He steals from the rich, and gives to the poor!
Warner Bros. was a studio known more for low-budget, black & white gangster films more than anything else until pouring $2 million into what would be their most expensive picture to date, as well as one of its first in Technicolor. Australian actor Errol Flynn was quickly becoming a star after his roles for Warners in pirate movie Captain Blood and historical adventure The Charge of the Light Brigade, and after negotiations with James Cagney(!) fell apart, he was chosen for the role made famous by swashbuckling hero Douglas Fairbanks in the silent 1922 version of the English folk tale.
The film was shot all over Southern California, including Calabasas, and Pasadena, as well as the WB studio in Burbank, though efforts were made to help the locations look more "English". The film included more stunt men than any previous production, but Flynn did his stunts himself. Revered Austrian composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold was brought in to do the musical score, which is now regarded as a high watermark in film music.
Contract director William Keighley was initially behind the camera, but was eventually replaced by Michael Curtiz midway through production when the studio felt the footage of the action scenes didn't look exciting enough. Curtiz had already directed Flynn in the two aforementioned films, though the two did not get along personally.
Starring alongside Flynn is Olivia de Havilland (Gone With The Wind), who had worked with him on Captain Blood, and the pair would go on to make a total of eight films together. Also in the cast is Claude Rains (Casablanca, Notorious, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington), Alan Hale, Sr. (reprising his role as Little John from the 1922 version), and Basil Rathbone, who would soon become Hollywood's most famous portrayer of Sherlock Holmes.
The Adventures of Robin Hood was a huge success, becoming the second-highest grossing film of the year, and propelling Flynn to major stardom in the role that he would be identified with more than any other. It was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, and won the awards for Color Art Direction, Film Editing, and Korngold's score. It is regarded as one of the greatest classic Hollywood adventure films, and in 1995 was selected for preservation by the U.S. Library of Congress.
Running time is approx. 100 minutes.
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