Sword of Sherwood Forest [DVD] [1960]

As a child, I had a beautiful book of Robin Hood stories, which I used to read by torchlight under my bedclothes, when my parents thought I was asleep. It was a big, hardbacked book; filled with brightly colourful pictures and printed in fine romantic Gothic. As a result - as well as shocking eyesight - the wronged Sir Robin of Loxley, defiant elf, became an early hero of mine.
That won't mean anything to you, bargain hunter, but believe me when I tell you that 'Sword of Sherwood Forest,' of all the Robin Hood movies I've seen, is the one that comes closest to capturing the spirit and stylised sumptuousness of my glorious book.

Hammer movies always look good, like they were following an imaginary brief to make up for low budgets with Constable-worthy scenery, but this one is truly exceptional.

Richard Greene plays Hood as a stereotypical, square-jawed hero, and Sarah Branch is delicious as a (VERY) reluctant Marian - but it's the villains on this vivid stage that make the work interesting. Peter Cushing is superb as the conniving Sheriff of Nottingham; a role pre-empting one of his best performances as the similarly shady and conspiritorial Dr. Namaroff in 'the Gorgon'. Richard Pasco (CBE, Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre and, fascinatingly, husband to Barbara Leigh-Hunt of Hitchcock's 'Frenzy') as his accomplice, the shifty-faced Earl of Newark; and a young, squeaky-voiced Oliver Reed as the nasty back-stabber Lord Melton. And this is probably why 'Sword of Sherwood Forest' was filmed on location in Ireland, rather then Bray Studios: the amount of scene-chewing these three get through would've endangered the next batch of production.
Cushing, in particular, is a riot. No act is too despicable: he awards Martin of Eastwood a free pardon AFTER he's shot him dead; plots a similar fate for Robin after lying through his teeth to a spiky-but-dense Marian; before finally orchestrating a 'Soldier Blue' style attack on some thatch-roofed cottages - hiding well back in the bushes himself, of course.
Pasco is determination personified as "a ruthless man of intrigue !" and Ollie squints dirtily, hisses like Peter Lorre, and only bellows once - when Robin nonchalantly shoots down his soaring peregrine.

Any road, the plot is uncomplicated to say the least - various nobles plot to assassinate a Lord Chancellor - but it doesn't matter a great deal. Simply a foil for the visuals.
Directed by Terence Fisher, 'Sword of Sherwood Forest,' unsurprisingly, never resorts to back-slapping singalongs around the fire after jolly venison hunts (there is one atrocious ballad sung by jazz great Dennis Lotis), but instead concentrates on unpleasant images of floggings, dry-gulching and village burnings, instead. Even Friar Tuck (Niall MacGuinness) is a less frivolous figure than usual; solemnly wandering the countryside with nary a rosy cheek nor raucous guffaw.

No, Cushing and co and the main reasons for the 'Sword of Sherwood Forest' dvd. The beautiful transfer helps; lit magnificently by the interesting Ken Hodges in intriguing 'MegaScope' (!), rural Eire never looked so sharp - not even when it's posing as the East Midlands !
Look out for Sarah Branch's repulsed look when she's called upon to kiss Richard Greene. He'd either halitosis...or was as sexist and condescending in real life as he was in character.
Either way, it's fun.

This film is one of only 3 robinhood films that Hammer studios have produced,and at there famous Hammer studios. You can't go past Peter Cushing as the sheriff of nottingham, he plays the part excellently, and of course Richard Greene as Robin Hood,the most famous Robin of all, this movie is a must for Hammer fans and serves as a change from the Hammer horror films, like Night Creatures 1961, Devil ship pirates 1964, pirates of blood river 1962, Hammer again have shown there the best for these sort of films, the movie is in classic Eastman colour, a Hammer Favourite, and has all the classic Hammer stars such as Oliver Reed,[ Curse of the werewolf}Richard pasco from {The Gorgon}stars as Evil prince John, this film has many familiar faces from other Hammer films. Nigel Greene also stars as Little John who was hercules in {Jason and the argonauts} 1963, the story is faithful to the original adaption, but with the touch of Hammer Directer Terence Fisher it makes this film a one of a kind, Not to be missed, my only regret is this film is presently not on dvd, however keep checking because it may appear on dvd at any time, in the meantime enjoy the vhs version, as i said this is a must for Hammer Fans, regards Deke.

Hammer Films pretty much began and ended their glory days with quickie movie adaptations of TV and radio series, so it wasn't that surprising that Richard Greene's Robin Hood should make the leap to the big screen in 1960's Sword of Sherwood Forest, but despite some capable talent in front of and behind the camera and adding colour and CinemaScope to the mix the low budget and drawn out script render it a flat night out in Sherwood. Greene, who co-produced, is the only member of the TV show's cast to make the leap to the big screen (the famous theme song is gone too), with Little John played by Nigel Green, Friar Tuck by Niall MacGinnis, Marian by an underwhelming Sarah Branch and Peter Cushing giving the film's best turn as the Sheriff of Nottingham, while Richard Pasco and the unbilled Oliver Reed (quite badly dubbed), Desmond Llewellyn and Derren Nesbitt lend support. Sadly there's little color or personality to the story - with Robin trying to stop the assassination of the Archbishop of Canterbury - for any of them to work with. Under Terence Fisher's competent but rather unenthusiastic direction it just ambles along, feeling much longer than it actually is without ever hitting any highs. There are certainly plenty of worse Robin Hood films out there, but that's not much of a recommendation for watching this run of the mill effort.

Sony's DVD offers an acceptable but unexceptional 2.35:1 widescreen transfer with the original trailer as the only extra.