''The Prince of Thieves'' is a 1948 American adventure film nominally inspired by Alexandre Dumas' 1872 novel ''Le Prince des voleurs''. Produced by

Sam Katzman Sam Katzman (July 7, 1901 – August 4, 1973) was an American film producer and director. Katzman produced low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers. E ...

for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

and starring Jon Hall as

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

with stuntwork by

Jock Mahoney Jacques Joseph O'Mahoney (February 7, 1919 – December 14, 1989), known professionally as Jock Mahoney, was an American actor and stuntman. He starred in two Action/Adventure television series, ''The Range Rider'' and ''Yancy Derringer''. He ...

, the film was shot in the Cinecolor process that features an inability to reproduce the colour green. Sequences were shot reusing several of the sets of Columbia's ''

The Bandit of Sherwood Forest ''The Bandit of Sherwood Forest'' is a 1946 American Technicolor adventure film directed by Henry Levin & George Sherman and starring Cornel Wilde, Anita Louise, Jill Esmond and Edgar Buchanan. Plot Robin Hood's son (Cornel Wilde) returns to s ...

'' and at

Corriganville __NOTOC__ Corriganville Movie Ranch was a working film studio and movie ranch for outdoor location shooting, as well as a Western-themed tourist attraction. The ranch, owned by actor and stuntman Ray "Crash" Corrigan, was located in the foothil ...

. Patricia Morison and Adele Jergens co-star.

Plot

After fighting in the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

alongside

King Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

, Sir Allan Claire is returning home to marry his

betrothed An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

Lady Christabel. He and his sister Lady Marian Claire are intercepted by Robin Hood and his band of

Merry Men The Merry Men are the group of outlaws who follow Robin Hood in English literature and folklore. The group appears in the earliest ballads about Robin Hood and remains popular in modern adaptations. History The Merry Men are Robin Hood's gr ...

. Recognising a friend of King Richard, Robin informs them that Lady Christabel is to be married to another against her will in the interest of politics and her father's fortune. The three team up to rescue the fair lady.

Cast

* Jon Hall as

* Patricia Morison as Lady Marian Claire * Adele Jergens as Lady Christabel *

Alan Mowbray Alan Mowbray (born Alfred Ernest Allen; 18 August 1896 – 25 March 1969) was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood. Early life Mowbray was born in London, England. He served with distinction in the British Army in Wo ...

as The Friar *Michael Duane as Sir Allan Claire * H. B. Warner as Gilbert Head *

Robin Raymond Robin Raymond (born Rayemon Robin, October 4, 1916 – June 20, 1994) was an American film actress. Early life Raymond graduated from Northwestern University with a BA degree and worked as a press agent in Chicago. Personal life Ray ...

as Maude *

Lowell Gilmore Lowell Gilmore (20 December 1906 – 31 January 1960) was an American stage, film and television actor. Life and career Lowell Gilmore first worked as a stage manager on the 1929 Broadway play ''The First Mrs. Fraser'', but got his chance as a ...

as Sir Phillip *

Belle Mitchell Belle Mitchell (September 24, 1889 – February 12, 1979) was an American stage and film actress. She appeared in more than 100 films between 1915 and 1978. She was born in Croswell, Michigan and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Partia ...

as Margaret Head (uncredited) * Gavin Muir as Baron Tristram (uncredited) *

Walter Sande Walter Sande (July 9, 1906 – November 22, 1971) was an American character actor, known for numerous supporting film and television roles. Films Born in Denver, Colorado, he was one of those stern, heavyset character actors in Hollywood no pe ...

Little John Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. He is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, al ...

(uncredited) *

Syd Saylor Syd or SYD may refer to: *Syd (name), including a list of people with the name * ''Syd.'', taxonomic author abbreviation of Hans Sydow (1879–1946), German mycologist * Sydney, New South Wales, Australia ** IATA code for Sydney Airport, New South ...

Will Scarlet Scarlet (also Scarlett, Scarlock, Scadlock, Scatheloke, Scathelocke and Shacklock) is a prominent member of Robin Hood's Merry Men. He is present in the earliest ballads along with Little John and Much the Miller's Son. The confusion of surn ...

(uncredited) *

Lewis Russell Lewis Lord Russell (born George Lewis Lord, September 10, 1889 – November 12, 1961) was an American actor of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s who starred in a number of vaudeville shows, Broadway dramas and Hollywood films, including the Academy ...

as Sir Fitz-Alwin (uncredited)

Production

Alexander Dumas' 1872 novel was translated into French from an 1836 romance by

Pierce Egan Pierce Egan (1772–1849) was a British journalist, sportswriter, and writer on popular culture. His popular book '' Life in London'', published in 1821, was adapted into the stage play ''Tom and Jerry, or Life in London'' later that year, which ...

. The idea for making the film came from Charles Schneer who worked for producer

. Katzman enjoyed making films from books in the public domain and Schneer discovered the title listed among the works of Alexander Dumas. Schneer's original intent was to write an original scenario just using the title, but once he had the work translated into English, Katzman wanted an adaptation of the book. At this stage in his career, Katzman specialised in shooting musicals for Columbia over nine days with a budget of $140,000. He was so enthused by this project however he arranged to secure a budget of $400,000, including $100,000 for cast, and colour photography. George Plympton was reported as working on the script in January 1947. Jon Hall's casting was announced in March. At one stage three people were directing the film - Max Nosseckwith the main cast, Derwin Abrahams on the silent sequences, and Howarth Bretheron with the action sequences. The censor objected to depictions of Friar Tuck being interested in worldly pleasures and the character had to be toned down.

Critical reception

'' Allmovie'' called the film a "decided

B-picture A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

effort," and wrote that its Cinecolor, "lacked the glowing luster" of the Technicolor used in the earlier ''The Bandit of Sherwood Forest''; and regretted that the soundtrack "was mostly stock music from the Columbia library." The reviewer also noted "The movie's aim at younger audiences (and escapist male filmgoers)," and concluded, "The one true oddity in the movie, and its most offbeat element, is the presence of Patricia Morison as Lady Marian, who seems to be exercising some of the shrewishness than would finally put her on the map as an actress, by way of the Broadway stage, a year later in Cole Porter's

Kiss Me, Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-stag ...

. All of these disparate elements may not hold together ideally, but with a running time of scarcely more than an hour and a cast that is trying hard to make it all fun, it's impossible for a picture like this to go far wrong, even if it gets nowhere near to being high art, either"; while ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' called the film "mainly a kiddie picture" and noted that, "Of the Merry Men, it is Mowbray as Friar Tuck who steals the show with a performance that borders on slapstick."

References

External links

*
Review of film
at Variety {{DEFAULTSORT:Prince of Thieves 1948 adventure films 1948 films Cinecolor films Columbia Pictures films Films based on works by Alexandre Dumas Robin Hood films American adventure films Films with screenplays by Charles H. Schneer Films directed by Howard Bretherton 1940s American films