Robin and the 7 Hoods

• Directed by Gordon Douglas
• June 24, 1964

After the undisputed head of the 1920s Chicago underworld is killed by his trusted lieutenant, two rival gangs go to war.

Taking an old story and putting it in a new location/time is nothing new with some of those attempts being better than others. Robin and the 7 Hoods transposes the Robin Hood story (in broad strokes) to Depression Era gangster culture. With some memorable tunes and a breezy script, it’s a fun and entertaining little romp.

We have an all-star cast for the time taking up various equivalents from the Robin Hood myth. Some names get altered to be less on the nose while others can’t be missed. Frank Sinatra is Robbo (Robin), Dean Martin is Little John, Sammy Davis Jr. is Will (Will Scarlett), Bing Crosby is Alan A. Dale (Alan-A-Dale), Peter Falk is Guy Gisborne, Barbara Rush is Marian Stevens (Maid Marian), and Victor Buono is Deputy Sheriff Alvin Potts (Sheriff of Nottingham).

These are some big names back in the day, yet none of them appear to have hogged screen time because of their egos. They are in it just as much as is needed and no more. Sinatra was clearly the star of the film being Robbo, but he didn’t take time from Bing Crosby or Dean Martin or even Sammy Davis Jr.

Crosby as Alan A. Dale is perhaps my favorite and the more humorous character in the story. In the legend Alan-A-Dale is a crooner and Crosby was best known as a singer so I guess that was a bit of meta humor on their part. Dale here is a conman running an orphanage who uses a great many words to say very little.

The story of Robin and the 7 Hoods is essentially a gang war done very family friendly for control of the local underworld after the assassination of the local boss. Peter Falk’s Gisborne is just enough of a threat to Frank Sinatra’s Robbo that he gives as good as he gets but you don’t believe he’ll ever completely win. Then again, given the basis for the story, I’m not sure if you could ever do one where the main villain looked like he would win.

The songs are great. Don’t get me wrong. “My Kind of Town” became a bit of standard for Sinatra. Its great music performed by great singers but I would’ve liked this movie more if it had been without music. Just a straight up crime comedy with the occasional meta-reference to how similar it is to the Robin Hood story. They do that briefly, but not often enough.

The movie itself isn’t groundbreaking but what really makes this work is that the people involved are just having fun. They know exactly what they’re doing and they’re doing it with their friends or at least people they get along with really well. Lawford was originally to be Alan A. Dale but there was a falling out because of some Kennedy stuff and Sinatra and Lawford never spoke again.

The character of Marian was no wilting flower waiting to be saved or swept off her feet by a male character. She is strong and devious and in the mind of the characters lives up to the reputation of her assassinated father (Edward G. Robinson). She is a strong force and uses a combination of brains and sexuality to get what she wants. And eventually she does come out on top.

There’s a stereotype (often deserved) that the women of older films are essentially window dressing. And perhaps that’s one of the reasons this movie is still around. The characters are all strong from them. Both men and women. Marian is a shark trying to seize the day against equally strong male characters.

There are visual nods throughout to the Robin Hood mythos like the orphans that Alan A. Dale cares for donning the pointy hats along with the waitresses at Robbo’s club. And at the end before he’s wearing a Santa suit, which I guess is symbolism for giving to the poor, Robbo is wearing a green suit in court.

Robin and the 7 Hoods is a fun musical crime comedy with an all-star cast. With great songs, and just a great script it’s worthy of its classic status. While I wish it hadn’t been a musical, I do recommend this one!