Sword Of Sherwood Forest (1960) You'd think, being the age we are, that we'd fondly remember all the details of the 'Robin Hood' TV show that we baby boomers grew up on in the 1950's.........
Other than the first line of its jaunty little theme song...."Robin Hood, Robin Hood....riding through the glen.....", we can't remember a damn thing about it......
Evidently, neither did the Hammer horror honchoes when they put together a Robin Hood feature film with TV's Robin himself, Richard Greene. They entirely left out the show's supporting cast.
Greene, who co-produced the widescreen color movie, is the only carry-over from the TV show.
Not that it's a bad thing.........the film's teeming with dozens of well known, well loved British character actors, many of whom did single episode guest shots on the TV show when it ruled the airwaves from 1955 to 1960.
And that wonderful cast, starting with horror icon Peter Cushing as the villainous Sheriff Of Nottingham remains the film's primary asset and charm.......really, it's the only thing that makes the film worth watching at all.
Because as a costume swashbuckler, the film itself comes off as slack, lazy, slow moving and obviously very cheaply produced.
The swordfights and battles resemble a group of 3rd graders playing make-believe Robin Hood in somebody's backyard.......with broomsticks for swords and skewered opponents screaming loudly before they dramatically flop on the ground........
And Richard Greene, appears too old and too cheerfully relaxed playing Robin Hood, the rebellious scourge of tyrants........he looks like he's just had a look at his upcoming residual checks from the TV show, so nothing's gonna phase him.......
So the best way to enjoy this movie......just concentrate on the terrific cast....
There's Cushing, smoothly nasty as the Sheriff, whom you can imagine as the ancestor of the actor's Grand Moff Tarkin, the Death Star commander in the first 'Star Wars'....
Reliable Nigel Green shows up as Little John........and yes, he and Richard Greene would both soon end up playing Inspector Nayland Smith in two separate 'Fu Manchu' movies opposite Christopher Lee....(who made his way into other Hammer swashbucklers like 'Devil Ship Pirates' but managed to steer clear of Sherwood Forest)
In the early scenes, "Where Eagles Dare" fans will spot a young Derren Nesbitt as one of the unluckier of the Merry Men.....sorry to see him out of the movie so soon.....
And a not especially fat Niall MacGinnis (known mainly for his "Curse Of The Demon" villain and Zeus in "Jason And The Argonauts") plays Friar Tuck, enduring a load of fat/overeating jokes that don't synch up with his physical appearance, since the robes fit him too loosely.
But our favorite "Hey! Isn't that.....??" moment: a small role for that once and future rambunctious hellraiser Oliver Reed, as an evil knight with a hawk and an attitude. (For reason's we don't understand, the ever surly Ollie's dubbed in by another actor......)
We ourselves didn't mind spending 80 minutes with this Hammer-ized Robin Hood, but we'd only recommend it to two overlapping groups.......Hammer film lovers and hardcore Anglophiles......
Since BQ falls into both categories, we're giving it what most would consider a bit too generous 2 & 1/2 stars (**1/2).......(and that's the beauty of running your own blog). If you're not among the Hammer-Anglo fan clubs.......you should probably give this one a pass.
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