Time Bandits

Above is a still from the movie Time Bandits (1981) showing John Cleese as Robin Hood.

On the back of the success of Life of Brian producer Terry Gilliam was joined once again, by his former Monty Python colleagues John Cleese (above) and Michael Palin. This production, sponsored again by Handmade Films, is a dazzling fantasy ride through selected historical periods in European history. Which included an array of international stars, including Sir Ralph Richardson, Sean Connery and Ian Holm.

In a brief scene set in 13th century Sherwood Forest, we see John Cleese as an eccentric upper-class Robin Hood, known to his outlaw band as 'the boss.' He runs his outlaw camp like a twisted Victorian charity organisation, where individuals are given handouts but simultaneously abused by his men. John Cleese recalled:

"I was sent the script, pointed at Robin Hood, and read the stage directions-to be played like the Duke of Kent-and I thought it was very funny, and said I would love to do it. I enjoyed doing Time Bandits enormously, despite the fact that Terry made me shave my beard off. I did it in the morning of the shooting, seven a.m. in the forest."

Olivia de Havilland

Above is a copy of free Olivia de Havilland 'wallpaper,' taken from Meredy's Olivia de Havilland Trivia Mania site. Also on that site is a link to Meredy's excellent full biography of the star. Both sites can be found at http://www.meredy.com/oliviatriv.htm

For the role of Maid Marian, the production team of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) selected Olivia de Havilland, who had been paired so successfully with Errol Flynn in Captain Blood and The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936). But Jack Warner opted for contract player Anita Louise, who was confirmed by producer Hal B. Wallis during the early stages of planning. But later Wallis announced that Olivia de Havilland had been given the part and the rest is classic cinematic history!

Fairbanks's Nottingham Castle

This is the 90ft. Nottingham Castle, constructed on the Goldwyn Lot out of 'chicken wire, plaster and old rocks' by 500 construction workers for Douglas Fairbanks's 1922 movie Robin Hood.

Alan Rickman

The Sheriff gently takes the intimidated girl’s hand, draws it to his mouth as if to kiss it…..bites down, making her scream.

London born Alan Rickman played the part of the evil Sheriff of Nottingham in the Morgan Creek production, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves (1991). He had already established himself with one of cinema’s most memorable bad-guy performances as the gang boss in the all-action film Die Hard (1989).

But this £50 million Robin Hood film was later described by its star, Kevin Costner as, “not a great professional experience.” Movie critics too, mainly panned this hugely expensive outing into Sherwood Forest, with lines like:

“What harm is the Robin Hood legend doing, that needs to be so rudely modernized!”

One of the highly contentious debates of the critics was Rickman’s unabashedly over the top performance as Robin of Locksley’s arch enemy. You either loved it or hated it. For me it was one of the very few highlights in a very lack-luster re-telling of the legend. Unlike the subtle villainy displayed by Peter Finch in Walt Disney’s Story of Robin Hood (1952) and Alan Wheatley, in TV’s Adventures of Robin Hood (1956-60), Rickman created a cartoonish, ‘scenery chewing’ Sheriff of Nottingham’ with dialogue like:

“I’m going to cut his heart out-with a spoon!” and “It’s amazing I’m sane!”

Alan Rickman’s completely over-the-top Sheriff of Nottingham seems to have been acknowledged and re-created by the Welsh actor and comedian Keith Allen, in his role as the arch villain in the recent BBC series of Robin Hood (2007).

Errol Flynn & Basil Rathbone

Warner Bros.'s The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) is often quoted as being the best cinematic adaption of the legend ever made. It is without doubt as masterpiece from the golden age of Hollywood. Its final cost was $2,033,000 by the time it was previewed on May 14th 1938 in Pomona, California. On April 11th a second preview was held in Los Angeles and a third followed at Warner's Hollywood theater, two weeks later. It was a triumph in every department.

Errol Leslie Flynn's natural acting talent and disregard for authority combined to create cinema's definitive characterization of the medieval outlaw. A role originally designed for James Cagney!

I am sure I am not alone, when I say that Disney's Story of Robin Hood (1952) stands up just as strongly. In fact as far as the script is concerned, Disney's adaption is more faithful to the ancient medieval legend. A tribute to the extensive research carried out before a single frame of film was shot and the writing skills of Lawrence E. Watkin. Also the rich array of talented British production staff, actors and the lush English countryside could not fail to provide Walt Disney with the Robin Hood film he wanted.

During the planning stages of The Story of Robin Hood, it is doubtful whether Disney watched a screening of the Warner Brothers 1938 version. But he no doubt, would have been familiar with the stunning climactic scene between Flynn and Basil Rathbone as Guy of Gisborne in Nottingham Castle.

Michael Curtiz created one of cinema's most memorable images, by throwing huge shadows of the duelists against the rugged stone pillars on the castle set. The movements of Flynn and Rathbone were then elegantly blended with the shadows by cameraman Sol Polito.

Basil Rathbone was at that time the most expensive free-lance actor in Hollywood and had played a whole host of villains, including Mr Murdstone in David Copperfield (1935) and Pontius Pilate in The Last Days of Pompeii (1935). But this part as Robin's arch enemy - Sir Guy of Gisborne - gave the Shakespearean actor and accomplished fencer, the finest role of his long career.

Errol Flynn's Robin Hood Statue

In late 1937 the directors of The Adventures of Robin Hood, Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, presented Errol Flynn with this statue, for all his hard work on the phenomenally successful movie. A European master artist had been instructed by the film’s producers to create this Art-Deco figurine in the likeness of Flynn in his starring role. It stands 30 inches tall from the top of the wooden bow, to the bottom of the Italian Swirled marble base and weighs approximately 30-35 pounds.

It spent many years in Errol Flynn’s holiday home in New Hampshire in the U.S.A.

Fairbanks's Robin Hood (1922)

A still from the 1922 Douglas Fairbanks version of Robin Hood, showing the awe-inspiring castle set.

Douglas Fairbanks's 'Robin Hood' Lobby Card

Above is an absolutely stunning lobby card from the Douglas Fairbanks silent classic Robin Hood, the first feature –length movie about the outlaw.

It was on New Year’s Day 1922 that Fairbanks rapped the boardroom table, in dramatic fashion and announced to his staff that Robin Hood would be the most monumental film he would ever make. He intended to buy the old Goldwyn Studio at Santa Monica and Formosa and construct massive medieval sets, including a grand jousting tournament. The Fairbanks brothers eventually purchased the studio for $150,000. Unfortunately his backers were not persuaded to fund his Robin Hood movie, so Fairbanks went on alone at an estimated production cost of $1.5 million.

Using 500 construction workers, Fairbanks had a 90 ft castle constructed on the Goldwyn lot made out of chicken wire, plaster and old rocks. When Doug’s brother John asked him about the cost, he replied “These things have to be done properly, or not at all.” The drawbridge was powered by a gasoline engine!

Gay Hamilton as Marian Fitzwarren

The Scottish actress Gay Hamilton as Lady Marian Fitzwarren, in a publicity shot for the Hammer Studios 1967 film A Challenge for Robin Hood.

A List Of Robin Hood Movies Pre-Disney

When Walt Disney’s film, The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men hit the silver screen during its world premiere in London’s West End in March 1952 it joined a long list of movies based on the outlaws adventures, dating right back to those early pioneers of the motion picture industry. Here is a list of Robin Hood movies before the Disney magic:

1908/1909: Robin Hood and His Merry Men. Dir. Percy Stow. Clarendon Films. (Alternate Title: Robin and His Merry Men) Robin rescues a man from the gallows. (Silent)

1912: Robin Hood Outlawed. Dir. Charles Raymond. With A. Brian Plant. British and Colonial Films. Starring William Thomas? (Silent)

1912: Robin Hood. Dir. Étienne Arnaud and Herbert Blaché. With Robert Frazer, Barbara Tennant, Alex B. Francis and Arthur Hollingsworth. (Silent)

1913: In the Days of Robin Hood. Dir. F. Martin Thornton. With Harry Agar Lyons. Kinematograph. (Silent)

1913: Robin Hood. Dir. Theodore Marston. With William Russell, as Robin Hood , Gerda Holmes as Maid Marian, Harry Benham, James Cruze and William Garwood. Thanhouser (Alternate Title: Robin Hood and Maid Marian) Filmed with a static camera amid the cardboard Sherwood bracken. (Silent)

1919: My Lady Robin Hood. Dir. Jay Hunt. A Western. (Silent)

1922:Little Red Robin Hood. Dir. Joe Rock. (Silent)

1922: Robin Hood. Dir. Allan Dwan. With Douglas Fairbanks as Robin Hood, Enid Bennett as Maid Marian, Wallace Beery and Alan Hale. William Lowery as the Sheriff. United Artists/ Fairbanks. (Silent)

Fairbanks spent $750,000 on this movie, in which he produced, vaulted palisades and swung through the trees. It featured a specially built ‘medieval’ castle with a 450ft. banqueting hall. Alan Hale was to play Little John three times over 30 years.

1923: Robin Hood Jr. Dir. Clarence Bricker. With Frankie Lee as the young Robin Hood and Peggy Cartwright as Maid Marian. Philip Dunham as the Sheriff. The movie was dedicated to Douglas Fairbanks. East Coast Productions. (Silent)

1924: Robin Hood no yume. Dir. Bansho Kanamori. With Fujio Harumoto. Toa Kinema. (Silent) (Japan)

1932: The Merry Men of Sherwood. Dir. Widgey, R. Newman. With John Thompson, Eric Adeney and Aileen Marston. Delta Pictures.

1933: Robin Hood (Animation) Dir: Frank Moser.

1934: Robin Hood Junior. (Animation). Dir. Ub Iwerks.

1934: Robin Hood Rides Again. (Animation)

1935: Robin Hood (Animation) Dir: Joy Batchelor

1936: The Robin Hood of El Dorado Dir. William A Wellham. An unusual B Western. Starring Warner Baxter.

1936: An Arrow Escape (Animation) Dir. Mannie Davis/ George Gordon

1938: The Adventures of Robin Hood. Dir. Michael Curtiz and William Keighley. With Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Olivia De Havilland, Melville Cooper and Alan Hale.

Then the most expensive movie ever made by Warner Bros at two million dollars and interrupted by Flynn’s yachting trips. But, it remains for many, the definitive Robin Hood movie. The only part of the castle built for the movie was the portcullis, the rest was created by the matte process (by painting on glass).

1941: The Chinese Robin Hood. Dir. Wenchao Wu.

1941: Robin Hood of the Pecos. Dir. Joseph Cane. A Western with Roy Rogers and George ‘Gabby’ Hayes.

1942: Red River Robin Hood . Dir. Lesley Selander. A Western with Tim Holt and Cliff Edwards.

1943: Robin Hood of the Range. Dir. William A Burke. A Western with Charles Starrett.

1946:The Bandit of Sherwood Forest. Dir. George Sherman and Henry Levin. With Russell Hicks as Robin Hood, Cornel Wilde as his son, Anita Louise and Jill Esmond.

1946: Robin Hood of Texas. Dir. Lesley Selander. A Western with Gene Autrey and Lynn Roberts.

1947: Robin Hood of Monterey. Dir. Christy Cabanne. A Western with Gilbert Roland.

1948:The Prince of Thieves. Dir. Howard Bretherton. With Jon Hall and Patricia Morison.

1948: Robin Hood-Winked. Dir. Seymour Kneitel. Animation with Popeye as Robin Hood.

1948: Nu luo bin han. Dir. Pengnian Ren. Made in Honk Kong. A female Robin Hood .

1950: Rogues of Sherwood Forest. Dir. Gordon Douglas. With John Derek, Alan Hale and Diana Lynn.

1950: Trail of Robin Hood. Dir. William Witney. A Western with Roy Rogers.

1951: Badal. Dir: Amyra Chakrabaty. An Indian version of the legend. With Premnath and Madhubala.

1951: Tales of Robin Hood. Dir. James Tinling. With Robert Clark as Robin Hood and Mary Hatcher as Maid Marian.

1952: Miss Robin Hood. Dir. John Guillermin. A British comedy starring Margaret Rutherford and James Robertson Justice.

1952: The Story of Robin Hood. Dir. Ken Annakin. With Richard Todd and Joan Rice. RKO-Disney. (Alternate Title: The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men)

© Clement of the Glen 2006-2007

A 'Different' Robin Hood Film

From 'The Disney Films' By Leonard Maltin:

'Having formed RKO-Walt Disney British Productions Ltd and succeeded in filming a most creditable live-action feature, Walt Disney decided to continue making films in England, with Perce Pearce as his producer. They decided to continue in the action-adventure genre and chose Robin Hood.

This time out, in addition to using an all-British crew, Disney hired a British director as well, a young man who had made an impressive start at Rank studios with such films as 'Trio' and 'Quartet', Ken Annakin. At the time he joined the production, some prepatory work had already been done by Disney and Pearce with their cameraman Guy Green and art director, Carmen Dillon. As on 'Treasure Island' three seperate shooting units were established, one doing action work on exterior location and two doing interiors at Denham Studios. Disney spent part of the summer in England working closely with Annakin. The director recalls
"I remember talking about the original Errol Flynn 'Robin Hood' and I looked at it, just to get an idea what had been done before, because I never like to do anything twice. Walt didn't seem very worried about seeing the original and in fact I doubt he ever did. His approach is always that the film is a Disney picture and therefore, because of his attitudes and his approach, the picture is bound to be different from anything else made on that subject before."

That is exactly what happened of course, the Disney film adheres to the Robin Hood legend, yet it is a work unto itself. One is hard pressed to make comparisons between the Disney Robin Hood and earlier versions, not because one is better than another, but simply each one is different.
This is an extremely 'good looking' film as well. The locations are beautiful with lush green countrysides, the sets are truly formidable and realistic. The seemingly effortless pacing and knowing use of camera angles and cutting is doubly impressive when one considers certain background facts. For instance, Annakin has vivd memories of the difficulties in shooting Technicolor at that time.

"It was the very elaborate three-strip system with a very immobile camera. When you wanted to reload the camera in it's very heavy blimp, you had to have it lifted on chains and it took the first-class technicolor crew a minimum of eleven minutes to reload the camera. After every single shot the camera had to be opened and the gate had to be examined; the prism was the great thing because this was the light splitter which gave the registrations on the three strips. For this reason, if you were making a big picture like 'Robin Hood' you had to be very certain you were not wasting set-ups or wasting shots because it was a big industrial process every time to set up your camera"

The use of story boards was new to Annakin, "but it appealed to my logical brain very, very much" and prompted ingenious scenes such as the first meeting between Prince John and the Sheriff after King Richard has lefy, played on the balcony of the castle against a brilliant but ominous orange sky at sundown.
Time has been kind to the film, as so many inferior films in this genre have followed it: today it seems better than ever.

Disney's 'Robin Hood' strikes a happy medium, leaning heavily on strong characterisations but placing them against a colorful and sumptuous tableau that gives the film a fine period flavor.'