"Scarecrow! Scarecrow!
The soldiers of the King feared his name. Scarecrow!
On the southern coast of England, there's a legend people tell,
Of days long ago when the great Scarecrow would ride from the jaws of Hell
And laugh (Ahhh! Ha-ha! Ha-ha! Haaa!) with a fiendish yell!"
"With his clothes all torn and tattered,
Through the black of night he'd ride,
From the marsh to the coast like a demon ghost
He'd show his face then hide (He'd rob the rich then hide)
And he'd laugh (Ahhh! Ha-ha! Ha-ha! Haaa!) till he split his side!
Scarecrow! (Scarecrow!) Scarecrow! (Scarecrow!)"
excerpts from The Scarecrow Song, by Gerard Shermann and Terry Gilkyson
As a kid, I was a big fan of The Wonderful World of Disney, broadcast Sunday evenings on NBC. My favorite shows were, of course, the animated shorts of Donald Duck and Goofy (not so much Mickey)...but I also have fond memories of Disney's lavish live action movies. One of them, above all, fascinated me from the first (and only) time I saw it in an early 1970's rebroadcast.
As a budding comic book fan at the time, you can imagine how big of an impact
Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh had upon me. One part Zorro, another part Robin Hood,
Dr. Christopher Syn was a mild-mannered priest in 18th century England living a secret life as
The Scarecrow, a fearsome rebel leader who fought the King's forces and helped the poor. However, unlike Zorro and Robin Hood, the Scarecrow was a much more intense, visually frightening character...obviously a sight that made a lasting impression.
As the years went by, I always hoped I'd be able to see it again...but after a supposed video release in the 1980's (which I never managed to find), Disney...for whatever odd reason...chose not to release it to video or DVD...until late in 2008. Alerted by a coworker who also pined to see Dr. Syn again, I jotted the DVD set onto my Christmas list and...sure enough...finally added
Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh to my collection! Part of Disney's tin-boxed "Treasures" series, the nifty limited edition set includes two discs, one with the original 3-part TV presentation, the other the theatrical version, along with the usual extras, a certificate of authenticity, and a publicity photo of Dr. Syn.
Unfortunately, due to the hurly burly of the holidays, I wasn't able to actually sit down and watch the DVD until just last weekend. Naturally, I chose the TV edition since those old introductions by "Uncle Walt" are pure "nostalgia crack" for me, immediately beaming me back to those long ago Sunday evenings. I was surprised to learn from one of Disney's genial chats that the Dr. Syn books (by Russell Thorndike) were supposedly based on actual historical accounts...though I haven't come across anything backing that claim up. Regardless of its historic roots (or not), the movie was every bit as good as I remembered it, which is somewhat rare for long-buried relics of childhood (since they don't often age well).
Strangely, and sadly, only days after (finally) watching the movie again, I heard the news that its star Patrick McGoohan passed away (Jan. 15). Bringing a wry stoicism to the priest and a manic flair to his alias the Scarecrow, McGoohan's performance was not only the highlight of show, but (as I've learned) one of the actor's favorite roles as well. And speaking of his many distinguished roles, I can't believe I've gone this long without ever checking out The Prisoner, the groundbreaking 1960's television series starring (and produced by) McGoohan. I plan on rectifying that oversight very soon (via Netflix).
Now, I was planning on providing a link for interested readers to scoop up their own copy of this wonderful DVD set, but it appears as if Disney (once again!) cluelessly underestimated the appeal of Dr. Syn...because the Limited Edition is already sold out! Ahhh! Ha-ha! Ha-ha! Haaa!
Looks like you'll all be joining me in those Netflix queue lines, huh?
McGoohan was a fascinating actor. Be sure to check out his performances in the Secret Agent/Danger Man shows as well, several of which are available on You Tube. It's sort of a G-Rated, non-violent low-gadget no-camp Bond.
I covered one of the Gold Key adaptations of Secret Agent at Silver Age Comics.
Posted by: Pat Curley | January 17, 2009 at 11:18 PM
I second Pat's recommendation. Danger Man is wonderful. It's even more enjoyable than the Prisoner in some ways. A feeling of sleekness and leaness permeat the episodes. Like Pat said, there's very little violence (he never even used a gun in the episodes I've seen) and it's very low-tech. Like the Prisoner, it actually depends on strong plotting and characterization to make the story work.
I wish there were more shows like it today.
And the 60's women are quite lovely - and the theme song is this nice little harpsichord ditty - that's just icing on the cake.
Posted by: Wes C | January 18, 2009 at 01:59 PM
I know it's not quite the same, but I just recently posted a video of the Magna-Slide version of "the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh" on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f98Gpqp1St4
It seems most of the original show is available there, too...
Posted by: Jon Knutson | January 19, 2009 at 12:02 PM