THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938) ** Lightly bearded Errol Flynn is properly arrogant in the title role as everyone's favorite proto-Marxist freedom fighter. He forms the Green Liberation Army, and they have a big barbeque, after liberating a bunch of supplies being sent to the Republican National Convention. Then they stand around chortling a lot. The capitalists try to catch Flynn by arranging a big tournament on grass; much like they would catch Bjorn Borg by arranging Wimbledon a hundred years before he showed up. Flynn Tarzans around quite a bit, and makes speeches of the sort that you hear at graduations. Olivia de Havilland is just bearable, bordering dangerously on being Ava Gardner-like; and nowhere near compelling enough to keep me from wondering on how Gardner never caught on as a Halloween costume. The real costumes, incidentally, are really cool, the knight ones with ducks and weevils and badgers on the front. No film like this could be complete without Basil Rathbone being defeated in a swordfight on the castle stairs. Una O'Connor lays the foundation for the excellent portrayal of Bess by a cartoon goose in the definitive (animated) Robin Hood (1973).
back to Brilliant Observations on 1776 Films home
go back home, or send me email
no more reviews! I want to buy your novel!
