Merrie Christmas and Happy New Year!

I would like to wish you all a very Merrie Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A lot of the blog's success over the last twelve months has been due to the input of many of my readers. Highlights have included John Nelson's letter from Richard Todd and Julia Wright's experience of being on stage with Joan Rice. We also saw the results of the blog poll for your favourite Friar Tuck, Laurence's Mag-O-Flex and Matt Crandall's copies of the colourful Robin Hood comic strip from the 1950's.

Laurence's montage of Disney's Story of Robin Hood

Also during this year, Geoff Waite shared with us his research into the Provincial Premieres of Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood in Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. Meanwhile Chrissy Noel, on our Facebook page, investigated and managed to find Richard Todd's Champion Archer of England.

We also discovered King John's bones, the bird that awoke Robin Hood and went onto Twitter.


I find it hard to believe that next year this blog will be ten years old! 

Walt Disney

Robin Hood lives on and Hollywood is busy planning more movie versions of the legend. I will follow the reports with interest. But one thing is certain, Walt Disney's original masterpiece, The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men will never be forgotten!

Thank you for your continued support. I wish you and your families peace and happiness in the coming year.

Robin Hood's Two Chairs!

Robin of Sherwood (1984-1986)

The film prop we know as 'Robin Hood's Chair' has been mentioned many times on this blog and the input from my readers has helped chronicle its use for sixty four years. This I believe is unique in the tv and movie world. 

I originally called it Robin Hood's Chair because of its continual appearance in productions about the outlaw. But what must be made clear is that there were originally two chairs designed by Carmen Dillon and her art department for Walt Disney's live-action film 'The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men' in 1951. 

The two chairs in Disney's Story of Robin Hood (1952)

This pair of ornate chairs only appear together for a few moments in a scene with Joan Rice as Maid Marian, Hubert Gregg as Prince John, Martitia Hunt as Queen Eleanor and Anthony Eustrel as the Archbishop of Canterbury (above). But the distinct style of these two chairs made them popular with set designers. They appeared two years later in Men of Sherwood (1954) along with other furniture props from the Disney movie.

Men of Sherwood (1954)

We now have a full list of movies and tv shows that the Robin Hood Chair or Chairs have appeared in here.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-58)

Allen Wright, the owner of the fantastic Bold Outlaw site, has been in touch with an excellent example of those 'Robin Hood chairs' being used in the television series The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-58). If you have any information of props from Disney's Robin Hood being used, or know where they are stored, please get in touch.