The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

When Prince John and the Norman Lords begin oppressing the Saxon masses in King Richard's absence, a Saxon lord fights back as the outlaw leader of a rebel guerrilla army.

Directors:

Michael Curtiz, William Keighley

Writers:

Norman Reilly Raine (original screen play: based upon ancient Robin Hood legends), Seton I. Miller (original screen play: based upon ancient Robin Hood legends),

Stars:

Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone

Won 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Errol Flynn	...	Robin Hood
Olivia de Havilland	...	Maid Marian
Basil Rathbone	...	Sir Guy of Gisbourne
Claude Rains	...	Prince John
Patric Knowles	...	Will Scarlett
Eugene Pallette	...	Friar Tuck
Alan Hale	...	Little John
Melville Cooper	...	High Sheriff of Nottingham
Ian Hunter	...	King Richard the Lion-Heart
Una O'Connor	...	Bess
Herbert Mundin	...	Much
Montagu Love	...	Bishop of the Black Canons
Leonard Willey	...	Sir Essex
Robert Noble	...	Sir Ralf
Kenneth Hunter	...	Sir Mortimer

Storyline

Sir Robin of Locksley, defender of downtrodden Saxons, runs afoul of Norman authority and is forced to turn outlaw. With his band of Merry Men, he robs from the rich, gives to the poor and still has time to woo the lovely Maid Marian, and foil the cruel Sir Guy of Gisbourne, and keep the nefarious Prince John off the throne.

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Plot Keywords:

prince | saxon | king | norman | outlaw | 

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Taglines:

Only the rainbow can duplicate its brilliance!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for adventure violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Robin Hood

Filming Locations:

Alhambra, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,900,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During one fight sequence, Errol Flynn was jabbed by an actor who was using an unprotected sword - he asked him why he didn't have a guard on the point. The other player apologized and explained that the director, Michael Curtiz, had instructed him to remove the safety feature in order to make the action "more exciting". Errol Flynn reportedly climbed up a gantry where Michael Curtiz was standing next to the camera, took him by the throat and asked him if he found that "exciting enough".

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Goofs

A car can be seen in the background when Will Scarlet gets off his horse to go to the aid of Much (who has just fought with Dickon Malbete).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Town Crier announcing capture of Richard: News has come from Vienna: "Leopold of Austria has seized King Richard on his return from the Crusades. Our king is being held prisoner. Nothing further is known. His Highness Prince John will make further public pronouncement tomorrow."

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Connections

Referenced in Thor (2011)

User Reviews

Easily the best ever Robin Hood film, and a contender for the best ever film.

Historically, this film is a heap of hooey. If Robin Hood ever existed, he would have lived about 150 years after the period in which the film is set. Modern historians are of the opinion that good King Richard and bad King John should be the other way around. This film should be thus regarded as fantasy.

The fact that so many Robin Hood films have been made since, and not one of them remotely measures up to The Adventures of Robin Hood shows just how good the film is.

Favourite scenes? Well, there's the scene in the great hall at Nottingham castle where Errol Flynn gives cheek to everyone. The escape, the ambush and the final showdown with Sir Guy of Gisborne. (Basil Rathbone makes a superb villain.) I'm very impressed with the sharpshooting. This was done by Howard Hill. Howard Hill appears a few times in the film. In the escape from the great hall he is the only archer among Guy of Gisburne's crossbowmen. In the archery tournament scene, he is Owen the Welshman (in spite of what it says in the credits at the end.) It has been said before, and I'll say it again: Errol Flynn did not play Robin Hood; he is Robin Hood.

Performancewise, the cast are superb, with hardly a poor performance among them.

I did at one time think that Una O'Connor was hamming it up a bit. However, I have recently worked in Buckinghamshire with a woman with exactly the same accent and - yes - exactly the same laugh. (Absolutely true). Therefore, Una O'Connor, who plays Marian's servant who resembles Chaucer's Wife of Bath, is brilliant!