Legends of the Screen: Robin Hood

There have been few stories adapted for film more often than Robin Hood.  Off the top of my head, Cinderella and Snow White are perhaps the only ones that can rival the legendary screen favorite.  The first film to feature our favorite outlaw came out in 1908, with a few more silent film appearances before Douglas Fairbanks swashbuckled through the 1922 production.  Since then, he has starred in dozens of films and tv shows, from technicolor spectacles to slapstick comedies to gritty reboots and animated fantasies.

Of course, the legend itself has been growing for the past 600 some-odd years.  How is it that one story can have lived for so long and remained so popular?  Well, here's a hint: it's not the same story.  Even looking at the short time Robin Hood has lived on film, there are wildly different characterizations and values for each version.  Some elements remain the same, but each story has a different message.  What is so amazing about Robin hood is that his morals and adventures do not tell us so much about the hero as the values of the culture when that particular portrayal came about.

Let's journey back to early Medieval Britain, the birthplace of our hero.  Some maintain that Robin Hood, or Robbehood, or Robyne Hude was indeed a real person in the 13th century, but whether he was or not certainly makes little difference in the grand scheme of things.  The legend almost certainly encompassed more than whatever grain of connection could be tied to any actual Robin that may or may not have existed.  The earliest incarnations of Robin Hood are as a yeoman, a free man of common birth, a champion of the everyday people.  Robin Hood was a hero of the people and closely associated with MayDay celebrations, where his first connection to Marion, Lady of May, was made.

It was not until the 16th century that his status was elevated to make the hero noble, eventually becoming an Earl, and then stalwart contemporary of King Richard.  His criminal life was now justified by the vacuum created by the absence of the King and the his burgeoning loyalty to the crown turned the stories from revolts led by ordinary landowners to a lesson in steadfast support of the conventions of courtly life.

As time went on, the severity of his support for the crown gave way to lighthearted comedy: Robin became a mastery of trickery, often being duped himself.  His antics were recorded as ballads featuring different members of his Merry Men or various enemies he would encounter.  The more farcical stories played down the stiff and saintly aspects of earlier versions of the legend.

The Victorian era brought new aspects of Robin Hood.  His relationship with Marian rose in prominence and status, embodying the victorian ideals of courtship and softening the grittier nature of the stories.  This was also the first time that Robin was portrayed as a Saxon pitted against Norman corruption, noted in the immensely popular novel Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott.  Robin could now boast a firmly English lineage that spoke to the national pride of Britain.


It would indeed be madness to review all however-many productions of Robin Hood there are, but I will do some of the most iconic (though by no means necessarily best quality) versions, starting with the 1922 Fairbanks version.

Robin Hood (1922)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952)
Robin Hood (1973)
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
Robin Hood (2010)

Star-Struck: Seven Brides For Seven Brothers

Bless that Beautiful Hide

Let's pause to consider the weight of the moment where I finally finish a series I've started.  It may have taken, what- a year(!?) to review the four movies in this particular vignette, but gosh darn it, the momentous occasion has arrived at last.  Now if I could only find that documentary on El Grupo, I could overcome the infinite stall on my Disney project...

Anyways- onward ho!  So it's 1954 Hollywood and we are somewhere around the zenith of the technicolor musical spectacular.  Lavish productions with massive budgets and elaborate staging were constantly vying to outdo each other, so it's kind of interesting one of the most popular and enduring musicals of the era was none of those things.  SBSB (SB squared??) was a modest project in all aspects, receiving little attention during its making, and was constantly being cut to feed the bloated Brigadoon that carried most of MGM's "serious" hopes.  Perhaps it was that lack of desperation to impress, to imprint every aspect of SBSB with a sense of IMPORTANCE that caused it to soar where it's overwrought cousin bombed, despite things like it being painfully obvious that the directors weren't even trying to hide the fact that the entire film was shot in a studio warehouse.

The choreography and the cast are the major highlights of the film.  The two main leads, Jane Powell and Howard Keel, are paired as well as any leading couple I've seen on screen.  I really buy into their story- her longing for a real relationship coupled with her fiery resolution to nor settle for anything less, and his charm and bewilderment at meeting someone who could actually equal and challenge his way of life.  This is Howard Keel at his finest- all bravado, all swagger, all man, dominating every room he enters like some kind of stallion.  Men just aren't like that on film any more, (unless being portrayed as misogynistic meatheads) and I'm not saying that it needs to be that way again, but gaaah, it's something to marvel at.

The rest of the cast is pretty great too.  I love, love, love all the brothers in their skittles rainbow of colors. This movie may not be littered with glitter and feathers, but darn it, Hollywood knew how to use Technicolor and make it count!  Russ Tamblyn was adorable as Gideon and an amazing acrobat.  I loved to just look at Jeff Richards as Benjamin, even though he did pretty much no singing or dancing, though those sly choreographers keep that fact far from being obvious.  Plus he gets to marry the absolute knockout Julie Newmar in her pre-catwoman days.  Seriously, nobody has ever had a body like that woman.   And then there's Frank.  Fiesty, fiery, talented beyond all human reckoning Frank.  Tommy Rall was pitch-perfect here, and to see him explode on screen is breathtaking.

In fact, every sequence involving those guys dance is breathtaking.  It's all heavily rooted in ballet- many of the dancers came from that background, but its so brash and utterly masculine.  The barn-raising sequence is, of course the ultimate expression of this.  The grace with which the brothers woo their partners is equally matched by their barely-contained, testosterone-fueled desire to kick some butt.  And it's not just "let's have a choreographed fight where my high-kicks scare you off."  No, you know whoever calls them a pansy is going to get punched.  Really punched.  And then manfully laughed at.

The songs are pretty good too.  They may not be the best of any musical ever, but they are done well.  I love "Bless Your Beautiful Hide" and "Lonsesome Polecat" especially.  Overall, I think the reason why SBSB has sustained such popularity over they years is precisely because of it's cobbled together production.  Not to say that any piece of crap that is tossed out without care or attention is good, the people on both sides of the camera were obviously extraordinarily talented and gave at least some care to the film.  But it doesn't feel overworked, like everyone was standing on pins and needles because everything HAS TO BE PERFECT.  SBSB comes off as fresh, as sincere.  Now maybe not a single person felt sincerely about this film, but I find it hard to believe they weren't at least sincerely having fun making it.  Joy seems to permeate every frame.  And if that isn't the case, then I would suggest this really is the best-crafted film in history because there is not a thing that would indicate it.  Plus, you know, Howard Keel. *heart*

My Rating: 10/10
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