Review of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) by Kim B — 22 Nov 2014

"The Adventures of Robin Hood" is a true Golden Age classic, resplendent in its Technicolor lushness. The characters in this version of the tale come closest to our collectively-imagined platonic ideals, especially Errol Flynn's cheery, almost elfin Robin: hands on hips, head thrown back in laughter, betighted legs dangling from a tree branch.

Even on a first viewing, the film has a familiar quality. Not because it is derivative-it bears little resemblance to its best-known predecessor, a colossal silent epic starring Douglas Fairbanks-but because it is iconic.

It is also efficient: a less than 100-minute romp and romance slickly produced and directed by Hal B. Wallis and Michael Curtiz (who would later helm Casablanca.) At so brisk a pace, almost every moment is occupied with either derring-do or rapid-fire dialogue.

The technical pieces and the thrillingly real, non-computer-assisted stunts all come together around the perfect cast, and the result is an indelible, definitive image of the Robin Hood myth that is funny, romantic, and exciting.

It set the bar that revisionists have gone around and imitators have gone under, but none have yet topped. As a side note, it is the only Robin Hood film yet recognized with a Best Picture nomination, and it won Oscars in three categories.