Robin Hood und seine tollkühnen Gesellen

I watched it again last night after reading an unfavorable review. I thought it was very entertaining and very well acted. Who cares if Richard Todd wasn't 6'2"? He was indeed athletic (in his autobiography, Caught in the Act, Todd said he did his own stunts), handsome, possessed a beautiful speaking voice, had a twinkle in his eye and had daggers in them when he confronted Peter Finch at the drawbridge. Excellent job.

Errol Flynn's Robin was excellent, too. But the '38 version was big budget. Disney was able to do a lot with a lot less. I love both versions. Flynn is king of the big-budget Robins; Todd is king of the smaller production. Richard Greene was a good television Robin.

Another reason I call it a draw is because of what Todd's Robin, Rob Roy, Dambuster meant to me as a kid. He indeed was a role model. And Disney's productions were wonderful. Others I still consider heroes of the 50s include Gordon Scott and Steve Reeves. I'm sure millions of other kids from that decade would agree.

In those days, adventure, fair play and knowing right from wrong were big themes. Todd et al sure knew how to convey them.

As with 1938's "The Adventures of Robin Hood" w/ Errol Flynn and Olivia de Haviland Disney tries at making it's own version of the famous Robin Hood legend and succeeds admirably! Richard Todd is the perfect Robin Hood being a classic 1950s heartthrob and sporting a 50s haircut to boot and Joan Rice is a sweet and convincing Maid Marian. The script also presents a clever touch at including a wandering minstrel who weaves the story together in song. The only flaw I found was the overly-bright lighting causing the cinematography to be suffering a budget. But other than that, "The Story of Robin Hood" is very well-written, well-directed, well-acted and well worth the purchase of the video.

Now, this is actually worth going to some trouble to see. Probably not to everyone's taste -- the opening sequence, with a nimble-footed and saturnine Alan-a-Dale strumming the theme-song ballad, will sort out the sheep from the goats of those who simply can't stand this sort of thing -- but despite the live-action Disney label, it stands up well amongst all its predecessors and successors.

It steers a skillful and essential line between tendentious over-seriousness and pie-in-the-face humour, and contrives a fresh view on the familiar set-pieces -- the shivered arrow on the bull's-eye, Friar Tuck and the river crossing, the recruitment of Little John -- with, unusually, a sizable part for the formidable Eleanor of Aquitaine as the mother of the King and Prince John. In the title role, Richard Todd makes a charming curly-headed rogue, whose merry eyes betray his identity beneath the most enveloping of disguises, and he brings the necessary charisma and impudence to the character: this is the recognisable Robin Hood of legend, whom men follow for freedom and for the fun of it. A little easy-going, perhaps, with little of the passion against injustice that flashes beneath the laughter of Errol Flynn, but this is Disney after all.

Joan Rice is a spitfire wilful Marian, whose involvement is plausibly scripted without any anachronism; she also provides a couple of the best moments in the film, whether belabouring Robin on her fellow-travellers' behalf or silencing him with an athletic embrace at the end. James Hayter as Friar Tuck and Peter Finch as the black-avised Sheriff of Nottingham also give memorable performances -- and could that really have been avuncular Hubert Gregg, of all people, convincing us as Prince John?

My main source of irritation about this film lay in some of the archery embellishments. Every arrow-shot we see zips past with the whine of a ricocheted bullet, presumably in order to make the fights sound more exciting in the absence of gunfire, and the system of signalling by firing colour-coded arrows in relays at one another seemed not only out of place but highly risky (credibility not helped by what I surely didn't imagine as people turning round to look as they hear the arrow coming!) The distinctly unpleasant fate of the forsworn Sheriff, on the other hand, was glossed over in suspicious silence, without so much as a cry.

But caveats aside, the film scores well on sheer energy, with a healthy dash of humour. The 1967 "A Challenge for Robin Hood" (despite featuring Hayter as Friar Tuck again!) is an over-bright and sanitised Ladybird rendition; the 1990 "Robin Hood" (the non-Costner version) went the other way and overdid the historical grime. The latter is the better film, but neither of them has the enjoyability and spirit of the 1952 offering. This isn't on the same scale as the Curtiz/Keighley classic of 1938, and Todd remains an engaging boy rather than a rollicking leader of men, but it perhaps comes closest to matching the verve of its illustrious predecessor.

Personally I do not think it is as good as The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn which is the epitome of what an adventure film should be. However, it is solid and truly excellent family entertainment, if a tad too short. The locations are authentic and the Technicolour photography is very fine. The score is suitably rousing, and the script has its fair moments of wit and light-hearted humour while the story never meanders or feels dull. Ken Annakin directs briskly and there is some lively sword-fighting as well. The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men also benefits from a fine cast. Richard Todd is enjoyable as Robin Hood, and there is a tuneful Allan-a-Dale. And Joan Rice is an alluring Maid Marion. However, the best of the lot are a stately Martita Hunt, a robust James Robertson-Justice, a wicked Peter Finch and a delightful Hubert Gregg. On the whole, not quite classic status but great fun and recommended. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I remember as a small lad seeing this on Walt Disney's hour television show where he regularly segmented his feature films for broadcast. Unfortunately this Robin Hood gets overlooked next to Errol Flynn's and the silent with Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. but it has enough merit to stand on its own.

Richard Todd is a dashing Robin Hood and he was at the height of his career when he did this film for Walt Disney. Todd was a fine performer and should have had a much bigger career than he did.

The cast is filled out with a fine group of British performers. Two in my opinion really stand out. Peter Finch gets his first real exposure to American audiences as the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham. He probably had the biggest career of all the cast members.

Secondly the booming James Robertson Justice as Little John is never bad in any film he was ever in. The classic battle between Robin Hood and Little John with staffs on a log bridge was never done better.

During the 1950s this version also had competition from television where Richard Greene had a successful series for about seven years. The TV series was a good one, but this film doesn't have to yield to it either.

A fine adventure film, the kind just not being made any more.