Making The Story III

Richard Todd and Antony Forwood on bicycles

Richard Todd as Robin Hood and Anthony Forwood (Will Scarlet) arrive in Burnham Beeches on bicycles for some location shooting, just seven miles from Denham Studios. And, is that the actress Martitia Hunt on a motorbike (below)? 

We will also see Joan Rice on a bicycle later. Let's take another glimpse behind the scenes of the making of Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952).

Is this Martitia Hunt?

This is the third and final part of my look at Walt Disney's Riddle of Robin Hood (1951). This promotional film was for his live-action Technicolor movie The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952).

I must apologise for the quality of the images in this article as they are simply taken from the grainy original film. But they give us an exclusive glimpse behind the scenes of the making of The Story of Robin Hood.

Joan Rice arrives at Denham Studios

The director Ken Annakin bemoaned in his autobiography how Joan Rice (1930-1997) would ride her bike everywhere and sometimes fall off. In the latter part of The Riddle of Robin Hood, we see the beautiful actress (above) leave her cottage and ride through the gates of Denham Studios.

Nearly all of The Riddle of Robin Hood has been uploaded on YouTube and can be seen under the title: How Disney Made The Story of Robin Hood (1952) | You Asked For It. But, sections are missing, including Walt Disney with art director Carmen Dillon examining a model of Nottingham castle's drawbridge (below).

Carman Dillon and Walt Disney

Another interesting shot (below) shows director Ken Annakin and producer Perce Pearce planning a scene, while some of the cast take a break.

Kan Annakin and Perce Pearce

A young award-winning director of photography, Guy Green is shown using one of the huge Technicolor cameras in the castle (below).

Guy Green filming in the castle

The narrator of The Riddle of Robin Hood (possibly Hans Conried, the voice of Captain Hook in Disney's Peter Pan) claims that the animals used in The Story were authentic to the medieval period. The horses, shown below were English hunters and proved quite temperamental during filming.

The horses on set in Nottingham Square

And finally below, is an interesting shot of the mastiff with its trainer and the crew filming the scene when Friar Tuck's dog chases the sheriff across a stream.

The mastiff with its trainer

A huge thank you to Neil Vessey for making The Riddle of Robin Hood available for me to see.