Robin Hood
Retro Robin

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Retro Robin

Retro Robin

Adaptations of Robin Hood have been around almost as long as cinema itself. From Errol Flynn (that costume!) to Richard Greene (that theme tune!) to Kevin Costner (that accent!), we pay homage to the 10 most iconic outlaws ever to scurry out from the shadows of Sherwood Forest...

Images

  • (Top of the page, left to right)
  • Errol Flynn in the 1938 romp
  • Patrick Troughton as TV's first Hood
  • Kevin Costner in 1991's Prince of Thieves
  • (Right) Douglas Fairbanks in the 1922 movie.

Robin Hood (1922)

Robin made his first screen appearance in a silent film of 1908, but practically nobody's seen that so we'll begin with the 1922 epic featuring Douglas Fairbanks as a brave, flamboyant but undeniably podgy prince of thieves. Waist size aside, he proved an admirable outlaw and it's really because of Fairbanks that Robin's been a film and TV staple ever since. Which is pretty impressive, given his initial reluctance to play a "flat-footed Englishman walking through the woods."

Robin Rating: 9/10. The first film to really capture the spirit of Robin Hood.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Fairbanks was the screen Robin until 1938, when Errol Flynn rudely stole his feathered hat. Flynn based his portrayal on his predecessor's, but he had technology on his side. While Fairbanks battled in black and white, Flynn romped along in full colour – all the better to show off his natty green tights. Couple that with an amazing climactic duel (possibly the most famous swordfight in film history) and you have the quintessential Robin Hood film that inspired and influenced all that came after.

Robin Rating: 10/10. In a word: definitive. Errol Flynn did for Robin Hood what Bela Lugosi did for Dracula.

Robin Hood (1953)

It's fitting that Sam Troughton is an outlaw in the latest Robin Hood TV series, as his grandfather Patrick Troughton was actually the first man to portray Robin on the small screen. Unfortunately, this BBC series wasn't actually very good. Lasting just six episodes, it was a cheap and rickety production and Patrick himself – while he'd go on to play a spiffing Doctor Who – was no Errol Flynn in the swashbuckling stakes.

Robin Rating: 4/10. As creaky as a medieval door, but it was TV's first stab at Robin Hood, so we can forgive it. Sort of.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955)

It may have come just two years after the Troughton series, but this telly take on Robin Hood was a very different quiver of arrows. Despite also being a British production, it was made to sell to the American market and therefore didn't look completely rubbish. Richard Greene was almost as dashing as Errol Flynn, and then there was the theme tune, which has been parodied ever since: "Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen... Robin Hood, Robin Hood, with his band of men..."

Robin Rating: 7/10. Derivative of the Flynn and Fairbanks films, but a thigh-slapping, rip-roaring series nevertheless.

Disney's Robin Hood (1973)

The first Disney film to be made after Walt departed for the big theme park in the sky, Robin Hood is still sublime viewing today, mainly because the animal versions of the regular characters are all dead on. Robin is a dashing fox, Little John a big cuddly bear, and – best of all – we have Prince John in the guise of a prissy, buffoonish lion voiced by the great Peter Ustinov. Who needs CGI, eh?

Robin Rating: 7/10. A merry and surprisingly faithful adaptation of the Hood legend.
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