The Adventures of Robin Hood is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros., produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, that stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, and Claude Rains.
Written by Norman Reilly Raine and Seton I. Miller, the film concerns a Saxon knight who, in King Richard's absence in the Holy Land during the Crusades, fights back as the outlaw leader of a rebel guerrilla band against Prince John and the Norman lords oppressing the Saxon commoners.
The Adventures of Robin Hood has been acclaimed by critics since its release. In 1995, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation by the National Film Registry.
Alan Hale, Sr., who plays Little John, had played the same character in the 1922 version of the film and went on to play him again in Rogues of Sherwood Forest, released by Columbia in 1950.
Video The Adventures of Robin Hood
Plot
Richard the Lionheart (Ian Hunter), the King of England, is taken captive in 1191 by Leopold V, Duke of Austria while returning to England. Richard's treacherous brother, Prince John (Claude Rains), usurps the throne and proceeds to oppress the Saxons. Robin of Locksley (Errol Flynn), a Saxon nobleman, saves Much (Herbert Mundin) from being apprehended for poaching by Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone).
Only Robin openly opposes Prince John. At Gisbourne's castle, Robin boldly tells John, his Norman followers, and the initially contemptuous Lady Marian Fitzwalter (Olivia de Havilland), the King's ward, that he will do all in his power to restore Richard to the throne. He then escapes. He, his friend Will Scarlet (Patric Knowles) and Much take refuge in Sherwood Forest and recruit Little John (Alan Hale, Sr.), Friar Tuck (Eugene Pallette), and others to the cause. Branded as outlaws, Robin and his band fight against Prince John's tyranny.
Robin and his men capture a large party of Normans transporting tax money extorted from the Saxons. Among Robin's "guests" are Sir Guy of Gisbourne, the cowardly Sheriff of Nottingham (Melville Cooper), and Lady Marian. At first disdainful of Robin, Marian comes to realize he is right about Norman brutality. Robin allows the humiliated Sir Guy and the Sheriff to leave Sherwood, telling them that they have Lady Marian's presence to thank for their being allowed to leave.
The Sheriff devises a cunning scheme to capture Robin by announcing an archery tournament with the prize of a golden arrow to be presented by Marian. All goes as planned: Robin cannot resist the temptation. He wins the tournament, but is captured and sentenced to hang.
Marian helps Robin's men rescue him from the gallows. When he later sneaks back to Nottingham Castle to see her, they pledge their love for each other, but Marian declines to leave, believing she can best help by acting as Robin's spy.
King Richard and his men have secretly returned to England, disguised as monks. At a roadside inn, the Bishop of the Black Canons (Montagu Love) recognizes him and alerts Prince John. Dickon Malbete (Harry Cording), a degraded knight, agrees to dispose of Richard in return for the restoration of his rank and Robin's manor and estate.
Marian overhears their plot and writes a note to Robin, but Gisbourne finds it and has her arrested. Marian's confidante, Bess (Una O'Connor), sends Much to warn Robin. On the way, he intercepts and kills Dickon, but is wounded.
As Richard and his disguised knights travel through Sherwood Forest, they are stopped by Robin and his men. When asked if he supports Richard, the incognito King replies, "I love no man better". Robin invites him to dine with them, when Much returns and informs Robin of Marian's peril and that Richard is now in England. Robin orders a search to find the King and bring him to Sherwood for safety. At that point, Richard reveals his identity to the now astonished men.
Robin devises a plan to sneak into Nottingham Castle. He coerces the Bishop of the Black Canons to include his men, disguised as monks, in his entourage for John's coronation. In the great hall, Richard reveals himself to the assembled nobles, and a melee breaks out. Robin and Gisbourne engage in a prolonged sword fight, ending with Gisbourne's death. Robin frees Marion from her dungeon cell, as Prince John's faction is defeated. Richard exiles John and his followers for the remainder of his lifetime and pardons the men of Sherwood. He elevates Robin Hood to Baron of Locksley and Earl of Sherwood and Nottingham. Having noticed how they feel about each other, Richard also commands that Robin marry the Lady Marian. Having snuck away from the well-wishers, from across the great hall, with Marian at this side, Robin replies, "May I obey all your commands with equal pleasure, Sire!"
Maps The Adventures of Robin Hood
Cast
Uncredited Cast
Production
The Adventures of Robin Hood was produced at an estimated cost of $2 million, the most expensive film Warner Bros. had made up to that time. It was also the studio's first large budget color film utilizing the three-strip Technicolor process. It was an unusually extravagant production for the Warner Bros. studio, which had made a name for itself in producing socially-conscious, low-budget gangster films, but their adventure movies starring Flynn had generated hefty revenue and Robin Hood was created to capitalize on this.
James Cagney was originally cast as Robin Hood, but walked out on his contract with Warner Bros., paving the way for Flynn, although filming was postponed three years.
The film was shot on location in various areas of California. Bidwell Park in Chico stood in for Sherwood Forest, although one major scene was filmed at the California locations "Lake Sherwood" and "Sherwood Forest", so named because they were the location sites for the 1922 Douglas Fairbanks production of Robin Hood. Several scenes were shot at the Warner Bros. Burbank Studios and the Warner Ranch in Calabasas. The archery tournament was filmed at the former Busch Gardens, now part of Lower Arroyo Park, in Pasadena.
Stunt men and bit players, padded with balsa wood on protective metal plates, were paid $150 per arrow for being shot by professional archer Howard Hill. Hill, although listed as the archer captain defeated by Robin, was cast as Elwen the Welshman, an archer seen shooting at Robin in his escape from Nottingham castle and, later, defeated by Robin at the archery tournament. To win, Robin splits the arrow of Philip of Arras, a captain of the guard under Gisbourne, who had struck the bullseye. An examination of the film images in slow motion led to speculation that the arrow split may have been made of bamboo and had been previously split, the parts being held together with small rings. Buster Wiles - a stuntman and close friend of Errol Flynn - maintains that the arrow splitting stunt was carried out using an extra large arrow (for the target) and that the second arrow had a wide, flat arrowhead and was fired along a wire. Wiles discusses the scene in his autobiography, My Days With Errol Flynn.
Hill can also be seen in the scene where Robin is rescued from the gallows as one of the Merry Men. Concealed in a wagon, he shoots a mounted man-at-arms, whose horse is instantly mounted by the bound Robin Hood and ridden to the city gate.
Korngold's music score
In 1938, Korngold was conducting opera in Austria when he was asked by Warner Bros. to return to Hollywood and compose a score for The Adventures of Robin Hood. The film is considered the finest of its kind, with a continuous series of romantic and adventurous sequences propelled by Korngold's dynamic score. Music historian Laurence E. MacDonald notes that there were many factors which made the film a success, including its cast, its Technicolor photography, and fast-paced direction by Michael Curtiz, but "most of all, there is Korngold's glorious music". And film historian Rudy Behlmer describes Korngold's contribution to this and his other films:
Korngold's score was a splendid added dimension. His style for the Flynn swashbucklers resembled that of the creators of late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century German symphonic tone poems. It incorporated chromatic harmonies, lush instrumental effects, passionate climaxes--all performed in a generally romantic manner. Korngold's original and distinctive style was influenced by the Wagnerian leitmotif, the orchestral virtuosity of Richard Strauss, the delicacy and broad melodic sweep of Puccini, and the long-line development of Gustav Mahler.
Before Korngold began composing the score, Austria was invaded by Germany and annexed by the Nazis. His home in Vienna was confiscated by the Nazis. And because it meant that all Jews in Austria were now at risk, Korngold stayed in America until the end of World War II. He later said, "We thought of ourselves as Viennese; Hitler made us Jewish". Korngold noted that the opportunity to compose the score for Robin Hood saved his life.
It also gave him his second Academy Award for Best Original Score and established the symphonic style that would later be used in action films during Hollywood's Golden Age. Modern day epics such as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies similarly included original symphonic scores. Composer John Williams has cited Korngold as his insipiration in scoring the Star Wars series.
Reception
Contemporary reviews were highly positive. "A richly produced, bravely bedecked, romantic and colorful show, it leaps boldly to the forefront of this year's best", wrote Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times. "It is cinematic pageantry at its best", raved Variety. "A highly imaginative retelling of folklore in all the hues of Technicolor, deserving handsome boxoffice returns". Film Daily called it "high class entertainment" with "excellent direction" and an "ideal choice" in the casting of Flynn. "Excellent entertainment!" wrote Harrison's Reports. "Adventure, romance, comedy, and human appeal have been skilfully blended to give satisfaction on all counts ... The duel in the closing scenes between the hero and his arch enemy is the most exciting ever filmed". John Mosher of The New Yorker called it "a rich, showy, and, for all its tussles, somewhat stolid affair", praising Flynn's performance and the action sequences but finding the "excellent collection" of supporting actors to be "somewhat buried under the medieval panoply".Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 100% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 44 reviews, with an average score of 8.9/10. The film is currently No. 29 on Rotten Tomatoes' list of the best-rated films in cinema. Rotten Tomatoes summarizes the critical consensus as, "Errol Flynn thrills as the legendary title character, and the film embodies the type of imaginative family adventure tailor-made for the silver screen".
Box office
The Adventures of Robin Hood became the sixth-highest-grossing film of the year, with just over $4 million in revenues at a time when the average ticket price was less than 25 cents.
According to Warner Bros records the film earned $1,928,000 domestically and $2,053,000 foreign.
Warner Bros. was so pleased with the results that the studio cast Flynn in two more color epics before the end of the decade: Dodge City and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex.
A sequel, Sir Robin of Locksley was announced but never developed.
Awards and nominations
The film won three Academy Awards at the 11th Academy Awards and was nominated for one more:
- Academy Awards (1938):
- Won: Best Art Direction (Carl Jules Weyl)
- Won: Best Film Editing (Ralph Dawson)
- Won: Best Original Score (Erich Wolfgang Korngold) - The love theme of Robin and Marian went on to become a celebrated concert piece.
- Nominated: Best Picture (Hal B. Wallis, Henry Blanke)
- Other honors:
- In 2001 the film came in at #84 on "The Best Films of All Time" as voted by channel 4.
- In 2001 the film appeared at #100 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills list.
- In 2003 the main character, Robin Hood, appeared as the #18 Hero on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains list.
- In 2005 the film appeared at #11 on AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores list.
Legacy
Due to the film's popularity, Errol Flynn's name and image became inextricably linked with that of Robin Hood in the public eye, even more so than Douglas Fairbanks, who had played the role previously in 1922.
This was the third film to pair Flynn and Olivia de Havilland (after Captain Blood and The Charge of the Light Brigade). They would ultimately star together in nine films, the aforementioned and Four's a Crowd (1938), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), Dodge City (1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940), They Died with Their Boots On (1941) and Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943), although they shared no scenes in the last film.
Scenes and costumes worn by the characters have been imitated and spoofed endlessly. For instance, in the Bugs Bunny animated short film, Rabbit Hood, Bugs is continually told by a dim-witted Little John, "Don't you worry, never fear; Robin Hood will soon be here." When Bugs finally meets Robin at the end of the film, he is stunned to find that it is Errol Flynn, in a spliced-in clip from this film (he subsequently shakes his head and declares, "It couldn't be him!"). Other parodies were Daffy Duck and Porky Pig in Robin Hood Daffy and Goofy and Black Pete in Goof Troop's Goofin' Hood & His Melancholy Men.
A fragment of one of the film's sword fighting scenes was converted to sprites by Jordan Mechner and used for his 1989 platform game Prince of Persia.
In Disney's 2010 animated film Tangled, the appearance and personality of Flynn Rider are partly inspired by that of Errol Flynn, with his surname also being used in homage.
The Adventures of Robin Hood is often used as a benchmark for productions of later Robin Hood films.
See also
- List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a film review aggregator website
References
Notes
Citations
External links
- The Adventures of Robin Hood on IMDb
- The Adventures of Robin Hood at AllMovie
- The Adventures of Robin Hood at the TCM Movie Database
- The Adventures of Robin Hood at the American Film Institute Catalog
- The Adventures of Robin Hood at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Adventures of Robin Hood at Virtual History
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments