Joan Rice at the World Premiere

 The world premiere of Walt Disney’s The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men took place at London’s Leicester Square Theatre on 13 March 1952. The occasion was a spectacular, flower-decked celebration, with linkmen dressed as Sherwood Foresters and usherettes as Maid Marions. Joan Rice, who played Maid Marian, arrived by limousine wearing a specially designed gown featuring a tulle skirt decorated with Robin Hood motifs and a velvet bodice in traditional Lincoln Green. The BBC television crew filmed the festivities for broadcast the following evening.

Among the distinguished guests were the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor of Nottingham, who presented Joan Rice with a gift, as well as the Mayor of Westminster and the ‘real’ Sheriff of Nottingham, who met Peter Finch, the actor portraying him in the film. Other celebrities attending included Claudette Colbert, Donald Peers, Petula Clark, Herbert Wilcox and Anna Neagle. The premiere attracted hundreds of onlookers, while television newsreel cameras captured the memorable occasion.