3. Marian Meets Queen Eleanor

Surrounded by their escort, the Earl of Huntingdon and his daughter crossed the drawbridge of Nottingham Castle and rode into the crowded yard. As they entered the Great Hall they were just in time to see King Richard leaving the Council Chamber with his mother Queen Eleanor and his brother Prince John. Alongside them was the...

Robin Fitzooth

In this story and film, Robin Hood has the ‘real’ name Robin Fitzooth and is the son of Hugh Fitzooth, gamekeeper of the Earl of Huntingdon. It was the doctor and parson, William Stukeley (1678-1765), who first provided Robin Hood with a family tree of this name in 1746. Stukeley used William Dugdale’s ‘Baronage’ of 1675 and...

2. Robin and Marian

“What ails ye ?” Hugh Fitzooth, gamekeeper to the Earl stared at the flustered old nurse. “Master Fitzooth….” gasped the woman breathlessly, as she faced the grizzled, kindly keen-eyed man with the longbow slung across his shoulder and two large greyhounds by his side. “I seek the Maid. Where is that harum-scarum son of yours?”“She...

1. Huntingdon Manor

It was the year 1190 and the manor house of the Earl of Huntingdon was filled with bustle and activity. Pages scurried and servants dashed hither and thither to prepare for the departure of the Earl of Huntingdon for Nottingham. It was there that he was to join King Richard on a Crusade to free the Holy Land.“Is everything...

Full Cast

In credits order:Richard Todd :- Robin HoodJoan Rice:- Maid MarianPeter Finch:- Sheriff of NottinghamJames Hayter:- Friar TuckJames Robertson Justice:- Little JohnMartita Hunt:- Queen EleanorHubert Gregg:- Prince JohnBill Owen:- Stutely Reginald Tate:- Hugh FitzoothElton Hayes:- Alan A DaleAnthony Eustrel:- Archbishop of CanterburyPatrick Barr:- King RichardAnthony Forwood:- Will ScarletHal Osmond:-...

In The Studio With Ken Annakin

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Behind The Camera

First UnitDirector:- Ken AnnakinUnit Manager:- Frank Sherwin GreenDirector of Photography:- Guy GreenCamera Operative:- Dave HarcourtTechnicolor Technician:- Ian CraigAsst. Technicolor Technician:- John TileyClappers:- Derrick Whitehurst1st. Assistant Director:- Peter Bolton2nd. Assistant Director:- Peter Manley3rd Assistant Director:- Kip GowanContinuity:- Joan DavisSound Mixer:- C.C. StevensBoom...

Denham Studios

I was blissfully unaware as I sat in my local ABC cinema in the 1970’s, watching Disney’s live action version of ‘Robin Hood’, that the studios in which this wonderful film was made were being demolished.After the Second World War some of the money made by American film companies had been frozen by the British Government, this...

Plan of Denham Studios

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Introduction

In the early 1970’s I watched a film at my local cinema that sent me on a historical journey. That film was Walt Disney’s ‘Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men’. As a child I had seen other films and read the books, but this film in particular inspired me to research the historical evidence behind one of the most famous legends...

This is the tale of Robin Hood

"O, I'll sing a song, a rollicky song,As, I roll along my way,With a hey derry die 'n' a derry die doAnd a riddle de diddle de day!This is the tale of Robin Hood,And of his merry men,His like you are not like to see,In all the world agai...