Basil Rathbone was probably the best fencer ever to star in movies. During WWI he was the British Army's fencing champion, and often coached fellow actors in the skills including Flynn, Tyrone Power and many others. He was the bad guy in 1940's "The Mark of Zorro" with Tyrone Power, which ends with one of the finest sword fights ever filmed. Rathbone wanted to be an actor from an early age but his father insisted that he try a "real job" for a year. Rathbone worked as a clerk in an insurance company...for exactly one year, then quit and signed on with a cousin's Shakespeare troupe. He left to serve in WWI in a Scottish regiment and won the Military Cross for bravery...and then went right back to acting on the stage. His first movie role was in 1921 in a silent film.
You have no idea how happy it makes to see more and more people reacting to classic hollywood. i'm 34 and love classic/old movies since i was a kid but most of my friends don't, so to see a new generation watching it is great.
I am in the same boat. I watch movies from the 30's and up but few people I know do except one co-worker who may have seen some but then again he is 70 so yeah. Kay is really awesome for being one of the very few reaction people who are willing to watch older films.
Back then, fat-shaming wasn't even a thing; it was actually a GOOD sign if someone looked as portly as Friar Tuck. This meant that the individual in question was being fed well; whereas with thin people, they thought it was a sign they were being starved. So, any jabs at Tuck's girth was just a joke between friends. Some, if not all friars of that era were also known to be big (unless they were fasting)
Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland have great chemistry in all the movies they made together. She admitted that the 2 were in love but never had an actual relationship due to the fact that Flynn was married.
Sad. Fact: she was going to write Flynn a letter, expressing how she felt, but thought he'd think she too sentimental and silly. Then he died. She regretted it the rest of her life, I'm pretty sure.
One of the all-time Hollywood beauties. She, of course, went on to play Melanie in Gone With The Wind. She was a five-time Oscar nominee, and two-time winner.
I've been obsessed with this movie since I was a kid and my dad recorded it on VHS. Literally to this day I can recite the lines of this movie, no movie brings me greater joy
Me, too! It had bad guys that you actually _loved_ to hate! Basil Rathbone was suitably sinister as Sir Guy, of course. But, Claude Rains practically stole the show as Prince John. Especially during the archery tournament when he sounds like he's channeling _Bette Davis_ as he exclaims: "Ah! The tall tinker!" 🤣🤣🤣
Such a major American blockbuster and all the leads were non-American South African born Englishman Basil Rathbone Aussie Errol Flynn Englishman Claude Rains And, Englishwoman Olivia de Havilland who was actually born in Tokyo. The director Michael Curtiz was born in Ausrro-Hungary as was Erich Wolfgang Korngold who composed the music - and who was saved from being butchered by the Nazis because he got to work in America for this film.
I think film historians would say Douglas Fairbanks Senior 'defined' the swashbuckler genre. Those were hits in the Silent Era but Errol Flynn brought an handsome level well beyond Fairbanks (Senior and Jr). Flynn was, like, Generation 2 of the Swashbucklers. This film's use of Una O'Connor and Claude Rains renewed their film history (from 1933's INVISIBLE MAN) but this was also one of the few Una films where she wasn't squealing her head off.
@BuffaloC305 Well said. There is a sequence in the 1920 film _'The Mark of Zorro'_ where D.F. Senior exhibits a degree of athletic ability & stamina easily twice what I had when I was in my teens.
YES! Finally someone reacts to this! I've recommended it all over RUclips, and no one ever does it! For me, this is one of the all-time feel-good movies. Sure, it's corny and cheesy, but it's sincere about it in a way that a lot of films just aren't anymore. This film believes in happy endings, and how can you dislike something like that? In terms of other classic swashbucklers, the only other Errol Flynn one I've seen is 'Captain Blood', but he's pretty good in that. I would also recommend either the Tyrone Power 'Mark of Zorro' or, if you can find it, the original, silent one with Douglas Fairbanks, which features some quite astounding stunts. (Really, any Fairbanks film is worth seeking out in that regard - he was quite the athletic chappie.) Oh, and, so long as the gods seem to be smiling on me - any chance of you reacting to 'The Great Mouse Detective' at some point? That's another one I've recommended all over the place, and no one has watched yet.
Fun fact, Maid Marian's palomino horse, named "Golden Cloud," went on to become a famous Western star as "Trigger," iconic horse of Roy Rogers. Also, Dame Olivia de Havilland, who later became a household name as Melanie Wilkes in Gone With the Wind, also went down in legal history as the woman who broke the back of the studio system. De Havilland got tired of being typecast by the studio who owned her contract, and took them to court, where she argued they were intentionally sabotaging her career. She won her lawsuit, got free from her contract, and essentially destroyed a system in which actors/actresses were owned by studios, had to take whatever roles the studios ordered, and could only work for other employers through special agreements between studios. Dame Olivia is largely the reason that actors control their own careers. My parents were Boomers. I watched a lot of old movies as a kid.
Roy Rogers was Leonard Franklin Slye, born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He had a very difficult, poverty stricken childhood. Look it up at Wikipedia. And he didn't become a thug.
@@stratiogesdux As far as I know, the only time Roy Rogers played an outlaw was his very first acting role in a Western movie. But, that's only because the movie already starred Gene Autry as the hero!
It’s a shame about Basil Rathbone, he was actually one of the most legitimately talented swordsman in movies and never won a duel on screen, so he went to play Sherlock Holmes.
Yes Zorro 1940. 1820 "Swashbuckler". Another iconic sword fight between Basil Rathbone and Errol Flynn type (Tyrone Power). Also Fryer Tuck is another is a Padre. There is a color version but you won't find it on RUclips. I purchased the DVD.
Very cool to see someone giving Flynn some love. I grew up watching old movies on a black and white television. This was always one of my favorites. You would probably enjoy Flynn's movie Captain Blood. I'd also like to recommend The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958).
Guy of Gisbourne was in one of the better known tales. He was essentially a knight who is paid to infiltrate Robin's ranks. He fails. Obviously they beef up the guy so Basil can be the really baddie they need to put up against our Hero!
Erroll and Olivia were such a dynamic couple. They made several movies together. Basil Rathbone was a trained swordsman. He was also the very best Sherlock Holmes. If you ever get the chance and you enjoy Sherlocks adventures, catch the series they did with Jeremy Brett as Holmes. He is IMHO the 2nd best Holmes
Flynn was so extra and so sassy. My favorite movies of his that I've seen are "Captain Blood" and "The Sea Hawk," both directed by Curtiz, the same director as this (and there are a lot of common actors amongst the movies).
My grandmother's cousin did a screen test with Errol in the 30's. Her name was Mary Maguire. She was one of the only Australians in Hollywood at the time. She had contracts with major studios. She even starred in a film with Ronald Reagan, Seargent Murphy.
a lot of the "fat shaming" is actually good natured banter, something that people have lost over the years,, he liked to test the strengths of his fighters he is trying to see if he can trust them, and fighting in the middle ages was the best way to judge a persons character
Yeah.... I'm going to disagree on that one. In this film, yes, but more often, no. "Good natured banter" can easily be used by assholes to degrade someone in a very snarky way. Can I tell the difference? Yes, I can.
I voted for this movie and I was fascinated with it every time I watched as a kid… I always think of Errol Flynn as Robin Hood.. or Weissmuller as Tarzan..
Alan Hale Sr who played Little John here and was a frequent co-star in Errol Flynn films was the father of Alan Hale Jr who played the Skipper on Gilligan's Island if you noticed the resemblance. Flynn was a truly legendary actor whose real life was nearly as wild as his movies. The unmentioned subtext of this 1938 film a year before the Nazis invaded Poland is how the tyranny of King John caused a revolt of his own English nobility who forced him to sign the Magna Carta which became the foundation of English common law and civil rights such as trial by jury.
@@beatmet2355 Oddly I don't think I've seen any of Reagan's films for some reason. I remember him mostly from Death Valley Days and as my Commander in Chief when I was in the 101st Airborne of course. :)
@@Texasjim2007 there’s clips of it on RUclips. It’s a war movie with a surprising amount of humor, considering it was made in 1942. ruclips.net/video/_TkHs0pVHFI/видео.htmlsi=G9x6EkE2Y_e12NNj
If you want another trend-setting swashbuckler, try 1937's "The Man In The Iron Mask" with Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett, Warren Williams, and Alan Hale (Sr.).
The guard at 7:48 was played by stuntman Sol Gorss and was the first one of the stuntmen to be shot with a real arrow shot by expert archer Howard Hill. Since this was the first time it was done they Gorss later admitted they weren't 100% sure if he could hit the steel plate he was wearing under his cloths so the fear on his face wasn't just acting.
Dame Olivia de Havilland appeared in a 1939 classic called, "Gone With The Wind". She played the part of Melanie Wilkes. Because so many great movies were made in between 1927 (the birth of the Talkies) & 1969 it was called Hollywood's Golden Age. 1939 in particular was a year filled with more outstanding movies than any other year: Stagecoach which made John Wayne a Mega Star, The Wizard Of Oz, GWTW, Beau Geste, Goodbye Mister Chips (I prefer the remake with Peter O'Toole & Petula Clark), Gunga Din, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Wuthering Heights and the list goes on and on. One actor, Thomas Mitchell had major rolls in FIVE 1939 classics: Stagecoach, for which he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, Gone With The Wind (Scarlett's father), The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Mister Smith Goes To Washington and Only Angels Have Wings. We have been blessed with thousands of of good, great and fantastic movies, it's a pity we can't see them all.
For the uninitiated, keep an eye on that never-ending quiver of arrows (something I never noticed until I was older). This is in plain view when Robin first comes to Nottingham Castle to confront Prince John. Upon close inspection we can see he has five arrows in his quiver (with perhaps a sixth hidden behind others). During his escape from the castle he shoots 10 arrows, and when he hops on his horse to escape to Sherwood Forest, he still appears to have five arrows left. This is the Sherwood version of the 6 shot revolvers from 1930's western and gangster movies, which could often shoot 12-15 times without reloading.
Amazingly talented people made these movies back then. And you have to remember these movies were not meant to be realistic. They were meant to be exaggerations of reality. People back then knew what real death was like. This was escapism no different from Star Wars or reading romance novels. The characters were larger-than-life the color was more glorious than the real world. It was a different style but the people who made these movies knew the difference between reality and fantasy. These were fantasy pictures.
I love the way older movies are shot. They actually feeeel like movies, whereas a lot of modern films are shot like music videos or commercials; an assault on the senses. Not that it's a bad thing, I love lots of newer films, but sometimes you just wanna fall into an image, rather than being punched in the face repeatedly.
a "forest" in medieval England specifically referred to an area set aside as a hunting preserve for royalty, and was indeed a cause of much resentment by the people who actually lived in those areas
Pretty much any wild game in all England was royal property and could only be hunted with the king's permission. The exception was wolves (when they existed), which, while considered game, were also considered enough of a pest that their eradication was encouraged of anyone who had the stamina to hunt them.
One of my all time favourite films. Fantastic performances, gorgeous Technicolor, and an exciting score, all combine to make a film which still holds up almost a century later.
I’m so glad to see you reacting to classic films like this! I’ve been a classic film nut since I was a kid. And this is a winner. Beautiful looking film in its original Technicolor, plus the score by Erich Korngold is ICONIC. Like, it’s one of the musical scores people study in college and grad school.
When you watch this you begin to see where the jokes from Men in Tights come from. Men in tights is a mix of this and Prince of Thieves and before the 90s this and Disney were the two BIG best versions of Robin Hood. Sean Connery also did a good Robin Hood. And Robin Hood was also in Star Trek TNG
When i saw Men In Tights, I definitely got vibes from this movie and Prince of Thieves, like the Banquet Scene and the costumes of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. From PoT I got that from the beginning sequence, Achoo, Blinken, Latrine, and other moments.
Men in Tights is real good fun, but that Prince of Thieves is the worst Robin Hood film ever though. Typical Hollywood trying to make it more action, but fails on allmost every part.
@@leifgunnartoth8070 what ones are your favorites? I mean I like that film well enough, don't love it but there's not many Robin Hood films to compare to. and like one I saw recently was verry bad. like there were ninja and stuff.
@@sasamichan This one, The Adventures of Robin Hood, is my absolute favourite. Men in Tights is good fun, and I would say the 1991 film with Patrick Bergin is next. It puts a much darker tone on the story, without getting the hollywood vibe.
Basil Rathbone plays a *magnificent* villain. Just the right amount of viciousness without chewing the scenery. You might recognize Prince John as the man who played Senator Paine in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."
Fun fact: Will Scarlett's horse, which was also Maid Marion's, was named Northern Star. It was later bought by Roy Rogers, renamed Trigger, and the rest was history. Edit: my bad, Trigger was originally named Golden Cloud.
This is by far the best Robin Hood movie ever which is hilarious because it’s also one of the first if not the first. I will say the Disney+ has a surprisingly good black-and-white version from the 50s that I really enjoyed. And I HATED the Russell Crowe version from 2010 because it just utterly and completely changed the story and mythology and who Robin Hood was and whatever. Like it wasn’t trying to be funny like Robin Hood Mennonites or that recent Jamie Foxx version Where it’s obviously being comedic or doing something different on purpose so I just couldn’t stand that version. After this one I would say the animated Disney is my second favorite. 😂
The advent of color in the late 1930's just exploded movies and it was expensive. But to audiences, used to seeing black and white, it was awe inspiring. Technicolor was the CGI of its time. It's so iconic that it even found its way into later films with on screen comments about it. In 1994's "Interview with the Vampire," Brad Pitt's character, turned into a vampire in 1791 has two scenes which occur late in the film where he comments on how movies "gave him back the sunrise." In a second scene he is watching the end of "Gone with the Wind" and is blown away by the color and how he can experience daylight again vicariously.
I like the guards and the one that dies at 7:48 is my favorite. He is one of the ones that Robin Hood beat up earlier with the dead deer so he has a score to settle. I like how you can see that he is scared but he has a look of determination on his face that says he will will do this or die trying. I like how he opens the door on his own and charges out he chooses to sacrifice himself so the other guards will have a chance to catch robin hood. It also appears that he thinks he has a chance at winning right up till he gets shot in the heart. At that point he realizes its all over but still puts up a short but intense fight against death before he falls down and dies. For a movie with a lot of over dramatic deaths the guard at 7:48 is the best.
The movie is a masterpiece on so many levels. This version of Robin Hood has always been my favorite. Errol Flynn *is* Robin Hood, the cockiness, the swordplay skills, it's just 10/10 all around. The music in this movie is also amazing, there's a motif (short theme) for each major character and depending who is in each scene, they are weaved together into a new song. This movie was made in the middle of the Great Depression, and composers were struggling with finding new ways to allow the public to experience their music. So many of them started going above and beyond on movie scores, this being one great example. Also, few realize that Basil Rathbone (Sir Guy), in real life, was one of the best fencers in the world, so several of these swordfights are *so good* simply because you have a real-life expert in sword work fighting with Errol Flynn who stared in so many swashbuckling movies.
More swashbucklers: Ivanhoe (1952) -has a Robin Hood connection Scaramouche (1952) one of the best movies about sword fighting Mark of Zorro (1940) More basil rasborne And not a exactly a swashbuckler, but The Great Race (1965)
Contrary to some modern depictions, the medieval world was in fact very colourful. People loved bright, colourful clothing and decoration, often bordering on what one might now label as gaudy.
"The Mark Of Zorro" has much of the same cast as Robin Hood. They'd even wanted to get Errol Flynn for Zorro but could not. Tyrone Power was actually better suited to the role. Recommended.
It was very influential in terms of film making for the next few decades. The original Star Wars trilogy has several clear references to it (and Flynn's 'The Sea Hawk'). Music, production design, editing and especially the forest ambush sequence. Movies ranging from Polanski's 'Priates' to the 1990's French 'Cyrano De Bergerac' were directly inspired by it (as confirmed by their directors). There are several other films that I just can't remember at the moment. Most of all Korngold's music was fundamental to the Hollywood adventure move music of the next 7 decades.
In the Robin Hood stories, Guy of Gisbourne was essentially an assassin, hired specifically to kill Robin. He is depicted as cruel, murderous and brutal, wearing a horse's hide. In Howard Pyle's book, Robin Hood slays him, and is singularly unrepentant about it, judging him unfit to live. In the movie he has a much larger part. I genuinely applaud you for giving these old films a chance. You might like Danny Kaye's spoof, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓, also with Basil Rathbone. ruclips.net/video/m32BogcXq7k/видео.html
Three of my favorite facts about the two main villain actors, Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains. 1) They were both in the same regiment in WWI (the London Scottish). 2) Basil Rathbone was acknowledged as one of the best fencers in Hollywood at the time, but since he played villains so much he only won, like, one or two swordfights on screen in his whole career. 3) Claude Rains was almost totally blind in his right eye, thanks to a gas attack in WWI.
Just found your channel. If you want more swashbucklers, my favorites are Scaramouche, starring Stewart Granger, The Court Jester, starring Danny Kaye (which is also hilarious), and the 1970s Three Musketeers with Michael York as D'Artagnan.
The great part of the legend of Robin Hood was the fact that King Richard only spent about nine months of his entire life in England, couldn't speak English, bankrupted the kingdom, was the only King whose Queen never saw England. He died in France fighting...the French. He was taken prisoner on his return from the Second Crusade and held for ransom in Austria. Taking nobles for ransom was one of the primary ways to become rich in those days. His father, Henry II and his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine actually lead much more interesting lives and were the first Plantagenet rulers, not only of England but also most of the western part of what is today France...from Normandy on the Channel to the Spanish frontier.
The king always had the power of life and death over everyone in his realm. Everyone, especially the poor were basically slaves. The 1930s were the great Depression where few had money. The movie companies withheld their best movie ideas for after the depression ended. But with Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havilland, Alan Hale, and Basil Rathbone they thought they had a good group, make a movie about a popular hero, and it should make money. In 1938, it was the most expensive movie ever made. The gamble paid off. It made more money than any movie to that time. It encouraged all movie studios to make their best movies and people would come. 1939 is considered Hollywood's greatest year. The Wizard of Oz came out in 1939. Although it won an Oscar for it's music ("Over the Rainbow"), the Wizard of Oz didn't actually break even for years. Like the Magnificent Seven and the Princess Bride, all three became classics because of tv.
Little John, the "staffer" at the bridge, is father of Alan Hale Jr, who was "The Skipper" in "Gilligan's Island." Hale Sr. was usually the comic-relief sidekick in many westerns and Hollywood costume dramas such as this one.
The palomino horse Lady Marian is riding was a very well known horse in Hollywood and was named Golden Cloud. A certain up and coming cowboy star saw the horse and bought it. That "singing cowboy" was named Roy Rogers and he changed the horse's name to Trigger and was one of the heroes of Television in the 1950's. Lots of merch...I had a lunchbox with him and Trigger on the outside...back when schoolkids all brought their lunches to school.
Fun fact, Basil Rathbone also played the Son of the OG Dr. Frankenstein in the Universal Classic universe. and Claude Rains played the OG Invisible Man, and Una O'Connor who plays Marion's Nurse was also in a couple of Universal Monster films.
Claude Rains played Prince John, Basil Rathbone played Guy of Gisborne, Alan Hale played Little John, Eugene Palette played Friar Tuck, Patrick Knowles plays Will Scarlet, Montague Love plays the bishops and I forget who played the Sheriff.
You like swashbucklers, you need to do the 'Three Musketeers' and 'The Four Musketeers' from the 1970s. Amazing pair of movies (more like one huge movie that was split into two).
Olivia de Haviland, the actress portraying Marian, was quite long-lived, passing last year (2020) at age 104. She remained an active actress until around 2009. A bit of historic trivia; the real Richard Lionheart was a rather crappy King, who spent very little of his reign in England, possible less than a year total.
Unfortunately, Richard only lived a year after returning to England which eventually placed Prince John on the throne. Of course a rebellion by the barons resulted in King John being forced to sign the Magna Carta. I'd liked to think that the new Baron of Locksley was one of those who forced King John to sign that pillar of human rights.
Love this film,watched this as a kid,loved the swashbuckling and good-triumphs over -evil theme.Simple plot,easy to follow,nice action. All ages can watch,fueled my imagination and wanting to read-up on the life in the Middle Ages,knights,castles,etc,etc,..and film-making.
I love the old swashbuckler movies. It's amazing that almost a century later this still holds up. If you haven't heard of it I heartly recommend The Crimson Pirate, 1952 with Burt Lancaster. To my mind way better than The Pirates of the Caribbean films. Although the first one runs it close. Lancaster, and Nick Cravat from The Crimson Pirate had done a previous swashbuckler, a Robin Hood variation called The Flame and The Arrow, set in mediaeval Italy. That one was clearly inspired by The Adventures of Robin Hood. The Crimson Pirate is the better of the two. I also would heartly recommend 1937 version of The Prisoner of Zenda.
Basil Rathbone was just reaching his peak here. He had done another Errol Flynn swashbuckler, Captain Blood, a few years before, and in the next year he would do both Son of Frankenstein (which is one of the best of the series, with not only Boris Karloff’s last portrayal of the monster, but Bela Lugosi as Ygor) and The Hound of the Baskervilles, which was the first of the Sherlock Holmes movies. I think a lot of the Robin Hood story in this movie seems to be lifted from its adaptation in Ivanhoe. (Also a worthwhile movie. Worth watching if only for Elizabeth Taylor as Rebecca.)
Guy of Gisborne was in the legends, but was a relatively minor character. He was a kind of spy/traitor who joined Robin's band with the intent of betraying him for the bounty. But they puffed him up so Basil Rathbone would have a more flashy role.
Swashbuckler?! This is the ONE!!!! Errol was the archetype!!! Watch Peter O’Toole do an older, drunk take on an Errol Flynn-type in the wonderfully sweet MY FAVORITE YEAR!!! Such a great movie
I wouldn’t technically call this an old swashbuckler. To me those are more of the ones with Errol Flynn at sea as a pirate or ship’s Captain. Movies such as ‘Captain Blood’, or ‘The Sea Hawk’. Both very good movies. Prince John is played by Claude Rains, who you saw in Casablanca as police Captain Louis Renault. Little John is played by Alan Hale, Flynn’s drinking buddy and father of the Skipper on Gilligan’s Island Alan Hale Jr.
I see you’ve just watched this Michael Curtiz classic. Try looking at some of his other films like Casablanca, Mystery of the Wax Museum, Doctor X, Captain Blood, Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Sea Hawk, Angels with Dirty Faces, Mildred Pierce, The Charge of the Light Brigade, My Dream is Yours and White Christmas.
Basil Rathbone was an accomplished swordsman and he's the antagonist in two other classics: 'Captain Blood', opposite Errol Flynn again, and 'The Mask of Zorro' against Tyrone Power. He always said the one opponent he was always afraid of was Errol Flynn, not because Flynn was a great swordsman, but because he was so awful. Flynn would constantly miss his cues and when you've got a choreographed fight, that's no bueno.
Technicolor was still very new at that point, and studios made a point of creating visual feasts. We saw something similar when color tv became more common in the mid 1960s. That's one reason Star Trek survived so long, despite its terrible ratings. The color palate was stunning. This movie was normal in depicting on screen deaths. We didn't see a change until Sergio Leone produced his "Fistful" trilogy with Clint Eastwood in the mid 60s. American directors began to imitate him. Sam Peckinpah's Wild Bunch in 1969 became infamous for its bloody & realistic gun deaths. ... Richard really was held ransom at one point, with people all across England were asked to contribute to his ransom. Churches melted down part of their gold & silver decorations. It was considered a holy obligation to free a captured Crusader. And yes, John in real life kept a large part of what he collected for himself. Richard was amazingly trusting with his brother, despite the evidence of his guilt. ... Robin in this movie was right about Richard. The king spent most of his reign in wars against France or the paynim in the Crusades. He would have done better to stay at home, but at that time English kings had holdings in England & Normandy, if not elsewhere. To them & their nobles the lands in France were at least a important as England. Norman French was still the language of the aristocracy.
"What defines the King's deer?" I know it was probably spoken in jest, as they said back in Robin's day. But to answer your question, the forests within the land a king's rule is considered "his" territory. As such, anything there is claimed as the monarch's property; including the wildlife. At least...that is what Prince John proclaimed as law, he just wanted more lands and territory for himself; even went as far as to consider HIMSELF as king (even though Richard) still lived
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Basil Rathbone was probably the best fencer ever to star in movies. During WWI he was the British Army's fencing champion, and often coached fellow actors in the skills including Flynn, Tyrone Power and many others. He was the bad guy in 1940's "The Mark of Zorro" with Tyrone Power, which ends with one of the finest sword fights ever filmed. Rathbone wanted to be an actor from an early age but his father insisted that he try a "real job" for a year. Rathbone worked as a clerk in an insurance company...for exactly one year, then quit and signed on with a cousin's Shakespeare troupe. He left to serve in WWI in a Scottish regiment and won the Military Cross for bravery...and then went right back to acting on the stage. His first movie role was in 1921 in a silent film.
You have no idea how happy it makes to see more and more people reacting to classic hollywood. i'm 34 and love classic/old movies since i was a kid but most of my friends don't, so to see a new generation watching it is great.
I am in the same boat. I watch movies from the 30's and up but few people I know do except one co-worker who may have seen some but then again he is 70 so yeah. Kay is really awesome for being one of the very few reaction people who are willing to watch older films.
Same i am regarded by co-workers as the youngest old man one will ever know
Are…are you me? :-p
Maybe one day the reactors will go back to the OG swashbuckler, Douglas Fairbanks!
I’m 24 and convinced there will never be a better version.
I'm an OF too (62) and very glad to see reactions becoming a thing. Trying to get Popcorn in Bed to watch this!
Back then, fat-shaming wasn't even a thing; it was actually a GOOD sign if someone looked as portly as Friar Tuck.
This meant that the individual in question was being fed well; whereas with thin people, they thought it was a sign they were being starved. So, any jabs at Tuck's girth was just a joke between friends.
Some, if not all friars of that era were also known to be big (unless they were fasting)
Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland have great chemistry in all the movies they made together. She admitted that the 2 were in love but never had an actual relationship due to the fact that Flynn was married.
Crazy fact : Olivia de Haviland who played Maid Marian, died last year aged 104!
Sad. Fact: she was going to write Flynn a letter, expressing how she felt, but thought he'd think she too sentimental and silly. Then he died. She regretted it the rest of her life, I'm pretty sure.
One of the all-time Hollywood beauties. She, of course, went on to play Melanie in Gone With The Wind. She was a five-time Oscar nominee, and two-time winner.
104?!
Holy Crud, that's a long life to live
@@sadlobster1 And Flynn died 62 years before her. Time is a weird thing.
@@QuayNemSorr Both of my parents are older than he was
I've been obsessed with this movie since I was a kid and my dad recorded it on VHS. Literally to this day I can recite the lines of this movie, no movie brings me greater joy
I have always loved this movie since I was a little kid.
Me, too! It had bad guys that you actually _loved_ to hate! Basil Rathbone was suitably sinister as Sir Guy, of course. But, Claude Rains practically stole the show as Prince John. Especially during the archery tournament when he sounds like he's channeling _Bette Davis_ as he exclaims: "Ah! The tall tinker!" 🤣🤣🤣
Technicolor was the CGI of the late 1930's. And it was vivid...people loved it.
Great commentr, Kay. Its refreshing to hear someone of your generation who appreciates classic film without criticism.
Such a major American blockbuster and all the leads were non-American
South African born Englishman Basil Rathbone
Aussie Errol Flynn
Englishman Claude Rains
And, Englishwoman Olivia de Havilland who was actually born in Tokyo.
The director Michael Curtiz was born in Ausrro-Hungary as was Erich Wolfgang Korngold who composed the music - and who was saved from being butchered by the Nazis because he got to work in America for this film.
I think film historians would say Douglas Fairbanks Senior 'defined' the swashbuckler genre. Those were hits in the Silent Era but Errol Flynn brought an handsome level well beyond Fairbanks (Senior and Jr). Flynn was, like, Generation 2 of the Swashbucklers.
This film's use of Una O'Connor and Claude Rains renewed their film history (from 1933's INVISIBLE MAN) but this was also one of the few Una films where she wasn't squealing her head off.
@BuffaloC305 Well said. There is a sequence in the 1920 film _'The Mark of Zorro'_ where D.F. Senior exhibits a degree of athletic ability & stamina easily twice what I had when I was in my teens.
YES! Finally someone reacts to this! I've recommended it all over RUclips, and no one ever does it!
For me, this is one of the all-time feel-good movies. Sure, it's corny and cheesy, but it's sincere about it in a way that a lot of films just aren't anymore. This film believes in happy endings, and how can you dislike something like that?
In terms of other classic swashbucklers, the only other Errol Flynn one I've seen is 'Captain Blood', but he's pretty good in that. I would also recommend either the Tyrone Power 'Mark of Zorro' or, if you can find it, the original, silent one with Douglas Fairbanks, which features some quite astounding stunts. (Really, any Fairbanks film is worth seeking out in that regard - he was quite the athletic chappie.)
Oh, and, so long as the gods seem to be smiling on me - any chance of you reacting to 'The Great Mouse Detective' at some point? That's another one I've recommended all over the place, and no one has watched yet.
Great Mouse Detective... get out of my head! Just showed my kid that for the first time... damn I forgot it's super creepy at times lol
Fun fact, Maid Marian's palomino horse, named "Golden Cloud," went on to become a famous Western star as "Trigger," iconic horse of Roy Rogers.
Also, Dame Olivia de Havilland, who later became a household name as Melanie Wilkes in Gone With the Wind, also went down in legal history as the woman who broke the back of the studio system. De Havilland got tired of being typecast by the studio who owned her contract, and took them to court, where she argued they were intentionally sabotaging her career. She won her lawsuit, got free from her contract, and essentially destroyed a system in which actors/actresses were owned by studios, had to take whatever roles the studios ordered, and could only work for other employers through special agreements between studios. Dame Olivia is largely the reason that actors control their own careers.
My parents were Boomers. I watched a lot of old movies as a kid.
Roy Rogers was Leonard Franklin Slye, born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He had a very
difficult, poverty stricken childhood. Look it up at Wikipedia. And he didn't become a thug.
@@stratiogesdux As far as I know, the only time Roy Rogers played an outlaw was his very first acting role in a Western movie. But, that's only because the movie already starred Gene Autry as the hero!
You need to watch CAPTAIN BLOOD, THE SEA HAWK and the original TREASURE ISLAND.
Which treasure island is the original?
@@oaf-77
I'm referring to the 1934 version with Jackie Cooper, Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore, etc...
I was actually thinking about Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk. lol
All 3 excellent suggestions
She has a reaction to Captain Blood now. Check it out!
One of my all time favorite movies
It’s a shame about Basil Rathbone, he was actually one of the most legitimately talented swordsman in movies and never won a duel on screen, so he went to play Sherlock Holmes.
Try the Mark of Zorro (1940) starring Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone!
Yes Zorro 1940. 1820 "Swashbuckler". Another iconic sword fight between Basil Rathbone and Errol Flynn type (Tyrone Power). Also Fryer Tuck is another is a Padre. There is a color version but you won't find it on RUclips. I purchased the DVD.
@@daggarcia Same here I bought Zorro 1940 on dvd, and Basil also plays a similar roll as the hotheaded villain the hero fights at the end
She has a reaction to that film now. Check it out!
Also we had black and white tv till around 70 so everything was black and white hahaha
Very cool to see someone giving Flynn some love. I grew up watching old movies on a black and white television. This was always one of my favorites. You would probably enjoy Flynn's movie Captain Blood. I'd also like to recommend The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958).
Also "The Sea Hawk" & "The Adventures of Don Juan"...
Basil Rathbone was twice the fencing Champion of the British Army. He was the real deal.
Guy of Gisbourne was in one of the better known tales. He was essentially a knight who is paid to infiltrate Robin's ranks. He fails. Obviously they beef up the guy so Basil can be the really baddie they need to put up against our Hero!
Erroll and Olivia were such a dynamic couple. They made several movies together. Basil Rathbone was a trained swordsman. He was also the very best Sherlock Holmes. If you ever get the chance and you enjoy Sherlocks adventures, catch the series they did with Jeremy Brett as Holmes. He is IMHO the 2nd best Holmes
Basil Rathbone's sword fight with Tyrone Power in The Mark of Zorro is awesome. Check out Kay's reaction to that film.
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. Total respect to you for reacting to this one.
Flynn was so extra and so sassy. My favorite movies of his that I've seen are "Captain Blood" and "The Sea Hawk," both directed by Curtiz, the same director as this (and there are a lot of common actors amongst the movies).
My grandmother's cousin did a screen test with Errol in the 30's. Her name was Mary Maguire. She was one of the only Australians in Hollywood at the time. She had contracts with major studios. She even starred in a film with Ronald Reagan, Seargent Murphy.
a lot of the "fat shaming" is actually good natured banter, something that people have lost over the years,, he liked to test the strengths of his fighters he is trying to see if he can trust them, and fighting in the middle ages was the best way to judge a persons character
Yeah.... I'm going to disagree on that one. In this film, yes, but more often, no. "Good natured banter" can easily be used by assholes to degrade someone in a very snarky way. Can I tell the difference? Yes, I can.
In real life Basil Rathbone was a master swordsman and the best fencer in Hollywood.
I voted for this movie and I was fascinated with it every time I watched as a kid… I always think of Errol Flynn as Robin Hood.. or Weissmuller as Tarzan..
or an animated fox.. ;)
Me too
Alan Hale Sr who played Little John here and was a frequent co-star in Errol Flynn films was the father of Alan Hale Jr who played the Skipper on Gilligan's Island if you noticed the resemblance. Flynn was a truly legendary actor whose real life was nearly as wild as his movies. The unmentioned subtext of this 1938
film a year before the Nazis invaded Poland is how the tyranny of King John caused a revolt of his own English nobility who forced him to sign the Magna Carta which became the foundation of English common law and civil rights such as trial by jury.
Have you seen Desperate Journey with Flynn, Hale and Ronald Reagan?
@@beatmet2355 Oddly I don't think I've seen any of Reagan's films for some reason. I remember him mostly from Death Valley Days and as my Commander in Chief when I was in the 101st Airborne of course. :)
@@Texasjim2007 there’s clips of it on RUclips. It’s a war movie with a surprising amount of humor, considering it was made in 1942.
ruclips.net/video/_TkHs0pVHFI/видео.htmlsi=G9x6EkE2Y_e12NNj
Little John is Alan Hale father of the skipper on Gillian’s island
Rathbone was a real life expert with the sword
Amazing score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
If you want another trend-setting swashbuckler, try 1937's "The Man In The Iron Mask" with Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett, Warren Williams, and Alan Hale (Sr.).
The guard at 7:48 was played by stuntman Sol Gorss and was the first one of the stuntmen to be shot with a real arrow shot by expert archer Howard Hill. Since this was the first time it was done they Gorss later admitted they weren't 100% sure if he could hit the steel plate he was wearing under his cloths so the fear on his face wasn't just acting.
Dame Olivia de Havilland appeared in a 1939 classic called, "Gone With The Wind". She played the part of Melanie Wilkes.
Because so many great movies were made in between 1927 (the birth of the Talkies) & 1969 it was called Hollywood's Golden Age. 1939 in particular was a year filled with more outstanding movies than any other year: Stagecoach which made John Wayne a Mega Star, The Wizard Of Oz, GWTW, Beau Geste, Goodbye Mister Chips (I prefer the remake with Peter O'Toole & Petula Clark), Gunga Din, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Wuthering Heights and the list goes on and on. One actor, Thomas Mitchell had major rolls in FIVE 1939 classics: Stagecoach, for which he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, Gone With The Wind (Scarlett's father), The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Mister Smith Goes To Washington and Only Angels Have Wings.
We have been blessed with thousands of of good, great and fantastic movies, it's a pity we can't see them all.
For the uninitiated, keep an eye on that never-ending quiver of arrows (something I never noticed until I was older). This is in plain view when Robin first comes to Nottingham Castle to confront Prince John. Upon close inspection we can see he has five arrows in his quiver (with perhaps a sixth hidden behind others). During his escape from the castle he shoots 10 arrows, and when he hops on his horse to escape to Sherwood Forest, he still appears to have five arrows left. This is the Sherwood version of the 6 shot revolvers from 1930's western and gangster movies, which could often shoot 12-15 times without reloading.
Amazingly talented people made these movies back then. And you have to remember these movies were not meant to be realistic. They were meant to be exaggerations of reality. People back then knew what real death was like. This was escapism no different from Star Wars or reading romance novels. The characters were larger-than-life the color was more glorious than the real world. It was a different style but the people who made these movies knew the difference between reality and fantasy. These were fantasy pictures.
I love the way older movies are shot.
They actually feeeel like movies, whereas a lot of modern films are shot like music videos or commercials; an assault on the senses.
Not that it's a bad thing, I love lots of newer films, but sometimes you just wanna fall into an image, rather than being punched in the face repeatedly.
Any deer in Sherwood Forest--I believe--was considered belonging to the King. To kill one without permission was a no no.
a "forest" in medieval England specifically referred to an area set aside as a hunting preserve for royalty, and was indeed a cause of much resentment by the people who actually lived in those areas
Pretty much any wild game in all England was royal property and could only be hunted with the king's permission. The exception was wolves (when they existed), which, while considered game, were also considered enough of a pest that their eradication was encouraged of anyone who had the stamina to hunt them.
The guy Robin competed against is the guy who really split the arrow. It did it on his first attempt
One of my all time favourite films. Fantastic performances, gorgeous Technicolor, and an exciting score, all combine to make a film which still holds up almost a century later.
I’m so glad to see you reacting to classic films like this! I’ve been a classic film nut since I was a kid. And this is a winner. Beautiful looking film in its original Technicolor, plus the score by Erich Korngold is ICONIC. Like, it’s one of the musical scores people study in college and grad school.
Korngold claimed that Robin Hood saved his life (since he had a reason to leave Nazi Germany)!
When you watch this you begin to see where the jokes from Men in Tights come from. Men in tights is a mix of this and Prince of Thieves and before the 90s this and Disney were the two BIG best versions of Robin Hood. Sean Connery also did a good Robin Hood. And Robin Hood was also in Star Trek TNG
Now that I've seen this, I'm definitely gonna have to check out Men in Tights. People are begging me to do more Mel Brooks films
When i saw Men In Tights, I definitely got vibes from this movie and Prince of Thieves, like the Banquet Scene and the costumes of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. From PoT I got that from the beginning sequence, Achoo, Blinken, Latrine, and other moments.
Men in Tights is real good fun, but that Prince of Thieves is the worst Robin Hood film ever though. Typical Hollywood trying to make it more action, but fails on allmost every part.
@@leifgunnartoth8070 what ones are your favorites? I mean I like that film well enough, don't love it but there's not many Robin Hood films to compare to. and like one I saw recently was verry bad. like there were ninja and stuff.
@@sasamichan This one, The Adventures of Robin Hood, is my absolute favourite. Men in Tights is good fun, and I would say the 1991 film with Patrick Bergin is next. It puts a much darker tone on the story, without getting the hollywood vibe.
I think this version of Robin Hood is the best version ever made. I think this is the movie that really made Errol Flynn a big name.
Basil Rathbone plays a *magnificent* villain. Just the right amount of viciousness without chewing the scenery.
You might recognize Prince John as the man who played Senator Paine in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."
Claude Rains played Prince John and Sen. Paine.
I am so obsessed with this movie. It’s just such a perfect comfort film for me.
Commoners couldn't hunt deer in the middle ages. That was strictly reserved for the nobility.
Fun fact: Will Scarlett's horse, which was also Maid Marion's, was named Northern Star. It was later bought by Roy Rogers, renamed Trigger, and the rest was history.
Edit: my bad, Trigger was originally named Golden Cloud.
A much overlooked swashbuckler is "The Three Musketeers" from 1948 with Gene Kelly, Lana Turner, June Allyson, and Van Heflin.
I saw that the other day. Kind of uneven in tone, but some of the fight scenes with Gene Kelly are pretty amazing.
Have you seen "The Court Jester" starring Danny Kaye? It's loosely based on this, and even has Basil Rathbone in basically the same role.
This is by far the best Robin Hood movie ever which is hilarious because it’s also one of the first if not the first. I will say the Disney+ has a surprisingly good black-and-white version from the 50s that I really enjoyed. And I HATED the Russell Crowe version from 2010 because it just utterly and completely changed the story and mythology and who Robin Hood was and whatever. Like it wasn’t trying to be funny like Robin Hood Mennonites or that recent Jamie Foxx version Where it’s obviously being comedic or doing something different on purpose so I just couldn’t stand that version. After this one I would say the animated Disney is my second favorite. 😂
Captain Blood
The advent of color in the late 1930's just exploded movies and it was expensive. But to audiences, used to seeing black and white, it was awe inspiring. Technicolor was the CGI of its time. It's so iconic that it even found its way into later films with on screen comments about it. In 1994's "Interview with the Vampire," Brad Pitt's character, turned into a vampire in 1791 has two scenes which occur late in the film where he comments on how movies "gave him back the sunrise." In a second scene he is watching the end of "Gone with the Wind" and is blown away by the color and how he can experience daylight again vicariously.
Even today it is against the law to kill royal deers, in parks owned by the crown.
I like the guards and the one that dies at 7:48 is my favorite. He is one of the ones that Robin Hood beat up earlier with the dead deer so he has a score to settle. I like how you can see that he is scared but he has a look of determination on his face that says he will will do this or die trying. I like how he opens the door on his own and charges out he chooses to sacrifice himself so the other guards will have a chance to catch robin hood. It also appears that he thinks he has a chance at winning right up till he gets shot in the heart. At that point he realizes its all over but still puts up a short but intense fight against death before he falls down and dies. For a movie with a lot of over dramatic deaths the guard at 7:48 is the best.
The movie is a masterpiece on so many levels. This version of Robin Hood has always been my favorite. Errol Flynn *is* Robin Hood, the cockiness, the swordplay skills, it's just 10/10 all around. The music in this movie is also amazing, there's a motif (short theme) for each major character and depending who is in each scene, they are weaved together into a new song. This movie was made in the middle of the Great Depression, and composers were struggling with finding new ways to allow the public to experience their music. So many of them started going above and beyond on movie scores, this being one great example.
Also, few realize that Basil Rathbone (Sir Guy), in real life, was one of the best fencers in the world, so several of these swordfights are *so good* simply because you have a real-life expert in sword work fighting with Errol Flynn who stared in so many swashbuckling movies.
More swashbucklers:
Ivanhoe (1952) -has a Robin Hood connection
Scaramouche (1952) one of the best movies about sword fighting
Mark of Zorro (1940) More basil rasborne
And not a exactly a swashbuckler, but The Great Race (1965)
And Captain Blood, the first of many Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland collaborations also with Basil Rathbone as the villain!
Contrary to some modern depictions, the medieval world was in fact very colourful. People loved bright, colourful clothing and decoration, often bordering on what one might now label as gaudy.
Kay ur the best!
"The Mark Of Zorro" has much of the same cast as Robin Hood. They'd even wanted to get Errol Flynn for Zorro but could not. Tyrone Power was actually better suited to the role. Recommended.
The Mark of Zorro is an awesome film. She has a reaction to it now!
It was very influential in terms of film making for the next few decades. The original Star Wars trilogy has several clear references to it (and Flynn's 'The Sea Hawk'). Music, production design, editing and especially the forest ambush sequence. Movies ranging from Polanski's 'Priates' to the 1990's French 'Cyrano De Bergerac' were directly inspired by it (as confirmed by their directors). There are several other films that I just can't remember at the moment. Most of all Korngold's music was fundamental to the Hollywood adventure move music of the next 7 decades.
I never knew that Star Wars had references to The Adventures of Robin Hood in it. I'll have to take a look at Star Wars again.
In the Robin Hood stories, Guy of Gisbourne was essentially an assassin, hired specifically to kill Robin. He is depicted as cruel, murderous and brutal, wearing a horse's hide. In Howard Pyle's book, Robin Hood slays him, and is singularly unrepentant about it, judging him unfit to live. In the movie he has a much larger part. I genuinely applaud you for giving these old films a chance. You might like Danny Kaye's spoof, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓, also with Basil Rathbone. ruclips.net/video/m32BogcXq7k/видео.html
I also think that the court jester would be a great #kayrequests submission.
Guy is also responsible for killing Will Scarlet, so there's further reason Robin Hood is especially invested in killing the bounty hunter.
Will she remember that the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true?
the reason he bans him for the remainder of his life is because richard never really came back and prince john becomes king and signs the magna carta
Three of my favorite facts about the two main villain actors, Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains. 1) They were both in the same regiment in WWI (the London Scottish). 2) Basil Rathbone was acknowledged as one of the best fencers in Hollywood at the time, but since he played villains so much he only won, like, one or two swordfights on screen in his whole career. 3) Claude Rains was almost totally blind in his right eye, thanks to a gas attack in WWI.
Sherwood Forest is Bidwell Park in Chico California even the log was still over the creek when I was a kid I literally played in Sherwood Forest
Just found your channel. If you want more swashbucklers, my favorites are Scaramouche, starring Stewart Granger, The Court Jester, starring Danny Kaye (which is also hilarious), and the 1970s Three Musketeers with Michael York as D'Artagnan.
Also, try some classic Bogart films. Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, To Have or Have Not, and Key Largo.
The great part of the legend of Robin Hood was the fact that King Richard only spent about nine months of his entire life in England, couldn't speak English, bankrupted the kingdom, was the only King whose Queen never saw England. He died in France fighting...the French. He was taken prisoner on his return from the Second Crusade and held for ransom in Austria. Taking nobles for ransom was one of the primary ways to become rich in those days. His father, Henry II and his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine actually lead much more interesting lives and were the first Plantagenet rulers, not only of England but also most of the western part of what is today France...from Normandy on the Channel to the Spanish frontier.
The king always had the power of life and death over everyone in his realm. Everyone, especially the poor were basically slaves.
The 1930s were the great Depression where few had money. The movie companies withheld their best movie ideas for after the depression ended. But with Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havilland, Alan Hale, and Basil Rathbone they thought they had a good group, make a movie about a popular hero, and it should make money. In 1938, it was the most expensive movie ever made. The gamble paid off. It made more money than any movie to that time. It encouraged all movie studios to make their best movies and people would come. 1939 is considered Hollywood's greatest year. The Wizard of Oz came out in 1939. Although it won an Oscar for it's music ("Over the Rainbow"), the Wizard of Oz didn't actually break even for years. Like the Magnificent Seven and the Princess Bride, all three became classics because of tv.
Little John, the "staffer" at the bridge, is father of Alan Hale Jr, who was "The Skipper" in "Gilligan's Island." Hale Sr. was usually the comic-relief sidekick in many westerns and Hollywood costume dramas such as this one.
fun fact Mutch the Millers son was born in my home town, he was also in a tarzan movie he has one of the most Unique Looks
From what I understand, he was the only guy able to drink Errol Flynn under the table.
@@MrFarnanonical he is from my home town so ;) we are HEAVY drinkers in the town
The palomino horse Lady Marian is riding was a very well known horse in Hollywood and was named Golden Cloud. A certain up and coming cowboy star saw the horse and bought it. That "singing cowboy" was named Roy Rogers and he changed the horse's name to Trigger and was one of the heroes of Television in the 1950's. Lots of merch...I had a lunchbox with him and Trigger on the outside...back when schoolkids all brought their lunches to school.
Fun fact, Basil Rathbone also played the Son of the OG Dr. Frankenstein in the Universal Classic universe. and Claude Rains played the OG Invisible Man, and Una O'Connor who plays Marion's Nurse was also in a couple of Universal Monster films.
Filmed in Bidwell Park, Chico, CA.
Claude Rains played Prince John, Basil Rathbone played Guy of Gisborne, Alan Hale played Little John, Eugene Palette played Friar Tuck, Patrick Knowles plays Will Scarlet, Montague Love plays the bishops and I forget who played the Sheriff.
You like swashbucklers, you need to do the 'Three Musketeers' and 'The Four Musketeers' from the 1970s. Amazing pair of movies (more like one huge movie that was split into two).
TRIGGER!!!
Olivia de Haviland, the actress portraying Marian, was quite long-lived, passing last year (2020) at age 104. She remained an active actress until around 2009. A bit of historic trivia; the real Richard Lionheart was a rather crappy King, who spent very little of his reign in England, possible less than a year total.
Unfortunately, Richard only lived a year after returning to England which eventually placed Prince John on the throne. Of course a rebellion by the barons resulted in King John being forced to sign the Magna Carta. I'd liked to think that the new Baron of Locksley was one of those who forced King John to sign that pillar of human rights.
So much for the whole "exiled for the rest of his life" thing...
One of my favorite movies of all-time!
It's nice watching these classics with you. All of the reactors watching MCU movies over and over is kind of old.
Love this film,watched this as a kid,loved the swashbuckling and good-triumphs over -evil theme.Simple plot,easy to follow,nice action. All ages can watch,fueled my imagination and wanting to read-up on the life in the Middle Ages,knights,castles,etc,etc,..and film-making.
I love the old swashbuckler movies. It's amazing that almost a century later this still holds up.
If you haven't heard of it I heartly recommend The Crimson Pirate, 1952 with Burt Lancaster. To my mind way better than The Pirates of the Caribbean films. Although the first one runs it close.
Lancaster, and Nick Cravat from The Crimson Pirate had done a previous swashbuckler, a Robin Hood variation called The Flame and The Arrow, set in mediaeval Italy. That one was clearly inspired by The Adventures of Robin Hood. The Crimson Pirate is the better of the two.
I also would heartly recommend 1937 version of The Prisoner of Zenda.
Basil Rathbone was just reaching his peak here. He had done another Errol Flynn swashbuckler, Captain Blood, a few years before, and in the next year he would do both Son of Frankenstein (which is one of the best of the series, with not only Boris Karloff’s last portrayal of the monster, but Bela Lugosi as Ygor) and The Hound of the Baskervilles, which was the first of the Sherlock Holmes movies.
I think a lot of the Robin Hood story in this movie seems to be lifted from its adaptation in Ivanhoe. (Also a worthwhile movie. Worth watching if only for Elizabeth Taylor as Rebecca.)
This print you are watching is beautiful. Amazing fun and reaction.
Guy of Gisborne was in the legends, but was a relatively minor character. He was a kind of spy/traitor who joined Robin's band with the intent of betraying him for the bounty. But they puffed him up so Basil Rathbone would have a more flashy role.
One of my favorite movies. One thing you can say about (Errol Flynn) Robin Hood..this cat got balls.
Swashbuckler?!
This is the ONE!!!!
Errol was the archetype!!!
Watch Peter O’Toole do an older, drunk take on an Errol Flynn-type in the wonderfully sweet MY FAVORITE YEAR!!!
Such a great movie
I wouldn’t technically call this an old swashbuckler. To me those are more of the ones with Errol Flynn at sea as a pirate or ship’s Captain. Movies such as ‘Captain Blood’, or ‘The Sea Hawk’. Both very good movies. Prince John is played by Claude Rains, who you saw in Casablanca as police Captain Louis Renault. Little John is played by Alan Hale, Flynn’s drinking buddy and father of the Skipper on Gilligan’s Island Alan Hale Jr.
I see you’ve just watched this Michael Curtiz classic. Try looking at some of his other films like Casablanca, Mystery of the Wax Museum, Doctor X, Captain Blood, Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Sea Hawk, Angels with Dirty Faces, Mildred Pierce, The Charge of the Light Brigade, My Dream is Yours and White Christmas.
Watched this growing up in the sixties always a fun movie thanks for sharing your reaction!
Basil Rathbone was an accomplished swordsman and he's the antagonist in two other classics: 'Captain Blood', opposite Errol Flynn again, and 'The Mask of Zorro' against Tyrone Power. He always said the one opponent he was always afraid of was Errol Flynn, not because Flynn was a great swordsman, but because he was so awful. Flynn would constantly miss his cues and when you've got a choreographed fight, that's no bueno.
Balderdash.
The Thin Man - best chemistry between two actors ever Myrna Loy and William Powell.
This came out 3 years prior to Wizard of Oz in 35. It's the first three- tone Technicolor movie.
Technicolor was still very new at that point, and studios made a point of creating visual feasts. We saw something similar when color tv became more common in the mid 1960s. That's one reason Star Trek survived so long, despite its terrible ratings. The color palate was stunning.
This movie was normal in depicting on screen deaths. We didn't see a change until Sergio Leone produced his "Fistful" trilogy with Clint Eastwood in the mid 60s. American directors began to imitate him. Sam Peckinpah's Wild Bunch in 1969 became infamous for its bloody & realistic gun deaths.
... Richard really was held ransom at one point, with people all across England were asked to contribute to his ransom. Churches melted down part of their gold & silver decorations. It was considered a holy obligation to free a captured Crusader. And yes, John in real life kept a large part of what he collected for himself. Richard was amazingly trusting with his brother, despite the evidence of his guilt.
... Robin in this movie was right about Richard. The king spent most of his reign in wars against France or the paynim in the Crusades. He would have done better to stay at home, but at that time English kings had holdings in England & Normandy, if not elsewhere. To them & their nobles the lands in France were at least a important as England. Norman French was still the language of the aristocracy.
"What defines the King's deer?"
I know it was probably spoken in jest, as they said back in Robin's day. But to answer your question, the forests within the land a king's rule is considered "his" territory. As such, anything there is claimed as the monarch's property; including the wildlife.
At least...that is what Prince John proclaimed as law, he just wanted more lands and territory for himself; even went as far as to consider HIMSELF as king (even though Richard) still lived
There were smaller, subtler films in the thirties, but when these films went big, they went BIG.
I *love* this movie. the 1967 "Taming of the Shrew" with Liz Taylor would also be a great classic to do sometime
Now watch The Mark of Zorro 😊
She has a great reaction to that film now!
This movie was made in 1938 and was one of the first Technicolor movies ever made.