The Adventures of Robin Hood (ARH) was so ahead of its time in 1938 that despite wildly swinging experimentation in the wake of silent movies it still got its emoting just right. Everything, incl the pacing, is conspicuously contemporary. It never underestimated its audiences. Consequently ARH established filmmaking conventions forever more.<br /><br />Alan Hale, Eugene Pallette (Friar Tuck) and Basil Rathbone, along with Flynn and deHavilland, all strike us as supremely comfortable within their Medieval characters. Unfortunately, the elderly-but-naive/socially impaired characters, Much (Herbert Mundin) and Bess (Una O'Connor), look awkward. Much&Bess' romance isn't believable. Mundin's acting never seems to flow, while O'Connor is embarrassingly overripe. Claude Rains, too, is just so stiff that he LOOKS like a mere vehicle for delivering lines-watch him as he swivels his head and pours the wine. I wonder if he ever `thought of working carnivals'! (Sorry, that's a nod to the hilarious Dr Poole from Oscar (1991)). After 64 yrs I'm not making excuses for Claude Rains!<br /><br />Otherwise, ARH is full of terrific peripheral performances which substantiate the story. Some, eg Hale's spontaneous reactions as Little John, nearly went uncaptured due to the fadeouts. The editor very nearly pared back too far! This became Hale's career-making role, and he's terrific.<br /><br />The rich, lush colour, the rousing music, and the astonishingly contemporary crane-and-dolly shot of the castle dinner, as well as the shadow-swashbuckling, all contribute to our fondness for the Medieval legend. That establishing dolly shot, with its attention to detail (eg the feasting dog), is JUST breathtaking. Ralph Dawson (Editing, won), Carl Jules Weyl (Art Director, won); Tony Gaudio & Sol Polito (Photography); and Erich Korngold (Music, won) all deserved Oscars.<br /><br />ARH (screenplay by Norman Raine & Seton Miller) is the dramatic and credible story of an attempted coup stemming from a siblings' squabble. The King's treacherous brother, Prince John (Claude Rains), felt his ego belittled when denied the Regency of England during the King's absence. He became `bitterly resentful', so he summarily `kicked Longchamps (the appointed Regent) out'-an announcement heard by Robin Hood, cementing his resolve to oppose the traitor.<br /><br />Errol Flynn smoulders in green tights (the whole point of tights was to accentuate men's...erm...virility). Mel Brooks was right; those Merry Men were probably just good `sports' (swingers). But effeminate? -Aw, no, baby.<br /><br />Errol and Olivia had such obvious chemistry that their romance is completely believable to this day....but Robin is reckless: during the Gisborne dinner he gatecrashes, he ends up proselytising about the ransom being used NOT to reclaim the King, but as bribe-money for Prince John to buy himself the throne. Inside the lion's den, Robin first provokes the lion and then makes his escape relying on nothing but his instincts! I'm afraid I found that too reckless to be heroic. (Reckless Robin will strike again.)<br /><br />In the meantime, the speed with which he and Marian decide they're on the same side is perfect, and the pacing of their affair has made this a classic of romance as well as high adventure. Olivia played Maid Marian as demure, but smart enough to figure out the truth about her own kind. In her disdain for the arrogant-and-obnoxious Sir Guy (Rathbone), we discern her personal ethics, for soon afterwards she is first provoked by then falls for the arrogant-yet-charismatic Robin, who `loves a man who can best (him)'-the antithesis of Sir Guy. `It's injustice I hate, not the Normans', confesses the very Saxon Robin of Loxley to the skeptical and still very Norman Marian.<br /><br />King Richard had wanted to unite the Normans and the Saxons into a nation. In his absence, his bad-seed brother instead stirs up hatred between those `classes', just to put himself at the top (of the wealthier group, of course). This is frequently the self-serving means by which a megalomaniac scrabbles to the top. And check out the Bishop (Montagu Love)'s spin-doctored counteraccusation of Robin of the very same thing!<br /><br />The ringleaders of the coup appear to be Sir Guy (the handler) and Prince John (basically a cheap opportunist/"junkyard dog"). The famous Sheriff of Nottingham, surprisingly, is played by Melville Cooper as a simple coward! His manner as he nuts out his idea of holding the archery contest to trap Robin is Cooper's best, most realistic scene (although it's hard to believe that Reckless Robin walks into such an obvious trap).<br /><br />Imitation being the highest form of flattery, ARH was spoofed in 1956 as The Court Jester, inspired by the scene in which Robin jokes with Marian up in her tower about King Richard making Robin his court jester. When Errol is recruiting Merry Men, he exclaims, `We need good swordsmen. Good archers. Good fighters!': in CJ, this became `Good stock. Good battle. Good-bye!' Many elements were reworked for CJ-none more obviously than the re-casting of Rathbone 18yrs later, again as the bad guy. Both versions are classics-and stylistically there is nothing between them.<br /><br />My `secret' fav. scene here is the flying arrow which snuffs out a candleflame(!) as the guard is shot in the back, at 24:40mins.<br /><br />Beyond that, the whole 1938 movie completely satisfies our need for drama. Ian Hunter's sensitive depiction of the returning King Richard, for instance, brings a tear to the eye when he assures Robin Hood,<br /><br />`You don't need to search for Richard; he's in good hands, the best in England.' `-Whaddyou mean? Where is he?' demands Robin. `HERE!' cries the King, disrobing, and gobsmacking his protector-and us too (but with emotion instead of surprise).<br /><br />Sadly, the crucial scene of Marian overhearing the plot to assassinate Richard lacks credibility. She's in Prince John's line of sight, moving(!) in that silver dress, so as to draw the eye. If we can see her, so can he-which makes all the fuss about her secretly rounding the corner quite ridiculous. Curtiz&Keighley should've storyboarded (better)!!<br /><br />Despite such quibbles, I can't NOT rate The Adventures of Robin Hood 10/10. These quibbles just aren't important enough to downgrade such a classic.