Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writer:

David R. Schwartz (writer)

Release Date:

24 June 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Musical

Tagline:

Like we've taken the Robin Hood legend and changed the bows and arrows to machine guns! ... Like with songs yet! ... Like WILD!

Plot:

In prohibition-era Chicago, the corrupt sheriff and Guy Gisborne, a south-side racketeer, knock off the boss Big Jim...

Plot Keywords:

Orphanage | Sheriff | Robin Hood | Chicago Illinois | Pun In Title

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 nominations

Cast

Frank Sinatra	...	Robbo
Dean Martin	...	Little John
Sammy Davis Jr.	...	Will
Bing Crosby	...	Allen A. Dale
Peter Falk	...	Guy Gisborne
Barbara Rush	...	Marian Stevens
Victor Buono	...	Deputy Sheriff Alvin Potts
Hank Henry	...	Six Seconds
Robert Foulk	...	Sheriff Octavius Glick
Allen Jenkins	...	Vermin Whitouski
Jack La Rue	...	Tomatoes
Robert Carricart	...	Blue Jaw
Joseph Ruskin	...	Twitch
Phil Arnold	...	Hat Rack
Harry Swoger	...	Soupmeat

Also Known As:

Robin and the Seven Hoods (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Spain:T | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Company:

Essex Productions

Trivia:

In the film's trailer, dance director Jack Baker and director Gordon Douglas appear on the set of the film along with the stars.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Will (Sammy Davis Jr) is shooting up the casino, he fires more shots than either gun holds (12 from one, 11 from the other).

Quotes:

Guy Gisborne: I like what you're sayin', keep talkin'.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Frasier: RDWRER (#7.12)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

My Kind of Town

The Rat Pack Rules in this Riotous, Rousing, Romp!

Of all the five films they did together, the legendary Rat Pack never had a better cinematic vehicle for their talents than right here! You get the feeling, right from the start, that Frankie, Dino, Sammy, Bing, and Peter Falk weren't really acting. They were cutting loose, having a ball, and loving every minute of it. And you will, too! Not only are there the great Cahn - Van Heusen songs, including the Oscar-nominated "My Kind of Town," but there's the legendary William Daniels' excellent color photography, and Don Feld's period costumes. And, in addition to the aforementioned Rats, the performances of Barbara Rush as Marian (The script implies that her maidenly status was long since spoken for!), the underrated Robert Foulk as the corrupt Sheriff Glick, the always-funny Victor Buono as his even more nefarious Deputy, Alvin Potts, and the always funny veterans Hank Henry, Richard Bakalyan, and Phil Arnold as various lovable lowlifes.

A couple of sad footnotes connected with this film, though: The funeral scene for Edward G. Robinson's character was filmed in an actual cemetery. While there, Sinatra, whose tumultuous relations with the Kennedys were well known, came across an actual gravestone for a "John F. Kennedy, 1800 - 1878." They joked about it the rest of the day, and drew a lot of disapproving looks, until someone turned on a car radio on the afternoon of November 22, 1963! Another scene, which was never used in the finished film, was a kidnapping scene, filmed the same day as Frank Jr. was kidnapped. For a film to be entertaining and funny under these circumstances is nothing short of amazing, but "Robin and the Seven Hoods" manages to be, in the last of the Rat Pack films, and the best one of all of them!