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The Adventures of Robin Hood

The Adventures of Robin Hood is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, and Alan Hale, Sr. The film is particularly noted for its Academy Award-winning score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

The Adventures of Robin Hood
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Screenplay by
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byRalph Dawson
Music by
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2,033,000[1][2]
Box office$3,981,000[1][2]

The film was written by Norman Reilly Raine and Seton I. Miller. The storyline depicts the legendary Saxon knight Robin Hood, who in King Richard the Lionheart's absence in the Holy Land during the Crusades, fights back as the outlaw leader of a rebel guerrilla band against Prince John and the Norman lords oppressing the Saxon commoners.

The Adventures of Robin Hood has been acclaimed by critics since its release.[3] In 1995, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation by the National Film Registry.[4]

Alan Hale, Sr., who plays Little John, had played the same character in Douglas Fairbanks's 1922 version of the film and went on to play him again in Rogues of Sherwood Forest, released by Columbia in 1950, a 28-year span.[5][6]

Plot

Richard, the Norman King of England, is taken captive in 1191 by Duke Leopold while returning from the Third Crusade. Richard's treacherous brother Prince John, aided by fellow Norman Sir Guy of Gisbourne, takes the opportunity to name himself regent of England, and increases the taxes and regulations on the Saxons under the pretense of gathering ransom for Richard.

The Normans exploit and oppress the Saxons. Sir Robin of Locksley, a Saxon noble, opposes the brutality and rescues Much the Miller's Son from being executed for poaching, earning Gisbourne's ire. Robin confronts Prince John at Nottingham Castle during a banquet, telling the guests that he regards John's declaring himself regent in Richard's absence as treason. John orders Robin's execution, but he escapes and flees with Much and Will Scarlet into Sherwood Forest. In response, John seizes Robin's lands and names him an outlaw.

Much is sent to recruit men to join their band. Robin and Will meet up with John the Little on a log bridge, and after a quarterstaff contest, welcome him into their ranks. Dozens more men join Robin's band by swearing an oath to harm the rich only to aid the poor, to fight injustice, and to show courtesy to all oppressed. They start a guerrilla war against Gisbourne and John, sniping those who abuse their power.

Robin's band encounters the rotund Friar Tuck, a renowned swordsman. Tuck joins the band and assists in capturing a company of Normans bringing a shipment of food and taxes. In the company are Gisbourne, the cowardly Sheriff of Nottingham, and King Richard's ward Lady Marian; the men are humiliated at the subsequent woodland banquet, while Marian is given a seat of honor by Robin. Initially scornful, she comes to share his views when he shows her the aftermath of the Norman brutality against the Saxons. Robin sends the convoy back to Nottingham Castle, telling them that they have Marian's presence to thank for their lives being spared.

Having noted Robin's fixation on Marian during the woodland banquet, the sheriff suggests hosting an archery tournament with the Lady Marian giving out the golden arrow prize to entrap Robin. Robin enters the tournament, is recognized by his unsurpassed archery skill, and is sentenced to death. Marian aids the Merry Men in a scheme to save Robin. After his escape, he scales the palace walls to thank Marian, and the two pledge their love for one another. Marian declines Robin's offer of marriage, electing to stay and be a Saxon spy in the castle.

King Richard returns with some of his knights. The Bishop of the Black Canons sees through Richard's disguise at a roadside inn, and alerts John. John sends disgraced former knight Dickon Malbete to kill Richard, promising Dickon Robin's title and lands. Marian overhears and writes to Robin, but is found out by Gisbourne and sentenced to death. Her nursemaid, Bess, tells Much everything. Much intercepts Dickon and kills him in combat.

Richard and his men disguise themselves as Norman monks, travel through Sherwood and (as planned) are stopped by Robin. Assuring Robin they are on the king's business, Richard accepts Robin's offer of hospitality and his condemnation of the Crusades, but does not reveal his identity.

Much relays Bess' news. Robin orders his men to find and protect Richard; now sure of Robin's loyalty, Richard reveals himself. Robin and he coerce the Bishop of the Black Canons to allow them to join his monks in disguise so they can enter the castle. Once inside, Richard announces his presence, and a huge melee erupts. Robin duels with Gisbourne and kills him, freeing Marian and prompting the rest of John's men to surrender.

Back on the throne, King Richard banishes John and restores Robin's rank, promoting him to Baron of Locksley, and Earl of Sherwood and Nottingham. The king also pardons the Merry Men, and commands Robin to take Lady Marian as his wife. Robin exits the castle with Marian.

Cast

Uncredited:

Production

The Adventures of Robin Hood was produced at an estimated cost of $2 million, the most expensive film Warner Bros. had made up to that time.[7] It was also the studio's first film utilizing the three-strip Technicolor process.[8] The film was, in fact, planned to be shot in black and white for most of its development; the switch to Technicolor happened just three months before production started.[9] It was an unusually extravagant production for the Warner Bros. studio, which had made a name for itself in producing socially conscious, low-budget gangster films.[10]

Producer Hal B. Wallis is generally seen as the film's creative helmsman.[8] The first draft of the script was written by Rowland Lee, but Wallis objected to its heavily archaic and fanciful dialogue (one line he cited was "Oh my lord, tarry not too long, for I fear that in her remorse she may fling herself from the window. Some harm may befall her, I know."). At Wallis's insistence, the script was heavily rewritten to modernize the dialogue, and whether any of Lee's work survives in the completed film is unclear.[9]

The scene in which Robin Hood first meets Prince John, Guy of Gisbourne, and Maid Marian went through several iterations. Initially, the scene was to be at a jousting tournament with Robin tilting against Guy of Gisbourne, mimicking the 1922 Douglas Fairbanks production of Robin Hood, but screenwriter Norman Reilly Raine pointed out that a banquet scene would be much less expensive to produce, and so long as Technicolor was employed, would look just as lavish to the average moviegoer.[9] In another draft, instead of a deer, a slain villager was who Robin Hood brought in and dumped on Prince John's table. Wallis felt the use of a dead villager expended all the tension of the scene in "a momentary kick", and preferred the use of a deer from an earlier draft, which allowed the tension to simmer with the threat of an explosion at any moment.[9]

James Cagney was originally cast as Robin Hood, but walked out on his Warner Bros. contract, paving the way for the role to go to Errol Flynn.[8] The filming was postponed three years as a result.[11] Though Olivia de Havilland was an early frontrunner for the role of Maid Marian, for a time, the studio vacillated between Anita Louise and her for the part. De Havilland was ultimately chosen because the success of Captain Blood established the pairing of Flynn and de Havilland as a safe bet to help ensure box-office success.[9]

Location work for The Adventures of Robin Hood included Bidwell Park in Chico, California, which substituted for Sherwood Forest,[12] although one major scene was filmed at the California locations "Lake Sherwood" and "Sherwood Forest", so named because they were the location sites for the Fairbanks production of Robin Hood. Several scenes were shot at the Warner Bros. Burbank Studios and the Warner Ranch in Calabasas. The archery tournament was filmed at the former Busch Gardens,[13] now part of Lower Arroyo Park,[14] in Pasadena.

Scenes which were filmed, but not included in the final cut include the disguised King Richard brawling with Friar Tuck, and Robin riding off with Maid Marian; the latter would have been the concluding scene of the film, and appears in the theatrical trailer despite not appearing in the film itself.[9]

Stunts

All the arrows in the film were shot by professional archer Howard Hill.[9] Those shot with arrows wore clothing padded with balsa wood on protective metal plates; the metal plates prevented injury (though impact was fairly painful), and the arrows lodged into the balsa wood to create the illusion of bodily penetration.[9] Hill, although listed as the archer captain defeated by Robin, was cast as Elwen the Welshman, an archer seen shooting at Robin in his escape from Nottingham Castle, and later, defeated by Robin at the archery tournament. To win, Robin splits the arrow of Philip of Arras, a captain of the guard under Gisbourne, who had struck the bullseye. Hill did, in fact, split one arrow with another during filming (albeit while firing from a much closer range than from which Robin Hood is portrayed as shooting), but it did not look good enough on film, so the shot was redone with some effects trickery.[9] Stuntman Buster Wiles, a close friend of Errol Flynn's and his frequent on-set stand-in, maintained that the arrow-splitting stunt was carried out using an extra-large arrow (for the target) and that the second arrow had a wide, flat arrowhead and was fired along a wire. This wire can briefly be seen attached to the fletching of the arrow, in the final film. Wiles discusses the scene in his autobiography, My Days with Errol Flynn.

Flynn performed most of his own stunts in the film; exceptions include Robin jumping onto a horse with hands tied behind his back (during the hanging scene), scaling the fortress gate and coming down the other side, and a few select shots in the duel between Robin and Guy of Gisbourne.[9]

Music score

In 1938, Erich Wolfgang Korngold was conducting opera in Austria when he was asked by Warner Bros. to return to Hollywood and compose a score for The Adventures of Robin Hood.[15]: 27  Music historian Laurence E. MacDonald notes that many factors made the film a success, including its cast, its Technicolor photography, and fast-paced direction by Michael Curtiz, but "most of all, there is Korngold's glorious music".[16]: 49  Also, film historian Rudy Behlmer describes Korngold's contribution to this and his other films:

Korngold's score was a splendid added dimension. His style for the Flynn swashbucklers resembled that of the creators of late 19th-century and early 20th-century German symphonic tone poems. It incorporated chromatic harmonies, lush instrumental effects, passionate climaxes—all performed in a generally romantic manner. Korngold's original and distinctive style was influenced by the Wagnerian leitmotif, the orchestral virtuosity of Richard Strauss, the delicacy and broad melodic sweep of Puccini, and the long-line development of Gustav Mahler.[17]: 38 

In reply to Warner Bros.’ request, Korngold told studio head of production Hal B. Wallis that he was a composer of drama and the heart, and felt little connection to what he perceived as "a 90% action picture."[9] Wallis was persistent, and Korngold finally agreed to begin composing on the condition that he not have a contract, and work on a week-by-week basis so that he could withdraw if he were dissatisfied with the music he composed. However, Korngold later admitted that the real reason he changed his mind was Adolf Hitler's November 1937 meeting with Austrian ministers, which convinced Korngold that the situation was no longer safe in his home country.[9] As Korngold feared, Austria was annexed by the Nazis, and his home in Vienna was confiscated.[17]: 35  This meant that all Jews in Austria were now at risk, so Korngold stayed in America until the end of World War II.[18]

Korngold called his film scores "Opern ohne Singen", operas without singing, but otherwise approached their composition just as he would for the operatic stage. The Adventures of Robin Hood was, therefore, a large-scale symphonic work, and despite the studio music department's providing a team of orchestrators, including future Oscar-winner Hugo Friedhofer, to assist Korngold, the amount of work was immense, especially for the limited time he was given to compose. In describing this dilemma to his father, Julius Korngold, one of Vienna's foremost music critics, the elder Korngold suggested that themes from his 1920 symphonic overture "Sursum Corda" ("Lift Up Your Hearts") would serve splendidly for much of the most demanding action-scene music, and Erich agreed.

It also gave him his second Academy Award for Best Original Score and established the symphonic style that was later used in action films during Hollywood's Golden Age.[16]: 50  Modern-day epics such as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies similarly included original symphonic scores.[16]: 50  Composer John Williams has cited Korngold as his inspiration in scoring the Star Wars series.[19]: 717  The love theme of Robin and Marian went on to become a celebrated concert piece.

Reception

Contemporary reviews were highly positive. "A richly produced, bravely bedecked, romantic and colorful show, it leaps boldly to the forefront of this year's best", wrote Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times.[20] "It is cinematic pageantry at its best", raved Variety. "A highly imaginative retelling of folklore in all the hues of Technicolor, deserving handsome box office returns".[21] Film Daily called it "high class entertainment" with "excellent direction" and an "ideal choice" in the casting of Flynn.[22] "Excellent entertainment!" wrote Harrison's Reports. "Adventure, romance, comedy, and human appeal have been skilfully blended to give satisfaction on all counts ... The duel in the closing scenes between the hero and his arch enemy is the most exciting ever filmed".[23] John Mosher of The New Yorker called it "a rich, showy, and, for all its tussles, somewhat stolid affair", praising Flynn's performance and the action sequences but finding the "excellent collection" of supporting actors to be "somewhat buried under the medieval panoply".[24]Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 100% of critics gave the film a positive rating based on 46 reviews, with an average score of 8.94/10. The film is among their list of the 100 best-rated films in cinema.[25] Rotten Tomatoes summarizes the critical consensus as, "Errol Flynn thrills as the legendary title character, and the film embodies the type of imaginative family adventure tailor-made for the silver screen".[26]

Box office

The Adventures of Robin Hood became the sixth-highest grossing film of the year,[7] with just over $4 million in revenues[2] at a time when the average ticket price was less than 25 cents.[27]

According to Warner Bros records, the film earned $1,928,000 domestically and $2,053,000 overseas.[1]

In 1938, The Adventures of Robin Hood was the seventh-highest grossing film nationally in the U.S., and the highest-grossing film the same year in the southern states of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas.[28]

Warner Bros. was so pleased with the results that the studio cast Flynn in two more color epics before the end of the decade: Dodge City and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex.[29]

A sequel, Sir Robin of Locksley, was announced, but never developed.[11]

Awards and nominations

Award Category Nominee(s) Result
Academy Awards[30] Outstanding Production Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke Nominated
Best Art Direction Carl Jules Weyl Won
Best Film Editing Ralph Dawson Won
Best Original Score Erich Wolfgang Korngold Won
DVD Exclusive Awards Best Deleted Scenes, Outtakes and Bloopers Michael Crawford and Jeff Kurtti Nominated
National Film Preservation Board National Film Registry Inducted
Online Film & Television Association Awards[31] Hall of Fame – Motion Picture Inducted
Saturn Awards[32] Best DVD Classic Film Release Won

Other honors:

Legacy

The film's popularity inextricably linked Errol Flynn's name and image with that of Robin Hood in the public eye, even more so than those of Douglas Fairbanks, who had played the role in 1922.[33] The film became a benchmark for later movie adaptations of Robin Hood.

This was the third film to pair Flynn and Olivia de Havilland (after Captain Blood and The Charge of the Light Brigade). They would ultimately star together in nine films, the aforementioned and Four's a Crowd (1938), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), Dodge City (1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940), They Died with Their Boots On (1941) and Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943), although they shared no scenes in the last film.[34]

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 is continually told by a dim-witted Little John, "Don't you worry, never fear; Robin Hood will soon be here." When Bugs finally meets Robin at the end of the film, he is stunned to find that it is Errol Flynn, in a spliced-in clip from this film (he subsequently shakes his head and declares, "It couldn't be him!"). Other parodies were Daffy Duck and Porky Pig in Robin Hood Daffy and Goofy and Black Pete in Goof Troop episode "Goofin' Hood & His Melancholy Men".

The Court Jester, a musical comedy starring Danny Kaye, is in great measure a spoof of Robin Hood. Basil Rathbone even appears as the villain and has a climactic sword fight with Kaye.

Most of the Mel Brooks parody Robin Hood: Men in Tights relied on this film for its aesthetics, although the plot was almost completely a riff on Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, as well as referencing the 1973 Disney version. Mel Brooks also spoofed the Robin Hood legend in his 1975 television series When Things Were Rotten.

A fragment of one of the film's sword fighting scenes was converted to sprites by Jordan Mechner and used for his 1989 platform game Prince of Persia.[35]

Errol Flynn's acrobatic swordplay became a crucial touchstone for the light-saber duels choreography in Star Wars movies.[36]

In Disney’s 2010 animated film Tangled, the appearance and personality of Flynn Rider are partly inspired by that of Errol Flynn,[citation needed] with his surname also being used in homage.[37]

Comic adaptation

Knockout Comic (weekly picture paper • Amalgamated Press, London) No 434, June 21, 1947 – No 447, September 20, 1947 • 14 issues, 28pp in black-and-white (Drawn by Michael Hubbard)[38][39] Produced when the film was first revived after World War II, with several deviations made from the film's plot, the picture strip's storyline is generally faithful to the look and narrative of the Warner Bros.' feature. However, the famous climactic duel between Robin and Sir Guy is reduced to only a couple of panels, with Robin still dressed in his earlier monk's habit. The strip opens with a joust between Robin and Sir Guy, a scene which was in the original screenplay but was never actually filmed.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1–31 p 18 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
  2. ^ a b c Glancy, H. Mark. "Warner Bros film grosses, 1921–51." Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. March 1995
  3. ^ "Top 100 Movies of All Time – Rotten Tomatoes". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  4. ^ "25 old films honored". St. Petersburg Times. December 28, 1995. Retrieved July 22, 2009.
  5. ^ "Detail view of Movies Page". afi.com. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
  7. ^ a b Higgins, Scott (2007). Harnessing the Technicolor Rainbow: Color Design in the 1930s. University of Texas Press. pp. 138–139. ISBN 9780292779525.
  8. ^ a b c Ebert, Roger (August 17, 2003). . Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on April 30, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2007.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Behlmer, Rudy (2010). The Adventures of Robin Hood - Audio Commentary (DVD). Warner Home Video.
  10. ^ "The mobster and the movies". CNN. August 24, 2004. Retrieved July 9, 2008.
  11. ^ a b Thomas, Tony; Behlmer, Rudy; McCarty, Clifford (June 1969). The Films of Errol Flynn. Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press. pp. 62–67. ISBN 978-0806502373.
  12. ^ The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations by Tony Reeves. The Titan Publishing Group. Pg.14 . Archived from the original on 2015-06-25. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
  13. ^ Higham, Charles (1984). Sisters: The Story of Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine. Dell Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 0-440-17866-5.
  14. ^ . ABC News. May 25, 2011. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  15. ^ Thomas, Tony. Korngold: Vienna to Hollywood, Turner Entertainment (1996)
  16. ^ a b c MacDonald, Laurence E. The Invisible Art of Film Music: A Comprehensive History, Scarecrow Press (1998)
  17. ^ a b c Behlmer, Rudy. The Adventures of Robin Hood, Univ. of Wisconsin Press (1979)
  18. ^ Bernardi, Daniel. Hollywood's Chosen People: The Jewish Experience in American Cinema, Wayne State University Press (2013) p. 48
  19. ^ Hischak, Thomas S. The Encyclopedia of Film Composers, Rowman & Littlefield (2015)
  20. ^ Nugent, Frank S. (May 13, 1938). "Movie Review – The Adventures of Robin Hood". The New York Times. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  21. ^ "The Adventures of Robin Hood". Variety. New York. December 31, 1937. p. 22. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  22. ^ Daly, Phil M. (April 29, 1938). "Reviews: The Adventures of Robin Hood". Film Daily. New York. 73 (99): 8. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  23. ^ "The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains". Harrison's Reports. New York. XX (27): 74. May 7, 1938. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  24. ^ Mosher, John (May 21, 1938). "The Current Screen". The New Yorker. New York. pp. 71–72.
  25. ^ "Top 100 Movies Of All Time". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  26. ^ "The Adventures of Robin Hood". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  27. ^ Weitzman, Elizabeth (February 6, 2009). "The Depression-era gems at 1930s prices". New York Daily News. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  28. ^ "Warner Bros Film Grosses, 1921–51: the William Schaefer ledger". Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television.
  29. ^ Levy, Emanuel (September 12, 2016). "Reel/Real Impact: Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)". emanuellevy.com.
  30. ^ "The 11th Academy Awards (1939) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
  31. ^ "Film Hall of Fame Productions". Online Film & Television Association. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  32. ^ . Saturn Awards.org. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2008.
  33. ^ King, Susan (May 12, 2010). "Classic Hollywood: 100 years of Robin Hood movies". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  34. ^ "AFI Catalog of Feature Films". American Film Institute. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  35. ^ Mechner, Jordan (2011). Classic Game Postmortem: PRINCE OF PERSIA (Speech). Game Developers Conference. San Francisco. Event occurs at 38:35. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  36. ^ Robey, Tim (2015-11-24). "10 films that influenced Star Wars". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  37. ^ Hall, Sandra (2011-01-07). "Tangled". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  38. ^ David Ashford/John Allen-Clark/Steve Holland: Knockout Comic: An Illustrated Guide (CJ Publications, UK • 1997)
  39. ^ "Knockout 0434 (UK Comic Books)". Comic Book Plus. Retrieved 2020-12-26.

Notes

  1. ^ Roy Rogers admired the then-named Golden Cloud so much that he bought Trigger to use in his own films. This eventually made Trigger one of the most famous animals in show business.

External links

  • The Adventures of Robin Hood at IMDb
  • The Adventures of Robin Hood at AllMovie
  • The Adventures of Robin Hood at the TCM Movie Database
  • The Adventures of Robin Hood at the American Film Institute Catalog
  • The Adventures of Robin Hood at Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Adventures of Robin Hood at Virtual History
  • The Adventures of Robin Hood essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 ISBN 0826429777, pages 275-276 [1]

adventures, robin, hood, this, article, about, 1938, film, other, uses, disambiguation, 1938, american, technicolor, swashbuckler, film, from, warner, bros, pictures, produced, wallis, henry, blanke, directed, michael, curtiz, stars, errol, flynn, olivia, havi. This article is about the 1938 film For other uses see The Adventures of Robin Hood disambiguation The Adventures of Robin Hood is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros Pictures It was produced by Hal B Wallis and Henry Blanke directed by Michael Curtiz and stars Errol Flynn Olivia de Havilland Basil Rathbone Claude Rains Patric Knowles Eugene Pallette and Alan Hale Sr The film is particularly noted for its Academy Award winning score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold The Adventures of Robin HoodTheatrical release posterDirected byMichael CurtizScreenplay byNorman Reilly Raine Seton I Miller Rowland LeighProduced byHal B Wallis Henry BlankeStarringErrol Flynn Olivia de Havilland Basil Rathbone Claude Rains Una O ConnorCinematographyTony Gaudio Sol Polito W Howard Greene Technicolor photo Edited byRalph DawsonMusic byErich Wolfgang KorngoldColor processTechnicolorProductioncompanyWarner Bros PicturesDistributed byWarner Bros PicturesRelease dateMay 12 1938 1938 05 12 New York City Running time102 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget 2 033 000 1 2 Box office 3 981 000 1 2 The film was written by Norman Reilly Raine and Seton I Miller The storyline depicts the legendary Saxon knight Robin Hood who in King Richard the Lionheart s absence in the Holy Land during the Crusades fights back as the outlaw leader of a rebel guerrilla band against Prince John and the Norman lords oppressing the Saxon commoners The Adventures of Robin Hood has been acclaimed by critics since its release 3 In 1995 the film was deemed culturally historically or aesthetically significant by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation by the National Film Registry 4 Alan Hale Sr who plays Little John had played the same character in Douglas Fairbanks s 1922 version of the film and went on to play him again in Rogues of Sherwood Forest released by Columbia in 1950 a 28 year span 5 6 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3 1 Stunts 3 2 Music score 4 Reception 4 1 Box office 4 2 Awards and nominations 5 Legacy 6 Comic adaptation 7 See also 8 References 9 Notes 10 External linksPlot EditRichard the Norman King of England is taken captive in 1191 by Duke Leopold while returning from the Third Crusade Richard s treacherous brother Prince John aided by fellow Norman Sir Guy of Gisbourne takes the opportunity to name himself regent of England and increases the taxes and regulations on the Saxons under the pretense of gathering ransom for Richard The Normans exploit and oppress the Saxons Sir Robin of Locksley a Saxon noble opposes the brutality and rescues Much the Miller s Son from being executed for poaching earning Gisbourne s ire Robin confronts Prince John at Nottingham Castle during a banquet telling the guests that he regards John s declaring himself regent in Richard s absence as treason John orders Robin s execution but he escapes and flees with Much and Will Scarlet into Sherwood Forest In response John seizes Robin s lands and names him an outlaw Much is sent to recruit men to join their band Robin and Will meet up with John the Little on a log bridge and after a quarterstaff contest welcome him into their ranks Dozens more men join Robin s band by swearing an oath to harm the rich only to aid the poor to fight injustice and to show courtesy to all oppressed They start a guerrilla war against Gisbourne and John sniping those who abuse their power Robin s band encounters the rotund Friar Tuck a renowned swordsman Tuck joins the band and assists in capturing a company of Normans bringing a shipment of food and taxes In the company are Gisbourne the cowardly Sheriff of Nottingham and King Richard s ward Lady Marian the men are humiliated at the subsequent woodland banquet while Marian is given a seat of honor by Robin Initially scornful she comes to share his views when he shows her the aftermath of the Norman brutality against the Saxons Robin sends the convoy back to Nottingham Castle telling them that they have Marian s presence to thank for their lives being spared Having noted Robin s fixation on Marian during the woodland banquet the sheriff suggests hosting an archery tournament with the Lady Marian giving out the golden arrow prize to entrap Robin Robin enters the tournament is recognized by his unsurpassed archery skill and is sentenced to death Marian aids the Merry Men in a scheme to save Robin After his escape he scales the palace walls to thank Marian and the two pledge their love for one another Marian declines Robin s offer of marriage electing to stay and be a Saxon spy in the castle King Richard returns with some of his knights The Bishop of the Black Canons sees through Richard s disguise at a roadside inn and alerts John John sends disgraced former knight Dickon Malbete to kill Richard promising Dickon Robin s title and lands Marian overhears and writes to Robin but is found out by Gisbourne and sentenced to death Her nursemaid Bess tells Much everything Much intercepts Dickon and kills him in combat Richard and his men disguise themselves as Norman monks travel through Sherwood and as planned are stopped by Robin Assuring Robin they are on the king s business Richard accepts Robin s offer of hospitality and his condemnation of the Crusades but does not reveal his identity Much relays Bess news Robin orders his men to find and protect Richard now sure of Robin s loyalty Richard reveals himself Robin and he coerce the Bishop of the Black Canons to allow them to join his monks in disguise so they can enter the castle Once inside Richard announces his presence and a huge melee erupts Robin duels with Gisbourne and kills him freeing Marian and prompting the rest of John s men to surrender Back on the throne King Richard banishes John and restores Robin s rank promoting him to Baron of Locksley and Earl of Sherwood and Nottingham The king also pardons the Merry Men and commands Robin to take Lady Marian as his wife Robin exits the castle with Marian Cast EditErrol Flynn as Robin Hood Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marian Basil Rathbone as Guy of Gisbourne Claude Rains as Prince John Patric Knowles as Will Scarlet Eugene Pallette as Friar Tuck Alan Hale Sr as Little John Melville Cooper as High Sheriff of Nottingham Ian Hunter as King Richard the Lion Heart Una O Connor as Bess Herbert Mundin as Much Montagu Love as the Bishop of the Black Canons Leonard Willey as Sir Essex Robert Noble as Sir Ralf Kenneth Hunter as Sir Mortimer Robert Warwick as Sir Geoffrey Colin Kenny as Sir Baldwin Lester Matthews as Sir Ivor Harry Cording as Dickon Malbete Howard Hill as Captain of Archers also Elwyn the Welshman uncredited Ivan F Simpson as Proprietor of Kent Road TavernUncredited Lionel Belmore as Humility Prin proprietor of Saracens Head Tavern Charles Bennett as Peddler at Tournament Frank Hagney as Man at arms Holmes Herbert as Archery Referee Crauford Kent as Sir Norbett Carole Landis as Guest at Banquet Leonard Mudie as Town Crier Reginald Sheffield as Herald at Archery Tournament Trigger as Lady Marian s horse Note 1 Production EditThe Adventures of Robin Hood was produced at an estimated cost of 2 million the most expensive film Warner Bros had made up to that time 7 It was also the studio s first film utilizing the three strip Technicolor process 8 The film was in fact planned to be shot in black and white for most of its development the switch to Technicolor happened just three months before production started 9 It was an unusually extravagant production for the Warner Bros studio which had made a name for itself in producing socially conscious low budget gangster films 10 Producer Hal B Wallis is generally seen as the film s creative helmsman 8 The first draft of the script was written by Rowland Lee but Wallis objected to its heavily archaic and fanciful dialogue one line he cited was Oh my lord tarry not too long for I fear that in her remorse she may fling herself from the window Some harm may befall her I know At Wallis s insistence the script was heavily rewritten to modernize the dialogue and whether any of Lee s work survives in the completed film is unclear 9 The scene in which Robin Hood first meets Prince John Guy of Gisbourne and Maid Marian went through several iterations Initially the scene was to be at a jousting tournament with Robin tilting against Guy of Gisbourne mimicking the 1922 Douglas Fairbanks production of Robin Hood but screenwriter Norman Reilly Raine pointed out that a banquet scene would be much less expensive to produce and so long as Technicolor was employed would look just as lavish to the average moviegoer 9 In another draft instead of a deer a slain villager was who Robin Hood brought in and dumped on Prince John s table Wallis felt the use of a dead villager expended all the tension of the scene in a momentary kick and preferred the use of a deer from an earlier draft which allowed the tension to simmer with the threat of an explosion at any moment 9 James Cagney was originally cast as Robin Hood but walked out on his Warner Bros contract paving the way for the role to go to Errol Flynn 8 The filming was postponed three years as a result 11 Though Olivia de Havilland was an early frontrunner for the role of Maid Marian for a time the studio vacillated between Anita Louise and her for the part De Havilland was ultimately chosen because the success of Captain Blood established the pairing of Flynn and de Havilland as a safe bet to help ensure box office success 9 Location work for The Adventures of Robin Hood included Bidwell Park in Chico California which substituted for Sherwood Forest 12 although one major scene was filmed at the California locations Lake Sherwood and Sherwood Forest so named because they were the location sites for the Fairbanks production of Robin Hood Several scenes were shot at the Warner Bros Burbank Studios and the Warner Ranch in Calabasas The archery tournament was filmed at the former Busch Gardens 13 now part of Lower Arroyo Park 14 in Pasadena Scenes which were filmed but not included in the final cut include the disguised King Richard brawling with Friar Tuck and Robin riding off with Maid Marian the latter would have been the concluding scene of the film and appears in the theatrical trailer despite not appearing in the film itself 9 Stunts Edit All the arrows in the film were shot by professional archer Howard Hill 9 Those shot with arrows wore clothing padded with balsa wood on protective metal plates the metal plates prevented injury though impact was fairly painful and the arrows lodged into the balsa wood to create the illusion of bodily penetration 9 Hill although listed as the archer captain defeated by Robin was cast as Elwen the Welshman an archer seen shooting at Robin in his escape from Nottingham Castle and later defeated by Robin at the archery tournament To win Robin splits the arrow of Philip of Arras a captain of the guard under Gisbourne who had struck the bullseye Hill did in fact split one arrow with another during filming albeit while firing from a much closer range than from which Robin Hood is portrayed as shooting but it did not look good enough on film so the shot was redone with some effects trickery 9 Stuntman Buster Wiles a close friend of Errol Flynn s and his frequent on set stand in maintained that the arrow splitting stunt was carried out using an extra large arrow for the target and that the second arrow had a wide flat arrowhead and was fired along a wire This wire can briefly be seen attached to the fletching of the arrow in the final film Wiles discusses the scene in his autobiography My Days with Errol Flynn Flynn performed most of his own stunts in the film exceptions include Robin jumping onto a horse with hands tied behind his back during the hanging scene scaling the fortress gate and coming down the other side and a few select shots in the duel between Robin and Guy of Gisbourne 9 Music score Edit In 1938 Erich Wolfgang Korngold was conducting opera in Austria when he was asked by Warner Bros to return to Hollywood and compose a score for The Adventures of Robin Hood 15 27 Music historian Laurence E MacDonald notes that many factors made the film a success including its cast its Technicolor photography and fast paced direction by Michael Curtiz but most of all there is Korngold s glorious music 16 49 Also film historian Rudy Behlmer describes Korngold s contribution to this and his other films Korngold s score was a splendid added dimension His style for the Flynn swashbucklers resembled that of the creators of late 19th century and early 20th century German symphonic tone poems It incorporated chromatic harmonies lush instrumental effects passionate climaxes all performed in a generally romantic manner Korngold s original and distinctive style was influenced by the Wagnerian leitmotif the orchestral virtuosity of Richard Strauss the delicacy and broad melodic sweep of Puccini and the long line development of Gustav Mahler 17 38 In reply to Warner Bros request Korngold told studio head of production Hal B Wallis that he was a composer of drama and the heart and felt little connection to what he perceived as a 90 action picture 9 Wallis was persistent and Korngold finally agreed to begin composing on the condition that he not have a contract and work on a week by week basis so that he could withdraw if he were dissatisfied with the music he composed However Korngold later admitted that the real reason he changed his mind was Adolf Hitler s November 1937 meeting with Austrian ministers which convinced Korngold that the situation was no longer safe in his home country 9 As Korngold feared Austria was annexed by the Nazis and his home in Vienna was confiscated 17 35 This meant that all Jews in Austria were now at risk so Korngold stayed in America until the end of World War II 18 Korngold called his film scores Opern ohne Singen operas without singing but otherwise approached their composition just as he would for the operatic stage The Adventures of Robin Hood was therefore a large scale symphonic work and despite the studio music department s providing a team of orchestrators including future Oscar winner Hugo Friedhofer to assist Korngold the amount of work was immense especially for the limited time he was given to compose In describing this dilemma to his father Julius Korngold one of Vienna s foremost music critics the elder Korngold suggested that themes from his 1920 symphonic overture Sursum Corda Lift Up Your Hearts would serve splendidly for much of the most demanding action scene music and Erich agreed It also gave him his second Academy Award for Best Original Score and established the symphonic style that was later used in action films during Hollywood s Golden Age 16 50 Modern day epics such as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies similarly included original symphonic scores 16 50 Composer John Williams has cited Korngold as his inspiration in scoring the Star Wars series 19 717 The love theme of Robin and Marian went on to become a celebrated concert piece Reception EditContemporary reviews were highly positive A richly produced bravely bedecked romantic and colorful show it leaps boldly to the forefront of this year s best wrote Frank S Nugent of The New York Times 20 It is cinematic pageantry at its best raved Variety A highly imaginative retelling of folklore in all the hues of Technicolor deserving handsome box office returns 21 Film Daily called it high class entertainment with excellent direction and an ideal choice in the casting of Flynn 22 Excellent entertainment wrote Harrison s Reports Adventure romance comedy and human appeal have been skilfully blended to give satisfaction on all counts The duel in the closing scenes between the hero and his arch enemy is the most exciting ever filmed 23 John Mosher of The New Yorker called it a rich showy and for all its tussles somewhat stolid affair praising Flynn s performance and the action sequences but finding the excellent collection of supporting actors to be somewhat buried under the medieval panoply 24 Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 100 of critics gave the film a positive rating based on 46 reviews with an average score of 8 94 10 The film is among their list of the 100 best rated films in cinema 25 Rotten Tomatoes summarizes the critical consensus as Errol Flynn thrills as the legendary title character and the film embodies the type of imaginative family adventure tailor made for the silver screen 26 Box office Edit The Adventures of Robin Hood became the sixth highest grossing film of the year 7 with just over 4 million in revenues 2 at a time when the average ticket price was less than 25 cents 27 According to Warner Bros records the film earned 1 928 000 domestically and 2 053 000 overseas 1 In 1938 The Adventures of Robin Hood was the seventh highest grossing film nationally in the U S and the highest grossing film the same year in the southern states of Kentucky Tennessee West Virginia Alabama Mississippi and Arkansas 28 Warner Bros was so pleased with the results that the studio cast Flynn in two more color epics before the end of the decade Dodge City and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex 29 A sequel Sir Robin of Locksley was announced but never developed 11 Awards and nominations Edit Award Category Nominee s ResultAcademy Awards 30 Outstanding Production Hal B Wallis and Henry Blanke NominatedBest Art Direction Carl Jules Weyl WonBest Film Editing Ralph Dawson WonBest Original Score Erich Wolfgang Korngold WonDVD Exclusive Awards Best Deleted Scenes Outtakes and Bloopers Michael Crawford and Jeff Kurtti NominatedNational Film Preservation Board National Film Registry InductedOnline Film amp Television Association Awards 31 Hall of Fame Motion Picture InductedSaturn Awards 32 Best DVD Classic Film Release WonOther honors In 2001 the film came in at 84 on The Best Films of All Time as voted on Channel 4 In 2001 the film appeared at 100 on AFI s 100 Years 100 Thrills list In 2003 the main character Robin Hood appeared as the 18 Hero on AFI s 100 Years 100 Heroes and Villains list In 2005 the film appeared at 11 on AFI s 100 Years of Film Scores list Legacy EditThe film s popularity inextricably linked Errol Flynn s name and image with that of Robin Hood in the public eye even more so than those of Douglas Fairbanks who had played the role in 1922 33 The film became a benchmark for later movie adaptations of Robin Hood This was the third film to pair Flynn and Olivia de Havilland after Captain Blood and The Charge of the Light Brigade They would ultimately star together in nine films the aforementioned and Four s a Crowd 1938 The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex 1939 Dodge City 1939 Santa Fe Trail 1940 They Died with Their Boots On 1941 and Thank Your Lucky Stars 1943 although they shared no scenes in the last film 34 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 is continually told by a dim witted Little John Don t you worry never fear Robin Hood will soon be here When Bugs finally meets Robin at the end of the film he is stunned to find that it is Errol Flynn in a spliced in clip from this film he subsequently shakes his head and declares It couldn t be him Other parodies were Daffy Duck and Porky Pig in Robin Hood Daffy and Goofy and Black Pete in Goof Troop episode Goofin Hood amp His Melancholy Men The Court Jester a musical comedy starring Danny Kaye is in great measure a spoof of Robin Hood Basil Rathbone even appears as the villain and has a climactic sword fight with Kaye Most of the Mel Brooks parody Robin Hood Men in Tights relied on this film for its aesthetics although the plot was almost completely a riff on Robin Hood Prince of Thieves as well as referencing the 1973 Disney version Mel Brooks also spoofed the Robin Hood legend in his 1975 television series When Things Were Rotten A fragment of one of the film s sword fighting scenes was converted to sprites by Jordan Mechner and used for his 1989 platform game Prince of Persia 35 Errol Flynn s acrobatic swordplay became a crucial touchstone for the light saber duels choreography in Star Wars movies 36 In Disney s 2010 animated film Tangled the appearance and personality of Flynn Rider are partly inspired by that of Errol Flynn citation needed with his surname also being used in homage 37 Comic adaptation EditKnockout Comic weekly picture paper Amalgamated Press London No 434 June 21 1947 No 447 September 20 1947 14 issues 28pp in black and white Drawn by Michael Hubbard 38 39 Produced when the film was first revived after World War II with several deviations made from the film s plot the picture strip s storyline is generally faithful to the look and narrative of the Warner Bros feature However the famous climactic duel between Robin and Sir Guy is reduced to only a couple of panels with Robin still dressed in his earlier monk s habit The strip opens with a joust between Robin and Sir Guy a scene which was in the original screenplay but was never actually filmed 17 See also EditList of films with a 100 rating on Rotten Tomatoes a film review aggregator websiteReferences Edit a b c Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger See Appendix 1 Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television 1995 15 sup1 1 31 p 18 DOI 10 1080 01439689508604551 a b c Glancy H Mark Warner Bros film grosses 1921 51 Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television March 1995 Top 100 Movies of All Time Rotten Tomatoes rottentomatoes com Retrieved 19 April 2016 25 old films honored St Petersburg Times December 28 1995 Retrieved July 22 2009 Detail view of Movies Page afi com Retrieved 19 April 2016 Complete National Film Registry Listing Library of Congress Retrieved 2020 09 11 a b Higgins Scott 2007 Harnessing the Technicolor Rainbow Color Design in the 1930s University of Texas Press pp 138 139 ISBN 9780292779525 a b c Ebert Roger August 17 2003 Roger Ebert s review of The Adventures of Robin Hood Chicago Sun Times Archived from the original on April 30 2007 Retrieved March 30 2007 a b c d e f g h i j k l Behlmer Rudy 2010 The Adventures of Robin Hood Audio Commentary DVD Warner Home Video The mobster and the movies CNN August 24 2004 Retrieved July 9 2008 a b Thomas Tony Behlmer Rudy McCarty Clifford June 1969 The Films of Errol Flynn Secaucus New Jersey Citadel Press pp 62 67 ISBN 978 0806502373 The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations by Tony Reeves The Titan Publishing Group Pg 14 Film location titles Archived from the original on 2015 06 25 Retrieved 2015 06 21 Higham Charles 1984 Sisters The Story of Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine Dell Publishing p 72 ISBN 0 440 17866 5 Archery club hikers clash over Lower Arroyo Park trail in Pasadena ABC News May 25 2011 Archived from the original on November 1 2014 Retrieved April 4 2015 Thomas Tony Korngold Vienna to Hollywood Turner Entertainment 1996 a b c MacDonald Laurence E The Invisible Art of Film Music A Comprehensive History Scarecrow Press 1998 a b c Behlmer Rudy The Adventures of Robin Hood Univ of Wisconsin Press 1979 Bernardi Daniel Hollywood s Chosen People The Jewish Experience in American Cinema Wayne State University Press 2013 p 48 Hischak Thomas S The Encyclopedia of Film Composers Rowman amp Littlefield 2015 Nugent Frank S May 13 1938 Movie Review The Adventures of Robin Hood The New York Times Retrieved September 13 2015 The Adventures of Robin Hood Variety New York December 31 1937 p 22 Retrieved March 11 2018 Daly Phil M April 29 1938 Reviews The Adventures of Robin Hood Film Daily New York 73 99 8 Retrieved March 11 2018 The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn Olivia de Havilland Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains Harrison s Reports New York XX 27 74 May 7 1938 Retrieved March 11 2018 Mosher John May 21 1938 The Current Screen The New Yorker New York pp 71 72 Top 100 Movies Of All Time Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved June 30 2019 The Adventures of Robin Hood Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved June 30 2019 Weitzman Elizabeth February 6 2009 The Depression era gems at 1930s prices New York Daily News Retrieved October 5 2010 Warner Bros Film Grosses 1921 51 the William Schaefer ledger Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television Levy Emanuel September 12 2016 Reel Real Impact Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 emanuellevy com The 11th Academy Awards 1939 Nominees and Winners oscars org Archived from the original on July 6 2011 Retrieved 2011 08 16 Film Hall of Fame Productions Online Film amp Television Association Retrieved May 15 2021 Past Saturn Awards Saturn Awards org Archived from the original on September 14 2008 Retrieved May 7 2008 King Susan May 12 2010 Classic Hollywood 100 years of Robin Hood movies The Los Angeles Times Retrieved October 2 2010 AFI Catalog of Feature Films American Film Institute Retrieved 19 April 2016 Mechner Jordan 2011 Classic Game Postmortem PRINCE OF PERSIA Speech Game Developers Conference San Francisco Event occurs at 38 35 Retrieved 30 May 2013 Robey Tim 2015 11 24 10 films that influenced Star Wars The Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 Archived from the original on 2022 01 12 Retrieved 2020 12 25 Hall Sandra 2011 01 07 Tangled The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 2020 12 24 David Ashford John Allen Clark Steve Holland Knockout Comic An Illustrated Guide CJ Publications UK 1997 Knockout 0434 UK Comic Books Comic Book Plus Retrieved 2020 12 26 Notes Edit Roy Rogers admired the then named Golden Cloud so much that he bought Trigger to use in his own films This eventually made Trigger one of the most famous animals in show business External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Adventures of Robin Hood Wikiquote has quotations related to The Adventures of Robin Hood The Adventures of Robin Hood at IMDb The Adventures of Robin Hood at AllMovie The Adventures of Robin Hood at the TCM Movie Database The Adventures of Robin Hood at the American Film Institute Catalog The Adventures of Robin Hood at Rotten Tomatoes The Adventures of Robin Hood at Virtual History The Adventures of Robin Hood essay by Daniel Eagan in America s Film Legacy The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry A amp C Black 2010 ISBN 0826429777 pages 275 276 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Adventures of Robin Hood amp oldid 1132782915, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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