The Men of Sherwood Forest

The Men of Sherwood Forest is a 1954 British adventure film directed by Val Guest and starring Don Taylor, Reginald Beckwith, Eileen Moore and David King-Wood. The film follows the exploits of Robin Hood and his followers. Doreen Carwithen wrote the score for the film. Produced by Hammer Films it was shot at the company's Bray Studios with sets designed by the art director J. Elder Wills. Exteriors were shot at Bodiam Castle in Sussex.

Plot
In 1194, on his return from the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart is taken prisoner in Germany. Disguised as a troubadour, Robin Hood builds a plan to rescue him from this tight spot but is captured. The Merry Men then have to fulfil a double mission: find Robin Hood and save the King.

Cast

 * Don Taylor as Robin Hood
 * Reginald Beckwith as Friar Tuck
 * Eileen Moore as Lady Alys
 * David King-Wood as Sir Guy Belton
 * Douglas Wilmer as Sir Nigel Saltire
 * Harold Lang as Hubert
 * Ballard Berkeley as Walter
 * Patrick Holt as King Richard
 * Wensley Pithey as Hugo
 * Leslie Linder as Little John
 * John Van Eyssen as Will Scarlett
 * Leonard Sachs as Sheriff of Nottingham
 * Raymond Rollett as 	Abbot St. Jude
 * Toke Townley as Father David
 * Vera Pearce as Elvira
 * John Kerr as Brian of Eskdale
 * John Stuart as Moraine
 * Bernard Bresslaw as Garth
 * Edward Hardwicke as Outlaw
 * Jack May as Villager

Crew

 * Director: Val Guest
 * Assistant director: Jack Sangster
 * Screenplay by Allan MacKinnon
 * Photography: Walter J. Harvey, B.S.C
 * Music by Doreen Carwithen
 * Musical director: John Hollingsworth
 * Art director: J. Elder Wills
 * Editor: James Needs
 * Production manager: Jimmy Sangster
 * Produced by Michael Carreras
 * Sound recording: Sid Wiles and Ken Cameron
 * Continuity: Renee Glynne
 * Camera operator: Len Harris
 * Make-up: Phillip Leakey
 * Hairdresser: Monica Hustler
 * Costume designer: Michael Withaker
 * Wardrobe mistress: Molly Arbuthnot
 * Production company: Hammer Film Productions
 * Country: England
 * Aspect ratio: 1.37:1 - Eastmancolor - Mono (RCA Sound Recording)
 * Runtime: 77 mn
 * Release date: 17 November 1954
 * Produced at Bray Studio, England

Production
Val Guest called it " a merry romp, it was a send-up of all the Robin Hood things... It was a fun picture, but nothing really riveting or historical."

Critical reception
David Parkinson noted in the Radio Times "a cheap and cheerful Hammer outing to Sherwood, with production values on a par with the infamously parsimonious ITV series starring Richard Greene", concluding "Val Guest directs with little feel for the boisterous action, but it's a tolerable frolic all the same", while TV Guide wrote that "this low-budget swashbuckler is good fun for the undiscriminating".