In fairness, I've often found it difficult to actually enjoy Korngold's music to any great extent; I found it incredibly twee, overly florid and the romantic music dated and syrupy in a very unpleasant way. However, revisiting this score to review it I found myself enjoying it immensely. Yes, it does seem terribly over theatrical for modern tastes, one only listen to Michael Kamen's insipid effort for the recent Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (and yes, before you mail me, I do think Kamen is superb composer, but let's face it, that wasn't one of his better efforts) to realise just how inventive and detailed Korngold's music was. The main theme is a jaunty march the opens the bouncing main title, but is reprised throughout the score whenever Robin is going something exciting, but plenty of other little ideas and themes work themselves throughout.
The action segments would be considered as mickey mousing to some extent in the way they follow the characters' every leap and thrust with breathtaking athleticism. That having been said, this is musical mimicking at its finest and not the poor disjointed imitations that give the style a bad name. While the baddies get baddy music, this is the kind that does rather suggest the absurd pantomime villain that (in this film at least) the Sheriff of Nottingham was. Of course Robin meets Marion and Korngold discovers syrup - the romantic music is laid on rather thickly, but no more so than Marc Shaiman does these days, albeit in a different musical style, the results are still similar.
As Williams does today, Korngold did then - writing music that not only fitted the film like a glove but makes for a more than satisfying separate listening experience. The best film music does both of these things and Korngold was a master of the art. The result is music that could quite happily be a ballet for the same story. The performance by the Utah Symphony Orchestra is superb, Korngold's music is agile and complex and the level of detail from both the performers and recording is admirable. The composer's son, George Korngold was the producer and did his father proud with this and the other recordings of Korngold senior's scores. Some of the original recording is available, but given the age I would suggest that his album would definitely be the preferred option. A superb reading of a classic and Oscar winning score.
Rating ~ 
Total Time ~ 42:40