The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)
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| The Adventures of Robin Hood | |
|---|---|
 original movie poster |
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| Directed by | Michael Curtiz William Keighley |
| Produced by | Hal B. Wallis |
| Written by | Norman Reilly Raine, Seton I. Miller |
| Starring | Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | April 25, 1938 |
| Running time | 102 min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Adventures of Robin Hood is a 1938 film based on the Robin Hood legend. It stars Errol Flynn as the title character, Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marian, Basil Rathbone as Sir Guy of Gisbourne and Claude Rains as Prince John. Many film critics and historians consider it the finest of Flynn's swashbuckler movies, and one of the all-time great adventure films.
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[edit] Plot
When Richard the Lionheart, King of England, is taken captive by Leopold of Austria while returning from the Crusades, his brother John (Claude Rains) takes power and proceeds to oppress the Saxon commoners. Prince John raises their taxes, supposedly to raise Richard's ransom, but in reality to secure his own position on the throne.
One man stands in his way, Robin of Locksley (Errol Flynn). The impudent rascal goes alone to see Prince John at the castle of Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone) and announces to John's assembled supporters and a contemptuous Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland) that he will do all in his power to oppose John and restore Richard to his rightful place. He then escapes, in spite of the efforts of John's men.
Robin and Will Scarlett (Patric Knowles) meet and recruit Little John (Alan Hale, Sr.), Friar Tuck (Eugene Pallette) and a band of outlaws. Soon, Prince John finds himself harassed beyond all bearing.
One day, Robin and his men capture a large party of Normans transporting the collected taxes through Sherwood Forest. Among Robin's "guests" are Gisbourne and Maid Marian. When Marian gets to know Robin better, she begins to have a change of heart. The Normans are all released, though without the money.
Prince John then comes up with a cunning scheme to capture Robin. He announces an archery tournament, with the grand prize a golden arrow to be presented by Maid Marian, knowing that Robin will be unable to resist the challenge. All goes as planned; Robin identifies himself by winning the competition and is taken prisoner. However, with Marian's help, he escapes.
Meanwhile, King Richard (Ian Hunter) returns to England disguised as a priest, but is recognized at an inn by the Bishop of the Black Canons (Montagu Love), who hurries to inform Prince John. Upon receiving the news, John and Gisbourne plot to dispose of Richard quietly before he can raise an army. Marian overhears them and writes a note warning Robin, but Gisbourne finds it and has her arrested and condemned to death for treason.
Richard and his escort travel to Sherwood Forest to find Robin. News reaches them that John intends to have himself crowned king by the Bishop of the Black Canons. Knowing that the castle is too strong to be taken by force, Robin decides to use guile, visiting the bishop and "persuading" him to include Robin and his men in his entourage. Through this ruse, they gain entry to the castle. A melee breaks out, during which Robin and Gisbourne engage in a prolonged swordfight. Gisbourne is finally slain and John is defeated. Richard is restored to the throne; he exiles his brother, pardons Robin's men and gives Robin permission to marry Marian.
[edit] Production
The film was written by Norman Reilly Raine and Seton I. Miller, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and scored by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. It was filmed in multiple California locations including Chico.
The Adventures of Robin Hood was produced at a cost of over $2 million, and was one of the few major motion pictures of the 1930s filmed in color. It was an unusually extravagant production for the Warner Bros. studio, which had made a name for itself in producing gritty, low-budget gangster films, but their adventure movies starring Flynn had generated hefty revenue and Robin Hood was created to capitalize on this. James Cagney was originally cast as Robin Hood but walked out on his contract, paving the way for Flynn.
[edit] Response
The film was well-reviewed and became the 6th highest-grossing film of the year, with just over $4 million in revenues at a time when the average ticket price was less than 25 cents. Warner Bros. was so pleased with the results that they cast Flynn in two more color epics before the decade was over: Dodge City and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex.
[edit] Legacy
Due to the movie's popularity, Errol Flynn's name and image became inextricably linked with that of Robin Hood in the public eye, even more so than Douglas Fairbanks, who had played the role previously in 1922.
The movie was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Scenes and costumes worn by the characters have been imitated and spoofed endlessly. For instance, in the Bugs Bunny animated short film, Rabbit Hood, Bugs finally meets Robin at the end of the film and is stunned to see find that it is Errol Flynn's character himself, in a spliced in clip from the feature film.
One unusual legacy of the film was launching the career of Trigger, the horse ridden by Olivia de Havilland in the film. Roy Rogers spotted the horse in the film and bought Trigger for his films. This film series made Trigger one of the most famous animals in show business.
In MythBusters, the 'Splitting an Arrow' myth test was based on the scene where Robin Hood completely split an arrow in an archery tournament. The revisit of the myth revealed that the arrow being split in the movie was made of bamboo.
[edit] Academy Awards
| Award | Person | |
| Best Editing | Ralph Dawson | |
| Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White | Carl Jules Weyl | |
| Best Score | Erich Wolfgang Korngold | |
| Nominated: | ||
| Best Picture | Hal B. Wallis Henry Blanke |
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[edit] External links
