The Adventures of Robin Hood!

9.9.2021

Written by: Elizabeth DeGroate

A still shot from The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) Credit: Warner Brothers Pictures

The 1938 film is Warner Brother's first full-length feature film that was shot in color and used the three-strip Technicolor process to enhance the film. It is considered by many to be the finest adaptation ever made by Hollywood. The innocence and general simplicity of design of the movie really lend itself to a fairytale come to life that one could believe truly existed. The movie is filled with castles, knights, and riches yet the design never feels overly opulent and overwhelming to the senses. The bright colors used also give the movie a storybook quality.

Errol Flynn's portrayal of the suave, cool, and confident Robin Hood remains the golden standard performance for this role. The man with a moral compass sticking up and defending the powerless 'little guy' against the injustices brought to those who are in power.

The brilliant blending of a romance story, with swashbuckling heroism and adventure really set the stage and foundation for future fantasy stories to be told in Hollywood. The compatibility between Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland was believable in the short screen time they shared- a true magnetism. In fact, the duo starred in eight films together in the course of their careers (Flynn died tragically at the relatively young age of 50 years old from a heart attack).

Another aspect of the movie that was brilliant other than the actors (including Rains in the supporting role of Prince- and then King John) was the script. The script was masterfully done- it included enough of the Old English dialect of the given time period (the 1100s) to make the period piece believable, but it was not clunky and awkward for modern viewers to follow along and immerse themselves in the story.

The Adventures of Robin Hood is good clean fun for the whole family without the worry of nudity or foul language. The movie also presents a story with a strong positive role model in Robin of Locksley, as well as a positive message of what it means to do the right thing.