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 Productions
	Click a link for more info						Credited	Uncredited	Total
Art Director	J. Elder Wills	54	26 Apr 1900		1970	69	22		22
Ast. Director	Jack Causey	40	1914		1977	63	6	1	7
Camera Operator	Len Harris	38	19 May 1916		21 Feb 1995	78	52	1	53
Continuity	Renee Glynne	28	3 Aug 1926		6 Apr 2022	95	38	3	41
Costume Designer	Michael Whitaker	36	1 Apr 1918		Aug 1995	77	1		1
Director	Val Guest	42	11 Dec 1911		10 May 2006	94	29		29
Director of Photog.	Walter Harvey BSc	51	9 Feb 1903		1979	75	34		34
Editor	James Needs	35	17 Oct 1919		4 Feb 2003	83	110	1	111
Hairdresser	Monica Hustler	28	1 Jan 1926	01.01.1926		97	18		18
Make-up	Phil Leakey	46	4 May 1908		26 Nov 1992	84	48		48
Music Composer	Doreen Carwithen	32	15 Nov 1922		5 Jan 2003	80	3		3
Musical Director	John Hollingsworth	38	20 Mar 1916		29 Dec 1963	47	36	2	38
Producer	Michael Carreras	26	21 Dec 1927		19 Apr 1994	66	82	3	85
Production Manager	Jimmy Sangster	27	2 Dec 1927		19 Aug 2011	83	65	2	67
Screenplay	Alan MacKinnon	42	1912		1955	43	3		3
Sound Recording	Sid Wiles	55	2 Feb 1899		Jul 1973	74	6		6
Sound Recording	Ken Cameron	39	1 Dec 1915		8 Aug 2000	84	8	2	10
Wardrobe Mistress	Molly Arbuthnot	45	19 Dec 1908		31 Oct 2001	92	48	4	52
Uncredited
Boom Operator	Percy Britten	35	1 Oct 1919		1996	76		21	21
Clapper Loader	Tom Friswell	24	1930		2002	72		18	18
Dubbing Crew	Ken Cameron	39	1 Dec 1915		8 Aug 2000	84	8	2	10
First Ast. Editor	Henry Richardson	18	13 Jan 1936		31 Jul 2017	81	4	7	11
Focus Puller	Harry Oakes	33	16 Jan 1921		11 Dec 2012	91		53	53
Second Ast. Director	Rene Dupont	25	10 Oct 1929	10.10.1929		93	3	2	5
Sound Camera Operator	Don Alton	40	1914		18 Jan 1987	73		9	9
Sound Mintenance	J. Woodiwiss	45	14 Jun 1909		1987	77		1	1
Special Photographic Effects	Vic Margutti	41	1913		1980	66		6	6
Still Photog.	John Jay	34	14 Nov 1920		29 Apr 2005	84	13	22	35
Third Ast. Director	Patrick Clayton	19	1 Jul 1935		March 2023	87	1	2	3

Cast


Character	Actor	Age at Release	Birth		Death	Age	Hammer Productions
	Click a link for more info						Credited	Uncredited	Total
Elvira	Vera Pearce	59	27 May 1895		18 Jan 1966	70	1		1
Father David	Toke Townley	42	6 Nov 1912		28 Sep 1984	71	2	1	3
Friar Tuck	Reginald Beckwith	46	2 Nov 1908		26 Jun 1965	56	6		6
Gaoler	Bernard Bresslaw	20	25 Feb 1934		11 Jun 1993	59	4	2	6
Hubert	Harold Lang	31	1 Jan 1923		16 Nov 1970	47	8	1	9
Hugo	Wensley Pithey	40	20 Jan 1914		10 Nov 1993	79	2	1	3
King Richard the Lion Heart	Patrick Holt	42	31 Jan 1912		12 Oct 1993	81	3	1	4
Lady Alys	Eileen Moore	22	1 Aug 1932	01.08.1932		90	1		1
Little John	Leslie Linder	30	31 Aug 1924		16 Jan 2010	85	1		1
Robin Hood	Don Taylor	33	13 Dec 1920		29 Dec 1998	78	1		1
Sheriff of Nottingham	Leonard Sachs	45	26 Sep 1909		15 Jun 1990	80	2		2
Sir Guy Belton	David King-Wood	41	12 Sep 1913		3 Sep 2003	89	4		4
Sir Nigel Saltire	Douglas Wilmer	34	8 Jan 1920		31 Mar 2016	96	4		4
Walter	Ballard Berkeley	50	6 Aug 1904		16 Jan 1988	83	2		2
Will Scarlet	John Van Eyssen	32	19 Mar 1922		13 Nov 1995	73	4		4
Uncredited
Garth	Bernard Bresslaw	20	25 Feb 1934		11 Jun 1993	59	4	2	6
One of Walter’s Men	Jim O'Brady	47	13 May 1907		1 Jan 1991	83		18	18
Outlaw	Edward Hardwick	22	7 Aug 1932		16 May 2011	78	1	1	2
Outlaw	Jack Arrow							3	3
Villager	Jack May							3	3

Production


UK RELEASE	6 December 1954
STUDIO	Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England
LOCATION	Bodiam Castle, Bodiam, East Sussex, England

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