Trivia / Robin and Marian

• California Doubling: The film was shot in Spain, due to the fact that most of the principle cast were tax exiles.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Albert Finney was originally set to play Robin Hood, with Sean Connery as Little John.
• Creator Backlash: Although he had worked harmoniously with John Barry on earlier films, Richard Lester was very displeased with Barry's score for this film.
• The Danza: Richard Harris as Richard the Lionheart.
• Dawson Casting:
  • Robert Fitzooth, the traditional identity for the Robin Hood of Richard and John's time, is traditionally stated to have been born in 1160 with Marian having been four or five years younger than him meaning she would have been 34 or 35 by the time the film is set. Audrey Hepburn was 47.
  • 45-year-old Ian Holm as 33-year-old John Lackland.
  • For understandable reasons 12-year-old Isabella is played by a 17-year-old Victoria Abril.
• Disabled Character, Disabled Actor: Esmond Knight lost an eye in active service at sea during the Battle of the Denmark Strait in 1941. For his role as the one-eyed Old Defender in the opening scenes, he removed his glass eye.
• Hostility on the Set: Ronnie Barker [Friar Tuck] disliked working with Richard Lester to the extent he refused to do ADR for the film. Much to his amusement, they hired his Open All Hours co-star David Jason to fill in.
• So My Kids Can Watch: Audrey Hepburn was convinced to take the role of Marian, in part, from the insistence of her sons. Once her young sons learned that Sean Connery had been cast as Robin Hood, they begged their mother to take the part so she could act with "James Bond." She happily complied.
• What Could Have Been: Richard Lester offered Charlton Heston a cameo, but Heston would have loved to have played the lead.
• Working Title: The Death of Robin Hood.

---