Classic 30s Movie: “The Adventures of Robin Hood”
May is Classic 30s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Clay Mitchell.
Movie Title: The Adventures of Robin Hood
Year: 1938
Writers: Norman Reilly Raine and Seton I. Miller
Rowland Leigh was brought on to write the screenplay early in the process, but the studio didn’t like the script. Leigh’s script served as the structure for the film. Raine was assigned the script and Miller, who had penned James Cagney films and contemporary dramas, was added to the team. Raine had won an Oscar for his work on The Life of Emile Zola (1937). Miller was also a prolific writer and later shared an Oscar with Sidney Buchman for Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941).
Lead Actors: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette and Alan Hale.
James Cagney was slated to star in the title role, but a dispute with the studio had him walking out of his contract. Warners didn’t want to put the film on hold and began to consider a replacement. Flynn had come off of Captain Blood (1935) and The Charge of the Light Brigade(1936) and presented Warners the iconic vision of the character the studio was looking for as Robin Hood. Hale had played Little John in Douglas Fairbanks’ 1922 version of the film, and will play Little John again in Rouges of Sherwood Forest (1950).
Director: Michael Curtiz and William Keighley.
The original director was Keighley, who had directed Flynn and Rains in The Prince and the Pauper (1937) and Warner’s first excursion into three-strip Technicolor God’s Country and the Women (1937). Keighley ran afoul early on in the process with the studio and the writers when he wanted to begin the film with a jousting tournament, but many felt having the biggest scene at the start would unbalance the film. Concerned with the delays (wet fall weather) and early footage, Keighley was replaced by Curtiz, who worked with Flynn in Blood and Brigade.
IMDb Plot Summary: 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.
Why I Think This Is A Classic 30s Movie
It serves as the perfect bridge between the Old World and the New World with a more modern spin to the dialog (thanks perhaps to Miller), and the transition old style of black and white films to color. The Adventures of Robin Hood wasn’t the first Technicolor film, but the first more successful ones at the box office with The Wizard of Oz arriving a year later.
It was a bold risk to make. Douglas Fairbanks had a successful Robin Hood film just 16 years earlier. However, with Flynn’s portrayal and the color, Robin Hood becomes a template for future Robin Hood portrayals on the screen, in comic books, and even cartoons (to me the Bugs Bunny ones involving Robin Hood are among the best.)
At times, I forget that I’m watching something made in 1938.
My Favorite Moment In The Movie
The quips… Mostly contained in the first meeting between Robin, Marian, Prince John and Sir Guy.
Robin Hood: What’s a matter, Gisbourne? Run out of hangings?
Sir Guy: I know a ripe subject for one.
Robin Hood: I hope my lady had a pleasant journey from London?
Marian: What you hope can hardly be important.
Robin Hood: What a pity her manners don’t match her looks, Your Highness.
(a lot of the back and forth between Robin and Marian is similar to Han and Leia… including this exchange:
Robin: Then you do love me, don’t you? Don’t you?
Marian: You know I do.
Prince John: You speak treason.
Robin Hood: Fluently.
My Favorite Dialogue In the Movie
“What do you call a man who takes advantage of a king’s misfortune to seize his power? And now, with the help of this sweet band of cutthroats, you’ll try to grind a ransom for him out of every helpless Saxon. A ransom that’ll be used not to release Richard, but buy your way to the throne.” — Robin Hood
Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie
Sir Guy (played Basil Rathbone) and the Sheriff of Nottingham (Melville Cooper).
In subsequent films, the Sheriff becomes the main antagonist for Robin Hood. Sir Guy was the invention of an operetta in which Warners owned the rights at the time. The original intent was to turn the operetta into the movie (which was never filmed).
• Rathbone was a fencer and it was adopted as the fighting style for the film even though fencing wouldn’t be invented until much later (in regards to when the movie takes place.)
• Marian’s horse later shows up in a western as “Trigger” for Roy Rogers.
Many of the elements we seem to take for granted got their first big push or start with The Adventures of Robin Hood. Robin boldly enters the castle of his nemesis which is similar to James Bond strolling into the midst of Blofeld or some other villain, and fighting his way out to safety.
Even the breaking into the castle to rescue Marian, who is to be executed harkens to the first STAR WARS film.
The colorful costuming is reminiscent of what is later found in comic books and thus translated back to film in modern era films.
Thanks, Clay!
To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!
We already have a set of classic 40s movies, 5os movies, 60s Movies, 70s movies, 80s Movies and 90s Movies. This month, we’re working on 30s movies. And thanks to the GITS community, we’ve got at least 22 movies in the works and hopefully!
Those who I put in bold have already sent me their posts. If you haven’t sent yours to me, please do so as soon as you can!!!
All Quiet on the Western Front — Michael Waters
Bride of Frankenstein — Marija Nielsen
Bringing Up Baby — Melinda Mahaffey
Captain Blood — John Arends
City Girl — Adam Westbrook
Dracula — Sheila Seaclearr
Duck Soup — David Joyner
Gone With The Wind — Mark Twain
Gunga Din — Steve Huerta
It Happened One Night — JoniB22
Make Way for Tomorrow — Susan W
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington — Amber Watt
Rebecca — Katha
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves — Will King
Sabotage — Jeff Xilon
Stagecoach — Thenewlight
The 39 Steps — Felicity Flesher
The Adventures of Robin Hood — Clay Mitchell
The Petrified Forest — supergloss
The Women — Liz Clarke
Topper — Wayne Kline
I am still looking for volunteers. If there’s a 30s movie you’d like to write about, please post your suggestion in comments or contact me via email.
Thanks to everyone who steps up for this ongoing project!
For the original post explaining the series, go here.
For all of the 30s movies featured in the series, go here.
Click REPLY and see you in comments about today’s classic 30s movie!
Comment Archive