Thanks to Directors Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) and William Keighley, (The Man Who Came To Dinner) Jack
Handy later mused “If there was a swashbuckling school, there should be a class
called, “Laughing, then jumping off of something”. In this 1938 rendition regarding our favorite legend of
lumberjacks in pantyhose, the perpetually valiant Sir Robin of Locksley (Errol
Flynn) goes through the usual motions, at least in comparison to the
considerably more recent versions of the tale.
Any introductory characterizations are essentially nonexistent, forcing
us to assume the characters are completely stock from the legend.
The
uber-sheltered Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland) trots onto the screen
on the pre-Roy Rogers palomino Trigger, aptly giving a one-trick
performance. Her character is merely
two-fold; before and after her Chopinesque (the author, not the musician)
social awakening brought about by Robin’s cheery dialogue. The movie has all the familiar scenes, with
the quarterstaff-bound “bridge” fight between Robin and Little John (Alan
Hale), the acquisition of Friar Tuck’s (Eugene Palette) aid and wine, and the
dramatic tournament scene where the Sheriff (Melville Cooper) and his
right-hand man, Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone) attempt to snare the
forest-baron.
The
film’s protagonists seem to be eternally merry unless they are waiting to be
executed, and even then it seems they’re so sure of their comrades that they smile
on the way to the gallows. Robin’s men
have an overly peculiar way of defending Sherwood Forest; the best method seems
to be jumping onto the backs of mounted soldiers from otherwise dangerous
heights, then utterly subduing them (regardless of armament) by pulling them to
the ground where they are apparently too stunned to retaliate in any useful
way.
The
movie makes use of full color, which it employs to equip many of the characters
in rich, glorious colors that don’t appear to be the most utilitarian when
living in the woods; i.e. Will Scarlet’s (Patric Knowles) bright red
getup. In the first scene that Robin
Hood approaches the camera on horseback, he seems to be as luminescent as a
deity; with every color cranked up to 11 (because it’s one more than ten) and a full-body halo kind of shimmer, there’s no
doubt for whom we’re supposed to be rooting.
While
the film lacks the elaborate level of hero-against-kingdom fight scenes, they
are charming at worst, and slightly more so at best. The introduction of King Richard (Ian Hunter) late into the story
as something more than a conversation piece helps reinforce the wickedness of
current stewards of England.
Overall, the movie is highly entertaining, if not for anything else but to see the arrow split in twain in the last shot of the famed archery tournament. Additionally, any movie that gives Mel Brooks the opportunity to make characters such as Mervin, Sheriff of Rottingham, (Roger Rees) Will Scarlet ‘O Hara (Matthew Poretta) and an Errol Flynn lookalike (Cary Elwes) is good in my book.