The Sheriff in the Outlaws' Camp

The Sheriff (Peter Finch) at the head of the table of outlaws

This very rare image taken from Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952) was sent to me by Christian.
In this scene the Sheriff of Nottingham (Peter Finch) has been captured by Robin Hood and his men and brought to the outlaws' camp in Sherwood Forest.

The outlaw camp was part of the magnificent sent designed by Carmen Dillon on one of the huge sound stages at Denham Studios in Buckinghamshire. The picture above shows her legendary attention to detail and is an example of why Walt Disney chose her to be the art director (a rare position for a woman in those days) on The Story of Robin Hood. Information about her life and work can be read here.

Below is a list of some of the actors that played Robin Hood's Merrie Men:

John Brooking: - Merrie Man

Ivan Craig: - Merrie Man

John French: - Merrie Man

Richard Graydon :- Merrie Man

Geoffrey Lumsden: - Merrie Man

John Martin: - Merrie Man

Larry Mooney: - Merrie Man

Nigel Neilson: - Merrie Man

Charles Perry: - Merrie Man

Ewen Solon: - Merrie Man

John Stamp: - Merrie Man

Jack Taylor: - Merrie Man

If you know of any other actors that appeared in the movie as Merrie Men or have any anecdotal stories about their experiences on set please get in touch.

Disney's Robin Hood Comic Strip 5.

Here is the fifth instalment of the Robin Hood comic strip that appeared in the Belgian Mickey Magazine. It was based on Walt Disney's live-action movie The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952) and the images were kindly sent in by Matt Crandall.

 

 

 



 



To see previous pages of this comic strip please click here.

Joan Rice Marries David Green

This site is dedicated to the memory of film actress Joan Rice (1930-1997) and down the years I have managed to piece together her life story. She was personally picked by Walt Disney to play the part of Maid Marian in his live-action movie The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952).

Below is a press image I have recently discovered taken after her wedding at Maidenhead Registry Office on February 16th 1953. Notice the snow on the path, it must have been a cold day!

David Green and Joan Rice

After a whirlwind romance Joan married David Green. David had been a heavyweight champion of Harrow School and later a travelling film salesman for a Hollywood film company. Joan and David had met at a Christmas party in 1952 and were engaged the following month. Their wedding was a month after that!

I have discovered a very rare silent film clip of Joan Rice starting the Appleford Steam Traction Engine Race in Oxfordshire in 1953. It can be seen here.

Included along with the many pictures and memories of Joan Rice are over 73 pages of information about her life. So please click on the relevant links on this page or in the task bar if you wish to know more about her 'Cinderella-like' rise to fame.

Polite Notice: If you wish to use any images please give credit to this site. Thank you.

Story of Robin Hood Montage

Isn't this a fabulous montage of our favourite film!

It was sent in to me this week by Laurence and shows the main characters from Walt Disney's live-action movie The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952).This colourful depiction of a forest scene has already become very popular on our Facebook Page.

Four years ago Laurence also created a wonderful picture strip of the whole movie. His skilful adaption was hugely popular with the readers and ran to forty two separate pages. The first page of the strip can be seen below.

Page one of Laurence's picture strip of the movie.

To see the complete picture strip of Disney's Story of Robin Hood please click here. Or click on Picture Strip in the task bar.

The Betrayal of the Sheriff

One of the most exciting scenes in Walt Disney's live-action movie The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952) is Robin's escape from Nottingham Castle after rescuing Maid Marian (Joan Rice). 

Sheriff De Lacy (Peter Finch) has gone back on his word as a knight and prevents Robin Hood (Richard Todd) from re-joining Marian and the outlaws in Sherwood Forest. As Robin reaches the drawbridge the treacherous Sheriff seizes a spear from a castle warden and launches it at the outlaw, wounding his shoulder.

There are many stills from this dramatic moment in the film. But one of the most unusual was the picture (below) that appeared in a 1950's magazine. I wonder where the photographer was during this scene?

If you know of any other unusual images from this movie, please get in touch.