Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950)

I just finished watching Rogues of Sherwood Forest. I have to say it was a very enjoyable movie, though it was not without its flaws. The acting, plotline, visual and audio effects were all very well done. Though the film has a very short run time (80 minutes), it feels much longer than it actually is, even managing to build up a genuine love between Robin Hood and Lady Marianne (sounds like Mary-Ann only pronounced faster), though it's not nearly as fleshed out or believable as in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). There were a few technical glitches in the presentation (skipping, image freezing, etc.) though I suspect that they were brought on by the old VCR and low-quality tape I used to record the film. I did notice, however, that some of the miscellaneous "filler" shots (horse chases, guards searching for Robin, etc.) looked like they were pulled directly from The Bandit of Sherwood Forest, which Columbia Pictures (who produced both films) had released four years earlier.

This film could very well be considered a sequel to The Adventures of Robin Hood. Once again, the story deals with Robin Hood's son (who is also named Robin) battling evil and oppression in England, but this time he's battling King John, formerly Prince John (whom the first Robin Hood defeated and helped force into exile) , who plans to reverse the freedoms that his brother, King Richard, bestowed on the peasants; and the Count of Flanders, a mercenary who will help John rule England by force in exchange for the hand of the king's ward, the lovely (and very wealthy) Lady Marianne. That's actually one of the things that bothers me about this film; what are the odds that Robin Hood Jr. (sorry) would find-and fall for-a woman with almost the exact same name as his mother? At least Bandit of Sherwood gave Robin jr. (Robert in that film) a new love interest, rather than re-using the old one. But I digress. The one true let-down this movie has, for me, is the climactic battle, or rather the lack of one. Whereas The Adventures of Robin Hood had a massive battle between the Merry Men and Sir Guy of Gisborne's soldiers in Nottingham castle, Rogues of Sherwood Forest makes do with a short and rather one-sided brawl in Sherwood Forest between King John's solders and the Merry Men followed by a short, somewhat poorly-choreographed, one-on-one duel between Robin and the Count of Flanders.

All in all, I'd say that Rogues of Sherwood Forest is worth viewing, especially if you're a Robin Hood fan. Although not nearly as well done as The Adventures of Robin Hood (which is considered by many to be the gold standard for Robin Hood films), it is still an decent film in its own right and, if you can find it, is worth taking time to experience.

Also, a bit of movie trivia; Alan Hale, who plays Little John, had actually played the role twice before; first in the 1922 silent film Robin Hood with Douglas Fairbanks in the title role, and again in 1938 in the legendary Adventures of Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn. And his son, Alan Hale Jr., became world famous playing The Skipper in the classic TV comedy Gilligan's Island.