The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men

1952 1h 24m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 75

Adventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Young Robin Hood, in love with Maid Marian, enters an archery contest with his father at the King's palace. On the way home his father is murdered by henchmen of Prince John. Robin takes up the life of an outlaw, gathering together his band of merry men with him in Sherwood Forest, to avenge his father's death and to help the people of the land that Prince John are over taxing.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Richard Todd
Robin Hood
Joan Rice
Maid Marian
Peter Finch
Sheriff of Nottingham
James Hayter
Friar Tuck
James Robertson Justice
Little John
Martita Hunt
Queen Eleanor
Hubert Gregg
Prince John
Bill Owen
Stutely

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ken Annakin
Writers: Lawrence Edward Watkin
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

84 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

74 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ken Annakin, shot by Guy Green. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Clifton Parker. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Gordon Pilkington shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Richard Todd and Joan Rice and Peter Finch carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0045197 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 75 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ken Annakin directs. Guy Green behind the camera. Clifton Parker scores. Gordon Pilkington cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

184 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
274 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Ken Annakin, shot by Guy Green. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Clifton Parker. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Gordon Pilkington shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Richard Todd and Joan Rice and Peter Finch carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0045197 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 75 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Guy Green
Original score: Clifton Parker
Editing: Gordon Pilkington
Costume design: Michael Whittaker
Makeup / hair: Geoffrey Rodway
Runtime: 84 min · 1h 24m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952)

Also by

Ken Annakin

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-09-11
★ 6/10
A colourful and enjoyable Disnification of the tale from 12th century English folklore. This time, we have a tousled Richard Todd in the title role. He travels to Nottingham to take part in an archery contest with his father (Reginald Tate). They win, but say some rather disparaging things about the new Sheriff (Peter Finch) and his father is killed as they return home. This drives our hero to outlawdom, and the traditional good v evil battles commence. We are introduced to James Robertson Justice as "Little John" and a jovial James Hayter as "Tuck" and all engage in a battle with the evil Sheriff and his devious patron Prince John (Hubert Gregg). In this version, "Maid Marian" (Joan Rice) is the daughter of the previous Sheriff who has accompanied Richard the Lionheart to the Crusades; she defects with her beau to live in the forest and there, their romance blossoms. Sadly, the narrative is all to frequently augmented by the rather annoying singing of Alan-a-Dale (Elton Hayes) and the action scenes are a bit theatrical - as is the performance of the imperious Martita Hunt as Queen Eleanor, but it's still a fun historical costume romp that is an easy family film to watch.

Production companies

Who made it

RKO Radio Pictures
US
Walt Disney Productions
US

Key crew

Art DirectionCarmen Dillon
Costume DesignMichael Whittaker
ProducerPerce Pearce
Executive ProducerWalt Disney
Camera OperatorDavid Harcourt
Assistant DirectorPeter Bolton
Second Unit DirectorAlex Bryce
Makeup SupervisorGeoffrey Rodway
Production ManagerDouglas Peirce
Sound EditorWinston Ryder
EditorGordon Pilkington
Hair SupervisorVivienne Walker
Unit ManagerF. Sherwin Green
ConductorMuir Mathieson
Boom OperatorGeorge Paternoster
Boom OperatorFred Ryan

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

robin hood
archer

Release history · US

When it landed

Theatrical1952-05-26NR

Also known as

International titles

Robin Hood und seine lustigen GesellenDE
Robin Hood, Rebell des KönigsDE
Robin Hood und seine tollkuehnen GesellenDE

5.9