Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

ulht1 Besides this being a very entertaining film and a real classic, I recently found out about a character in it who I cannot find in it. She played the young maid at the end of the 1953 Scrooge movie who a lot of people wanted to know about - she was found finally a very few years ago - Theresa Darlington and her only other film was this one . Problem is I have run the film more than once and there are very few small part women in it and none has any visible connection with geese that I can spot. If anyone knows more about that, please post it.

MARIO GAUCI I had watched this just once growing up, as opposed to the numerous viewings allotted to the definitive 1938 Errol Flynn version, so I was curious to know how it has held up (particularly since I recently enjoyed another Walt Disney epic starring the recently-deceased Richard Todd i.e. ROB ROY, THE HIGHLAND ROGUE [1953]). As can be intimated from the rating above, my reaction to it was by and large a positive one; to begin with, the copy I acquired – even if viewed on a small TV screen – was gorgeous, making this surely among the studio's most handsome-looking live-action efforts. Another immediately striking element is the casting – modest in comparison to the earlier Warner Bros. super-production perhaps but no less capable and, more importantly, fitting to each respective character: Todd, one of the few Robins not to sport a beard(!), is suitably dashing and good-natured (though lacking the athleticism of Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks before him); incidentally, having mentioned Fairbanks – whose 1922 ROBIN HOOD was treated with such rigor as to have the semblance of authenticity – this one too would appear to want to present the 'true' story (not merely picking up from the moment King Richard – played by an unrecognizable Patrick Barr – left for the Crusades but also insisting on providing a back-story and a noble heritage for our hero – even the famous archery contest occurs prior to his having turned outlaw and, what's more, Robin is beaten by his own dad in it?!). Anyway, to get back to Todd's fellow actors, pretty Joan Rice makes for one of the youngest yet most spirited Maid Marians; among the "Merrie Men", typically, the ones to get most prominence are Little John (James Robertson Justice – who else? – but with hair dyed blond!), Friar Tuck (James Hayter and, for some odd reason, fancying himself a singer in the film's corniest scene!) – both of their introductions at least stick to the legend – and Allen-a-Dale (Elton Hayes, whose brief cinematic career seemed to be stuck playing minstrels in historical efforts!); for what it is worth, the presence of the last two mentioned constitute the film's severest drawbacks to this viewer. On the side of the wrongdoers, we get Hubert Gregg as a particularly sly (though rather youthful) Prince John and, surprisingly, Peter Finch as the Sheriff of Nottingham (effective apart from an unbecoming coiffure – incidentally, I may be watching his one other film in this vein i.e. THE DARK AVANGER aka THE WARRIORS [1955], with Errol Flynn no less, this coming week-end); by the way, another novelty to the lore which turns up here but hardly anywhere else is that of having a benign but obviously ineffective Queen Mother (a suitably regal Martita Hunt). While there is not quite the emphasis on spectacle or elaborate action set-pieces we find in other versions (though the drawbridge climax is undeniably thrilling), the film – which, at a mere 84 minutes, does not run the risk of overstaying its welcome – is very entertaining for the most part and, as I said, looks good enough to smooth over the occasional deficiency.

Gunn This was the first version of Robin Hood that I and my siblings saw, so we judged other versions based on this Disney take. I was 9 when I saw it with my younger brother. We loved the whistling arrows warning system used in this film and we found Richard Todd, a dashing, swashbuckling Robin, in fact we became huge fans of all his works. One of our favorites was Disney's "Rob Roy, The Highland Rogue" actually filmed in Scotland. Disney was not a miser when it came to his "pet projects" and Rob Roy was one of them. The Story of Robin Hood was no exception and it was filmed on location in England, even though some shots look like matte prints. The cast, too was impressive, with James Robertson Justice a perfect, burly 'Little John', Martita Hunt as Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, James Hayter a robust 'Friar Tuck', Peter Finch as the nasty Sheriff of Nottingham, Elton Hale a charming 'Allan-a-Dale', the great Michael Hordern in a small role as 'Scathelock' and Bill Owen as 'Stutely'. The production is top notch and the film very memorable, and to me, very nostalgic.

Henri Bronsgeest This is an excellent film. One I remember fondly from my youth and have purchased on VHS and laser. I now have it on DVD, but this is where Disney has done us wrong. You can only buy this DVD through their Movie Club. This is outrages. Several of the other Disney live-action features are sold this way. Kidnapped, Zorro. This is keeping these films from the general public. Disney should know better.This is probably the only Robin Hood film that sticks close to the original legend. It is well acted and Joan Rice is beautiful as Maid Marian. Having been to Sherwood Forest, Nottingham, and the surrounding area, it is nice to see that this film was actually filmed in England, not in California like Flynn's movie. And, of course, the war hero Richard Todd (he was one of the first on Omaha beach) is excellent as Robin Hood.