One of our family traditions growing up was every sunday we’d all sit in the living room with our TV trays eating dinner, and watching Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. Well, we only had a black and white TV, so not much color.
For the younger whippersnappers out there, it showcased a variety of shows, some serialized like Day Crockett, others just single episodes.
In 1963 there was a three part story based on a series of books written by Arthur Russell Thorndike. The first book, Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh was actually chronologically the last in the series, as subsequent books were set as prequels. The TV show done by Disney focused on the first book’s setting and characters.
The story was about a vicar of a local church named Christopher Syn, who became the leader of a band of smugglers, bringing in goods from France to avoid the King’s onerous taxes. He adopted a disguise of the Scarecrow and together they outsmarted the King’s men time and again.
I remember watching it, but as a three year old I doubt it was the original air date. Maybe? All I remembered was that it was actually quite scary with some themes and images that were not your typical Disney fare.
The scarecrow was played by actor Patrick McGoohan. He was a very popular (and well paid) actor with a commanding presence on stage, tv and movies. I don’t think anyone else would have done as good a job. By day he was a mild mannered but well respected man of the cloth, at night he would don his costume and change into a raspy, guttural mad man with a frightening countenance.
Also for you youngins, you might have seen him in the movie Braveheart, as he played King Edward I (Longshanks).
Disney actually edited the show into a feature length movie for British theatrical release before it’s broadcast on American TV.
The show was a huge success, and well received.
Many years later Disney released a limited run of 39,500 copies for the first time in a limited edition tin case. The contents included two DVDs, with both the three part series, and the theatrical movie as well as a ton of bonus content.
On ebay, these are being sold at ridiculous asking prices of hundreds of dollars. Not sure how anyone can get away with asking for that when the show is actually available for free on You Tube.
Dr Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh
Now, watching it today it’s a bit hokey, but it was 1963 on a Disney show. It was, however, a much darker show than what was normally Disney fare, and as I said, had some intense scenes for little children.
For us old folks, I wanted to stir up a fond memory of my childhood to see if anyone else remembers this show. For the younger crowd, perhaps introduce you to what was the types of shows your parents or grandparents watched in the 60s.
I did manage to get my hands on the collectors edition and it sits proudly on my shelf to be watched on occasion.