Sep 27, 2024
Undertow (William Castle, 1949).
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
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seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from United States
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seen from United States
seen from Singapore
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Japan
seen from China
seen from United States
Undertow (William Castle, 1949).
“Why, you speak treason!” “Fluently.”
When it comes to Robin Hood, it doesn’t get any Robin Hood-ier than this. Swashbuckling legend Errol Flynn is Robin Hood as much as Olivia de Havilland is Maid Marian in what might just be the most entertaining film of the 1930s in Michael Curtiz’s The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Every single Robin Hood film release since stands in this version’s shadow.
Action-packed without being overly silly or too violent, witty as any of the screwball comedies released in the ‘30s and ‘40s, costumed and designed with an eye-popping color palette, and enjoyable enough for anyone who has never seen a film this old, Michael Curtiz’s and William Keighley's The Adventures of Robin Hood continues to delight as it approaches its eighty-fifth anniversary of its release. Flamboyant performances from Claude Rains and Basil Rathbone add to the fun! Perhaps its most innovative aspect is the rollicking score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Korngold (as much a composer for film as he was for contemporary classical music) was one of the first to use Wagnerian leitmotifs in association with characters and ideas in his scores, which would go on to influence almost every film composer working since.
At that year’s Oscars, The Adventures of Robin Hood - the most expensive movie yet produced by Warner Bros. at that time - was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning three: Best Art Direction (Carl Jules Weyl), Film Editing (Ralph Dawson), and Original Score for Korngold. Its only loss was for Best Picture (You Can’t Take it with You).
Errol Flynn, Oliva de Havilland, and others in a poster for the Technicolor film The Adventures of Robin Hood (USA, 1938, dir. Michael Curtiz, William Keighley) | Warner Bros. Pictures
At the 11th Academy Awards (1939), The Adventures of Robin Hood was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture, and won three: Best Art Direction (Carl Jules Weyl), Best Film Editing (Ralph Dawson), Best Original Score (Erich Wolfgang Korngold).
Errol Flynn in a publicity photo for the Technicolor film The Adventures of Robin Hood (USA, 1938, dir. Michael Curtiz, William Keighley) | Warner Bros. Pictures
At the 11th Academy Awards (1939), The Adventures of Robin Hood was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture, and won three: Best Art Direction (Carl Jules Weyl), Best Film Editing (Ralph Dawson), Best Original Score (Erich Wolfgang Korngold).
Fredric March and Olivia de Havilland in a Spanish poster for the epic costume drama film Anthony Adverse (USA, 1936, dir. Mervyn LeRoy) | Warner Bros. Pictures
Anthony Adverse was nominated for seven Oscars at the 9th Academy Awards (1937) and won four: Best Supporting Actress (Gale Sondergaard), Best Cinematography (Gaetano Gaudio), Best Film Editing (Ralph Dawson), and Best Music (Erich Wolfgang Korngold).