Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marian.

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This post could easily just be me drooling over Errol Flynn for a thousand words. I'm kinda sorta really in love with him, and I will protest until my dying day that he was a fantastic, underrated actor. Watching one Flynn film makes me want to watch ten more immediately, a particular addiction of mine that only Flynn can lay claim to. While I can't say I love every movie of his, I can say that I've always loved his performances, and The Adventures of Robin Hood happens to belong to both camps. Quite simply, it is one of the best films period, and so doing a review of it is a bit daunting. Good thing I'm not doing a review!

Because it is Olivia de Havilland's birthday on July 1st, I wanted to focus solely on her in this film. Even if I didn't adore Flynn as much as I do, it would be hard to tear my concentration from him because let's be honest, he is the unequivocal star here. Does he have an incredible cast surrounding him? Oh yes. But Flynn had a high wattage of star power that could blind you, and unfortunately, it has often kept me from appreciating Ms. de Hallivand. That stops today!

Let's get the superficial stuff out of the way first. De Havilland may be the most gorgeous part about Robin Hood. Shimmering dresses with colored veils look stunning on Olivia, thanks to costume designer Milo Anderson. (For more on the costuming, check out Girls Do Film's piece here.) The lush Technicolor is dazzling to see, especially on the big screen, and lovely Olivia is a sight to behold. You might need sunglasses for this one, folks!

The glowing beauty of characters like Maid Marian are frequently my problem with swashbucklers: the leading ladies, although crucial to the romantic storyline, often have the substance of their characters sacrificed for the sake of building up the daring hero and sometimes the dastardly villain. Marian's first scene exemplifies this. While Flynn's introduction involves him riding into frame on a horse with Erich Wolfgang Korngold's magnificent

score and the brilliant blue sky behind him in a close-up, de Havilland's first look is her seated at a table in a wide shot with a candle blocking her face. The camera eventually does a close-up, but it's not nearly as breathtaking as Flynn's. He instantly steals the focus again when he strides into the dining hall with a dead deer hoisted on his shoulders, daring anyone to try anything. Marian's shock over his rebellion allows for one of the film's best lines, as she gasps "Why, you speak treason!" With an amused smile, Robin replies "Fluently." You can watch the scene here.

As the film progresses, Robin is able to change Marian's perspective, although it really isn't that difficult. After all, her problem isn't her moral decency but rather her shielded lifestyle. You get the sense that she hasn't had to see the dark side of what a monarchy can do, which oddly enough makes her more cynical than optimistic. She questions the validity of Robin and his mission, believing that the money they took from Sir Guy will be used for their own gain instead of for King Richard's ransom

like they claim. Once she sees the starving, wounded people that Robin is helping, she still has trouble comprehending the purity of his intentions:
M: "You're willing to defy Sir Guy, even Prince John himself, to risk your own life, and one of those men [in the camp] was a Norman."
R: "Norman or Saxon, what's that matter? It's injustice I hate, not the Normans."
M: "But it's lost you your rank, your lands. It's

made you a hunted outlaw when you might have lived in comfort and security. What's your reward for all this?"
R: "Reward? You just don't understand, do you?"
M: "I'm sorry. I do begin to see, a little now."

Although she starts the film as a haughty noblewoman, there are brief moments where we can tell there is more to Marian than a naive passivity. When Prince John mentions her becoming betrothed to Sir Guy, Marian smartly sidesteps that disastrous idea, playfully suggesting that she wants to know him better before tying the knot. (Meanwhile, her eyes are saying "No way!") In that same scene, she appears uncomfortable when John announces that he is taking his brother's place. You get the feeling that she's been humoring John and his cohorts because she expects Richard to return at any moment and make things normal again, but this decision is her first big clue that something is going wrong.

One of my biggest pet peeves is a female character who does nothing to help the hero, thus dwindling her significance and contributing to the inequality of their relationship. If a woman just stands and screams, I will not root for her, plain and simple. Fortunately, Maid Marian doesn't fall into that category. When our first fight scene breaks out in the dining hall, you can hear a lot of women screeching... except for Marian, who looks on with a mixture of curiosity and worry, as if she doesn't

want someone to die but she is interested in seeing this Robin Hood guy in action after hearing about his ability to avoid arrest literally five minutes ago. When he later captures the caravan led by Sir Guy and the Sheriff of Nottingham, Marian makes it clear that she won't be cowered by Robin: "I'm afraid of nothing, least of all you." I love it when she refuses his offer of food, but she's hungry so she tries to slyly nibble on a chicken leg, hopeful that she won't give him the satisfaction of seeing her eat.

Marian isn't one to be inactive, making the archery contest frustrating for her to watch. She discovers it is a trap for Robin, her facial expressions illustrating that she is trying to figure out how to tell him, but she can't without endangering herself or making the situation worse for him. She makes up for it when she devises a plan to get him out of his imprisonment. Although she initially couldn't understand why Robin would risk his life for his cause, Marian ends up doing the same thing

by going to the Merry Men's covert tavern and aiding them in their goal to rescue their leader. When Robin sneaks into her room to thank her, he asks her to come with him and Marian declines. Is it because of the rough conditions? The poverty? The danger? No, it's because she believes she can do more for King Richard if she stays in the castle and spies, a decision that Robin respects.

I must admit that I do have one major quibble with Marian, and that's when she gets caught by Sir Guy. She overhears the plot to kill King Richard and is somehow so stealthy that she escapes notice by Guy, John, and the Bishop all the way down the stairs until they catch a glimpse of her turning the corner. She writes a note for Bess to give to Robin while also telling Bess everything, making the note kind of superfluous, and then she does the stupidest thing: she hides the note in a box when Guy knocks on her door. First off, why doesn't she destroy it in the fire that's right in front of her? And why does she keep drawing attention to the box? Thankfully Bess is able to escape and spread the word, but it drives me crazy how obvious Marian is, making it my only problem with the script. She is always so careful concerning her contact with Robin and his men, but the screenplay needed her to make a mistake so she would be imprisoned and raise the stakes. It's frustrating that Marian is made passive for the last part of the film, although she does give a great, defiant speech to John before she is locked away. I like to think that Robin's rescue of her isn't a hero saving the damsel, but rather him returning the favor since she once helped him out of captivity.

Maid Marian isn't exactly the first woman that springs to mind when I think "swashbuckling heroine." Those words usually conjure up the image of Maureen O'Hara or Binnie Barnes, but just because she doesn't wield a sword or wear pants doesn't mean that Lady Marian isn't a swashbuckler at heart.

Plus, anyone who can hang out with Bess must be okay.

With love,

Michaela

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This is my minor contribution to the Olivia de Havilland Centenary Blogathon, a celebration of the still-living Ms. de Havilland's 100th birthday. You can see the other entries here.

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