Elspeth's Memories of Robin Hood

Elspeth with Richard Todd

I was thrilled last week to finally get the chance to talk with Elspeth Gill, daughter of Alex Bryce the second unit director on Walt Disney’s Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952). Elspeth is a charming lady and we had quite a chat about those golden days. It was Neil who initially made contact with her last year and she shared with him some wonderful photographs taken behind the scenes, which can be seen here.

Alex Bryce second unit director with Richard Todd

At the age of sixteen, Elspeth had the enviable experience of watching the filming of Robin Hood at not only Burnham Beeches but also the huge sound stages at Denham Studios. During that period she was living in a house approximately four miles from the legendary studios. When Elspeth entered a fancy dress costume at that time, she was lucky enough to be allowed to borrow one of Richard Todd’s ‘Robin Hood’ costumes. She won the contest-of course!And afterwards rode her horse all the way to the Denham Studios. The security men on the gate were apparently pre-warned of her arrival!
Although it was over sixty years ago, she could vaguely remember meeting Walt Disney and described the Art Director, Carmen Dillon, as a formidable woman.  Richard Todd she said “was such a lovely, lovely, man.” He became a friend of the family and Elspeth had fond memories of Scottish dancing with him during the making of the later movie, Rob Roy.  Her father, she explained, loved making those live-action Disney movies.
James Hayter (Friar Tuck) and Richard Todd (Robin Hood)

During the filming of the scene in which Robin Hood meets Friar Tuck (James Hayter), Richard Todd asked Elspeth to keep hold of Barron, his Great Dane. Unfortunately Baron was a great deal stronger than Elspeth and she was dragged by the huge dog downwards towards the river!

Nottingham Town Square

Elspeth could also remember being somewhere high up during the filming of a scene in ‘Nottingham Town Square.’ But she kept feeling something hitting her body and when she looked around, she realised it was Peter Finch (Sheriff of Nottingham) throwing pebbles at her!

Peter Finch as the Sheriff of Nottingham


I hope to be able to talk to Elspeth again very soon, and capture some more of her  wonderful memories of those golden days!

  

Hobbehod - The Real Robin Hood?



Still the most tantalising discovery, in the search for a real Robin Hood, was the candidate first put forward by L. V. D. Owen of Nottingham University in 1936.  Owen had previously given consideration to Joseph Hunter’s theories about the Robert Hood of Wakefield, but suggested this historic figure as a contender for the inspiration behind the Geste.  He discovered in the government pipe rolls between the years 1225-1234 that the Sheriff of Yorkshire had accounted for the chattels of a Robert Hood fugitive. Also, under the year 1228 the outlaw’s name is written in its colloquial form as ‘Hobbehod.’
The merit of this identification, argued Owen, was that it allowed Robin to be active during the reigns of Richard I and John, and for him to become a legend by the date of Piers Plowman. Owen also noted that rioters in Yorkshire during the 1230’s, led by Sir Robert Thweng, protesting against foreign clergy, sold grain cheaply and gave some away for the benefit of the poor.
Below is a basic timeline of events that surround the discovery by Owen and the follow-up investigation by Dr David Crook, who also argued that this Robert Hood ‘was the only realistic candidate already in the field.’ Crook investigated further the career of Eustace of Lowdham, the Sheriff of Yorkshire at that time and also his pursuit of Robert of Wetherby.
1224:
Philip Marc, the notorious Sherriff of Nottingham is replaced by Ralph fitz Nicholas. Four months later on the 29th April 1224 Marc’s deputy known as Eustace of Lowdham became Sheriff of Yorkshire.
1225:
12th July: At Winchester the King and Justicar authorized a writ to the barons of the exchequer to allow the Sheriff of Yorkshire 40 shillings spent by him on the royal order, to hire sergeants to ‘seek and take and behead Robert of Wetherby, outlaw and evildoer of our land.’
From the following years account we learn that a further 28 shillings were spent on the operation, and the leader of the sergeants was a man called William the Vintner.
On the 25th July Robert de Lexington held assizes at York as head of the Royal Justices to hear pleas of ‘novel disseisin’ and ‘mort de ancestor’. When the penalties were put in charge at the Exchequer they included:

“Iden vicecomes debet xxxij.s.et.vjd. de catallis Roberti Hod fugitivi.” [PR Henry III p.274]

“32 shillings and sixpence in the matter of the chattels of Robert Hood fugitive.”
Unfortunately Lexington’s plea roll, which would have given detail of the offence he was accused of has not survived.
On the 27th November, when Eustace of Lowdham accounted for his shire at the Exchequer, as he had done so often for Philip Marc, he claimed 2 shillings ‘for a chain to hang Robert of Wetherby.’
Nothing is further known of Robert of Wetherby but the purchase of the chain seems to imply that he was no ordinary criminal and hung up and put on display.
1227:
Every Michaelmas the clerks of the Exchequer recorded the sums of money paid into the Royal Treasury by the sheriffs. The name Robert Hood appears in the Yorkshire account in nine successive pipe rolls from 1226 -1234, six times as Robert Hod and once in 1229 as Robert Hood. But also in 1227 and 1228 in its colloquial form as ‘Hobbehod.’

The name ‘Hobbehod’ could be a variant outlaw name to be associated with the recurring figure ‘Hobbe the Robber’ mentioned in PiersPlowman and also the contemporary ‘John Ball Letters’ of the 1381 Peasants Revolt. Its mythological connotations bring us to Robin Goodfellow and Hobgoblins and it has also been suggested that the fugitive might have rode a small horse-a hobby. But it is more likely the scribe used the Middle-English ‘Hob’ as another form of Robert/Robin.

Written in the margin is evidence to show that the debt was due from the Liberty of St. Peter York. St. Peter is inserted in the margin of the roll next to his name and again in 1234 when the name is preceded by a cross. So in effect the fugitive was a tenant of the Archbishop of York or in some way a subject of his jurisdiction. Hood’s chattels were therefore claimed and eventually granted to the Archbishop.

1232: Eustace of Lowdham becomes Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

1227 /1232: Eustace of Lowdham was justice of the gaol delivery for Nottingham.

From all this we have two men sharing the same Christian name, both subjects of the Archbishop of York, hunted in those summer days in Yorkshire possible around Barnsdale in  1225. Pursued by someone who as a former ‘working Sheriff of Nottingham’ could have been known by that title by the people of Yorkshire.

                                                  Barnsdale in Yorkshire

Dr David Crook says that it is ‘conceivable’ that Robert of Wetherby and Robert Hood were one and the same man. ‘Wetherby had been outlawed by July, possibly before, whereas Robert Hood was described merely as a fugitive; that would usually be taken to mean that he was a subject who had fled, but the confiscation of his chattels could have been noted at a time when he had not yet been outlawed.’

The fact that Eustace of Lowdham had been clerk and ‘working’ Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire’ from 1217 till 1224 under the hated sheriff, Philip Marc, could explain the links with Nottingham and Sherwood. Eustace had been an established man of property and man of affairs in his native village of Lowdham, near Sherwood, in Nottinghamshire during the reign of King John.



I am not convinced that Wetherby and Robert Hood were one and the same person. But this is as close as we have come so far in search of an historical outlaw, who fits the early Yorkshire locations mentioned in the ballad, The Geste of Robyn Hode. This Robert Hood owed money to St. Peter’s York which would explain the ballad hero’s hostility to the established church in that area. Some writers have suggested that Robert Hood/Hobbehod might have followed Eustace from Yorkshire to Nottingham to pursue a vendetta against a Sheriff who had seized his property. This would certainly explain the conundrum over the two locations used in the ballads.

Professor J.C. Holt, the leading authority on research into the outlaw, describes Hobbehod as ‘the only possible original of Robin Hood so far discovered, who is known to have been an outlaw.’ What do you think?


Robin Hood Flour: The Miller's Ransom

Robin Hood Flour was founded in 1900 by Donald Mclean in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, in western Canada. In 1909 the mill was taken over by Francis Atherton Bean of Minneapolis and within two years it was producing over 1,600 barrels of flour a day. Using the green and red ‘archer’ emblem as a sign of good value and respectability, Robin Hood Flour and its recipes have remained popular for over a century.
A while ago I posted about Robin Hood Flour and their promotion of the live action Disney film The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952). Below are the first five pages of the very rare Robin Hood Flour Comic that was produced as part of the campaign. These pages were very kindly sent in by Laurence.
Laurence commented on how the artist has remained quite faithful to the costumes in the film and I was also impressed by the quality of the artwork.






There are more pages to come!

Richard Todd & Joan Rice


To celebrate the most romantic day of the year, Valentine’s Day, I have posted one of my favourite stills from Walt Disney’s Story of Robin Hood (1952). Above is Richard Todd as Robin Hood and Joan Rice as Maid Marian in a passionate pose to promote the live-action movie. I think you will agree that it’s quite a steamy shot for a Disney film!

To see many other promotional stills from Disney’s Robin Hood, just click on Picture Gallery.


The Production Unit in Nottinghamshire



I was thrilled to discover this press picture (above) for sale on Ebay recently. It is a very rare image of Walt Disney’s legendary producer Perce Pearce (1899-1955) and Richard Todd (1919-2009) practising a quarter-staff fight during their fact-finding trip to Nottinghamshire before the filming of the Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men.
Below is an extract from the magazine Photoplay dated June 1951 about the trip:

“When Walt Disney first announced that he was to make ‘Robin Hood’ he received a letter from the Sheriff of Nottingham inviting him to visit the City Library and inspect the collection of over a thousand books of ‘Robin Hood’ lore. Walt Disney replied that he himself would be unable to go to England until the film actually went before the cameras, but that he would extend the kind invitation to Richard Todd and his production unit under the supervision of producer Perce Pearce.

When Richard Todd and the production unit visited Nottingham this spring [1951], they were received by the Lord Mayor, the Sheriff and other civic dignitaries and were afforded every possible local facility to retrace the footsteps of the famous outlaw.

Richard Todd absorbed a mine of information which gave him a penetrating insight into the character of Robin Hood when he came to portray his historic counterpart. The production unit, too, covered many miles of Robin Hood country, to ensure that local settings reproduced at Denham Studios under the supervision of Art Director Carmen Dillon, should maintain the highest degree of authenticity.”



Some of the places that the production crew visited included Nottingham City Library, Nottingham Castle, Newstead Abbey, Edwinstowe, Sherwood Forest including Robin Hood’s Larder (now gone) and the Major Oak, Ollerton, Creswell Crags, Nottingham’s Caves, the Salutation Inn and the Trip to Jerusalem Inn.
Walt Disney’s production crew included producer Perce Pearce, script writer Lawrence Watkin, historical advisor Dr. Charles Beard and art director Carmen Dillon.



Sunset Over Sherwood Forest


Peter Ellenshaw worked on over 30 films for Walt Disney. His beautiful matte paintings created the fantasy worlds that were essential in the days before computer special effects. On Disney’s Story of Robin Hood he painted twelve matte shots-and one image in particular always stands out for me. It is the final shot in which Alan a Dale walks into the sunset playing his lute.

On my last visit to Sherwood Forest I was determined to see if I could emulate that particular image. So I waited patiently by the entrance to the Visitor Centre-camera ready. Below is my attempt at capturing that special moment in the film as the sun sets over the woodland.

Sherwood is a magical place, full of legend, natural beauty and well worth a visit. Once stepping along the winding paths, listening to the birdsong and visiting the sun dappled glades it is very easy to be transported back to the world of Robin Hood.

Below are some more pictures I have taken during my visits to what has become known as England’s heart of oak-Sherwood Forest.

Trees struck by lightening

A forest glade

Sunrise in Sherwood
 
If you would like to see more of my pictures, please visit Tony's Tripod.

Picture Show & Film Pictorial April 12th 1952


Geoff Waite has recently been in touch and very kindly sent in information from the magazine Picture Show & Film Pictorial dated April 12th 1952. This article shows fascinating details of the promotion of Walt Disney’s Story of Robin Hood and how it was received by critics after its release.
He says:
“I recently acquired a copy of the weekly magazine Picture Show & Film Pictorial for April 12 1952 which included a review of the new Disney Robin Hood film and featured Richard Todd and Joan Rice on the front cover.”



“The new releases were allocated three stars for Excellent, two for Very Good and one for Good. You will see that Robin Hood received two stars i.e. Very Good along with the James Stewart release Where the River Bends and that no three stars were awarded that week. Even Doris Day and Gordon MacRae in Starlift only succeeded in gaining one star.”


Geoff continues:
“The film is described as ‘delightful entertainment’ and that ‘Richard Todd is a lively, youthful Robin, and newcomer Joan Rice is a pretty, tomboyish Maid Marian’.


One of the advertisements featured in that particular issue of Picture Show was obviously influenced somewhat by the publicity surrounding the new Disney film although there is no mention of either Disney or Robin Hood.”

I expect some of you have recognised a very young Roger Moore in the advert that Geoff mentiones above. He of course went on to play Ivanhoe, The Saint and James Bond in his long career.  So a very big thank you to Geoff for sending me this wonderful information and giving us all an insight into how the movie was received at the time.
To read many other reviews of Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men please click here.

Film & TV Clips of Joan Rice


Joan Rice’s appearance on Thames TV’s This Is Your Life was first broadcast on 23rd November 1988. It was hosted by Michael Aspel who presented the life of Richard Todd.

In March 2010 Neil sent me a copy of that original programme from which I was able to print out the dialogue and show screen shots of their first meeting in thirty seven years which can be seen here: Walt Disneys First Maid Marian.

Also during that time Theresa contacted me and described how nervous Joan was about appearing on that show:

 “I worked at The Kings Arms in Cookham from summer '88 to summer '89. I remember her appearance on ‘This is Your Life’. She had been incredibly nervous and wasn't entirely sure she could do it. She had also had to keep it secret so help and support was not readily available to her.”

Joan Rice and Ken McKenzie in Cookham in 1983

Maria Steyn (once a close friend of Joan Rice) has very kindly uploaded the clip of Joan and Richard’s historical meeting on that show, so that readers of this blog can view it. To see the original video footage please click here: Joan Rice and Richard Todd on 'This Is Your Life.'



Also on Maria's link is a very rare silent newsreel clip of  the wedding of Joan Rice to David Green on February 16th 1953. Maria has also  kindly offered to upload footage of some of Joan Rice’s movies in the future These will appear on this link which will be steadily filled with new clips, movies, videos as they become available, restored and edited for proper viewing - so stay tuned!
  

Film & Television Production at Burnham Beeches


Due to its beautiful woodland and close proximity to London (25 miles) and many film studios, (Shepperton, Bray and Pinewood) Burnham Beeches in Buckinghamshire, England, has been used for many movie and television projects down the years. It is characterised by a diverse mixture of ancient woodland, wood pasture, coppice, ponds and streams, grassland, mire and heath land. The sites most prominent features are the veteran Beech and Oak pollarded trees which provide a stable habitat for many rare and endangered deadwood species.

It covers an area of 220 hectares (540 acres) and is located close to Farnham Common, Burnham and Beaconsfield.


An ancient pollarded tree in 2009

Filming is tightly controlled due to recognition of the Beeches' international importance for wildlife, restricting filming to no more than 20 days per year and to certain times of year. Filming in environmentally sensitive areas has also been banned. The revenue from filming goes directly to fund the upkeep and management of the Beeches.

During my visit in April 2009 I was given a list of ‘all’ the filming that has taken place there since 1946 and too my horror one film in particular was omitted. Yes you guessed it, Walt Disney’s ‘Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men,’ which was filmed at a number of places in the area, including Mendelssohn’s Slope and Upper and Middle Pond in 1951.

So let’s try and put the record straight:


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Film 2010: Daniel Radcliffe



The film crew and production team of Harry Potter at Burnham Beeches in 2009


Creation Film 2008: Paul Bettany, Jenifer Connelly


Made With Magic TV 2008: Jamie Oliver


Jonathan Creek Christmas Special TV 2008: Alan Davies


New Tricks Series 5 TV 2008: Amanda Redman, Dennis Waterman


Merlin TV 2008: Colin Morgan, Bradley James


Midsomer Murders TV 2008: John Nettles


Eden Lake Film 2007: Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender


Sense & Sensibility TV 2007: Mark Williams, David Morrissey


Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix Film 2006: Daniel Radcliffe, Evanna Lynch


Primeval TV 2006: Douglas Henshall, Hannah Spearitt


Waking the Dead TV 2006: Trevor Eve, Sue Johnson


New Tricks TV 2005: Amanda Redman, Dennis Waterman


I Could Never Be Your Woman Film 2005: Michelle Pfeiffer


Driving Lessons FILM 2005: Rupert Grint, Julie Waters


Waking the Dead TV 2005: Trevor Eve, Sue Johnston


King Arthur Film 2004: Clive Owen, Keira Knightley


Winter Solstice TV 2003: Jan Niklas, Geraldine Chaplin


In Deep TV 2002: Nick Berry, Stephen Tompkinson


Born and Bred TV 2002: Naomi Radcliffe, Jenna Russell


The Hole Film 2000: Thora Birch, Keira Knightley


Midsomer Murders TV 2000 John Nettles


The Worst Witch TV Una Stubbs


Alice in Wonderland TV 1998 Whoopi Goldberg, Christopher Lloyd


Family Affairs TV 1998 Ebony Thomas, Kazia Pelka


Plunkett & Macleane Film 1998 Robert Carlyle, Liv Tyler


Merlin TV 1997/8 Sam Neil, Martin Short


Tess of the D’Urbervilles TV 1997 Justin Waddell


Bedroom 7 Hallways Film 1997 Kevin McKidd, Simon Callow


Kavanagh QC TV 1997 John Thaw


Spiceworld Film 1997 The Spice Girls, Richard E Grant


Bright Hair TV 1997 Emilia Fox, John Bowe


Bliss TV 1996 Simon Shepherd


Touching Evil TV 1997 Robson Green


Wilderness TV 1996 Amanda Ooms, Michael Kitchen


Ivanhoe TV 1996 Steve Waddington, Nick Brimble


The Wind in the Willows Film 1996 Steve Coogan, Eric Idle


The Hollow Reed Film 1995 Joely Richardson


Roald Dahl’s Red Riding Hood TV 1995 July Walters, Danny Devito


Guliver’s Travels TV 1995 Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen


Soldier Soldier TV1994/5 Robson Green, Jerome Flynn


Martin Chuzzlewit TV 1994 Julia Sawalha


First Knight Film 1994 Richard Gere, Julia Ormond


Circle of Friends Film 1994 Minnie Driver, Chris O’Donnell


Between The Lines TV 1993 Neil Pearson, Siobhan Redman


The Crying Game Film 1992 Stephen Rea, Jaye Davidson


King Ralph Film 1991 Peter O’ Toole, John Goodman


Kevin Costner in Robin Hood : Prince of Thieves
The movie was filmed all over Burnham Beeches



Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Film 1990 Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman


Minder-Xmas Special TV 1988 Denis Waterman, George Cole


The Princess Bride Film 1987 Cary Elwes, Robin Wright Penn


Slipstream Film 1987 Mark Hamill, Robin Coltrane


Lair of the White Worm Film 1987 Hugh Grant, Amanda Donohoe


Mr Corbett’s Ghost TV 1987 Burgess Meredith, Mel Smith


Company of Wolves Film 1982/3 Angela Lansbury


Who Dares Wins Film 1982 Lewis Collins


Hawk the Slayer Film 1981/2 Jack Palance


Time Bandits Film 1981 John Cleese, Bernard Bresslaw


John Cleese as Robin Hood in Time Bandits


Agatha Film 1979 Dustin Hoffman, Vanessa Redgrave


Dick Turpin TV 1978 Richard O’Sullivan


The Professionals TV 1977 Lewis Collins, Martin Shaw


Carry On England Film 1976 Sid James, Kenneth Williams


The New Avengers TV 1976 Patrick Macknee, Joanna Lumley


Carry On Behind Film 1975 Sid James, Kenneth Williams


Frankenstein: The True Story Film 1973 Ralph Richardson, Jane Seymour


Bless This House Film 1972 Sid James, Diana Coupland


The Benny Hill Show TV 1971 Benny Hill


The Persuaders TV 1971 Roger Moore, Tony Curtis


Carry On Camping Film 1969 Sid James Kenneth Williams


Randall & Hopkirk-Deceased TV 1969 Mike Pratt, Kenneth Cope


Manhunt TV 1969 Cyd Hayman


The Siege of the Saxons Film 1963


Z Cars TV 1962 Colin Welland


The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Film 1962 Michael Redgrave, Tom Courtenay


The Avengers TV 1961 Patrick Macknee, Diana Rigg


Dangerman TV 1960 Patrick McGoohan


(VARIOUS) Hammer Horror films FILM 1960’s -70’s


Goldfinger Film 1960 Sean Connery


A Town Called Alice Film 1956 Peter Finch, Virginia Mc Kenna


Lost Film 1955 Thora Hird

Men of Sherwood Forest Film 1954 Don Taylor, Reginald Beckwith

Perce Pearce the producer of Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood
with Art Director Carmen Dillon and 2nd Unit Direcor Alex Bryce at Burnham Beeches



Walt Disney’s Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men Film 1952 Richard Todd, Joan Rice


London Belongs To Me FILM 1948: Richard Attenborough


Great Expectations FILM 1946 John Mills

If you know of any other TV of film productions not listed that used Burnham Beeches as a location, please get in touch.