Secret password heard spoken in the movie
Who remembers the "secret password" spoken to get past a locked door in this movie? Which one of the characters spoke it? Hint: begins with the letter A
share'A Loxley,' next question.
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. . . And Bess mentions it first, when she reveals it to Marian.
shareI didn't remember that detail and thank you for having brought it to my attention. Can't wait to watch the movie again which I clearly need to do as I've unquestionably missed such subtle but perhaps strategic details. Thanks for your impressive and timely reply!
shareCorrect and totally outstanding! Really didn't expect anyone would remember or that most of the younger generations have ever watched the movie let alone would recall the entry password.
My main reason for asking the question was to discover what the password's correct spelling was. I'd always thought it was a nonsense word but just now discovered the following entry on Wikipedia.
Loxley, South Yorkshire. Formerly a village, now a suburb on the western outskirts of Sheffield; traditionally the birthplace of Robin Hood (WikiPedia)
All I'm left wondering at this point is why the password's conceiver decided to put the "A" before Loxley. Typically in the English language prefixing a word with the letter A negates it. So the final meaning would be "not Loxley." Perhaps that slight modification was meant to make the password unique enough so it couldn't be uttered purely in normal converstation or otherwise unintentionally.
Since you knew the password it's a pretty safe bet you also knew about the birthplace connection. You're one impressive movie fan! Thanks for your greatly appreciated timely reply!
There are or were actually several villages called Loxley or Lockesley, the one you mention in Yorkshire and others in Staffordshire and Warwickshire (and arguably another in Notts if you really squint at the spelling). Also at one time the South Yorkshire Loxley may have been considered part of Nottinghamshire and was the subject of boundary disputes for quite a while. One (or all) of the Loxleys (or Locksleys) has been associated with Robin Hood since at least the early seventeenth century (and the mentions we have from then may well derive from an older tradition) but it was Walter Scott's 'Ivanhoe' that probably sealed the association in the public imagination.
A word of warning, there is lots of stuff about Robin Hood and Loxley on the net. Much of it written by rabidly chauvinistic Yorkshire folk or equally unreasonably defensive Nottingham and Sherwood supporters. Do not get involved! There is deep craziness there and that way madness lies!
'A Loxley' is a French usage meaning 'to Loxley' or 'for Loxley', it's the kind of rallying cry that would have been used to call a lord's retainers to him on the battlefield. It's one of the few pieces of pseudo medieval dialogue in the script, which is generally all the better for being light on the 'prithees' and 'forsooths' etc.
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I greatly appreciate your having taken the time to share such a great wealth of information. I'm going to watch the movie again since it's been a long while since I last did so. Can't wait to see how many details I pick up this time around which were missed previously. You've helped enormously to keep my eyes and ears focused on the more subtle points. Thanks again for taking the time and effort to write and share these details.
shareI always thought it was Locksley, like it says in "the Films of Errol Flynn 1969", his title is Sir Robin of Locksley (Robin Hood). Of course it would be pronounced the same. I have a CD of it, plus the book, so as you know, I'm a huge fan of his.
shareJust saw it again last night (02/05/15) on TCM. Thanks to this Board, I caught the "Locksley" password line. What fun!
share