The Men of Sherwood Forest (1954)

In 1194, on his return from the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart is taken prisoner in Germany. Disguised as a troubadour, Robin Hood formulates a plan to rescue Richard but he is captured himself.

Director:

Val Guest

Writer:

Allan MacKinnon

Stars:

Don Taylor, Reginald Beckwith, Eileen Moore

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Don Taylor	...	Robin Hood
Reginald Beckwith	...	Friar Tuck
Eileen Moore	...	Lady Alys
David King-Wood	...	Sir Guy Belton
Douglas Wilmer	...	Sir Nigel Saltire
Harold Lang	...	Hubert
Ballard Berkeley	...	Walter
Patrick Holt	...	King Richard
Wensley Pithey	...	Hugo (as Winsley Pithy)
Leslie Linder	...	Little John
John Van Eyssen	...	Will Scarlett
Toke Townley	...	Father David
Vera Pearce	...	Elvira
John Stuart	...	Moraine
John Kerr	...	Brian of Eskdale

Storyline

In 1194, on his return from the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart is taken prisoner in Germany. Disguised as a troubadour, Robin Hood formulates a plan to rescue Richard but he is captured himself.

---

Plot Keywords:

year 1194 | captive | germany | robin hood character | 12th century | 

---

Taglines:

All the glory and splendour of stirring adventure!

---

Genres:

Adventure

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first film of Douglas Wilmer.

---

Connections

Referenced in Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood! (1987)

User Reviews

This Hammer production results to be a passable version based on the legendary character with spectacular fights and average production values .

Swashbuckling , action , romance and dueling in this entertaining adventure movie . Robin Hood, also known Robin O'Locksley and the Earl of Huntingdom, is probably and sadly a creation of romantic imaginations . If Robin Hood did exist, it's almost certain that he was not a Saxon , though his enemies may well have been the Norman sheriff of Nottinghan and Prince and later king John Lackland . In 13th century England, Robin Hood (Don Taylor) , the World's Most Renowned Swordsman , along with band of marauders as Little John (Leslie Linder) , Friar Tuck (Reginald Beckwith) , Will Scarlett and confront local corruption and lead an uprising against the Sheriff that will forever alter the balance of world power . Robin lives again , a hero of every villain , friend to those who have friends . The movie now opens with a prologue : 1194 A.D. England is a troubled land . King Richard the Lion Heart is a prisoner in Germany with but half his ransom paid at home . His brother Prince John is intriguing to obtain the crown himself . In the county of Nottingham Robin Hood and his outlaw band take toll from Richard travellers . And it is a bold voyager indeed who ventures to ride through Sherwood Forest . Robin riding into the forest on horseback and his identity is never revealed , being mercilessly chased by the Sheriff's men . Robin Hood pretends to avoid the killing of the King Richard and disguised as a minstrel or troubadour enters at the enemy stronghold . Robin Hood formulates a plan to rescue Richard ,but being discovered his masquerade , as he is captured himself and while the sheriff plans to eliminate him .

The movie has acceptable action sequences well staged with stylish and vitality , adventure , romance and is pretty entertaining ; however being realized in TV style and a lot of scenes set at castle interior. There are some nice action sequences including the battles in forests and the ending confrontation at the climax of the film . The movie was shot on natural sets , but mostly in studio : Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England with functional production design by Elder Wills . Colorful cinematography by Walter Harvey , it fact it was the first color film by Hammer .

The motion picture was regular but professionally directed by Val Guest . He was a craftsman expert on terror genre for Hammer production , . Val's directorial debut came in 1943 with Miss London Ltd. (1943). He has since been responsible for some of the best, mediocre and indeed worst British films of our time . He made nice science fiction movies as Quatermass experiment (1955) and sequel : Quatermass 2 , The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth(1970) , Hammer follow up to One Million Years B.C. (1966). And other movies as The Abominable Snowman (1957) , The Camp on Blood Island (1958), Expresso Bongo (1959) ,Where the Spies Are (1966) ,The Boys in Blue (1982), among others .

Other versions about this famous character are the following ones : ¨Robin Hood and his Merrie men ¨(1952) by Ken Annakin with Richard Todd and Peter Finch ; ¨Robin Hood price of thieves (1991) ¨ by Kevin Reynolds with Kevin Costner , Alan Rickman and Morgan Freeman , the same year was exhibited ¨Robin Hood¨ by John Irvin with Patrick Bergin and Uma Thurman but was a flop though the critics considered best adaptation . The classic rendition is ¨The adventures of Robin Hood¨ by Michael Curtiz with Errol Flynn and Olivia De Havilland and recent rendition Robin Hood by Ridley Scott with Russell Crowe , Oscar Isaac and Cate Blanchet.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1954 (UK)

Also Known As:

A Espada de Robin Hood

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1