Errol Flynn and The Adventures of Robin Hood

A Movie Review and Analysis by Magdalen Aithne Arkwright

There have been many movies made and many books written about Robin Hood, all with varying degrees of adherence to the original legends.  I was very pleased when I watched the 1938 Warner Bros film.  I've seen bits and pieces of many different Robin Hoods, not the least of which is the beloved "foxy" one made up by Disney, but this one was different in the very feel of it.

I once had aspirations to write a Robin Hood story myself and did a lot of research about the original Robin Hood story, and found that there isn't one.  The first Robin Hood tales were before King Richard's time, and in fact, the first Robin Hood legends were not even about a man called Robin Hood, but the basics of the story were similar.  In most stories, Robin Hood began as a nobleman who lost his land and honor in defense of the defenseless.  Some later legends include John Little, who takes on the alias "Little John" in some cases.  Sometimes he has a band of merry men, sometimes not.  Maid Marian was not in the original tales at all.  Her first appearance in the tale as Robin Hood's lover may have been on the stages of France, but she did not start out with the name of Marian.  When she became Maid Marian, she was called "maid" and not "lady" because she did not originally hold a special place of rank.  She eventually evolved to be either a nobleman's ward or daughter, but her name was spelled 'Marion', the feminized version of the used-to-be masculine 'Marian'.  Only in recent times has she been called "Maid Marian" and consistently been Robin Hood's damsel in distress.

In 'The Adventures of Robin Hood', starring Errol Flynn, Robin Hood starts off with a companion named Will.  This is compatible with some of the old manuscripts of the tale, where Robin [of many-a-place] has a friend and fellow nobleman named Will.

In most legends, while Robin was, from the very beginning of his revolt, usually not alone, Robin Hood was frequently described as an expert bowman - even in some of the earliest tales.  He was also good with a sword and, yes, a quarter staff.  Robin Hood's encounter with Little John on the log crossing the river is one of the older and original tales.  Robin Hood is knocked off the log and then tricks Little John into falling into the water as well.

There are even some tales of Robin Hood meeting a friar who was an excellent swordsman and adding him to the gang.

So you see, 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' is fairly true to the original tales.  While some may claim, and rightly so, that the film takes liberties with history, Robin Hood has come to be, in its best form, a classic-style romantic epic.

I further liked the nobility, good will, and true care of the characters on the good side.  That's not to say that the merry men weren't without their quirks and endearments, but Robin Hood was not a devil-may-care, flitty daydreamer who was out looking for danger, but instead was genuinely concerned for his fellow Saxons.  I was also interested to see what they did with Maid Marion's character - Lady Marian was a proud Norman afraid to admit her people were wrong but remained, till the end, loyal to what was right.  She and the Robin Hood they presented made a perfect match.

There was no profanity and had an unnoticeable amount of harsh language, but some very sensitive children may not like the action scenes.  Co-starring Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, and Ian Hunter.

Rating: D, Points: 10

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~Meggy

A theatrical trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htsqm1FYtXw




And now a cartoon made twenty years after: