• All four chapters were shot at the same time primarily during weekends of August 2004. Scenes involving the same locations were shot on the same day.
• Sass Parilla’s Chapter IV killing spree and the Chilapuna boat scenes were shot at the director’s parents’ home in Oxford, Georgia.
• The opening credits were inspired by an excised scene in which Gary describes many of Sass Parilla’s past accomplishments.
• Most of the filming took place in the Candler Smith Warehouses, warehouse space that had been converted into residential living. The warehouse C-10 served as the primary location as well as production studios. It was also known as “The Hall of Immortals” and “The Rubber Bat Studios.”
• The film grew out of an idea for Sass Parilla’s nightclub act in which he would fight a robot gorilla in front of drawings of buildings.

2) Although I starred in this film, I thought I would keep the review ballrolling with a genuine review. I greatly enjoyed watching these moviesonce they were completed! I think that the art direction was perfectand dead on for exactly what this serial needed! The sets designed werewell thought through and specifically the Nepalese ice cavern and BlackWidow’s lair were two noteworthy sets that really conveyed the mood ofthe scenes. Special attention to miniatures also helped to bringtogether an overall feel for the flavor of these adventures duringestablishing shots. Locations provided more just the right atmospherefor outdoor scenes, and I would say that the acting on the whole ispretty good. I don’t want to review my own acting mind you, but I wouldsay that by and large, the acting is solid for a low budget,independent film, and certainly in our local area of Atlanta.

I would recommend watching these movies for a good laugh. I suppose onecan’t take the adventures of a singing gorilla too seriously. Thismovie is an action adventure comedy suspense thriller of a monstermovie, done in a serial style. There are 4 chapters which can standalone, but combined they amount to just under an hour of viewing. Eachchapter is a different type of movie and they have a slightly uniquefeel, but combined there is an element of cohesion, so watching eithersingle chapters or the whole thing I would say is equally enjoyable.

Although I personally might have liked to see Sass Parilla sing more inthese movies, his theme song and "Double Axe-Handle of Love" give us anice taste of Sass Parilla’s singing. However the main focus is onSass’ fight against evil so I can see why there isn’t more singing andI’m grateful this is not some sort of musical, a genre of which I’m nota fan.

This movie really captures all of the things I love in myentertainment. It has the flavor of 60’s superhero shows, Saturdaymorning cartoons, comic books, monster movies, silent film, some decentgore, and maybe even a touch of a pro-wrestling aesthetic. It wasenjoyable and I would watch it again. I like it so much that I rank ithigh, and recommend that you watch it. One last point, although thismovie is colorful and looks fun, the previously mentioned gore makesthis more for mature audiences. Although you might think on firstimpression that kids would enjoy this, and they might, I recommend notshowing this to small children or kids easily prone to nightmares.Aside from that, it’s great and I look forward to seeing more!

3) We always knew he’d be famous, but the Adventures of Sass Parilla theSinging Gorilla demonstrate that he is not only a singing gorilla butan acting, crime fighting, kind and strong, but mostly talentedgorilla. The four installments, or quadrilogy, of the Adventures takeus on a roller-coaster ride of excitement, danger, monsters, zombies,and glory. It’s true: it is a low budget, ham & cheesy fun movie towatch. The folks involved in this epic did it for the love: the love ofgorilla, the love of art, the love of action.

Somehow, it’s best watched in a bar or music hall, paired with rockingbands and half-dressed women. That’s what Sass surrounds himself within real life, anyway. As the male member of the Doll Squad, an Atlantaburlesque troupe, Sass Parilla sings and plays bass while keeping guardof the ladies. He is also a regular on radio morning shows… and hecan tell you where to get the best grub in town.

Rent The Adventures of Sass Parilla the Singing Gorilla – or better -buy it as soon as you can.

4) This is a stellar series of short films!!!! This camp, funny, sweet &super creative low-budget series features Atlanta’s favorite singingblue gorilla… None other than Sass Parilla. With its dastardlyvillains, corny good guys & outrageous special effects, this collectionis sure to entertain you for about an hour — ‘cuz that’s how long theDVD is. Alex Rambaud is particularly compelling as kooky scientist Dr.Newtonius. "The Adventures of Sass Parilla the Singing Gorilla" does afantastic job of borrowing from my favorite movie genre: schlock films.The scenes with Mechasassparilla had me rolling with laughter! I reallycan’t say enough great things about these shorts. If you like cheese,get this DVD right now!

Ace the Wonder Dog gives a great performance as ‘Rusty.’ There are noobvious places where they added noises to the dog (growls, yelps, barks,etc.) His performance is very believable. That dog is a good actor and verywell trained.

At times this movie can be a little melodramatic, and has a fairlypredictable ending, although it does add a few unexpected elements. TheGermans aren’t viewed in a terribly favorable light, but that is to beexpected, as this film was made during World War II. Rusty was a Germandog.Although it does exactly say why he was so aggressive, it implies that theGerman methods create a fearsome, untrusting dog. This, of course, would bea generalization, but German dog training methods as a general rule arestricter (although it doesn’t create aggressive dogs).

Nothing incredible about this movie, but it is fun to watch with a solidscript, good values, fair acting and great dogs.

2) (Some Spoilers) Unusual dog movie about a former German police dog whowas brought back to the states by a GI who ends up capturing two Germansaboteurs. The movie "Rusty" is also about a young boy Danny,TedDonaldson, who after his mother tragically died has his dad HughMitchell, Conrad Nagel, marry his new love Ann, Margaret Lindsay, whichcause friction between him and his step-mother for his father affectionand attention.

After Danny's dog Skipper gets killed in a traffic accident the boy isleft without his best friend as well as losing his dad who now has notime for his after he married Ann. Later Danny spots this viciousGerman Shepherd, that he later names Rusty, at his neighbors WillNelson, Robert Williams,home and offer to take the unruly dog off hishands.

At the Mitchell home Rusty is both wild and unapproachable and everytime Danny goes near him, and tries to pet the dog, he takes a snap athim and once almost tears his hand off. It's obvious that the dog beingtrained by the German Army during WWII, the movie takes place in 1944,is anything but a Lassie or Rin-Tin-Tin. The only way to treat the poordog is to be as unfeeling to him as he is to Danny and thus not showhim any love or affection since he's unable to respond to it.

Rusty felling unwanted and at the same time unable to show anyfriendliness toward Danny, because of his brutal training back inGermany,breaks away from his lease at the Mitchell's home doghouse andruns off into the nearby woods. It just happens that these two Germansaboteurs are landed by a U-Boat and they both start to do their workto blow up US military installations.

All the Germans seem to do in their attempts to "Blow up America" isjust go camping and then steal a number of kitchen utensils as theylater run into the lost and confused Rusty. Rusty immediately respondsand obeys the two Gremans, like he was trained to back in Germany, whomthey use to catch rabbits and chickens from the locals hen houses andchicken coops for food for the saboteurs and Rusty to eat.

Danny looking for Rusty with his friends run into him and his newmasters, the Germans. Rusty after hesitating to attack Danny andfriends, as he was ordered by the Germans, turns on them when one ofthe Nazis pulls out a gun and is about to shoot his real friend Danny.After almost getting his arm ripped off by the courageous Rusty theother German saboteur is caught by the boys and Rusty after he's hit inthe head with a sling-shot by Hurbie (Gary Gray) who's the smallest ofthe boys looking for Rusty. The two outer Germans are finally savedfrom the rampaging Rusty, a former comrade of theirs, by the US NavyMP's who just happened to come on the scene.

Besides the obvious boy and his dog-type story "Rusty" also showed howdifficult it is for a young boy to get along with someone replacing hismom, Ann. In the end both Danny and Ann overcame those difficulties andcame together, with Danny's dad Hugh, as a happy and loving family. Butthat wouldn't have happened if it was not for the brave and selflessRusty who brought them all together.

3) THE ADVENTURES OF RUSTY (Columbia, 1945), directed by Paul Burnford,stars child actor Ted Donaldson, best known for his supporting role asNeely Nolan in A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN (20th Century-Fox, 1945), inthe lead performance not as Rusty, who happens to be a dog, but as ayoungster named Danny Mitchell.

In what has developed into a programmer film series from 1945 to 1949,this initial entry starts off in the spring of 1944 where a little boynamed Danny (Ted Donaldson)is seen fishing with his dog Skipper on thevery day his widowed father, Hugh Mitchell (Conrad Nagel) is to remarrya woman named Ann (Margaret Lindsay), a close friend of his deceasedwife, Laura. Ann loves Danny like a son, but because she is now amember of the family, doing things for his father he used to do, hestarts to resent her. On a car bound for their honeymoon where Danny isleft under the care of Ann's friend, Louise (Gloria Holden), Skipperruns after them only to be killed by a passing truck, causing Danny toplace the blame on Ann. And where does Rusty come in? Well, while oneafternoon in the country hunting for rabbits with his friends, Danny,who had earlier encountered a vicious German shepherd called Rusty(Ace, the Wonder Dog), owned by Will Nelson (Robert Williams) ofFisherman's Creek, meets up with the animal again with an injured paw.Hoping to win the dog's affection, Danny takes Rusty home, and with thepermission of his father, gets to adopt Rusty from Mr. Nelson. SinceRusty was an Army war dog in Germany, and understands only German,Danny decides to take up the German language in order to communicatewith the animal. Because the dog continues to growl and bark at Danny,he goes to Doctor Banning (Addison Richards) a psychiatrist, to learnthe reason why. Regardless of Ann's good intentions towards both Dannyand Rusty, Danny continues to resent Ann, especially after Rustydisappears, causing Ann to walk out on her marriage, leaving Hugh aloneand depressed.

Regardless of its title, there's little adventure for Rusty and morefamily problems for the Mitchell family. ADVENTURES OF RUSTY, however,could very much be labeled as a predecessor to family television showsof the 1950s, resembling episodes of the more popular boy and his dogseries, "Timmie and Lassie." As with "Lassie," Rusty is there for moralsupport for the family, particularly the boy, creating circumstances toallow the dog to come to the rescue. One scene midway finds Dannyencountering a couple of Germans (Arno Frey and Eddie Parker) who haddrifted ashore on a raft in the middle of the night, who take and usethe drifting Rusty to supply them with food by stealing farm animalsfor them. As Danny, who has located Rusty, threatens to take back hisdog, who had been missing for a week, the Nazis attempt to shoot Dannyfor his interference.

Also in the supporting cast are Douglas Madore (Billy); Bobby Larson(Henry); Gary Gray (Berbie); Ruth Warren (Floredce Nelson); LloydIngraham (The Minister); and Billy Gray (Harry).

A quickly paced but sometimes uneven 67 minutes, THE ADVENTURES OFRUSTY, which turned up on cable television's Turner Classic MoviesApril 16, 2007, as part of its "No Animals Were Harmed" theme, wassuccessful enough for Columbia to come up with seven more sequels.Veteran actors Conrad Nagel and Margaret Lindsay, who were by nowreduced to enacting in "B" products such as this, would be substitutedby other actors, namely John Litel and Ann Doran, in futureinstallments. Next in the series: THE RETURN OF RUSTY (1946).(** Barks)

4) I wasn't born until 1963, but I have a great love of 1930s and 40sAmerica. Until TCM began airing the "Rusty" series, I had no idea thatthe films even existed. I'm glad they do though. Considered corny andunrealistic by todays standards, I find them to be wonderful littletime capsules of post-war USA. The reason they can't make somethinglike this today is simply because today's world is too caught up inselfishness and lack of respect for others. It must have been nice tolive in a time in which a Boy and His Dog series of films was what thepublic wanted to see. Unfortuanately for todays audiences, these 60year old time pieces deal in such "boring" subjects as parents caringabout their kids and the kids learning from their mistakes. If theywere made today, they'd have to toss in drive by shootings, drugs, teenpregnancy and lots of profanity in order to attract an audience. And,of course, the kids would have to be smarter than the parents and allthe other adults. Anyway, if you enjoy simple, predictable stories inwhich the kids don't hate their parents and even love them for caringabout their proper upbringing, then certainly give these films a shot.All I know is these simple portraits of America in the 1940s leave mewith a nice, nostalgic feeling for a time that we'll never see again.After all, the world of today is all about how the young being totallydisrespectful to anyone over 30 and anything else would be seen ashopelessly corny and boring to watch. I was truly born about 50 yearstoo late!

5) TED DONALDSON (who was the child star in A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN asNeely, the little brother), appeared the same year in this programmer,THE ADVENTURES OF RUSTY, a rather routine little melodrama fromColumbia. It's all about a period of adjustment for a boy who just losthis little dog in an accident and has to adjust to his father (CONRADNAGEL) marrying a new mom (MARGARET LINDSAY).

The boy befriends a German Shepherd with a nasty attitude toward othersthat has to be tamed before his parents allow him to adopt the dog fora pet. But relations between the boy and his step-mom are anything butsmooth, with both of them seeking the help of a psychiatrist to helpthem amend their ways.

The last twenty minutes of the story brings a sub-plot involving thearrival of two German men who interact with Rusty. Turns out they'reGerman spies (it takes place before the end of WWII), and the plot hasthe dog saving the day by pinning the men down so they can be picked upby the Shore Patrol.

It's an uneven film, obviously made on the cheap, a quickie thatprobably played the lower half of double bills in the days of doublefeatures at the movies. TED DONALDSON is nowhere as lovable here as hewas in A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN. Most of the time he's a sullen littleboy who's selfish and completely ill-mannered toward a kindly step-momwho only wants to help him. CONRAD NAGEL and MARGARET LINDSAY doprofessional jobs in less than convincing roles.

Summing up: A trifle hardly worth the trouble to watch–but Ace theWonder Dog can certainly snarl well on cue.

6) I always try to catch this movie when it's on TCM. During World War II,a boy named Danny tames a dog and in the process learns to control hisown anger at his new step-mother Ann and fight off German spies alongthe way. Looking at the film today, it's striking how all the men wearsuits and ties–even the German spies wear suits, ties and hats whenthey land in their lifeboat.

Danny's parents are kind-hearted and progressive for their time (Anneven goes to a psychiatrist). But eventually, Danny's anger wears herout, and she moves in with her best friend, Louise. Danny comes overand pleads with her to come back home; he misses having her around todo "women's work." At Louise's, Ann isn't shown wearing an apron ordoing housework (as she is when she was living with Danny and his dad).She and Louise spend their time hooking rugs, smoking cigarettes andwearing great clothes. In the end, Danny wins her over and by the endof film she's back on duty taking care of the menfolk. The postwar urgeto push women out of the workforce to make way for the returning warvets was already beginning.

2):
In 1964 the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show went off air and life became very depressing for Bullwinkle J. Moose and Rocket J. Squirrel. Their home Frostbite Falls had become crippled by years of re-runs, the forests are in deforestation and the once majestic falls now a sludge waterfall. In Pottsylvania, Fearless Leader, Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale are having tough times too when the Iron Curtain collapses on them and the citizens of the country become free. However, Fearless Leader comes up with a daring plan and he and his minions dig all the way to Los Angeles. Then in a film studio, they meet with Minnie Mogul, who is looking for a not-so intelligent film script which she can make as her own. From within a television set, the villains convince her to produce the “Rocky and Bullwinkle Movie” by signing a contract which will give her all rights to the old show. She signs the contract, and then pulls it out of the television, bringing the villains with it and turning them into live-action stars. The villains claim they came because they were “attached to the project.” Now, they have an evil plan to ultimately hypnotize America, using RBTV, which stands for “Really Bad Television” making everyone’s mind mush, so he can go on to the TV, and get everyone to vote him as President of the USA! Meanwhile Rocky and Bullwinkle are sucked out of the TV world, and turned into real life as 3D computer-generated characters! It’s all up to Rocky, Bullwinkle and FBI Agent Karen Sympathy to put an end of Fearless Leader’s plans and save America before they wreak havoc!

3):
Rocky and Bullwinkle have been living off the finances made from the reruns of their cartoon show. Boris and Natasha somehow manage to crossover into reality and team up with Fearless Leader, an evil criminal turned media mogul with some evil plans up his sleeve. Rocky and Bullwinkle must stop the three of them before they wreak havoc.

4):
After producer Minnie Mogul (Janeane Garofalo) signs a contract that brings cartoon villains Fearless Leader (Robert De Niro), Boris Badenov (Jason Alexander), and Natasha Fatale (Rene Russo) start a villainous TV station “RBTV (Really Bad TeleVision)”, warm-hearted FBI Agent Karen Sympathy (Piper Perabo) must obtain the help of Rocky and Bullwinkle to help to save the country from being hypnotized by Fearless Leader’s plan.

• The University infirmary is labeled “J. Ward”, a homage to Rocky and Bullwinkle creator, Jay Ward.
• Fearless Leader (Robert De Niro) says to Boris & Natasha “You talkin’ to me?…There’s no one else here, so you must be talking to me”. This is a reference to his most famous lines in Taxi Driver (1976).
• Director Cameo: [Des McAnuff] The first person to turn off their TV after Bullwinkle’s speech.
• The businesses lining the highways have some rather unusual names. Among them are “Lotta Room Motel”, “Pump Her Up” (gas station), “Beefy Buns” (fast food), and (glimpsed briefly through the driver’s window of the truck) “Boob Mart”.
• The name of Bullwinkle’s alma matter is Whassamatta U.
• This film was originally in pre-production in the early 1990s, with Danny DeVito and Meryl Streep set to play Boris and Natasha. Legal problems with copyrights prevented the film being made until several years later.
• The students in the film were actually real students of Chapman University, where part of the film takes place.
• Palm trees that were left on the Chapman University campus after the filming of Crimson Tide (1995) were covered and disguised as redwood trees.
• June Foray, one of the surviving members of the original "Rocky and His Friends" (1959), who created the voice of Rocket J. Squirrel, does Rocky’s voice for this film. She also recreates the voice of Natasha (when Natasha is in cartoon form) and her ubiquitous “old woman” voice from the old series as the voice of the narrator’s mother.
• For the narration, Keith Scott is doing an imitation of the voice of the late William Conrad, who had been the narrator for the original animated adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, "Rocky and His Friends" (1959).

• Revealing mistakes: At the R.B.T.V. Station, when a security guard is tossed from Bullwinkle’s antlers, the glass shatters before the guard is thrown through it.

R&B’s observations on contemporary society are hilarious. The film alsopokes fun at politicians, the legal system, and our addiction to TV, with ariotous sendup of "Cops".

The film is quite satisfying whenever R&B are onscreen. When it’s just thehuman actors, things get a little dull. DeNiro, Alexander and Russo all aredecent, but these performances would be criticized no matter who wasplayingthem, with the possible exception of Jim Carrey. The best human performerisPiper Pirabo, a total hottie. She has been criticized for a badperformance,but I thought she did a great job.

It’s not Oscar material, it won’t gross $100 million, and it’s not deepsocial commentary, but it sure is fun. Anybody with a sense of humor wouldbe hard-pressed not to smile and feel good on the inside after seeing this.I just hope they make a sequel. Rocky & Bullwinkle forever!!!!

2) I loved this movie to pieces each of the 4 times I saw it in thetheater! Apparently not everybody was privileged to be born in 1955 andspend a childhood marinating in the Cold War puns and snarkyanti-corporate digs of the original TV show. This movie brought it allback; if you had nothing to be brought back to . . . well, it’s yourloss. Renee Russo is fabulously snakey as Natasha, and tho’ Rocket J.Squirrel couldn’t improve on the original, that’s because he was voicedby the original, the unsinkable June Foray. The only people who need toapologize for this movie are its promoters, who never figured out howto hook its natural audience of 40-somethings.

I can’t wait for the remake of Fractured Fairy Tales.

3) I remember watching the television show (on tape) of Rocky and Bullwinkle. It was one of the best TV shows ever in my childhood. This film brings backthe memories of not only that TV show, but the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit(combining animation and live action). This time, Rocky and Bullkwinkleleave their comic world existence and come into the real world to find thereal live actors who played the bad guys- Natasha Fatale (Renee Russo),Boris Badenov (Jason Alexander), and in one of his best performances ever,Robert De Niro whp plays Fearless Leader (who knew De Niro could do aimpression of himself from taxi driver). Great and funny entertainment,with many vintage things and cameos make this a must see for kids (who willlike the characters, parents and adults (who will enjoy the 3 main bad guys)and film buffs. A+

4) One thing that was misleading: the cover of the VHS (or DVD) showsRobert De Niro, Rene Russo and Jason Alexander but those three do NOThave major roles or a lot of lines in this picture. Most of the linesare by an unknown name: actress Piper Perabo ("FBI Agent KarenSympathy)" and the two cartoon characters.

This is another one of these live-action cartoons in which somecharacters are real-life and others are cartoons and the all interacton screen at once.

This comedy has a lot more subtle than laugh-out-loud lines. It'sdecent, and does have a certain appeal but is not as good as I expectedafter reading a couple of reviews prior to its release. I think it hasan equal appeal for kids or adults.

5) I enjoyed the film, but it lacked the sharp wit and satire of the originalTV show which mixed slapstick with cleverness.

If there is a sequel, the edgy humor needs to be reinstated. As it is, thisfilm will entertain the tots but may be only mildly amusing to adults whoremember the original. What made the original shows so entertaining is that,like Warner Brothers cartoons, Rocky and Bullwinkle could be enjoyed at anadult level as well as at the kiddy level.

Come on, Fearless Leader, are you talkin’ to us? Are YOU talkin’ to US? Youwere hilarious in ANALYZE THIS. You can bring the same zing to ROCKY &BULLWINKLE II.

6) The beginning of this movie is promising. It sets itself up forself-parody — satirizing the old cartoon show and its absurditieswhile also managing to make fun of some clichés of cartoons andfeature-film spin-offs.

Then it becomes its own material — it turns into a disastrouslyunfunny, stupid kiddie movie with lame fart jokes and surprisinglynone-too-subtle, eyebrow-raising sexual innuendo.

Robert De Niro is really wasted here. All he can resort to is muggingup for the camera and making fun of his old movies again — here we get"You talking’ to me?" which was funny the first time he did it. It’sbecome his calling card now — it’s like the first thing he says whenhe walks on camera is "You talking’ to me?" and the director expectseveryone to laugh because, hey, it’s Robert De Niro, and that’s FUNNY.

Rene Russo is wasted too although then again I don’t think she was putin the film for her acting skills – they just got her because shelooked like the character. Ditto for Jason Whatshisname (from"Seinfeld"), who tries too hard — I guess he was pretty desperateafter the show ended.

Overall this is a disappointment because it begins so promising andturns into a dud.

7) I never thought a movie with Robert De Niro can suck that much. I didn’tseeit because of him, I saw it because the trailer was funny and I hoped themovie would be too.If you read this before you see the movie – "Don’t do it,man!"It’s a waste of money. Wait for the reruns on the cable.

For a true fan of Rocky and Bullwinkle who actually grew up then I haveto say this movie is right on target and very funny. You are asking whyan older guy loves it so much? Because my child (age 4 when we firstsaw it on video) went bonkers over it. The writers knew their audience.The kids relate to the diminutive and sweet Perabo. And the sillypolitical antics. They love the "evil villaaaiins" and understand thesimple plot. The jokes are just their style. And isn't that whatinnocence is all about? Bullwinkle is totally naive and the kidsunderstand that too. He bumbles around (much as they feel they do) inan adult world and just gets by somehow… The people who tend to writecomments on these boards only see movies from their own perspective.That's fine. But try once in a while to sit with a young child andwatch their eyes light up and listen to their laughter. They'll tellyou what they love… I hope they make more for DVD release. I know itdidn't kill at the box office but there is a fan base out there guys…More NEW villains please! And PLEASE let him finally pull a rabbit outof his hat once and for all!

9) As somebody who hasn't any recollection of watching any Rocky andBullwinkle cartoons, I stumbled across this film on TV, I had noexpectations of what it was. If anything I thought it would be rubbish.As most kids films take themselves really serious, and they are justplain lame – The Mummy springs to mind, good guys get chased by badguys but the good guys just escape in time… yeah yeah yeah… boring.back to the film, it really doesn't take itself serious, and if youwatch it in the frame of mind of watching a normal cartoon, it sticksto that formula really well, even using real characters – using thebest actors in the industry certainly helped, to make it not be cheesy.The film is also littered with references to other films. The moose isnearly the same as Homer Simpson, so if you like him, you'll love thestupidity of the moose. I never watch stuff like this but was mightilyimpressed that it was spot on in what it was trying to be. Voice-overman was entertaining too, like in Wacky Races or Terry Wogan with theEurovision TV show! Recommended!

10) Although I've watched this movie several times when it was in theatersand now own a copy I really think it can be enjoyed only by those of uswho were fans of the late 50's and early 60's television show. It'sgreat to have our favorite cartoon duo back and they play well in spiteof a rather boring script about villains trying to take over America byturning it's population into mindless zombies thru really badtelevision shows. June Forey is great as ever providing cartoon voicesfor Rocky and Natasha and Keith Scott does a great job voicingBullwinkle. Jason Alexander, Rene Russo and Robert DeNiro do an amplejob as Boris, Natasha and Fearless Leader. Also there is an all starsupporting cast and several cameos. Even with it's flaws it should beenjoyed by most baby boomer's.

• Chapter Titles: 1. The Sea Raiders 2. Shipwrecked 3. The Cannibals’ Captives 4. Hidden Gold 5. The Ship of Despair 6. Friday’s Faith 7. The Swamp of Terror 8. Marooned 9. The Jaguar Trap 10. A Prisoner of the Sun 11. No Greater Love 12. The Island of Happiness 13. The Sword of Courage 14. The Buccaneers 15. The Jolly Roger 16. The Idol’s Bride 17. When the Heart Calls 18. Back to the Primitive

2):
Robin of Locksley has gone to a state dinner fresh from killing a King’s deer when Prince John tells him he is assuming power. Robin vows to stop him and collects every peasant he can find to create a resistance movement. Along the way, he meets, woos, and wins the Lady Marrion who slips him information about Prince John’s plans. When Marrion is captured, Robin and his men decide to storm Nottingham Castle to rescue her.

3):
Based on the well-known English legend, Robin of Locksley is a noble who is forced to become an outlaw when Prince John the usurper tries to take the throne from his absent brother. He flees to Sherwood forest where he gathers together his Merry Men and is called Robin Hood. He begins to rob the rich and give back to the poor, the townsfolk that are heavily-taxed by the Sheriff of Nottingham. Meanwhile he still has to defend the throne, and woo Maid Marian.

• Originally planned with James Cagney playing the title role, but he quit Warner Brothers and production was postponed for three years.
• The golden palomino that Olivia de Havilland rides in this film is Trigger, shortly before he became the mount of Roy Rogers.
• Michael Curtiz took over from director William Keighley when the producers felt that the action scenes lacked impact.
• Howard Hill, who is listed in the credits as “Captain of Archers”, also played “Owen the Welshman” in the archery contest. Hill actually made the shot where we see one arrow split another and he did all the shots which required hitting human targets. He also worked closely with the sound department to produce the distinctive arrow sounds by using specially made arrows.
• German audiences will wait in vain for the notorious lines “You speak treason!” – “Fluently.” In the German version, it is dubbed as “Ihr sprecht unbedacht!” – “Wei ich.” (“You speak before you think!” – “I know.”) Probably they chose this quip (clever in its own right, but in a different vein than the original) because a more faithful translation would have lost the play on words completely.
• Eugene Pallette was not the first choice for the role of Friar Tuck. Guy Kibbee was originally slated for the part.
• The sound of Robin’s arrow is the favorite sound of Skywalker Sound’s Ben Burtt. He has used that sound in almost all the Star Wars films.
• The theatrical trailer contains footage of Robin and Marian kissing on horseback. This footage is from the deleted final scene of the film, immediately following the closing of the great doors, where the film now ends.
• At the time of its release, this was Warners’ most expensive film, costing over $2 million.
• The film plays very fancifully with real history. Even the opening titles are full of inaccuracies.
• The role of Will Scarlett was originally intended for David Niven, but he was vacationing in England at the time, so the part went to Patric Knowles.
• Originally set to open with an elaborate jousting sequence, just as Douglas Fairbanks’ Robin Hood (1922) did, but it was decided that this would be too expensive and the plans were scotched.
• One of the original writers on the project was Rowland Leigh.
• Erich Wolfgang Korngold used much of a classical piece he’d written in 1919 for his score.
• The stunt players wore heavy padding underneath a steel breastplate overlaid with some balsa wood to absorb the impact of arrows.
• The production used all 11 of the Technicolor cameras in existence in 1938 and they were all returned to Technicolor at the end of each day’s filming.
• At the time this film held the distinction of employing the largest number of stuntmen on any one production.
• Olivia de Havilland has only one scene in which she is not wearing a headpiece.
• Despite his flamboyant performance as Robin Hood, Errol Flynn privately professed that he found the role a boring one.
• In an effort to assuage the Production Code Administration, aka the Breen Office – which was the official censorship authority at the time and was coming down especially hard on Warner Bros.’ popular gangster films – the studio gave the go-ahead for this project, figuring that a harmless historical tale wouldn’t cause them to run afoul of the censors.
• William Keighley had directed Errol Flynn the year before in The Prince and the Pauper (1937), which had turned out well for Warner Brothers. The studio had high hopes for this second teaming, but upon viewing the dailies coming in from the location shoot in Chico, California, they found the action scenes to be lacking in vigor and excitement. Michael Curtiz, who had effectively made Flynn a star with his agile handling of the actor in Captain Blood (1935) and cemented his reputation as a swashbuckling hero in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), was brought in to complete the picture. Consequently when Keighley returned to Hollywood from Chico, he found himself out of a job. Ironically, Keighley and Flynn got along quite well, but Curtiz and Flynn despised each other.
• William Keighley was initially assigned to the project because he had made Warners’ first excursion into three-strip Technicolor, when he directed God's Country and the Woman (1937).
• Feature film debut of Michael Hordern.
• One of the original story concepts had Robin Hood die at the end of the film.
• This film was originally intended as a much closer remake of the original Douglas Fairbanks Robin Hood (1922) film.
• The ending that exists now in the film is not the one that was originally written. In the original ending, King Richard and his forces help battle Prince John’s and Guy of Gisburne’s forces outside the castle – this ending was scrapped because it was too expensive to film. In the back-up ending, Prince John and Guy of Gisbourne’s forces chased Robin Hood’s and King Richard’s forces into Sherwood forest and the climax took place there. This second ending was really never satisfactory, and was scrapped too. Finally, a third ending was written, in which the climactic battle takes place inside the Castle of Nottingham. Now King Richard’s forces could be pared down to a handful of faithful retainers, and the new ending proved to be less expensive to shoot. To prepare the audience for the new ending, the abbot’s scenes were given to the Bishop of the Black Canons.
• The scenes in which Marian is captured by Sir Guy of Gisbourne and then tried for treason are lifts from the Douglas Fairbanks movie, Robin Hood (1922)
• Although shot on location in California, indigenous English plants were added and the grass was painted to give a greener, more English look.
• Erich Wolfgang Korngold was invited by Warner Brothers to come from his native Austria to Hollywood to see the film with a view to scoring it. He initially turned down the chance as he felt that his musical style was ill-suited for adventure spectaculars. However, while in Hollywood, he learned that the Nazis were about to invade Austria and, feeling he had to secure a source of revenue in the United States, he accepted the assignment. He would go on to win the Oscar.
• While filming Robin Hood’s escape from the castle, actor Basil Rathbone was knocked down and trampled by extras, causing a spear wound in his right foot which required eight stitches to close.
• The Sir Joseph Hooker Oak (called the Gallows Oak in the film) where Robin Hood forms his outlaw band was supposedly the largest living oak tree in the world at the time of filming in 1937. The rock that Errol Flynn stands on in front of the tree is a prop.
• The swords used in the film were made of Duralumin, invented in 1908 by Alfred Wilm.
• During one fight sequence, Errol Flynn was jabbed by an actor who was using an unprotected sword – he asked him why he didn’t have a guard on the point. The other player apologized and explained that the director, Michael Curtiz, had instructed him to remove the safety feature in order to make the action “more exciting”. Errol Flynn reportedly climbed up a gantry where Michael Curtiz was standing next to the camera, took him by the throat and asked him if he found that “exciting enough”.
• Two scenes – a jousting tournament and a christening – were cut from the script to save money and were never filmed.
• A scene was filmed that was to have taken place before the scene where Will Scarlet comes riding into the forest clearing with Much the Miller’s Son on his saddle. This was the scene where King Richard challenges Friar Tuck to a fistfight and wins, after which Robin himself agrees to fight King Richard. The scene was deleted from the final version of the film, making it appear that King Richard and Robin are about to fight for no reason.
• The preview audience reaction was so positive that the film was released without any alterations to the plot.
• Maid Marion is never referred to by that name in this film. She is referred to as “Lady Marion Fitzwalter” twice, once in the banquet scene and the second time by Sir Guy just before she hands the Golden Arrow to Robin Hood.
• At the time Olivia de Havilland rode the palomino, its registered name was “Golden Cloud” and was owned by Hudkins Stables, an outfit that leased horses and Western equipment for films. Roy Rogers bought “Golden Cloud” for $2,500. Character actor Smiley Burnette, who was Rogers’ sidekick in his early movies, suggested the name of Trigger, as the horse was “quick-on-the-trigger”. Rogers rode Trigger in his first starring Western, Under Western Stars (1938).
• Errol Flynn was not happy when Michael Curtiz was assigned to the film, as he didn’t care for Curtiz’s dictatorial methods and the two clashed often while filming The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936).
• Maid Marian is from not an original Robin Hood ballad, but from the French romantic ballad “Jeau Robin et Marian” (Play of Robin and Marian). Robin was not Robin Hood but a shepherd, and Marian was a shepherdess whom he loved.
• Warner Brothers owned the rights to the original “Robin Hood” operetta, while MGM announced its intention to film a Robin Hood movie at the same time, based on the operetta, with Nelson Eddy as Robin and Jeanette MacDonald as Maid Marian. Warner Brothers agreed, providing it could film a movie called “The Adventures of Robin Hood” with James Cagney as Robin. The MGM film was eventually abandoned.
• Originally budgeted at $1.6 million, the budget eventually ballooned to $2 million, the most expensive Warners film to date, but it turned out to be the studio’s biggest money-maker in 1939, making back far in excess of its cost.
• The studio files/records for this film are archived at the USC Cinema Television Library. Interoffice memos clearly indicate that Olivia de Havilland was not the first choice for the role of Marion. The original actress, whose name is blacked out in each of documents, became pregnant out of wedlock, and could no longer accept the role.
• Wilfred Lucas as “Archery Official” and Halliwell Hobbes are in studio records/casting call lists as cast members, but they did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie.
• The first of 12 films Errol Flynn made with director Michael Curtiz.
• The second of eight films to feature Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland.
• James Cagney was the studio’s original choice for Robin Hood. But when Cagney walked off set, the film’s producer Hal B. Wallis made the decision to cast Errol Flynn, against Warner Bros’ wishes. It was also Wallis’ decision to keep Maid Marian, when the original scriptwriter wanted to dump her character. Wallis felt Marian was an indispensable fixture of a Robin Hood adventure.
• Although this movie carries the VITAPHONE trademark, in fact, the sound was looped onto the film by a sound-on-film process. This was the result of Warner Brothers having to carry the trademark of the obsolete process until it expired.
• At 28, Errol Flynn was the youngest actor to play Robin Hood.
• The third of nine movies made together by Warner Brothers’ romantic couple Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn.

>>> WARNING: Here Be Spoilers <<<
Trivia items below here contain information that may give away important plot points. You may not want to read any further if you’ve not already seen this title.

• SPOILER: Heavily padded stunt players and actors were paid $150 per arrow for being shot by professional archer Howard Hill, who also played the captain of the archers, whom Robin Hood defeats in the tournament by splitting his own arrow. Splitting the arrow was Hill’s feat, too, done in one take with no trick photography.
• SPOILER: Although it is said that the tournament winning arrow shoots the other arrow in two, in fact when the arrow shot by Howard Hill strikes the arrow embedded in the target, it splits the arrow into three pieces. It sounds better to split something in half or in two, but the details in the movie are real and not just a saying.

• Anachronisms: A car can be seen in the background when Will Scarlett gets off his horse to go to the aid of Much (who has just fought with Dickon Malbete).
• Continuity: When Robin delivers the deer to Nottingham, it can be clearly seen that he has only five arrows in his quiver. In the fight scene that follows, he fires 12 arrows, and the number in the quiver never decreases.
• Revealing mistakes: When Robin’s executioner is shot, he falls onto a spear-point, which is seen to bend double as it is dropped. Similarly, when Robin threatens Marion’s cell guard, his sword is definitely bent. His sword also bends in the final battle, when Robin knocks a candle off a table.

• Continuity: During the banquet in the forest, Robin begins to eat a whole leg of mutton. After a brief close-up of Marion we see the meat again and the joint is eaten down to the bone.
• Continuity: When Robin Hood escapes the trap in the great hall, Sir Guy passes through the door; in the next shot he is at the back of the crowd nowhere near the door.
• Continuity: In the final duel, Robin pushes Guy of Guisborne off the stairs and Guy loses his sword which slides down the steps. Robin jumps down the side of the stairs and gives Guy back his sword which now is lying at Guy’s feet.
• Continuity: When Robin is rescued from being hanged, he jumps on and rides away on a bay horse. When he arrives at the gate, he is riding a sorrel horse. When he rides to the gate, grabs the rope and cuts it, the horse is bay again. Also notice that during the same scenes, when he is riding the sorrel horse, his hood is nearly falling off, when he is on the bay horse, it is securely tied. (A bay is a brown horse with a black mane, tail, forelock and legs. A sorrel is a horse that is reddish including the mane and tail.)
• Revealing mistakes: When Friar Tuck is about to carry Robin on his back into the stream, his robes are already wet, presumably from an earlier take.
• Continuity: During Robin’s escape from his execution his hands are tied behind his back, yet when he leaps onto the horse his hands shoot forward to steady himself.
• Continuity: There is a scene where a Norman knight is accosting a young lady and he is shot in the back with an arrow (which also douses a candle). If you look closely at the Knight’s back, you can see 2 holes in his tunic which appear to have been made by arrow shots in previous takes.
• Continuity: Just before Will Scarlett finds Much the Miller’s Son after he has killed the King’s would-be assassin, there was supposed to be a scene where King Richard fights Friar Tuck with his fists and wins, then is asked to prove his mettle by fighting Robin Hood himself. This scene was deleted, with the result that in the finished film, King Richard and Robin Hood appear to be about to fight for no reason.
• Continuity: Robin’s position in the water changes after the sword fight with Friar Tuck.
• Continuity: When Sir Guy rides off, Much is holding the reigns of Robin’s horse. In the next cut, Much approaches Robin and has no hold of the reigns.
• Continuity: The chicken Robin eats after greeting Prince John is inconsistent.
• Continuity: During the first fight scene in the castle, there is an arrow in the door to the right which we did not see Robin shoot.
• Continuity: When fighting Little John, the log is wet before Robin falls in the water.
• Continuity: After his capture, the distant shots show Robin two steps below Prince John and Sir Guy. But during their conversation, they are on the same level.
• Revealing mistakes: Camera shadow is visible on the row of pike tips at the execution, as the camera pans in towards the dignitary seating area.
• Plot holes: King Richard suddenly turns up in England at the Boar’s Head Inn without any explanation of how he escaped or why he is there (the explanatory scenes having been cut from the movie prior to its release).
• Revealing mistakes: In many instances, when Robin’s men engage the soldiers carrying pikes, the “metal” points are seen to wobble back and forth wildly, revealing that they are actually made of rubber.
• Continuity: After telling Prince John and Sir Guy of Gisburne, the Bishop of the Black Canons is told to go back to his abbey. The head of an abbey was the abbot, but the abbot’s scenes were given to the Bishop of the Black Canons and the dialogue wasn’t changed.
• Continuity: During the final fight with Gisbourne, a candelabra is knocked over and Robin is trapped under it while Gisbourne gloats. A few seconds later, Robin gets up and the fight continues and the candles have dripped what looks like an hour’s worth of wax onto the floor.
• Continuity: During the final fight scene between Robin Hood and Guy of Gisbourne, when Guy knocks Robin over with a table, the leg of the table breaks off. In the next shot, when Robin kicks the table at Guy, the leg has re-attached itself.
• Anachronisms: The film takes place in 1191 and in the banquet scene Prince John says that Richard the Lionheart had been captured in Austria. In 1191 Richard the Lionheart was seizing Acre from Muslim control and was not captured in Austria until December of 1192.
• Factual errors: At the time of King Richard the Lion Heart’s reign, the syllable “Fitz” was always added to the name of an illegitimate child of the aristocracy. Yet Marion FITZwalter is referred to by the title “Lady” even though the illegitimate children of the aristocracy of the day could not inherit titles.
• Continuity: During the final fight with Gisbourne, Robin hits a candle with his sword, which bends as its not made of steel. A frame later and sword is straightened again.
• Revealing mistakes: As Robin Hood makes his escape from the gallows, the top of the castle in the background, matted in the previous shots, is missing. The lower part disappears behind some foreground scenery but the upper floors fail to emerge on the other side.
• Anachronisms: In the archery contest at the end with Dickenson when the arrows are shot they have a old fashioned metal tip. When the arrows hit the target they have a modern metal tip.

It’s unthinkable, once you’ve seen it, to imagine this film withanyoneother than Errol Flynn. Every subsequent interpreter has hadtostruggle to reclaim the part from the memory of his roguery and grace-and most modern ‘Robin’s have been handicapped by an insistenceonauthentic mediaeval murk and grime. In the 1930s, with Technicolourthelatest craze, mud and homespun were the last thing a studiowanted.Flynn’s Robin Hood sports the Lincoln green of legend and a forestasbrightly coloured as a painted backdrop, and the rich furs and silksonshow at Nottingham Castle are straight out of fairy-tale; oranilluminated manuscript.

The story itself is purest escapist magic. Greedy barons, awickedusurper, a rightful king in exile, and a proud beauty indistress…and, of course, England’s eponymous outlaw hero, robbing the richtogive to the poor with a jest on his lips in true swashbucklerstyle.The script sparkles. And the stunts, in those days before wire-fuorCGI, are all for real and still take the breath away. Flynn wasinsuperb physical condition at the time – co-star Basil Rathbone,whoplayed his proud opponent and would-be suitor to Marian’s hand, GuyofGisbourne, described him simply as ‘a perfect male animal’ – andmissesno opportunity to show off his flamboyance.

Unlike today’s pretty-boy heroes, however, Flynn shows asurprisingtalent for acting with his face alone. The expressive reactionshotsthroughout his boudoir scene with Marian tell a different tale tothequickfire banter of his words, and, like Marian, despite ourselvesweare drawn in. Olivia de Havilland, as Marian, is somewhat ill-servedbyher period costume – she is at her most beautiful in thisscene,without her hair confined in her wimple – but together they dueltheirway through a classic tempestuous romance of the high-born lady andtheoutlaw, ultimately risking their lives to save each other. Marian isnoanachronistic action heroine, but no-one, not even Robin, cankeepher from what she thinks is right.

As Guy of Gisbourne, Basil Rathbone is also playing one of thelandmarkroles of his career, and gives a superb performance. His Gisbourneisno cardboard villain, but a clever, arrogant man, who matches witsandblades with Robin as a worthy rival, and whose courtship of Marianisnot without grace. And his wily master, rufous Plantagenet PrinceJohn(Claude Rains, in a small but well-cast part) is no fool either.Heknows precisely what he wants and what he can get away with, wastingnotime in bluster or empty threats.

Comedy of a broader nature is provided by the cowardly SheriffofNottingham, and by Bess, Marian’s maid. But even Bess’sfarcicalcourtship with timid Much (she has buried more husbands than he hashadkisses) is not without its tender moments, and perhaps only theSheriffis entirely a cut-out figure of fun.

Few people can whistle ‘the theme from Robin Hood’. But thefamousKorngold score, with its full orchestral depth and rousing fanfares,isas familiar today as it was seventy years ago, when it won itsAcademyAward. From the faultless casting through unforgettable pageantryandtimeless romance to the final spectacular duel, when RobinandGisbourne meet "once too often", this picture richly deservesitsreputation as *the* Robin Hood on film – from which on presentshowingit is unlikely ever to be dethroned.

2) Michael Curtiz received only a single Academy Award for directing thebest of wartime espionage movies "Casablanca" but made great classicslike "Captain Blood", "The Charge of the Light Brigade", "The Sea Hawk"and "The Adventures of Robin Hood," orchestrating enthusiasticallygreat stars and skilled technicians… He refined with charm andelegance plot and character with fluid camera movement and exquisitelightning, mixing action with peculiar sense of humor capturing withbrilliant photography the natural look of Sherwood Forest, the cooltones of Nottingham Castle and the inn at Luton with its cracklingfireplace…

The film had great marvelous scenes: When Robin decides to tackle witha staff Little John (Alan Hale); Robin’s swordsplay with the gallantFriar Tuck (Eugene Palette); Robin and his Forest outlaws giving a warmwelcome to Lady Marian and to the treasure’s wagon lead by Sir Guy andthe High Sheriff ; The Archery Tournament; Robin’s Merry Men enteringNottingham Castle; and the magnificent final duel, with a masterfulscore, between Robin & Sir Guy…

Errol Flynn was the best swashbuckler of the sound era… He wasideally cast as the Saxon knight Sir Robin of Locksley who became arebel outlaw robbing the rich to feed the poor… With his Merry Men hesaved Saxon England against Norman ambitions… His most frequentenemies were the noisy High Sheriff of Nottingham (Melvin Cooper), theevil Bishop of Black Canon (Montagu Love), the eloquent chiefconspirator Sir Guy of Gasbourne, and Prince John…

Flynn’s splendid figure ‘leaping, jumping, scaling and swinging’ madehim a great leader of men sheltering the old and the helpless… He wasa romantic hero ‘twinkling’ with malice, gallantly courting theexquisite Olivia De Havilland…

Olivia De Havilland was a pretty and delicate woman in love with abrave and reckless outlaw…

Basil Rathbone, superb as the arrogant Sir Guy of Gisbourne, spreadsterror by torturing, rivaling Robin for Lady Marian…

Claude Rains was the treacherous prince John who orders his Normanknights to oppress the helpless Saxons suffocating them with thefts,and burning their farms… He vows that Robin must be captured…

Winner of 3 Academy Awards (Art Direction, Original Score and FilmEditing) "The Adventures of Robin Hood" is a delighted tale of highadventure, a tale of action and colorful pageantry, a great film forall the family…

3) This is it; this is THE classical movie I grew up adoring as a kid. Itinspired my dreams of knights and virgin ladies, had me fight greatbattles against evil enemies in our backyard and made me conclude myquest with honor, courage and endless romance.

"Robin Hood" (as I shall call it henceforth) features all the criteriaof a masterpiece: great actors, great staff, a great plot and a greatoverall product. Plus, this movie contains elements which, as normal asthey may seem today, were revolutionary back in the late 1930s: afull-scale blockbuster that finally triggered the success ofTechnicolor and color movies as such, production costs of anastonishing 2 million dollars, sophisticated sword fighting and arrowshooting that even the masters of today's action sequences respect, agreat score used to underline the peculiar character of every scene,huge crowds of people fighting simultaneously, and a romantic couple ofErrol Flynn and Olivia De Havilland, who in their emotional harmony maybe unrivaled to this day.

Even though this was a super-modern state-of-the-art blockbuster,"Robin Hood" has maintained a curious innocence which still strikes metoday. Women are not raped by Prince John's soldiers; they are merelypushed to the ground, but the message is loud and clear ("themistreatment of our women"). The very same soldiers could be knockedout by a wooden table or chair instead of being martially hacked intobits and pieces by the film's hero. In its entirety, "Robin Hood",though presenting so much hardship and violence, is as smooth andgentle as they come, just like a ferry-tale banned on celluloid.

Of course, some may say that the original Robin Hood is nobody but b/wstar Douglas Fairbanks, and they may be right, but this "Robin Hood" isfar from being a mere remake: It is another, even greater original.Today, of course, "Robin Hood" may seem simple and outdated, but thismovie has more atmosphere and character than all but a dozen films Ihave seen ever since. In fact, it is my belief that thisCurtiz/Keighley product paved the way for the great legends (Titanic,Casablanca, Braveheart) we are so accustomed to today.

I have decided to give this movie a 10 out of 10 score, which does notmean that it is perfect, but in my opinion its status as a timelessmasterpiece, to be enjoyed by people for generations to come, and itsrevolutionary approach and features, which I mentioned above, allow noother judgment.

4) The other early romanticism take on the Robin Hood legend, aside fromthe silent Douglas Fairbanks version. This one puts famed Hollywoodhell raiser pirate Errol Flynn in the title role of Robin Hood. Aswould be expected of that scoundrel/scallywag Flynn’s famousdevil-may-care-heroics, the Flynn Robin Hood outrightly refuses tosupport Prince John when he commits what Robin views as treachery -trying to get himself made king and abusing the land and the people inwhat may or may not be the aftermath of his older brother King Ricahrdthe Lion-Hearted’s death while battling in the crusades. After nearlygetting killed by John and Gisbourne’s men, Robin goes on the run, withWill Scarlet and along the way acquiring Much, Little John, acantankerous Friar Tuck, and a whole army of merry men in tights. Fromthere, he becomes the great outlaw we all know and love, fightingGisbourne, the bumbling Sheriff and Prince John anyway which way he canand sweeps that adorable sweetie pie Maid Marion off her feet.

Sure the costumes may look fake today and the film itself overlycolorful, but it’s still a fun time. Sure Errol Flynn doesn’t have awell articulated British accent either, but at least he doesn’t soundlike he’s from the heart land of America. Flynn is certainly a lotquicker on his feet than Kevin Costner was, which comes in handy whenyou’re in a duel to the death. Basil Rathbone is a fairly menacingGisbourne, smarter than the Robert Addie or Michael Wincott versions(he looks kind of like Christopher Lee), and Olivia de Havilland is avery pretty Marion without being overly sexual and slutty about it (aswas the case with many leading ladies back then). Out of the versionsI’ve seen this is probably the only one where the Sheriff is an idiotand Gisbourne is the real menace (Gisbourne died early in the KevinCostner verison of Robin Hood, and on TV’s "Robin of Sherwood" he wasjust this weird neurotic guy, and I’m afraid I don’t remember thePatrick Bergin version of Robin Hood very well).

There are least five big action sequences here, namely Robin’s twoescapes from Nottingham, an ambush in Sherwood Forest and the climaxbetween Robin’s & King Richard’s men at Nottingham castle. Naturally,there is a duel to the death that features shadows on the wall going atit while the actors are off screen. Good stuff, especially for thechildren.

5) Historically, this film is a heap of hooey. If Robin Hood ever existed,he would have lived about 150 years after the period in which the filmis set. Modern historians are of the opinion that good King Richard andbad King John should be the other way around. This film should be thusregarded as fantasy.

The fact that so many Robin Hood films have been made since, and notone of them remotely measures up to The Adventures of Robin Hood showsjust how good the film is.

Favourite scenes? Well, there's the scene in the great hall atNottingham castle where Errol Flynn gives cheek to everyone. Theescape, the ambush and the final showdown with Sir Guy of Gisborne.(Basil Rathbone makes a superb villain.) I'm very impressed with thesharpshooting. This was done by Howard Hill. Howard Hill appears a fewtimes in the film. In the escape from the great hall he is the onlyarcher among Guy of Gisburne's crossbowmen. In the archery tournamentscene, he is Owen the Welshman (in spite of what it says in the creditsat the end.) It has been said before, and I'll say it again: ErrolFlynn did not play Robin Hood; he is Robin Hood.

Performancewise, the cast are superb, with hardly a poor performanceamong them.

I did at one time think that Una O'Connor was hamming it up a bit.However, I have recently worked in Buckinghamshire with a woman withexactly the same accent and – yes – exactly the same laugh. (Absolutelytrue). Therefore, Una O'Connor, who plays Marian's servant whoresembles Chaucer's Wife of Bath, is brilliant!

6) You know that there are things in your life that you just derive agreat deal of comfort from. It may be an old worn jersey, a hot cup oftomato soup on a cold day or the simple smile of your children. Allthese things are true for me and I will add The Adventures of RobinHood to that list.

I first saw the film when I was a small boy and I have deliberatelyavoided buying the DVD on the basis that over-familiarity could breedcontempt. I much prefer the serendipity of finding it scheduled on awet winter Sunday afternoon. Then I can relax in front of the fire andjust revel in Errol’s hammy balletic performance as Hood, or the simplytoo-beautiful-for-words Olivia in soft focus or the delightfullydastardly duo Rathbone and Raines…superb!

Just do yourself a favour occasionally and let this Technicolour wonderwash over you – forget that it bears no relationship to actual history;just accept this Hollywood version of how England once was (and shouldstill be).

Cheers!

7) I am almost ashamed to say it,but I only recently saw thisfilmfor the first time at the ripe old age of 36.After it wasover,I thought,"Why on earth did I wait so long?".This is reallyafun movie full of adventure,romance,with a healthy dose of laughs. ErrolFlynn,by far gives the most credible performance of theRobin Hood character.He oozes charm and wit,here.This filmis a great trip back to a special time in movie making whenwedidn’t need extreme sex and violence to entertain us.NowthatI have seen it,this movie definitely goes on my video shelf.Ifyou have children,or if you love to feel like one,as Ido,Ihighly suggest you give this a look.Great film.

This is undoubtedly the best filmed version of the Robin Hood legendever made. Errol Flynn leads a remarkable cast that seems to jump offthe screen in their Technicolor brilliance. Flynn seems born to playthis role (or any Swashbuckling Role for that matter). I urge all fansto read his highly entertaining autobiography My Wicked, Wicked Ways.After reading it you see that if he wasn’t born to play these types ofroles then he certainly spent his life practicing for them. Theco-director Michael Curtiz is responsible for so many of the films onethinks about when the ‘golden age of the studios’ is mentioned – thelist is amazing with Casablanca and Yankee Doodle Dandy among them. Andjust listen to the music! Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s musical score iswithout a doubt one of the finest pieces ever written for the silverscreen. If you are a listener of classical music on the radio you arebound to hear the score to this film at least a few times a year. Onecannot blame Hollywood for not matching this level of perfection inother Robin Hood versions. Does lighting ever strike in the same placetwice?

9) Although my personal favorite among Errol Flynn's films is The SeaHawk, most will argue that his career role was this one in TheAdventures of Robin Hood. It certainly has a deserved enduringpopularity that's lasted for generations.

Just about every version of the Robin Hood legend from DouglasFairbanks's silent classic to the one in 1997 with Kevin Costner, dealswith the same story facts. A young nobleman, deprived of his lands andtitle by Prince John and his cohorts, takes to Sherwood Forest andgathers a band which practices their own form of financial leveling.Robbing from the rich and giving to the poor until the day comes whengood King Richard the Lionhearted comes back from the Crusades and setsthings right.

Were there ever a more attractive and idealistic a pair of young loverson the screen than Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland? If there were,I'd be hard pressed to name them. They did eight films together from1935 to 1941 and this one is probably the best. Errol all dash andcharm and shy and retiring Olivia who just lights up the screen withbeauty and romance.

Directors Michael Curtiz and William Keighley photographed this in somegorgeous technicolor. And they put together an almost perfect cast. Youcan't tell at all which scenes were directed by Curtiz and which byKeighley so seamless is the film's fabric.

The small roles are truly memorable. The best comic moments in the filmcome from Melville Cooper, the not quite so bold Sheriff of Nottinghamand from Herbert Mundin and Una O'Connor as Much the Miller's Son fromRobin Hood's band and DeHavilland's maid. Herbert Mundin was the firstone in this cast to die, he was killed in an automobile accident justtwo years after this film was finished. He was a funny little man whoplayed nervous types, a kind of English Don Knotts. But in what wasprobably his career role, he literally decides the fate of Englishhistory here in a superb act of bravery. We expect bravery and couragefrom the Errol Flynns on the screen, but Mundin's performance shows thevirtue can be found in some of us you wouldn't expect. His is myfavorite performance apart from the leads.

Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains make a superb pair of villains asPrince John and Guy of Gisborne. Rains covets the throne and Rathbonecovets Olivia. They both provide the right touch of menace and maketheir performances real.

As I write this Olivia DeHavilland is the last surviving member of thisclassic film. During her career she fought hard with her studio to getroles where she would be more than the crinoline heroine waiting forher man to finish his brave deeds. She knew her worth and talent andgot a pair of Oscars to prove it.

Back in the day DeHavilland dismissed films like The Adventures ofRobin Hood. But several years back she attended a revival of both TheAdventures of Robin Hood and Dodge City two very different type filmsshe did with Errol Flynn.

As she watched it she saw the reverence and respect the audience hadfor both of these classics. When they were over she got a stunningovation and she confessed that looking back now, she was real proud tohave been associated with these films.

You have every reason to be proud Olivia. And we're real proud of you.

10) Two of the most stirring period propaganda pieces of the Second World Warwere Laurence Olivier’s "Henry V" and Sergei Eisenstein’s "Ivan theTerrible". I wonder if either director had seen "Robin Hood".

The colour scheme of "Henry V", often said to be based on the Book of Hours,seems to owe a lot to Carl Jules Weyl’s (and Natalie Kalmus’s) full-bloodedpalette. The procession of outlaws disguised as black-cowled monks intoPrince John’s coronation recalls the oprichniki entering the cathedralbehind the Tsar in Part Two of Eisenstein’s paranoid epic.

Whatever, "Robin Hood" is a lot of fun. Kids who see it for the first timedon’t realise it was shot over 60 years ago. It exemplifies Warner’s, andCurtiz’s, understanding that a movie must keep moving. It never halts towallow in its production values; its rat-tat-tat narrative, badinage and useof light and shadows are in line with the aesthetic of WB’s gangsterpictures.

Korngold’s score is likewise brisk and stirring, never langorous. Maybe thishappy marriage between prestige and the studio’s style of taut, urgentstorytelling is what has made this unquestionably the most enjoyable ofpre-war epics. Unlike Reinhardt’s "Midsummer Night’s Dream" or Paul Muni’sstately biopics, nobody is on his best behaviour.

2) The 23rd (and next to last) Mascot sound serial, with the first two billed names above the title and the cast frame sheets those of Rex, the King of Wild Horses, and Rinty (Rin-Tin-Tin, Jr.), thereby making the cast order for the human players two less than shown (Kane Richmond is 3rd billed in reality and not first, opens on the island of Sujan, off the coast or eastern Africa, where guarded by jungles, roving beasts and the Sacred Guard, nestles a shrine to a sacred horse, the black Arabian Rex, the God-Horse of Sujan. High Priest Tanaga (Mischa Auer) innocently allows to Americans, Mitchell (Al Bridges) and Wheeler (Wheeler Oakman) see the sacred stallion and, with the aid of Martin (Charles King), they steal the horse and bring it to the United States, where they sell it to Crawford (Harry Woods), a wealthy, greedy polo-playing rancher. Crawford attempts to train Rex as a polo horse, but royal Rex (King of the Wild Horses) isn’t having any of that, escapes and takes to the open road or, in this case, range. There he teams up with the vagabond dog, Rinty (Rin-Tin-Tin, Jr), and they avoid capture by Crawford and his henchmen Jones (Edmund Cobb), Anderson (George Chesebro) and McDonald (Jack Rockwell.) Their activities attract the attention of polo-player Frank Bradley (Kane Richmond), who befriends the animals and takes them both back to the island of Sujan. Crawford follows and convinces the natives to turn against their God-Horse, and Rex is about to be burned as a sacrifice.

Given the title, 'The Adventures of Rex and Rinty', one might haveexpected it to be about the pairing of the two animal 'pals.' We do getthat for the first couple of chapters, which focuses on how they meetand become friends. Rex, the God-horse of the island of Sujan, had beenstolen and brought to California to be a polo horse. Rinty was awandering homeless dog during the Great Depression searching andscrounging for food. These early scenes with Rinty are well done, as heshows off his acting chops (!) to a melancholy soundtrack. Rex escapesfrom the evil sportsmen, and while wandering through the woods rescuesRinty from a snap steel animal trap. Later, when they encounter askunk, Rex chases it off and Rinty leaps into a creek to wash off thesmell, as Rex laughs in a funny scene worthy of Smiley Burnette.

Unfortunately, that's about it for the 'Adventures' that Rex and Rintyhave together. The rest of the serial has 'popular polo player' KaneRichmond fighting the opposing evil polo team owner Harry Woods forpossession and ownership of the horse. A loyal cult member from Sujan,Pasha, shows up and tries throughout the latter part of the serial torecapture Rex to bring him back to Sujan. Only three chapters takeplace there, but there's no real sense of mystery or menace. For aweird cult on a mystery island the best one is the fantastic 'TheReturn of Chandu' (1934) with Bela Lugosi as the romantic hero!

We do get Kane Richmond here, although he's much better in his otherserials, particularly the clunky 'The Lost City' (1934), and the better'Spy Smasher' (1942) and 'Haunted Harbor' (1944). He also plays one ofMing's pilot captains (the one who decides to help Flash after hisbrother is returned to normal after being a Clay man) in 'FlashGordon's Trip to Mars' (1938), which also immortalizes Wheeler Oakman,who had over 280 film and TV credits, as Tarnak. Oakman, who playshenchman 'Wheeler' here, was also a great villain in 'The Lost Jungle'(1934), 'The Phantom Empire' (1935), and 'Darkest Africa' (1936). Thenwe have Smiley Burnette before his 'Frog Millhouse' days in an almostsubdued role, though he does a couple of physical hi-jinks. We also seeCharles King, but he doesn't have enough to do, except show off hisexcellent horsemanship.

As for an animal pals movie, we're going to have to look elsewhere,such as to 'Koneko Monogatari' (1986), released in the U.S. as 'Miloand Otis', or the 'Homeward Bound' (1993, 1996) movies. This one,except for the first two chapters really isn't an animal pals one.

The weak and almost non existent cliff hangers seem more typical ofserials from the teen years to 1930; even from Mascot we expect more.Too bad they couldn't have let this be the first all animal serial asit was in the first two chapters! As yet another serial with littlemore than back and forth horse and automobile chasing, it only gets a3.

2) Rex, a magnificent black stallion, is kidnapped from Sujan where he isrevered as a God horse. Crawford, crooked sportsman, is the man behindthe kidnapping and plans to sell Rex to the highest bidder, but thehorse escapes into the wild. Rex encounters Rinty, a homeless Germanshepard, and the two animals become inseparable pals with Rinty savingRex from falling into the hands of Crawford and his men. Frank Bradley,polo player, also helps our two four legged friends out, while Wheeler,former henchman of Crawford left in Sujan to die, aids Pasha inreturning Rex to his homeland, but Wheeler has other ideas as well. Theserial is really basic in many aspects such as script, directing, andpacing. Woods is his usual mean self and does well in his performance,despite the script not letting him expand on the role. The script getsreally repetitive after the fourth chapter with Rex getting kidnappedor obtained by someone, which also leads to some unimaginativecliffhangers, but the serial is fun at times and never boring. Rating,based on serials, 5.

• Red Ryder was originally a character called Bronc Peeler; the name Red Ryder was a registered trademark, administered by a firm called Red Ryder Inc. that protected the trademark and oversaw any use of that character in other media than the original comic strip. The company ceased operations in the 1960s.
• Chapter Titles: (1) Murder on the Santa Fe Trail (Certificate #6170); (2) Horsemen of Death (Certificate #6171); (3) Trail’s End (Certificate #6172); (4) Water Rustlers (Certificate #6173); (5) Avalanche (Certificate #6174); (6) Hangman’s Noose (Certificate #6175); (7) Framed (Certificate #6176); (8) Blazing Walls (Certificate #6177); (9) Records of Doom (Certificate #6178); (10) One Second to Live (Certificate #6179); (11) The Devil’s Marksman (Certificate #6180); (12) Frontier Justice (Certificate #6181).
• Cy Feuer used the beginning of Stephen Foster’s “Oh, Susannah” as Red Ryder’s theme. He then worked other Republic music in with that theme. Part of “Oh, Susannah” was even whistled by Little Beaver to signal Red.

The plot is that old chestnut about the bad guys driving all of the localranchers off of their properties so that they will hold title to all of theland for the right of way for the incoming railroad. The only ranch standingin their way is the Circle "R" owned by Colonel Tom Ryder (William Farnum)and his son "Red" (Barry).

When Red’s father is murdered he sets out to avenge his death and uncoverthe people behind all of the trouble. The town’s "respectible" banker,Calvin Drake (Harry Worth) appears to want to help the ranchers but in factis the brains behind the troublemakers. Assisting him is saloon owner "Ace"Hanlon (Noah Berry Sr.) and his gang. Over the course of the serial, Redmanages many narrow escapes from sure death and brings all of the bad guysto justice by the end of the last chapter.

Also in the cast are Tommy Cook as Little Beaver, Maude Pierce Allen as theDuchess, Vivian Coe (aka Austin) as the token heroine Beth, Hal Taliaferroas Cherokee, Bob Kortman as One Eye (looking as evil as ever with an eyepatch), Carleton Young as Sheriff Drake, Ray Teal as Shark, Ed Brady as EdMadison and Ed Cassidy and Billy Benedict as Ira and Dan Withers. If youblink you’ll miss a very young Robert J. Wilke as a streetheavy.

The picture benefits from the excellent direction by Republic’s ace actiondirectors William Witney and John English. The stunt work was always thebest in the business and most of the footage appears to be newly shot. Inlater serials and features, Republic relied heavily on stock footage. A casein point is the scene in the serial where a horseless stage coach goes off awashed out bridge. I recently saw that same scene in an episode ofRepublic’s TV series "Stories of the Century" released in1954.

The serial also benefited from the casting of Barry in the lead. He was amuch better actor than many of his contemporaries and this is evident in thescenes following the murder of his father and later of a close friend. Youfeel his anguish and know that the murderers will not get away with it. Healso hated the nickname "Red" which stuck with him the rest of his life eventhough this was the only time he played the character.

Republic followed this up with a Red Ryder series of features first withBill Elliot and later with Allen Lane. Bobby Blake played Little Beaver inboth.

If you happen to get a copy of the DVD release, there are many excellentspecial features included. First, there’s an interesting interview with DonBarry in which he discusses his career and gives us some stories from behindthe scenes. There is also the TV pilot episode of a proposed Red Ryder TVseries from 1955 with Allen Lane (billed as "Rocky"). It never sold.

"The Adventures of Red Ryder" certainly is one of the best western serialsever made and I wouldn’t be far out by placing in on the short list ofall-time greatest serials from any genre.

2) If you love serials,this one belongs in your top ten.Directed by the aceteam of Whitney and English,this production is first rate all the way.RedRyder,played by Don Barry,seeks revenge against the outlaws that killed hisfather,and are grabbing all the ranches.There are no mystery villians,butwith Noah Berry sr.,Harry Worth,and Bob Kortman leading the cast ofheavies,who needs mystery men?Along with an exciting music score by Cy Feuer,and fine photography byWilliam Nobles,this one is aces all the way.Note:This is on dvd and tape.The dvd has great picture and sound and lotsofextra features.

3) You know the type of BB gun that Ralphie wants in A Christmas Story?This is a serial based on the Red Ryder character (from a comic) thatthe BB gun is a tie in for. The comic was also the source of severalfeature films as well a well loved TV show. The plot concerns RedRyder, Little Beaver and their friends fighting some land speculatorswho are forcibly buying up all the land along a proposed railroadroute. Its one of the better Western serials that any of the studioscranked out with all of the action and excitement that you'd expect. Tobe honest I'm not a huge western serial fan because there is really alimit as to what you can use as a cliffhanger and in order for me toreally like a western serial it has to take what is well worn and dressit up in some way. This serial does just that thanks to really goodcharacters and actors to bring them alive. There is a reason that DonBarry was nicked name "red" after portraying the character, namely he'sreally good. What really helps as well is that the production is firstrate with the serial looking more like what would be one of the betterwestern TV show from the 1950's (which isn't surprising since manyserial makers and studios jumped into TV with both feet). It maybecorny but if you're going to see one western serial, this is the one tosee. (and watch to see how a clearly adult rider does all the ridingfor the young boy Little Beaver)

4) While the plot is old hash today( most notably Blazing Saddles) it wasOK in l940. I am still haunted by the tragic later life of Don Barry.He was really talented and lifted this Saturday western serial genre toanother level, although the supporting cast of Republic regulars weretop notch thespians. As always, the sound track music(OL Sussana) wassuperior to anything Hollywood had to offer, and for me, added greatlyto the action. I though Barry handled certain scenes as well as JamesCagney in The Oklahoma Kid( avenging a father's death down to the lastman) Although he had reached the age of 70, Barry was still trying tosalvage his image when he shot himself in the presence of policeapparently following a domestic quarrel. The great Burt Lancaster, itseems, had been trying to help him. Considering that for twenty ninewesterns he was paid between one and two hundred thousand dollars byRepublic and had many many parts into the TV era, we ordinary folk mustwonder what these people do with their money. But the magic of today'stechnology enables us to see them at their very best, thank heaven.

• Continuity: The shoulder strap of Barkley Blue is on and off his shoulder when he is in the bathroom talking with his brother and sister.

2) A real dog of a "dog and pony" show. Jay Thomas and Shelley Long –funny as they can be — come off as two sleazy cats trying to fighttheir way out of a paper bag of a movie. If it appears that most of theprimary actors are upset over the kidnapping of their favorite pets, itis more likely they are grimacing in pain and embarrassment fromsigning on to this film. After release it was re-titled as "Barclay’sBig Adventure". Barclay just happens to be the 8-year-old boy in thefamily of five who is most attached to the family’s Shetlandpony(Ragtime) and collie(Taylor). When the pets are stolen – get this -an army of thirty FBI agents are called in and confusion reigns.Barclay gets about ten minutes screen time. Three-year-olds will lovethis film.

3) The Adventures Of Ragtime Is So Funny, You Will Laugh Until You GetSore. I Really Love That Movie. I purchased the DVD at the Rite AidStore, It’s from Sterling Home Video. It’s a story about a miniaturehorse getting horse-napped by two crazy funny crooks, Sam & Lester,played by Jay Thomas & Shelley Long. The crooks get knocked down andbeating’ up by the horse Ragtime and does stuff to the crooks that youwill never believe. It is so funny. The little boy Barkley Blue playedby Justin Cooper, who is the owner of Ragtime goes on an adventure towith the family dog to rescue Ragtime. Barkley has an older brotherCarter Blue and a older Sister Amy Blue who is fun for the movie alsowith the Mom and Dad. I love the restroom scene when Amy and Barkley isfighting over the bathroom and Barkley is holding his sisters leg. Ialso love the scene where Barkley and Amy is ask by the mom to waketheir brother Carter, Barkley and Amy get some water in and glass andand pour’s it out on carter’s face and gets him all wet, and Cartergets so mad he run’s after his older sister, and his younger brother.This movie has it all, every actor in the movie is funny. It has a lotof comical scene’s in the movie. I know that if you see this movie TheAdventures Of Ragtime, you will be really sore from laughing at thismovie where it is so funny. If you don’t watch this movie, you will bemissing out on some wonderful and funny stuff and a great movie. Don’tlet The Adventures Of Ragtime pass you by. It is a wonderful movie forfamilies to enjoy and they should make more movies like this one. Ialso learn from The Adventures Of Ragtime is that their is no profanitywords of any kind in the movie, and that shows me that they can makemovies without putting them words in movies. This movie rules. YOU’LLLOVE IT Almost as much as I do. One more thing, the horse and the dogtalks in the movie.

• The lead was first offered to Grace Kelly, who declined.

Robert Taylor (Quentin Durward) engaged with De La Marck a rare butextremely exciting duel to-the-death with ax and dagger in the burningbell tower, swinging on the bell ropes in a rhythmic motion, gettingfrom side to side with the sound of the ringing bells, until thedestruction of the vile Count…

The best part of the film is the performance of the delicious heroine,Kay Kendall, ‘one of the Cinema’s few outstanding Comediennes,’whosebeauty and artistic talent flourished the story, set in the15th-Century France…

Kay Kendall (1926-59) went away much too young of leukemia…

Kay performed the maiden in distress, the medieval heroine fitting wellinto a motion picture which caught beautifully Scott’s novel… Theplot was simple: an elderly English Lord (Ernest Thesiger) sends hisnephew (Robert Taylor) to seek in marriage a French Lady (Kay Kendall)on his behalf… He falls in love with her himself..

Sir Walter Scott wrote the novel in 1823… His ‘Ivanhoe, ‘TheTalisman’ and ‘Rob Roy’ have received most attention from filmmakers…

Another quality of "The Adventures of Quentin Durward" is the goodacting of Robert Morley as the cunning, outrageous, very winding King,a characterization so different to his great performance as theweak-minded Louis XVI in "Marie-Antoinette" opposite Norma Shearer…This delightful British actor played excellent supporting roles ingood-humored or pretentious roles…

Robert Taylor was the perfect cavalier, the man of word and sword, theromantic adventurer who appeared to relieve a charming Lady..

2) Mid-point in his career Robert Taylor was given Quo Vadis and was sucha success in it that MGM then gave him Ivanhoe and Knights of the RoundTable and finally Quentin Durward. Taylor did not like these films, hereferred to them as his "iron jockstrap roles." He much preferredwesterns and modern pictures. But he went with the flow so they say.

The stream flowed well for him in Quentin Durward. What Walter Scottwas trying to do in the novel and succeeds on the screen is juxtaposethe lives of noble knight Quentin Durward and the scheming spider kingLouis XI of France played superbly by Robert Morley. Louis XI is modernman, stripped of all pretenses, surviving on his wits. Durward is afigure from antiquity even in the 15th century.

Louis XI is one of the most fascinating monarchs in history and we'veseen him as a supporting character both in If I Were King and in TheHunchback of Notre Dame. He was a guy who if one scheme didn't work, hehad a backup plan, in fact about 5 or 6 backups. Most of us are luckyif we have 2 in any situation. But he had to rule that way. When hetook the throne of France in 1461 they had ended the Hundred Years Warand France was a devastated country. He couldn't afford to be startingany wars or he wouldn't have a country left. He had to rule by wile andstratagem and he succeeded. Too bad Robert Morley didn't make a filmjust about Louis XI. Great story, hope someone does it some day.

One of the most exciting action sequences in film history is done herewith Quentin Durward battling the villainous Walter DeLa Marck in aburning bell tower while they are both swinging on ropes holding bellclappers. You should see the film for that alone.

3) Anyone looking for insightful commentary on the human condition in amovie should avoid "Quentin Durward." Robert Taylor plays Durward, apoor knight out of place in his time, as he acknowledges to his uncleat the movie's start. Once the story preliminaries are over, Taylorgoes on his mission to France, where everyone is against him, includingCount de la Mark, the Beast of the Ardennes.

"Quentin Durward" has great castle background shots, great photographyand pretty good action. Robert Morley's well fed appearance softens hisrole, a king who cheerfully sells everyone out, causing death andterror. In "Quentin Durward", life is cheap and death often comes in agrim manner. Without giving away the plot, there are a lot ofperipheral characters who get messed up along the way. There are no bigscale castle sieges like Ivanhoe, just the aftermath after de la Marktakes over the castle of the Bishop of Liege. The costumed charactersin "Quentin Durward" have real problems, such as Kay Kendall'scharacter, who is being forced into a marriage she doesn't want. Money,land and power are the driving forces of the bad guys (which wouldinclude de la Mark, Morley's Louis XI and even Durward's uncle).

In 1955, if MGM made a movie about crooked real estate speculatorstrying to rob a young woman of her inheritance, no one would pay to seethe movie. Instead, MGM brings out the costumes, the great productionvalues and a script tailored for Robert Taylor, including some snippyremarks, set in 15th century France.

Moviegoers in 1955 waiting for Robert Taylor to appear in his next MGMcostume action movie were like the character in "Waiting for Godot.""Quentin Durward" was the end of a line of historical movies that MGMstarted 30 years earlier, with "Ben-Hur."

4) This is a film to be watched with a wide and affectionategrin.Outstanding are Robert Morley as Louis XI, the infamous andwily’Spider’ of France, and Robert Taylor as the eponymous Durward,awould-be chivalrous hero born out of his time who is none too sureofhimself. The necessary, and highly satisfactory, heroics arespicedwith a rich leavening of humour and some genuine moral questions -howmuch should a man sacrifice for his country’s sake? His love? Hislife?His honour?

But above all it is a joyous and thrilling romp that doesn’ttakeitself too seriously. Durward wants to be a knight in shiningarmour,but circumstances tend to conspire against him, and his ladyisdefinitely the stronger-willed of the two; though like theaudience,she cannot resist his puppydog charm. And ambiguous, cynical,cowardlyLouis is often in danger of stealing the show outright, as he sitsatthe centre of his web and pulls the strings that manipulate alltheother characters – a far-from-two-dimensional villain after myownheart!

Definitely a superior swashbuckler, with a saving vein ofhumour.

5) For a French viewer,it is always much fun to see how Hollywood treatsour history.For sure,Louis the Eleventh would be amazed if he saw theChâteau de Chambord in his kingdom whereas this castle (400chimneys)was built more than thirty years after his death.But on theother hand his castle of Plessis -Lès-Tours (Lès doesn't mean 'the' but"next to" ) was his favorite residence:it's here that he kept hisFillettes (=girlies) where he imprisoned his enemies.Unfortunatelythese cages do not appear in the movie.

However,Hollywood shows the historical figures as French conventions doin cinema:Robert Morley's shrewd smart king and Charles Le Téméraire(Charles the Bold)are depicted in the same way as in "Le Miracle DesLoups" a French classic swashbuckler which was filmed twice ,the firstversion by Raymond Bernard in the silent age.

"Quentin Durward" is entertaining stuff,suitable for the whole familybut it is not as exciting as "Knights of the Round Table "-whichfeatured a more beautiful leading lady in the shape of Ava Gardner- ormainly "the prisoner of Zenda" ,my favorite Thorpe movie.Besides,thepart of the villain is too underwritten (remember James Mason in"Zenda").Best moment:the duel among the bells .

6) This is one of my favorite films. It's not a great film, by any means,but to me it is eminently enjoyable. It has a fine cast, a literatescript by Robert Ardrey, wonderful cinematography by ChristopherChallis, and a lovely, melodic score by Bronislau Kaper. What's not tolike? An earlier writer remarked that the film does not take itself tooseriously, and to me that's one of its best qualities. The filmcombines drama, comedy, romance and action in approximately equal partsto good effect. It's even a little bit ahead of its time, in some ways.The theme of the good man who is a relic from an earlier time became astaple in the '60s and '70s, particularly for filmmakers such as SamPeckinpah. It received an early sounding in "Quentin Durward." RobertMorley steals the show by the way. He delivers a charming whitewash ofthe paranoid and manipulative Louis XI. It was also my introduction toKay Kendall. This is not one of her top roles, but new viewers will geta taste of her talents and may seek out films that showed off hermultifaceted skills as an actress, comedienne, singer and dancer. Shewas a short-lived wonder. This is a sumptuous production with top starsand a great story. Why isn't it on DVD?

7) This pleasant 1950's Sir Walter Scott Knight's Tale is a nice jauntdown memory lane. Robert Taylor, a poor man's Errol Flynn, contributesa capable performance as the Scottish Knight, Quentin Durward. WhatDurward lacks in riches, he more than makes up for in the lost valuesof chivalry, loyalty and humility. His elderly uncle Lord Crawford(Ernest Thesiger) sends him as an emissary to ask for the lovely,wealthy Isabelle, Countess of Marcroy's (Kay Kendall)hand in marriage.In doing so, Quentin Durward falls in love with her and struggles tofulfill his oath of loyalty to his uncle as he attempts to quell hispassion for the Countess. In addition to this, add the politicalintrigue of two ruling cousins King Louis XI (Robert Morley) andCharles, Duke of Burgandy (Alec Clunes). Both have designs on findingher a suitable spouse that will support their own political intrigue.Consequently, this film has the makings of a full fledged adventurecomplete with sinister characters such as the evil conniving CountWilliam De la Marek (Duncan Lamont) who has his own ideas to furtherhis ambitions.

The Technicolor photography is brilliant, and several actual historicalcastles were used in the film. The action in the film keeps theaudience interested throughout. There are several lapses in transitionof the filming which I found questionable. On one occasion the bad guysled by Count William De la Marek have a head start on Quentin Durwardas they chase the Countess through the woods. Miraculously, QuentinDurward somehow arrives at a bridge and pulls off an ambush well beforethe fleeing Countess and the pursuing villains. I could never figureout how he pulled that off! Sadly, this is one of Kay Kendall lastfilms. Actor Rex Harrison's beautiful wife passed away in 1959 ofleukemia.

This is a fascinating and intelligent film that is not only an exemplarymodel of how the classic Hollywood cinema works, but traditionalstorytelling in general. Although Robert Taylor’s age obscures the point,the story is that classic narrative arc, the growth of a young man intomaturity. The film’s fascination lies in the tensions inherent in thisdevelopment. This kind of arc is usually patterned by doubling andopposition, obstacles for the hero to overcome, a black defeated by hiswhite. Such is the ambiguity of this story that Durward’s arc is neverfully cathartic or resolved.

This is an historical epic, so the oppositions are fairly familiar, the mostobvious being the tension between public duty and private desire. Theimpoverished Durward is hired by his aged uncle to investigate thesatisfactoriness of a proposed bride for a political union. Hence a privateoccasion – the reunion of an uncle (with the Oedipal function offather-figure to be superceded by the son) and nephew – is turned into apublic one. Both are intimately connected, depend on one another, andcreate the grid-like pattern of the story, just as these ideals or dutiescreate a grid around the characters’ personal feelings. It is significantthat this film whose ideological site is the supercivilised realm of thearistocracy, with its codes, rituals, obligations, language – should forceits lovers to proclaim their feelings in a ‘natural’ environment, ameadow-banking forest into which Isabelle has run to hide from the barbaricimplications of civilised society.

Durward’s development is symbolised in a number of ways, for instancethrough clothing – we first see him in a new outfit bought for him by anuncle embarrassed at his relative’s penury; he manages to gain entrance tothe King’s boudoir by disguise; his appointment to the latter’s serviceinvolves an elaborate sequence of dressing up in armour. This increase ofimportance through clothing is appropriate in a society that expressesitself in ritual, and allows the King to complain of the literal discomfortof the Crown as a piece of head gear, as well as the onerous duties itsymbolises.

However, Durward’s increasing status, despite his noble birth, is based onsimultaneous humiliation, as he has to beg for the money he subsists on,like a child awaiting pocket money. One would expect his development toinvolve a rejection of dependence, taking decisions in his own right, buteven at the end, having saved the girl and the monarch’s neck, his futurehappiness and status is dependent on the politic whim of tworulers.

The great irony of Durward’s development is that his progress is one ofobsolesence. Repeatedly, his code of chivalry is mocked as irrelevant in aworld of Machiavellian power games – further, Isabelle’s companion’sreminiscences suggest, anticipating Terry Jones in ‘Chaucer’s Knight’, that chivalry was based on the spectacle of barbarity than spurious nobility. Durward’s bravery and honesty is usually contrasted with the opportunism andunsporting thuggery of his rivals; and yet, in his use of disguise anddeception, in his economy with the truth; in his spiralling of oaths thatleave him trapped in a labyrinth of obligation, Durward’s so-called chivalryis undermined throughout, and heavily dependent on the quick-wittedduplicity of the likes of Hayraddin.

‘Durward’ is gratifyingly intelligent for a Hollywood history film. This isnot to suggest that it is very entertaining. Taylor lacks sparkle when hisScotch-with-an-American-accent isn’t preposterous; the wonderfully sparkyKay Kendell is wasted in a muted love-interest role; the less said aboutGeorge Cole’s minstral act the better. The fact that Durward and his enemylook the same is probably an attempt at Freudian doubling, with de la Marckthe black opposite of Durward’s supposed integrity, but the fact that theyboth look like Vincent Price in one of his less grave moments makes theirstruggle impossible to take seriously.

This kind of thing is so predictable that plot must give precedence topresentation, be it the sprightly choreography of Curtiz’s ‘Adventures ofRobin Hood’, or the near-absract pageant of Mann’s ‘El Cid’. Thorpe neverrises above workmanlike adequacy, with little sense of colour or action -his postcard views of chateaux and the like have no resonance because theyhave no meaning beyond a bland attempt to please the eye. The fight scenesare muddled – although one scene with Durward whipping a leathered mancarrying a red-tipped iron while Isabelle looks on clutching a ladder has anoverwhelming omni-sexual charge. Robert Morley, however, is terrific asKing Louis XI, a sadistic Machiavellian monster with thoroughly amiablemanners.

9) It isn't until the end that the movie turns into a spectacular and trueswashbuckler. In between there are too many long moments in whichbasically nothing is happening. Also often the action just seems todrop out of nowhere and the movie features some awkward and forcedhumor, that perhaps even is a bit embarrassing to watch. But hey,everyone knows that the greatest swashbucklers were not made in the'50's.

The story is just a great one. It's an absolutely top-class and solidlyconstructed story. It had lots of potential in it and interestingcharacters and motivations. The movie however never really fully usesall this potential You can't help when looking at this movie thinkinghow much better it all could had been, or at least more entertaining,if it just went that one step further. The movie gets obviouslyrestrained by its low budget but that's no excuses in my opinion. Thedirecting is rather bland and imaging-less. Strange though, sinceRichard Thorpe is obviously a capable director.

The love-story feels forced, as if it was simply a needed ingredient.It of course always has been a part of the swashbuckler genre but inthis particular case they would had been better off skipping it, sinceit's simply not believable in the story and there is no chemistrybetween the two lovers, played by Robert Taylor and Kay Kendall.

The end still makes up a lot for the movie, when the main hero andvillain are clashing their weapons, while swinging in a bell tower.Great swashbuckling stuff.

The movie has some great characters in it but non of them quite workout, since they are being portrayed too formulaic. You know this is thesort of movie in which the villains all wear black and the good guysare all colorful and stuff. A shame, since it again, showed some realgood potential.

Robert Taylor did a good job, although he really ain't no Errol Flynn.He also was perhaps a little bit too old for his role already. He was44 at the time and he really looked like it. It's also not hard to seewhy Kay Kendall nothing really had a sparkling career, though her earlydead in 1959 also of course contributed to this.

Not a that bad movie but the Sir Walter Scott novel deserved a bettertreatment.

6/10

10) The fifth team-up of Robert Taylor and Richard Thorpe is a pretty goodmovie… I only have one complaint. Robert Taylor is supposed to be playinga Scot in France but he has a very American accent and even uses modernAmerican slang. Couldn’t he have at least spoken articulate, non-modernEnglish, and maybe attempt a Scottish accent? Also odd is all of theEnglish accents, surrounded with one or two people who use French orAmerican accents. I don’t care what accent they use, but they should haveall settled on just one. Also, every time they say the name "Durward" itsounds like "Durwood" and I think of Agatha from Bewitched. Otherwise, themovie is slow-moving but saved by a good basic story and nice sets. 7 outof 10.

• In the video store is a poster for Frauds (1993), also directed by Stephan Elliott and also starring Hugo Weaving.
• The line in the closing credits “Shown in Dragarama at select theatres” is a reference to some theatres using a mirror-ball and colored lighting during the “Finally” dance number.
• The famous thong dress, which helped win the movie an Academy Award, cost only $7.
• Hugo Weaving’s character was based on Sydney drag-queen Cindy Pastel, who like the character has a son and female companion.
• Tim Curry turned down the role of Mitzy.
• The opening and closing scenes were both filmed on the same day.
• The drag-queen in the barber’s chair during the closing credits, is actually costume designer Tim Chappel.
• Most of the crew can be seen in the movie at some point. Costumer designer Lizzy Gardiner played the “Naughty” maid at the hotel, and director Stephan Elliott was the doorman.
• Bill Hunter was filming Muriel's Wedding (1994) and Priscilla at the same time, each requiring him to have different length hair, beard and to be in different parts of the country.
• Due to a heavy filming schedule, lots of filming was done while the entire crew was on the road. But because the bus was such a small set, there was no room for the crew. As such in many scenes, they are actually in shot, hiding under clothes and other props.
• In reference to Trumpet’s nickname, a Monte Carlo is a sweet biscuit manufactured by Arnott’s Biscuits in Australia. It consists of two honey-and-coconut biscuits joined by a layer of vanilla cream and raspberry jam.

• Continuity: When they are in the bar in Broken Hill, Old Shirl comes over and slaps her right hand down on Bernadette’s. Then, in the next camera shot, it’s her left hand.
• Continuity: When Mitzi and Felicia wake up the morning after they left Bernadette and Bob to get drunk, if you look at the shot out of the bus window of Bob and Bernadette, Bernadette’s face is next to the cake. Once Mitzi and Felicia are out of the bus, Bernadette’s face is on top of the cake.
• Continuity: Tik is practising their dance routines and he is wearing a green dress and he’s got a cigarette in his hand. In one shot the cigarette is there and in the next, which is far away, it’s not there.

2) 1994 proved to be rather a good year for Australian movies, with both thisand MURIEL’S WEDDING delighting international audiences with their cheekyover-the-top humour, panache, pathos, winning performances, and funsoundtracks. Both, of course, heavily featured the music of ABBA(Australiahas long had a particular love-affair with the Scandinavian quartet – itwasprobably no coincidence that it was decided to shoot the group’s ownfeature, ABBA: THE MOVIE, during the Australian leg of their 1977 worldconcert tour). In MURIEL’S WEDDING the band’s music is perhaps treatedwithmore reverence and respect – Muriel Heslop is, after all, a huge fan, andthe film itself is of a far more serious, distinctly black nature.PRISCILLA, on the other hand, constantly revels in its own bitchiness andcatty humour, and has countless memorable, and in many cases unprintable,lines of dialogue, including stabs at the supergroup – "I’ve said it onceand I’ll say it again – no more f***ing ABBA"; "What are you telling me -this is an ABBA turd?" Of course ABBA is merely one of MANY verbal targetsfor the film’s three main protagonists, but far from this alienating usfromany of them, we cannot help but be swept along by the sheer garish joy ofthe entire venture.

The basic plot focuses on recently bereaved transsexual Bernadette (amagnificent, hardly recognizable Terence Stamp), who teams up with twoyounger drag artistes, sensitive Tick/Mitzi (Hugo Weaving) and screamingqueen Adam/Felicia (Guy Pearce), so that they can travel half-way acrossAustralia on board an all but dilapidated bus named "Priscilla", in ordertoperform a cabaret act at a remote casino run by an ex-partner of Tick’s,soon revealed to be, horror of horrors, a WOMAN! Along the way theyencounter all sorts of absurd situations and individuals almost as strangeand unconventional as they themselves are, whilst Bernadette, against herbetter judgement, falls for gruff mechanic Bob (Bill Hunter, who alsofeatures in MURIEL’S WEDDING) that they pick up en route, and in so doingheloses his "mail-order" bride Cynthia (Julia Cortez), who in one especiallymemorable scene does things with ping-pong balls you just don’t want toimagine!

The performances are really the thing here – Terence Stamp (who wonnumerousaccolades for his cast-against-type labours) is amazing and totallycredibleas the quietly dignified transsexual, and it is hard to believe thatWeavingand (especially) Pearce have not worked as flamboyant, lip-synching dragqueens all their professional lives! The gaudy, outrageous costumes won awell-deserved Oscar, and the photography of the barren, surreal landscapeisalso masterful, as is Stephan Elliott’s creative direction and hilarious,ultimately poignant script. The soundtrack may not be to everyone’s taste,but it has enough camp classics to satisfy anyone yearning to relive thetacky heyday of the ’70s – including ABBA’s "Mamma Mia", the VillagePeople’s "Go West", and Gloria Gaynor’s superb "I Will Survive", given agloriously inventive rendition to a bunch of appreciative aboriginals, withone of their number joining in most enthusiastically.

A true kitsch classic, then – well worth re-visiting, again and again …and again.

3) This is a great movie! Not only are the actors wonderful but thedialoguekeeps you watching the movie over and over again because you missed agreatline the last time! The musical numbers are worth watching alone, butcombined with the story and all the sub-plots and the funniest lines Ihaveheard in a long time (The ABBA turd convo cracks me up every time), thisisa movie to buy and watch over and over when you need to be entertained aswell as dazzled!!!!!!!

4) …and that’s a GOOD thing. Basically, before I truly became aware of"Priscilla", I had only thought of its three central actors as just regular,boring guys who were fine enough at acting, but really weren’t anythingspecial. Wrong. I had heard about this mysterious movie once or twice, buthad no idea who was in it, nor what it was about (beyond the rather vagueconcept of drag queens/transvestites), and when I decided to read more aboutit, and find out who was in the cast – SURPRISE! Guy Pearce (of whom I hadhad a bad first impression when I discovered him in that travesty "The TimeMachine"), Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith himself!!!), and Terence Stamp (whom Idon’t think I ever saw in any films, but whom I still knew a fair bitabout)! How genius is that? I had to see this to believe it, and when I did,I was not let down! Beautiful scenes, costumes, dialogue and music made thisprobably one of the most interesting and memorable movie experiences of mylife! I wasn’t the least bit uptight about it (as some people were turnedoff by the flamboyant behaviour and distasteful jokes, which I foundrefreshingly great!), and delighted in the campy antics of this fantastictrio! It’s a beautiful, feel-good comedy that I recommend to anyone with acatty sense of humour (and a VERY open mind).

5) There are not many movies who deal with gays and drag queens in anormal and sympathetic way, too often they are just shown asstereotypes. This film is a wonderful exception.

It follows two gays and a transsexual who drive through the Australiandesert to Alice Springs, where they have a gig in a hotel. We see themcollide with small town citizens, aborigines and tourists and in theend the characters are dear to us!

The three principal actors are all straight, but are able to createsympathetic, three-dimensional gay characters. It deserves also specialmention, that these characters (unlike most gay parts in Hollywoodpictures) do have a sex life and sexual wishes (probably Hollywooddeems this as too disturbing for a straight audience).

Hugo Weaving (better known for "Matrix" and "The Lord of the Rings")plays the most "straight" part, Tick, who has a ex-wife (who herself isbisexual) and a little son. Wonderfully acted are his fears of his sonand heartbreaking the scene where he is confronted by prejudices by hisfellow performers. Yes, gays are no angels, and this movie is braveenough to say so.

Guy Pearce as Adam is probably the most "gay" in this, presenting mostof the well known clichès, but he still brings enormous depth andinsight in a part, that actors with lesser gifts would have playedsimply as another sissy.

But outshining both of them and all others is Terence Stamp (yes, I domean HIM!) as the transsexual Bernadette. Played with dignity and agreat sense of humor, he/she is absolutely believable and his lovestory with a mechanic is wonderfully touching!

As I performed once myself, I appreciated the scenes where directorStephan Elliot shows how hard drag queens work for their performances,how frustrating the whole experience sometimes can be and also howrewarding.

Outstanding are and a character of their own are the costumes and thewigs, who are hilarious and both Lizzie Gardner and Tim Chapelldeserved their Oscars for the best costumes.

Though there are some red herrings, the movie is a splendid and funnyexperience and minor flaws are easily forgiven. Remarkable are theconstant jokes, who are sometimes rather ribald. But it’s refreshing tosee some anarchistic humor (compared to Hollywood) and some of the gagsare unforgettable (just watch out for the Ping Pong balls!)

6) This is a film that every straight person should see. The screenwritercreated three drags queens from the cloth of everyday life — an olderperson (who happens to be transgendered), an average guy next door anda pretty muscle boy. You can say that this film is about "the greatreach of little lives" (a comment originally applied by Donald Spoto toTennesee Williams’ "The Glass Menagerie.") We also see, in AnthonyBellerose’s story, that sexuality is not a cut-and-dried affair.Underneath it all, we see that these people aren’t much different fromthose we meet ion our daily lives. A screening of "Priscilla" would domore good than a hundred lectures to high school kids on the acceptanceof diversity.

7) This movie made laugh and does so every time I see it again. Perhaps itwon’t go down in history as a timeless classic is does deserve it somuch. The original premise is a weird one, about transsexuals travelingthrough the desert of Australia. The sense of humor is very wicked andthank God for small favors not restrained to Hollywood standards. AndI’ve never watched a game of table tennis without a smallish grin on myface which has little to do with the game in it self.

The actors are great an absolute anti choice in the matters oftypecasting . The scenery of the movie is great, the bus in the desertare two extra players that give this movie an extra beaut. The extracastmembers are great and unforgettable. Ever since when I watch anepisode of Flying Doctors or things in his sort I wonder about thenutty folks out there. the costumes are great and gobsmacking, theyperform very well in the musical numbers.

I showed this to my mum, after the initial shock she was very amusedand agreed with me that it was a very funny movie.

I will watch this movie a lot in the future, why?? It keeps me laughingevery time.

Two drag queens (Guy Pearce as bitchy Felicia, and Hugo Weaving as Mitzi)and a transsexual (Terence Stamp, marvellous as the widowed Bernadette) makea trip to Alice Springs in a pink bus called Priscilla.

Cue a soundtrack of mostly Abba songs (plus an off-the-cuff ‘I WillSurvive’, and C E Peniston’s ‘Finally’ – a great set-piece) and threetowering performances. From the initial hilarious premise we follow thetrio through the Australian desert and meet the various inhabitants ofplaces they pass through. It remains fast-paced and touching within thecomedy. Wonderful.

9) This film goes down in my books as one of the best.The emotion involved with everything that happens is just heartwrenching.One moment i was laughing the next in tears. I would reccomend this filmtoanyone who wants a realistic look at gay life in the 80’s. It’s amazinghownarrow minded people can be, but these people show us the true meaning oflife, love, fatherhood, and most of all friendship and loyalty. Usinghumorand good natured prodding of controversial issues, the filmmaker is abletobreak through the barrier of bias, and get to the core of these threemagnificent people.Fantastic Job!

Chris Rogers

10) i absolutely love this film, its one of my faves ever!!! i saw a smallclip of it and it made me laugh so i bought the film and every time iwatch it i sit there singing along to it and laughing so much thattears fall down my face.its hilarious the things that happen in it aregreat. the costumes are amazing and the acting is great they really dida good job. i swear that if you hear the opening song that you willsing it sometime without knowing it. I’m so glad i bought it if I’mbored or feeling down or sick them i watch this film and it cheers meup and i cant stop laughing; its that good. one of my faves in the filmis with the "4th member?"