The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952)

With King Richard away at the crusades, Prince John rules England with an iron fist and tasks the Sheriff of Nottingham with the collection of high taxes and the capture of outlaw Robin Hood.

Director:

Ken Annakin

Writer:

Lawrence Edward Watkin (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Todd, Joan Rice, Peter Finch

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Todd	...	Robin Hood
Joan Rice	...	Maid Marian
Peter Finch	...	Sheriff of Nottingham
James Hayter	...	Friar Tuck
James Robertson Justice	...	Little John
Martita Hunt	...	Queen Eleanor
Hubert Gregg	...	Prince John
Bill Owen	...	Stutely
Reginald Tate	...	Hugh Fitzooth
Elton Hayes	...	Allan-a-Dale
Anthony Eustrel	...	Archbishop of Canterbury
Patrick Barr	...	King Richard
Anthony Forwood	...	Will Scarlet
Hal Osmond	...	Much the Miller
Michael Hordern	...	Scathelock

Storyline

Young Robin Hood, in love with Maid Marian, enters an archery contest with his father at the King's palace. On the way home his father is murdered by hench men of Prince John. Robin takes up the life of an outlaw, gathering together his band of merry men with him in Sherwood Forest, to avenge his father's death and to help the people of the land that Prince John are over taxing.

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Plot Keywords:

robin hood | robin hood character | based on legend | sherwood forest | archery | 

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Taglines:

An all-live-action picture.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Family

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

Disney's Official Site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 June 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Story of Robin Hood

Filming Locations:

Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$4,578,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures, Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is Disney's first of two Robin Hood films. The second was Robin Hood (1973)

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Goofs

In one scene Maid Marian is wearing a dress with a zipper in the back. Zippers weren't invented for another thirteen centuries.

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Quotes

Maid Marian: And you, good rogue, have my gracious leave to pine and fret till my return.
Robin Hood: Oh, why should I?
Maid Marian: To please a lady.
Robin Hood: I could please myself to take up the cross and follow my king to the Holy Land.
Maid Marian: 'Twould come to the same thing in the end. Chop a few heads enough you'd come back a knight. As a knight you'd go jousting a tournament, to please a lady, and have your own head chopped off.
Robin Hood: It would be worth it.
Maid Marian: Is she so passing fair?
Robin Hood: Aye
Maid Marian: Describe her to me, Robin.
Robin Hood: Well... she's....
[...]

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Connections

Version of Robin Hood (2006)

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Soundtracks

Whistle My Love
(uncredited)
Music by George Wyle
Lyrics by Eddie Pola
Sung by Elton Hayes

User Reviews

The Story Of Robin Hood And His Merrie Men (Ken Annakin, 1952) ***

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.