The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938 U.K. PHOTOPLAY EDITION, 1951 REPRINT)

Text based on the First National Pictures' Technicolor Production "The Adventurees of Robin Hood" (Screenplay by Norman Reilly Raine and Seton I. Miller, with contributions by Rowland Leigh)

Published by Ward, Lock & Co., Limited, London, 1951

About this Item

Undated though first release doubtless timed to the October, 1938 U.K. release of this (for the time) big-budget Warner Brothers Technicolor production, starring Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, & the lovely Olivia De Havilland. (The other "Regal Series Film Books" advertised here include "Rogues of Sherwood Forest" (1950), "Tom Brown's School Days" (1951) and the photoplay edition of the Renown Pictures version of "Scrooge" (1951), giving us our most likely print date.) Colors to both glossy front board and full-color jacket remain vivid, here, though we grade this uncommon jacket "fair" only -- the top third of the rear panel has been torn away and lost, while horizontal strips have been removed from both top and bottom of front panel, the rough edges of those excisions possibly indicating bug chews. This book also smells a bit musty to us, as do most books which arrive here in the desert from the British Isles. Bookplate to FFE dated 1963 shows this copy was awarded to one Robert Clarke for his diligence at the Forest Side Methodist SS (Sunday School?) But the oddest thing about the illustrations, here, is that this TECHNICOLOR film is represented almost entirely by BLACK-AND-WHITE production stills. Even the eight COLOR plates have clearly resulted from having an artist take eight of the B&W stills and simply PAINT THEM OVER. Yes, generating color "publicity" transparencies from a film shot in the original "three strip" Technicolor process might have been a bit cumbersome, but this is still a head-scratcher. Meantime, Ward, Lock clearly issued two versions of this coveted, large-format (7-1/2-X-10-inch) U.K. photoplay edition, this one (70 illustrations, eight in color), and a thicker version bragging 100 illustrations, 16 of them being color plates. (The boards and jackets of these two versions are not identical; the foliage to front panel is different, especially over Mr. Flynn's right shoulder.) Which is the earlier we don't know, though this "8 plates in colour" version (with all eight color plates being in place, as called for) would appear to be less common. 96 pp., reduced from $147. Seller Inventory # 010025

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938 U.K. ...

Publisher: Ward, Lock & Co., Limited, London

Publication Date: 1951

Binding: Hardcover

Illustrator: With 8 Plates in Colour / 70 Illustrations

Condition: Good

Dust Jacket Condition: Fair