Admittedly, the movie gets off to a slow, extremely talkative start with Roddy McDowall making a strained if hearty attempt to improve the comic mileage of some very insipid dialogue by hammily over- acting. However, once the locale moves to Sherwood Forest, the dialogue really crackles. We loved Segal giving Gisborne twenty guesses as to his identity. Then he tells the Normans to vamoose, but only one of the opposing soldiers vaults on to his steed and gallops hastily away. "What about the rest of you?" demands our Robin. "Well, I'm Mick and he's Harry and there's George. There's only one Norman among the lot of us and he's just ridden off!"
Full of deliberate anachronisms and topical allusions, the film, led by Segal's puckish Robin, is played by all concerned with such wonderful gusto and enthusiasm that its humor finally becomes both infectious and irresistible. Production values are surprisingly lavish, with no expense spared on props, costumes, locations and heaps of extras.
Austin's direction evinces occasional touches of style, but could do with more polish. And of course, betraying the hand of a small- screen man, there are far too many close-ups.Nonetheless, by the humble standards of the television movie, "The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood" comes as a most agreeable surprise.
Full of deliberate anachronisms and topical allusions, the film, led by Segal's puckish Robin, is played by all concerned with such wonderful gusto and enthusiasm that its humor finally becomes both infectious and irresistible. Production values are surprisingly lavish, with no expense spared on props, costumes, locations and heaps of extras.
Austin's direction evinces occasional touches of style, but could do with more polish. And of course, betraying the hand of a small- screen man, there are far too many close-ups.Nonetheless, by the humble standards of the television movie, "The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood" comes as a most agreeable surprise.