When King Richard the Lionheart is captured, his scheming brother Prince John (Claude Rains) plots to reach the throne, to the outrage of Sir Robin of Locksley (Errol Flynn), the bandit king of Sherwood Forest. Rounding up his band of men and eventually winning the support of the lovely Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland), Robin accuses Prince John of treachery and, when the escaped Richard returns covertly to England, joins forces with the king to prevent Prince John from taking the crown.
I’m almost positive that everyone knows the story of Robin Hood. He’s one of those characters who has permeated pop culture and can safely be called a cultural icon. Because of that, I’m not going to do a deep dive into the story. What I want to do instead is explain how this movie makes me feel. I want to, in my own feeble way, capture how this film spoke to my soul from the moment Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood appeared on screen.
I honestly couldn’t tell you how old I was (fairly young still), where in the house or apartment I was (probably the living room, but who knows), or even which state we were living in the first time I saw this movie. That last one I can probably narrow down to Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, or California. We moved and traveled a lot while I was growing up. We lived with a biker gang in Spokane, with a Tongan family in California before becoming homeless, and eventually with a carnival that moved every two weeks, only settling down during the winter months. We did that for three years, right up until I started high school.
We moved too much for me to make friends. Actually, I need to amend that: we moved too much for me to learn how to make friends. For most of my childhood, I struggled to form true connections with kids my own age because I was never around long enough. That constant moving pushed me toward books and movies for companionship. In their own way, they socialized me more than any other childhood influence I had.
I’m telling you all of this to explain why I had such an “oversized” reaction to this movie. I do remember lying on the floor—my favorite viewing spot for years—and becoming completely enraptured. There was something magnetic about Errol Flynn. Maybe it was his smirk that made his eyes light up with mischief, or his larger-than-life personality that made his 6’2” frame feel ten feet tall. Whatever it was, he had me hooked.
If you’d asked me my favorite part back then, I would have said the sword fights. Don’t get me wrong: the epic duel with Sir Guy of Gisborne (played by the equally mesmerizing Basil Rathbone) still amazes me. As the battle moves down the stairs, I still get goosebumps. That scene is perfectly executed—from the camera angles to the lighting. It’s a brilliant piece of filmmaking.
As a teenager, and into my college years, I would have told you it was Robin’s relationship with Maid Marian that captured me most. Around that time, I started to develop an unrealistic expectation of love. I believed the movies when they told us there was one person out there who was your true match. That you’d meet, fall in love, and stay together forever. That no obstacle could beat the power of love. I wanted what Robin and Marian had, and their chemistry was palpable. I figured if they could survive Prince John, I’d have no problem finding my own great love and everything would fall into place.
At 49 years old, I can’t even begin to guess how many times I’ve seen this movie. Definitely double digits. The awe I felt the first time hasn’t faded; if anything, it’s grown. Now I can appreciate the artistry as much as the action. Back then, my focus was mostly on Flynn’s legs and the swashbuckling, but I see now how every aspect of the film is perfectly crafted. It’s easy to understand why it was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1955.
If you’ve never seen this movie, please do. If it’s been a while, consider a rewatch—and then come back and tell me what you think.
As a side note: I’ve reread everything I just wrote, and I’m not sure I’ve fully expressed how much I love this movie or what it means to me. But at some point, I just need to stop typing and let it stand. I hope I’ve managed even a little of what I set out to do. Either way, I hope you give it a chance.
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