Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue

 Grab your tartan and head to the Scottish Highlands for Walt Disney's 1953 film, Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue. It is based off of tales from history and legend passed down from authors like Daniel Defoe ( also wrote Robinson Crusoe) and maybe hints from Sir Walter Scott novel, Rob Roy. What I learned from Disney's Rob Roy is don't take away a man's name, as that is his whole identity and his pride. Robert Roy came from the clan of MacGregor. You could say he was the Scottish Robin Hood.

So before I go into the Disney version let me try to explain the history of the real Rob Roy. I say try because there are different legends that make up the man. Depending on who you ask, many of the stories are made up, or did actually happen. Rob Roy, like Robin Hood, could be called a hero or an outlaw. Rob Roy MacGregor grew up living in the Highlands where life was simple. The only problem was the Lowlands clans that were changing with the times and were the "upperclass" who did not care for the Highlanders' simple ways. This led to a feud between the Highland and Lowland clans over time. Plus a switch to the Great Britains throne didn't help matters for the Highlanders. Due to the 1701 Act of Settlement and later the 1707 Act of Union, the throne could no longer go to a Catholic so Queen Anne's distant relative George from Hanover (Germany) became the new ruler because he was a Protestant. There was over fifty Roman-Catholics closer to the throne than he was. Without this silly rule the crown would of been Anne's half brother, James Francis Edward Stuart. The Highlanders, being strict Catholics, did not care for the new king and devoted themselves to fighting for James making themselves Jacobites.

The Lowlands had the government on their side and created laws banning the MacGregor name because of fighting as Jacobites. They also confiscated property like cattle, land, and even women and children ( Habeas Corpus Suspension Act of 1715). This heinous act was brought about by a man just like the Sheriff of Nottingham, The Duke of Montrose. He held a grudge towards Rob Roy after money he had loaned Rob Roy for the purchase of cattle was stolen ( he believed Rob had pocketed the money himself. The money was stolen by or from Rob Roy's lead cattle driver who was assigned to purchase the cattle). The Count of Montrose proclaimed Rob Roy an outlaw and went about burning his house, taking away his property (cattle), and throwing Rob Roy in jail. Rob Roy had friends within the jail and escaped. Rob Roy MacGregor was a proud Highlander and would not go down without a fight and took to arms. He stole back "his" cattle ( they could of been his or just a wealthy lowlands herd), plus got revenge for the burning of his house and foul treatment to his wife while he was gone.

Due to his fighting with the Jacobites and the mess that the Duke of Montrose caused him, Rob Roy MacGregor became famous during this time, especially after the publishing of Daniel Dafoe's book about him, The Highland Rogue. King George even read of his tale and pardoned him in 1726, allowing Rob Roy MacGregor to live in peace for the rest of his life.

" Rob Roy you are a Great Rogue"- King George " And you Sire a Great King."- Rob Roy

Ok the history lesson is done. On to the Disney side of things! " I like history", said Walt Disney. "It's universal. Subjects like Robin Hood and the Tudors appeal to everyone. And costumes don't date, you know. I can release these films over and over again and they won't get the kind of laughs you get from modern subjects made ten years back subjects." This time Disney moved filming to the Highlands of Scotland around Corrie Grennan, Aberfoyle and studio scenes shot at Elstree. Unfortunately, Walt's preferred director Annakin from his previous film The Sword and the Rose was not available due to Rank Organisation refusing to loan him out. Walt then gave the directorial job to Harold French.

The cast looked very familiar, mirroring The Sword and Rose with leading man Richard Todd as Rob Roy and love interest Helen Mary played by Glynis Johns. Along with James Robertson Justice as The Duke of Argyll and the villainous Duke of Montrose played by Michael Gough. Absolutely no offense to Richard Todd but watching these Disney films in order I'm going to be happy to see a different face in the leading role. I think the main difference between his films is the "growing" of facial hair.

I know Disney used the same actors over and over again like Kurt Russell and Hayley Mills. They probably had a so many pictures contract but I didn't have issues with seeing these familiar faces because I wasn't watching the live-action Disney films in order like I am now. Anyway, for this film they had the budget of $1.8mil. Richard Todd's fee alone was £15,000. Todd said of Rob Roy, " Roy instituted the first protection racket." So just assuming Todd was doing the same thing asking for more money. 

One thing that still seems to draw ticket buyers is a film with action and Disney made sure there was more of it for Rob Roy with lots of battle scenes. If you are looking for blood and guts though you won't find it- there is no blood on the injured, even after being stabbed or shot. Richard Todd actually injured himself on his first charge scene, stepping into a rabbit hole and hurting his ankle. An interesting fact about those soldiers extras was they were soldiers of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders who had just returned from the Korean War. According to an article written by the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners Advocate the soldiers were only paid their normal pay of 7 shillings a day while the war office received 25 shillings a day. Questions were raised in British Parliament about this injustice.

The film premiered at the Royal Command Performance in London on October 26, 1953 with Queen Elizabeth the II in attendance. The U.S. premiere later occured on February 4, 1954. This was the last Disney film to be released through RKO Radio Pictures. New York Times critic Bosley Crowther had this to say of the film, " A fine lot of fighting among the hills, shooting of rifles, banging of claymore, smirking of pipes and buzzing of burrs, filmed and recorded in color on the actual Scottish countryside. And while Mr. Todd is not precisely the Rob Roy that history records, he is indeed a satisfactory fabrication until a better Rob Roy comes along." 1995's Rob Roy starring Liam Neeson???? Director Harold French called the film, "a western with kilts." In June of 1954 Walt Disney sadly admitted both The Sword and the Rose and Rob Roy were " not up to expectation", in the U.S. but performed better in other countries. Rob Roy was expected to at least return their cost. Due to this, Walt decided to pull back on continuing to make elaborate historic costumed pictures. Instead for his next film he would take his audience under the sea and no I'm not talking The Little Mermaid.

The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men

Walt Disney's first live action film, Treasure Island, was a hit for the company and along with the success of Cinderella, saw the company in good standing after the war. Though due to the war, Disney and RKO still had money frozen in Great Britain, so Disney thought it best to continue filming movies there for the time being. Perce Pearce, who Walt has used as producer on Song of the South, So Dear To My Heart, and Treasure Island, was back, but this film enlisted some new blood. Guy Green, who won an Oscar for Best Cinematography in 1946 for Great Expectations, came on as cameraman. Carmen Dillon, who won an Oscar for her Art Direction in 1948's Hamlet, came on as art director and would come back for The Sword and the Rose (1953). And last but not least, Ken Annakin, who would have a long relationship with the Disney company, would direct. Besides Pearce and Disney, everyone on the cast and crew was British. Walt was determined not to have the same issues he had with work permits that he did on Treasure Island. It was decided that they would stay in the same vein of action-adventure films and tackle the legend of Robin Hood. Like Treasure Island, Robin Hood represented a popular story that would be known to most audiences.

Story Background

The legend of Robin Hood has been around since the 1300's, first as part of poems and ballads. There have been many different versions of the Robin Hood story, with some including or omitting such characters as Friar Tuck, Maid Marian, or Little John. It wasn't until Robin Hood started to be adapted as a children's story in the 19th century that you start to get a clearer picture of the Robin Hood tale we know today. Howard Pyle's 1883 novel, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, is perhaps the most influential on 20th century adaptations of the tale.This novel cemented Robin Hood as a philanthropic character; someone who stole from the rich to give to the poor. It was only a matter of time before Robin Hood came to silver screen. The very first adaption was a silent film in 1912, though the best known adaptations are the 1922 silent Douglas Fairbanks version and the 1938 Errol Flynn version. The Errol Flynn version has become the gold standard for Robin Hood films, thus causing many filmmakers to make their movies about Robin Hood's son instead.

Production Background

Annakin and Disney knew their film would be compared to Errol Flynn's version no matter what, but they set out to make it their own film. Annakin recalled:

"I remember talking about the original Errol Flynn Robin Hood,  and I looked at it, just to get an idea what had been done before, because I never like to do anything twice. Walt didn't seem very worried about seeing the original, and in fact, I doubt if he ever did. His approach is always that the the film is a Disney picture, and therefore, because of his attitudes and approach, the picture is bound to be different from anything else made on the subject before."

Perhaps the biggest difference in this version versus prior adaptations is the addition of Robin Hood's father and his murder by the Sheriff's men. This gives the film a revenge plot line in addition to the standard Robin Hood fare. Three separate shooting crews were made for the film, one doing exterior action shots and two interior crews at Denham Studios. Something that helped set this film apart from others was the fact that the exterior shots were mostly shot in the real Sherwood forest in England. Walt came out for the better part of a summer to work with Annakin on the film. Walt had started the practice of storyboarding his live action movies years before, but it was new to Annakin. Annakin may not have been accustomed to the practice, but it helped keep the production from hitting too many pitfalls. By being able to effectively block out the scenes ahead of time, it made it so they had much less wasted shots or setups. Filming in technicolor at that time was laborious and it took lots of time to reload the camera and to check components after each shot, so it was important to know what you were doing ahead of time.

Cast

Richard Todd plays the eponymous Robin Hood, and does a fine job even with the character being strongly associated with Errol Flynn. Again, as Walt had desired, Todd made the character his own. Walt liked Todd so much that he ended up using him as the main character in his next two live action films, The Sword and the Rose and Rob Roy. Playing Robin Hood's love interest Maid Marion is Joan Rice. Rice had been hand-picked by Disney, but the casting apparently didn't sit well with Richard Todd. Todd was a bit older than Rice and Rice had only been in two films before Robin Hood, so he felt that someone with more experience could have brought something better to the role. Be that as it may, they have great chemistry in the movie, shown in the beginning as playful sweethearts, and then later in the film as taking on a more mature relationship. Other notable cast members include Peter Finch as the Sheriff of Nottingham. If that name seems familiar, you may recognize him better as Howard Beale in the 1976 movie Network. Finch, unfortunately now is known mostly for that role and even more-so for dying shortly after the movie premiered but then posthumously winning Best Actor at the 1977 Academy Awards.Finch was just seeing his star rise in the early 50's and would go on to win multiple BAFTA awards for Best Actor. James Hayter, who portrayed Friar Tuck in the film, would go on to portray the character again in 1967's A Challenge For Robin Hood.

Release

Ahead of the wide release, Disney released a promotional short called The Riddle of Robin Hood. It served as the making of The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men, and included segments with Walt Disney, Perce Pearce, and Ken Annakin, among others.  Robin Hood and His Merrie Men had its premiere in London on March 13th, 1952, with a wider release in July of that year. While critical reception to the film was not uniformly great, especially in the U.K., it ended up being one of the highest grossing in Britain. It would go on to gross over 4.5 million in the U.S., making it a hit on par with Treasure Island. Robin Hood and His Merrie Men would not see another theatrical release, but would air on Disneyland in 1955. It was released on Laserdisc in 1992, with a VHS release in 1994. Nowadays you can purchase a DVD or digital copy from the Disney website. Disney would go on to release an animated version of the Robin Hood story in 1973, with that version largely overshadowing this live action undertaking.

Sources:

• https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/disney-films-robin-hood-and-his-merrie-men
• http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/1370591%7C0/The-Story-of-Robin-Hood-and-His-Merrie-Men.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Robin_Hood_and_His_Merrie_Men