Robin des Bois et ses joyeux compagnons

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.

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.

I had watched this just once growing up, as opposed to the numerous viewings allotted to the definitive 1938 Errol Flynn version, so I was curious to know how it has held up (particularly since I recently enjoyed another Walt Disney epic starring the recently-deceased Richard Todd i.e. ROB ROY, THE HIGHLAND ROGUE [1953]). As can be intimated from the rating above, my reaction to it was by and large a positive one; to begin with, the copy I acquired – even if viewed on a small TV screen – was gorgeous, making this surely among the studio's most handsome-looking live-action efforts. Another immediately striking element is the casting – modest in comparison to the earlier Warner Bros. super-production perhaps but no less capable and, more importantly, fitting to each respective character: Todd, one of the few Robins not to sport a beard(!), is suitably dashing and good-natured (though lacking the athleticism of Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks before him); incidentally, having mentioned Fairbanks – whose 1922 ROBIN HOOD was treated with such rigor as to have the semblance of authenticity – this one too would appear to want to present the 'true' story (not merely picking up from the moment King Richard – played by an unrecognizable Patrick Barr – left for the Crusades but also insisting on providing a back-story and a noble heritage for our hero – even the famous archery contest occurs prior to his having turned outlaw and, what's more, Robin is beaten by his own dad in it?!). Anyway, to get back to Todd's fellow actors, pretty Joan Rice makes for one of the youngest yet most spirited Maid Marians; among the "Merrie Men", typically, the ones to get most prominence are Little John (James Robertson Justice – who else? – but with hair dyed blond!), Friar Tuck (James Hayter and, for some odd reason, fancying himself a singer in the film's corniest scene!) – both of their introductions at least stick to the legend – and Allen-a-Dale (Elton Hayes, whose brief cinematic career seemed to be stuck playing minstrels in historical efforts!); for what it is worth, the presence of the last two mentioned constitute the film's severest drawbacks to this viewer. On the side of the wrongdoers, we get Hubert Gregg as a particularly sly (though rather youthful) Prince John and, surprisingly, Peter Finch as the Sheriff of Nottingham (effective apart from an unbecoming coiffure – incidentally, I may be watching his one other film in this vein i.e. THE DARK AVANGER aka THE WARRIORS [1955], with Errol Flynn no less, this coming week-end); by the way, another novelty to the lore which turns up here but hardly anywhere else is that of having a benign but obviously ineffective Queen Mother (a suitably regal Martita Hunt). While there is not quite the emphasis on spectacle or elaborate action set-pieces we find in other versions (though the drawbridge climax is undeniably thrilling), the film – which, at a mere 84 minutes, does not run the risk of overstaying its welcome – is very entertaining for the most part and, as I said, looks good enough to smooth over the occasional deficiency.

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

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.