JohnHowardReid Production manager: Bryan Coates. Producer: Clifford Parkes. Executive producer: Michael Carreras. A Hammer Film, released by Warner-Pathe in the U.K., by 20th Century Fox in Australia and the U.S.A. Australian and U.S. prints in color by DeLuxe. 8,641 feet. 96 minutes. Registered: July 1967. "U" certificate. (An excellent Optimum DVD).Copyright 31 December 1967 by Hammer Film Productions — Seven Arts Productions. No New York opening. U.S. release: June 1968. U.K. release: 24 December 1967. Australian release: 2 May 1968. Cut to 85 minutes in the U.S.A. NOTES: A rare cinema role for prolific TV actor, Barrie Ingham, plus a school holiday hit in many capital cities, "A Challenge for Robin Hood" drew surprisingly enthusiastic crowds. VIEWERS' GUIDE: Although the censors all regard this movie as immensely suitable for general exhibition, I think otherwise. I would rate this attraction as borderline. COMMENT: One would think it impossible to offer any new embellishments of the Robin Hood legend, but screenwriter Peter Bryan has done just that. More time is spent establishing the characters than in previous versions, there is another brother (well played by Eric Woolfe) and the familiar characters are all introduced in an unusual way.I particularly like Maid Marian's entrance and the deft way the director and his astute film editor penetrate her disguise. The conclusion, too, with its note of further peril to come is in marked contrast to all other versions and is probably unique for this sort of period adventure. Mind you, it was probably inspired by the demands of television, but nonetheless… The acting is uniformly pleasing, with John Arnatt as the Sheriff of Nottingham taking over the mantle of the late Basil Rathbone and wearing it with ease. He has some sharp dialogue and he handles it impeccably. As might be expected in a Hammer production, the film is loaded with violent action, most of it well done. The climax is superbly staged. We like the way the director keeps the aged steward crouching in the background, watching on, and the sheriff picking his way carefully through the outskirts of the action. The fighting itself is handled with considerable relish and is most convincingly and excitingly staged. The vibrant Color by Technicolor photography is a decided asset and the music score rates as excitingly melodious.

MattyGibbs This is a surprisingly decent Robin Hood story. It quickly tells the story of how Robin Hood came to be. A wronged nobleman escapes to the forest and quickly gains a small army in order to gain revenge against his cousin. The plot is thankfully easy to follow which isn't always the case with these films. It features the usual Robin Hood swordplay mixed with a good dose of humour. The fast pace and plenty of good sequences means that there are few dull spots and Barrie Ingham makes a good and charismatic Robin Hood and Peter Blythe is great as the evil and snivelling Roger de Courtenay. As it's obviously not a big budget effort I thought this was a good effort and though no classic it's worth watching for old adventure film lovers.

Spikeopath A Challenge for Robin Hood is directed by C.M. Pennington-Richards and written by Peter Bryan. It stars Barrie Ingham, Peter Blythe, James Hayter, John Arnatt, Gay Hamilton, John Gugolka, Eric Flynn, Leon Greene and Douglas Mitchell. Music is by Gary Hughes and cinematography by Arthur Grant.A Seven Arts-Hammer production in De Luxe Color, this is another variant on the Robin Hood legend. Very much operating from the Norman and the Saxon feud, pic has all the requisite swashbuckling shenanigans to entertain the family. It's very colourful, both in camera lensing and costuming, robust with the action scenes, and thrives on the good olde goodies versus baddies nature of the origin story.The Masked Monk!It's all very fanciful of course, with derring-do and machismo the order of the day, which unfortunately renders the Maid Marian (Hamilton) character as being an outsider looking in. Yet the camaraderie of the merry men, the earning of trusts and surrogate kinship's, ensures there's nary a dull moment in the tale.The pies have it.Whilst the choreography is not high end, the standard of the buckling of the swashes is better than average, while there is some fun sequences that can't fail to raise a smile. Pennington-Richards and his team have managed to not let the modest budget bog the picture down; modern day car glimpsed in the background of one shot not withstanding!Mr. Kipling makes exceedingly good cakes.The cast is made up of mostly unknowns, but that is absolutely fine as the likes of Ingham and Blythe are attacking their roles with such relish, with a glint in their eyes, it's hard not to just buy into the frothy fun of it all. The standout is Hayter as Friar Tuck, the voice of a major cake advertising campaign in Britain, he steals every scene he is in here and he actually on his own makes this well worth watching.There are far better Robin Hood movies out there, for sure this one feels at times like it's clinging on to the swashbuckling coat tails that had long since gone as the 70s approached. Yet sometimes all you need from this type of film to entertain is guts and frivolity, and this has it in spades. 7/10

JHC3 Hammer Studios, best known for a long string of excellent (and later, not-so-excellent) horror films, also produced adventure films. "A Challenge for Robin Hood" is one such example.Robin de Courtenay (Ingham) is a Norman nobleman falsely accused by his cousin Roger (Blythe) of murdering his other cousin Henry. Forced to turn outlaw, Robin flees the castle, joins a band of Saxon outcasts, and is dubbed Robin Hood. The fight for justice begins.This version of the Robin Hood legend features a number of twists, not the least of which is that Robin is a Norman and his close friends, Little John and Will Scarlet, are Norman retainers. Maid Marian (Hamilton) has a rather limited role when compared to most other adaptations. Most, but not all, of the characters generally associated with Robin Hood are present in this version.This well-made film is well worth a look, particularly for those who enjoy the Robin Hood genre or classic adventures. The cast is solid though Barrie Ingham simply lacks the charisma of others who have played the role (notably Errol Flynn, Richard Todd, and Richard Greene). James Hayter is excellent as Friar Tuck, a role he had previously played in the wonderful "The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men" (1952).