Joan Rice & Ken Annakin

Joan Rice arrives at Denham Studios

 Joan Rice arrives by bicycle at Denham Studios in Buckinghamshire (pictured above) to film The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men in 1951. Director Ken Annakin later admitted he had doubts about her casting as Maid Marian, calling it his “Achilles’ heel.”

“I tested six other young actresses,” Annakin recalled, “but Walt Disney would not budge, largely because he saw me opposing him. ‘The camera loves her,’ Disney said. ‘Joan has quality.'

Annakin described how "Joan used to ride a bicycle to and from the local hotel and, between shots, would go speeding around the Denham lot. Nearly every day, she fell off and came back bruised and some part of her costume hanging loose. One evening, I saw her standing forlornly outside the studio door and took pity on her. "Where's your bike?" I called. 'Smashed up, as usual," she grinned guiltily, as she climbed into my MG Midget, then the pride of my life. She lit up a cigarette. Sure enough, within five minutes, I smelled burning. The wind had blown the hot ash into my rumble seat, and there was a half-inch hole smoking in the red leather. She staggered into her hotel, crying again. I had to feel sorry for the poor kid!"

So You Wanna Be A Director by Ken Annakin, Tomahawk Press 2001

Rare Disney Jigsaw Puzzles

These extremely rare jigsaw puzzles have attracted significant interest on my blog. They are owned by Neil, a regular contributor, and are beautifully illustrated with scenes from The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men, released in 1952 by the Walt Disney Company.

Since I first wrote about these puzzles, I have learned that the illustrations were created by the multi-talented artist Arnold Beauvais (1886–1982). In 1913, he rented a studio in Chancery Lane, London, where he produced artwork for a wide range of clients, including J. Lyons and Co., RKO Radio Pictures, Black & White Whisky, Warner Bros., the Walt Disney Company, and Younger’s Scotch Ale. His work ranged from film posters and magazine illustrations to press advertisements, cartoons and jigsaw puzzles.

His work for film distributors included posters and publicity for well-known films such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Swiss Family Robinson, Up in Arms, and several films starring Danny Kaye, as well as Disney classics including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, Treasure Island, Alice in Wonderland, Hans Christian Andersen and Peter Pan, along with several Disney nature films.

 

Nottingham Square

 

"This purse was given freely by Robin Fitzooth and his outlaw band, and with it their prayers for King Richard's safe return". This still from The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men beautifully highlights the remarkable attention to detail in Nottingham Square (above), crafted by art director Carmen Dillon and her talented team. And look closely—did you notice the man peering out from the upstairs window?

8mm Story of Robin Hood

 

Before streaming, DVDs, and even videotapes, there was only the cinema and television. Yes — I’m that old!

If you wanted your own copy of a favourite film, you needed a projector and a reel of cine film, usually 8mm.

After many years of waiting, I finally managed to get hold of the Disney Home Movies 8mm silent colour version of The Story of Robin Hood. I hadn’t seen it on television since I first watched it at the cinema, so owning it felt like winning the lottery.

Even though it was only four minutes long, those precious minutes of seeing that wonderful film again meant everything to me.

Joan Rice meets the 'real' Queen Mother

 

Joan Rice meets the Queen Mother

In November 1951, Joan Rice — Maid Marian — met the “real” Queen Mother at the Royal Premiere of 'Where No Vultures Fly.'

I’ve researched Joan’s extraordinary, almost fairy-tale life story: raised in a Nottingham orphanage near Sherwood after her father’s imprisonment, she moved to London, worked various jobs including waitressing, won a beauty contest, and was personally chosen by Walt Disney to play Maid Marian in The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men, appearing alongside Queen Eleanor (Martita Hunt), mother of Richard I of England and Prince John.

There are now over 124 pages dedicated to Joan's life on this blog.

Not in Sherwood

 

Although many film websites claim that Walt Disney’s Story of Robin Hood was filmed in Sherwood Forest, this is not correct. The outdoor scenes were actually shot at Burnham Beeches, a magnificent area of ancient woodland in Buckinghamshire, close to Denham Studios, where the interior scenes were filmed.

Disney’s research team visited Sherwood Forest and Nottingham during pre-production, which may explain how the persistent myth arose that the film was shot there.

Burnham Beeches, designated an area of outstanding natural beauty, has long been a favourite location for film and television productions. On my last visit, filming was underway for a Harry Potter scene. It's remarkable ancient pollarded trees and atmospheric woodland have provided a convincing medieval backdrop for decades.

Disney’s second unit filmed many scenes on a part of Burnham Beeches known as Mendelssohn’s Slope, famed for its striking veteran trees. Nearby, at Middle Pond, Robin (Richard Todd) and Marian (Joan Rice) take their romantic evening stroll, accompanied by Friar Tuck (James Hayter) and Allan-a-Dale (Elton Hayes), who sings “Whistle My Love.”

Burnham Beeches became Walt Disney’s Sherwood Forest not only because it lay just twelve miles from Denham Studios — making it logistically practical — but also because its ancient woodland provided exactly the visual character required for this classic tale. Ironically, several film websites still state that Disney’s live-action adaptation was the only Robin Hood story filmed in Sherwood Forest. This is incorrect, though it does demonstrate just how convincingly Burnham Beeches doubled for the legendary forest.

Valentine's Day

Italian Robin Hood Poster

This is an Italian release poster for Walt Disney’s 1952 film Robin Hood, titled “Robin Hood e i Compagni della Foresta.” Created for the Italian market, it showcases the country’s distinctive mid-century cinema advertising style, with dramatic action, rich colour, and elegant lettering. While the film is American, the poster itself reflects the strong artistic tradition of Italian film promotion.

The Disney Method

Storyboard sketch and final scene

An enlarged sketch from Walt Disney’s continuity board illustrates both the concept and the finished scene from The Story of Robin Hood (1952), showing Richard Todd as Robin Hood and Joan Rice as Maid Marian reunited and openly expressing their love for one another.

Stephen Grimes with the Storyboard for Robin Hood

The recent article shared by Neil from The Cinema Show (1951) featured some fascinating behind-the-scenes shots from the making of Walt Disney’s The Story of Robin Hood (1952). One image showed Stephen Grimes with the film’s continuity sketches, which particularly reminded me of a passage in the book by Ken Annakin, So You Wanna Be a Director? (2001). In it, Annakin reflected that these storyboards often felt like a straitjacket, constraining his artistic creativity as a film director.

Ken Annakin with Perce Pearce

Page 52:

"The preparation for this production introduced me [Ken Annakin] to a completely new way of making movies. Actually, I never met Walt until a few weeks before shooting, but I was introduced to the Disney Method, which was to sketch out practically every move in the picture before designing the set or choosing the locations.

Walt Disney with a Storyboard

At Disney, we have found it's much more sensible and cost-efficient to invest the time and salaries of three or four artists at a drawing board-discussing, sketching and exploring the best ways of telling a story, rather than wasting time doing it on the set or location, said Perce Pearce. Key technicians and all the departments are supplied with a set of sketches, and everyone knows the director's requirements.

It sounded logical, but a little like factory-line production to me. How much room was it going to leave for ‘my’ creative input? I wondered.

When I came onto the Robin Hood production, practically all the camera angles and movements had been designed and storyboarded by Carmen Dillon and Guy Green, the cameraman!”

(So You Wanna Be A Director? by Ken Annakin (2001) Tomahawk Press