Robin Hood Playsuit

So how many of you had a Robin Hood outfit like this in the 1950’s? Above is an American children’s playsuit in superb condition from about 1956. The make is unknown, but it was made to accompany the groundbreaking British made TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood.

From 1955-1959, CBS were showing The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Richard Greene, Archie Duncan and Alexander Gauge on Monday evenings and then in re-runs on Saturdays. The show was one of the few non-westerns popular with children of the era.

It was also on the 2nd November 1955, during the second series of Disneyland that The Story of Robin Hood was first aired. The feature film had been edited, like many at that time, into a two part television presentation, with the second part broadcast during episode 9 on the 9th November 1955. During Walt Disney Presents on ABC, The Story of Robin Hood was shown again in two parts, on 26th December 1958 and 2nd January 1959.

Disney’s live-action film The Story of Robin Hood had a significant influence on TV’s Adventures of Robin Hood with some of the actors and even occasionally the props re-appearing. But that simply added to the magic of children experiencing and re-enacting the legend of Robin Hood in the 1950’s.