The Adventures of Robin Hood

Robin Hood rises against Prince John in Sherwood Forest. The film became the template for classic adventure cinema and claims seriousness almost nowhere; Errol Flynn spends the entire thing grinning. It cost around 2 million dollars and was among the most expensive films Warner Bros had made. It was the studio's third feature in three-strip Technicolor. The odd part is that it had been planned in black and white, and the Technicolor decision came only three months before shooting. The directing changed hands. Filming ran from 26 September 1937 to 14 January 1938; William Keighley started it, Michael Curtiz took over, and both are credited. James Cagney had been considered for the lead. When he left his Warner contract the project stalled for three years and the part went to Errol Flynn. Olivia de Havilland was cast as Maid Marian partly because their pairing in Captain Blood had worked commercially. Erich Wolfgang Korngold was reluctant to score it, saying he was a composer of drama and the heart with little connection to a 90 percent action picture. Hitler's meeting with Austrian ministers in November 1937 changed his mind, and after the annexation of Austria he stayed in America through the war. It won three Academy Awards: art direction, film editing and original score. Who it is for: viewers who want classic adventure and early Technicolor. Who it is not for: anyone looking for tension. The hero never once seems to be in danger.