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Powerful

Excellent but underrated film

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Judging by existing reviews, individual opinion seems to rely very heavily on the views of fans of the 50s TV series (i.e. old blokes like me), versus those who came in cold and took it on face value. It is important to note that the film was never intended to have any relationship to the TV version. Richard Greene, of course, starred in both... and that's about the extent of it.The Sapphire Films television series was a whole different kettle of fish. American writers blacklisted in the McCarthy era wrote under pseudonyms and packed the first two seasons with subtle left-wing ideology. The last two seasons fell into a more formulaic adventure groove, but still managed the occasional political overtone.The movie was typical of the Hammer production philosophy... take what little budget there was, invest heavily in production costs (vivid colour, widescreen ratios), and hire a passable cast with what's leftover (including at least one bonza babe). I'm betting Greene came pretty cheap and had the added bonus of drawing in fans of TV series.What you see is what you get. It still looks great, the storyline is good enough to last out the whole 77min, and there isn't a political statement in sight. For mine, 6.5 stars out of ten.

1960's "Sword of Sherwood Forest" served as Hammer's adaptation of the ROBIN HOOD teleseries just finished by star/producer Richard Greene, casting their greatest asset, Peter Cushing, as the treacherous Sheriff of Nottingham. The excellent first half finds the Sheriff as ruthless as ever with his bogus promises, but an unexpected turn finds him shunted aside for an even more villainous Earl of Newark (Richard Pasco), whose henchman, Lord Melton (Oliver Reed), shockingly dispatches the uncooperative Sheriff before the film's climactic sword fight. The lone holdover from the small screen cast, 41 year old Richard Greene isn't so much too old for Robin Hood, since his use of swords, bows, and arrows are nearly flawless, it's just that the episodic script makes precious little use of either him or his merry band for most of its 80 minute running time. We see the initial mistrust between Robin and Maid Marian (Sarah Branch), who thinks him an outlaw, setting up a surprise meeting with Cushing's Sheriff, who is desperate to cover up any trace of the plot to assassinate the Archbishop of Canterbury (Jack Gwillim). Robin's band of Merry Men feature Nigel Green as Little John, and Niall MacGinnis as Friar Tuck, in an ill fitting bald cap. Oliver Reed was still a bit player at this early stage of his career, but already a veteran of two Christopher Lee titles, "Beat Girl" and Hammer's "The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll." As Lord Melton, his lisping performance is difficult to judge, due to his being dubbed by an unknown actor whose effete mannerisms make Reed look foolish. Second billed Peter Cushing is the biggest name in the cast, and he does not disappoint, looking magnificent in period costume, as he also did in 1954's "The Black Knight," but his efforts are sadly misused by the casual way the film dispatches its most dynamic character, unexpectedly stabbed in the back for disobedience. Director Terence Fisher, also retained from the series, shows himself to have little affinity for the subject matter, particularly the few action scenes (filmed at Ireland's Ardmore Studios), sluggishly choreographed and performed. Never really boring, but such a wasted opportunity.

This is not as bad as all that. Terence Fisher as ever does a competent job, there are reasonable production values and some rather fetching photography. I always thought Richard Greene a little too schoolmasterly for an outlaw, and he is here rather portly, but he can certainly handle a bow. Nigel Greene and Niall McGinnis are well cast as Little John and Tuck, Peter Cushing is an excellent Sheriff, and Richard Pasco does well as the ambiguous Lord Newark. Oliver Reed's camp henchman is perhaps less successful.The conspiracy plot unfolds at a relaxed pace and resolves satisfyingly. The weakest element is the tacked on romance with Sarah Branch's rather bland Maid Marion.All in all a rather charming period piece, that gets closer to the spirit of the original ballads than most versions.

Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) ** (out of 4) Hammer made their name by reworking Frankenstein, Dracula and The Mummy but here they try their hand at Robin Hood. Richard Greene plays Robin Hood while Peter Cushing tackles the role of the Sheriff of Nottingham but the end results are rather dull. Like their horror films, this film has the sexuality and violence picked up but director Terence Fisher doesn't bring anything else to the table. The 2.35:1 aspect ratio makes for some good looking scenes but none of the scenes contain any energy to keep the viewer going. Greene is pretty forgettable as Robin and Sarah Branch as Maid Marian comes off even worse. Cushing is good in his role and keeps the film from being worse than it is. Oliver Reed also has a small role.