One of a number of film adaptations of the long 1869 novel of the same name by Richard Blackmore. Technicolor released by Columbia in 1951,it stars Barbara Hale as Lorna Doone, and Richard Greene as the rebellious commoner John Ridd. It takes place during the latter part of the reign of Charles II, in the 1670s and '80s, in the wild country of Exmoors, in the southwest of England (not in Scotland, as stated in the summary at this site!) The Doones, as the traditional overlords in one part of the Exmoors, had been recently stripped of their feudal lands and rights ,due to political conflict with the crown. Nonetheless, they continued to live in their castle, on a hilltop, and continued to demand confiscation of the crops and animals of the now free farmers. Thus, they were technically a gang of thieves. The farmers also now had to pay a tax to the crown, since the crown technically owned the land. Thus, both the farmers and the crown are at odds with the Doones. But, the crown is not disposed to send a military force to enforce its edict, and the farmers have no swords or firearms with which to fend off the parasitic Doones. Their extreme alternative threat is to fail to plant crops or burn their crops, or kill all their animals.
After seeing the film, it takes little imagination to see the many similarities with Warner's 1938 "The Adventures of Robin Hood". When in rebellion, the farmers usually take to the woods,as did Robin's men. The Doones can be seen as the equivalent of Prince John and his cronies. The local sheriff is working for the bad guys in each case. King Charles and his supporters, then, are the equivalent of King Richard. There is the obligatory rapier duel between the hero and the main bad guy at the end. There is a love story between the hero and a girl of the opposition in both cases, threatened by an obligation to marry one of the nobles. In this film, the contested girl is Lorna Doone, and the chief villains are Carver and Charlesworth Doone, who are essentially the same age as the hero, John. Sir Ensor Doone, the patriarch of the clan, is not quite as rapacious as his sons. Unfortunately, he dies, unleashing further terrorizing by his sons.
It's not until Charles and his ally, the Duke of Lorne, arrive with troops to abet the schemes of the farmers that the Doones are finally crushed. Although the ending is provisionally happy, it's best said to be guardedly hopeful. See the film to find out what I mean. It's currently available on YouTube.
The main adult actors were fine, except Barbara Hale wasn't the most charismatic "princess". The child actors were a bit stiff. Overall, it's not a bad film. However, "The Adventures of Robin Hood" is certainly more fun, with occasional humor to balance the tense moments, and the personality of Errol Flynn.
Other, more recent film versions made for TV, were released in 1990 and 2000. The latter has a significantly higher rating, but is more than twice as long as the present film,at 3 hours. I haven't seen either.
After seeing the film, it takes little imagination to see the many similarities with Warner's 1938 "The Adventures of Robin Hood". When in rebellion, the farmers usually take to the woods,as did Robin's men. The Doones can be seen as the equivalent of Prince John and his cronies. The local sheriff is working for the bad guys in each case. King Charles and his supporters, then, are the equivalent of King Richard. There is the obligatory rapier duel between the hero and the main bad guy at the end. There is a love story between the hero and a girl of the opposition in both cases, threatened by an obligation to marry one of the nobles. In this film, the contested girl is Lorna Doone, and the chief villains are Carver and Charlesworth Doone, who are essentially the same age as the hero, John. Sir Ensor Doone, the patriarch of the clan, is not quite as rapacious as his sons. Unfortunately, he dies, unleashing further terrorizing by his sons.
It's not until Charles and his ally, the Duke of Lorne, arrive with troops to abet the schemes of the farmers that the Doones are finally crushed. Although the ending is provisionally happy, it's best said to be guardedly hopeful. See the film to find out what I mean. It's currently available on YouTube.
The main adult actors were fine, except Barbara Hale wasn't the most charismatic "princess". The child actors were a bit stiff. Overall, it's not a bad film. However, "The Adventures of Robin Hood" is certainly more fun, with occasional humor to balance the tense moments, and the personality of Errol Flynn.
Other, more recent film versions made for TV, were released in 1990 and 2000. The latter has a significantly higher rating, but is more than twice as long as the present film,at 3 hours. I haven't seen either.