Prince of Thieves
                                   
Director: Howard Bretherton
Year: 1948
Rating: 6.0
Robin Hood. The Prince of Thieves. From Alexander Dumas according to the opening credits. What? Dumas? I think someone screwed up. Not unless the Three Musketeers met Robin Hood. Which would have been cool. This is a fairly standard Robin Hood tale - King Richard is away at the Crusades and back home Prince John and his minions are oppressing the common folk.  Only Robin Hood and his Merrie Men fight back. Nicely shot in color. And with a decent cast. As Robin is Jon Hall who had been playing adventurous heroes since The Hurricane in 1937 and followed that with a series of exotically set films. Perhaps the fact that his mother was a Tahitian Princess made him a natural for these roles.

 
Robin and his men save a couple in Sherwood Forest from assassination by an archer - and then take their gold. Quid pro quo. The couple are Sir Allan Claire (Michael Duane) and his sister Lady Marian. Allan has been with King Richard in Europe and tells Robin that the King is soon returning. Finding themselves on the same side Robin returns his gold and begins flirting with Lady Marian (Patricia Morison). Morison never really made it in the movies but she went on to become a huge star on Broadway in musicals. She should have sung here because she is rather lackluster except when she swims in a pond. Not like the betrothed love of Allan, played by Adele Jergens who has a Virginia Mayo vibe about her. She is a dish with her long streaming golden tresses. They were promised in marriage five years ago but her father is now forcing her into a marriage with a swinish cousin of King John.
 

Robin can't let that happen of course and so most of the film is taken up with them trying to rescue her from the evil clutches of Baron Tristram. Lots of derring-do and sword fighting to follow. The action is competent and the castle decor well done. The one disappointment is that when Robin and Allan have their final duels against the bad guys, the camera refuses to show the kill. Considering the number of minions already killed, it is hard to imagine why. Hall doesn't even try to put on a British accent which may be to the good considering the hash Keven Costner made of it in his Prince of Thieves in 1991.