Mystery Picture

Mike has recently sent in this unusual movie still from his collection (shown above). It is taken from Walt Disney's live-action film, the Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952) and he has asked if I was able to confirm the particular scene.

In the background we can see what appears to be the castle walls and the back - end of a cannon. Both men are wearing the Sheriff of Nottingham's livery and the figure being dragged off his horse seems to be Richard Todd (Robin Hood). 

After closer scrutiny and a look through Laurence's excellent picture strip to identify the moment (see Number 37), I have come to the same conclusion as Mike.

The picture was taken during the filming at Denham Studios of Robin Hood's escape from Nottingham Castle after being betrayed by the Sheriff.  Robin is pulled from his horse by one of the castle wardens and this leads to the dramatic scene  near the end of the movie where the Sheriff (Peter Finch) is eventually crushed to death by the closing drawbridge.

Mike was puzzled as to why the image was so light considering the dramatic scene was set during night time? If any readers can help, please comment below.

Joan Rice (1930-1997)

This unusual picture of the actress Joan Rice in a role she will always be fondly remembered for - Maid Marian, was recently sent to me by Mike. It was a publicity still used to promote Walt Disney's second live-action movie the Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men which was filmed in England and released in 1952. Disney had personally picked Joan to play the part of Robin's girlfriend.

This website is dedicated to the memory of Joan Rice (1930-1997) and since 2006 I have been researching her life, which included finding her final resting place. 

Joan was one of four sisters. The early years of her life were spent in Abbey Street in Derby, England. But tragedy hit the family when her father was imprisoned for child abuse and she was sent to a convent orphanage in Nottinghamshire for eight years, where she often played in Sherwood Forest.

After early experience as a lady's maid, housemaid and bar maid Joan left for London with half a crown in her purse and took a job as a waitress with Lyon's for £3 a week.

Joan Rice on the cover of 'Home Chat'

In March 1951, during the early stages of filming Robin Hood at Denham Studios, Joan was chosen as a weekly magazine's cover girl. In five paragraphs, Home Chat printed a very short biography of her introduction to the world of movie making, which I hope my readers will find interesting:

" Home Chat's Cover Girl this week is the pretty new star, Joan Rice, who went rocketing up to stardom in the new film Blackmailed, in which she shares the honours with such illustrious people as Dirk Bogarde, Fay Compton, Robert Flemyng and Mai Zetterling (our cover girl next week.)

I think Joan's story has an almost fairy-tale magic about it, for not long ago this twenty-one year old girl was a Nippy at the Strand Corner House, and before that had been in domestic service.

It was at the Corner House that she was spotted by film agent Joan Rees, and this meeting led to a small part in One Wild Oat.

Joan Rice with Dirk Bogarde in Blackmailed

Soon green-eyed Joan Rice was being considered for a small part in Blackmailed - the role of Mary, the girl injured in a tragic accident. But the director of the film met Joan, decided to give her a big chance right away, and cast her in the part of Alma, the artists model, playing opposite Dirk Bogarde! And not much more than a year ago Joan was still a Nippy!

Ask Joan about her family, and she'll tell you with pride all about the great, great uncle who fought with Wellington at Waterloo."

(Home Chat March 31st 1951)

Joan's movie career was brief and sadly she never found the big role that might have given her international stardom. She smoked heavily and as she grew older began to suffer with asthma and emphysema. In her later years she would often mention the fact that she had once been Walt Disney's first Maid Marian. She sadly passed away on January 1st 1997 aged 66. Incidentally, during the Middle Ages, this particular day of the year was known as Marian's Day (another name for the Virgin Mary).


There are now over 66 posts about the life and movie career of Joan Rice, including glamour photographs and movie stills. To see them please click on the relevant links, or here.

Merrie Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

 

I have now reached 660 posts on this blog! Very special thanks go out to my regular contributors, Neil, Mike, Geoff, Laurence, Christian and  all those who continue to uncover various topics of interest connected to our favourite movie and have helped make this blog a huge success.

 

As many of you are aware, this has not been a particularly good year for me. But in the new year I begin a new chapter in my life and I am determined to resume posting on this site with added vigour.

 

A Merrie Christmas to all my readers and a very Happy New Year !

 

 



Robin Hood by Alexandre Dumas

 

 

 

It is always nice to hear from visitors to this blog and receive their comments and input. So I am extremely grateful to Christian Roy - one of our regular readers - for sending me this image and email.

 

"Dear Clement,

It might be of interest to you to know that a French pocketbook intended for young people (from 14 on), called Marabout Junior, was available in the 50s.

The 2nd issue (of many to follow) was devoted to the novel called Robin des Bois, le Proscrit, which was written by Alexandre Dumas of Three Muskeeters fame. It may be doubtful though it was written by him.

 

Anyway, the cover of the Marabout book is interesting in that it acknowledges the source, that is to say the 1952 Disney RKO Picture.

In its own right, it is also a beautiful colourful depiction of my favourite film of all times!

 

Hope it is a worthy addition to your collection, also to share with fans."
(Christian Roy)

 

Many thanks Christian. The image on the book cover has been taken from the poster that originally advertised the film. We have seen various examples of this happening since this blog started and although this particular book cover had permission by Disney, many products did not. This forced the Disney organisation to later enforce strict copyright laws on all their products.

Le Prince des Voleurs (The Prince of Thieves) was written by Alexandre Dumas and published in 1872 (after his death in 1870) in an edition of his complete works (published and edited by Michel Levy, 1862-89).

 

 

 

Richard Todd in Fans' Star Library

Geoff Waite has recently sent me a very interesting little booklet from 1958. It is Fan's' Star Library No.8 and features Richard Todd. Priced at 10d the articles on Todd, cover his life story and film career up until the making of the movie Intent to Kill. It is packed with some fascinating pictures of his homelife with his wife Catherine Grant Bogle , their children and his farm.

There is some interesting detail on his second live-action film for Walt Disney, Rob Roy. But I was eager to see if there were any snippets of information on his making of Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952). This is what I found:

"As soon as Flesh and Blood was completed, Walt Disney wanted Richard for the name role in his new picture Robin Hood. It is said that Disney chose Todd for the part after one of his own daughters returned from a cinema a confirmed Richard Todd fan-she had just seen The Hasty Heart, and she kept telling her father that this young British star had everything!

An outdoor man himself, the idea of playin the great adventurer appealed to Richard, but he didn't want to be forced to portray the outlaw as a costumed twelfth century Tarzan. He wanted to play Robin Hood as 'he' saw the great outlaw. Fortunately, Walt Disney had enough confidence in Richard to allow him his own portrayal and as we all know the picture was a tremendous success.

Robin Hood, starring our own Richard Todd, had its premiere at the Leicester Square Theatre on March 13th, 1952. It was a glittering oppening and raised a large sum of money for a worthey cause. This film has become a Classic, and will doubtless be shown for years and years.

Within four days of finishing Robin Hood, Richard flew to the South of France, to play the parrt of the incurable young gambler in Twenty Four Hours of a Woman's Life."

To read more about Richard Todd, the making of Robin Hood and the film premiere, please click on the labels.

Joan Rice

Mike has recently sent in one of my favourite pictures of Joan Rice (1930-1997) as Maid Marian. This blog is dedicated to Joan's memory. Her portrayal as the girlfriend of the outlaw in Walt Disney's Robin Hood (1952) was a fundamental one and in this - her first major motion picture - she was a huge success. In a recent poll on this site she was voted the best Maid Marian of all time! To read more about the life of Joan Rice please click here.

This still from the movie has been posted before, but I am sure regular readers of this blog will be pleased to see this picture of Joan Rice as Marian again.

Robin Hood in Mickey Mouse Weekly

Part of my collection of memorabilia from Walt Disney's movie the Story of Robin Hood are two copies of Mickey Mouse Weekly. This was a weekly tabloid comic that ran from the late 1930s and was first published by Willbank Publications and later Odhams Press in London. It was the first British comic to use the expensive colour photogravure process.

The two copies that I own date from the time of the release of the live-action movie in 1952.  But sadly I am not sure who the artist was that illustrated the strip (it could have been Jessie Marsh). So perhaps my readers might be able to help?

The colourful strip featured below appeared on the back page of Mickey Mouse Weekly weekending July 12th 1952. 

There is a lot more information on the various comic strip versions of Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood here.

Louise Hampton

This is another of Laurence's fabulous autograph collection featuring stars of Walt Disney's live-action movie the Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men. The one above is the elegant autograph of Louise Hampton who played the character Tyb, Maid Marian's nurse.

To read more about the career of Louise Hampton, please click here.

Disney's Robin Hood Jigsaw Puzzle.

There has been a great deal of interest in these beautifully illustrated jigsaw puzzles, taken from Walt Disney's live-action movie the Story of Robin Hood (1952). Mike contacted me last week, with information that the puzzle above has recently sold for £32 on ebay!

To see more images of these jigsaws from the 1950's and other memorabilia from the movie please click here.