Category: Maid Marian and Robin Hood

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The Adventures of Robin Hood 

Episode 16: The Betrothal 

Introductory minstrel song: “In Sport it’s the professionals, that always win the glory; but Robin is the amateur, and that’s a different story!”

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, standing in for the injured Archie Duncan.

Original air date: 8 January 1956

Screenplay: Paul Symonds

Director: Ralph Smart 

Plot: Sir Richard of the Lea appears again, seeking approval to get his son, William Lucas as Claude, married off to the lovely Lady Gladys, Jennifer Jayne. To achieve his aim, Sir Richard enlists Robin’s help to persuade Lady Gladys’ father, Charles Lloyd-Pack, that his son is suitable.

Character reference – think Terry Jones in the “let me sing” scene in The Holy Grail, “Someday, lad, all this will be yours – What, the curtains?” – and you will have some idea of Claude, Sir Richard’s son.

Standout scene: The moment Gladys starts singing and realises she’s the right person for Claude.

Sword fights – 2. Bow fights/bow skills – 0.

Running total: Sword fights – 15. Bow fights/bow skills – 13.

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Jennifer Jayne

Jennifer made her film debut in 1948, in Once a Jolly Swagman. She followed this up with The Blue Lamp in 1949. Both films starred Dirk Bogarde. 

In the 1950s Jennifer appeared in a number of historical adventure series – The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, Sword of Freedom and The Adventures of William Tell.

Jennifer was also a talented writer. Under the pseudonym Jay Fairbank, she wrote the screenplays for Tales That Witness Madness (1973) and Son of Dracula (1974).

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

The Adventures of Robin Hood

Episode 12: The Ordeal

Introductory minstrel song: “Murder in a village, an outlaw is the one accused; Robin sees that right and truth, shall triumph unabused!”

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 

Guest: Edgar – Alfie Bass

Original air date: 11 December 1955

Screenplay: Eric Heath (pseudonym of Ring Lardner Jr.) 

Director: Dan Birt

Plot: Edgar, an outlaw, secretly visits his wife and child and is framed for murder.

Standout scene: the opening scene with Edgar and his wife. They discuss how the Sheriff of Nottingham sets the villagers against each other, to distract their attention from him, and how he manipulates them through lies. Yet again, a story set in medieval times and written in the 1950s resonates with our times.

An excellent episode encompassing a murder mystery and medieval attitudes to justice. Robin plays detective in this story, a wordy and thoughtful piece, low on action, but high on morality. 

Sword fights – 0. Bow fights/bow skills – 0.

Running total: Sword fights – 9. Bow fights/bow skills – 11.

Alfie Bass features as Edgar. The youngest of ten children, with his family Alfie fled persecution in Russia. In 1936, he took part in the Battle of Cable Street, a famous event in London’s history in which activists attempted to prevent a march through the East End by fascists.

Alfie’s stage, film, television and radio appearances were numerous. There was a time in the 1960s when no British production was complete without an appearance by Alfie Bass.

During the first two seasons of The Adventures of Robin Hood, Alfie Bass made five appearances. He also appeared as the Pie Merchant in the 1967 film A Challenge for Robin Hood.

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Coming soon, my Adventures of Maid Marian series

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