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THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD
by Peter Sobczynski

August 29, 2003

(out of 4 stars)

FILM CREDITS: Starring: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, Alan Hale, Melville Cooper, Ian Hunter, Una O'Connor. Directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley.

Watching the 1938 classic "The Adventures of Robin Hood" again-thoroughly cleaned up, restored and in all of its big-screen glory-is an experience that is both exhilarating and depressing to behold. It is exhilarating because the film is, of course, one of the all-time great adventures and one of the most thoroughly entertaining movies ever made. On the other hand, it is a little depressing to watch it and realize that despite decades of technological advances, few contemporary movies even come close to achieving the grace and excitement that seems to emerge so effortlessly from a film that is now 65 years old.

Set in 1190, it opens as King Richard has left England to fight in the Crusades, leaving the country in the care of his brother, Prince John (Claude Rains). When word arrives that Richard has been captured by the Austrians, Prince John, with the aid of his evil right-hand man Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone), decides to completely seize control of the country and begins oppressively taxing the people-theoretically to raise the necessary ransom but really to line his own pockets.

The only person of noble blood to protest these actions is Robin Hood (Errol Flynn), who winds up forgoing his title and lands and takes to the woods of Sherwood Forest with a merry band of followers. Robin and his men begin a series of attacks in order to steal the tax money from Prince John and return it to those whom it was taken from in the first place. Not surprisingly, Prince John and Sir Guy don’t take to this too well-Sir Guy becomes especially enraged when his betrothed, Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland) becomes sweet on his enemy- and design an elaborate number of traps in order to capture Robin-at one point, they even hold a fake archery contest to lure him out of hiding; the joke is that they know that Robin will recognize the contest as a trap but they also know that his ego will compel him to show up anyway.

With the occasional alteration, the basic story of Robin Hood has been filmed many times before but what sets "The Adventures of Robin Hood" apart from all the other adaptations is the energy and high spirits that are evident in every scene-certainly a far cry from the grim, dour Kevin Costner version where even the Merry Men seemed fairly glum. Here, everyone is clearly having a blast-even the rotters are so over-the-top with their malicious deeds that it is impossible to not have a certain affection for them. (Claude Rains, for example, is as hilariously sleazy here as he would be a few years later in "Casablanca") Leading the charge is the giddy work by Errol Flynn in the performance of his career as Robin. The Robin he plays here is, despite the seriousness behind his crusade, clearly having a blast and you get the sense that he almost welcomes the cruelties of Prince John-it has given him license to leave the life of privilege and indulge in a life of (to quote the memorable line from "My Favorite Year") "kissing and jumping and drinking and humping."

The film was directed by the legendary Michael Curtiz, who took over the reins from William Keighly (both are credited on the final film) and it is amazing to discover the film was literally just another assignment for him-in fact, it was one of five movies that he directed in 1938 alone (the others being "Gold Is Where You Find It", "Four Daughters", "Four’s a Crowd" and "Angels With Dirty Faces"). However, the film is anything but a rush job; it is as lush and exciting as any film ever made in Hollywood and the climactic swordfight between Flynn and Rathbone (at one point shown entirely in shadows) is still thrilling to behold and beats any action scene on display this past summer. Helping out considerably is the legendary Oscar-winning score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, which composers are still ripping off to this very day.

"The Adventures of Robin Hood" is being given a small theatrical re-release in order to hype the lavish special-edition DVD that Warner Brothers is releasing in September. Most film fans will rush out to pick up this set as soon as it comes out (especially if it lives up to the standards set by their recent editions of "Casablanca", "Citizen Kane" and "Singin’ In the Rain") and watch it over and over again. However, this is a film that works best when it is seen in a theater with a large and appreciative audience - now that you have the chance to see it under the proper conditions (and with the added inducement of the Bugs Bunny cartoon "Rabbit Hood" sharing the bill), you should not miss it under any circumstance.

-- PETER SOBCZYNSKI

Copyright © 2003 Peter Sobczynski
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Used with permission
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While the views expressed by Peter Sobczynski do not necessarily reflect the views of Criticdoctor.com, the Critic Doctor will occasionally examine Mr. Sobczynski's film reviews to bring forth an honest examination of those views expressed.