Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Disney's 1963 The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh Movie Trailer
Produced for the Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color TV series in 1963.
Shot on location in England and was directed by James Neilson. It stars Patrick McGoohan in the title role, with George Cole as Mipps and Sean Scully as John Banks, the younger son of Squire Banks (Michael Hordern). Part One dealt with the arrival of General Pugh (Geoffrey Keen), who had been ordered by the War Office to smash the smuggling ring and prevent the Scarecrow from rescuing a Dymchurch man captured by a naval press gang as bait to trap the Scarecrow. Part Two depicted The Scarecrow dealing with the traitorous Joe Ransley (Patrick Wymark). Part Three showed how the Scarecrow rescued Harry Banks (David Buck) and American Simon Bates (Tony Britton) from General Pugh's clutches in Dover Castle.
While originally conceived and edited for American television (and announced in an advertisement by NBC in the Tuesday, July 9, 1963 issue of The Hollywood Reporter), The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh was re-edited for a British theatrical run before the American television debut. Retitled Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow, the British theatrical version was released on a double bill with The Sword in the Stone, and ran during the 1963 Christmas season (advertised in the January 1964 issue of Photoplay). This version was shown in Europe as well as Central and South America through 1966.
In the 1970s, the production was re-edited again for its first American theatrical release, on double bills with both Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Treasure Island. (The VHS version of the 1980s, sharing the removal of the Scarecrow's laugh from Terry Gilkyson's title song, was expanded to include the story material from all three TV episodes, while retaining feature film structure and credits; it was available for a relatively short amount of time.) Shortly after the US theatrical run, it was re-edited once more for a two-part presentation on Disney's television series in the 1970s, simply omitting the middle segment.
The original three-part version was first shown as part of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color on February 9, 16 and 23, 1964. Later it was included in a late 1980s Wonderful World of Disney syndication rerun package, and cablecast in 1990s on the Disney Channel. This version generally followed the storyline of The Further Adventures of Dr. Syn and made it clear that Syn did not die or stage his own death: at film's end, he is having a cup of tea with the Squire, who admits to now owing a debt of gratitude to the Scarecrow.
Trivia:
The Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn is the smuggler hero of a series of novels by Russell Thorndike. The first book, Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh was published in 1915. The story idea came from smuggling in the 18th-century Romney Marsh, where brandy and tobacco were brought in at night by boat from France to avoid high tax. Minor battles were fought, sometimes at night, between gangs of smugglers, such as the Hawkhurst Gang, and the Revenue, supported by the army and local militias in the South, Kent and the West, Sussex.
The first, Doctor Syn (1937), starred the actor George Arliss in the title role and was his last film.
The Walt Disney Company released a limited pressing of 39,500 issues of The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh in DVD format for the first time as a part of the Disney Treasures collection, and was now called Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. The issue sold out in three weeks, but as of February 17, 2009 the DVD was made available for members of the Disney movie club for $29.95. The two-disc set includes the American television version and the original British theatrical version Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow in widescreen format. It also includes the original introductions by Walt Disney (in which he erroneously indicates that Dr. Syn was an actual historical figure) and a documentary on Disney's interest in the property.
A three-issue adaptation of the Disney production was published by Gold Key Comics under the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh title, spanning April 1964 through October 1965.
Doctor Syn appears in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series as a member of the league gathered by Lemuel Gulliver. His alter ego, Captain Clegg, also makes appearances, where he is mentioned to have had a brief romantic liaison with future teammate Fanny Hill. In the 2003 film adaptation of League, Dr. Syn can be spotted in one of the portraits hanging on the wall in M's library.
Here is the trailer to the movie, Enjoy and Be A Kid Again....
#disney
#TheScarecrowofRomneyMarsh
#DoctorSyn
#GoldKeyComics
#WonderfulWorldofColor
#mikesdeadformats
Disney's 1963 The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh Movie Trailer
Produced for the Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color TV series in 1963.
Shot on location in England and was directed by James Neilson. It stars Patrick McGoohan in the title role, with George Cole as Mipps and Sean Scully as John Banks, the younger son of Squire Banks (Michael Hordern). Part One dealt with the arrival of General Pugh (Geoffrey Keen), who had been ordered by the War Office to smash the smuggling ring and prevent the Scarecrow from rescuing a Dymchurch man captured by a naval press gang as bait to trap the Scarecrow. Part Two depicted The Scarecrow dealing with the traitorous Joe Ransley (Patrick Wymark). Part Three showed how the Scarecrow rescued Harry Banks (David Buck) and American Simon Bates (Tony Britton) from General Pugh's clutches in Dover Castle.
While originally conceived and edited for American television (and announced in an advertisement by NBC in the Tuesday, July 9, 1963 issue of The Hollywood Reporter), The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh was re-edited for a British theatrical run before the American television debut. Retitled Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow, the British theatrical version was released on a double bill with The Sword in the Stone, and ran during the 1963 Christmas season (advertised in the January 1964 issue of Photoplay). This version was shown in Europe as well as Central and South America through 1966.
In the 1970s, the production was re-edited again for its first American theatrical release, on double bills with both Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Treasure Island. (The VHS version of the 1980s, sharing the removal of the Scarecrow's laugh from Terry Gilkyson's title song, was expanded to include the story material from all three TV episodes, while retaining feature film structure and credits; it was available for a relatively short amount of time.) Shortly after the US theatrical run, it was re-edited once more for a two-part presentation on Disney's television series in the 1970s, simply omitting the middle segment.
The original three-part version was first shown as part of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color on February 9, 16 and 23, 1964. Later it was included in a late 1980s Wonderful World of Disney syndication rerun package, and cablecast in 1990s on the Disney Channel. This version generally followed the storyline of The Further Adventures of Dr. Syn and made it clear that Syn did not die or stage his own death: at film's end, he is having a cup of tea with the Squire, who admits to now owing a debt of gratitude to the Scarecrow.
Trivia:
The Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn is the smuggler hero of a series of novels by Russell Thorndike. The first book, Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh was published in 1915. The story idea came from smuggling in the 18th-century Romney Marsh, where brandy and tobacco were brought in at night by boat from France to avoid high tax. Minor battles were fought, sometimes at night, between gangs of smugglers, such as the Hawkhurst Gang, and the Revenue, supported by the army and local militias in the South, Kent and the West, Sussex.
The first, Doctor Syn (1937), starred the actor George Arliss in the title role and was his last film.
The Walt Disney Company released a limited pressing of 39,500 issues of The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh in DVD format for the first time as a part of the Disney Treasures collection, and was now called Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. The issue sold out in three weeks, but as of February 17, 2009 the DVD was made available for members of the Disney movie club for $29.95. The two-disc set includes the American television version and the original British theatrical version Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow in widescreen format. It also includes the original introductions by Walt Disney (in which he erroneously indicates that Dr. Syn was an actual historical figure) and a documentary on Disney's interest in the property.
A three-issue adaptation of the Disney production was published by Gold Key Comics under the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh title, spanning April 1964 through October 1965.
Doctor Syn appears in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series as a member of the league gathered by Lemuel Gulliver. His alter ego, Captain Clegg, also makes appearances, where he is mentioned to have had a brief romantic liaison with future teammate Fanny Hill. In the 2003 film adaptation of League, Dr. Syn can be spotted in one of the portraits hanging on the wall in M's library.
Here is the trailer to the movie, Enjoy and Be A Kid Again....
#disney
#TheScarecrowofRomneyMarsh
#DoctorSyn
#GoldKeyComics
#WonderfulWorldofColor
#mikesdeadformats
