Prior to becoming TV's second Dr. Who, Patrick Troughton had the distinction of being the first actor to play Robin Hood on the small screen. Two years later in 1955, bankrolled by Lew Grade and with a prestigious US distribution deal in place, Richard Greene played the part in another Robin Hood series which you might probably have heard of.
Troughton made a total of six episodes of "Robin Hood", all transmitted live on the BBC, and none of which survive (bar a telerecording from the second episode). Over in ITV land, Greene ended up with 143 episodes of "The Adventures of Robin Hood" under his belt, lavishly recorded on 35mm film with a budget of £10,000 per episode, and all still extant.
Troughton made a total of six episodes of "Robin Hood", all transmitted live on the BBC, and none of which survive (bar a telerecording from the second episode). Over in ITV land, Greene ended up with 143 episodes of "The Adventures of Robin Hood" under his belt, lavishly recorded on 35mm film with a budget of £10,000 per episode, and all still extant.
I have no information on the budget allocated per episode to Troughton's series in 1953, but from the evidence in this photo, savings were made not only in the location work, but also in the casting of the Merry Men.
Little John never looked so little...
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