The Prince of Thieves

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Robin Hood (Jon Hall) acosts Sir Allan Claire (Michael Duane) and his sister Lady Marian (Patricia Morison) in Sherwood Forest, only to learn that they are allies of his friend King Richard, who is away fighting in France. He also discovers that Sir Allan was on his way to claim the hand of his betrothed bride, Lady Christabel (Adele Jergens) -- and is forced to tell his new friend that she is, instead, to be married to the nefarious Baron Tristram ({Gavin Muir}), all as part of a political maneuver by her father. Robin and Sir Allan vow to prevent the marriage, each for his own reasons, even as the knight's sister -- at first resistant to the bandit's charms -- finds herself falling in love with Robin. But Baron Tristram and his allies aren't so easily thwarted, and the struggle takes heroes and villains alike from the dungeons of Notingham Castle to Robin's stronghold in Sherwood. Among the notable (and, at times, improbable) cast members in this breezy B-movie Robin Hood adventure are Walter Sande as Little John, Alan Mowbray as Friar Tuck, Sid Saylor as Will Scarlet, H. B. Warner as Robin's aging mentor, and comedienne Robin Raymond as a serving girl. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Jon Hall - Robin Hood
       Patricia Morison - Maid Marian
       Adele Jergens - Lady Christabel
       Alan Mowbray - The Friar
       Michael Duane - Sir Allan Claire
       H.B. Warner - Gilbert Head
       Lowell Gilmore - Sir Phillip
       Gavin Muir - Baron Tristram
       Robin Raymond - Maude
       Lewis L. Russell - Sir Fitz-Alwin
       Walter Sande - Little John
       Sid Saylor - Will Scarlet
       I. Stanford Jolley - Bowman
       Fred Santley - Lindsay
       Belle Mitchell - Margaret Head

• Director:

  Howard P. Bretherton

• Producer:

  Sam Katzman

• Screenwriter:

  Maurice Tombragel

• Book Author:

  Alexandre Dumas

• Cinematographer:

  Fred Jackman, Jr.

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Mischa Bakaleinikoff

• Editor:

  James Sweeney

• Art Director:

  Paul Palmentola

REVIEW:

• Jon Hall and Patricia Morison are the two leads in Columbia Pictures' decided B-picture effort The Prince of Thieves -- shot in Cinecolor rather than the Technicolor used in the studio's 1946 The Bandit of Sherwood Forest, it lacked the glowing luster of that earlier movie; additionally, the soundtrack was mostly stock music from the Columbia library. Based on a story by Alexandre Dumas, the plot has the roguish bandit of Sherwood trying to halt the plans of an evil nobleman to secure power by marrying the Lady Christabel (Adele Jergens), who is betrothed to Sir Allan Claire (Michael Duane), an ally of King Richard, and whose sister is the Lady Marian (Patricia Morison). The movie's aim at younger audiences (and escapist male filmgoers) can be deduced from an ending in which the three heroes, each newly married to the woman he loves, are called off to a new and even bigger adventure (which, alas, couldn't be depicted on a B-movie budget and so was never filmed). The one true oddity in the movie, and its most offbeat element, is the presence of Patricia Morison as Lady Marian, who seems to be exercising some of the shrewishness than would finally put her on the map as an actress, by way of the Broadway stage, a year later in Cole Porter's {+Kiss Me, Kate]. All of these disparate elements may not hold together ideally, but with a running time of scarcely more than an hour and a cast that is trying hard to make it all fun, it's impossible for a picture like this to go far wrong, even if it gets nowhere near to being high art, either. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi