Intensive Preperation

Stephen Grimes with continuity sketches

 Since I started this blog twenty years ago, Neil Vessey has regularly provided me with fantastic behind-the-scenes information and rare stills from the production of Walt Disney’s Story of Robin Hood (1952). This exceptionally rare magazine article he has kindly shared with me, is truly one of the best. Featuring never-before-seen behind-the-scenes images and fascinating details, it’s an absolute must-see for all fans of this wonderful film:

“After many weeks of intensive preparation, the new Walt Disney all-action film in Technicolor, “Robin Hood”, has gone before the cameras at Denham Studios. The first shot was made on April 30.

The last two weeks before the unit went into action were a time of great activity among the double-strength set-up, which will be filming inside the studio and on location in different parts of the country.

Daily conferences were held between producer Perce Pearce, scriptwriter Laurence Watkin, art director Carmen Dillon, director Ken Annakin and lighting cameraman Guy Green, to ensure coordination on the floor.

As the first two sets-the exterior of Huntingdon Manor and the Robin Hood cave and forest encampment-took shape and colour on the Denham stages, the plasterers’ shop continued non-stop production of the many other 12th-century Nottinghamshire buildings and interiors for the story.

In the Art Department, walls covered with over a thousand continuity sketches, the works of Stephen Grimes, told the story of the film in minute detail, while enormous tables bearing scale models of the sets, made by Ivor Beddoes, illustrated with great accuracy the landscape and buildings of 12th-century England.

Art Director, Carmen Dillon

Outside the studios, Alex Bryce, directing exterior scenes, has toured the countryside with a camera unit headed by Geoffrey Unsworth, seeking suitable locations for river and forest scenes in which the film abounds.

In the pattern shop, under the supervision of Bill Evans, 12th-century utensils, furniture, carts and carved chests were turned out and mellowed under the watchful eye of historical expert, Dr. Charles Beard.

Bill Evans and Dr. Charles Beard

Hair stylist Vivienne Walker and make-up expert Stuart Freeborne gradually transformed the cast into likenesses of their historical counterparts, and members of the cast, too, were fully occupied in learning and practising the many skilled arts in which the film calls for them to be accomplished.

After months of interviews and tests, casting director Maude Spector finalised the huge cast which the vast scale of the production necessitated….

In addition to Richard Todd, Joan Rice, James Robertson Justice and James Hayter, in leading roles as Robin Hood, Maid Marian, Little John and Friar Tuck, respectively. Hubert Gregg will play the scheming Prince John, Anthony Eustrel the Archbishop-churchman, soldier and advisor of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, played by Martitia Hunt.

Then Walt Disney has signed many other fine actors to play important featured roles: Peter Finch as the notorious Sheriff of Nottingham, Patrick Barr as Richard the Lion Heart, Anthony Forwood as handsome Will Scarlet, guitar playing Elton Hayes as the roving minstrel Allan-a-Dale, Michael Hordern as Scathelock, a persecuted farmer, Bill Owen as Stuteley, a poacher, and Hal Osmond as the celebrated Midge the Miller.

Walt Disney will arrive in England to supervise the production of “Robin Hood.”

THE CINEMA STUDIO May 1951

A New Maid Marian

Perce Pearce, Joan Rice and Richard Todd

 On February 28, 1951, the press photographed Richard Todd at the Dorchester Hotel presenting a bouquet of orchids to twenty-one-year-old Joan Rice, a long-standing theatrical tradition, as the announcement was made that they would appear together in Walt Disney’s The Story of Robin Hood. The photograph shown here captures the pivotal moment of Joan formally signing her contract to portray Maid Marian. Beside her are Richard Todd, cast as Robin Hood, and producer Percival (Perce) Pearce. Just two months later, Joan would begin filming at Denham Studios in Buckinghamshire—an extraordinary turn of events for someone who, only two years earlier, had been working as a waitress.

Merrie Christmas!

Merrie Christmas to all the readers of this blog and my Facebook page! Thank you for your continued support in bringing attention to this often-overlooked film. I’m sure many of you will agree that, even alongside more recent productions, this Technicolor masterpiece truly stands the test of time.

From the Story to the Adventures

Patrick Barr in The Story of Robin Hood

Patrick Barr, resplendent as Richard the Lionheart, prepares to depart for the Holy Land in Disney’s The Story of Robin Hood (1952).

Four years later, Barr revived his role as Richard in the classic television series The Adventures of Robin Hood. In a rare crossover between cinema and television, he appeared alongside Richard Greene in the episodes Secret Mission (1956) and Richard the Lion-Heart (1956), in which Robin Hood meets the mysterious pilgrim Peregrinus, who is revealed to be King Richard. Three other actors from Disney’s The Story of Robin Hood also appeared in the TV series. Do you know who they were?

Patrick Barr in the Adventures of Robin Hood

Patrick—often called Pat—was born in Akola, India, on 13 February 1908. His first brush with the legendary outlaw came in 1932, when he appeared as a torturer in the black-and-white short The Merry Men of Sherwood. Throughout the 1930s, Barr was often cast as dependable, trustworthy characters, a persona he carried through a long career in film and television. After six years of military service during the Second World War, he returned to acting, appearing once again alongside Richard Todd in the classic war film The Dambusters (1955).

Will Stutely

 

Bill Owen (1914-1999), in the role of Will Stutely, stands beside one of the many giant coppiced trees in Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire, during the filming of Disney’s The Story of Robin Hood. His later career saw him appear in more than 180 episodes of the television series Last of the Summer Wine, the part of Compo Simmonite becoming his defining signature role.

A Hidden Gem in Sherwood: Whistle My Love

A decade before writing the Christmas classic “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” Eddie Pola and George Wyle were composing songs for Disney’s second live-action film, The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952). “Whistle My Love” is, in my view, a slightly overlooked gem, performed in the film by the minstrel Alan-a-Dale, played by Elton Hayes. As he sings, we see Robin and Marian walking together through the glades of Sherwood, the ballad’s tender lines — “I’ll always find you no matter where you may be” — lending the scene a beautifully romantic, yearning quality.

Robin Hood Stamp Book

 Another fine example of Disney’s impressive promotion for The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) is this collectable book, published in New York in 1955 by Simon and Schuster. The story was adapted from Lawrence E. Watkin’s screenplay by Willis Lindquist and illustrated by Hamilton Greene, whose artwork could be coloured.

What makes the book especially appealing for fans is the set of four pages of titled, numbered colour stamps—sixty in total—that the owner had to place in the correct spots throughout. Many readers of my blog will recognise the images, but seeing them in full colour helps explain why the film was praised as the finest Technicolor production ever made in England.

One stamp is particularly intriguing: No. 32, titled “BRING HIM DOWN” SHOUTS DE LACY. It shows the Sheriff of Nottingham (Peter Finch) drawing a bow over a fallen soldier—a moment never seen in the finished film, suggesting it was left on the cutting-room floor.

Cousin Will

Anthony Forwood as Will Scarlet 

I have often lamented the fact that this film never received a sequel. With today’s trend of studios transforming beloved stories into full-fledged franchises, this Technicolor masterpiece would have been an ideal candidate. The Story of Robin Hood had so much potential to continue, not least because it is filled with memorable characters brought to life by a wonderful cast.

Will Scarlet is one of them. Introduced as “Cousin Will,” as Robin Hood (Richard Todd) calls him, he first appears among the outlaws in their Sherwood Forest camp. Yet the screenplay offers no real insight into his background. In fact, the elegantly dressed Will Scarlet—portrayed by Anthony Forwood—has only one notable scene, in which he joins the other outlaws in “christening” Little John (James Robertson-Justice) by tossing him into the river. After this brief moment, Forwood’s time on screen as Will Scarlet comes to an abrupt end. It’s hard not to feel that the narrative could have developed his character further.

The Sheriff and his Bow

Peter Finch as the Sheriff of Nottingham

We never see the Sheriff pick up a longbow in the film. It was probably one of many clips that eventually found their way onto the cutting room floor. But, a similar image was later used in ‘Walt Disney's Robin Hood Stamp Book’ published in New York in 1955 by Simon and Schuster.