It's been a few decades since Robin Hood went up against the evil Prince John and the nasty sheriff of Nottingham, and now along with his son, he's out to rescue the late John's son Henry, now a boy king. John's widow and her lady in waiting, Lady Catherine, are under house arrest by the evil regent and plot to escape so Robin can rescue her son. Still strong but far from young, Robin utilizes his son, and this sets up a new starcrossed romance between him and Catherine.
The virile Cornel Wilde is cast as Robert Hood, while Russell Hicks is the still attractive Robin. Anita Louiseseems a little too Max Factored to be believable as a 12th Century lady in waiting with her mid 1940's bob, but Jill Esmond is perfect as the widowed queen mother. When Eva Moore appears, you will recognize her voice instantly from "The Old Dark House" and expect her to shout "No beds! They can't have beds!" when Wilde stops to drop Esmond and Louise off in her care. An interesting connection: Moore is the mother of Esmond!
Pretty much the rest of Robin's crew is back including Friar Tuck played delightfully by Edgar Buchanan, and getting to repeat the scene with the Sun that Robin had in the Errol Flynn film with Eugene Pallette. John Abbott, who usually played villains, is another of Robin's merry men. Playing the villains this time out are Henry Danielle as the regent and George MacCready as his associate. The sheriff of Nottingham, played by Lloyd Corrigan, is a minor character here.
While not a classic like the Warner Brothers version, this is quite enjoyable and nicely filmed in color. It utilizes a lot of the same devices as the previous versions of the classic tale, and so a lot of it seems to be a retread or remake rather than a follow-up. No mention of Maid Marion though although legend indicates that she became a nun. This obviously provided a lot of colorful nonsense for world war weary audiences who enjoyed seeing familiar villains taken down once again.
The virile Cornel Wilde is cast as Robert Hood, while Russell Hicks is the still attractive Robin. Anita Louiseseems a little too Max Factored to be believable as a 12th Century lady in waiting with her mid 1940's bob, but Jill Esmond is perfect as the widowed queen mother. When Eva Moore appears, you will recognize her voice instantly from "The Old Dark House" and expect her to shout "No beds! They can't have beds!" when Wilde stops to drop Esmond and Louise off in her care. An interesting connection: Moore is the mother of Esmond!
Pretty much the rest of Robin's crew is back including Friar Tuck played delightfully by Edgar Buchanan, and getting to repeat the scene with the Sun that Robin had in the Errol Flynn film with Eugene Pallette. John Abbott, who usually played villains, is another of Robin's merry men. Playing the villains this time out are Henry Danielle as the regent and George MacCready as his associate. The sheriff of Nottingham, played by Lloyd Corrigan, is a minor character here.
While not a classic like the Warner Brothers version, this is quite enjoyable and nicely filmed in color. It utilizes a lot of the same devices as the previous versions of the classic tale, and so a lot of it seems to be a retread or remake rather than a follow-up. No mention of Maid Marion though although legend indicates that she became a nun. This obviously provided a lot of colorful nonsense for world war weary audiences who enjoyed seeing familiar villains taken down once again.