Sword of Sherwood Forest

Sword of Sherwood Forest is a 1960 British Technicolor adventure film in MegaScope directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Film Productions. Richard Greene reprises the role of Robin Hood, which he played in The Adventures of Robin Hood on TV from 1955 to 1959.

Sword of Sherwood Forest
Directed byTerence Fisher
Written byAlan Hackney
StarringRichard Greene
Sarah Branch
Peter Cushing
Music byAlun Hoddinott
CinematographyKen Hodges
Edited byLee Doig
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
26 December 1960
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office1,229,879 admissions (France)[1]

Plot summary

The Sheriff of Nottingham (Peter Cushing) plans to confiscate the estate of the Lord of Bawtry, a nobleman who has died on Crusade. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Hubert Walter (Jack Gwillim), speaks against this plan and the Sheriff plots to eliminate him. Robin Hood is asked to undertake the assassination of the Archbishop for the plotters, led by the Earl of Newark (Richard Pasco) and Lord Melton (Oliver Reed), but on realising who the intended target is, resolves to help the Archbishop instead.

Maid Marian (Sarah Branch) also wants to meet the Archbishop so she can grant freedom to the family of a man murdered by the Sheriff's men, and she is also keen to meet Robin again who she met when she thought he was a common outlaw, but now realises he is on the side of good.

Main cast

Cast notes
  • Apart from Greene, none of the original cast from The Adventures of Robin Hood appear in the film.

Reception

The film earned generally favourably reviews and became a sleeper hit.

The New York Times wrote, "It's business as usual, but hold on. Alan Hackney's script and Terence Fisher's direction keep the incidents jouncing...a nicely tinted Sherwood Forest is as pretty as could be, and Sarah Branch is certainly the curviest Lady Marian we've ever seen. Mr. Greene is aptly limber, and Peter Cushing, Richard Pasco and an unidentified "Archbishop of Canterbury" are excellent."[2]

Sword of Sherwood Forest currently holds a three star rating (6.4/10) on IMDb.

Score

The film's music was composed by Alun Hoddinott, with songs by Stanley Black.[3]

Production

While most Hammer films of that period were filmed at the company's permanent home at Bray Studios, Sword of Sherwood Forest was made at Ardmore Studios in Bray, County Wicklow, in Ireland.

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References
  1. Box office information for Terence Fisher films in France at Box office Story
  2. "MOVIE REVIEW Double Bill Opens - NYTimes.com". movies.nytimes.com.
  3. http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b77d490
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