That’s the exact title of the 1922 movie — Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood — that I’ll be accompanying at the Plaistow (NH) Library on January 13. They called it that because anyone could make a movie called “Robin Hood” to draw off confused moviegoers, but no one else could legally claim superstar Fairbanks was in it.

Many movies have been made about Robin Hood, and there’s no canonical story. Some emphasize his “stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.” Others show him as a partisan of King Richard, fighting against the encroachments of Richard’s brother John. This movie is in the latter category. Robin Hood is the Earl of Huntingdon, fighting the tyranny John exercises while Richard is away for a Crusade. The first part of the movie shows John plotting for power and achieving it, and Huntingdon becomes Robin Hood only after reluctantly deserting his king. His chief enemies are Prince John and Guy of Gisbourne. The Sheriff of Nottingham is basically a walk-on part.

The movie treats history loosely. There’s no evidence for a historical Robin Hood, though there were “noble bandits” who may have inspired the story. John did take advantage of Richard’s absence, trying to grab power for himself. Richard was captured and held for ransom on his way back, nearly bankrupting England, but that wouldn’t let him make a dramatic return.

Like other Fairbanks movies, Robin Hood has generous amounts of comedy. At first Huntingdon is shown to be phobic about women. It’s played for laughs and dropped when he falls in love with Marian. It doesn’t make a lot of sense. Other bits of humor work better.

John and his soldiers are repeatedly stupid. Marian fakes her death, and they just accept that she’s dead with no body and no questions. In another scene, they get knocked out one at a time as they pass single file through a small gate.

Marian, played by Enid Bennett, is a strong female character for a movie of the 1920s. She sends a message to continental Europe to alert Huntingdon of what John is doing to England. She stands up to John and tells him he wouldn’t be prince long if Richard were there.

Wallace Beery is great as King Richard. He’s big, imposing, and always ready for a laugh.

If you’re within a reasonable distance of Plaistow and like silent movies, I hope you’ll come. That’s Tuesday, January 13, at 6 PM. There’s no admission charge, and the popcorn is free. There may even be chocolate and cookies.