Made at a staggering cost - every penny of which is up there on the screen in the superb, full-length Alpha DVD which runs 120 minutes (equivalent to around 140 minutes at theatrical speed) - "Robin Hood" is a movie that simply cannot be surpassed for acting, characterization, plot and spectacle.At first glance, producer Douglas Fairbanks may seem to be an odd choice for Robin Hood, but this of course is a silent movie and Fairbanks is not hampered by his American voice and his somewhat strange and rather stagey delivery. In fact, he seems to fit the role perfectly.Wallace Beery is also ideally cast as the murderous Prince John, while Alan Hale enacts the first of his three performances as Little John. Hale repeated the role in both the 1938 "Adventures of Robin Hood" and the 1950 "Rogues of Sherwood Forest".This action-full movie actually cost $1,500,000 to make - and it's all up there on the screen! Nonetheless, this was a really staggering sum way back in 1922 - but fortunately, the movie was super-popular (and so it deserved to be). Rentals returned more than $2,500,000 in the USA alone.This movie is available world-wide on an excellent Alpha DVD.

...and may never want to see it again.My biggest problem with the movie was the strange pace. In the beginning, before the Earl of Huntingdon becomes Robin Hood, things move as slowly as a snail. The movie is just over two hours long and could have been much shorter. For example, it opens with a long jousting tournament that could have been completely removed. But after Huntingdon goes AWOL on King Richard's Crusades (which are disturbingly glorified in this movie) to protect England from the tyranny of evil Prince John and adopts the alias Robin Hood, things suddenly start moving at break-neck speed.Douglas Fairbanks shines in this film, creating a Robin Hood with surprising heart and humanity for a silent movie. But in a movie that was a big-budget blockbuster for the 1920s, Fairbanks's star is often eclipsed by needless pageantry, as well as by his own less-talented co-stars, particularly Wallace Beery as King Richard, the so-called "lion hearted" king who spends most of the movie laughing. He laughs when he sees that Earl of Huntingdon (Robin Hood) is scared of women, he laughs when he defeats the Muslims in the Crusades, he laughs when he discovers that Robin Hood is Huntingdon is disguise, and he laughs as he tries to barge in on Robin and Marian's wedding night in the final scene. Before long, you'll be wondering why the heck everyone in Nottingham reveres this guy, or you'll be asking the question I heard someone sitting near me in the theater whisper: "What is so funny, anyway?" Enid Bennett, playing Lady Marian, seems like a good actress, but it is hard to tell, as she's given little more to do than faint whenever a fight starts and wake up once the action's over. Her romance with Robin Hood, however, is definitely worth watching. My favorite scene in the whole movie was their first kiss: When Robin leans in toward her, she modestly turns away, and he settles with kissing the hem of her sleeve instead.

The Douglas Fairbanks version of "Robin Hood" is still good entertainment despite showing its age at times. The role gives Fairbanks a perfect chance to display his energy and charisma, and he is helped by lavish sets and scenery that recreate the world of medieval England. Wallace Beery as King Richard also is a nice complement to Fairbanks. Later versions, such as the Errol Flynn version which is still the best of all the Robin Hood movies, had many resources available to them that this one didn't, but this older version works well and is more enjoyable than most of the more recent movies based on the legend.The story and characters are familiar from many other books and movies. But it includes some interesting scenes that cover or add parts of the legend that are not in a lot of other versions - for example, about the first half of this movie takes place before any of the events in the Flynn movie. It makes it interesting to watch even if you've already seen plenty of other "Robin Hoods", and amongst other things it gives Beery as Richard a lot more screen time. It is acted in the somewhat exaggerated style of many of the silent melodramas of the era, but in this case that tone, while perhaps providing an occasional unintentional chuckle, fits rather well with the subject matter. It's also worth paying attention to the grand sets that were constructed for the film. They were apparently rather renowned in their day, and they still do a good job of evoking the right background. Overall, it was a very good film for its time and one worth watching today.

Every one in Robin Hood's Merry Band skip every where. They can't walk, they all skip, especially Fairbanks. Can Fairbanks ever enter a room like a normal person? Not until later pictures... A little overly Merry if you ask me, but Wallace Beery is a revelation. Young and Handsome. Totally unexpected. The Special effects photography is nice too. There are many good things in this film, and it's well worth a look, but it does get kind of Fairbanks style hammy. He later took fencing lessons for Black Pirate, but he hadn't bothered here yet. He kind of Whacks at everybody. Alan Hale plays Little John, and did again 16 years later in the Errol Flynn Version.