Anthony Forwood (1915-1988)

Anthony Forwood

Above is an image of Anthony Forwood in his role as Will Scarlet in Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952). 

Tony was born in the seaside town of Weymouth in Dorset on 3rd October 1915 and in 1939 he started courting the husky-voiced Welsh actress Glynis Johns, whom he later married. Their only child, Gareth was born in London in 1945. (Gareth Forwood was later to appear in films such as Ghandi in 1982). But it was during the filming of Robin Hood in 1951 that their marriage began to break up. Glynis was to appear the following year as a young Mary Tudor, in the Walt Disney production of The Sword and the Rose.

Anthony Forwood’s early films included :

Man in Black (1949)
Traveller’s Joy (1949)
Meet Simon Cherry (1949)
The Black Widow (1951)
Colonel March Investigates (1952)
Appointment in London (1952)
The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952)

Knights of the Round Table (1953)

In 1939 Tony had met Dirk Bogarde who was later to become one of the biggest British matinee idols of the 1950’s. They struck up a relationship that would last over fifty years, but they both kept their personal lives very private. Tony died aged 72 in London in 1988.

Dirk Bogarde, Kathleen Tynan and Anthony Forwood

Below is another still taken of Tony to promote Robin Hood. But this one has been rarely seen.

'Tony' as Will Scarlet

To see more images and read more about Anthony Forwood please click on the label in the task bar.

Richard Todd at Elstree

Richard Todd's plaque at Elstree

My fiancee and I recently visited Elstree, Borehamwood in Hertfordshire. It was an exciting day and one of the highlights for me was seeing the many plaques dedicated to the stars and films created at the legendary studios there.

The wall sculpture at Elstree station

The British Film Institute plaque to Richard Todd (1919-2009) is located on the south east side of Shenley Road in Borehamwood. It is one of a series commemorating 100 years of cinema. These memorials are now part of Elstree's Film & TV Heritage Trail.

Richard Todd's plaque contains a quote by the star saying:

Elstree Studios was my second home for fourteen years and I have the fondest memories of Borehamwood and all those those I worked with during those productive times."

It was in 1951 that Richard Todd filmed Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood at Denham Studios. This was the last major film production at those legendary studios approximately 20 miles from Elstree Studios.

Joan Rice as Maid Marian and Richard Todd as Robin Hood

To read more about Richard Todd, Denham Studios and the making of this wonderful movie, please click on the subjects in the task bar.

Scathelock's Farm

We have recently looked at some pages from the original script of the film The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men and seen how certain dialogue and scenes were dropped. 

Below is a very rare still from the movie that shows the moment when one of the Sheriff's men grabs a child at William Scathelock's farm. But this very rare still is taken from an unusual angle in the field. A shot not shown in the movie. Is this perhaps another example of a scene that ended up on the cutting room floor. What do you think?

If you have any rare images from the film, please get in touch.