The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
- Starring:
- Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, (more)
- Director(s):
- William Keighley, Michael Curtiz, (more
- Category:
- Action / Adventure
Member Rating
My RatingSynopsis of The Adventures of Robin Hood
In order to avoid the material copyrighted by Douglas Fairbanks Sr. for his 1922 Robin Hood, the scripters of this Flynn version relied on several legendary episodes that had never before been filmed, notably the battle between Robin and Little John (Alan Hale Sr., who played this part three times in his long career) and the "piggy-back" episode between Robin and Friar Tuck (Eugene Pallette). The film ties together the various ancient anecdotes with a storyline bounded by the capture in Austria of Richard the Lionheart (Ian Hunter) on one end and Richard's triumphant return to England on the other. Robin Hood is already an outlaw at the outset of the film, while Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland) is initially part of the enemy camp, as one of Prince John's (Claude Rains) entourage. Marian warms up to Robin's fight against injustice (and to Robin himself), eventually becoming a trusted ally. James Cagney was originally announced for the role of Robin Hood, just before Cagney left Warner Bros. in a salary dispute. William Keighley was the original director, but he worked too slowly to suit the tight production schedule and was replaced by Michael Curtiz (both men receive screen credit). A lengthy opening jousting sequence was shot but removed from the final print; portions of this sequence show up as stock footage in the 1957 Warners film The Story of Mankind. The chestnut-colored Palomino horse ridden by de Havilland in the Sherwood Forest scenes later gained screen stardom as Roy Rogers' Trigger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 102 mins
Complete Cast of The Adventures of Robin Hood
- Errol Flynn - Robin Hood
- Basil Rathbone - Sir Guy of Gisbourne
- Patric Knowles - Will Scarlett
- Alan Hale - Little John
- Ian Hunter - Richard I the Lionheart
- Herbert Mundin - Much-the-Miller's-son
- Leonard Willey - Sir Essex
- Kenneth Hunter - Sir Mortimer
- Colin Kenny - Sir Baldwin
- Harry Cording - Dickon Malbete
- Ivan Simpson - Proprietor of the Kent Road Tavern
- Herbert Evans - Seneschal
- John Sutton - Richard's Knight
- Marten Lamont - Sir Guy's Squire
- Leonard Mudie - Town Crier
- Austin Fairman - Sir Nigel
- Holmes Herbert - Archery Referee
- Olaf Hytten - Outlaw
- Reginald Sheffield - Herald at Archery Toumament
- Crauford Kent - Sir Norbert
- Lionel Belmore - Humility Prin
- Olivia de Havilland - Maid Marian
- Claude Rains - Prince John
- Eugene Pallette - Friar Tuck
- Melville Cooper - Sheriff of Nottingham
- Una O'Connor - Bess
- Montagu Love - Bishop of the Black Cannons
- Robert Noble - Sir Ralf
- Robert Warwick - Sir Geoffrey
- Lester Matthews - Sir Ivor
- Howard Hill - Captain of Archers
- James Baker - Philip of Arras
- Hal Brazeale - High Sheriff's Squire
- Wilfred Lucas - Archery Official
- Janet Shaw - Humility's Daughter
- Charles McNaughton - Crippen
- Leyland Hodgson - Norman Officer
- Edward Dew - Outlaw
- Val Stanton - Outlaw
- Alec Harford - Outlaw
- Peter Hobbes - Outlaw
- Director(s):
- William Keighley, Michael Curtiz
- Writer(s):
- Norman Reilly Raine, Seton Miller
- Producer(s):
- Hal B. Wallis, Henry Blanke
- Categories:
- Action / Adventure
- 1938 - Film Daily - 10 Best Films
- 1994 - Library of Congress - U.S. National Film Registry
- 1938 - New York Times - 10 Best Films
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