The Adventures of Robin Hood

along with "Long John Silver". This was one my sisters and I never missed when I was a kid. Robin was brave and dashing and Maid Marion was beautiful. The evil Sheriff of Nottingham was a real meany and was well played. I also have a good memory of Friar Tuck and Little John. Kevin Costner's portrayal of Robin in "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves" pales in comparison to Richard Greene's. The theme song is still firmly fixed in my memory, complete with those French horns. Lots of sword fights and daring escapes from the Sheriff's clutches made this a family favourite. I haven't seen any of the episodes since the early 60's but would dearly love to see them again.

The small town in Washington where I grew up had only one television station in the late 1950's. It was a CBS-affiliated station but seemed to run more syndicated programming than network stuff. One of these syndicated shows that is remembered fondly by pretty much every baby boomer kid in Kennewick, WA. was "The Adventures of Robin Hood" with Richard Greene. All the bigger budgeted Robin Hoods pale in comparison--and I don't think this is just nostalgia talking. This version of Robin Hood was very British (as it should be) and great fun to watch.

"The Adventures of Robin Hood" was not a children's program, not even a young people's program.  Consider its credits, if you doubt my assessment. Its directors included Daniel Birt, Robert Day, Don Chaffey, Terry Bishop, Terence Fisher, Arthur Crabtree, Peter Maxwell, Ralph Smart and Bernard Knowles, many known for TV and feature film work. The writing corps included some blacklisted Hollywood film writers as well as highly-competent British scenarists including in their numbers Milton Schlesinger, Ring Lardner Jr., Ralph Smart, John Dyson, John Cousins, Arthur Behr, Raymond Bowers, Eric Heath, Anne Rodney, Leslie Poynter. Paul Symonds, Sidney Wells, Ian Lartain, Ian McLellan Hunter and C.D. Phillips. The story sets up an historically false but dramatically useful opposition--the Saxons of England championing the cause of the imprisoned honest King Richard Coeur de Lion, set against his usurping, nefarious brother Prince John, who is in league with their Norman overlords and crooked sheriffs (out only to steal land and wealth and ready to enslave the populace for a brass farthing).  The very fine continuing cast included handsome and able leading man Richard Greene, lovely Bernadette O'Farrell and later very good actress Patricia Driscoll as Maid Marian Fitzwalter; the splendid Shakespearean actor Alexander Gauge playing the definitive Friar Tuck, with Archie Duncan as Little John, Paul Eddington as Will Scarlet, Alan Wheatley as a marvelously subtle and villainous Sheriff of Nottingham, Victor Woolf as Derwent and Simone Lovell as the brave and helpful Maid Joan. Several fine actors played Prince John, including Donald Pleasance, Ian Hunter Robin's friend Sir Richard and Jill Esmond Queen Eleanor. Regular guests included Paul Eddington (doing double duty), Willoughby Gray, John Dearth, Arthur Skinner, Charles Stapley plus guest stars of the caliber of Edward Mulhare, and Leo McKern. Hannah Weinstein was executive producer, with the participation of Sidney Cole as line producer, Thelma Connell a associate and Richard Greene. Edwin Astley, Albert Elms and Sidney Keith Russell provided the music; Carl Sigman wrote the popular title song. The cinematography for the show, which ranged from hood to very good, was done by Gerald Gibbs, Ken Hodges and Michael Reed at various times. The production designer was Peter Proud, and the art directors Proud, John Blezard and Peter Mullins. Gabriel Toyne was in charge of duels and battles with Brenda Gardner in charge of wardrobe. So many people have happy memories of watching this show as young people, I believe they would be surprised how entertaining the and engrossing the show remain. The comedy was frequently very successful, the dialogue above average and the motivations of the characters extraordinarily clear. And, frequently, memorable. Because the show was about important matters to realists, the scenes deal with essentials; and this makes them more consistently interesting and rich than is usual in a television show. This is a much-loved television series, for many reasons; I was privileged to wait each week for its episodes when I was growing up. I have seen many since that time, and they are still enjoyable, as fiction and as good-spirited fun for discriminating viewers.

Yes, this was, indeed, a fine production. Richard Green certainly brought the character of Robin Hood to sparkling life with a dashing personality and great conviction. Australia's own Errol Flynn did a pretty good job as well.

These shows were fun. They made history entertaining.

It's a shame that kids don't have this sort of educational fare to fire their imagination these days.

Period films and television series have frequently come in for a great deal of criticism over the years and much of the flack has been entirely justified.

However, some of the better productions which have graced both the big and small screens have presented tales of earlier times in a way that the printed word has often been unable to.

I watched this series as a child while in Whitney, England, and have many fond memories of it. Much to my delight I found a Video with three of the original episodes and found that it really was a very enjoyable show, even at my current age of 56!