Men of Sherwood Forest
Director: Val Guest
Year: 1955
Rating: 5.5
I was expecting
this Robin Hood tale to be pretty much a carbon copy of the one I had just
seen - Robin Hood and his Merrie Men - but it took an interesting side road.
It skips all the Robin Hood origin story and jumps forward to when King Richard
is returning. There is skullduggery afoot with minions of King John attempting
to intercept the King upon his return and kill him. Thank goodness for Robin
Hood and his Men from Sherwood Forest - the usual crew of Friar Tuck, Little
John and Will Scarlett - but Maid Marion must be off elsewhere as she never
makes an appearance.
This isn't exactly a high powered production
with a cast of unknowns to me for the most part. Hammer is behind this and
the budget is middling at best but it is quite enjoyable and at 76 minutes
it goes by quickly in particular the ending that felt rushed as if they had
reached the limits of their budget. It is directed by Val Guest who would
go on to direct some Hammer classics - The Quatermass Xperiment, Quatermass
2 and The Abominable Snowman. Robin Hood is played by American Don Taylor,
who had a long career in film both as an actor and then director. Most of
his directing was a plethora of TV shows but he squeezed in Damien: Omen 2
and The Final Countdown into his resume. Taylor is excellent as Robin Hood
- a slight resemblance to Errol Flynn and very athletic. And a nod to the
actor who plays Friar Tuck with such gusto and a twinkle in his eye - Reginald
Beckwith - who has been in some fine films like Thunderball, Burn, Witch,
Burn, Curse of the Demon but I think in very small roles as I don't
recall him. A slight but enjoyable addition to the Robin Hood films.
