller
Starring	Errol Flynn Olivia de Havilland Basil Rathbone Claude Rains Patric Knowles Eugene Pallette Alan Hale
Music by	Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Cinematography	Tony Gaudio Sol Polito
Editing by	Ralph Dawson
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	April 25, 1938
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2,000,000
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Adventures of Robin Hood is an American swashbuckler film released in 1938 and directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley. Filmed in Technicolor, the picture starred Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, and Alan Hale.

Plot

When Richard the Lionheart, the King of England, is taken captive by Leopold of Austria while returning from the Crusades, his brother John (Claude Rains) takes power and proceeds to oppress the Saxon commoners. Prince John raises their taxes, supposedly to raise Richard's ransom, but in reality to secure his own position on the throne.

One man stands in his way, Robin, the Earl of Locksley (Errol Flynn). The impudent rascal goes alone to see Prince John at the castle of Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone) and announces to John's assembled supporters and a contemptuous Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland) that he will do all in his power to oppose John and restore Richard to his rightful place. He then escapes, in spite of the efforts of John's men.

His lands and title now forfeit, Robin and Will Scarlet (Patric Knowles) take to Sherwood Forest. There they meet and recruit Little John (Alan Hale, Sr.), Friar Tuck (Eugene Pallette), Much the Miller's Son (Herbert Mundin) and a band of outlaws. Soon, Prince John and his Norman cronies find their cruelties opposed and themselves harassed beyond all bearing.

One day, Robin and his men capture a large party of Normans transporting the collected taxes through Sherwood. Among Robin's "guests" are Gisbourne, the cowardly Sheriff of Nottingham (Melville Cooper) and Maid Marian. Robin and his men "liberate" the tax money, swearing to a man to use it towards King Richard's ransom. At first, Marian is disdainful of Robin and his "band of cut-throats," but after visiting the poor and injured Robin protects and cares for, begins "to see, a little now" the justice of Robin's revolt. Robin tells the humiliated Gisbourne and Sheriff that they can thank Marian for their good fortune; in deference to her, he spares their lives.

Prince John then comes up with a cunning scheme to capture Robin. He announces an archery tournament, with the grand prize a golden arrow to be presented by Maid Marian, knowing that Robin will be unable to resist the challenge. All goes as planned; Robin identifies himself by winning the competition and is taken prisoner. Gisbourne sentences him to be hanged. However, Marian warns Robin's men, and they manage to rescue him on his way to the gallows. Later, Robin visits her to thank her for her help.

Meanwhile, King Richard (Ian Hunter) returns to England disguised as a priest, but is recognized at an inn by the Bishop of the Black Canons (Montagu Love), after he overhears one of Richard's men call him "sire". The traitorous bishop hurries to inform Prince John. Upon receiving the news, John and Gisbourne plot to dispose of Richard quietly before he can raise an army. Dickon Malbete (Harry Cording), a disgraced former knight, is sent to assassinate him. Marian overhears them and writes a note warning Robin, but Gisbourne finds it and has her arrested and condemned to death for treason.

Marian's nurse Bess (Una O'Connor) carries word of the plot and Marian's plight to Much, who intercepts and kills Dickon after a desperate struggle. Richard and his escort travel to Sherwood Forest to find Robin. News reaches them that John intends to have himself crowned king by the Bishop of the Black Canons. Knowing that the castle is too strong to take by force, Robin decides to use guile, visiting the bishop and "persuading" him to include Robin and his men in his entourage.

Through this ruse, they gain entry to the castle and interrupt John's coronation. A melee breaks out, during which Robin and Gisbourne engage in a prolonged swordfight. Gisbourne is finally slain, and Robin rescues Marian from her cell.

Richard is restored to the throne; he exiles his brother, pardons the Merry Men, returns Robin's earldom and orders him to marry Lady Marian. Robin declares, "May I obey all your commands with equal pleasure, sire!"

Cast

• Errol Flynn as Robin Hood. (James Cagney was originally cast as Robin Hood, but walked out on his contract, paving the way for Flynn.)^[1]
  • Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marian
  • Basil Rathbone as Sir Guy of Gisbourne
  • Claude Rains as Prince John
  • Patric Knowles as Will Scarlet
  • Eugene Pallette as Friar Tuck
  • Alan Hale as Little John
  • Melville Cooper as High Sheriff of Nottingham
  • Ian Hunter as King Richard the Lionheart
  • Una O'Connor as Bess
  • Herbert Mundin as Much the Miller's Son
  • Montagu Love as Bishop of the Black Canons
  • Leonard Willey as Sir Essex
  • Robert Noble as Sir Ralf
  • Kenneth Hunter as Sir Mortimer
  • Robert Warwick as Sir Geoffrey
  • Colin Kenny as Sir Baldwin
  • Lester Matthews as Sir Ivor
  • Harry Cording as Dickon Malbete
  • Howard Hill as Captain of Archers
  • Ivan F. Simpson as Proprietor of Kent Road Tavern

  Production

  The Adventures of Robin Hood was filmed on location in multiple areas of California including Chico and Pasadena as well as having several scenes shot at the Warner Bros. Burbank Studios. ^[2]

  It was produced at an estimated cost of $2 million, and was the first Warner Bros. film to be shot in the three-strip Technicolor process^[1] (one of the few major motion pictures of the 1930s to do this). It was an unusually extravagant production for the Warner Bros. studio, which had made a name for itself in producing gritty, low-budget gangster films^{[citation needed]}, but their adventure movies starring Flynn had generated hefty revenue and Robin Hood was created to capitalize on this^{[citation needed]}.

  A MythBusters episode revisited Robin Hood's feat of completely splitting the arrow of a competitor in an archery tournament, but all attempts to reproduce it failed. A close analysis of the images in slow motion suggested that the arrow split in the movie was likely made of bamboo.

  Reception

  The film was well-reviewed and became the sixth highest-grossing film of the year^{[citation needed]}, with just over $4 million in revenues, at a time when the average ticket price was less than 25 cents.^{[citation needed]} Warner Bros. was so pleased with the results that they cast Flynn in two more color epics before the decade was over^{[citation needed]}: Dodge City and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex.

  Awards

  Wins

  • 11th Academy Awards:
    • Best Art Direction, Carl Jules Weyl
    • Best Film Editing, Ralph Dawson
    • Best Original Score, Erich Wolfgang Korngold. An excerpt for violin and orchestra, the love theme of Robin and Marian has had a separate career as a concert piece.

  Nominations

  • 11th Academy Awards:
    • Best Picture, Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke

  Other honors

  • In 1995, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry.
  • In 2001, the film appeared at #100 on the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills list.

  Legacy

  

  

  Errol Flynn as Robin Hood.

  Due to the movie's popularity, Errol Flynn's name and image became inextricably linked with that of Robin Hood in the public eye, even more so than Douglas Fairbanks, who had played the role previously in 1922.

  This was the third film to pair Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland (after Captain Blood and The Charge of the Light Brigade). They would ultimately appear together in eight films.

  Scenes and costumes worn by the characters have been imitated and spoofed endlessly. For instance, in the Bugs Bunny animated short film, Rabbit Hood, Bugs is continually told by a dim-witted Little John that "Robin Hood will soon be here." When Bugs finally meets Robin at the end of the film, he is stunned to find that it is Errol Flynn, in a spliced-in clip from this film. Other parodies were Daffy Duck and Porky Pig in "Robin Hood Daffy" and Goofy and Black Pete in Goof Troop's {1/17} "Goofin' Hood & His Melancholy Men".

  Trigger (then named Golden Cloud) was the horse ridden by Olivia de Havilland in the film. Roy Rogers liked what he saw and bought Trigger for his own films. This eventually made Trigger one of the most famous animals in show business.

  References

  1. ^ ^{a b}
  2. ^ Filming locations according to IMDb.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-30.

  
  

  External links

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  v • d • e Robin Hood - The English folk tale
  Characters	Robin of Loxley  · Maid Marian  · Much the Miller's Son · Little John  · Friar Tuck  · Alan-a-Dale  · Will Scarlet · Will Stutely  · Gilbert Whitehand  · Arthur a Bland  · David of Doncaster  · a Saracen  · Sheriff of Nottingham  · Guy of Gisbourne  · The Bishop of Hereford  · Richard at the Lee
  Settings	Sherwood Forest  · Nottingham  · Loxley
  Adaptations	Popular Culture  · Film and TV

  v • d • e The films of Michael Curtiz
  1910s	The Last Bohemian • Today and Tomorrow • Captive Souls • My Husband's Getting Married • The Exile • The Borrowed Babies The Princess in a Nightrobe • Prisoner of the Night • Bánk Bán • Golddigger • One Who Is Loved By Two • Seven of Spades • The Strength of the Fatherland • The Karthauzer The Black Rainbow • The Wolf • The Medic • Mr. Doctor • Master Zoard • The Red Samson • The Last Dawn • Spring in Winter • Tartar Invasion Secret of St. Job Forest • Nobody's Son • The Charlatan • A Penny's History • The Fishing Bell • Earth's Man • The Colonel • Peace's Road Jean the Tenant • The Merry Widow • Magic Waltz • A Skorpió I. • The Devil • Lulu • Lu, the Coquette • Júdás • The Ugly Boy • Alraune (with Edmund Fritz) • 99 • The Sunflower Woman • Liliom • The Lady with the Black Gloves
  1920s	Boccaccio • The Star of Damascus • The Scourge of God • Miss Tutti Frutti • Good and Evil • Mrs. Dane's Confession • Labyrinth of Horror Sodom and Gomorrah • Young Medardus • Avalanche • Nameless • A Deadly Game • General Babka Harun al Raschid • Moon of Israel • Red Heels • Cab No. 13 • The Golden Butterfly • The Third Degree • A Million Bid • The Desired Woman Good Time Charley • Tenderloin • Noah's Ark • Glad Rag Doll • Madonna of Avenue A • The Gamblers • Hearts in Exile
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  1940s	Virginia City • The Sea Hawk • Santa Fe Trail • The Sea Wolf • Dive Bomber • Captains of the Clouds • Yankee Doodle Dandy • Casablanca • Mission to Moscow • This Is the Army • Passage to Marseille • Janie • Roughly Speaking • Mildred Pierce • Night and Day • Life with Father The Unsuspected • Romance on the High Seas • My Dream Is Yours (with Friz Freleng) • Flamingo Road • The Lady Takes a Sailor
  1950s	Young Man with a Horn • Bright Leaf • The Breaking Point • Force of Arms • Jim Thorpe -- All-American • I'll See You in My Dreams The Story of Will Rogers • The Jazz Singer Trouble Along the Way • The Boy from Oklahoma • The Egyptian • White Christmas • We're No Angels The Scarlet Hour • The Vagabond King • The Best Things in Life Are Free • The Helen Morgan Story • The Proud Rebel • King Creole • The Hangman • The Man in the Net
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  Productions	Bright Lights (1935)

  de:Robin Hood, König der Vagabunden

  es:Robin de los bosques fr:Les Aventures de Robin des Bois (1938) it:La leggenda di Robin Hood nl:The Adventures of Robin Hood pl:Przygody Robin Hooda pt:The Adventures of Robin Hood ru:Приключения Робина Гуда (фильм) simple:The Adventures of Robin Hood sv:Robin Hoods äventyr (film)