Behind The Scenes

Once again Neil has sent me a remarkable picture. This time it has been taken behind the scenes of the First Unit’s filming of Walt Disney’s Story of Robin Hood. Little John (James Robertson Justice) is shaking hands with Will Scarlet (Anthony Forwood) just after the fight scene over the bridge with Robin Hood (Richard Todd).

This was filmed on one of the huge sets, inside Denham Studios and leaning against the huge Technicolor camera, getting a view of the action is Ken Annakin the director.

The First Unit were:
Director:- Ken Annakin
Unit Manager:- Frank Sherwin Green
Director of Photography:- Guy Green
Camera Operative:- Dave Harcourt
Technicolor Technician:- Ian Craig
Asst. Technicolor Technician:- John Tiley
Clappers:- Derrick Whitehurst
1st. Assistant Director:- Peter Bolton
2nd. Assistant Director:- Peter Manley
3rd Assistant Director:- Kip Gowan
Continuity:- Joan Davis
Sound Mixer:- C.C. Stevens
Boom Operator:- Fred Ryan
Sound Camera:- K Rawkins
Floor Props:- Jim Herald
Floor Electrician:- Maurice Gillet
Floor Stills:- Frank Bellingham
Production Secretary:- Teresa Bolland

Ken Annakin had vivid memories of shooting in 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 its 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 that you were not wasting setups or wasting shots, because it was a big industrial process every time to set up your camera.”

Michael Praed

Without doubt the most successful and influential re-telling of the Robin Hood myth in more recent times was HTV’s Robin of Sherwood. The writer of this series Richard Carpenter cleverly blended together elements of ancient pagan mysticism and folklore and created a gritty, realistic and hugely successful re-telling of the ancient legend for television. It soon became a firm favorite of mine.

Paul Knight of Goldcrest and Richard Carpenter had seen Michael Praed in a West End production of The Pirates of Penzance in 1982. His real name was Michael Prince, but chose the old Cornish name ‘Praed’ (meadow), because another actor was already listed with that name in Equity. Praed was playing the part of the swashbuckling pirate Frederick and soon displayed to them, all the qualities they needed for the part of the ‘Hooded Man’ in their new project.

Robin of Sherwood was first shown on Saturday April 28th 1984 and went on to attain cult status and ran up until 1986. Praed played Robin of Loxley for the first two series then left leafy Sherwood for Broadway, later taking on the role as the Prince of Moldavia in the American TV series Dynasty.

The third season had Praed replaced by Jason Connery (son of Sean who had played an older Robin Hood in 1976) as a reincarnation of the outlaw, Robert of Huntingdon.
I will be looking at this series in greater depth in the future. The series has a huge fan base with various excellent websites out there, including http://www.robinofsherwood.org/.

If you enjoyed the series get in touch! How does it compare to the latest BBC version?

The Riddle Of Robin Hood #2

Richard Todd is shown above, photographed amongst the branches of the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest, during a fact finding visit, in preparation for the making of Walt Disney’s live-action film The Story of Robin Hood (1952). This is featured in the short promotional film The Riddle of Robin Hood.

Part 2 of the script from this very rare piece of Disney history is shown below:

"The Disney force headed for England to take up the quest for Robin on his own grounds. Here amid the fabled haunt of the outlaw and his merry men. In the midlands of England and Sherwood Forest itself, the trail began to warm up.

A clue was the ballads, from university libraries and private collections the ancient songs of Robin’s time were brought forward and examined. One of these ballad singers was Allan-a-Dale, reputedly a member of Robin’s band. It may well have been his song improvisations or those of someone like him that launched the story of Robin Hood on its merry way.

Allan-a-Dale sings:

“He robs the rich to help the poor,
A most unusual practice,
And now that he has been outlawed
He needn’t pay his taxes……..”

The famed Major Oak reputed trysting place of Robin and Maid Marian. The ancient village church of Edwinstowe, where Robin and the maid were married. The famous limestone caves of Sherwood, traditional hiding place of outlaws.

Photographs were taken of these places-more pieces to be fitted into the jigsaw riddle of the Robin Hood tale.

Would it be possible to evoke the ghosts of the past? And once again have these caverns ring with the laughter of pranks of the outlaw band!"

The Chronicles of Robin Hood

Above is an evocative illustration by C. Walter Hodges from The Chronicles of Robin Hood written by Rosemary Sutcliff. This picture does not appear in my edition of her novel from 1955, although his wonderful work can be seen right through the book. But there is full page copy of it, in The World of Literature, a collection of excerpts from classic novels and poems, printed in 1958, as part of the children’s ‘World of…..’ encyclopedias by Odhams Ltd of Watford.

Underneath the illustration, it has, “Take their weapons away lads, but don’t hurt them overmuch!”

Robert Newton as Friar Tuck!

According to a February 1951 Los Angeles Times news item, Walt Disney originally planned for the Story of Robin Hood to feature a young boy in Robin Hood’s camp, to be played by Bobby Driscoll. But, decided instead, to highlight the romance between Robin (Richard Todd) and Maid Marian (Joan Rice).

The same news item also states that Robert Newton would play "Friar Tuck," but the Buffalo Courier Express reported in March 1951, that Newton's role in the RKO picture Androcles and the Lion prohibited him from joining the Disney production in London.

What sort of Friar Tuck would Newton have made, I wonder?

Neet Shirt Insert

How about this for a rare piece of Disney memorabilia?

This is an insert cardboard from a ‘Neet’ Shirt Box which featured a paper toy colouring picture from Walt Disney's live-action movie, The Story of Robin Hood. Above is shown Little John no.10 from the movie.

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.

The Pickwick Papers

My dad enjoyed reading the novels by Charles Dickens, particularly The Pickwick Papers. So there is a nice tie-in with James Hayter, pictured above, who played the leading role as Samuel Pickwick and Friar Tuck in Walt Disney’s Story of Robin Hood. Both films were released in 1952.

A special thank you, for all your kind words at this difficult time.

I will be taking a break from posting for a week. My father passed away last night in hospital. He was 84. During his life, he had been a very brave soldier, a loving husband, father and grandfather.

After leaving the army, he had worked as a compositor for a local printing press. It was his love for the printed word and the rich tapestry of English history and literature that inspired me. I am going to miss him terribly.
God bless Dad.