Welcome to Sherwood! Few motion pictures have ever matched the 1938 Warner Bros. production of The Adventures of Robin Hood for sheer entertainment. Even...
Welcome to Sherwood!
Few motion pictures have ever matched the 1938 Warner Bros.
production of The Adventures of Robin Hood for sheer entertainment. Even today
this film ranks high on any list of all-time favourites.
Warner Bros. first considered filming The Adventures of
Robin Hood in 1935 with contract star James Cagney slated for the title role.
But in November of that year Cagney, in a contractual dispute, walked off the
lot and did not return for two years. One month later the studio presented newcomer
Errol Flynn in Captain Blood. After that film's extraordinary impact, The
Adventures of Robin Hood was tailored for Flynn and given a budget of
$1,600,000 - the largest sum allotted to a Warner film up to that time. (The
cost eventually reached $2,000,000.)
Although almost non-stop action was the keynote of The
Adventures of Robin Hood, there was also above average dialogue, spirited
performances, and impressive spectacle. An important element was the excellent
casting, including the premier swashbuckler Errol Flynn, who at 29 was at his
peak and perfect for the role, with just enough seasoning. He was "hero"
personified. Olivia de Havilland was by now his ideal screen romantic interest,
having been paired effectively with Flynn in Captain Blood (1935) and The
Charge of the Light Brigade (1936). Their romantic scenes in Robin Hood were
played with believable ardor, grace, and more than a touch of humour. The only
other person Warners considered for the role of Maid Marian was contract player
Anita Louise.
In addition to all the other ingredients, Warner Bros. used
the then-new three-strip Technicolor process. It was a wise decision, as the
legendary subject with its many lush forest scenes, costumes, and pageantry was
ideal for full colour.
The studio shot most of the Sherwood Forest sequences in
Bidwell Park, 475 miles northwest of Los Angeles in the town of Chico. A
natural park filled with giant oaks, sycamores, and a wide creek, it was a
lovely and fresh setting for the film.
Some of the favourite incidents of the Robin Hood legend
were used on the screen for the first time: the bout with quarterstaves between
Robin and Little John (Alan Hale) on a log spanning a stream, Robin's first
meeting with Friar Tuck (Eugene Pallette) and his forcing the rotund cleric to
carry him piggyback across the stream, and the King (Ian Hunter) coming to
Sherwood disguised as a monk. Finally, all the various archery contests
described in the many legendary versions were amalgamated into one major
archery tournament, wherein Robin splits his opponent's arrow (actually
accomplished by archery champion Howard Hill) and wins the Golden Arrow prize.
The archery tournament was photographed at the old Busch
Gardens in Pasadena - long since gone. It was during this period, after the
company had returned from Chico, that director William Keighley was replaced by
Michael Curtiz, who shot most of the interiors, back-lot, Warner Ranch footage,
and embellished a good deal of the material made earlier by Keighley.
Robin and Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone), chief
conspirer under Prince John (Claude Rains), become rivals for Lady Marian
(Olivia de Havilland), a Norman ward of King Richard the Lion Heart. This
triangle, not present in any of the old ballads, originated in the popular De
Koven-Smith light opera version of Robin Hood in 1891 and was used again in the
Douglas Fairbanks 1922 silent Robin Hood.
Since there was a little something suggested from all
sources, Flynn (or occasionally a stunt double) was required to engage in some
lithe leaping, wall-scaling, vaulting, vine-swinging - and, of course,
swordplay - to take into account the Douglas Fairbanks heritage.
Audiences then and now loved the movie, many people going
back to see it time and again. In 1948, ten years after its first release,
Warner reissued the film in theatres everywhere with new Technicolor prints,
treating it in the manner of one of their big, fresh attractions. The public
flocked once again; the picture performing better than most new films at the
box office and certainly better than the usual revival of an old movie. It was
reissued another time - but in black and white only and on a more limited basis
- just before being sold to television in the late 1950s, where it has been a
perennial favourite. In a poll taken in 1977 for TV Guide magazine, programme
directors of television stations throughout the country were asked to name the
ten most popular, most often shown movies in their markets. Robin Hood was
number five, preceded by - in order of popularity - Casablanca, King Kong, The
Magnificent Seven, and The Maltese Falcon.
The Adventures of Robin Hood avoids the pitfalls that plague
so many other films in the historical romance genre. The subject had been
extraordinarily popular for over 600 years and Warner Bros. had the good sense
not to alter the material drastically or to make it seem considerably more than
it was. All the elements are handled in a relatively straightforward manner.
The dialogue is not too flowery or archaic in an attempt to be faithful to the
period; vigor and pace always offset the pomp and ceremony, and nothing tedious
mars the proceedings. Rather than lasting two hours or longer, as so many
costume adventure films do, Robin Hood runs its course in a brisk one hour and
forty-two minutes. During that time, the film is crammed with incident and
action - all of it pointed and imaginatively staged. There is a prevailing
humour, not forced or awkward, but light-hearted, impudent, and indigenous.
Many other film productions of the Robin Hood legend
followed. But MGM's adaptation of the De Koven-Smith 1891 operetta to star
Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, that had been scheduled to follow in late
1939-early 1940, was abandoned after the extraordinary success of the Warner
version.
The definitive Robin Hood for most people is the 1938
version, wherein many elements of popular entertainment are beautifully fused:
fairy-tale romance, spectacle, colour, action, pageantry, humour, the triumph
of right over might, the exultation of the Free Spirit, the lure of the
greenwood, and a vague nostalgia for a partly mythical age of chivalry.
Relatively little about the picture dates, except in a
charming way. The characters, costumes, castle, and forest are idealized, but
then the film is not a document of medieval life; rather, it is a fairy tale
illustrated by Technicolor. The "love interest," often perfunctory and
arbitrary in costume adventure films, is here properly motivated and nicely
woven into the plot fabric. And the rich Erich Wolfgang Korngold Academy
Award-winning score serves as marvellous connective tissue, sweeping the film
along and providing a splendid added dimension.
When this writer was a boy, one of the first original
dramatic film scores I remember humming after leaving the theatre was
Korngold's music for The Prince and the Pauper in 1937. Then came the
composer's score for The Adventures of Robin Hood and I was humming that a lot.
The trouble was, in those days one was limited to humming, whistling, or
singing portions of the music (in my case, I'm sure I was frequently off-key
with a slightly variant melodic line) because, of course, there were virtually
no recordings of film scores, no videos, not even TV to catch the film once it
left the first run, then the neighborhood theatres, and finally what we used to
call in San Francisco "the flea houses."
Incredibly, it was not until August, 1961, that any music
from Robin Hood was commercially produced for records. Selections (total time,
9:20) were recorded by conductor Lionel Newman and producer George Korngold in
Munich, Germany, based on the original orchestrations, for an excellent Warner
Bros. compilation album, Music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Actually Kurt
Graunke conducted the unidentified sixty-piece Munich orchestra for two of the
three Robin Hood selections, "Robin and Maid Marian" and "Epilogue," Newman
being exhausted from conducting the remainder of the forty-minute album in a
day and a half (including rehearsals)!
On New Year's Eve, 1961, George Korngold presented me with
an advance copy of the Warner Bros. LP. I remember going home after the New
Year's party and staying up until dawn playing the record over and over again
while I listened and shed some tears. Unless you were around in the 1930s and
'40s, and a film music buff, I'm sure it is difficult to imagine what it was
like not to be able, for the most part, to hear favorite scores except in a
movie theatre.
In 1972 Charles Gerhardt conducted four minutes of a Robin
Hood excerpt with the National Philharmonic Orchestra (in England) for the
initial record in RCA's Classic Film Score series, The Sea Hawk: The Classic
Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold. In 1975, for a follow-up RCA album,
Captain Blood: Classic Film Scores for Errol Flynn, Gerhardt and producer
George Korngold included a total of 12:20 of music from Robin Hood.
Excerpts from the original optical music tracks were edited
by George Korngold into a fifteen-minute suite for a portion of Warner Bros.'
50 Years of Film Music LP album, released in 1973; a good deal of material
being presented for the first time on commercially available records. Other recordings of selections - or of
the official Robin Hood published suite (approximately fifteen minutes) put
together by Erich Korngold for concert performances - followed over the years.
The 1983 Varese Sarabande recording with Varujan Kojian
conducting the Utah Symphony Orchestra gave us the most generous amount of the
Robin Hood score up to that time. But because that recording was designed
originally for LP (later put on CD), 43 minutes are all that could be properly
accommodated on one disc, so it was thirty minutes short of the entire score.
But now in this new Marco Polo performance of the original score and
orchestrations we are able to hear all 73 minutes composed for the film in
glorious sound!
Indeed, here is an ideal complement to the newly restored
Adventures of Robin Hood that is being released in a special edition two-disc
Warner Bros. DVD package on this occasion of the picture's 65th anniversary.
Rudy Behlmer
author of Behind the Scenes: The Making Of . . . ,
Inside Warner Bros. (1935-1951), co-author of
The Films of Errol Flynn, etc.
Korngold and The Adventures of Robin Hood
A Masterpiece of Film Scoring
Of the eighteen films scored by Erich Wolfgang Korngold,
three are regarded today as outstanding masterpieces of the genre: Kings Row,
The Sea Hawk and The Adventures of Robin Hood. The musical form established by
Korngold in the mid 1930s - the symphonic film score - saw its greatest
examples in these films, and Robin Hood in particular, the earliest of the
three, remains one of the most inspired of all this composer's works, either
for the screen or the concert hall.
The film itself remains as fresh and popular today as in the
year it was made, and in spite of numerous later films and television series on
the subject, it is still widely regarded as the definitive version of the
legendary story. With the coming of cable, satellite TV, video and DVD,
countless millions throughout the world now know this classic motion picture.
Indeed there can scarcely be a time of day when this film is not being shown
somewhere on the planet. For Korngold, who once remarked that a 'film
composer's immortality lasts all the way from the soundstage to the dubbing
room' this would be a revelation. He could not have envisaged that the music he
composed under such duress in 1938 would become one of his most frequently
performed and beloved works.
By the time he came to write Robin Hood he was already esteemed
as one of the leading composers in Hollywood, following his groundbreaking work
on such films as A Midsummer Night's Dream, Captain Blood and Anthony Adverse -
the latter winning him an Academy Award in 1936. He was not yet under long-term
contract to Warner Brothers but worked as a freelance, on a picture-by-picture
basis. Following his introduction to motion pictures by legendary producer Max
Reinhardt, who had insisted on him being assigned for A Midsummer Night's Dream
in 1934, Korngold was also tenuously attached to Reinhardt's future screen
assignments. Reinhardt had a three-picture deal with Warners, and Korngold
returned to Hollywood in October 1936 ostensibly to work on Danton, a
large-scale historical epic being planned as Reinhardt's follow up to Dream. In
any event, the film was postponed (it was never made) and Korngold scored
Another Dawn and The Prince and the Pauper instead.
At the beginning of May 1937, after completing the score for
The Prince and the Pauper, Erich Wolfgang Korngold left Hollywood to return to
Vienna to spend the summer finishing the orchestration of his fifth opera Die
Kathrin, which was scheduled for its world premičre at the State Opera that
autumn. From surviving correspondence, it seems that he already knew that his
next film assignment would be the lavish, Technicolor spectacular The
Adventures of Robin Hood - by then already in the advanced pre-production
stage. Letters from the period between Korngold, his father (esteemed music
critic Dr Julius Korngold) and his publisher Schott, confirm that he spent
considerable time researching the Robin Hood legend in the main libraries in
Vienna, in order to understand the narrative and the characters, no script
being yet available.
Preparation was essential because Korngold knew that once he
returned to America, time would be of the essence in scoring the film and the
more he could achieve before scoring began in earnest, the better. Normally, he
would have to wait until he saw a finished script before any composing could begin.
With Robin Hood, the characters and story incidentals were already
well-established folklore and he seized the advantage.
We can assume therefore that some of the memorable themes
contained in this most beloved score were conceived months before filming
began. In addition, Korngold's father advised his son that one of his earlier
concert works could provide ideal material for the score. This was Sursum Corda
- a large-scale symphonic overture with a wonderfully heroic trumpet theme. It
was composed in 1919, much in the manner of a tone poem by Korngold's mentor
Richard Strauss (to whom, incidentally, the score was dedicated) yet had never
been successful. It provides the core thematic material in Robin Hood and
undoubtedly contributed to its unique flavour.
The events surrounding Korngold's return to Hollywood for
Robin Hood are the stuff of legend, yet there are still unanswered questions.
Unusually, no return date seems to have been agreed with Korngold, and no
written agreement had been reached. In previous years, he had usually returned
in October to spend the winter months in California (to benefit his younger son
George, who had suffered a tubercular infection) but the impending premičre of
Die Kathrin clearly ruled this out. Korngold had written the lead tenor role in
the opera for Jan Kiepura and was disappointed when the handsome singer
eventually declined the part, owing to his having signed a contract with the
Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Korngold's intensely romantic opera needed a star tenor to
partner soprano Jarmila Novotna (singing the role of the eponymous heroine) and
after various options were pursued, Richard Tauber was finally chosen. Tauber
was a close friend of Korngold, and had scored a triumph in the role of Paul in
Korngold's most famous opera Die tote Stadt in the 1920s. He had recently
married an English actress, Diana Napier, and was living much of the time in
London. He had agreed in principle to star in Korngold's opera and Bruno Walter
had agreed to conduct. Production plans for the opera moved slowly. Tauber was
on his way back from America, following a successful series of concerts at
Carnegie Hall.
Meanwhile, shooting had already begun on Robin Hood in
September of 1937 but following poor weather hampering the location
photography, a subsequent change of director, script revisions and the decision
to enhance the film into a super-production, it was not to be completed until
22nd January, 1938.
Back in Vienna, Christmas 1937 passed quietly. Tauber was
scheduled to make a film in England (Land Without Music, with Jimmy Durante),
but had agreed to look at the score of Korngold's opera. The premičre date was
the only question, and this depended on Tauber finishing his film by March.
Then, fate stepped in.
On 22nd January, a young Austrian pianist, Robert Kohner,
was participating in a concert in Vienna and had decided to perform Korngold's
Piano Sonata No.3. Korngold and his wife Luzi were invited guests and decided
to attend. Luzi recalled the dramatic day in her memoirs:
"I was alone in the house when a telegram arrived: 'Can you
be in Hollywood in ten days time to write the music for Robin Hood?'
"I took the telegram with me to the concert. Erich was late;
finally I saw him enter the room and take a seat at the back. I raised the
telegram in my hand to show him but he didn't understand - we had to wait for
the end of the concert when, in my agitated state, I could share the news. He
looked at me, astounded and said 'This is an omen'. Then he rang the Director
of the Staatsoper right there from the Concert Hall and told him of the Warner
Brothers contract ... Dr Eckmann said word for word on the telephone 'Professor
Korngold, take this as an omen and go! I promise you a first class premičre in
October with Bruno Walter conducting and starring Jarmila Novotna and Richard
Tauber (who will be free then). I'll make sure we write to you and confirm it'.
It was late in the evening. Erich looked at me with uncertainty and suggested
we go to the Imperial Hotel to find out what ships were sailing in the next
five days. If it were not one of the big liners, he would not travel in winter.
The ship due to sail was the Normandie (then the largest passenger ship
afloat). On the spot, Erich reserved two cabins, because we would at least have
to take Schurli [son George] with us. We had only a day to pack our things,
make arrangements for the house and say our goodbyes to family and friends. We
had to leave our older son Ernst with my mother and sister so as not to
interrupt his schooling ..."
A letter from producer Henry Blanke arrived the next day
announcing that he had already ordered the script to be available for their
arrival in New York, and outlined the main characters. Blanke compared the love
story between Robin Hood and Maid Marian to that in Captain Blood. On 23rd
January Korngold sent the following reply to Blanke:
"Accept in principle hoping that one further picture
possible. Take Normandie 29th to Hollywood February 7th. Cable if picture
already cut and how many weeks available for scoring. Confirm contract"
Hal Wallis, Warners' production chief, replied in an
overnight wire on the 23rd:
"Satisfactory arrive Hollywood February 7th. Terms OK as
wired Friday. Should score picture about four weeks as release date April. Wilk
has script for you. Picture cut by 7th. Regards, Wallis."
The die was cast. The dates of the wires indicate the speed
with which the decision was taken. The Korngolds left by car, for Le Havre, on
25th January. The journey was a tortuous one. Icy roads and a blinding
snowstorm made driving through the bitterly cold weather extremely hazardous.
At every border, they were stopped and questioned or even sent back for some
trivial documentation to be re-stamped.
Korngold spent the journey contemplating the film. At Le
Havre, just before finally boarding the ship, a postcard from Julius Korngold
arrived containing the telling phrase "Don't forget my idea to use Sursum Corda
for the chief theme of the Captain of the Brigands!" In fact, Korngold had
already decided to take his father's advice and had written to his publisher
Schott before he left Vienna asking permission to use portions of the earlier
score. A telegram from Willy Strecker, the senior partner at Schott, was
waiting at Le Havre granting Korngold permission.
The Normandie sailed for New York on 29th January. According
to his son George, Korngold constantly paced the decks humming to himself
throughout the difficult voyage, composing in his head and making notes, then
improvising on the piano in his stateroom as the ship was beset with
mountainous seas - apparently the worst ever crossing for this great liner. He
thus was able to add to the sketches he had already made in Vienna for the
principal themes of the main characters. The ship arrived in New York on 3rd
February and the Korngolds left immediately for the West Coast on the Santa Fe
Chief. Even then, their adventures were far from over. The train collided with
an automobile just before arriving in Pasadena on 7th February, where, much
shaken but in reasonable spirits they were met by Max Reinhardt's wife, the
actress Helene Thimig. They arranged to rent a house near to Warner Brothers in
the picturesque Toluca Lake district, which was ten minutes walk from the
studio. The next day, they were driven to the screening of Robin Hood. Korngold
watched with great attention, and became increasingly worried as the
fast-paced, action-filled adventure film unfolded.
He looked continually at Luzi, shaking his head with
concern. Later, his desperation exploded. "I can't ... I can't do it" he shouted.
Luzi, trying to calm him, said "Then don't!" Finally, he left to see Hal
Wallis, with a carefully constructed letter of rejection, which survives in the
Warner files:
"Dear Mr Wallis,
"I am sincerely sorry to have to bother you once more. I do
appreciate deeply your kindness and courtesy toward me, and I am aware of the
fact that you have made all concessions possible to facilitate my work.
"But please believe a desperate man who has to be true to
himself and to you, a man who knows what he can do and what he cannot do. Robin
Hood is no picture for me. I have no relation to it and therefore, cannot
produce any music for it. I am a musician of the heart, of passions and
psychology; I am not a musical illustrator for a 90% action picture. Being a
conscientious person, I cannot take the responsibility for a job which, as I
already know, would leave me artistically completely dissatisfied and which,
therefore, I would have to drop even after several weeks of work on it, and
after several weeks of salary.
"Therefore let me say 'no' definitely, and let me say it
today when no time has been lost for you as yet, since the work print will not
be ready until tomorrow.
"And please do not try to make me change my mind; my resolve
is unshakeable. I implore you not to be angry with me and not to deprive me of
your friendship. For it is I who suffers mentally and financially. I ask you to
weigh the pictures for which I composed the music, such as Midsummer Night's
Dream, Captain Blood, Anthony Adverse, Prince and the Pauper, against the one I
could not make Robin Hood. And if during the next few weeks you should have a
job for me to do, you need not cable all the way to Vienna.
"With best regards,
"Erich Wolfgang Korngold"
Wallis had little option but to accept, and Korngold,
delighted at this painless outcome, returned home. The events of the days that
followed are worthy of a film script in themselves. As Luzi recalled:
"... it was the 12th of February - I got a call from Helene
Thimig. I picked up the phone upstairs while Erich, curious as ever, lifted the
receiver down below. 'Luzi' said Helene with uncertainty, 'it's all over.
Schuschnigg (the Austrian Chancellor) is in Berchtesgaden (meeting with
Hitler)'. At that very moment, the doorbell rang and Mr Forbstein, head of
music at Warner Brothers, entered the house with the words 'Korngold, you have
to do it!' Erich tried to explain that he had already officially declined, and
in writing. 'That doesn't matter', said Forbstein with a dismissive gesture.
Under the crucifying influence of the news we had just received on the
telephone, Erich began to reflect on the matter. Finally he promised Forbstein
that he would at least try to write the music for Robin Hood. He didn't want a contract.
His conditions were 'work from week to week, paid from week to week'. 'If I
find that it's not working out, I can give up with a clear conscience; the
music I have written up until then will belong to you' he explained ... The
following evening, he was already at work in the rehearsal room ..."
Whatever Korngold privately felt about his obligations, an
inter-office memo from Walter MacEwen, Hal Wallis' executive assistant, to the
contracts department, dated 14th February, was unequivocal about the result of
these discussions:
"Korngold is now definitely set to do the music on ROBIN
HOOD"
Korngold, feeling he was under no obligation, worked
fluently and at speed. Luzi, writing years later, was at a loss to explain why
they took no steps to rescue their other son and family from the dangerous
situation in Vienna. Naive, trusting, they clearly presumed that things would
calm down. As she wryly remarked:
"And of course we had a high opinion of our countrymen and
would never have thought that what had happened in Germany could ever happen in
'our country' ..."
Then, it was announced that elections were to be held in
Austria on 10th March. Luzi was innocently convinced that Austria would resist
the grip of Hitler. But Korngold finally woke up to the reality of the crisis.
He knew with terrible certainty what lay ahead. 'He must invade! Don't you see?
Hitler could never risk an election in Austria ...'
Indeed, there was no election and on 13th March, Hitler
marched into Austria. The Korngolds immediately cabled Luzi's sister asking
that their eldest son Ernst be included on her passport. They received no
reply. Transatlantic telephone calls had to be booked in advance in those days,
and several anxious hours passed until they could speak to Vienna direct. Julius
Korngold who had already included the boy on his passport, had in fact
cunningly procured a holiday visa to America some months earlier (having
realized the danger long before the rest of his family) and indeed, was about
to leave within a few hours. The whole family actually left Vienna on the last
unrestricted train and managed to cross the border into Switzerland on the very
last day that this was possible. Once he was assured that his family was safe,
Korngold threw himself into completing the complex score for Robin Hood.
The release date was moved to 12th May, but even so,
Korngold had only seven weeks to write it, supervise the orchestration (by Hugo
Friedhofer, Milan Roder and - for two short sequences - an assistant, Reginald
Basset) and then record the finished score to the film. His son George later
recalled the agony of those weeks:
"... My father was on the verge of stopping several times. I
shall never forget his anguished protestations of 'I just can't do it' which I
overheard in the middle of the night through my bedroom wall. He was suffering,
and at the same time producing one of his finest scores ..."
The Score
The structure of Korngold's score is helped considerably by
the dramatic construction of the film, where the intimacy of the human story
was offset by a series of tremendous set-pieces - the Banquet, the Attack on
the Sir Guy's Party, the Archery Tournament, Robin's Execution and Escape and
the climactic Coronation Procession, Battle and Finale. These sequences
underpinned the film and required exceptionally vivid musical accompaniment.
Korngold rose magnificently to the occasion with a score that, even today, is
regarded as one of the finest examples of marrying music with the moving image.
As previously, Korngold applied operatic technique to his
composition. Each character is clothed in a wonderfully apt theme, from the
harsh tones of Sir Guy of Gisbourne to the yearning romance of Lady Marian's
'heartsong' as Korngold described it in his score.
There is no vocal music of any kind (unlike other historical
film subjects which Korngold composed) and this was owing to a contractual
obligation between Warners and MGM, who planned a film version of an operetta
based on the Robin Hood legend for Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy in 1939
(it was never made). But for that, I am fairly certain Korngold would have
composed an 'old English ballad' for the film. No matter - his music sings
eloquently throughout.
Viewed as a whole, the score contains fifteen primary
themes:
I. The
March of the Merry Men
II. Richard
the Lionheart
III. Prince
John and the Normans'
Supremacy
(Fanfare)
IV. The
Oppression of the Saxons
V. Sir
Guy of Gisbourne
VI. Robin
Hood
VII. Lady
Marian's Heartsong
VIII. Old England
IX. The
Norman Banquet (Processional)
X. The
Chase of Robin Hood
XI. Friar
Tuck (The Fish)
XII. The Flirt
XIII. The Archery
Tournament
XIV. The Gallows
XV. The Love Music
There are at least another six secondary motifs, and
Korngold constantly derives subsidiary variations on all of his material, often
combining themes as and when characters appear on screen. He also adopts his
usual practice of assigning different, appropriate solo instruments to
individual characters in underscoring dialogue.
Before I turn to the score in sequence, as it appears on
this recording, a word about Korngold's sources and method.
As noted, the brilliant trumpet motif from Sursum Corda
became Robin Hood's theme and Korngold treats it to an astonishing degree of
variation, development and embellishment, finding endless possibilities within
its complex rhythm. A secondary theme from Sursum Corda forms the basis for the
love music between Robin and Marian, while large portions of the central
development section and the climax of this earlier score were lifted entirely
for key scenes.
The rapid fanfare that concludes the Main Title and which
appears throughout the film to mark the supremacy of the Normans and more
specifically, Prince John, originally appeared (slightly varied) in Act One of
Korngold's opera Die Kathrin (composed almost contemporaneously) while the
famous March of the Merry Men which opens the film and later accompanies the
celebrated 'Attack on the Treasure Wagon' is actually based on a waltz theme
Korngold composed for an operetta adaptation from 1928 - Rosen aus Florida
(Roses from Florida) - which is a partial completion of a work by Leo Fall! We
shall never know just why Korngold identified Robin Hood's merry men with this
little waltz, but it proved to be enormously effective and one of his most
popular themes.
One further sequence utilised music he had composed earlier
- The Gallows, where Robin is taken to be executed. This is a much elaborated
rescoring of a sequence from Anthony Adverse of a tortuous journey by coach
through the Swiss Alps. The swirling, rising arpeggios are here combined with
Robin's trumpet theme to great effect.
As was his practice, Korngold composed the score at the
piano, in a method unique to him. Prior to starting work, I am certain he
already knew the overall shape and structure of his score. Only finite details,
matters of timing and pacing needed to be fixed. His anxiety at the initial
screening was doubtless caused by so much spectacular action he had not
envisaged when he was back at home in Vienna.
Nevertheless, he worked quickly as reels of the film were
run for him, over and over again in a projection room equipped with an upright
piano, while he improvised his music in time to the film, occasionally stopping
to make notes. Later, he would prepare a detailed piano sketch for each
sequence and gradually the entire score took shape. Because he composed the
music as a whole rather than in individual chunks, the separate cues flow one
from the other, with key relationships observed, even when scenes without music
are placed between. In this way, much of the score can be performed
sequentially, end to end, with little editing required. Among his
contemporaries, Korngold was unique in this respect.
The time pressure was immense and to ensure that the lengthy
score could be orchestrated and the orchestral materials produced, Korngold
worked to a punishing schedule with his preferred orchestrator Hugo Friedhofer
who (given the scope of the score) was assisted by Milan Roder. Meeting in the
early evening, he would play each sequence to Friedhofer, on the piano, calling
out instructions, indicating instrumental colours and any special requirements,
while Friedhofer scribbled copious notes. Following these meetings, Friedhofer
would return home to begin the orchestration, which would then be turned over
to copyists led by Art Grier and Albert Glasser whose job it was to prepare the
instrumental parts for the scoring sessions the next day, often working through
the night. In this way, the huge job of producing conductor scores and
instrumental parts for over 75 minutes of complex music for a 65-piece
orchestra was accomplished within the tight deadline.
A Listening Guide to the Score
Korngold's sweeping Main Title [1] opens with the famous
March of the Merry Men, which deftly bridges to the noble, heroic theme for
Richard the Lionheart before concluding with the brisk fanfare that symbolises
Norman Supremacy. It is interesting that Robin's heroic trumpet theme is not
heard as yet.
After the proclamation in Nottingham that King Richard has
been captured and held for ransom, the scene dissolves to Nottingham Castle
where, accompanied by a muted version of the fanfare, Prince John (Claude
Rains) and Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone) are plotting to bleed the hapless
Saxons of every penny in extra taxes.
Pouring red wine to drink a toast to their evil plans,
Prince John upsets his goblet and as the red wine spills like blood onto the
floor, [Sir Guy and Robin Hood] [2] we hear a sinuous clarinet figure (matching
the dripping wine) as it dissolves into the music of the Saxon Oppression. A
montage unfolds of various acts of cruelty, before the scene changes to
Sherwood Forest where Sir Guy of Gisbourne (note his brutal, warlike theme) is
preparing to arrest Much the Miller's Son (Herbert Mundin) for poaching. As the
brilliant trumpet theme from Sursum Corda rings out [The Meeting] [3], we get
our first glimpse of Robin Hood (Errol Flynn), or rather Sir Robin of Locksley
- he has not taken his new name as yet. Riding with his friend Will Scarlet
(Patric Knowles) Robin confronts Sir Guy. Muted winds accompany the tense
exchange as Robin needles Sir Guy, who rides away in a fury; Robin agrees to
take Much as his servant.
A title card proclaims The Banquet [4] and Korngold creates
a stately processional with a pure trumpet solo supported by elegant and
elaborate string accompaniment and archaic cadences to suggest the pomp and
grace of a medieval court. The Normans' Fanfare sounds as the assembled nobles
toast Prince John, and Korngold underscores the flirtatious dialogue between
the Prince and Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland) by transforming the Banquet
Processional into a minuet! Then we hear the melting strains of a theme
Korngold called 'Old England' and the sequence ends.
Suddenly, a commotion is heard as we see Robin Hood Outside
[5]; this is a subtle, robust variation on Robin's trumpet tune, which becomes
a swaggering march as he struts into the hall [Robin Hood's Entrance] carrying
a deer over his shoulders, before flinging it onto the Banquet table in front
of an astonished Prince John. After a tense exchange, a spear pierces Robin's
chair and a spectacular battle scene commences [The Fight] which is lifted
almost entirely from the exposition section of Sursum Corda and is one of the
most difficult sequences in this score, largely because of the tempo Korngold
demands.
Considering the music was actually written in 1919, it is
remarkable how well it fits the images on screen and one wonders if Korngold
influenced the cutting of this scene to fit the film, as he had in previous
films.
Robin escapes from the castle and The Chase of Robin Hood
begins with Sir Guy's brutal theme, as he commands his troops to pursue Robin.
A marvelous night ride through the forest follows, with every detail caught in
the music, Robin's trumpet tune punctuating the melodic line as the arrows fly.
A typical Michael Curtiz shot - a silhouette of the corpses
of dead Norman soldiers, while priests intone Latin prayers - is underscored by
a sombre, held chord. [The Victims].
Next, [Robin Hood Meets Little John] [6] it is a spring day
in Sherwood Forest as Robin and Will take a morning stroll. A bucolic pastorale
based on Robin's trumpet tune makes it almost sound like a new theme, so lyrical
and romantic has it become. They encounter Little John, who is whistling an old
English song (Sumer is Icumen In). The whistle was dubbed separately later and
there were many takes during the sessions as can be heard on the surviving
optical tracks. Korngold was a perfectionist and worked with the un-named
'whistler' until it was just right.
The encounter between Little John and Robin [Robin Hood
Fights with Little John] with quarterstaves on the log is a humorous, good
natured variation on Robin's theme with a solo bassoon embellished with
pizzicato strings to suggest Will Scarlet playing his lute nearby ( Little John
to Will: 'Hey there pretty fellow...play me a tune I can make this puny rascal
dance to ...!') The sequence entitled Jolly Friendship which concludes the scene
is the first time we hear the March of the Merry Men since the main titles -
for, with Little John being invited to join Robin, the Merry Men are finally
coming together.
The Oath and The Black Arrow [7] is an extended scene where,
following the oath of allegiance (poignantly underscored by the Lionheart
theme) as the Saxons who have formed Robin's Merry Men swear to fight for the
King, we hear again the Oppression theme; there is a gradual build up of
tension through a montage of further cruel acts perpetrated by the Normans. As
each Black Arrow is fired by Robin to avenge them, we hear his trumpet theme
ring out as they strike.
The music effortlessly bridges, one might almost say
dissolves, to the wonderfully luminous theme for Friar Tuck (Eugene Pallette)
[entitled The Fish [8] on the score] as he sits dozing by the stream, waiting
for a catch. The scene opens on the wriggling fish, which has been caught on
his rod, and the music, with its flute and vibraphone flourishes, has a translucent,
magical sound, complete with bell-like, monastic effects.
Robin's Fight with Friar Tuck which immediately follows is
yet another delightful variation on Robin's theme, as he duels with Tuck in the
stream. All ends happily and once again, Korngold makes humorous use of the
bassoon [A New Companion] [9] to mimic Tuck's rumbling tummy at the promise of
'a venison pastie and the biggest you ever ate... boar's head, beef, casks of
ale...'. We hear the gentle strain of the March of the Merry Men once more, as
another key member joins the band.
Robin Hood Attacks Sir Guy's Party [10] is one of the
best-remembered scenes in the film and thanks to the brilliant direction of
Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, one of the most exciting. A gradual build
up is matched by Korngold's effective and carefully structured scoring. The
March of the Merry Men is now transformed into an orchestral tour-de-force.
As the camera cuts away from the outlaws preparing to attack
Sir Guy's party, Korngold transforms Sir Guy's aggressive theme into an almost
lyrical accompaniment, befitting his attempt to befriend Lady Marian riding
alongside. When the attack comes [The Attack], it is simply marvellous how the
music mirrors the action on screen, as the Merry Men swoop down from the trees
onto the unsuspecting Norman soldiers. Robin's trumpet theme dominates, as Sir
Guy's troop is routed and the treasure seized.
The Flirt [11], as the captives are led away to Robin's
camp, is deliciously Viennese to
match the delightful banter between Robin and Marian. It caused one member of
the Warner Orchestra to dub Korngold's score "Robin Hood in the Vienna Woods".
Arriving at Robin's camp, the Feast begins, wherein the March of the Merry Men
is recast in a boisterous 2/2 time.
As Robin sits with Lady Marian, Korngold now introduces a
new theme that he called 'Lady Marian's Heartsong' on the original sketch,
which will become increasingly important as the romance develops in the story.
Here it is given a jaunty swing and provided with a syncopated bass that
perfectly complements the teasing dialogue. When Robin reveals the tax money
that has been seized - a chest brimful of gold coins and precious jewels - the
music fairly glistens accordingly [Gold] and, on being accused by Marian of
planning to keep his ill-gotten gains, he leaps up to ask his men what he
should do with it. Their passionate declaration to save it for King Richard,
allows the Lionheart theme to burst forth - a memorable moment.
Immediately following, Robin shows Marian the Poor People
[12] - peasants who have been mistreated or injured by Sir Guy's brutal forces.
Appropriately, it is the theme of Norman Oppression that we hear, but here
transformed into a sombre elegy. This highly effective patetico treatment then
softly bridges to the first, tentative appearance of the Love Music, as Marian
starts to realise her true feelings for Robin. This new theme, which appears
almost bashfully here, is also from Sursum Corda and with some ravishing key
changes, it leads to a lovely solo cello statement of the Lionheart theme, as
Robin tries to explain to Marian the reasons for his campaign against the
Normans.
As they walk back to the camp and her love begins to dawn
for him, the lilting strains of Old England follow them. After an altercation
with Sir Guy and some slapstick between Little John and Friar Tuck (a rare
example of Korngold using the 'Mickey Mouse' technique to match on-screen
action) the Flirt reappears, as Marian waves goodbye from her horse to Robin -
one of the most touching moments in the film.
Next - The Tournament [13] - another marvelous set piece,
rather like the curtain up on Act 2, with rich heraldic fanfares based on
Korngold's beloved motto theme of rising fourths (The Motif of the Cheerful
Heart), which he had used in all of his major works since his childhood, most
especially in his early Sinfonietta.
The archery tournament has been arranged by Sir Guy to trap
Robin, and with Robin's appearance on the field (accompanied by his men in
disguise) we naturally hear a muted version of the March of the Merry Men. The
orchestration is superb. When Robin's arrow leaves his bow, we don't need to
see it - we can hear its 'whoosh' in Korngold's music, as the trumpet theme
sings out. When the camera cuts away to Sir Guy, as he plots with Prince John,
a strange discordant motif based on Robin's march-like theme heard earlier when
he entered the Banquet, is continued by a new, threatening version of the
oppression theme effectively building the tension. Robin Hood Starts to Shoot
accompanies the final contest between Robin and the master archer Phillip of
Arras. Naturally, Robin wins the tournament as the fanfares ring out, over and
over again. The Arrest of Robin Hood [14] is a partial reworking of material
from Sursum Corda while the Tribunal and Jail [15] scenes, which immediately
follow, depend on still further development of the Norman Oppression Theme.
Korngold's intermeshing of individual motifs is a perfect counterpoint to the
action on screen and is done with exceptional skill. As Robin is manacled in
his cell, the scene dissolves to Maid Marian (Old England now heard in the
minor key) as she frets over Robin's fate. (A brief scene follows this, where
she meets the Merry Men to offer a rescue plan but it is not scored).
The Gallows [16] is another striking musical canvas,
borrowing (as noted) a motif from Korngold's earlier score for Anthony Adverse
(1936) but now re-orchestrated and embellished. Swirling rising arpeggios are
crowned by Robin's trumpet theme, as he is brought to the scaffold. The Flight
of Robin Hood, as he escapes the noose just in the nick of time, is a thrilling
adaptation of the last section of Sursum Corda - in particular, matching the
Fairbanks-like stunt of Robin swinging up Nottingham Gate by rope. Bar for bar,
it is fitted to the film like a hand in a glove.
Finally, we come to the big Love Scene [17] - the emotional
heart of the score, wherein Robin climbs, like Romeo, to Lady Marian's balcony.
Given the size of Nottingham Castle, this is no mean feat. The music begins
with a gently undulating misterioso based on Robin's trumpet call but here in
the minor key, supported by harp and piano arpeggios.
Inside, Lady Marian talks to her maid Bess (a wonderful
performance by Una O'Connor) of her love for Robin and we hear again 'Lady
Marian's Heartsong' - now, no longer shy or teasing but a lyrical outpouring,
exquisitely orchestrated, with celeste and vibraphone providing the most
luxurious, erotic colouring. Robin arrives and the structure of the sequence,
which follows, is purely operatic. Once the two have declared their love and as
they kiss for the first time, Korngold provides a sweeping climax with a full,
rich statement of the ravishing love theme first heard in the forest earlier.
When Robin speaks, a cello intones the Lionheart theme. When
Marian responds, it is the violins which answer for her. The musical sequence
ends with its usual coda - the Old England theme. Korngold's description of his
film scores as 'operas without singing' is especially apt here.
At this point in the film, Korngold's music stops. Scenes
depicting Richard the Lionheart arriving incognito at an Inn and a subsequent
meeting between Prince John, Sir Guy and the Bishop of the Black Canons
(Montagu Love) where they plot Richard's murder and the coronation of John as
King, are played without underscoring. Korngold instinctively knew where to
place music in his films and these scenes required none. However, as Lady
Marian has overheard the plot, Korngold's score resumes with her Arrest [18] -
a reprise of the oppression theme, for Marian is herself now one of the
oppressed.
A long, held chord maintains the suspense of the Court of
Execution when she is condemned to death, before one of the most unusual
musical sequences in the score; Much: The Knife Fight [19]. Much the Miller,
warned by Bess, goes to overtake Sir Guy's assassin, Dickon (Harry Cording) to
save King Richard. In the music, after a sinister prelude of biting, dissonant
minor seconds, we hear Much drop from the tree onto Dickon and as the fight
ensues, to match the brutality and sharp blows, Korngold liberally spices the
score with sharp intervals, and a strange, discordant treatment of Robin's
theme.
As the fight reaches its climax, the scene (and the music)
dissolves into the radiant major key and onto Richard himself (Ian Hunter)
[Richard Meets Robin Hood] [20] and his lovely theme, played rapidly. He
encounters Robin and the Merry Men and as they walk to the camp, Will Scarlet
(having discovered the injured Much) arrives with him. This scene was edited
and shortened before release but for this recording, the full musical sequence
has been restored. A lovely pastoral statement of the Lion Heart theme [Richard
the Lion Heart] as he reveals his identity to Robin and his men, closes the
scene.
The Procession [21] marks the beginning of the grand finale
to this wonderful film. The March of the Merry Men is now sinister and stately,
embellished with tolling bells and muted trumpet flourishes, as the outlaws
disguised as monks make their way to Nottingham Castle, where Prince John,
assuming his brother has been killed, is about to proclaim himself King. The
scene changes to the robing room where he is dressing. As he admires himself in
a pier glass, the Sheriff of Nottingham (Melville Cooper) says 'We are ready
for the ceremony - your Majesty!' and the music swells. A new grandiose
treatment of 'Old England' is heard, as the Great Hall of Nottingham Castle is
finally revealed, bedecked in coloured flags and tapers as the camera pulls
back on the resplendent scene.
Brilliant fanfares ring out - and the music they play is an
extraordinary transformation of the March of the Merry Men into a thrilling
'Pomp and Circumstance'. The music becomes ever more elaborate, with harps,
tolling bells and extra fanfares building to the emphatic climax. For this
extended sequence, Korngold added extra brass, for antiphonal fanfares, which
were recorded separately and then mixed over the main orchestral part. This was
necessary because of the limited monaural recording process then available. Yet
Korngold was already clearly thinking in stereo long before it was possible.
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Main Title - Muted Fanfare - 1:49 
