Lyceum Theatre, September 1918

In this week of Remembrance for all our brave service men and women, I thought it would be appropriate to show this particular program from the Lyceum Theatre dated September 8th 1918. It reads:

LYCEUM THEATRE
HOME OF THE LYCEUM PLAYERS
FOR THE ALLIED BLIND SOLDIERS AND SAILORS
ROBIN HOOD IS PRESENTED IN THIS THEATRE

FOR THEIR PERMANENT BENEFIT
Thanks to All For Their Support and Patronage
NEW LYCEUM PLAYERS ALL STAR STOCK CAST OPENS SEPT. 8, 1918

FOR THE UNFORTUNATE BLIND OF THE GREAT WAR.
"ROBIN HOOD" IS PRESENTED BY THIS CAST AS A METHOD WHEREBY THOSE SAME BLIND MAY KNOW THAT THEIR SACRIFICE IS NOT FORGOTTEN.

An Interview with Ken Annakin

"I was interviewed by Perce Pearce, who was the producer and we got on very well. I hadn’t met Walt till he came over and visited the set while we were shooting.

In the planning of our picture, they were very determined that ours should be very, very true. We went up to Sherwood Forest, to Nottingham and the script was written as actually as it could be from the records. I thought we were probably making a truer picture than had been made before.

Now we didn’t have Errol Flynn, but all the things we had in the picture, were very British and very true. I mean, he [Walt] was making his picture, his version and I think we came up –with Walt’s help and insistence on truth and realism-as near as makes any matter.

He [Walt] didn’t stay very long on Robin Hood. He had a great trust in Carmen Dillon, who was responsible for the historical correctness. Everything, from costumes to sets to props and he- I’m not so sure why he was so certain- but he was dead right at having chosen her. And she did that picture and Sword and The Rose too. And his reliance was 100%. A director can’t go into every historical detail and so I would check with her also, pretty well on most things. And she would quietly be on the set and if we used a prop wrongly, she would have her say. Mine was the final say, as director, but one couldn’t have done without her.

Now Walt really-I remember him on that picture- having set the overall key of what he wanted- and seeing it was going the way he wanted- he trusted Perce Pearce as the producer, he came to trust me as the director. And I must say, I have never had Walt looking over my shoulder at anything.

I had never experienced the sketch artists and sketching a whole picture out. Now, that picture was sketched out by and approved by him. My memories of Robin Hood are basically that he visited the sets, maybe half a dozen times. He stayed probably 2 or 3 hours, maybe, while we were shooting. Not often 2 or 3 hours (laughs). And I remember that he used to go off to a place very near Denham where we were shooting. He used to go off to Beaconsfield and spend hours with the guy that had the best model railway, I think, in the world. And this was the beginning of his thoughts on Disneyland. Beaconsfield was just a place where, this guy had built up his model railway. Beaconsfield also has a studio, but the studio hasn’t any connection with that.

Then the film went back to here [America] and the whole of the post-sync work and the post production work was done. And the director was never called in to have anything you do with that. It wasn’t until I had made my fourth picture with Walt, which was Swiss Family that I was ever really allowed to do anything with the editing (laughs) or to say about the music or anything. But once you had, shot it, that was your job as the director."

Son of Friar Tuck

I recently found this post on the excellent Robin Hood 2007 blog and obtained permission from its owner Robin Hood, to show it on here. I am sure you will enjoy it:

"Hello! A little trivia for you. My father James Hayter who played Friar Tuck in the 1952 Disney version had (eventually) 8 children.

When this film was made his youngest son was my brother Tim who aged 5 as a special treat was one day taken to watch location filming.

There is a scene in the film just after Robin and the Friar carry each other over the stream then begin to fight in earnest and are unaware that they are being surrounded by the Sheriff of Nottingham’s men.

During the ensuing battle where they fight back to back against the soldiers a man on horseback inflicts a mighty whack on Friar Tucks head with the flat of his sword. At this point a small but piercing shout rang out across the set, "don’t hurt my daddy"!

Although this raise a smile amongst the cast and crew it caused the entire scene to be reshot with perhaps 20 horsemen having to gallop into the shot and do it all again. Perhaps this is why I don’t recall being invited onto any sets when my turn came!!”

British Poster

I'm back again, refreshed and with a new template. I thought I would start my third year with a British poster I recently discovered from what could be the late 50's or early 1960's. Perhaps someone could date this more accurately for me.

Two Years Old

This BLOG is now two years old. How time flies when you’re having fun! And fun it certainly has been. I had never attempted producing a blog or website before, so this whole thing has been a completely new experience for me. And what an experience!

There have been many highlights. Without doubt the most exciting for me, was Neil’s amazing discovery of The Riddle of Robin Hood, the promotional film that showed the research and production of Walt Disney’s Story of Robin Hood (1952). Something I had been looking for, over the last few years. It is not only an important piece of Disney history, but a fascinating insight into British Post War movie production. Neil very kindly sent me a DVD copy, which I treasure. I will continue to post excerpts from The Riddle of Robin Hood in the future.

Neil’s comments, contributions and obvious enthusiasm for Walt Disney’s Story of Robin Hood have made producing this web site so worthwhile. The still he sent me of Richard Todd being filmed for Robin Hood on the riverbank and the magazine article of Joan Rice’s screen test as Maid Marian at Denham Studios are priceless! I am trying to talk him into contributing more articles!

I would like to think that this blog has gone someway into discovering more about Joan Rice and giving her the recognition she deserves. Before, all that could be found out about her was the vague description in a few movie books, that she was a ‘pert English actress of the 1950’s’. After the initial help from Maria Steyn, Joan’s niece, some friends and neighbors we have gradually pieced together a little more about the life of our beautiful Maid Marian. Recently I have had some more feed-back which I will post soon.

Another highlight for me was to find, at long last, some rare information on Walt Disney’s legendary producer Perce Pearce. This had taken months to obtain, after many visits to libraries and long nights trawling the internet. But eventually some people answered my pleas for help and a couple of readers of the Disney History site came up with some newspaper clips and details of his life.

But this blog is not just about Walt Disney’s wonderful Robin Hood movie and its actors and actresses, but a legend that has lasted for nearly eight hundred years. We have already had a look at the earliest ballads and the first printed versions of his adventures. These have been popular with visitors to my site and my poll showed that 28% of my readers enjoyed discovering more about the medieval Robin Hood. I will continue the historical search for the elusive outlaw, his many images and the places associated with his legend.

Visitors to my blog have steadily increased over the past couple of years, to nearly two thousand a month. But most of you tend to call-by without saying hello. Please don’t be shy. There are a number of places where you can leave a message, please do, even if it is just to say hello!

I am taking a short break, but I will be back soon, hopefully thoroughly refreshed, when we will continue our journey with Allan-A-Dale through the leafy glades of Sherwood Forest. Thank you once again for all your support and enthusiasm. It makes it all worthwhile.

Richard Todd, Walt Disney and Joan Rice

Ronald Reagan Badge

Another example of how the medieval legend of Robin Hood remains continually open to fresh interpretation.

Poachers

In countless stories and films about Robin Hood the people were always unwilling to give poachers away to the foresters. Historical evidence also shows that during the medieval period this was true and that they also refused to answer questions. A good example of this is recorded from an inquest held in 1248 about a poaching incident in Weybridge Forest in Huntingdonshire.

On 2 August the walking foresters were going about midnight to watch over their bailiwick and met a red greyhound worrying a doe, they called the greyhound and took it. Afterwards twelve men came...one of them with an axe in his hand, another with a long stick, and the other ten with bows and arrows. And they led three greyhounds in a leash, of which one was white, another speckled with black and white, and of what colour the third was they know not.

The foresters called the men, who shot six arrows at them.........and the foresers shot at the men, who entered the wood, and on account of the thickness of the wood and the darkness of the night the foresters know not what became of them.

One of the men was recognised by the foresters as Gervase of Dene in Bedfordshire who was captured a fortnight later and put in Huntingdon gaol.

After the ninth hour there came to the foresters, Walter the chaplain of Huntingdon and other chaplains of the same place and William of Leicester, the bishop of Lincoln's bailiff, with book and with candle intending to excomunicate all who had laid hands on Gervase, and they sought him as a clerk and a servant of the bishop and commanded the forester to free him from prison.

When the foresters said that it was beyond their power to let him go they went to the prison and took the said Gervase as a clerk. And they took off his cap and he had his head newly shaved, and the foresters suspected that it had been shaved that day in prison

The foresters doubted whether Gervase was a clerk at all and when the Justice of the Forest visited in 1255, Walter the chaplain was summoned to appear. He was later convicted of the rescue and handed over to the archdeacon of Huntingdon. Gervase was also convicted.

(English Society in the Early Middle Ages-Doris Mary Stenton)

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!