| Director | John Irvin |
|---|---|
| Budget | £15 million |
| Box office | $23 million |
The film begins when a miller, who is poaching deer on lands belonging to the King of England, is detected by a hunting party led by the cruel Norman knight Sir Miles Folcanet. The miller flees the hunting party until he runs into a Saxon earl, Robert Hode and his friend, Will. The miller pleads for help and Will urges Hode to intercede, as the Normans arrive threatening to poke the miller's eyes out. Folcanet is enraged by Hode's interference and demands that Hode be punished by the local Sheriff (shire-reeve) Roger Daguerre, who is Hode's friend.
Privately Daguerre confides to Hode that he needs peace with Folcanet because he has agreed to give Daguerre a large portion of his niece Marian's wealth once they are married. Publicly Daguerre orders a single lash of the whip for Hode after he apologizes; Hode is enraged, insulting Daguerre and is outlawed as a result. He flees into Sherwood Forest, meets John Little and the usual cast of Merry Men and under the name "Robin Hood" takes up arms and fights against the Norman nobility. After seeing Hode's Merry Men humiliate Folcanet, Marian joins their band in disguise, until a disgruntled outlaw recognizes her and betrays her to the Sheriff.
Hode convinces everyone to attack Nottingham Castle to stop the wedding, certain that she loves him. Folcanet is slain and Daguerre is convinced to set aside their feud and bless the marriage of Robin and Marian.