Canaglia eroica

I was much amazed and surprised to watch this Sam Katzman production, directed by the swallow Howard Bretherton, an obscure grade Z film maker, I don't even speak of his two awful and boring serials: WHO'S GUILTY and MONSTER AND THE APE, the most unbearable serial ever made, also produced by Sam Katzman and millions miles away from William Witney's ones. This colorful Robin Hood adventures is much more than I expected, far better than most moviegoers could be scared of, knowing the bad reputation of Sam Katzman for this kind of stuff. Good cheap action scenes, full of battles, fights of any kind. What could we ask for?

Totally unconvincing action scenes that border on being silly. Full of moments such as the bad guys falling over because a wall hanging almost dropped on top of them and strangely they can't get up. Nothing about this movie works. The plot is paper thin and it's hard to believe they paid money for the script. My favourite worst line being "ride you devils!" Robin to his band of not very merry men. I can't remember what happened after they rode. Not very much I think. The accents aren't English and the acting poor. No care was taken. A low bar was set and not met. Not sure why I rated this as highly as a 2.

Jon Hall acquits himself fine in this standard "Robin Hood" story. This time he and his gang of foresters and rebels have to try and thwart the devious aspirations of the Baron "Gilbert" (H. B. Warner) and his sidekick "Sir Philip" (Lowell Gilmore) before the love of his life "Lady Marian" (Patricia Morison) is married off. It's colourful and quickly paced with plenty of swordplay (possibly not the most convincing, but still...) and Alan Mowbray also contributes well as the sagely and substantial "Friar Tuck". The ending is a bit daft (just how useless can loads of soldiers be against three men?) and you''ll probably not remember this for long afterwards, but it passes an hour or so amiably enough and I did quite enjoy it.

Jon Hall gets a break from the exotic Arabian Nights films he was doing during most of the Forties and gets his chance to play the legendary Robin Hood in Prince Of Thieves. He's definitely a bit more of a rogue in this Robin Hood tale than you find in most.

He rescues Maid Marian and her brother Michael Duane a pair of Saxon nobles who were waylaid in Sherwood Forest. It's the brother that's heading for his wedding to Lady Adele Jergens. However the powers that be who rule England in Richard I's absence have other ideas for some politically convenient marriages of alliance. Of course that's Prince John who is not seen in this film.

As it's only 71 minutes, barely longer than an hour we don't get too much time for character development. The Prince Of Thieves plays like an episode of the old Richard Greene Robin Hood series.

For those expecting Errol Flynn you will be disappointed.

Jon Hall is Robin Hood, Patricia Morison is Lady Marian, and Alan Mowbray is Friar Tuck in this B-movie version of the story you've encountered a zillion times.

It's directed by Howard Bretherton, a competent but not particularly notable B director of the era, and there's little here of remark, except that in the battle scene in which Robin and his Merrie Men overwhelm the forces of Prince John, the swordplay is pretty good. Not that it makes sense when the vastly outnumbered good guys are not attacked by the bad guys at every opportunity. The good part is that when the crowds are fighting, they don't wave their swords up in the air, as if they are being attacked by bats.

The Cinecolor photography has that brown, dusty look that the process was prone to in its good prints. Otherwise, there's nothing going on here, move along.