Review of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) by Cameron D — 06 Jun 2012

The Adventures of Robin Hood is the sword clashing classic about Sir Robin of Locksley (Fylnn), a man who is being oppressed by the evil Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Rathbone) and the throne hungry Prince John (Rains). By which he decides to fight back and become an outlaw, along with his gang of Merry Men, to keep the throne clean of Prince John and kept in the rightful hands of King Richard. All while Locksley woos the Maid Marian (Havilland) before she can be given to Sir Guy of Gisbourne by Prince John.

What a wonderful film! This is an example of a true, true Hollywood classic. Costing $2 million at the time, this was the largest, most expensive production to date. Filmed at and around Warner Bros Studios (the way films were meant to be) this movie made for perfect excitement and adventure. With a leading performance by the handsome, charming and just old school badass, Errol Flynn, Robin Hood couldn't have been a more perfect fit. As this film might come across as simple now, for it's time it was an action extravaganza. Loads of stunt men falling and flying from trees, not to mention the huge sword play scenes that were just stacked with actors and stuntmen a plenty. This movie is just right. With a film this good, I could go through and describe great scene after great scene, but that would be too easy. It's the little particulars that make things even better. Like I had mentioned, Flynn's performance is great. There's a scene where he goes into the castle of Prince John to inform them of how he feels he and his people have been treated. What makes this scene great is the confidence he created when he presented himself in front of Prince John and Sir Guy of Gisbourne. These men would kill him at any minute and he just leans back in his chair and smiles right through them. no hesitation. Then there's my favorite scene, the archery contest. Gisbourne devises a plan to lure Robin out of the woods so he can capture the bandit and prove his worthiness. So he sets up an archery contest (cause everyone knows how good of an archer Robin Hood is!) and summons the greatest archers of the land to a competition to prove their skills. Here, it is Gisbourne's belief that Robin will prove his superiority, making him stand out from the crowd, which in turn will allow Gisbourne to capture Robin. But Robin has figured this out and instead is just going with the flow so he can accept the prize from the beautiful Maid Marian (who wouldn't want to when it's coming from a beauty like Olivia de Havilland). Slick devil! The scene is just filled with fun and exciting moments and just in the most simplistic manners. It's too bad they don't make movies like this anymore. Not that I don't enjoy the big budgets that are out there now, but things just seemed so much easier and enjoyable back then. A film like The Adventures of Robin Hood is a real treat, which is something nice to have every now and again.