A few years ago I read of a ‘Blooper’ in Disney’s Story of Robin Hood (1952). The article stated that you could see an aeroplane in one of the outdoor scenes; at the time I thought that this could not be possible and ignored this churlish statement-the film was perfect in every way!
But no! Mike (Hern’s Son) kindly sent me an excellent copy of the movie and described for me the scene in which it occurs. How did I miss it-I must have watched the film hundreds of times?
The scene is in Nottingham Market Place, the Sheriff (Peter Finch) has just addressed the town’s folk with, "Let this be a warning to evil doers that would flaunt our Midland Laws! Begin!”
As the camera switches to Will Stutely, who is sewn up in the skin of the deer, hanging above a brazier, an aeroplane can be seen in the top right hand corner of the screen (circled above in red), flying off into the distance!
How did that blooper get past such a legendry group of film makers?
Have you seen any more bloopers in this movie? If so please get in touch.
Lionheart Airways?
ReplyDeleteBlooper in Disney's Story of Robin Hood (1952)
Maybe theres an explanation for the plane, perhaps on a cinama screen the plane was not seen owing to the ratio of the screen , sometimes on tv when a film has been shown i have spotted microphone at the very top of the screen, i can hardley believe they were missed, so that could explain the plane, who knows?.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very good poin Hern's Son, but wouldn't Walt, Annakin and others have noticed it during editing and earlier production?
ReplyDeletehi clement,
ReplyDeleteyes , but, when the shot is in the can , the cost of reshooting, may have played a part. also, if the screen ratio was different back then, they may not have had to worry about it, nobody could have forseen the future of DVD and the tv screen sizes of today, I once was in a prjection room of our local and you could see the film being shown , in fact it was "Enter the Dragon", there were numbers flashing by at the bottom of the screen on a monitor but the viewing public never saw this, so its a theory of mine that edges of the screen are purposely hidden, of course its only a theory though. bye.
I have heard about a plane being seen on the footage but never knew where it appeared before. As the film was made in the summer of 1951 there would be few airliners as it would be even before the first commercial passenger jets. I do recall from my childhood that there always seemed to be more aircraft of a military type flying over though. As regards the screen size surely this film was showed on a very big screen originally at the cinema. I would doubt if such an oversight in detail was possible knowing the huge expense on this film at the time as well as Walt Disney's attention to detail. From a personal angle I doubt that there actually was a plane on the film but it is a fascinating theory. Could I ask Herns son if he would sell me a very good DVD copy of the film please
ReplyDeletehi Neil, without doubt the plane is there, as clement said, right after the word "begin" spoken by the sheriff , top right hand corner of the very next shot. Of course i'll send you a copy of the film, no charge. i think you may have my e-mail address so send me your home address, if i dont hear from you in the next day or two i'll e-mail you for it, ok sir?, Mike.
ReplyDeleteI am afraid Neil, it is not a theory-I have played it back over and over again. It is definately a plane.
ReplyDeleteThe plane was possibly from Heathrow Airport (11 miles away) which by then had three runways.
I stand corrected but like you I am surprised. As Clement says Heathrow is very close by and these scenes would have definitley been filmed at Denham at the rear of the Studio Buildings in the vast grounds there at the time. I must admit to being disappointed that such a flaw exists at all.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many people are around now that actually worked on these scenes. I would love to have a chat with them.