Walt Disney Treasures: Dr. Syn – The Scarecrow of
Romney Marsh (Collector’s Tin DVD
Set)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: B- Episodes: B+
The
character of Dr. Syn got his start in a series of heroic smuggler novels by the
insanely popular Russell Thorndike in the early 20th Century. The novels chronicled Dr. Christopher Syn of
Queen’s College, Oxford England as he sets out on a quest for revenge against a
man (a former best friend) who had seduced and eloped with his beautiful
Spanish fiancé. The swashbuckling tale
(spun throughout a number of novels) starts out as one of Dr. Syn terrorizing
his former best friend and stolen fiancé as they travel across the land, but
soon spins out of control as Dr. Syn is thrown headfirst into the life of a Pirate
Captain. Thorndike wrote a total of
seven Doctor Syn novels from 1915 to 1944 and in turn his literary
vision inspired a number of others to put their own spin on his original
works. In 1960, William Buchanan took
the character of Dr. Syn as he was portrayed in the 4th Thorndike novel, The
Further Adventures of Doctor Syn (1936), and rewrote the novel with
different names for supporting characters and a revamped conclusion; this was
the inspiration for the 1963 Disney miniseries Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh.
The Dr.
Syn miniseries was broken into three parts (The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh: Parts 1-3) with each airing a week
apart in February of 1964. Patrick McGoohan
stars as Dr. Syn a suave smuggler who helps transport smuggled and stolen goods
into the small town of Dymchurch after the King of England had levied heavy
taxes upon his citizens. The tale is
heavily reminiscent of Zorro or Robin Hood (both Disney favorites) as
Dr. Syn (who hides his identity with a Scarecrow mask) robs from the rich to
feed the poor. Dr. Syn, though he has a
band of smugglers, only trusts his secret identity to two men; Mr. Mipps
(George Cole) and John Banks (Sean Scully) who is the son of the Squire of
Dymchurch. Eventually the King
dispatches a hoard of soldiers to squash the Scarecrow problem with General
Pugh (Geoffrey Keen) leading the way. At
any cost General Pugh is determined to destroy the problematic Scarecrow; even
if that means terrorizing the town folk.
The cunning and sly Scarecrow is always one step ahead of the tyrannical
General and his army, just barely slipping out of harms way.
The
miniseries was very popular in America in 1964 and many people still hold fond
memories of the Robin Hood like Scarecrow; who stood for justice and life in a
time of unjust taxation. Dr. Syn’s
memorable popularity is even more evident with this particular Disney Treasures
release, with sets selling out everywhere; especially in England where the set
is nearly impossible to find as television aficionados scramble to get their
hands on that elusive Dr. Syn. Many
casual viewers’ argue whether Dr. Syn was a feature film or a television
series; well the answer is both. Dr. Syn
did appear in 1964 (as previously mentioned) on Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, but had first surfaced in
theaters in England a half year earlier where all three episodes were condensed
into a single film; an abbreviated version of the film also came to theaters in
America in the 1970’s.
Though
most of the 1960’s Wonderful World of
Disney television series elicit ideas of overly family friendly vibes, Dr.
Syn has a quite different atmosphere. It
is darker, it is more complex, and it allowed Disney to step out of its normal
formula of totally wholesome and explores a grittier side. Both the theatrical cut and 3 separate
television episode versions of Dr. Syn are available on this set; but they are
noticeably different. The film version
moves along at a fast pace, ending up being about 90 minutes long; whereas the
original television miniseries has each episode at approximately 50 minutes
each. Though many things such as
credits, opening sequences, and cliffhangers can be omitted without issue from
the television versions; the brief 90 minute theatrical cut does not hold the
same level of excellence as the miniseries, as it is overly edited and excludes
a fair bit of crucial and entertaining details.
To get the complete experience this reviewer most definitely recommends
the television cut of the Dr. Syn series.
Amazingly
over 45 years after the production of the Dr. Syn miniseries the picture and
sound presented on this set (with obvious restoration efforts from Disney) are
extraordinary. The picture is presented
in its original 1.33 X 1 full screen and has been restored from the original
film negatives. The picture’s colors are
bright but also have a grittiness that gives the picture quality depth and
heart. The sound is a simple Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo that is not the best DVD sound this reviewer has ever heard,
but for the film’s age the quality is above and beyond what would ever be
expected. A 5.1 Dolby mix is also
included, thanks to the magnetic soundmasters surviving.
The
extras are headed by Disney archivist and charming film connoisseur Leonard
Maltin who does an excellent job of introducing both the theatrical and
television versions of Dr. Syn. Also
available as bonus features are the original television intros from Mr. Walt
Disney himself and two special featurettes.
Each featurette has its own historical charm with the first featurette
giving a lessen on how Disney decided to make some of their live action
tele-films in London with “From Burbank
to London” and the second featurette “Dr
Syn: The History of the Legend” gives a very brief but organized look into
the good doctor’s literary origins all the way up to the production of the
films by Disney.
This set
immediately sold out in England and is becoming scarce elsewhere, in part
because McGoohan fans (not only of his work as John Drake in the Danger Man and Secret Agent TV shows, but because of the classic The Prisoner, all reviewed elsewhere on
this site) waited long and hard for a very long time for this great material to
finally be restored and reissued. The
color here is up to the recently restored Prisoner
reissue set and serious fans should not hesitate on that level.
This set
is excellent, though kids of today may not appreciate it as much as kids 40
years ago did. The over exhilarating
effects of such films as Pirates of the
Caribbean have put a damper on children’s (and my) attention spans, but
this set is a work of art. It has all
the makings of a solid classic film with a literary backbone. It is fun, entertaining, and brought a depth
to Disney Studios that have not been seen before.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
