The Men of Sherwood Forest

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Men of Sherwood Forest
"The Men of Sherwood Forest" (1954).jpg
Directed by Val Guest
Written by Allan MacKinnon
Produced by Michael Carreras
Starring Don Taylor
Reginald Beckwith
Eileen Moore
John Van Eyssen
Cinematography Walter J. Harvey
Len Harris
Edited by James Needs
Music by Doreen Carwithen
Production
company
Distributed by Exclusive Films
Release date
  • 6 December 1954 (1954-12-06)(UK)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Men of Sherwood Forest is a 1954 British historical adventure film directed by Val Guest and starring Don Taylor, Reginald Beckwith, Eileen Moore, Douglas Wilmer, John Van Eyssen and David King-Wood. The film follows the exploits of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. [1] It was written by Allan MacKinnon and the score was by Doreen Carwithen. [2] This was Hammer's first colour feature, and Michael Carreras was so pleased with it, he filmed Break in the Circle in colour as his next project. Filming began in May 1954, the film was trade shown on 27 October and went on UK general release on 6 December 1954. [3] Hammer followed it up with three other Robin Hood films: Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960), A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967) and Wolfshead: The Legend of Robin Hood (1973).

Contents

Plot

In 1194, on his return from the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart is taken prisoner in Germany. Disguised as a troubadour, Robin Hood builds a plan to rescue him from this tight spot but is captured. His Merry Men then have to fulfil a double mission: find Robin Hood and save the King.

Cast

Production

Produced by Hammer Films, it was shot at the company's Bray Studios with sets designed by the art director J. Elder Wills. Exteriors were shot at Bodiam Castle in Sussex.

Val Guest called it "a merry romp, it was a send-up of all the Robin Hood things... It was a fun picture, but nothing really riveting or historical." [4]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This unassuming addition to the Robin Hood saga is in the real Sherwood tradition. Don Taylor makes a good-natured Robin Hood, and the tone of the film generally is genial, although Friar Tuck's rollicking joviality is at times played up at the expense of the action." [5]

David Parkinson noted in the Radio Times "a cheap and cheerful Hammer outing to Sherwood, with production values on a par with the infamously parsimonious ITV series starring Richard Greene", concluding "Val Guest directs with little feel for the boisterous action, but it's a tolerable frolic all the same." [6]

TV Guide wrote that "this low-budget swashbuckler is good fun for the undiscriminating". [7]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 (1984), David Quinlan rated the film as "good", writing: "Good romp, in even lighter vein than usual." [8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Men of Sherwood Forest". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  2. ↑ "Men of Sherwood Forest". BFI. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009.
  3. ↑ Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 41. ISBN   0-7864-0034-X.
  4. ↑ Fowler, Roy (1988). "Interview with Val Guest". British Entertainment History Project.
  5. ↑ "The Men of Sherwood Forest" . The Monthly Film Bulletin . 21 (240): 179. 1 January 1954. ProQuest   1305810751.
  6. ↑ David Parkinson. "Men of Sherwood Forest". RadioTimes.
  7. ↑ "Men Of Sherwood Forest". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014.
  8. ↑ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 346. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.
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