The Adventures of Robin Hood

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Genres - Action, Adventure, Romance, Drama  |   Sub-Genres - Swashbuckler, Costume Adventure, Romantic Adventure  |   Release Date - May 14, 1938 (USA)  |   Run Time - 102 min.  |   Countries - France, United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Review by Richard Gilliam

The Adventures of Robin Hood is one of the screen's greatest adventure films and an excellent example of how the studio system's production-by-committee method could create synergistically what, in that era, likely could not have been created by any single force. The hero behind the camera is co-director Michael Curtiz, who was installed by the corporate chiefs at Warner Bros. midway through production. Curtiz had little to do, though, with the impeccably selected cast. Errol Flynn may not have been the studio's first choice, but he is the screen's greatest Robin Hood. Among the film's many pleasures, you can watch for the meticulous attention to detail that was a hallmark of Curtiz's work. Incidentally, if you're wondering how the special effects were done on the split arrow stunt, there were no special effects. The astonishing shot was performed by professional archer Howard Hill who needed only one take.