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With: Douglas Fairbanks, Wallace Beery, Sam De Grasse, Enid Bennett, Paul Dickey, William Lowery, Roy Coulson, Billie Bennett, Merrill McCormick, Wilson Benge, Willard Louis, Alan Hale, Bud Geary, Lloyd Talman
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Written by: "Elton Thomas" (a.k.a. Douglas Fairbanks), Allan Dwan
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Directed by: Allan Dwan
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MPAA Rating: Not Rated
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Running Time: 133
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Date: 10/17/1922
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Good 'Hood'
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
After his hit swashbucklers The Mark of Zorro (1920) and The Three Musketeers (1921), actor/producer Douglas Fairbanks had enough clout to put together the most expensive movie of its time, Robin Hood (1922), (though Erich von Stroheim may have spent just as much on his Foolish Wives the same year). It's by far the best and most joyous Robin Hood movie ever made; beside Fairbanks, even Errol Flynn appears to be standing still. This Robin Hood even explains why, if Robin Hood is such a sterling fighter, didn't he go off to fight in the Crusades with King Richard? Director Allan Dwan had worked with Fairbanks on several two-reelers, and would go on to direct his last silent film, The Iron Mask (1929). Dwan would continue working, making "B" pictures up until the 1960s, and finishing up with something like 500 films on his resume before he died. But Robin Hood is arguably his masterpiece.
In 2023, the Cohen Film Collection released a fantastic double-feature Blu-ray Disc featuring what appears to be the Blu-ray debut of Robin Hood, newly restored from a 35mm fine grain positive. The disc also contains The Black Pirate, along with the bonus features included on Kino Lorber's previous Black Pirate Blu-ray. This is Highly Recommended.
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