Now Over 5500 Reviews and (near) Daily Updates!

WELCOME! Use the search engines on this site (or your own off-site engine of choice) to gain easy access to the complete MAKSQUIBS Archive; more than 5500 posts and counting. (New posts added every day or so.)

You can check on all our titles by typing the Title, Director, Actor or 'Keyword' you're looking for in the Search Engine of your choice (include the phrase MAKSQUIBS) or just use the BLOGSPOT.com Search Box at the top left corner of the page.

Feel free to place comments directly on any of the film posts and to test your film knowledge with the CONTESTS scattered here & there. (Hey! No Googling allowed. They're pretty easy.)

Send E-mails to MAKSQUIBS@yahoo.com . (Let us know if the TRANSLATE WIDGET works!) Or use the Profile Page or Comments link for contact.

Thanks for stopping by.

Friday, May 30, 2008

ROBIN HOOD (1922)

Some of the grandest sets ever built in Hollywood would have overwhelmed many a swashbuckler, but Douglas Fairbanks & helmer Alan Dwan hold their own against all the pageantry. There’s a lot of backstory in this version (Sherwood Forest doesn’t make an appearance until the Crusades are dealt with) and a bit too much merry-making from those famous ‘Merry Men,' but the basic story seems just about indestructible by now. (Even Kevin Costner couldn’t do it in.) And it’s fun to spot some well remembered types, like Wallace Beery & Alan Hale, in their salad days. Hale played Little John two more times (1938 & 1950). For decades, this film & THE THIEF OF BAGDAD/'24 were considered Doug's best, but restored prints and better availability now show his work just growing stronger right up to the end of the silent period. So, don't stop here.

No comments: