With Sir Ridley and that grumpy Kiwi bringing us a brand new vision of Robin Hood this week, we thought it might be a good idea to travel back in time and take a look at past versions of the legendary outlaw.
The story of Robin Hood has been somewhat of a favorite in Hollywood. The heroic outlaw is the perfect example of classic English folklore, which seems to translate very well to the world of film. There have been literally hundreds of films and TV serials depicting the prince of thieves with lots of actors stepping into the role. It would be impossible to go through them all so instead let’s just focus on the more famous ones.
ROBIN HOOD (1922) – Douglas Fairbanks
First up is Douglas Fairbanks who starred in this early version. It’s very important in Hollywood history as it was one of the most expensive films at the time and was also the first ever picture to have a Hollywood premiere. Most of the $1million budget went on creating a huge castle set and a massive 12th century village at the Pickford-Fairbanks studio in California.
This version of Robin Hood gave birth to all the familiar elements we would encounter in later productions. The dashing Fairbanks traded on his good looks and razor sharp wit to make the role his own. It has been said that the moment Fairbanks took a look at the enormous sets he was so overwhelmed that he considered cancelling the production altogether.
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938) – Errol Flynn
Directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), this Robin Hood tale cost an estimated $2 million and was one of the first Warner Bros. films to be filmed in the three-strip Technicolor process. The production was extremely extravagant for Warner Bros. at the time as the studio was more famous for making low-budget crime films.
James Cagney was originally cast as the hero before walking out on his contract with the studio. This enabled the magnetic Errol Flynn the chance to claim the role of a lifetime. He was part of an impressive cast including Olivia De Havilland, Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains.
Generally regarded, as one of the best versions of Robin Hood, it became the highest grossing picture of that year. Its box-office takings of just over $4 million are even more impressive when you consider the average cinema ticket price in 1938 was 25 cents. The film was nominated for a host of Oscars including Best Picture. It won for art direction, editing and original score.
ROBIN HOOD (1973) – Brian Bedford
It might not be considered Disney’s greatest moment but this animation is a much loved and fondly remembered version of the classic tale. Using a cast of anthropomorphic animals the Walt Disney studio brings to life Robin Hood and Maid Marian as foxes, Little John as a bear and Prince John as a Lion.
The cartoon was only allowed a small budget and so keen eyed viewers noticed that a few sequences were traced from previous Disney efforts. Films such as Snow White, The Jungle Book and the Aristocrats were used to save time and money. The legendary Peter Ustinov portrayed Prince John as a campy, over-the-top and infantile villain creating many of the films stand out comedy moments. It also boasts great songs, which people (including me) still remember word for word to this day.
Surprisingly for such a low budget production Robin Hood was extremely successful. It made $9.5 million, which was the biggest box-office total of any Disney film at the time.
ROBIN & MARIAN (1976) – Sean Connery
A bit of a departure from other Robin Hood’s here as the focus is more on romance rather than swashbuckling action. This was a much more character driven Robin and Sean Connery along with Audrey Hepburn garnered rave reviews at the time even if the film wasn’t financially successful. The reason why it didn’t light up the box office was put down to the fact that the story cantered on an ageing Robin Hood rather than the active outlaw with the spring in his step that audiences were so used to. It is nowadays regarded as an underrated piece of 70’s cinema.
ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES (1991) – Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner gave the world his Robin Hood who seemed to arrive in Sherwood Forest by way of California. The actor didn’t even attempt an English accent, which in hindsight is probably a good thing because Costner isn’t exactly famed for his accent work. Either way it enjoyed massive success and was helped by Bryan Adams and his sappy love ballad.
This was the most Americanized of all the Robin Hoods which probably helped become such a success. It’s worth watching just for Alan Rickman’s panto villain performance as the Sheriff of Nottingham and Sean Connery’s 5 minute turn as King Richard.
ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS (1993) – Cary Elwes
The legend had it coming thought Mel Brooks and so he decided to rip the piss out of past Robin Hood films with special focus on Kevin Costner’s performance. Mel Brooks has the habit of being very hit and miss with his films but I absolutely love this one.
It’s delightfully silly and Cary Elwes performs his Robin as the quintessential straight man. Great supporting performances by Dave Chappelle and Brooks himself elevate this comedy version to hysterical heights.