Happy Birthday Robin Hood!

Forget Jonas Armstrong in the BBC’s recent big-on-action-but-low-on-charm Robin Hood or Kevin Costner’s earnest turn in the forgettable Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves: Errol Flynn as the titular hero of The Adventures of Robin Hood did more to cement the image of England’s greatest freedom fighter – or is that terrorist? – in the minds of the public than anyone before or since. As the film’s tagline screamed, “Only the rainbow can duplicate its brilliance!”

Born on June 20 1909 in Hobart, Tasmania, Flynn started his life as a serial seducer early when he was expelled from school for allegedly being caught in flagrante with a school laundress. Following failed attempts to run a tobacco plantation and copper mine in New Guinea, Flynn came to the UK in the 1930s, where he took up acting with the Northampton Repertory Company, even stopping of in Glasgow as part of one tour. It wasn’t until 1935 that Flynn would show his prowess at swashing his buckle in Captain Blood, the first film (out of eight) in which he would co-star with Olivia de Havilland. Soon after that he was appearing in glorious Technicolor in Warner Bros' The Adventures of Robin Hood, but only after screen legend James Cagney had signed up to then quit the role. A little bit of England was recreated in Hollywood for this unusually extravagant production, its budget of $2 million impressive for the time. The studio’s faith in the Aussie actor was well placed, the film earning them nearly £4 million in ticket sales.

According to film critic Roger Ebert, “Flynn shows us a Robin Hood so supremely alive that the whole adventure is a lark”. It’s hard to disagree, the sheer speed and enthusiasm on show here almost dizzying. While Flynn would continue to wow audiences in movies such as The Dawn Patrol (1938) and The Adventures of Don Juan (1948), he was by now typecast in the role of the swashbuckler, one he would find impossible to escape from. Flynn’s image would not remain that of the hero throughout his life, with an accusation of statutory rape in 1942 and a scandal surrounding his failure to enroll in the armed forces during World War II returning to haunt him. Ironically, the fact that Flynn wasn’t allowed to serve due to heart problems was kept quiet by the film studios in an attempt to protect his image. Still, the image the cinema-going public were most interested in was that of the screen icon, and it’s fitting that the Glasgow Film Festival should choose to show The Adventures of Robin Hood to mark the centenary of the actor’s birth. Forget the imposters and the try-hards and settle back to enjoy 102 minutes of pure escapism with a lead at the peak of his powers. Happy Birthday Robin!