BY FRED BLOSSER
“The
Adventures of Robin Hood,†which aired on CBS from 1955 to 1959, was an early
example of a television series produced in the U.K. and imported by an American
network into U.S. living rooms with great success -- a forerunner of numerous
hit shows to follow from across the Atlantic, including “The Avengers,†“Secret
Agent/ Danger Manâ€, too many “PBS Masterpiece Theater†favorites to list, and
more recently “Downton Abbey.†It was
also an early example, replicated as well by “Downton Abbey,†of a popular TV
series leveraged into a big-screen theatrical movie. The year after “The Adventures of Robin Hoodâ€
ended its U.S. network run, its producer Sidney Cole and star Richard Greene
created a feature-film version, “Sword of Sherwood Forest,†in partnership with
Hammer Studios, for release here through Columbia Pictures. Although supporting roles were recast, Greene
returned as Robin, and some principals from the series’ production crew were
reunited as well. Director of
Photography Ken Hodges returned, the screenplay was provided by Alan Hackney,
who had scripted many of the episodes of the series, and the director was
Terence Fisher, already a Hammer veteran, who had directed several series
episodes. Media historians tend to
characterize the TV and theatrical movie industries in the 1950s and early ‘60s
as bitter rivals for viewership, but the two industries in fact often enjoyed a
friendlier synergy of mutual convenience. In the case of “Sword of Sherwood Forest,†the popularity of the earlier
series provided theaters with a built-in audience for the movie. In turn, the film reminded fans to watch for
the syndicated reruns of the TV show, which continued to be broadcast on local
stations well into the 1970s.
In
the movie, which has been released on Blu-ray from Twilight Time in a limited
edition of 3,000 units, a well-dressed, badly wounded man flees into Sherwood
Forest, escaping from a posse led by the Sheriff of Nottingham (Peter
Cushing). Through Maid Marian (Sarah
Branch), the sheriff approaches Robin Hood with the offer of a pardon if he’ll
turn over the wounded fugitive, but Robin refuses. He knows, even if Marian has yet to learn,
although she quickly does, that the offer of clemency from his old enemy the
sheriff “isn’t worth the breath he uses to make the promise.†The fugitive eventually dies from his wound,
but not before passing along a brooch stamped with a mysterious emblem, and
mentioning the name of a town, Bawtry. Leaving Little John (Nigel Green) to lead the Merry Men in his absence,
Robin investigates with the help of Marian and Friar Tuck (Niall McGinnis). Gradually,
they uncover a plot involving the charming but secretive Earl of Newark
(Richard Pasco), his henchman the sheriff, an attempted land grab, a visit by
the Archbishop of Canterbury, and plans to carry out a high-level assassination
if the land grab fails.