You have no idea how happy it makes to see more and more people reacting to classic hollywood. i'm 34 and love classic/old movies since i was a kid but most of my friends don't, so to see a new generation watching it is great.

Crazy fact : Olivia de Haviland who played Maid Marian, died last year aged 104!

Back then, fat-shaming wasn't even a thing; it was actually a GOOD sign if someone looked as portly as Friar Tuck. This meant that the individual in question was being fed well; whereas with thin people, they thought it was a sign they were being starved. So, any jabs at Tuck's girth was just a joke between friends. Some, if not all friars of that era were also known to be big (unless they were fasting)

I've been obsessed with this movie since I was a kid and my dad recorded it on VHS. Literally to this day I can recite the lines of this movie, no movie brings me greater joy

Fun fact, Maid Marian's palomino horse, named "Golden Cloud," went on to become a famous Western star as "Trigger," iconic horse of Roy Rogers. Also, Dame Olivia de Havilland, who later became a household name as Melanie Wilkes in Gone With the Wind, also went down in legal history as the woman who broke the back of the studio system. De Havilland got tired of being typecast by the studio who owned her contract, and took them to court, where she argued they were intentionally sabotaging her career. She won her lawsuit, got free from her contract, and essentially destroyed a system in which actors/actresses were owned by studios, had to take whatever roles the studios ordered, and could only work for other employers through special agreements between studios. Dame Olivia is largely the reason that actors control their own careers. My parents were Boomers. I watched a lot of old movies as a kid.

I think film historians would say Douglas Fairbanks Senior 'defined' the swashbuckler genre. Those were hits in the Silent Era but Errol Flynn brought an handsome level well beyond Fairbanks (Senior and Jr). Flynn was, like, Generation 2 of the Swashbucklers. This film's use of Una O'Connor and Claude Rains renewed their film history (from 1933's INVISIBLE MAN) but this was also one of the few Una films where she wasn't squealing her head off.

Very cool to see someone giving Flynn some love. I grew up watching old movies on a black and white television. This was always one of my favorites. You would probably enjoy Flynn's movie Captain Blood. I'd also like to recommend The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958).

Flynn was so extra and so sassy. My favorite movies of his that I've seen are "Captain Blood" and "The Sea Hawk," both directed by Curtiz, the same director as this (and there are a lot of common actors amongst the movies).

YES! Finally someone reacts to this! I've recommended it all over KZfaq, and no one ever does it! For me, this is one of the all-time feel-good movies. Sure, it's corny and cheesy, but it's sincere about it in a way that a lot of films just aren't anymore. This film believes in happy endings, and how can you dislike something like that? In terms of other classic swashbucklers, the only other Errol Flynn one I've seen is 'Captain Blood', but he's pretty good in that. I would also recommend either the Tyrone Power 'Mark of Zorro' or, if you can find it, the original, silent one with Douglas Fairbanks, which features some quite astounding stunts. (Really, any Fairbanks film is worth seeking out in that regard - he was quite the athletic chappie.) Oh, and, so long as the gods seem to be smiling on me - any chance of you reacting to 'The Great Mouse Detective' at some point? That's another one I've recommended all over the place, and no one has watched yet.

Try the Mark of Zorro (1940) starring Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone!

a lot of the "fat shaming" is actually good natured banter, something that people have lost over the years,, he liked to test the strengths of his fighters he is trying to see if he can trust them, and fighting in the middle ages was the best way to judge a persons character

You need to watch CAPTAIN BLOOD, THE SEA HAWK and the original TREASURE ISLAND.

I voted for this movie and I was fascinated with it every time I watched as a kid… I always think of Errol Flynn as Robin Hood.. or Weissmuller as Tarzan..

My grandmother's cousin did a screen test with Errol in the 30's. Her name was Mary Maguire. She was one of the only Australians in Hollywood at the time. She had contracts with major studios. She even starred in a film with Ronald Reagan, Seargent Murphy.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies. Total respect to you for reacting to this one.

It’s a shame about Basil Rathbone, he was actually one of the most legitimately talented swordsman in movies and never won a duel on screen, so he went to play Sherlock Holmes.

I have always loved this movie since I was a little kid.

The guard at 7:48 was played by stuntman Sol Gorss and was the first one of the stuntmen to be shot with a real arrow shot by expert archer Howard Hill. Since this was the first time it was done they Gorss later admitted they weren't 100% sure if he could hit the steel plate he was wearing under his cloths so the fear on his face wasn't just acting.

Basil Rathbone was probably the best fencer ever to star in movies. During WWI he was the British Army's fencing champion, and often coached fellow actors in the skills including Flynn, Tyrone Power and many others. He was the bad guy in 1940's "The Mark of Zorro" with Tyrone Power, which ends with one of the finest sword fights ever filmed. Rathbone wanted to be an actor from an early age but his father insisted that he try a "real job" for a year. Rathbone worked as a clerk in an insurance company...for exactly one year, then quit and signed on with a cousin's Shakespeare troupe. He left to serve in WWI in a Scottish regiment and won the Military Cross for bravery...and then went right back to acting on the stage. His first movie role was in 1921 in a silent film.

For the uninitiated, keep an eye on that never-ending quiver of arrows (something I never noticed until I was older). This is in plain view when Robin first comes to Nottingham Castle to confront Prince John. Upon close inspection we can see he has five arrows in his quiver (with perhaps a sixth hidden behind others). During his escape from the castle he shoots 10 arrows, and when he hops on his horse to escape to Sherwood Forest, he still appears to have five arrows left. This is the Sherwood version of the 6 shot revolvers from 1930's western and gangster movies, which could often shoot 12-15 times without reloading.

I’m so glad to see you reacting to classic films like this! I’ve been a classic film nut since I was a kid. And this is a winner. Beautiful looking film in its original Technicolor, plus the score by Erich Korngold is ICONIC. Like, it’s one of the musical scores people study in college and grad school.

I love the way older movies are shot. They actually feeeel like movies, whereas a lot of modern films are shot like music videos or commercials; an assault on the senses. Not that it's a bad thing, I love lots of newer films, but sometimes you just wanna fall into an image, rather than being punched in the face repeatedly.

One of my all time favourite films. Fantastic performances, gorgeous Technicolor, and an exciting score, all combine to make a film which still holds up almost a century later.

When you watch this you begin to see where the jokes from Men in Tights come from. Men in tights is a mix of this and Prince of Thieves and before the 90s this and Disney were the two BIG best versions of Robin Hood. Sean Connery also did a good Robin Hood. And Robin Hood was also in Star Trek TNG

Any deer in Sherwood Forest--I believe--was considered belonging to the King. To kill one without permission was a no no.

Amazingly talented people made these movies back then. And you have to remember these movies were not meant to be realistic. They were meant to be exaggerations of reality. People back then knew what real death was like. This was escapism no different from Star Wars or reading romance novels. The characters were larger-than-life the color was more glorious than the real world. It was a different style but the people who made these movies knew the difference between reality and fantasy. These were fantasy pictures.

Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland have great chemistry in all the movies they made together. She admitted that the 2 were in love but never had an actual relationship due to the fact that Flynn was married.

Also we had black and white tv till around 70 so everything was black and white hahaha

Such a major American blockbuster and all the leads were non-American South African born Englishman Basil Rathbone Aussie Errol Flynn Englishman Claude Rains And, Englishwoman Olivia de Havilland who was actually born in Tokyo. The director Michael Curtiz was born in Ausrro-Hungary as was Erich Wolfgang Korngold who composed the music - and who was saved from being butchered by the Nazis because he got to work in America for this film.

Alan Hale Sr who played Little John here and was a frequent co-star in Errol Flynn films was the father of Alan Hale Jr who played the Skipper on Gilligan's Island if you noticed the resemblance. Flynn was a truly legendary actor whose real life was nearly as wild as his movies. The unmentioned subtext of this 1938 film a year before the Nazis invaded Poland is how the tyranny of King John caused a revolt of his own English nobility who forced him to sign the Magna Carta which became the foundation of English common law and civil rights such as trial by jury.

Have you seen "The Court Jester" starring Danny Kaye? It's loosely based on this, and even has Basil Rathbone in basically the same role.

Technicolor was the CGI of the late 1930's. And it was vivid...people loved it.

Three of my favorite facts about the two main villain actors, Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains. 1) They were both in the same regiment in WWI (the London Scottish). 2) Basil Rathbone was acknowledged as one of the best fencers in Hollywood at the time, but since he played villains so much he only won, like, one or two swordfights on screen in his whole career. 3) Claude Rains was almost totally blind in his right eye, thanks to a gas attack in WWI.

The guy Robin competed against is the guy who really split the arrow. It did it on his first attempt

Fun fact: Will Scarlett's horse, which was also Maid Marion's, was named Northern Star. It was later bought by Roy Rogers, renamed Trigger, and the rest was history. Edit: my bad, Trigger was originally named Golden Cloud.

More swashbucklers: Ivanhoe (1952) -has a Robin Hood connection Scaramouche (1952) one of the best movies about sword fighting Mark of Zorro (1940) More basil rasborne And not a exactly a swashbuckler, but The Great Race (1965)

The advent of color in the late 1930's just exploded movies and it was expensive. But to audiences, used to seeing black and white, it was awe inspiring. Technicolor was the CGI of its time. It's so iconic that it even found its way into later films with on screen comments about it. In 1994's "Interview with the Vampire," Brad Pitt's character, turned into a vampire in 1791 has two scenes which occur late in the film where he comments on how movies "gave him back the sunrise." In a second scene he is watching the end of "Gone with the Wind" and is blown away by the color and how he can experience daylight again vicariously.

Basil Rathbone plays a *magnificent* villain. Just the right amount of viciousness without chewing the scenery. You might recognize Prince John as the man who played Senator Paine in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

Great commentr, Kay. Its refreshing to hear someone of your generation who appreciates classic film without criticism.

One of my all time favorite movies

Little John, the "staffer" at the bridge, is father of Alan Hale Jr, who was "The Skipper" in "Gilligan's Island." Hale Sr. was usually the comic-relief sidekick in many westerns and Hollywood costume dramas such as this one.

The palomino horse Lady Marian is riding was a very well known horse in Hollywood and was named Golden Cloud. A certain up and coming cowboy star saw the horse and bought it. That "singing cowboy" was named Roy Rogers and he changed the horse's name to Trigger and was one of the heroes of Television in the 1950's. Lots of merch...I had a lunchbox with him and Trigger on the outside...back when schoolkids all brought their lunches to school.

Fun fact, Basil Rathbone also played the Son of the OG Dr. Frankenstein in the Universal Classic universe. and Claude Rains played the OG Invisible Man, and Una O'Connor who plays Marion's Nurse was also in a couple of Universal Monster films.

Little John is Alan Hale father of the skipper on Gillian’s island

I think this version of Robin Hood is the best version ever made. I think this is the movie that really made Errol Flynn a big name.

The movie is a masterpiece on so many levels. This version of Robin Hood has always been my favorite. Errol Flynn *is* Robin Hood, the cockiness, the swordplay skills, it's just 10/10 all around. The music in this movie is also amazing, there's a motif (short theme) for each major character and depending who is in each scene, they are weaved together into a new song. This movie was made in the middle of the Great Depression, and composers were struggling with finding new ways to allow the public to experience their music. So many of them started going above and beyond on movie scores, this being one great example. Also, few realize that Basil Rathbone (Sir Guy), in real life, was one of the best fencers in the world, so several of these swordfights are *so good* simply because you have a real-life expert in sword work fighting with Errol Flynn who stared in so many swashbuckling movies.

Just found your channel. If you want more swashbucklers, my favorites are Scaramouche, starring Stewart Granger, The Court Jester, starring Danny Kaye (which is also hilarious), and the 1970s Three Musketeers with Michael York as D'Artagnan.

This print you are watching is beautiful. Amazing fun and reaction.

Basil Rathbone was twice the fencing Champion of the British Army. He was the real deal.

Erroll and Olivia were such a dynamic couple. They made several movies together. Basil Rathbone was a trained swordsman. He was also the very best Sherlock Holmes. If you ever get the chance and you enjoy Sherlocks adventures, catch the series they did with Jeremy Brett as Holmes. He is IMHO the 2nd best Holmes

A much overlooked swashbuckler is "The Three Musketeers" from 1948 with Gene Kelly, Lana Turner, June Allyson, and Van Heflin.

One of my favorite movies of all-time!

It was very influential in terms of film making for the next few decades. The original Star Wars trilogy has several clear references to it (and Flynn's 'The Sea Hawk'). Music, production design, editing and especially the forest ambush sequence. Movies ranging from Polanski's 'Priates' to the 1990's French 'Cyrano De Bergerac' were directly inspired by it (as confirmed by their directors). There are several other films that I just can't remember at the moment. Most of all Korngold's music was fundamental to the Hollywood adventure move music of the next 7 decades.

fun fact Mutch the Millers son was born in my home town, he was also in a tarzan movie he has one of the most Unique Looks

Sherwood Forest is Bidwell Park in Chico California even the log was still over the creek when I was a kid I literally played in Sherwood Forest

Rathbone was a real life expert with the sword

Guy of Gisborne was in the legends, but was a relatively minor character. He was a kind of spy/traitor who joined Robin's band with the intent of betraying him for the bounty. But they puffed him up so Basil Rathbone would have a more flashy role.

Olivia de Haviland, the actress portraying Marian, was quite long-lived, passing last year (2020) at age 104. She remained an active actress until around 2009. A bit of historic trivia; the real Richard Lionheart was a rather crappy King, who spent very little of his reign in England, possible less than a year total.

I like the guards and the one that dies at 7:48 is my favorite. He is one of the ones that Robin Hood beat up earlier with the dead deer so he has a score to settle. I like how you can see that he is scared but he has a look of determination on his face that says he will will do this or die trying. I like how he opens the door on his own and charges out he chooses to sacrifice himself so the other guards will have a chance to catch robin hood. It also appears that he thinks he has a chance at winning right up till he gets shot in the heart. At that point he realizes its all over but still puts up a short but intense fight against death before he falls down and dies. For a movie with a lot of over dramatic deaths the guard at 7:48 is the best.

Claude Rains played Prince John, Basil Rathbone played Guy of Gisborne, Alan Hale played Little John, Eugene Palette played Friar Tuck, Patrick Knowles plays Will Scarlet, Montague Love plays the bishops and I forget who played the Sheriff.

The great part of the legend of Robin Hood was the fact that King Richard only spent about nine months of his entire life in England, couldn't speak English, bankrupted the kingdom, was the only King whose Queen never saw England. He died in France fighting...the French. He was taken prisoner on his return from the Second Crusade and held for ransom in Austria. Taking nobles for ransom was one of the primary ways to become rich in those days. His father, Henry II and his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine actually lead much more interesting lives and were the first Plantagenet rulers, not only of England but also most of the western part of what is today France...from Normandy on the Channel to the Spanish frontier.

Basil Rathbone was just reaching his peak here. He had done another Errol Flynn swashbuckler, Captain Blood, a few years before, and in the next year he would do both Son of Frankenstein (which is one of the best of the series, with not only Boris Karloff’s last portrayal of the monster, but Bela Lugosi as Ygor) and The Hound of the Baskervilles, which was the first of the Sherlock Holmes movies. I think a lot of the Robin Hood story in this movie seems to be lifted from its adaptation in Ivanhoe. (Also a worthwhile movie. Worth watching if only for Elizabeth Taylor as Rebecca.)

It's nice watching these classics with you. All of the reactors watching MCU movies over and over is kind of old.

Now you've gotta see The Court Jester.

Watched this growing up in the sixties always a fun movie thanks for sharing your reaction!

Captain Blood

In the Robin Hood stories, Guy of Gisbourne was essentially an assassin, hired specifically to kill Robin. He is depicted as cruel, murderous and brutal, wearing a horse's hide. In Howard Pyle's book, Robin Hood slays him, and is singularly unrepentant about it, judging him unfit to live. In the movie he has a much larger part. I genuinely applaud you for giving these old films a chance. You might like Danny Kaye's spoof, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓, also with Basil Rathbone. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o5liddKYyL7VZ58.html

I love the old swashbuckler movies. It's amazing that almost a century later this still holds up. If you haven't heard of it I heartly recommend The Crimson Pirate, 1952 with Burt Lancaster. To my mind way better than The Pirates of the Caribbean films. Although the first one runs it close. Lancaster, and Nick Cravat from The Crimson Pirate had done a previous swashbuckler, a Robin Hood variation called The Flame and The Arrow, set in mediaeval Italy. That one was clearly inspired by The Adventures of Robin Hood. The Crimson Pirate is the better of the two. I also would heartly recommend 1937 version of The Prisoner of Zenda.

In real life Basil Rathbone was a master swordsman and the best fencer in Hollywood.

Also, try some classic Bogart films. Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, To Have or Have Not, and Key Largo.

Guy of Gisbourne was in one of the better known tales. He was essentially a knight who is paid to infiltrate Robin's ranks. He fails. Obviously they beef up the guy so Basil can be the really baddie they need to put up against our Hero!

Contrary to some modern depictions, the medieval world was in fact very colourful. People loved bright, colourful clothing and decoration, often bordering on what one might now label as gaudy.

I see you’ve just watched this Michael Curtiz classic. Try looking at some of his other films like Casablanca, Mystery of the Wax Museum, Doctor X, Captain Blood, Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Sea Hawk, Angels with Dirty Faces, Mildred Pierce, The Charge of the Light Brigade, My Dream is Yours and White Christmas.

This is one of my favorites!!

Filmed in Bidwell Park, Chico, CA.

Dame Olivia de Havilland appeared in a 1939 classic called, "Gone With The Wind". She played the part of Melanie Wilkes. Because so many great movies were made in between 1927 (the birth of the Talkies) & 1969 it was called Hollywood's Golden Age. 1939 in particular was a year filled with more outstanding movies than any other year: Stagecoach which made John Wayne a Mega Star, The Wizard Of Oz, GWTW, Beau Geste, Goodbye Mister Chips (I prefer the remake with Peter O'Toole & Petula Clark), Gunga Din, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Wuthering Heights and the list goes on and on. One actor, Thomas Mitchell had major rolls in FIVE 1939 classics: Stagecoach, for which he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, Gone With The Wind (Scarlett's father), The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Mister Smith Goes To Washington and Only Angels Have Wings. We have been blessed with thousands of of good, great and fantastic movies, it's a pity we can't see them all.

This came out 3 years prior to Wizard of Oz in 35. It's the first three- tone Technicolor movie.

Swashbuckler?! This is the ONE!!!! Errol was the archetype!!! Watch Peter O’Toole do an older, drunk take on an Errol Flynn-type in the wonderfully sweet MY FAVORITE YEAR!!! Such a great movie

You like swashbucklers, you need to do the 'Three Musketeers' and 'The Four Musketeers' from the 1970s. Amazing pair of movies (more like one huge movie that was split into two).

Yep...this was early technicolor along w Wizard of Oz. Hunchback of Notre Dame is a good genere piece. The scale of extras in these movies along with sets built to scale is just outstanding. Movie making that will never be done again.

Technicolor was still very new at that point, and studios made a point of creating visual feasts. We saw something similar when color tv became more common in the mid 1960s. That's one reason Star Trek survived so long, despite its terrible ratings. The color palate was stunning. This movie was normal in depicting on screen deaths. We didn't see a change until Sergio Leone produced his "Fistful" trilogy with Clint Eastwood in the mid 60s. American directors began to imitate him. Sam Peckinpah's Wild Bunch in 1969 became infamous for its bloody & realistic gun deaths. ... Richard really was held ransom at one point, with people all across England were asked to contribute to his ransom. Churches melted down part of their gold & silver decorations. It was considered a holy obligation to free a captured Crusader. And yes, John in real life kept a large part of what he collected for himself. Richard was amazingly trusting with his brother, despite the evidence of his guilt. ... Robin in this movie was right about Richard. The king spent most of his reign in wars against France or the paynim in the Crusades. He would have done better to stay at home, but at that time English kings had holdings in England & Normandy, if not elsewhere. To them & their nobles the lands in France were at least a important as England. Norman French was still the language of the aristocracy.

Sir guy of Gisborne is in the legend, but he is a different character from the sheriff of Nottingham. The great illustrated Classics, version of the book which I’ve read, and absolutely love guy of Gisborne was a sick and twisted character.

I *love* this movie. the 1967 "Taming of the Shrew" with Liz Taylor would also be a great classic to do sometime

Love this film,watched this as a kid,loved the swashbuckling and good-triumphs over -evil theme.Simple plot,easy to follow,nice action. All ages can watch,fueled my imagination and wanting to read-up on the life in the Middle Ages,knights,castles,etc,etc,..and film-making.

the reason he bans him for the remainder of his life is because richard never really came back and prince john becomes king and signs the magna carta

This movie was made in 1938 and was one of the first Technicolor movies ever made.

There were smaller, subtler films in the thirties, but when these films went big, they went BIG.

I wouldn’t technically call this an old swashbuckler. To me those are more of the ones with Errol Flynn at sea as a pirate or ship’s Captain. Movies such as ‘Captain Blood’, or ‘The Sea Hawk’. Both very good movies. Prince John is played by Claude Rains, who you saw in Casablanca as police Captain Louis Renault. Little John is played by Alan Hale, Flynn’s drinking buddy and father of the Skipper on Gilligan’s Island Alan Hale Jr.

Any of the versions of Ivanhoe are good. The one w/ Elizabeth Taylor is probably the best.

I haven't seen this movie in ages! it was one of the very few that I grew up watching as a kid, and the tale of Robin Hood has always intrigued me even into my adulthood! while this is one of my favorite adaptations of the classic story, however I'm gonna have to go with the Kevin Costner version "Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves" so glad you enjoyed this film though, I've enjoyed watching your reaction, really warms my heart when I see people appreciate classic golden age Hollywood films! :)

Little John actor (Alan Hale Sr) had a son that looked just like him... didn't you recognize the Skipper from Gilligan's Island? Prince John actor (Claude Reins) starred in many films, including classic The Invisible Man. Maybe check out Looney Tunes sendup of this movie, Errol Flynn makes a cameo! As far as the filmmaking style... this is an extension of live theater acting at the time.

The man who played Little John is Alan Hale who is the father of Alan Hale Jr. who played the skipper on “Gilligan’s Island.” You should also check out “The Mark of Zorro” from 1940 starring Tyrone Power. It has a similar feel to this one.

Glad you enjoyed this classic flick! If I may suggest another fun, medieval favorite, from 1956… “the Court Jester”, starring the amazing Danny Kaye! (FYI… It is a sort-of-a musical/comedy.🎵😆) Enjoy!

Errol the greatest. Best dialogue in a movie is " the Lion in winter ". Briliant

"What defines the King's deer?" I know it was probably spoken in jest, as they said back in Robin's day. But to answer your question, the forests within the land a king's rule is considered "his" territory. As such, anything there is claimed as the monarch's property; including the wildlife. At least...that is what Prince John proclaimed as law, he just wanted more lands and territory for himself; even went as far as to consider HIMSELF as king (even though Richard) still lived

This was my childhood!!

One of my favorite movies and my favorite hollywood actor Errol Flynn Try The Seahawks and Captain Blood ! 3 of the best yes technicolor yes sir guy of gibson was in the tale . Claude Reins was a great actor (prince john)

The king always had the power of life and death over everyone in his realm. Everyone, especially the poor were basically slaves. The 1930s were the great Depression where few had money. The movie companies withheld their best movie ideas for after the depression ended. But with Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havilland, Alan Hale, and Basil Rathbone they thought they had a good group, make a movie about a popular hero, and it should make money. In 1938, it was the most expensive movie ever made. The gamble paid off. It made more money than any movie to that time. It encouraged all movie studios to make their best movies and people would come. 1939 is considered Hollywood's greatest year. The Wizard of Oz came out in 1939. Although it won an Oscar for it's music ("Over the Rainbow"), the Wizard of Oz didn't actually break even for years. Like the Magnificent Seven and the Princess Bride, all three became classics because of tv.

I'm somewhat familiar with robin hood but I never saw this one. You might want to checkout ' Robin Hood Men In Tights' by Mel Brooks. Of course an obvious comedy by a very funny producer.

The Thin Man - best chemistry between two actors ever Myrna Loy and William Powell.