8.0/10
38,875
227 user 103 critic

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Trailer
1:47 | Trailer

On Disc

at Amazon

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.

Writers:

(original screenplay: based upon ancient Robin Hood legends), (original screenplay: based upon ancient Robin Hood legends)
Won 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Captain Blood (1935)
Action | Adventure
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

After being wrongly convicted as a traitor, Peter Blood, an English physician, is sent to exile in the British colonies of the Caribbean, where he becomes a pirate.

Director: Michael Curtiz
Stars: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill
The Sea Hawk (1940)
Action | Adventure | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

Geoffrey Thorpe, a buccaneer, is hired by Queen Elizabeth I to nag the Spanish Armada. The Armada is waiting for the attack on England and Thorpe surprises them with attacks on their galleons where he shows his skills on the sword.

Director: Michael Curtiz
Stars: Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains
King Kong (1933)
Adventure | Fantasy | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

A film crew goes to a tropical island for an exotic location shoot and discovers a colossal giant gorilla who takes a shine to their female blonde star. Then he's captured and brought back to New York City for public exhibition.

Directors: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack
Stars: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot
Stagecoach (1939)
Adventure | Romance | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

A group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.

Director: John Ford
Stars: John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine
Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Dr. Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds his monster a mate.

Director: James Whale
Stars: Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive
Adventure | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

In Africa during WWI, a gin-swilling riverboat captain is persuaded by a strait-laced missionary to use his boat to attack an enemy warship.

Director: John Huston
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley
Comedy | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

While trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby.

Director: Howard Hawks
Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Charles Ruggles
Frankenstein (1931)
Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

An obsessed scientist assembles a living being from parts of exhumed corpses.

Director: James Whale
Stars: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff
Certificate: Passed Mystery | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

While traveling in continental Europe, a rich young playgirl realizes that an elderly lady seems to have disappeared from the train.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas
Comedy | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X  

When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.

Director: George Cukor
Stars: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart
The Searchers (1956)
Adventure | Drama | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

A Civil War veteran embarks on a journey to rescue his niece from an Indian tribe.

Director: John Ford
Stars: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles
Dodge City (1939)
Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

A Texas cattle agent witnesses first hand, the brutal lawlessness of Dodge City and takes the job of sheriff to clean the town up.

Director: Michael Curtiz
Stars: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Ann Sheridan
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Herbert Mundin ...
...
Bishop of the Black Canons
Leonard Willey ...
Sir Essex
Robert Noble ...
Sir Ralf
Kenneth Hunter ...
Sir Mortimer
Edit

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. Written by Little Pine Weasel <kristinat@cerritos.edu>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

prince | saxon | king | norman | outlaw | See All (164) »

Taglines:

Only the rainbow can duplicate its brilliance! See more »


Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for adventure violence | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

14 May 1938 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Robin Hood  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$1,900,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

William Keighley immediately ran afoul of Hal B. Wallis and production executives, as well as the writers, with his insistence on starting the film with a splashy jousting tournament. Opponents of the idea felt that it would set the picture seriously off balance by placing the biggest scene at the beginning. Besides, the story could hold up quite well on its own without it. Studio production manager Tenny Wright suggested to Wallis that they let Keighley go off to Chico thinking the tournament scene would be used, then reject it toward the end of production. See more »

Goofs

At the conclusion of the final fight scene between Robin and Guy, Guy falls over the wall and lands with both arms extended. Moments later, Robin runs by Guy and Guy's arms are straight down by his side. See more »

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."
See more »

Crazy Credits

Opening card: "In the year of Our Lord 1191 when Richard, the Lion-Heart, set forth to drive the infidels from the Holy Land, he gave the Regency of his Kingdom to his trusted friend, Longchamps, instead of to his treacherous brother, Prince John.

Bitterly resentful, John hoped for some disaster to befall Richard so that he, with the help of the Norman barons, might seize the throne for himself. And then on a luckless day for the Saxons..." See more »

Connections

Referenced in Behind the Tunes: Looney Tunes Go Hollywood (2004) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Errol Flynn was the best swashbuckler of the sound era...

Michael Curtiz received only a single Academy Award for directing the best of wartime espionage movies "Casablanca" but made great classics like "Captain Blood", "The Charge of the Light Brigade", "The Sea Hawk" and "The Adventures of Robin Hood," orchestrating enthusiastically great stars and skilled technicians... He refined with charm and elegance plot and character with fluid camera movement and exquisite lightning, mixing action with peculiar sense of humor capturing with brilliant photography the natural look of Sherwood Forest, the cool tones of Nottingham Castle and the inn at Luton with its crackling fireplace...

The film had great marvelous scenes: When Robin decides to tackle with a staff Little John (Alan Hale); Robin's swordsplay with the gallant Friar Tuck (Eugene Palette); Robin and his Forest outlaws giving a warm welcome to Lady Marian and to the treasure's wagon lead by Sir Guy and the High Sheriff ; The Archery Tournament; Robin's Merry Men entering Nottingham Castle; and the magnificent final duel, with a masterful score, between Robin & Sir Guy...

Errol Flynn was the best swashbuckler of the sound era... He was ideally cast as the Saxon knight Sir Robin of Locksley who became a rebel outlaw robbing the rich to feed the poor... With his Merry Men he saved Saxon England against Norman ambitions... His most frequent enemies were the noisy High Sheriff of Nottingham (Melvin Cooper), the evil Bishop of Black Canon (Montagu Love), the eloquent chief conspirator Sir Guy of Gasbourne, and Prince John...

Flynn's splendid figure 'leaping, jumping, scaling and swinging' made him a great leader of men sheltering the old and the helpless... He was a romantic hero 'twinkling' with malice, gallantly courting the exquisite Olivia De Havilland...

Olivia De Havilland was a pretty and delicate woman in love with a brave and reckless outlaw...

Basil Rathbone, superb as the arrogant Sir Guy of Gisbourne, spreads terror by torturing, rivaling Robin for Lady Marian...

Claude Rains was the treacherous prince John who orders his Norman knights to oppress the helpless Saxons suffocating them with thefts, and burning their farms... He vows that Robin must be captured...

Winner of 3 Academy Awards (Art Direction, Original Score and Film Editing) "The Adventures of Robin Hood" is a delighted tale of high adventure, a tale of action and colorful pageantry, a great film for all the family...


69 of 77 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Why do people slam this movie? angmc43
Secret password heard spoken in the movie mikeadams110
Now THIS was a robin hood! groundmans
My grandfather was a stuntman in this film RabidRenaissance
last scene where richard banishes John joebep
Real Arrows donovanarchmontierth
Discuss The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?