Every Generation Gets the Sheriff of Nottingham It Deserves

When Alan Rickman succumbed to pancreatic cancer January 14 at age 69, every obituary obligatorily mentioned that the London-born actor portrayed Hogwarts Professor Severus Snape in all eight “Harry Potter” films. Apparently, Snape was an ambiguous antagonist for Harry. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling recalled Rickman as “a magnificent actor” and “a wonderful man.” In a special remembrance, Daniel Radcliffe, the screen personification of Harry Potter, cherished Rickman as “undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with. He is also one of the loyalist and most supportive people I’ve ever met in the film industry. He was so encouraging of me both on set and in the years post-Potter.”

Of course, there were so many facets to Alan Rickman’s talents beyond the cynicism of Professor Snape. Rickman effortlessly commanded roles as a romantic lead, in 1990’s “Truly, Madly, Deeply” and 1995’s “Sense and Sensibility” (pictured above, with Kate Winslet), or in a romantic comedy like 2003’s “Love Actually.” He deftly executed self-deprecating humor as the TV actor depicting the Spock-like science officer in 1999’s “Galaxy Quest,” as The Melatron (“The Voice of God”) in 1999’s “Dogma,” and as the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android in 2005’s “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”

However, in three consecutive performances in just three years – from 1988 to 1991 – Alan Rickman inarguably established himself as three of the most unforgettable screen villains of all time. In “Die Hard” (1988), Rickman broke through to international stardom as Hans Gruber, the painstakingly urbane bank robber masquerading as a terrorist (pictured above). In “Quigley Down Under” (1990), Rickman portrayed a racist Australian rancher who hires a Wyoming sharpshooter (Tom Selleck) to rid the Outback of Aborigines (pictured below).

Elliott Marston (Alan Rickman): "Some men are born in the wrong century.
I think I was born on the wrong continent." Matthew Quigley (Tom Selleck):
"This ain't Dodge City, And you ain't Bill Hickock."

Ultimately, Alan Rickman pulled out all the stops in a manically inspired, over-the-top interpretation of the Sheriff of Nottingham in “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” (1991).  In his Los Angeles Time obituary for Alan Rickman, David Ng remarked, “When the movie ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’ opened in 1991, critics laid waste to the Hollywood adventure epic, lambasting the movie’s interminable running time, faux medieval dialogue and star Kevin Costner’s meandering accent. But amid the pans, reviewers singled out British actor Alan Rickman for his comic take on the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham. He stole scenes with his zany mugging and sarcastic eye-rolling.” A Variety reviewer noted, “It’s a relief” whenever he’s on screen, “such is the energy and brio he brings to the proceedings.”

 

"Cancel the kitchen scraps for the lepers and orphans,
no more merciful beheadings. And call off Christmas!"

“Possessing a mellifluous baritone and a congenital sneer that could signal aristocratic hauteur,” Ng noted that Rickman could invest his “dark, forbidding characters – from ‘Die Hard’ to the ‘Harry Potter’ movies – with alluring complexity and a winking self-awareness.”

 

Alan Rickman starred with Emma Thompson in "Love Actually" (2003).

Rickman himself maintained that he was always drawn to an actor’s function as a narrative conduit, stating, “It might not be great, it might not be perfect, but it does answer the human need to sit there together and be told a story,” while Ng insisted “Rickman made bad behavior fascinating to watch.”

Although Roger Ebert dubbed “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” “a murky, unfocused, violent and depressing version of the classic story, with little of the lightheartedness and romance we expect from Robin Hood,” he did note, “The most colorful character is the villain, the Sheriff of Nottingham, but both the character and the performance are inappropriate for this film.” According to Ebert, Alan Rickman “plays the Sheriff s if he were David Letterman: He’s a wicked, droll, sly, witty master of the put-down and one-liner, who rolls his eyes when Robin comes bursting in to interrupt the rape. Rickman’s performance has nothing to do with anything else in the movie…but at least when Rickman appears on the screen we perk up, because we know we’ll be entertained, at whatever cost to the story.”

The Sheriff of Nottingham is a literary figure as steeped in folklore as his legendary nemesis, Robin Hood. Between 1261 and 1300, there were several references to “Rabunhod” in various regions across England, while the first literal mention of the “rhymes of Robin Hood” appears in a poem from 1377 titled “Piers Plowman” by William Langland. Throughout medieval records, references were made to numerous historical individuals named “Robin Hood” or “Robert Hood.” 

Over time, Robin Hood became typically depicted as a contemporary and supporter of the late-12th century King Richard  the Lionheart, forced into life as an outlaw during the supposed misrule of Richard's brother, Prince John, while Richard was overseas fighting the Third Crusade. Although these tales first gained popularity in the 16th century, they were not mentioned in the earliest ballads.

Despite his own prominence as a beloved figure in British folklore, Richard the Lionheart  (pictured above) did not speak English, preferring two French dialects, and actually spent as little as six months in England during his decade-long reign before his death at age 41 in 1199. Utilizing his kingdom mainly as a source of revenue for his armies, Richard proved himself to be anything but a Lionheart when negotiations for a prisoner exchange with Sultan Saladin stalled, and the petulant monarch, without compunction, massacred over 3000 Saracen captives, including women and children (pictured below).

As for representations of John as the perennial antithesis of the Lionheart, Richard personally named John as his heir in place of the expected successor, their nephew, Arthur I, Duke of Brittany. And lest we forget, it was King John who, in 1215, gave his assent to the Magna Carta (pictured below), a charter conceding liberties to English barons that was an early step in the evolution of the constitution of the United Kingdom. Tudor historians appreciated John’s opposition to the Papacy and regarded him as an early Protestant hero who advocated the prerogatives of a king.

The earliest ballads and stories about Robin Hood featured such Merry Men as Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, and Much the Miller’s Son. Minstrel Alan-a-Dale was a comparatively late addition to the legend, first appearing in a 17^th century ballad. The character of Maid Marian apparently originated as a shepherdess associated with May Day celebrations. Possibly also a personification of the Virgin Mary, she started appearing in tales about Robin Hood in the 16^th century.

 

British illustrator James E. McConnell depicts Robin Hood and Maid Marian.

As only 1950s British TV and the Disney Productions could depict her, Maid Marian emerged from the costume departments in the most historically inaccurate wardrobe imaginable.

And yet, Lincoln green never looked so appealing...

(Left) Joan Rice strikes a pose as Maid Marian in a publicity photo for Disney's
"The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men" (1952) starring Richard Todd;
(right) Patricia Driscoll, as Maid Marian, and Richard Greene pose together on
the set of the 1950s English TV series "The Adventures of Robin Hood."

Often confused with or in place of the Sheriff of Nottingham, Sir Guy of Gisbourne was first mentioned in the 1650 ballad “Robin Hood and Guy of Gisbourne,” in which Guy is a hired killer slain by Robin. He was later depicted as a romantic rival for the affections of Maid Marian, a similar function sometimes fulfilled by the Sheriff of Nottingham.

 

Robin Hood competes with Sir Guy of Gisbourne
in a storybook illustration by Louis Rhead.

In “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” Guy of Gisbourne, as played by Michael Wincott (who would portray Cardinal Richelieu’s henchman Captain Rochefort in the 1993 screen version of “The Three Musketeers,” with Chris O’Donnell, Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, and Oliver Platt), is depicted as the Sheriff of Nottingham’s cousin (pictured below), summarily dispatched by the irascible Sheriff (Alan Rickman) for his ineptitude in dealing with Sherwood Forest’s outlaws.

On screen, just as every generation gets the Robin Hood it deserves, so, too, does every generation of moviegoers get the Sheriff of Nottingham it deserves. Appointed to capture outlaws and poachers while ensuring the safety of trade routes through Sherwood Forest, the Sheriff was portrayed by Williiam Lowery, with playwright-actor Paul Dickey as his henchman, Sir Guy of Gisbourne, in the 1922 silent film “Robin Hood.” Starring Douglas Fairbanks, who also wrote and produced the picture, the box-office hit was one of the most expensive productions of 1920s, with a budget of one million dollars (over $14 million in contemporary dollars).

 

Paul Dickey (far left) played Sir Guy of Gisbourne in "Robin Hood" (1922),
with Douglas Fairbanks as the Earl of Huntington (Robin Hood)
and Enid Bennett as Lady Marian.

The Sheriff of Nottingham (as played by Melville Cooper, a British character actor usually cast as weak-kneed snobs) took a back seat to Basil Rathbone’s scene-stealing role as Robin’s archenemy, Sir Guy of Gisbourne, in 1938’s “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” the third pairing of eight of one of Hollywood’s favorite screen couples, Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, and one of the greatest films ever made, deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress. The elaborately staged swordfight between Robin and Gilbourne was enhanced by the inherent skills of both Flynn and Rathbone off-screen as accomplished fencers.

In an interesting side note, Alan Hale, a frequent onscreen sidekick for Errol Flynn who portrayed the physically imposing Little John in “The Adventures of Robin Hood” (pictured below), played Little John in the 1922 silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks and would reprise the role once again in “Rogues of Sherwood Forest,” a low-budget action picture from 1950, featuring John Derek as the son of Robin Hood.

“The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men” (1952) was only the second live-action feature from Walt Disney Productions, after 1950’s “Treasure Island,” and starred Richard Todd in the title role. Acclaimed London-born actor Peter Finch (best known for his posthumous Academy Award performance as rogue news anchor Howard Beale – “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” – in “Network”) portrayed the Sheriff of Nottingham (pictured below).

For much of our generation in the Moviehouse, earliest memories of Robin Hood are black-and-white episodes of the 1955-1959 British TV series “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” starring Richard Greene (best known for an early role as Sir Henry Baskerville in “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” a 1939 mystery that marked the first screen pairing of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson). Coincidentally, psychologist-turned BBC Radio announcer-turned actor Dennis Wheatley, who played the urbanely malevolent Sheriff of Nottingham on the television show (pictured below), starred briefly as Sherlock Holmes in a 1951 BBC TV series.

In 1960, Richard Greene reprised his characterization of Robin Hood in “Sword of Sherwood Forest,” a Hammer Film Production directed by Terence Fisher (“The Curse of Frankenstein,” “The Horror of Dracula,” “The Mummy”). Peter Cushing (Grand Moff Tarkin in the original “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope”) portrayed the Sheriff of Nottingham (pictured below).

(Above) Incidentally, 1960's "Sword of Sherwood Forest" featured an early
screen role as a villain for a young Oliver Reed, who appeared in several
Hammer Film Productions at the onset of his career, including "The Two Faces
of Dr. Jekyll," "The Curse of the Werewolf" (as the titular lycanthrope), "Pirates
of Blood River," "Night Creatures," "The Scarlet Blade," and "The Damned."

The 1973 Walt Disney Productions animated feature, “Robin Hood,” which shamelessly rehashed characters from 1967’s “The Jungle Book” (the last film personally supervised by Walt himself), was produced and directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, one of the storied  “Nine Old Men,” an original cadre of animaors employed by Disney. Pat Buttram (best known as the tirelessly resourceful Hooterville con man Mr. Haney on TV’s “Green Acres”) voiced the lupine Sheriff of Nottingham (pictured below).

When Mel Brooks created the shortlived TV parody of the Robin Hood legend, “When Things Were Rotten,” in 1975 – featuring Dick Gautier (best known as Hymie the Robot from “Get Smart”) as Robin, “Hee Haw’ honey Misty Rowe as Maid Marian, Dick Van Patten (the patriarch from “Eight Is Enough”) as Friar Tuck, and Bernie Kopell (“Get Smart’s” archvillain Siegfried) as Alan-a-Dale – the Sheriff of Nottingham was played by Henry Polic II.

Polic (pictured below), a talented stage actor, unfortunately became better known for his frequent appearances on such TV games shows as “The $25,000 Pyramid” and “The $1000,000 Pyramid,” than for his work in theater and films.  Not unlike subsequent TV series that actually required viewers to pay attention (case in point, 1982’s “Police Squad!”), “When Things Were Rotten,” despite critical acclaim, was canceled when its rapid-fire premise failed to find an audience.

Eighteen years later, Mel Brooks took another satiric swing at the folk hero of Sherwood Forest in the screen comedy “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” (1993), with London-born Cary Elwes (“The Princess Bride”) in the title role (“Unlike some other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent!”). While comedian Richard Lewis played a neurotic, angst-ridden Prince John, the late Roger Rees (best remembered by fans of “Cheers” as the British multi-millionaire, Robin Colcord, lusted after by Kirstie Alley’s gold-digging Rebecca Howe) portrayed the Sheriff of Rottingham (pictured below). (Incidentally, “When Things Were Rotten” costar Dick Van Patten appeared in “Men in Tights” as an abbot.)

Robert Shaw culled his Irish charm and mischievous twinkle-in-the-eye as shark-hunter Quint in “Jaws” for his interpretation of the Sheriff of Nottingham in “Robin and Marian” (1976), an elegiac look at the autumn years of Robin Hood (Sean Connery) and Maid Marian (Audrey Hepburn) directed by Richard Lester, who had only just recently revitalized the “Three Musketeers” franchise with a pair of slapstick adventures, featuring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, and Frank Finlay. The original screenplay for “Robin and Marian” was written by playwright (and brother of Oscar-winning screenwriter William Goldman) James Goldman, who won an Academy Award himself for the 1968 screen adaptation of his play “The Lion in Winter,” starring Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn.

The climactic, full-armor duel between Robin and the Sheriff in “Robin and Marian” packs a wallop, serving as an emotional culmination for decades of the cinematic rivalry between the two folk icons of Sherwood Forest, while the poignant aftermath is a fitting, bittersweet coda to the legend.

A couple months after Dublin-born actor Patrick Bergin played Julia Roberts’ abusive husband in the 1991 thriller “Sleeping with the Enemy,” he starred in “Robin Hood,” a gritty, muddy-and-bloody interpretation of the tale, directed by John Irvin (“The Dogs of War,” “Hamburger Hill”), originally intended for theaters but sidetracked to Fox TV to premiere before the theatrical release of Kevin Costner’s “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.”

Featuring Uma Thurman as a ballsy Maid Mariane (pictured above, with Patrick Bergen), the TV film revamped Guy of Gisbourne as Sir Miles Folcanet, portrayed by Berlin-born actor Jurgen Prochnow (best known as the submarine captain in “Das Boot”), while the Sheriff of Nottingham was reinterpreted as Baron Daguerre, played by Dutch actor Jeroen Krabbé (recognizable as the villainous Dr. Nichols in “The Fugitive”).

 

Trouble brewing: Jeroen Krabbe and Jurgen Prochnow plot in "Robin Hood."

The 2001British TV movie “Princess of Thieves,” imported for American television by “The Wonderful World of Disney,” featured Keira Knightley (best known as Guinevere in 2004’s “King Arthur” and as Elizabeth Swann in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films) as Robin Hood’s feisty daughter. Actor Malcolm McDowell, in full-bore villain mode - remember, this is “the man who killed Captain Kirk” in “Star Trek: Generations” - portrayed the Sheriff of Nottingham (pictured below).

Amid the ham-fisted, over-the-top performances in 2010’s “Robin Hood,” the begrimed, hyperbolic remake that nobody asked for – starring Russell Crowe (in a phoned-in retake of his “Gladiator” performance for director Ridley Scott) – the Sheriff of Nottingham was portrayed by Matthew Macfayden (pictured below), who played Athos in the unasked-for 2011 3-D remake of “The Three Musketeers.”

In some tales, the Sheriff of Nottingham was beheaded by Robin Hood. Other stories had Little John killing the Sheriff with an arrow in the back. In “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” Alan Rickman’s Sheriff falls victim to a knife hidden in Robin’s boot.

Daniel Radcliffe’s internet in-memoriam for Alan Rickman noted, “Contrary to some of the sterner (or downright scary) characters he played, Alan Rickman was extremely kind, generous, self-deprecating and funny…I will carry the lessons he taught me for the rest of my life and career. Film sets and theater stages are all far poorer for the loss of this great actor and man.”