The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Directors:

Michael Curtiz
William Keighley

Writers:

Norman Reilly Raine (original screenplay) and
Seton I. Miller (original screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

14 May 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Romance

Tagline:

The Best Loved Bandit Of All Time!

Plot:

When Prince John and the Norman Lords begin oppressing the Saxon masses in King Richard's absence, a Saxon lord fights back as the outlaw leader of a rebel guerrilla army.

Plot Keywords:

Prince | Outlaw | Forest | Sherwood Forest | Usurper

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Errol Flynn	...	Robin Hood
Olivia de Havilland	...	Maid Marian
Basil Rathbone	...	Sir Guy of Gisbourne
Claude Rains	...	Prince John
Patric Knowles	...	Will Scarlett
Eugene Pallette	...	Friar Tuck
Alan Hale	...	Little John
Melville Cooper	...	High Sheriff of Nottingham
Ian Hunter	...	King Richard the Lion-Heart
Una O'Connor	...	Bess
Herbert Mundin	...	Much
Montagu Love	...	Bishop of the Black Canons
Leonard Willey	...	Sir Essex
Robert Noble	...	Sir Ralf
Kenneth Hunter	...	Sir Mortimer
Robert Warwick	...	Sir Geoffrey
Colin Kenny	...	Sir Baldwin
Lester Matthews	...	Sir Ivor
Harry Cording	...	Dickon Malbete
Howard Hill	...	Captain of Archers
Ivan F. Simpson	...	Proprietor of Kent Road Tavern (as Ivan Simpson)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lowden Adams	...	Old Crusader (uncredited)
Frank Baker	...	Turnkey (uncredited)
James Baker	...	Philip of Arras (uncredited)
Sidney Baron	...	Outlaw (uncredited)
Hal Baylor	...	Merry Man (uncredited)
Lionel Belmore	...	Humility Prim (uncredited)
Wilson Benge	...	Monk (uncredited)
Charles Bennett	...	Peddler at Tournament (uncredited)
Hal Brazeale	...	High Sheriff's Squire (uncredited)
George Bunny	...	Butcher (uncredited)
David Cavendish	...	Saxon Man (uncredited)
Phyllis Coghlan	...	Saxon Woman (uncredited)
D'Arcy Corrigan	...	Villager (uncredited)
Jack Deery	...	Richard's Knight (uncredited)
Nick De Ruiz	...	Executioner (uncredited)
Eddie Dew	...	Outlaw (uncredited)
Harold Entwistle	...	Tailor (uncredited)
Herbert Evans	...	Seneschal (uncredited)
Austin Fairman	...	Sir Nigel (uncredited)
Frank Hagney	...	Man-at-arms (uncredited)
Alec Harford	...	Outlaw (uncredited)
Ivo Henderson	...	Richard's Knight (uncredited)
Holmes Herbert	...	Archery Referee (uncredited)
Peter Hobbes	...	Outlaw (uncredited)
Leyland Hodgson	...	Norman Officer (uncredited)
Harold Howard	...	Beggar (uncredited)
Olaf Hytten	...	Outlaw (uncredited)
Charles Irwin	...	Saxon Man (uncredited)
Crauford Kent	...	Sir Norbett (uncredited)
Marten Lamont	...	Sir Guy's Squire (uncredited)
Connie Leon	...	Saxon Woman (uncredited)
Charles McNaughton	...	Crippen (uncredited)
Thomas R. Mills	...	Priest with Blacksmith (uncredited)
Leonard Mudie	...	Town Crier (uncredited)
Joseph North	...	Friar (uncredited)
Antonia Oland	...	Child (uncredited)
Paul Power	...	Richard's Knight (uncredited)
Jack Richardson	...	Serf (uncredited)
Dick Rich	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Gerald Rogers	...	Saxon Man (uncredited)
Janet Shaw	...	Humility's Daughter (uncredited)
Reginald Sheffield	...	Herald at Archery Tournament (uncredited)
Robert St. Angelo	...	Pierre de Caan (uncredited)
Ernie Stanton	...	Outlaw (uncredited)
Val Stanton	...	Outlaw (uncredited)
Robert R. Stephenson	...	Soldier (uncredited)
John Sutton	...	Richard's Knight (uncredited)
Cyril Thornton	...	Saxon Man (uncredited)
David Thursby	...	Archer at Tournament (uncredited)
Trigger	...	Lady Marian's Horse (uncredited)
Claude Wisberg	...	Blacksmith's Apprentice (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Curtiz
William Keighley

Writing credits
Norman Reilly Raine		(original screenplay) and
Seton I. Miller		(original screenplay)
Rowland Leigh		contributor to treatment (uncredited)

Produced by
Henry Blanke	....	associate producer (uncredited)
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Cinematography by
Tony Gaudio		(photography by)
Sol Polito		(photography by)

Film Editing by
Ralph Dawson

Casting by
Rufus Le Maire		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Carl Jules Weyl

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist
Ward Hamilton	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Irma Kusely	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Al Alleborn	....	unit production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lee Katz	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Jack Sullivan	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Gene Allen	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Pat Patterson	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
C.A. Riggs	....	sound
Gerald W. Alexander	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Charles David Forrest	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Elmer Haglund	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Nathan Levinson	....	recording director (uncredited)

Stunts
Frank Baker	....	stunts (uncredited)
George Bruggeman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Albert Cavens	....	assistant stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Albert Cavens	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Cavens	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Fred Cavens	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Graham	....	staircase fall stunt double: Basil Rathbone (uncredited)
Frank Hagney	....	stunts (uncredited)
Howard Hill	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Kennedy	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bert LeBaron	....	stunts (uncredited)
Post Park	....	staircase fall stunt double: Errol Flynn (uncredited)
Gil Perkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ernie Stanton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chad Trower	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Buster Wiles	....	stunt double: Errol Flynn (uncredited)
Jack Williams	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
W. Howard Greene	....	technicolor photography
Charles P. Boyle	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)
A. Clark	....	second assistant camera: Technicolor (uncredited)
William Classen	....	key grip (uncredited)
Wilfred M. Cline	....	camera operator: Technicolor (uncredited)
Allen M. Davey	....	associate director of photography: Technicolor (uncredited)
Frank Evans	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)
Elmer Fryer	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Al Green	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Carl E. Guthrie	....	first assistant camera: Technicolor (uncredited)
Glen Harris	....	grip (uncredited)
Stuart Higgs	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
Vic Johnson	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Mac Julian	....	still photographer: second unit (uncredited)
J. Henry Kruse	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)
Lloyd MacLean	....	assistant still photographer (uncredited)
William V. Skall	....	camera operator: Technicolor (uncredited)
Claude Swanner	....	best boy (uncredited)
Homer Van Pelt	....	still photographer: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Elmer Ellsworth	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)
Ida Greenfield	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)
Rydo Loshak	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Rudi Fair	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Hugo Friedhofer	....	orchestral arranger
R.H. Bassett	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Milan Roder	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Natalie Kalmus	....	technicolor color director
Morgan Padelford	....	associate technicolor color director
Irving Rapper	....	dialogue director
Louis Van der Ecker	....	technical advisor (as Louis Van Den Ecker)
Fred Applegate	....	script supervisor (uncredited)
Colin Campbell	....	dialogue director: second unit (uncredited)
Fred Cavens	....	fencing master (uncredited)
B. Reeves Eason	....	director: archery tournament scene (uncredited)
S. Charles Einfeld	....	press representative (uncredited)
Howard Hill	....	archery instructor (uncredited)
Rowland Leigh	....	screenplay construction contributor (uncredited)
Major	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Flora Pan	....	script supervisor: second unit (uncredited)
Irva Mae Ross	....	script supervisor: second unit (uncredited)
Sears	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Mary Elizabeth Tilson	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents) (A First National Picture)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1938) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Sociedade Importadora de Filmes (SIF) (1940) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1950) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Dominant Pictures Corporation (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release) (b&w)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (Germany) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Japan) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• GP Museum Soft (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• First Trading (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• PSG (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (1988) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM Home Entertainment (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Bros. Television (????) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Robin Hood (Australia) (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for adventure violence.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG (DVD rating) | USA:Approved (original rating) (PCA #3790) | Portugal:M/6 | Canada:G (video rating) | Germany:6 (video rating) | West Germany:6 (nf) | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) (2003) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | New Zealand:G (single DVD) | New Zealand:PG (2 dvd set) | Sweden:Btl (uncut) (1969) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-16 (1938) | Ireland:G | Norway:7 | Peru:PT | Sweden:Btl (cut) (1938) | UK:U | USA:PG (re-rating) (2003)

Filming Locations:

Alhambra, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The tune whistled by Little John before his fight with Robin is the medieval English round "Sumer is Icumen In".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Robin delivers the deer to Nottingham, it can be clearly seen that he has only five arrows in his quiver. In the fight scene that follows, he fires 12 arrows, and the number in the quiver never decreases.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Town Crier announcing capture of Richard: News has come from Vienna: "Leopold of Austria has seized King Richard on his return from the Crusades. Our king is being held prisoner. Nothing further is known. His Highness Prince John will make further public pronouncement tomorrow."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Daffy Duck in Hollywood (1938)

Hardly high art but it is tremendous fun even after the better part of a century

When King Richard is captured while abroad, his treacherous brother Price John uses the situation as his opportunity to seize the title for himself. With his wicked ways he oppresses the people, boosts taxes, hangs those who refuses to pay them and generally rules with an iron fist. Out of this situation a hero arises, Sir Robin of Locksley, who forms a band of outlaws to disrupt the actions of Prince John's men and steal the money back that they have stolen from the citizens of the land. However with Guy of Gisbourne and the Sheriff of Nottingham, Prince John makes plans to capture Robin and make an example out of him – but they've got to find him first!

This film often sits high on many critics' lists along side many films that would be considered worthy because they would be called 'art' or generally be classic films in the traditional sense; indeed this film also sits high on the top 250 list on this site – and long may it continue to do so! Although this film is hardly the sort of stuff that the high-brow critic would pick in his top 100 list, the fact that it usually appears there says a lot for just how good it is – not as a classic and deep piece of art but as a really enjoyable adventure film. We all know the basic story and the film sticks to it well – although to be honest I can never remember if I know it from this film or from the legend itself! The plot is engaging but it is the manner of delivery that makes this film so much fun to watch.

The action is hardly groundbreaking (how could it be after 60+ years?) but given that it isn't based on effects, it has stood up really well and is enjoyable to watch – it's an overused term but the action here is what I would define as 'swashbuckling' fun! For my money the even better aspect of the film is that it manages to take this vein of good clean fun and run it through the entire film. Most enjoyably for me was the dialogue that was often laugh out loud funny – some lines were hardly of the period but were funny none the less! Outside of the comedy in the dialogue, the film manages to retain the sense of fun in all but the odd darker scene. This sense of fun is passed through (and sustained by) the performances, which are led by a typically cocksure (pardon the pun) Errol Flynn. He plays Robin larger than life, and rightly so. He is tremendous fun in the lead and he is major part of making sure it all comes off. Rains has a minor role but he is not a straight bad guy and has a strange humour about it – he may not have the ham that Alan Rickman would later bring to the role but he does it very well nonetheless. Playing a more traditional bad guy was Basil Rathbone – a good actor and made all the more enjoyable performance for me because I rarely see him in anything but the Holmes movies. De Havilland is pretty but doesn't make much of an impression as Marion but luckily Robin's merry men are roundly good with fun performances from Pallette, Hale, Knowles and others.

Overall this is a great film – not because the story is really deep or the special effects are astounding but simply because it is a really fun (and funny) swashbuckling adventure. With a real sense of fun running though the script, the cinematography (and wondrous Technicolor), the dialogue and the performances this film has stood up effortlessly over the past 60+ years and it will continue to do for long after my generation are dead and buried and other ones come to discover it.