The Adventures of Robin Hood

Michael Curtiz's The Adventures of Robin Hood movie from 1938 is still one of the best adaptations of Robin Hood ever made by Hollywood. In 1191, King Richard joined the Crusades and then he is captured by the Duke of Austria. His ambitious and evil brother Prince John takes over the throne and oppress the Saxons increasing the taxes and hanging those that cannot afford to pay. The Saxon nobleman Robin of Locksley hides in the Sherwood Forest and defends the people against the tyrannical John and his right hand, Sir Guy of Gisbourne and is now considered to be an outlaw. When Robin Hood meets Lady Marian, they immediately fall in love with each other. However, Robin Hood and his men are hunted down by Sir Guy and the notorious Sheriff of Nottingham. The movie plot itself is purest escapist magic and very well written. This swashbuckler movie has great action sequences well staged with stylish and vitality, adventure, romance, outstanding final dueling and is pretty entertaining. The archery and the sword fighting are very well done and provide brilliantly executed action scenes. The costumes, weapons and move props are very well made. Every character is rich and the adventure that the viewers are invited to follow is wonderful. The cast is faultless for the roles of their characters. Errol Flynn was born for the role as Robin Hood. Errol Flynn’s dominance, arrogance, cheerfulness and good humor that he brought to Robin Hood’s character cannot be denied. Olivia de Havilland is stunningly gorgeous, adorable and breathtaking as Maid Marian with an innate sense of class and intelligence. Basil Rathbone gives a superb performance in portraying Guy of Gisbourne as a clever and arrogant man who matches wits and blades with Robin Hood. Claude Rains was spectacular in his role as Prince John by being both charming and diabolical at the same time. Alan Hale gives an excellent performance in his role as Little John. The chemistry between Robin Hood and Maid Marian is demonstrated beautifully and perfectly. The cinematography is very colorful in the glimmer of Sol Polito's ant Tony Gaudio's Technicolor. Erich Wolfgang Korngold's music score is superb. The dialogue has plenty of wit and has decent humor. This is truly terrific and definitely one of a kind. This movie has a rich story, a wonderful cast, beautiful music, great sets, and engaging battles. A must have for anyone enjoys the timeless story of Robin Hood.

I don't think anybody will ever top Errol Flynn's iconic portrayal of Robin hood. He's just outstanding as the brave, laughing hero with the mischievous twinkle in his eye. Unbeatable. It's my understanding that the studio originally had James Cagney slated for the role. After watching Flynn, that's just impossible to imagine. This is such a great film in every respect; truly a magical movie.

I love this movie. Errol Flynn makes a fantastic Robin Hood and the whole thing looks amazing in glorious Technicolor. A classic for sure, and a wonderful musical too.