The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

A nominee for Best Picture in 1938, The Adventures of Robin Hood stars Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. I'd seen a few moments from this film over the years, mostly the fight sequences (and there are several that are just spectacular), but I've never had the chance to watch the entire movie until today. What a great couple of hours of entertainment. This is an action-filled film, with dozens of interesting characters and true suspense, honestly earned. I think almost anyone, regardless of their age or gender, would find something about this movie to enjoy.

I was particularly entranced by the performance of Basil Rathbone as Sir Guy of Gisbourne. His face was so strikingly like a young Vincent Price's, but Rathbone has his own charms. He played a series of bad guys in the movies before taking on the role that would most define his career: Sherlock Holmes. Yet in The Adventures of Robin Hood, he's oddly attractive even though he's Prince John's primary henchman. You feel compelled to watch him; it's as if you're drawn to him despite his despicable ways. I can only imagine what he might have been like as a romantic lead.

I love Claude Rains. It's always a delight when he shows up in a film. And the part of Prince John gives him numerous opportunities to steal the movie. However, the hair and make-up people have given him a wig that makes him look like a red-haired Bettie Page. It's so distracting that you almost forget to enjoy his wickedly funny performance.

This is a somewhat early Technicolor film, and yet it is so incredibly vibrant. Many of the costumes are in greens and browns, in keeping with the "hiding in Sherwood Forest" motif. Yet these colors really "pop" on the screen. Someone has done a painstaking job of keeping the colors bright in this film.

At the center of the movie is, of course, Errol Flynn as Robin Hood. Flynn always seems to be enjoying himself in every movie he's in. He has a smile or grin on his face in every scene. Flynn was a true movie star and a capable actor, but he seems to relish the role of star most. There's certainly a chemistry between him and de Havilland (it was rumored that they were having an affair at the time), and you can understand why Warner Brothers kept putting the two of them in movies throughout the 1930s and 40s. She was never my favorite (in fact, I've always kind of resented her presence in Gone with the Wind), but she and Flynn work so well together here. Of course, I think most of the credit goes to Flynn. He makes the screen so much brighter with his presence that it can't help but affect those around him.