The Adventures of Robin Hood
Episode 13: The Youngest Outlaw
Introductory minstrel song: “Once a boy to Sherwood came, to live beneath the greenwood tree; hoping he could hide his fame, as Duke of Brittany!”
Regular Cast
Sir Robin of Locksley – Richard Greene
Maid Marian – Bernadette O’Farrell
The Sheriff of Nottingham – Alan Wheatley
Little John – Archie Duncan
Friar Tuck – Alexander Gauge
Guests: Little John – Rufus Cruikshank
Joan of the Blue Boar Inn – Simone Lovell
Victor Woolf and Willoughby Gray, who played a variety of roles throughout the series, also featured.
Original air date: 18 December 1955
Screenplay: John Dyson
Director: Bernard Knowles
Plot: In disguise, Prince Arthur is lost in the forest. Robin and Marian find him and foil a plot by Prince John’s supporters to murder him.
Standout scene: no scene stood out this week, mainly because this was a consistently good story, well paced. My only criticism – as with many of the stories in this series, the denouement seemed slightly rushed, maybe because of time constraints.
No Sheriff of Nottingham in this episode, and less screen time for Friar Tuck. The writers had established the main characters by this point and rotated them, according to the demands of each story.
Sword fights – 1. Bow fights/bow skills – 0.
Running total: Sword fights – 10. Bow fights/bow skills – 11.
Rufus Cruikshank (pictured) stood in for Archie Duncan in this episode, and future episodes, because of a serious injury to Archie Duncan while filming an earlier story in the series.
Little John was obviously a key member of the cast, so there was no question of writing him out of the series. A replacement had to be found at short notice, and Rufus Cruikshank played the role well.
Rufus Cruickshank also appeared in Kidnapped (1952) and Lord Emsworth and the Little Friend (1956), plus Hancock’s Half Hour and Interpol Calling. Sadly, he died in 1959, aged 44.
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Coming soon, my Adventures of Maid Marian series
Hannah Howe 