Sherwood Forester

Issue 11 - August 2006

Terrific artwork from Anna for this issue's front cover.  You can just imagine Robin standing in front of a fire in Sherwood.

A bumper issue this time, which includes two articles from Steve Winders.  One of them is a forerunner to the forthcoming BBC drama "Robin Hood" scheduled to be seen on BBC1 this autumn here in the United Kingdom.  I think we are all keen to see how well it compares with our own favourite "The Adventures of Robin Hood".

Robin Hood

An article reproduced from the TV Times dated 7th October 1955.

More from "The Ladies of Sherwood".  Catch up with Suzette, Lady of Locksley and Marian.

Steve Winders reports on his recent interview for a new B.B.C. Television programme about Robin Hood.

On Monday July 24^th my son Greg and I visited the B.B.C. Maida Vale studios in London where I was to be interviewed about Richard Greene’s version of Robin Hood for a programme about the legendary hero and how he has been reinterpreted by different generations. This programme was being made for the B.B.C. by an independent company called ‘Hot Sauce Productions’ and ties in with a new series of Robin Hood’s adventures, currently being filmed by the B.B.C.

Having caught an early train from Plymouth, we arrived in Maida Vale about midday, in plenty of time for my two o’clock appointment. Maida Vale is a quiet residential district, adorned with tree lined streets and examples of the most ornate version of the red telephone box liberally scattered among the street corners. We found a small café for lunch in the Little Venice area, so called because three canals meet there. After lunch we made our way to the studio, which was originally an ice skating rink, but is now used by the B.B.C. Symphony Orchestra and Radio One! The small television studio we used is where Jonathan Ross’ Film Night is recorded. 

Two other members of ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood Appreciation Society’, Gordon Thomson and Charles Laing, were also interviewed for the programme. I had not met them before, so we exchanged stories of how we had become fans of ‘The Adventures’ and how we had discovered the Society. Both men revealed a considerable knowledge and great enthusiasm for our favourite programme. Gordon reminded me of the actor Bernard Miles in appearance, but despite working in the south as a sound engineer in films and television, his accent was recognisably Lancastrian. During the later interviews I discovered that he comes from my home town of Preston.  

After we were ‘made up’, the producer Tom Webber took us along a corridor past a large performance hall to the tiny studio where our recording was to be made. We literally squeezed into the studio and perched on three fixed stools – chairs would have been too big to fit! Behind us was a forest effect background which looked much more impressive when I glanced at it on the monitor screen than it did in real life, such is the magic of television.

With us in the little studio were Tom Webber and his cameraman and sound engineer. Greg was positioned in a little corner behind the camera to watch the recording. Tom asked the questions, telling us before each one who he would address it to. He asked us how and why we had become Robin Hood enthusiasts, why we enjoyed Richard Greene’s version so much and what aspects of the series we liked best. We also talked about the quality of the scripts, the blacklisted American writers, Robin Hood toys, annuals and other merchandising and the significance of the success of the series for British television. The interview lasted for an hour, but don’t expect to see an hour long programme about our version of Robin. The programme will also feature the development of the character through the centuries and the other television and film interpretations of the stories.

With the interviews over and our train not due till seven, Greg and I went to the National Gallery and then walked along the Mall. We didn’t see Her Majesty, but on the train back to Plymouth I saw a man who reminded me of Winston Churchill. After a moment I realised it was the actor Simon Ward, who had played ‘Young Winston’. He is just about old enough now to do a sequel. I didn’t ask for his autograph though. Well I’m a TV star myself now!

However the next morning I had to hastily e-mail Tom Webber to correct several factual mistakes I had confidently stated in the interview!

CUT! 

Steve Winders

Editors Note:

The new series from the BBC is due for transmission on BBC One in the Autumn of 2006.  Follow the link below for more information. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/robinhood/

Once we have transmission details on the documentary that Steve, Charles and Gordon took part in these will be announced on the website and the Whirligig forum.

The following article, including images, is reproduced from the TV Times of 7^th October 1955.  Our thanks go to Morley Peters for supplying the copy. 

Goodly viewer, methinks thou wouldst’ perchance hear tidings of Robin Hood.  Hast thou viewed these past Sundays?

Every episode of “The Adventures of Robin Hood”, starring Richard Greene and Bernadette O’Farrell, has been produced with painstaking historical authenticity.

Genuine horn mugs dating back to the Middle Ages are used in the banqueting scenes.  Historians were engaged to obtain details of dress and architecture.

Robin, knife in hand, is ready for action.

The castles are exact replicas of the fortresses standing in King Richard’s day, and all the weapons are faithful reproductions of the period.

Those used in the battle scenes include, of course, the long bow and the crossbow - but there’s also an ingenious instrument called the Morgenstern or “morning star”.

To a short stick is attached a chain and a spiked iron ball (on television it’s rubber).

Other stock weapons of the period were the quarter-staff and the sword.

There was no chivalry and no holds barred in the fighting of Robin Hood’s day.  Each man fought to win – concealed daggers were whipped out and thorn twigs were used to slash the eyes of an enemy.

So don’t be upset if the Merry Men adopt such tactics.  Every scurvy trick is historically accurate.

Maid Marian relaxing between shots.

Of a truth, now I bethink me … the very filming took place at the Nettlefold Studios, near the historic field of Runnymede, where the English barons forced King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215.

The old and the new talk things over.

Even the actors who take part in the battle scenes added to the general air of authenticity – they refused to wear false beards: insisted on growing their own.

Prithee, I am half-minded to go thither, to the forest glades of Nottingham.  Why tarry?  Let us away.

Those soldiers guarding the battlements of the castle look realistic, do they not?

All those soldiers are toys.  For one of the actors, Willoughby Gray, has a hobby of making miniature soldiers from cigar cases and scrap metal.

Handsome 36 year-old Richard Greene, Plymouth born, makes history as the first major Hollywood star to come to England to film a TV series.

And 29 year-old Bernadette O’Farrell as Maid Marian brings a fresh Irish loveliness to the screen.

Others in “The Adventures of Robin Hood” include Rufus Cruickshank as Little John, and Alexander Guage as Friar Tuck.

Edward Fox

Editors Note:

The above article includes a minor error in the spelling of Alexander Gauge's surname.

There are times in our lives when we long for childhood, just a taste of it, a sight, a sound, and a scent.  To return to the past that’s lost to us now, we look back with a sad wisdom; we were blissfully unaware of anything beyond our childhood innocence.  It seemed impossible that time would etch itself into our minds, and looking back we sometimes wish we could hold on to certain moments.

It’s a warm summer evening and I can see myself sitting in front of the television anxiously awaiting my hero, in his signature stature, to aim his bow and arrow and hear that sound, that recognizable sound of the arrow racing through the air and digging into the tree signaling the start of a new adventure.  I always associated “The Adventures of Robin Hood” with summer; it always seemed to be summer in Sherwood Forest.

Summer has its own scent; all the seasons have a certain fragrance of their own. To me summer has a sweetness, the flowers have all bloomed, and there’s a distinctive aroma of freshly cut grass.  On a warm summer evening the windows are open and a warm breeze gently moves the curtains, you can hear the birds with their evening chirpings, the perfect setting for Sherwood Forest.  I would also hear other sounds in the background, angry voices, but I would turn up the volume on the television and I would be transported to a magical place, a perfect fantasy, and escape to the world of Robin Hood.

If you look up the word “hero” in the dictionary, it gives several meanings: “a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability, an illustrious warrior, a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities; one that shows great courage, the central figure in an event, period, or movement”, and my personal favorite, “an object of extreme admiration and devotion.”

This same dictionary gives the meaning of the word “outlaw” - “a person excluded from the benefit or protection of the law, a lawless person or a fugitive of the law, one that is unconventional or rebellious”.  

I think most of the above describes my hero and I would add handsome, courageous to a fault, with an unwavering tenacity.  He was very inspirational - intelligent, sensitive and thoughtful, always appeared optimistic, even in the grimmest of times.  True to his convictions, he would speak with eloquence and wisdom and you would also catch humor in the mix.   Now as a child would I have noticed all of these qualities?  No, I didn’t; he was this larger than life hero who would come into my living room and teach me about life.  I guess I would have to add “teacher” to his credentials.  I was old enough to know right from wrong.  I knew that Robin Hood robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, but in my mind he was giving back to the people that which belonged to them.  I was learning about sharing and concern for your fellow man, and the importance of helping those in need.  I also learned the inequality in life that is not always fair, and I learned that things weren’t always as they appeared.  Robin was the outlaw and the Sheriff was supposed to protect the people, I knew it was the opposite.

Indeed Robin Hood was my childhood hero, and now when I view the episodes and think of this memorable TV series I look upon Robin Hood as a “reluctant hero”.  He was dealing with adversity   and I think the true character of a person can be found in how he handles adversity.

Robin of Locksley and Robin Hood were one and the same, unfortunately we don’t know much about Robin of Locksley’s life beyond his time spent in the Crusades and his childhood friendship with Maid Marian.  He returned from the Crusades to pick up the pieces of his life and found that the life he remembered had vanished and he was relegated to a shrouded life in the shadows of Sherwood Forest.  In adversity he made a positive impact on people’s lives; he showed courage and was impassioned to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.  The comfortable being the evil Sheriff and the treacherous Prince John, their comfort was gained by levying the burdensome and unfair taxes on vulnerable people and merciless treatment of people.  He was probably looked upon as a radical, but his courage and everlasting dedication to helping the impoverished made him legendary. He did all of this with modesty and selflessness, without egotism or pretense, as befitted a “reluctant hero”.  

Life is made up of moments and stages. The child grows up, Sherwood Forest fades from the television, but it doesn’t fade from the mind.  You get caught up in the moments and stages of life, the celebrations, holidays, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and mixed in are also the sad occasions in life that we all experience.

I’ve distanced myself from childhood; I’m sitting in front of my computer and I type in “The Adventures of Robin Hood” and in the magic of some keystrokes I’m reintroduced to my childhood hero; the magical moments of childhood are on my computer screen.  The illustrious hero that had made such an impact on me as a child, and the lingering thoughts of Robin Hood/Richard Greene suddenly came to life in words and pictures.  I order some videos, and as I prepare to revisit Sherwood Forest, I wonder what will I find?  I’m viewing the episodes from a different perspective.  I remembered certain episodes and scenes but I didn’t really recall the dialogue.  I remember reading once that “people may not remember what you say to them but they will never forget how you made them feel.”  I couldn’t remember the words but I did remember how he made me feel.  To my amazement and enjoyment the episodes have stood the test of time, the dialogue is sophisticated at times and often very witty.   I got it; I could see the writers’ intentions - their stories and messages were directed at two audiences, children and adults.  Discovering who wrote the episodes only added to the adventure and understanding of the quality of the story lines.

I’m suddenly realizing that Sherwood Forest is a set, in my childhood naiveté I thought they were really in the forest. I’m now noticing that in certain scenes there are stunt doubles.  Does it disappoint me?  Not at all, Richard Greene is still Robin Hood, the handsome swashbuckling hero, defending the weak and fighting evil and injustice in a dangerous time. I understand that the studio couldn’t risk the icon of the series being injured.  His true love Maid Marian is ever present, as are his faithful band of fellow outlaws and his religious confidante Friar Tuck.  I think having a love interest as well as religious conscience added to the human quality of Robin, he was approachable, not a superhero who would sweep down on danger and then disappear.

Robin Hood had choices in life, not all were of his making, but he faced these choices along with his reversal of fortunes, with a positive attitude that would define the purpose of his life.  He was always the optimist and he made a difference in people’s lives.

I now sit back and enjoy watching Robin Hood fighting the good battle in a perilous time.  It always seems that he is one episode away from the return of King Richard, which would then reverse Robin Hood’s role in life.  He could return to being Robin of Locksley once more.  To live happily ever after, or will restless energy lead him into further adventures?  Whatever path he travels he will do it with purpose, conviction, optimism and good humor.   For me it will always be a Summer Evening in Sherwood Forest. 

Lucy Carpenter

Screenplay: “Leslie Poynton” (Adrian Scott and Fred Rinaldo)

Director: Peter Seabourne

Cast:

Doctor Guido Benvolio – Henry Vidon

Sir George Woodley – John Harvey

Howard (Sheriff’s lieutenant) – Paul Eddington

Sheriff’s doctor – Noel Davis

Derwent – Victor Woolf

Little John suffers a broken leg during an escape from the Sheriff’s men in the forest.  Friar Tuck takes him to Nottingham, where he is seen by a visiting Italian doctor, Guido Benvolio.  The Sheriff hears of it, and arrests both Little John, and Doctor Benvolio – for treating an outlaw. Robin formulates a plan: he gets into Nottingham castle and sets the Sheriff’s stables on fire.  In the meantime, Friar Tuck and some outlaws disguised as monks rescue Benvolio, and take him to safety of Sherwood.

Robin tries to free Little John, but fails: he encounters the Sheriff in the dungeon, they fight, and the Sheriff is badly wounded; Robin escapes, but he has to return to Sherwood without Little John.  Meanwhile, the Sheriff is seriously ill, and the Nottingham physician is not qualified to perform the required operation.  The Sheriff sends a messenger to Sherwood, to ask for Doctor Benvolio.  Robin at first forbids him to go to Nottingham, but Benvolio reminds him that a doctor’s duty is to treat everyone.  So Benvolio goes to Nottingham castle, and agrees to operate on the Sheriff on condition that Little John goes free.  Little John is taken back to Sherwood on a stretcher, and Doctor Benvolio performs the operation, and saves the Sheriff’s life. 

***

The name of the script-writer given in the credits to “The Doctor” - Leslie Poynton - was a pseudonym used by Adrian Scott and Fred Rinaldo. Adrian Scott was one of the “Hollywood Ten”; he refused to co-operate with the HUAC Commission, and was sentenced to a year in prison.  He was always interested in medicine – in the 1930s he wrote screenplays for documentaries on the subject of poverty and disease.

In “The Doctor”, as usual in “The Adventures”, there is a wonderful combination of drama and humour, and amusing dialogue.  Doctor Benvolio (Henry Vidon) delivers some memorable lines: he addresses Robin as “Capitano”, and says to Friar Tuck before an operation, “Reverendo – go! I prefer the space you occupy to your presence”.  And he speaks out boldly in the Sheriff’s court: “Is it possible?  England has come to this?  A man is guilty without a trial?”

Things went badly wrong for Robin in this episode: he desperately wanted to free Little John, but did not succeed.  And he had no intention of wounding (and almost killing) the Sheriff.  Robin does not seem as self-assured as usual; for once, he is unable to find a solution.  We are witnessing his moments of uncertainty and inner turmoil.  Anxious about Little John, tense and tired after a sleepless night, he makes a mistake - he forbids Benvolio to go to Nottingham and treat the Sheriff.  Doctor Benvolio tells him: “The Sheriff calls me a criminal because I operated on your friend.  To you, I am wrong if I operate on the Sheriff.  In this respect, you and the Sheriff are alike. I took an oath to heal everyone – beggar, outlaw, nobleman, and sheriff.   I believe only in life, it does not matter whose it may be.”  Robin admits that he was wrong, and lets the doctor go.

When I was watching this episode, something extraordinary happened: for a moment I forgot that it was a Robin Hood story.  It could have been anywhere, any time in history.  Richard Greene’s outstanding performance as a leader under pressure gave the character a universal dimension.  And the ethical concerns are just as timeless.  There is a message in “The Doctor” for those who defend the cause of freedom and justice - that they must take care to maintain the highest standard of conduct, and avoid contamination with the evil they are trying to defeat.  Robin understood this, and in the final scene he proposed a toast to Doctor Benvolio, “who reminded us what we are fighting for”.

(A. F.)

Sources of the biographical information about Adrian Scott:

Bernard F. Dick - “Radical Innocence, A Critical Study of the Hollywood Ten”, The University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, 1989 and http://digital.uwyo.edu/webarchive/scott/

Alan a'Dale

Steve Winders examines the appearances of Alan a’Dale in ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’.

Alan a’Dale first appeared in a ballad of Robin Hood in the seventeenth century, when Robin helps him to rescue the girl he loves from entering a loveless marriage to a much older man. In later prose retellings of the story he became a minstrel and by the twentieth century several versions of the chronicles of Robin Hood featured him as a member of the outlaw band.

His first appearance in ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’ television series was in episode twenty six of the second series, called ‘The Dowry’, when his contribution was to sing a song and play a medieval forerunner of the guitar called a gittern, from the cover of bushes, while Garth, another member of Robin’s band mimed to the song and pretended to play the gittern, to impress a maiden. Although the musical instrument that Alan played was clearly identified as a gittern, it had a bowl shaped back like a mandolin or a lute and was made from more than one piece of wood. A gittern had a flat back, like the guitar it preceded and was made from one piece of wood.

Apart from a brief scene where he was glimpsed alongside the other outlaws earlier in the episode and in which he did not speak, this was Alan a’Dale’s only appearance in the programme until series four. It could be argued that the unidentified off camera singer of the short rhyming verses which introduced each episode of the first three series was supposed to be Alan a’Dale, especially as they were sung in the present tense. However it could be equally well argued that this feature was simply to remind viewers that the stories of Robin Hood were first spread by strolling minstrels, who travelled through England singing the ballads.

For his single appearance in ‘The Dowry’, Alan was played by John Schlesinger, who later went on to achieve international renown as a film director, with ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’ and the Academy Award winning ‘Midnight Cowboy’ among his credits. This was actually Schlesinger’s second appearance in ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’, for he had played another minstrel member of the outlaw band called Hale, in the episode ‘The Haunted Mill’ earlier in the second series. In that episode, Hale, who had once been a baker, set the events of the story in motion by promising to bake a wild strawberry pie if the outlaws could get some flour. As Hale, Schlesinger wore a ‘page boy’ hair style and played the same instrument he would play in his appearance as Alan a’Dale. Exactly why he was not called Hale in his second appearance is not known, though it is obvious that Hale was created specifically for the ‘Haunted Mill’ episode, as many other members of Robin’s band were created for single appearances. Garth in ‘The Dowry’ is a good example. Presumably also, when ‘The Dowry’ was written, it was not known that John Schlesinger would play the minstrel, although his appearance as Hale probably helped him to be awarded the part.

The basic premise of ‘The Dowry’ echoes the original ballad of Alan a’Dale, with its story of a young man saving the maiden he loves from marriage to an older man who does not love her. In this version, the young man is Garth, not Alan and the plot is more complex because he has to win the girl’s love and convince her of his rival’s insincerity. Nevertheless the similarity between the stories is unmistakable and this may have prompted the inclusion of Alan a’Dale, albeit in a minor role.

Although Alan a’Dale had not previously featured in the series, the plot device of Robin helping a young man rescue his true love from an enforced marriage to a less worthy suitor had. Early in the first series, in Friar Tuck’s introductory episode, the Friar and Robin help Harold the Smith to save Mildred, his sweetheart from marrying William of Malmesbury. This story may explain why the original ballad of Alan a’Dale was not used as the basis for an episode in the first series, as so many others were. It does not explain why Alan a’Dale was not used instead of the ‘Garth’ character in ‘The Dowry’, but it may be that the producers wished to keep open their options to use the character again. Garth wins the heart of the girl Bess at the end of the episode and so leaves with her and her substantial dowry, which Robin has ‘rescued’ from her father, for a lawful life outside the forest.

In fact, no one actually refers to Schlesinger’s minstrel as Alan a’Dale in ‘The Dowry’. Only the closing credits name him, which probably explains why the producers felt confident in introducing him as a completely different character in series four. Now played by Richard Coleman, the new Alan was Sir Alan a’Dale, a knight betrothed to Lady Marian’s cousin, whose land was claimed by Prince John. Coleman’s first broadcast appearance was in the fifth episode ‘The Devil You Don’t Know’, which introduces the new Deputy Sheriff of Nottingham to the series. However this episode was clearly shown in the wrong chronological order, for the events of the story follow those in the seventh episode ‘Six Strings to His Bow’, in which Robin meets Sir Alan for the first time. This new Alan a’Dale plays the harp instead of the gittern and also uses it most effectively as a weapon. The ‘six strings’ of the title refers to his harp.

In this episode Sir Alan is travelling to London from his estates in the north to defend his rights to the land against Prince John. Unknown to him, he has been outlawed after being accused of murdering the Prince’s bailiff, whom he actually killed in self defence. Robin meets Alan in the Blue Boar Inn and offers him protection through the forest after an assassin tries to shoot him with a crossbow. Alan does not accept Robin’s offer however and almost strangles him with his harp strings, before knocking him unconscious, when Robin tries to force Alan to go with him. Later Robin discovers the full details of Alan’s plight from Marian and they try to track him down in the forest before he is captured by the Sheriff of Nottingham, who is hot on his tail.

Robin discovers that Will and Alan have only dislocated their legs and painfully twists them back into place. He invites Alan to join the outlaw band until it is safe for him to reclaim his land and Alan gratefully accepts.

In this episode, Alan’s first scene shows him playing his harp and singing to Joan in the Blue Boar, but he is quickly shown to be a man of action. In the course of the story, he overpowers Robin, Will Scarlett and the Sheriff with his harp! He is tall, young and strongly built. He is also well spoken and intelligent and his scenes with the equally intelligent Will Scarlett are full of witty exchanges. Together with Will, who is also a new member of Robin’s band, he provides the outlaws with a new dimension. Now Robin has two sophisticated young lieutenants, who are quite a contrast to Little John and Friar Tuck. Interestingly the two are also aristocratic. If Will is not actually from the upper class, he certainly has a noble bearing!

In ‘The Devil You Don’t Know’, the episode begins with Robin and his men searching for Alan, who has been missing for several days. They notice a small party of men passing through the forest and ambush them. The men have a prisoner in their charge and Robin frees him from his bonds. The leader of the party tries to escape, but the freed prisoner kills him, telling Robin that he was about to draw his dagger. Robin reads a scroll the man was carrying, which is a letter of introduction to the Sheriff of Nottingham, identifying him as the new Deputy Sheriff! He was to have taken over the Sheriff’s duties for the next three months, while the Sheriff is away in London.

Back at camp the freed prisoner, who identifies himself as Ralph of Plumtree, hears about the missing Alan a’Dale and offers to go to Nottingham posing as the new Deputy to find out whether Alan is a prisoner there. After much consideration, Robin agrees to this plan and Ralph leaves for Nottingham, where Lady Marian is currently visiting the Sheriff to wish him well on his journey to London.

When Ralph arrives he easily convinces the Sheriff and Marian that he is the new Deputy and tells them that he has escaped from Robin Hood’s outlaws in Sherwood Forest, but that his men are still held prisoner. He asks how many outlaws the Sheriff is holding prisoner, so that they can arrange an exchange and so discovers that Alan a’Dale is indeed in the castle’s dungeon. The Sheriff wishes to take Alan to London with him however, as he is wanted by Prince John, so when Marian leaves the room, Ralph, who it now transpires is the real Deputy Sheriff tells him how he has tricked Robin Hood and that they can now use Alan as bait in a trap to catch him.

‘Ralph’ has arranged to meet Robin at the southern postern gate later in the evening and he tells the Sheriff that he can lure him into the castle where he can be captured. The Sheriff agrees and allows ‘Ralph’ to visit Sir Alan in the dungeon, where he shows him a talisman that Robin has given him, which convinces Alan that he can be trusted. The Deputy Sheriff asks Alan to play the harp for Lady Marian, so that he will be better placed to be rescued.

Alan is taken to the Sheriff’s chamber to play and he is shackled to prevent him escaping. ‘Ralph’ pockets the key to his shackles and orders the Sheriff’s men to close the curtains of the chamber. When the Sheriff’s lieutenant struggles with the cord holding back the curtain, the Deputy angrily throws him his dagger to cut it, narrowly missing the lieutenant. This incident is noted by both Alan and Marian and may have aroused their suspicions about ‘Ralph’s’ integrity.

The Deputy then goes out to meet Robin and tells him how he has set things up so that Alan can easily be rescued. He tells Robin to wait for Alan to start playing a particular tune, as this is the signal that the room is unguarded. He has lowered a rope from the casement of the room, so that Robin can climb up and enter through the window. Robin is cautious about the plan, but the Deputy gives him the key to Alan’s shackles, which seems to reassure him. He then returns to the Sheriff and they leave Marian and Alan in the chamber. The Deputy asks the Sheriff to watch events unfold in the chamber, through a spy hole in the wall outside. He says that they will also catch Marian when Robin arrives, for he believes that she is in league with him and that this will be made obvious when he climbs into the room. However, when Robin enters the chamber, Marian immediately treats him like an unwelcome stranger and he replies in kind. This pleases the Sheriff, who has always trusted Marian and he triumphantly enters the room to confront Robin, who has just released Alan. In the skirmish that follows, Alan again uses his harp as a weapon, but the Deputy grabs Marian and holds his dagger to her throat, insisting that he will kill her unless Robin admits her complicity in his operations. This outrages the Sheriff, who knocks the dagger from his Deputy’s hand. Robin grabs the dagger and the Deputy and threatens to kill him unless the Sheriff lets Alan and him go.

The Sheriff has no regard for his wily new Deputy and is more than happy for Robin to kill him. However Marian intercedes on his behalf, saying that his death could anger Prince John, who appointed him. The Sheriff reluctantly agrees and Robin and Alan leave safely. The Sheriff remonstrates angrily with his replacement for his bungled operation.

Later, from the forest, Robin, Will and Alan watch the Sheriff leave for London. Will comments that he is sorry to see him go, for he is the ‘devil’ they know.

This is another strong episode, with a complex story and a crucial role for Alan. Obviously, the devious new Deputy Sheriff is featured most prominently, but Alan is again the focus of the outlaws’ concerns. Like Marian, his suspicions are raised by the Deputy’s reckless throwing of the knife and he helps her to promote the ruse that she and the outlaws are enemies, although he nearly gives her away earlier in the story, when he believes that Ralph is genuine. He is again involved in the action in the fight at the end of the episode, when his dangerous harp is again a most effective weapon.

Alan’s third appearance was sadly also his final one. This was in the eighteenth episode of series four. In ‘Hostage for a Hangman’, Alan has been persuaded by Will to join him on an early morning visit to one of his fair maidens, so that he can sing and play his harp outside her window on Will’s behalf. The two scale a castle wall and Alan duly sings outside her window. However a group of armed soldiers arrive to ambush them and although Alan escapes by again using his harp to hit his assailants, Will is captured.

Back in Sherwood, while Robin, Alan and the other outlaws are discussing Will’s rescue, he saunters into camp, having been released by the Deputy Sheriff. Will has been released so that he can give a message to Robin, which is that the Deputy wants a parley with him.

At their meeting, the Deputy informs Robin that he intends to arrest the first two serfs to pass along the London road every day and hang them at sundown, until Robin surrenders himself!

When Robin tells his men of this plan, Alan suggests that Prince John should be informed. Even he would not condone the murder of innocent serfs. While Robin realises that this is not possible, he knows that two of John’s leading supporters, Lords Orford and Beaumont, are visiting the shire and he kidnaps them while they are dining with Lady Marian. He tells them about the Deputy’s plan, but they will not believe him without proof. As he cannot convince them any other way, he dresses them as serfs and ensures that they are the first two to walk the London road next day!

The lords are indeed mistaken for serfs and captured by the Deputy’s men. Later the Deputy meets Robin at the parley point, where Robin tells him that he too has taken hostages, Lords Orford and Beaumont! He will hang them if the Deputy hangs the serfs!

The Deputy admits that he has given orders to hang the serfs at noon, not sundown in case Robin intended to attempt a rescue. This gives Robin little time to stop the soldiers from hanging the Lords, so he apprehends the Deputy Sheriff while he and his men race to prevent the hanging.

Lords Orford and Beaumont already have nooses around their necks when Robin arrives and rescues them, so they are fully convinced that the Deputy was serious in his murderous intent.      

When the Deputy arrives the Lords remonstrate angrily with him about his policy and threaten to have him removed from office. Another of his dastardly plans comes to naught!

Alan’s involvement in this story is less than in his previous appearances, but he does give Robin the idea which helps him to beat the Deputy Sheriff. He appears from the start of the episode and is involved in all the fight scenes, once again both playing his harp and using it as a weapon.

It is a pity that Alan a’Dale made only three appearances in the fourth series, because the character had much dramatic potential that was not explored. He was an interesting sparring partner for Will Scarlett, which provided scope for humour. He was Robin’s social equal and as a dispossessed and outlawed nobleman, was placed in exactly the same position as Robin and might have developed as his protégé. The fact that he was also betrothed to Marian’s cousin gave him another link to Robin and could again have provided scope for future stories.

Obviously Richard Coleman was not employed on a long contract, as he made so few appearances and it is clear that the budget for the series would not run to yet another contracted character. For this reason, on the occasions he did appear, Alan played a significant role, whereas Will Scarlett and Little John sometimes had little involvement in the stories.

This fourth and final series ran for only twenty six episodes, instead of the thirty nine of the previous three. Perhaps Alan would have featured again if the series had been longer or if further series had been made.  

Richard Coleman’s performance was an original interpretation of the character of Alan a’Dale. Although well dressed in keeping with his aristocratic status, he did not echo the brightly attired lightweight figure of other versions. He played Alan as a decisive man of action, not a forlorn character who was defined by his music. Convincing in his fight scenes, he played his comic exchanges opposite Paul Eddington as Will Scarlett with confidence and good timing. He was not an accomplished harpist however! In his opening scene in ‘Six Strings to His Bow’, he is seen to play a few bars of a simple tune on the harp, but these could be easily memorised and would not require him to be a competent player. In ‘The Devil You Don’t Know’, when he apparently plays much more complex tunes, these are all heard ‘off camera’ and when Robin climbs through the window into the room in which he is playing, he turns to see Robin and moves his hands from the strings a moment before the music stops! Finally, in ‘Hostage for a Hangman’, he plays with his back to the camera so that viewers cannot see his fingers pluck the strings.  

In his appearances as both Hale and Alan a’Dale, John Schlesinger probably does play his instrument. All of his tunes are quite simple to play. Both Schlesinger and Coleman sing their songs. Schlesinger is a tenor and Coleman a light baritone. 

Richard Coleman played naval officers in his first three film appearances, although his first film ’Yangtse Incident’, released in 1957 was a tense cold war thriller based on fact, whereas his next two films ‘Girls at Sea’ and ‘The Navy Lark’ were both light comedies. After ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’, he appeared in a small role in the Academy Award winning film epic ‘Ben Hur’. He went on to appear in small parts in several other films over the next forty years, but worked much more in television and the theatre. He appeared in episodes of ‘Dixon of Dock Green’ and ‘The Avengers’ in the mid sixties, gaining a regular role in the Birmingham based soap opera ‘Weaver’s Green’ in 1966. He featured in the comedy series ‘And Mother Makes Three’, starring the popular British actress Wendy Craig, from 1972 -73 and co – starred with her in its sequel ‘And Mother Makes Five’, in 1974, when his character married hers.

After his success with Wendy Craig, his career continued very much as before, with theatre work, film and television guest appearances. On television he appeared in situation comedies such as ‘George and Mildred’ and ‘Robin’s Nest’ and drama series, including ‘Wings’, about the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and ‘Private Schultz’, a comic drama about a German attempt to flood Britain with forged bank notes in the Second World War. He also played a small role in the 1982 film thriller ‘Who Dares Wins’, about a terrorist attack on the American Embassy in London. His career involved both comedy and dramatic roles from start to finish. In ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’ he had proved his ability in both.

Although Alan a’Dale made too few appearances in ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’, the fourth series provided viewers with a strong and memorable version of the character. Thanks to Richard Coleman’s noble harpist, an important aspect of the rich legacy of the Robin Hood legends was finally explored.        

Steve Winders

“MAID MARIAN” – CHILDHOOD SWEETHEARTS

Suzette:   “Maid Marian” is one of my favourite episodes (it would certainly make my personal “top ten”).  I also think it’s one of the best in the series – dramatic and romantic….

Robin still looks very aristocratic (he changed a bit later on, I think), lecturing his men about family crests.  And his authority is still questioned!  The men don’t quite understand his “policy” yet – it’s not just about robbing the rich to give to the poor; it’s also the question of loyalty of the outlaws’ “victims” – are they on the side of King Richard, or Prince John?  But he calls them “my men”, not “our men”, as he did in “Dead or Alive”.  A year or two later, they don’t just respect and admire him – they love him; and they are ready to sacrifice their lives for him (and he – for them).  The Men of Sherwood – there’s a very strong bond between them.

I thought Marian looked very menacing, marking the trail on the trees with her dagger.  The idea of Robin and Marian fighting, or chasing each other in the woods, with Marian dressed as a boy, is traditional, although it doesn’t go as far back as the early ballads (Marian doesn’t appear in the original ballads at all, only later – in poems and plays).

“It’s the same girl…. The way I remembered you all these years…”  So she was the only one he really loved.  Was he dreaming about her during those long months when he couldn’t go home?  She thought about him, too – perhaps heard rumors that he wasn’t coming back?  Marian must have known that some men came back changed from the war – perhaps she thought it happened to him, too.  “They say such things about you…  I don’t know what to believe”… ”What your heart tells you…” – that romantic scene was brutally interrupted by the Sheriff’s men. I thought it was almost painfully sad.  And the scene when Marian got the jewels back, with Robin’s letter – “Forgive us – with affectionate regards from an old friend”…  Do you know, it could make a grown woman cry!

And the memorable prison cell sequence – have you noticed the clenched fist?  “Go, and leave me alone”….  I think this the only time when we see something unfamiliar, something we didn’t think he was capable of – bitterness.  Our Robin was supposed to be cheerful, never giving up, always hoping for a solution, even in a hopeless situation… He must have thought that his short outlaw “career” was going to end then – because of a woman!  And not just any woman – the one he loved.  The disappointment is just impossible to imagine.

The final escape is almost symbolic – towards the light that is shining through the arched doorway…

Do you remember the scene late in the evening, after Marian has done the washing up and gone to bed, and Robin talks to one of the men about extra sentries?  What does he do there – is it a yawn, or a sigh?  There are many moments like this in different episodes, and together they create a real sense of physical presence on the screen.  This is my most vivid memory of him – not any particular image, but the presence, difficult to put into words, it’s something felt, rather than seen.  A very powerful, but elusive sensation…

Marian:  I guess I am the eternal romantic, I loved this episode – definitely in my top five.  My one regret about the episode was that the writers didn’t bring into the storyline as to why the two had not seen each other since childhood.  Robin recognized Marian immediately, but I didn’t get the sense she knew who he was – the scene when they got to camp and Marian was straining to look – trying to figure out which one was Robin – the expression on Robin’s face as he is watching her search for “Robin”… then she slowly looked at him and said, “You’re Robin, I thought you weren’t telling me the truth”, to which he replied, “Funny, I had the same feeling.”

“How should I know from the way you are dressed that you are a hunter?” – “How should I know from the noises you make that you were a man?” – A memorable meeting of the friends – playful – but yet both looking for answers…..

The chase scene and the interruption by the Sheriff’s men – the terrible look of despair on both of their faces; I had the feeling that Marian was thinking, “What have I done?”

Marian is very adept at using the Sheriff for her own advantage.  You can sense how he feels about her, but I get the distinct feeling that she does not like him but knows that it is to her advantage to keep on his good side, which is very wise.

The prison cell - Marian had cleverly used the Sheriff to get to Robin; as Suzette mentioned, he looked in total despair – bitterness, which we aren’t used to seeing in our hero, I think the combination of his love of Marian and the total disillusionment of the betrayal he felt.

I also want to mention Marian’s adorable Nanny, one of my favorites – “Whistling ladies and cackling hens are sure to come to disastrous ends”… She always makes me laugh.

Lady of Locksley:  “Maid Marian” was both happy and sad to me.  I too love
the episode, childhood friends renewing their friendship, which was
obviously a little more than just friendship.  The romantic scene when
Marian read the letter made me cry too… there’s always something about
childhood sweethearts that touches me deeply.
 

Memorabilia

We are always on the look out for various collectibles, and not just those found on the internet, although this issue has a bumper selection from eBay.  Our thanks to those named for allowing us to include in the magazine.

The following were spotted by Lucy: -

A Hugh McDermot autograph.  Hugh, you may recall, played Duncan of Stoneykirk in The Highlander, The Highland Fling, The Bagpiper and The Parting Guest.

Reviews of these episodes have featured in earlier editions of the magazine.

Playing cards

Robin Hood comics