Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show

Subject: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Nerd
Date: 10 Aug 04 - 04:12 PM

I haven't seen it mentioned much that the old 1950s Robin Hood TV Show with Richard Greene, one of the first UK exports to US primetime TV, is now becoming available on DVD. So far there are two DVDs, each with four half-hour episodes, available. Some great actors in these first episodes, including Leo McKern and Donald Pleasance.

One of the nice things about this show is that they used real ballad tunes as background music. I was watching the episode where Robin meets little john, and I heard some familiar music in the background. It took me a few minutes to realize it was the tune John Strachan sang for Robin Hood and Little John!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Blackcatter
Date: 10 Aug 04 - 04:18 PM

That's nice to know that it's out on DVD. I'll have to look for it. I've never seen more than bits of it, but I grew up with the 45 or the theme song and still sing it occasionally at a gig.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: curmudgeon
Date: 10 Aug 04 - 04:25 PM

I found four videos of the series back some fifteen years when I had a video store. The DVDs should be a great improvement. Tunes for incidental music that I recall included Early One Morning and Brian Boru's March -- Tom

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: PoppaGator
Date: 10 Aug 04 - 04:43 PM

Is this the Robin Hood TV series whose theme went like this:

Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, with his band of men
Feared by the bad
Loved by the good
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood

????

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Nerd
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 01:19 AM

No, that's not the theme song of these episodes. That's the one Monty Python made fun of with "Dennis Moore," though!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Cluin
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 01:34 AM

Dennis Moore, Dennis Moore,
Riding through the land
Dennis Moore, Dennis Moore,
Without a merry band
He steals from the poor
And gives to the rich
Stupid Bitch!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 01:40 AM

Perhaps the programs have been repackaged with different music? I remember the words as PappaGator penned them, even the tune. I watched the program whenever I could when I was a child, which was fairly often, though by then it was in reruns on tv. I'm sure now as an adult I'd recognize a lot of the actors beyond their roles in that program.

SRS

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Nerd
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 01:49 AM

I think these episodes are as originally aired. But it is possible that the familiar theme song was added later on in the series.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 04:22 AM

Was it the one with an opening shot of an arrow being fired which then flew past a not very contemporaneous telegraph pole? That's the theme tune I remember too,

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Sooz
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 04:31 AM

I watched every episode and I don't remember any other theme music!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 04:39 AM

Didn't the verse begin: "Came to Sherwood Forest with a feather in his cap..." followed by the usual about robbing the rich to give to the poor?

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: fat B****rd
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 05:46 AM

I had the theme tune on the Parlophone label by Dick James b/w Davy Crockett. Definitely THE telly RH theme. Archie Duncan as Little John, Pat Driscoll as maid Marion and Alexander Gauge as Friar Tuck. Sheriff Of Nottingham ??. And I'm sure most of you know what happened to the bride and groom who asked for "that Robin Hood tune" for their wedding music,

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 06:06 AM

Oh yes, great story! They wanted Bryan Adams singing Everything I Do but asked for the theme from Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. What they got was the TV theme tune to gallop down the aisle to. It could have been worse: Robin Hood, Men In Tights anyone?

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: The Shambles
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 06:07 AM

That was the chorus

The verses were even worses.

He called the greatest archers to a tavern on the green.
They vowed to help the people of the Queen.
He handled of the trouble on the English country scene
But still found plenty of time to sing......

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 06:10 AM

The Robin Hood theme music was the first record (78) I ever bought as a child. We had only just got a TV and I was glued to every episode. The later Tv version 'The Green Man' was very good as well, also with some great music

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 06:11 AM

He came to Sherwood Forest with a feather in his cap
A fight, and always looking for a fight
His bow was always ready and he kept his arrows sharp
He used them to fight for what was right.
Cho.
Robin Hood
Robin Hood etc.

Nostalgia fix here

Giok

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: GUEST,lanfranc sans cookie
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 06:39 AM

On the wall of my den/office/shambles there are a number of framed originals of 50s and 60s sheet music, including "Robin Hood" by Carl Sigman and "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" by Tom Blackburn and George Bruns. Both are priced at 1/6 (less than 9p!) and date from 1955/56.

Having dismantled the frame, I can now post the entire lyric, as follows (before reading or attempting to sing along, please remember this is a 1950s lyric from a TV show and doesn't withstand much critical examination, especially the last verse!):

ROBIN HOOD by Carl Sigman

Chorus: |C|-|C G7|C|G7|-|Dm7|G7|C|Em|F|Am|G7|-|Dm7|G7|C|-|-|-|
Verses: |-C|C|-|-|-|-|-|G7 Bflat7|Dm G7|C|-F|-|F#dim|C|Dm7 G7|C|

Chorus:
Robin Hood,Robin Hood,riding through the glen
Robin Hood,Robin Hood,with his band of men
Feared by the bad, loved by the good
Robin Hood,Robin Hood,Robin Hood.

He called the greatest archers to a tavern on the green
They vowed to help the people of the king
They handled all the trouble on the English country scene
And still found plenty of time to sing

Chorus

He came to Sherwood Forest with a feather in his cap
A fighter never looking for a fight
His bow was always ready and he kept his arrows sharp
He used them fighting for what was right

Chorus

With Alan Dale and Little John they had a roguish look
They did the deeds that others didn't dare
Recaptured all the money that the evil sheriff took
And rescued many a lady fair.

Chorus

To cheating and corruption he would never, never yield
And danger was his breakfast every day
The cobbler in the hamlet and the farmer in the field
Were always helping him get away

Chorus

He rode up to the palace and was cheered by everyone
His Lady Marian threw him a rose
The King of England knighted him the Earl of Huntingdon
And that is the way the legend goes.

Chorus

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: GUEST,lanfranc sans cookie
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 06:47 AM

Incidentally, the Sheriff of Nottingham was originally played by Alan Wheatley.

More information for 50s TV nerds here

Alan

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Sooz
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 08:36 AM

Maid Marian was played by Patricia Driscoll who was also the presenter of Picture Book. (Monday's Watch with mother)

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Tig
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 09:14 AM

I posted the words for this not long back. I had been into a school I had found the 5 year olds singing it with great gusto.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: JennyO
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 09:16 AM

I think I must have seen every episode of Robin Hood several times over and that was definitely the only theme song I ever heard. It was my dad's favourite show. The world had to stop when Robin Hood was coming on. If only he had still been alive, I know what his next Christmas/Birthday present would have been. I'd be tempted to get the DVD's anyway, just for old time's sake.

Jenny

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Compton
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 09:23 AM

Now then....it was either the TV series OR the film with Errol Flynn that had Elton Hayes (THE folk singer in the 50's)(The Owl and the Pussey Cat)as Alan a' Dale.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Peter T.
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 10:01 AM

In Canada you could get drinking glasses with Robin Hood figures on them (early TV tie-in -- was that true anywhere else?

yours,

Peter T.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: greg stephens
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 10:09 AM

Elton Hayes was in the Flynn movie, I think.His minstrel (us lads thought at the time) was a touch on the effeminate side.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Sooz
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 10:14 AM

Great site lanfranc - thanks.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 10:37 AM

When I was a kid, I heard

"they called the greatest archers to a challenge on the green"

not "tavern." I intend to stick by "challenge."

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: The Shambles
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 11:18 AM

I challenge you to an archery contest on the village green.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 11:40 AM

There was always something hopping down at the Blue Boar Inn. It was a rather sacrosanct place in the program, wasn't it? Always a back door to slip in and out that the Sheriff's men didn't seem to be aware of? It has been so long: as with others, I watched them all and watched when the repeats were repeated, but I can't remember the details of a single episode now. As I read one of the nostalgia sites, though, I remembered my thought as a child that someone was going to catch onto that Blue Boar one of those days.

The Korngold music for the movie Robin Hood is still heard regularly on classical music stations and in summer concert in the park sorts of series, where nostalgia happily meets a starry night and a blanket on the lawn.

SRS

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Nerd
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 11:47 AM

These episodes have no theme music whatsoever. Each episode begins with just a single "ballad" verse about what is going to happen in the episode. The tune is a version of "Early One Morning." So there are a few possibilities:

Theme music was on UK TV but not US, or vice versa. Or the theme music was added later in the series. Or the theme music was for some reason taken off the DVDs.

I suspect the theme music was added for the US showings of the program, then possibly retained for subsequent showings in Britain. The theme song was by the same guy who had done "Davy Crockett," so it is unlikely to have been in the show as orignally produced in Britain.

Maid Marian in her first episode was not Patricia Driscoll, but Bernadette O'Farrell.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Pied Piper
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 11:48 AM

"Your money or your lupins"

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: JennyO
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 12:01 PM

We had the theme music here in Oz.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Blackcatter
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 12:18 PM

OK.

Here we go. The theme as listed above is the original these to the show in Britian. It was also used for the show in the U.S., and as far as I know, all other country broadcasts. Also, the theme was used from the first episode on. It was definately written prior to the first airing of the show.

As for the DVD, there are several examples of contractual problems when it comes to modern re-runs and video and DVVD rights to theme songs. It wouldn't surprise me if the owners of the song decided not to let the song be used in the DVD release.

Check out my website.   

Blackcatter's World of TV Theme Lyrics

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: JennyO
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 12:23 PM

Thanks Blackcatter, you da man!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Nerd
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 12:43 PM

Interesting. Thanks, Blackcatter! It's sad that the theme music was taken off the DVD, but the music that IS there is still interesting.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Blackcatter
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 12:47 PM

Y'all are welcome.

Not that I know everything about TV themes, but it is my business.

I want to see the DVDs even more now.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Ellenpoly
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 01:32 PM

Funny, I can't remember even one episode, but as soon as I saw the thread name, I began humming the theme song.

Thanks for the blast from the past, folks! (Did I miss it or did someone mention who sang it? Good voice!)

..xx..e

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 04:06 PM

That goddam song is now stuck in my head. During the whole last hour as I mowed the lawn it kept coming to the surface. Gotta find something to listen to to dislodge it. Tom Lehrer ought to work.

SRS

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Ellenpoly
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 04:08 PM

"And it's National Brotherhood Week..."

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: maire-aine
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 04:22 PM

What a delight to find this thread. I loved Richard Greene as Robin Hood. It was my favorite TV show. I bought a couple of VHS episodes a few years ago. Will definitely look for the DVDs. Thanks,

Maryanne

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Blackcatter
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 04:56 PM

I've never been able to find who sung it. I'll bet it was on the 45 I had as a kid, but it was destroyed in a fire in 1980.

It might have been in the credits to the show, but if they've expunged it from the DVD, I'll bet they changed the credits as well.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: The Shambles
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 05:27 PM

Didn't Dick James go on to have some link with The Beatles?

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Compton
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 09:29 PM

Yes..wasn't he an early music publisher..Dick James Music??

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Selchie - (RH)
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 03:05 AM

Dick James was the music publisher.

Details of his early Beatles involvement & also with Elton John can been see on http://geocities.com/penneylayne/bio.html

M

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Selchie - (RH)
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 03:21 AM

AND:

For anyone who'd like a stroll down 50's Childrens' TV Memory Lane, read about Robin Hood & the many other excellent B & W series try:

http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/index.htm

M

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Ellenpoly
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 02:18 PM

More specifically:

http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/children/robinhood/robinhood.htm

(I'm singing along right now!)

..xx..e

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: GUEST,John Hindsill
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 10:27 PM

Last night I read many of these missives. Today at a 99 Cents Only Store (can I plug them?) I found a DVD of the first 3 episodes from the Greene series. The "Robin Hood, Robin Hood" theme song is not on this DVD, but the quality of the disc is passing fair for the under $1 price, but I remember it well. Watching the first episode made me 14 years old again. If memory serves, didn't the same company produce a Roger Moore Ivanhoe?---John

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Nerd
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 12:53 AM

Hey John,

Is the company "Collector's Choice Video?" I ask because mine have 4 episodes per DVD, but I heard that the whole series was coming out in the UK.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 09:27 AM

they should be good. we had all of america's best writers that had been blacklisted

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: GUEST,John Hindsill
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 09:59 AM

Nerd, no. The company is called "television(sic) Classics" out of Solana Beach, California. They have put out loads of early TV shows and old movies and old cartoons onto DVD. These particular stores sell each disk for less than $1. That's better than rental!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Robin Hood TV Show
From: JJ
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 11:34 AM

The ballad opening!

A song has come to Robin's ears
From deep beneath the castle ground
It tells that Richard is alive
And John shall not be crowned...

And why I remember that fifty years on I do not know. In memory the singer sounded something like Ed McCurdy.