This video shows clips of Basil Rathbone trying on helmets for his role as Sir Guy of Gisbourne. Once the actor is cast in a role, costume tests are done to determine which garments are most becoming to the actor and which fabrics photograph best; head tests to decide which helmet of the period is best suited to the actor.

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD

COLORFUL ROMANCE THAT SHOULD PLEASE EVERYONE

After all there is nothing like high romance and exciting adventure, now is there, and the newest version of the robin Hood legends abounds in plenty of both. Done in Technicolor, and lavishly produced, it is one of the most beautiful and thrilling pictures you'll ever see. If there's a spark of romance in you you'll simply glow with joy. Errol Flynn is excellent as the swashbuckling Robin of some seven hundred years ago—and so dashing.

Told in picturesque episodes, with much fanfare and pageantry, the story concerns the attempts of villainous Prince John to seize the throne of his brother, Richard the Lion-Hearted of England, while Richard is away on a Crusade against the Saracens. The Saxons, taxed beyond endurance and tortured mercilessly by evil prince John and his Norman lords, turn to Robin Hood to save them from their oppressors, which he proceeds to do in a most daring and delightful manner.

There's comedy, and there's intrigue, and there's a flawless cast of characters. Lovely Olivia de Havilland plays Maid Marian and no princess ever looked mroe beautiful and romantic on her balcony than Olivia. Basil Rathbone's performance as the deadly and dastardly Sir Guy is perfection itself, as always, and his duel with Robin is quite the most thrilling duel every screened.

Stand-outs are Claude Rains as the scheming Prince John, Melville Cooper as the cowardly Bishop of Nottingham, Ian Hunter as the stalwart Richard, Alan Hale as tough Little John, Eugene Pallette as martial Friar Tuck, Patric Knowles as loyal Will Scarlett, and Una O'Connor quite priceless as Maid Marian's maid in the throes of a romance with Will Scarlett. You'll long remember the new Robin Hood as the most colorful and dashing of pictures.

"The Adventures of Robin Hood"

A dashing, spectacular romance of high adventure in the England of long ago, sweepingly imaginative and combining beautiful color effects with production values of the highest order, "The Adventures of Robin Hood" offers a rare showmanship opportunity.

Perhaps the most impressive factor of the picture is its "bigness." It is, strictly speaking, a physical "bigness." The story is essentially simple, familiar to every school child in the world, that of the beloved brigand, who defends the poor against oppression, makes himself an outlaw to bring right from wrong, robs from the brutal rich to succor the starving and beaten poor. In that sense, the story itself has all the elements which go to inspire the sympathy of audiences.

Much credit must go to Norman Reilly Raine and Seton I. Miller for the manner in which they have woven a richly adventurous yarn about the memorable legends of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest, and to Michael Curtiz and William Keighley for direction which has served to combine the elements of which the story is made and the technical facilities at their command, with full advantage taken of the color technique, to present a powerful piece of box-office merchandise.

The cast is strong in name value, and each one performs admirably, wholly in keeping with the characters as they long have been known. Errol Flynn has captured ably the dashing recklessness of Robin Hood, who gave up a noble's place to fight for his absent King Richard the Lion Hearted, with a warm feeling for those he is protecting. Basil Rathbone is more than properly sinister as the leading henchman of the treacherous Prince John, played by Claude Rains, who would usurp the throne of his brother, while Olivia De Havilland is excellent as Marion, with whom Robin Hood is in love. Alan Hale as Little John, Eugene Pallette as Friar Tuck, Ian Hunter as King Richard, Una O'Connor as Marion's maid, and Herbert Mundin as the willing aide of Robin Hood all offer fine characterizations.

The outdoor sets in many cases will stir audiences to murmurs of admiration, and the picture is highlighted by such examples as the archery contest, the scenes in the great castle halls, the ambushes in the forest, the rescue of Robin from the gallows, and the restoration of King Richard.

Running time, 100 minutes. "G."

"The Adventures of Robin Hood" with Errol Flynn, Olivia DeHavilland, Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains

Excellent entertainment! Not only does it show great care in production, that is, in lavish settings, fine technicolor photography, expert direction and acting, but also in the manner in which the story has been developed, for action has not been sacrificed in an attempt to stress the beauties of technicolor photography. Adventure, romance, comedy, and human appeal have been skilfully blended to give satisfaction on all counts. Needless to say, it holds one in tense suspense throughout, because of the constant danger to the hero, who dares to defy the tyrannical nobles in an effort to bring about justice for the common people. In spite of the fact that his many escapes are nothing short of miracles, the way he accomplishes them are so thrilling, that audiences will overlook the fact that they are far-fetched. The duel in the closing scenes between the hero and his arch enemy is the most exciting ever screened. And for color and excitement, audiences will long remember the archery tournament in which many men complete.