About Seven Brothers

Plot Synopsis

The film is set in a non-specific time in history. The land is ruled by the tyrannical Lord of the Castle, Von Wurtzburg, who taxes the citizens to a point where most can only afford to wear burlap sacks. Those unable to pay are executed. Robin Hood emerges to foil the Lord's cronies' attempts at terrorizing the citizens. He joins forces with Will Scarlet, whom he saves during his introduction, as well as Friar Tuck and Long John (a smaller version of Little John). Robin also encounters the inventor Leonardo when he shoots him down from the sky while Leonardo tests his flying machine. Leonardo escaped his beautiful but nagging wife and assists Robin with a number of inventions.

The film secondarily follows Sir Wilhelm, whose lands Von Wurtzburg wants. After failing to assassinate him, with traps set up by his henchman Iron Glove, he plans to wed Sir Wilhelm to his daughter, Helena, and murder him later. However, Robin Hood's gang manage to capture Von Wurtzburg's wife-to-be Venla as well as her dowry. The enraged Von Wurtzburg decides to have Sir Wilhelm masquerade as Robin Hood to capture the bandits. Sir Wilhelm is unsuccessful though, as Robin's gang imprison him, but is let loose by Venla. In the end, Sir Wilhelm returns to the castle, for some reason, with a map of where the dowry is hidden which the Lord claims (in the film, he claims to have stolen it but no scene in the film indicates this). In the meanwhile, Robin's gang trade Venla back for gold via a wench system developed by Leonardo.

Von Wurtzburg finds the hidden dowry and returns it to the castle. However, Will Scarlet hides in one of the chests and infiltrates the Lord's treasury. He fools the guards into opening the door and Robin's gang is able to clear out Von Wurtzburg's treasury. Scarlet, however, is captured during the escape attempt. When Scarlet is about to be executed by hanging, Robin swoops in to rescue him from the gallows and rides off only to discover that the bagged prisoner is actually Iron Glove. Robin and his crew end up captured one-by-one through failed break out attempts. Von Wurtzburg has Robin and Iron Glove fight in arm wrestling but eventually he decides to duel him man-to-man, albeit with Robin's hands tied to a poll behind his neck. Robin and his men make a daring escape.

Finally, Von Wurtzburg is about to marry Venla when the sympathetic Sir Wilhelm and Helena help Venla escape. Simultaneously, Robin's gang rally the peasants into an uprising as the Lord's soldiers head into the woods to look for the escaped Venla. A massive battle ensues, during which Leonardo is reunited with his wife while making a hot air balloon. He then flies over Von Wurtzburg's castle and drops an explosive, destroying the castle and bringing the fighting to an end. Venla winds up with Robin Hood and Von Wurtzburg, who has been led to believe Sir Wilhelm is just Hood in disguise, learns that Sir Wilhelm and his daughter have also fallen in love. The film ends with the now destitute Von Wurzburg working the fields.

Cast

Production

Filming occurred mostly around

Director Virtanen was also involved in a life-threatening accident during filming when he fell out of the hot-air balloon seen during the finale.

References