Robin Hood (1922)

Directed by Allan Dwan. Starring Douglas Fairbanks, Wallace Beery, Sam De Grasse, Enid Bennett, Alan Hale, Paul Dickey, Willard Louis, Bud Geary, Billie Bennett, William Lowery.

Lavish production of the Robin Hood legend with lively Fairbanks as the roguish hero in service to King Richard the Lionheart (Beery), defying Prince John (De Grasse), romancing Maid Marian (Bennett), and so on. Expensive, large-scale undertaking threatens to dwarf the athletic vigor of its star; the huge sets were designed by (among others) Frank Lloyd Wright. Takes a little too long to get going—it’s nearly an hour in before Fairbanks even becomes a brigand!—and the erratic storytelling hampers the pace, but it’s still spirited fun much of the way, with impressive stuntwork and colorful performances from most of the cast (though Dickey’s Guy of Gisbourne is awfully flat for such a hissable nemesis). Hale reprised his role as Little John twice more over the next few decades, including the 1938 Technicolor version with Errol Flynn. The producers spared no expense, so it’s fitting that this became the first film to get a Hollywood premiere; (clunky) full title: Douglas Fairbanks Is Robin Hood.

76/100