RICHARD GREENE’S SWASHBUCKLER FILMS

Richard Greene is best remembered for his portrayal of Robin Hood on television from 1955-1960 but he starred in several swashbuckler movies before his success on the small screen.

THE DESERT HAWK (1950) – This fun but hilariously inauthentic Arabian actioner starred Yvonne De Carlo as Scheherazade, whose father is forcing her into a marriage to the evil Prince Murad. Word of the lavish wedding reaches Omar the Blacksmith (Richard Greene) who is secretly the roguish bandit leader called the Desert Hawk.

Planning to steal the treasure trove of wedding gifts at the affair, the Desert Hawk disguises himself as Murad and marries Scheherazade before abandoning her by making off with the priceless gifts. He is aided by his two bizarrely miscast colleagues – Jackie Gleason as Aladdin and Joe Besser as Sinbad. (?)

The real Murad is furious about the theft, so he has his men slaughter some innocents and blame it on Omar and his band in order to justify an all-out war against the Desert Hawk. Scheherazade realizes how vile the real Murad is and escapes him disguised as a slave girl.

Omar recognizes the “wife” he ran out on and buys her as a harem girl at auction. Amid much action, the pair continue defying the villainy of Murad until the inevitable happy ending. Rock Hudson appears as Ras in this 77-minute flick. Future Johnny Carson Tonight Show producer Freddy De Cordova directed. 

LORNA DOONE (1951) – Richard Greene IS Lorna Doone! Okay, I’m just kidding, but if you think The Desert Hawk mangled Arabian lore just wait until you see how this movie distorts the novel about the heroine Lorna Doone.

In 1600s England, the beautiful Lorna Doone (Perry Mason’s attorney Barbara Hale) grows disgusted with her highly placed family’s oppression of the peasants. She falls in love with John Ridd (Richard Greene), whose family is among the downtrodden victims of the haughty Doones.

With the English Civil War fast approaching, John Ridd becomes a swashbuckling leader of the oppressed against the Doones and their ilk. Moreover, Lorna is being forced to marry her cousin (eeww) Carver Doone (William Bishop).

Ridd rescues Lorna from that fate and while continuing to lead the uprising against the Doones, he learns that Lorna is not really a Doone but was kidnapped from a noble family as a child. The bad guys get theirs and our stars find love. 84 minutes.

SHADOW OF THE EAGLE (1951) – Not content to take part in the monumental distortion of a classic novel, Richard Greene was also an accomplice to mangling Russian history beyond recognition.

In Shadow of the Eagle, he portrays the loathsome real-life figure Count Alexei Orlof as a dashing hero who masterfully wields his sword in battle and his charm in bed with beautiful ladies. Orlof wins favor with Russia’s ruler Catherine the Great (Binnie Barnes), who sends him to Venice to abduct Princess Elizabeth Tarakanova (Valentina Cortese), a rival to Catherine’s throne currently living in exile. 

In an absurd alteration of history, Alexei falls in love with Elizabeth while wooing her as a prelude to her abduction. Various tortures get inflicted on Elizabeth but in this version of reality Alexei Orlof manages to foil villainy and reward virtue to the clanging of swords and the gallop of hooves. 93 minutes.

CAPTAIN SCARLETT (1953) – After the Napoleonic Wars are over, devil-may-care soldier of fortune Captain Carlos Scarlett travels Europe rescuing fair ladies and fighting petty tyrants arising in the wake of Napoleon’s downfall.

After he saves the beautiful Princess Maria (Leonara Amar) from being robbed by Highwaymen, he learns his own lands have been confiscated by the evil Duke de Corlaine – the man Maria is being forced to marry.

Captain Scarlett and his fellow outlaw Pierre free Maria from the Duke, following which she dons men’s clothing and weaponry and fights at their side in their further adventures against de Corlaine. After two more escapades against the villain, the Duke falls in battle with Scarlett, Maria and Carlos kiss, and then the captain, Pierre and Maria ride off in search of more action.

This 75-minute flick was filmed in Mexico as three episodes of a potential television series but when that fell through the episodes were mashed together as if they were a movie. The camaraderie among Carlos, Pierre and Maria makes Captain Scarlett stand out. 

THE BANDITS OF CORSICA (1953) – Even though this is often called a remake of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.’s The Corsican Brothers it’s actually a sequel. Greene plays both twins, Mario and Lucien Franchi, and it turns out that Lucien did not die after all at the end of the Fairbanks film.

His survival makes even less sense than the resolution of the cliffhanger in a Republic Serial, but Lucien has amnesia and has fallen in with gypsies who name him Carlos. Meanwhile, Mario and Christina (Paula Raymond) have gotten married since the end of the earlier movie and think Lucien is dead.

They enjoy the Franchi Estate that the Corsican Twins won back from the bad guys at the end of the 1941 film. New villains arise to illegally inflict their tyranny on Corsica – Jonatto (Raymond Burr) and his nephew Nerva (Lee Van Cleef).

It comes down to the twins reuniting to fight and engage in derring-do against the new bad guys, but Lucien/ Carlos has grown bitter over Christina not loving him, and his dark moods make this sequel less enjoyable to me. Also with Clayton Moore and Michael Ansara. 81 minutes.   

SWORD OF SHERWOOD FOREST (1960) – After Richard Greene’s 5-year run as television’s Robin Hood, he played the hero on the big screen in this film. None of the other cast members from the tv series take part – all those roles are recast.

In this version of the Robin Hood saga, the Sheriff of Nottingham (Peter Cushing) and his villainous allies (including Oliver Reed) try to recruit Robin to assassinate one of their enemies – the Archbishop of Canterbury, who opposes their evil deeds.

Our hero refuses and takes to Sherwood Forest to oppose the bad guys, rob from the rich to give to the poor and romance Maid Marian (Sarah Branch).

Nigel Green plays Little John, Niall MacGinness is Friar Tuck, and Dennis Lotis portrays Alan-A-Dale. 80 minutes.