Richard Todd and Catherine Grant-Bogle

Richard Todd and Catherine Grant-Bogle on their wedding day

It is always a thrill to hear from readers who have information about the lives of the stars who appeared in 'The Story of Robin Hood.' Recently Scott Coleman got in contact about a post I did on Richard Todd's first wife, Catherine Grant-Bogle :

"Hi all, this is fascinating stuff. My sister was married to Peter Todd for many years before he tragically took his own life. It's funny how I've stumbled across this blog as I was searching for Catherine as I'm in the process of selling my artefacts that I have had passed to me, all of which are related to Richard Todd and his film career. I'm sure I can answer many of your questions if you still have any and would be happy to do so. I have a portrait of Cathrine which is part of my collection passed to me by Richard and Peter Todd and she truly was a beautiful lady and from what I understand a fantastic mother. However, the Todds life was incredibly difficult for all involved and I saw personally the very sad end in which it finished. I'm here is you wish to discuss further. Best regards Scott."

I have since contacted Scott and hope to hear from him again soon.

Richard and Catherine relaxing c.1950'

This message about Catherine Grant-Bogle was sent by Pam back in February 2011:

“I was looking up info on Richard Todd when I saw this article on Catherine Grant-Bogle. She was my landlady in 1970/71 in London, in a flat near the Tate Gallery.
I am Canadian and was backpacking through Europe with my girlfriend. She took me, my girlfriend and a girl from Hawaii in for room and board. The rooms were as the children left them and she didn't want us to touch or move anything. She also didn't want us using the kitchen and when she found the three of us making dinner, she was very upset.
She was very bitter about the divorce and told us stories. Her son Peter also came by a few times to check on her. I also have a picture of her with her cat in my photo album.
I went back to London with my first husband in 1978 and went to show him the flat. And there she was walking down the street coming out of the liquor store, looking a little worse for wear.
I am surprised to see that she lived another 20 years after I last saw her. She didn't look well and the difference in her from 1971 to 1978 was astounding!”
Pam continued:
“She did seem so sad, not only when I was rooming at her flat, but especially when I saw her walking down the street a few years later. She was a sweet lady.
Anyway, just thought I would share this with you.” 

                        The Todd's photographed in 1954                                    

This week Neil, our regular contributor, has been in touch with an interesting find:

Richard and Catherine's autographs.

Neil says:

"I have very recently acquired this item – which is a programme for a Festival Of Britain event on 17 June 1951 in Maidenhead – a River Procession and Garden Fete.

It is signed on the rear by Richard Todd the film actor - and his wife Catherine Todd - or Kitty as he called her.

The date of 17 June 1951 coincided with the time that Richard Todd was filming The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men at Denham Film Studios for Walt Disney  - and even more specific it was at the time when the filming of the famous quarter staff fight on the bridge between Robin Hood and Little John was being done on that wonderful studio set designed by Carmen Dillon. The reason I know this is that in Richard Todd's Autobiography 'Caught in the Act' he says that on his Birthday which was 11 June, this scene was being filmed and it would have gone on for some days I expect. 

This is the first time I have seen his wife’s signature – she seemed to always stay in the background. I still maintain though that whilst married to he his career went well so she must have had a good business-like head on her – which he, as he admits, did not.

I remember my Dad going down to London at that time to see the Festival of Britain – think he went with the Prudential Assurance Co who he worked for at that time. This event at Maidenhead must have been a big one – inside this programme it states that on the launch was Cicely Courtneidge, Ronald Howard, The Mayor and Mayoress and Richard Todd." 

Richard Todd as Robin Hood and James Robertson-Justice as Little John

Many thanks to Neil for sending in this programme. It is not only a historical document in its own right, but also has a fascinating link to the filming of Walt Disney's 'Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952).'

Many thanks to everyone who have been in contact.

If you have any memories you would like to share about Catherine Grant-Bogle or anyone else connected in some way to our favourite film, please leave a message below.                           

Robin Hood's 2 Chairs

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-1958)

Allen Wright, the owner of the fantastic Bold Outlaw site, has been in touch with some excellent examples of those 'Robin Hood chairs' being used in the television series The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-58). If you have any information of props from Disney's Robin Hood being used, or know where that are stored, please get in touch.

Behind the two Robin Hood chairs in The Adventures of Robin Hood

The film prop we know as 'Robin Hood's Chair' has been mentioned many times on this blog and the input from my readers has helped chronicle its use for sixty four years. This I believe is unique in the tv and movie world. 

I originally called it Robin Hood's Chair because of its continual appearance in productions about the outlaw. But what must be made clear is that there were originally two chairs designed by Carmen Dillon and her art department for Walt Disney's live-action film 'The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men' in 1951. 

The two chairs in Disney's Story of Robin Hood (1952)

This pair of ornate chairs only appear together for a few moments in a scene with Joan Rice as Maid Marian, Hubert Gregg as Prince John, Martitia Hunt as Queen Eleanor and Anthony Eustrel as the Archbishop of Canterbury (above). But the distinct style of these two chairs made them popular with set designers. They appeared two years later in Men of Sherwood (1954) along with other furniture props from the Disney movie.

Men of Sherwood (1954)

We now have a list of movies and tv shows that the Robin Hood Chair or Chairs have appeared in here.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-58)

If you have seen the two chairs being used in any other productions please get in touch.

What Happened to Joan Rice?

Joan Rice (1930-1997) played Maid Marian in Walt Disney's live-action film The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men, which was filmed in England in 1951. Thirty years later she captured my heart when I first saw that movie in my local cinema. So my blog is dedicated to her memory and for over nine years I have attempted to piece together Joan's life-story.

Joan Rice as Maid Marian

Many of Joan's family and friends have contacted me with anecdotes about her life and career, while fans of the film have sent magazine articles from the height of her fame. These can all be seen by following the Joan Rice link on this blog.

As always, I am indebted to Neil, a regular contributor and owner of the fantastic web site Films of the Fifties, who has discovered another very interesting article about Joan from the August 1955 edition of the film-fan magazine Photoplay. 

This piece by Philip Parrish, attempts to answer the question many of us have asked. What happened to the film career of Joan Rice?

Below is the text from that article, with some pictures of my own:

Joan Rice was groomed for film fame like a filly for a big race, what did she do wrong?

"There's a notion, probably spread by jealous and thwarted repertory actresses that Great Britain is seething with disregarded, potential stars.

It is true that good-lookers abound, that actresses more capable than Joan Collins can be found in Oldham or Oswestry. But the essential, conquering mystery of personality that cleaves through to the clammy hand-holders at the back of the cinema - that is a rare as Reds on Rhode Island.

Which brings me, surprisingly to the strange case of Joan Rice, "Miss Lyons, 1949."

Mention that name around the Rank Organisation four years ago, and eyes would light up and hands be rubbed gleefully together. Faces that had been haggard and down ever since Jean Simmons was lured to Hollywood by Howard Hughes cracked into bonny smiles. "Miss Rice," they said, "will be the new Jean Simmons." And one or two critics, not wholly blinded by the dark, were prepared to agree.

Joan Rice

Zoom forward to 1955. What has happened to the all promising super-curving Joan Rice, pride of the Nippies? She is sadly decorating B-minus pictures like Police Dog- not for the Rank boys. Her tidy little contract wasn't renewed last summer. Her Pinewood swan song was the thankless chore of keeping a stiff upper lip while Norman Wisdom laughed himself hoarse in One Good Turn. 

A new batch of up-and-comings have swept on to the payroll-Eunice Gayson, Jill adams, Josephine Griffin, Julia Arnell.

Horrid warning

Now I find that pathetic, stupid, and a horrid warning to all those girls who might win beauty contests and believe all the big talk handed out to them.

Joan Rice started with nothing but a flashing smile and a certain plump physical assets. She was polished and refined into a suitable leading lady for Burt Lancaster, with a nice little £50-a-week coming in steadily.

Joan Rice with Burt Lancaster

All that after a bleak, sordid, and love-starved childhood, during which she'd slaved as a kitchen-maid in a Nottingham orphanage and then came to London as a £3-a-week Corner House waitress.

She might have still been juggling tea-trays contently if the Welfare Officer hadn't insisted she entered for the sups-nippy competition.

Not interested

"I wasn't really interested," she says, "but they were short of entrants. One of the prizes was a camera-and that decided me."

The reluctant heroine was awarded first prize. She was encircled with a sash and congratulated by two film personalities provided by the Rank Organisation, John McCallum and Anne Crawford.

Well that was that. Joan Rice got her camera and a free week in Torquay, and was softened up for a sales-talk. She soon got it- from a film extra who used to sup at one of her tables. "You ought to be in films," he chattered.

So one day she wandered incoherently into Wardour Street, and was found on the stairs by an agent. And that agent, called Joan Rees, gave birth to a hunch. "I looked at her," she says, "and had faith in her."

Joan Rice at that point, was unpolished, and unrefined. Her voice echoed the worthy wood-notes of Nottinghamshire, her figure was promising, but ample. Her acting according to one Pinewood wiseacre was 'a pale imitation of an amateur giving an impression of Lillian Gish." The material, in fact, was not so much raw, as completely unquarried.

Then the agents took a hand. Joan Rees's boss George Routledge asked her measurements - and he looked at her feet. Joan Rice said she took "size six shoes." This was rather daunting, but then Garbo went far on a similarly broad basis.

Routledge decided to give her five pounds a week, a personal contract, and training with a dramatic coach called Helen Goss. He bought her some more flattering shoes, and Miss Rees dropped everything to devote her talents to selling Miss Rice.

Joan Rice with Joan Collins arriving for her first screen test

So an unwieldy teenager began to be transformed into a young lady who can air fluent, if unoriginal, views on the topics of the day without undue strain.

She as given public poise, being made to walk up and down a long flight of stairs fifty times until she could do it without touching the wall or the banister.

She was taken to smart restaurants to eat, and her Midland accent was worked upon. They didn't want to give her the standard R.A.D.A. voice, so they just softened the rough edges.

On view

Then she was introduced to Harold Huth, an ex-start of the silents, who now makes the speaking variety. And six months after she'd served her last plate of baked beans, Joan Rice was given her first film part, a tiny bit as a maid in One Wild Oat. Aims began to soar. Joan Rice was touted round the studios. She was even interviewed for the part in Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, subsequently filled by Ava Gardner.

And the film boys were impressed with Joan Rice. She has a face that can look a camera straight in the eye. That, in itself, is quite something, for most faces have facets and angles that can be forbidding if captured by a careless cameraman.

Joan is prepared for her next scene

Most important, she has a direct and lustrous appeal - a kind of untroubled gaiety and enthusiasm - that photography, which can be very searching, seeks out.

Off the screen, she seems the acme of ordinaries; on it, she appears deliciously super ordinary, when she gets the right handling.

The budding "oomph" was apparent to everybody. Joan Rice was cast as a girl who became a corpse in the first reel of Blackmailed. Second thoughts found her too promising for early death, so she was promoted to the larger footage of an artist's model, to be painted by Dirk Bogarde.

And she was a hit. Her unspoilt freshness - mainly displayed in natty black underwear - brought her such praise as "sensitive," "tremulous" and "Bergman-like."

Joan with Dirk Bogarde in 'Blackmailed'.

And the Rank Organisation stepped smartly in, bought out Harold Huth, and gave houseroom to Joan Rice.

Big plans

It seemed that Joan Rice had made it. Up and down the country she went on personal appearances. "A Cinderella story come true" - that's how they spoke of it. And Miss Rice, demurely clad in white taffeta, lived up to it.Big plans were mulled over in board-rooms. For a time it looked as if the Rice fortunes were on a soaring spiral. She landed the lead opposite Richard Todd in Walt Disney's version of Robin Hood. She was chosen by an American company to go to Fiji and Hollywood for His Majesty O'Keefe, opposite beefy Burt Lancaster.

Joan Rice in 'His Majesty O'Keefe'

In four years she made nine films, acquired a husband, David Green, and a baby called Michael. But early last year [1954] you could tell that temperatures were cooling. That early talk about taking over where Jean Simmons left off was forgotten.

Now I don't think Joan Rice is an earth quaker. I'm quite certain she'll never be squabbling with Grace Kelly over an "Oscar."

Film poster for 'Blackmailed'

But I stick to my original opinion. Potentially, she has a warm and effective personality that registers more than most. And all the hopes and efforts that went into grooming her should not be allowed to waste.

And the saddest fact of all? That Joan Rice, in danger of being forgotten when the parts are being dished out, is still only twenty five. Isn't that much too young for a pension?"

Philip Parrish (August 1955)

Well, Joan Rice will never be forgotten here!

Parrish gives some interesting details about Joan's start with Rank. Unfortunately they contradict details given by other magazines of the period. So perhaps we may never know exactly how Joan made those first steps to stardom.

There are now 82 pages about Joan Rice on this web site. They contain many photographs and articles about her life and film career. Just click here to see a lot more.

Disney's Robin Hood Comic Strip: 12

Here is the latest instalment of the comic strip, drawn by Jessie Marsh and based on Walt Disney's live-action film The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men which was released in 1952. Just click on the images to enlarge them.

To see the previous strips, please click on the label  Robin Hood Comic Strip. And to read about the illustrator Jessie Marsh, please click here.

Robin Hood Printed Fan Card

I have shown this image before, but Matt Crandall has managed to help me identify its original purpose. An online auction site describes the item above as:

"... full-color promotional card [10"x 8"] of Robin Hood, Maid Marian, Friar Tuck and two of the Merrie Men was produced by WDP to publicize the studio's 1952 feature film. The Story of Robin Hood was Disney's second all-live-action film, and it was made at Denham Studios in England with funds the could not be repatriated to the USA. Richard Todd, Joan Rice, Peter Finch, Hubert Gregg and Patrick Barr starred in the movie directed by Ken Annakin. 
Disney began producing these handsome prints in the 1930s, and they are called fan cards because they were generally sent to persons who wrote a "fan" letter to the studio or given out to those who attended a Disney promotional event."

Matt runs the excellent Disney's Alice in Wonderland blog which is well worth a visit.

Robin Hood's Curtains

Disney's Robin Hood curtains c.1952

Since starting this blog I have been astonished at the huge amount of promotion that went into Walt Disney's films. By clicking on the label Memorabilia you can see over 66 pages of merchandise connected to the live-action movie The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952).

Walt Disney was quick to realise the potential of selling various spin-offs. Back in the 1930's Herman 'Kay' Kamen had been hired by Walt to license his products and after the success of Snow White, there were 2,183 different items on sale. 16.5 million drinking glasses alone were sold. Kamen negotiated a fortune for himself and the Disney brothers.

We have seen newspaper articles from the time of the premiere of The Story of Robin Hood that show the window displays in London shops. Blog readers have sent in images of jigsaw puzzles, bows and arrows, projectors, books, comic strips, stamps, shirts and sweet ciggarettes - all connected to our favourite movie. But I was not expecting to see curtains!

The images of curtain remnants promoting Robin Hood were kindly sent in by Laurence from his personal collection. He wishes he could have had them hanging in his bedroom in the early 1950's. I am sure many of my readers will agree!

Disney's Story of Robin Hood Facebook Page

With 134 fans, the Disney's Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men Facebook page is growing every day.

Along with the blog this is yet another way of sharing facts, images and information about Walt Disney's classic live-action movie. Take a look at our Facebook page here.

David Davies (1906-1974)

Many thanks to Christian Roy for recently contacting me with information about another actor who appeared in our favourite movie. Christian says:

Dear Clement,
David Davies has been credited in The Story of Robin Hood but not spoken about in your most interesting blog. The Forester’s part is being played by David Davies - we briefly see him at Nottingham Square heralding Robin’s outlawry.
We best remember him as the jailer in Ber-Hur who stares at BH’s mother and sisters (who have contacted leprosy in jail).

David Davies as the Forester

As Christian mentions, David Davies (1906-1974) appeared as the burly forester in Walt Disney's live-action movie The Story of Robin Hood (1952). Standing in Nottingham Square, this 6' 4'' actor declares in his deeply gruff voice that Robin Hood (Richard Todd) has been declared an outlaw by Prince John (Hubert Gregg).

Davies as the Forester

Born in Bryn Mawr, Wales, Davies appeared in many British films including productions set in his homeland. These include The Three Weird Sisters (1948), Tiger Bay (1959), Only Two Can Play (1962) and Under Milk Wood (1972). But his height and stature also led him to being cast in authoritarian roles such as a police officer in the classic Ealing comedy The Lavender Hill Mob (1951),  a sergeant in Miss Robin Hood (1952), a Welsh police constable in The Third Key (1956) and as a captain in The Heroes of Telemark (1965).

Before appearing as the forester in The Story of Robin Hood, Davies had also appeared in Walt Disney's first English live-action movie. This was Treasure Island (1950) in which he played Mr Arrow alongside Robert Newton as Long John Silver.

David Davies as Mr Arrow in Treasure Island

Apart from a whole whole host of productions for the silver screen, Davies, like many other actors often made the transition to television. The list of his work includes many much-loved series of the 1950's and 1960's. These include, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Sir Francis Drake, Z Cars, Richard The Lionheart, The Avengers, No Hiding Place, Doomwatch, Armchair Theatre and Coronation Street.

David Davies sadly passed away in Carmarthen, Wales in 1974 aged 68.

There is 41 pages about the wonderful array of actors and actresses that appeared in Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood. Please click here, then scroll down to read about their lives and careers.

Disney's Robin Hood Comic Strip. 11

It has been a while, but Matt Crandall has now uploaded the latest instalments of the Robin Hood strips from the Belgian 'Mickey' magazine from 1953.

Matt runs the excellent Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland blog, which contains many rare items and collectables from the classic animated film. 

Since 2014 Matt has been sending me his collection of comic strips, drawn by Jessie Marsh and based on Walt Disney's live-action film The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men which was released in 1952. Just click on the images to enlarge them.

To see the previous strips, please click on the label  Robin Hood Comic Strip. And to read about the illustrator Jessie Marsh, please click here.