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.

This was an outstanding film, with superb acting, a wonderful musical score, and colourful scenes that unfold from the Disney picture book of life in the middle ages. I remember seeing it around 1956 as a 10 yer old, and was fascinated by the lives of the outlaws, sheltering in the glades of Sherwood Forest from the wicked Prince John and his cunning assistant the Sheriff of Nottingham.

The script was tight and delivered in impeccable olde English by actors who often went on to become household names in the acting profession later on in life. The beautiful scenes of woodland glades, the sun shimmering brightly as it cascaded through the trees into the outlaws' camp, brought to life the story of their fight for freedom and justice, and added a strangely surreal visual effect.

There are a number of memorable scenes, friar tuck singing with himself as he munched his capon pie among the most notable. The most captivating for me, however, was the sight of Tuck walking behind Robin and Marian out of an eerie Sherwood Forest, with the lilt of Alan A Dale's voice as he sang a pleasant, melodic little tune .

Yes, a very pleasant, uncomplicated film.

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.

This was the first version of Robin Hood that I and my siblings saw, so we judged other versions based on this Disney take. I was 9 when I saw it with my younger brother. We loved the whistling arrows warning system used in this film and we found Richard Todd, a dashing, swashbuckling Robin, in fact we became huge fans of all his works. One of our favorites was Disney's "Rob Roy, The Highland Rogue" actually filmed in Scotland. Disney was not a miser when it came to his "pet projects" and Rob Roy was one of them. The Story of Robin Hood was no exception and it was filmed on location in England, even though some shots look like matte prints. The cast, too was impressive, with James Robertson Justice a perfect, burly 'Little John', Martita Hunt as Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, James Hayter a robust 'Friar Tuck', Peter Finch as the nasty Sheriff of Nottingham, Elton Hale a charming 'Allan-a-Dale', the great Michael Hordern in a small role as 'Scathelock' and Bill Owen as 'Stutely'. The production is top notch and the film very memorable, and to me, very nostalgic.