The Men of Sherwood Forest – 1954

A Hammer production released by Exclusive Films (UK) and Astor (USA)
Copyright MCMLIV by Exclusive Films Ltd.

RCA Sound Recording
Produced at Bray Studios, England
Eastman Colour by Denham Laboratories 77 mins

Storyline

Opening titles:- “1194 A.D. – England is a troubled land. King Richard the Lion Heart is a prisoner in Germany, with but half his ransom is paid. At home, his brother, Prince John, is intriguing to obtain the Crown himself. In the County of Nottingham Robin Hood and his outlaw band take toll from rich travellers – and it is a brave voyager indeed who ventures through Sherwood Forest.

Watch the film on Daily Motion

Crew


Function	Credited	Age at Release	Birth	Death	Age	Hammer Credits
Art Director	J. Elder Wills	53	26 Apr 1900	1970	69	22
Assistant Director	Jack Causey	40	1914	1977	63	6
Camera Operator	Len Harris	37	19 May 1916	21 Feb 1995	78	52
Continuity	Renee Glynne	27	3 Aug 1926	Lving	94	38
Costume Designer	Michael Whitaker	35	1 Apr 1918	1 Aug 1977	59	1
Directed by	Val Guest	42	11 Dec 1911	10 May 2006	94	26
Director of Photography	Walter Harvey BSc	50	9 Feb 1903	1979	75	33
Editor	James Needs	34	17 Oct 1919	2003	83	94
Hairdresser	Monica Hustler	28	1 Jan 1926	Lving	94	18
Make-up	Phil Leakey	45	4 May 1908	26 Nov 1992	84	48
Music Composed by	Doreen Carwithen	31	15 Nov 1922	5 Jan 2003	80	3
Musical Director	John Hollingsworth	37	20 Mar 1916	29 Dec 1963	47	36
Produced by	Michael Carreras	26	21 Dec 1927	19 Apr 1994	66	81
Production Manager	Jimmy Sangster	26	2 Dec 1927	19 Aug 2011	83	65
Screenplay by	Alan MacKinnon	42	1912	1955	43	3
Sound Recording	Ken Cameron	38	1 Dec 1915	8 Aug 2000	84	8
Sound Recording	Sid Wiles	54	2 Feb 1899	1 Jul 1973	74	5
Wardrobe Mistress	Molly Arbuthnot	45	19 Dec 1908	1 Nov 2001	92	48

Cast


Character	Actor	Age at Release	Birth	Death	Age	Hammer Appearances
Elvira	Vera Pearce	58	27 May 1895	18 Jan 1966	70	1
Father David	Toke Townley	41	6 Nov 1912	28 Sep 1984	71	2
Friar Tuck	Reginald Beckwith	45	2 Nov 1908	26 Jun 1965	56	6
Gaoler	Bernard Bresslaw	19	25 Feb 1934	11 Jun 1993	59	4
Hubert	Harold Lang	30	1923	16 Nov 1970	47	8
Hugo	Wensley Pithey	39	20 Jan 1914	10 Nov 1993	79	2
King Richard the Lion Heart	Patrick Holt	41	31 Jan 1912	12 Oct 1993	81	3
Lady Alys	Eileen Moore	21	1 Aug 1932	Living	88	1
Little John	Leslie Linder	29	31 Aug 1924	16 Jan 2010	85	1
Robin Hood	Don Taylor	33	13 Dec 1920	29 Dec 1998	78	1
Sheriff of Nottingham	Leonard Sachs	44	26 Sep 1909	15 Jun 1990	80	2
Sir Guy Belton	David King-Wood	40	12 Sep 1913	3 Sep 2003	89	4
Sir Nigel Saltire	Douglas Wilmer	33	8 Jan 1920	31 Mar 2016	96	3
Walter	Ballard Berkeley	49	6 Aug 1904	16 Jan 1988	83	2
Will Scarlet	John Van Eyssen	31	19 Mar 1922	13 Nov 1995	73	4

Footnotes

Hammer’s first colour production visits territory they would return to on two more occasions – in “Sword of Sherwood Forest” (1960) and “A Challenge for Robin Hood” (1967).”.

Carry On” regular Bernard Bresslaw appears here in a small role. He later starred in Hammer’s 1959 Jekyll and Hyde comedy, “The Ugly Duckling” and in “Moon Zero Two” (1968).

John Hollingsworth remained as chief Musical Director at Hammer for the next nine years.

Eileen Moore was married to actor George Cole who appeared in Hammer’s “Don’t Panic Chaps” (1959), and “The Vampire Lovers” (1970).

Details were complied viewing the actual film.
Source of viewing copy – The Hammer Graveyard Collection