The Son of Robin Hood (1959)

81 or 85 mins | Adventure | December 1959

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HISTORY

The opening and closing cast credits differ slightly in order. An Apr 1958 HR news item stated that Bob Goldstein was to produce and Nina Shipman was being tested for a role. The Son of Robin Hood was the last film in which actor David Hedison was billed under the name Al Hedison. Although an Apr 1958 HR news item announced that The Son of Robin Hood was to be a Templar Production, the film was produced by Argo Film Productions, Inc. According to a Jan 1960 HR news item, producer Clifford Sanforth sued Argo Productions and Twentieth Century-Fox, claiming that he owned the rights to both the character and title Son of Robin Hood. The outcome of that suit is unknown.
       In the mid-1940s Sanforth licensed the rights to the title Son of Robin Hood to Columbia, but the studio was forced to change the title to The Bandit of Sherwood Forest when M-G-M sued, claiming that they owned the rights to the name "Robin Hood." For more information about the suit, see entry for The Bandit of Sherwood Forest in AFI Catalog of Feature films, 1941-50. The story of Robin Hood has been the basis of numerous films. For a list of those, please see entry for The Adventures of Robin Hood in AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40. ...

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The opening and closing cast credits differ slightly in order. An Apr 1958 HR news item stated that Bob Goldstein was to produce and Nina Shipman was being tested for a role. The Son of Robin Hood was the last film in which actor David Hedison was billed under the name Al Hedison. Although an Apr 1958 HR news item announced that The Son of Robin Hood was to be a Templar Production, the film was produced by Argo Film Productions, Inc. According to a Jan 1960 HR news item, producer Clifford Sanforth sued Argo Productions and Twentieth Century-Fox, claiming that he owned the rights to both the character and title Son of Robin Hood. The outcome of that suit is unknown.
       In the mid-1940s Sanforth licensed the rights to the title Son of Robin Hood to Columbia, but the studio was forced to change the title to The Bandit of Sherwood Forest when M-G-M sued, claiming that they owned the rights to the name "Robin Hood." For more information about the suit, see entry for The Bandit of Sherwood Forest in AFI Catalog of Feature films, 1941-50. The story of Robin Hood has been the basis of numerous films. For a list of those, please see entry for The Adventures of Robin Hood in AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40.

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GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS
SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Box Office
29 Jun 1959
---
Daily Variety
18 Jun 1959
p. 3
Film Daily
23 Jun 1959
p. 6
Hollywood Reporter
28 Apr 1958
p. 2
Hollywood Reporter
18 Jun 1959
p. 3
Hollywood Reporter
19 Jan 1960
---
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest
27 Jun 1959
p. 316
Variety
24 Jun 1959
p. 6
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Asst dir
PRODUCERS
Assoc prod
WRITERS
Orig story and scr
George Slavin
Orig story and scr
PHOTOGRAPHY
Dir of photog
Ernie Day
Cam op
ART DIRECTOR
Art dir
FILM EDITOR
Film ed
COSTUMES
Ward supv
MUSIC
Mus comp and cond
SOUND
Sd rec
Sd red
MAKEUP
Makeup
Hairdresser
PRODUCTION MISC
Prod mgr
Casting
DETAILS
Release Date:
December 1959
Production Date:

Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
26 June 1959
LP14321
Physical Properties:
Sound
RCA Sound System
Color
Widescreen/ratio
CinemaScope
Lenses/Prints
lenses by Bausch & Lomb
Duration(in mins):
81 or 85
Countries:
United Kingdom, United States
Language:
English
PCA No:
19110
SYNOPSIS

Ten years after the death of Robin Hood, the bandit of Sherwood Forest and defender of the Crown, the power-mad Duke Simon Des Roches plots to seize the British kingdom from its rightful heir, the boy prince, and only Robin's men stand in his way. Bereft without their leader, the men decide to send for Robin's offspring, Deering Hood, who they discover, is now living in Spain. In the absence of a crowned head of state, Robert, the Regent of England, governs the country and turns to the men of Sherwood Forest to thwart Des Roches. There is an traitor among them, however, who informs Des Roches of Robert's meeting. Des Roches and his men raid the headquarters in Sherwood Forest, capturing the regent and spiriting him away to Des Roches's dungeon. The informant has also told Des Roches about the imminent arrival of Deering Hood, and so Des Roches dispatches a troupe of soldiers to the riverbank to await him. Soon after, a stranger appears rowing a skiff, and the soldiers, assuming that he is Deering, attack. A lone swordsman joins the fray, but is knocked unconscious. After overpowering his assailants, the stranger, who is Robert's brother Jamie, just returned from the Crusades, carries his defender to a nearby inn and is amused to discover that she is a woman, Deering Hood. After Jamie leaves, Little John, one of the men of Sherwood Forest, comes to meet Deering and is dismayed to discover she is a female. Although Little John warns that the band will never rally behind a "girl," Deering insists on meeting with them. As they ride into ...

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Ten years after the death of Robin Hood, the bandit of Sherwood Forest and defender of the Crown, the power-mad Duke Simon Des Roches plots to seize the British kingdom from its rightful heir, the boy prince, and only Robin's men stand in his way. Bereft without their leader, the men decide to send for Robin's offspring, Deering Hood, who they discover, is now living in Spain. In the absence of a crowned head of state, Robert, the Regent of England, governs the country and turns to the men of Sherwood Forest to thwart Des Roches. There is an traitor among them, however, who informs Des Roches of Robert's meeting. Des Roches and his men raid the headquarters in Sherwood Forest, capturing the regent and spiriting him away to Des Roches's dungeon. The informant has also told Des Roches about the imminent arrival of Deering Hood, and so Des Roches dispatches a troupe of soldiers to the riverbank to await him. Soon after, a stranger appears rowing a skiff, and the soldiers, assuming that he is Deering, attack. A lone swordsman joins the fray, but is knocked unconscious. After overpowering his assailants, the stranger, who is Robert's brother Jamie, just returned from the Crusades, carries his defender to a nearby inn and is amused to discover that she is a woman, Deering Hood. After Jamie leaves, Little John, one of the men of Sherwood Forest, comes to meet Deering and is dismayed to discover she is a female. Although Little John warns that the band will never rally behind a "girl," Deering insists on meeting with them. As they ride into the woods, Des Roches and his soldiers wait in ambush. When Jamie rides to their aid, the soldiers, mistaking him for Deering, chase him. After losing his pursuers, Jamie returns and Little John asks him to pose as Robin's son, but he refuses, asserting that he has his own cause. Soon after, Jamie finds his dear friend Myles near death, a victim of Des Roches's thirst for power. Before dying, Myles counsels Jamie to enlist in the army led by Robin Hood's son. Following his friend's advice, Jamie seeks out Little John and agrees to assume the identity of Deering Hood. When Robin's band captures the Marquis Duvall, a potential ally of Des Roches, Jamie decides to pose as the marquis to infiltrate the castle, and Deering accompanies him as Madame Duvall. At the castle, Des Roches's lascivious sister, Lady Sylvia, sets out to seduce Jamie, who as Duvall, has a reputation as a ladies' man. Sylvia's flirtation arouses the jealousy of the Baron Charles Dorchester, her suitor and brother's ally. Later that night, Sylvia sends one of her servants to lead Jamie through a labyrinthine passageway, which cuts under the castle to Sylvia's secret room. The next day, Jamie encounters the head jailer and discovers that the informant has been sending messages via a trained falcon. When Des Roches and Dorchester plan another raid on the men of Sherwood Forest, Jamie feigns illness and remains behind, thus inflaming Dorchester's suspicions. After Des Roches and his army depart, Jamie rides to the forest to alert Little John of danger and then warns that Des Roches expects 3,000 reinforcements within forty-eight hours. Jamie then lays out a plan to thwart Des Roches and instructs Little John to assemble the men at the priory the following morning. Unknown to Jamie and Little John, the prioress is the informant, and when she learns of their meeting, she passes the information along to Des Roches. Soon after, Dorchester finds Jamie threading his way through the passageway under the castle and accuses him of being Deering. The two begin to duel, and when Des Roches orders them to stop, Jamie impales Dorchester on his sword and then claims that Dorchester provoked the duel out of jealousy for Sylvia. Suspicious, Des Roches imprisons Jamie, who is locked in a cell near Robert. Believing that his brother was killed in the Crusades, Robert refuses to accept the man in the next cell as Jamie, until Jamie dangles his ring in front of Robert's prison door. When Robert confides that the prioress is the informant, Jamie realizes that all his men are at risk. Deering, meanwhile, visits Sylvia and flatters her into arranging Jamie's release. Jamie then tells Deering to warn Little John and the others, and they tenderly kiss before she departs. To test Jamie's loyalty, Des Roches orders him to torture Alan Adale, one of Robin's men. As Jamie stalls for time, Deering alerts the men and with her keen marksmanship, and shoots down the falcon as it wings its way toward the castle. When Deering's discarded dress is found outside the underground passageway, Des Roches orders Jamie's arrest and the tunnel flooded and gates locked. Seizing a sword, Jamie frees Alan and fights his way out. With the gates locked, Deering and the others are about to drown in the flooded tunnels until Jamie and Alan open the gates, allowing their men to storm the castle. As the men of Sherwood Forest engage in battle, Jamie and Des Roches duel their way into the dungeon as Robert looks on. After Jamie vanquishes Des Roches, the regent is freed and Deering reclaims her own name before becoming Jamie's wife.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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