The Adventures of Robin Hood - The Complete First Season

For those not fortunate enough to have grown up with these shows, Richard Greene is probably the second-best Robin Hood ever (Errol Flynn being number one). The rest of the cast all seem right for their roles, too. Stretching the Robin Hood legend out over more than 120 episodes may seem to be a daunting proposition, but each one of these episodes is at the very least a pleasant way to spend half an hour, and the stories are always true to the spirit of the legend.

So what do you get in this set? All 39 episodes of the first season on 3 single-sided discs (not 4 as Amazon currently states), so the eagle-eyed among us will see some artifacts resulting from that much compression. Mill Creek has pulled from a variety of sources: some very worn films, and apparently some previous video releases (even, I suspect, some European releases). You get to see a couple of original sponsor messages (Wild Rood Cream Oil and BandAids) and you are occasionally informed that "this film was flown from Europe to the US via Pan Am", with a CBS logo or two. There are also a couple of syndication prints in which the title of the show was changed to "Richard Greene plays Robin Hood in Adventures in Sherwood Forest".

Because of the way this set was put together, the physical quality of the shows varies greatly. Some are very dark, others are too contrasty or blown out, and several have a heavy green tint to them. The ones that appear to be sourced from European videos have the best picture quality, but often have a distracting twinkling line on the left edge of the picture (which you may not see, depending on your DVD player and TV set). This set cannot hold a candle to the quality of the DVDs released in the UK, but you'd pay much more for the UK sets.

All in all, for the price, most people will be happy with this set, and Richard Greene's portrayal of Robin Hood is worth seeing. Videophiles or devotees of this series will have to have the outstanding UK DVDs, though.

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD was a half-hour British TV show designed for American export. Its target audience was children, so "Robin" aired on the CBS-TV network, Monday nights at 7:30. The series lasted four seasons, from 9/26/55 to 11/12/60. Cast members of "Robin Hood" often appeared in multiple roles and regular characters were at times portrayed by different actors.
The cast for season #1 (the scope of this DVD set) included:

Richard Greene (Robin Hood)
Donald Pleasence (Prince John)
Rufus Cruikshank (Little John)
Alan Wheatley (Sheriff of Nottingham)
Alexander Gauge (Friar Tuck)
Ian Hunter (Sir Richard)
Bernadette O'Farrell (Maid Marian Fitzwater)
Gillian Sterret (Lady Genevieve)
Paul Eddington (Will Scarlet O'Winchester)

NOTEWORTHY:
Best known to modern audiences is Donald Pleasence (Prince John), who had an extensive film career, particularly in the horror and action genres.
Jane Asher (Paul McCartney's girlfriend during his "Beatlemania" days) and her brother Peter (half of the 60's folk-rock duo "Peter & Gordon") both appear in episode #28 ("Children of the Greenwood"). Peter also guests in episode #13 ("The Youingest Outlaw").


SYNOPSIS for THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD:
While he is off fighting the Crusades, King Richard charges Robin and his men with the protection of his kingdom. Robin's chief protagonist is the wily Prince John.

The following 39 season #1 episodes are sequential by original airdate.
Also included are chapter titles and primary guest stars.

The Coming of Robin Hood (9/26/55) - Susan Richards/Norman Macowan/Willoughby Gray
The Money Lender (10/3/55) - Bruce Seton/Leo McKern/Kenneth Edwards
Dead or Alive (10/10/55) - John Rutland/Agnes Bernelle
Friar Tuck (10/17/55) - Leslie Phillips/Douglas Wilmer/Faith Bailey
Maid Marian (10/24/55) - Marie Burke/Shaun Noble/David Edwards
A Guest for the Gallows (10/31/55) - Denis Shaw/Robert Desmond/Jan Miller
The Challenge (11/7/55) - John Drake
Queen Eleanor (11/14/55) - Jill Esmond/Ballard Berkeley/Gerald Cross
Checkmate (11/21/55) - Leslie Phillips/Alastair Hunter/Victor Woolf
The Ordeal (11/28/55) - Dorothy Alison/Alfie Bass
A Husband for Marian (12/5/55) - Brian Worth/Thora Hird/A. J. Brown/Paul Connell
The Highlander (12/12/55) - Hugh McDermott/Willoughby Gray
The Youngest Outlaw (12/19/55) - Bruce Seton/Peter Asher
The Betrothal (12/26/55) - Philip Guard/Jennifer Jayne/Charles Stapley
The Alchemist (1/2/56) - Anthony Sharp/Harriette Johns/Dorothy Blythe/Joyce Blair
The Jongleur (1/9/56) - Peter Hammond/Charles Lamb
The Brothers (1/16/56) - Michael Brill/A. J. Brown
The Intruders (1/23/56) - Michael McKeag/Ian Whittaker/John Longden
The Sheriff's Boots (1/30/56) - Joan Sims/Kenneth Edwards/Elsie Wagstaff
Errand of Mercy (2/6/56) - Hal Osmond/Paula Byrne/Arthur Skinner
The Vandals (2/13/56) - Ingeborg Wells/Miriam McCormick/Gabriel Toyne
Richard the Lion-Heart (2/20/56) - Patrick Barr/Muriel Young
Ladies of Sherwood (2/27/56) - Walter Hudd/Laurie Main/Simone Lovell
Will Scarlet (3/5/56) - Jennifer Jayne
The Deserted Castle (3/12/56) - Jill Esmond/John Stuart
The Miser (3/19/56) - Larry Naismith/Patricia Marmont/Paul Connell
Trial By Battle (3/26/56) - Hal Osmond/Nicholas Parsons/Barry Shawzin
Children of the Greenwood (4/2/56) - Jane Asher/Peter Asher
The May Queen (4/9/56) - Ian Bannen/Dulcie Bowman
The Wanderer (4/16/56) - Karel Stepanek/Paula Byrne
The Byzantine Treasure (4/23/56) - William Squire/John Stuart/Paul Connell
Secret Mission (4/30/56) - Patrick Barr/Paul Connell
The Inquisitor (5/7/56) - Lloyd Pearson/Wolf Morris/David Edwards/Timothy Brooking
Tables Turned (5/14/56) - Anne Davey/Andrew de la Motte/Nora Gordon/Helen Forrest
The Traitor (5/21/56) - Hugh Latimer/Marie Burke/Helen Forrest
The Thorkil Ghost (5/28/56) - Barbara Mullen/Ian Whittaker/Michael McKeag/Sandy Lyle
The Knight Who Came to Dinner (6/4/56) - Robin Bailey/Frank Royd
The Wager (6/11/56) - Geoffrey Keen/George Rose/Leonard Sharp/John Watson/Ann Gudrun
The Prisoner (7/9/56) - Jack Melford/Valerie Cardew/Doris Nolan


Although no sign of restoration is apparent, transfer quality of MCE's public domain TV show films is uniformly good. Another interesting British-made television program from this era is SHERLOCK HOLMES - The Complete Series, also available from MILL CREEK ENTERTAINMENT at a bargain price.

It's been years since I've seen any of this show but it was one of my favorites when we got our first TV in 1955. I enjoyed the show thru its original run and liked it in reruns. I'm generally happy with what I've watched on the DVD set of Season 1 so far, and even remember one or two of the episodes. I got a kick seeing Leo McKern in the 1st two episodes, as two different characters, and was amazed to find this was his very first work on the small screen. At any rate, while the opening credits are often dark or grainy, the picture and sound transfer of most episodes seems pretty good and easy to watch. The only negative is the fact that the closing credits don't always match the episode they follow. I've seen this on two episodes so far--in both cases the names of the characters don't match the characters in the episode and on one of them the copyright date was wrong. As long as the episodes themselves are watchable I guess I won't let that bother me too much. I don't know if you would enjoy this if you never saw the series before, but as nostalgia, if you remember the show, it is a good watch, especially for the more than reasonable price.

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