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Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow

Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: McGoohan is magnificent!!
Review: A much filmed story as Dr. Syn, Peter Cushing - Oliver Reed's version called Night Creatures are good, but this version done as a three part Disney production is outstanding. I saw this as a child and instantly fell in love with Patrick McGoohan, my first crush...lol, and have been a big fan ever since. It is a rousing tale of smuggling, of phantoms on the moor and outwitting the King's men. I have it on video, but would desperately love to see this one released on DVD.

It is a shame that Disney neglects the group of English based films they did in late 50's. There were some wonderful films such as Scarecrow that need release.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dr. Syn, Alias The Scarecrow needs to come back
Review: This has to be one of Disney's all time greatest. I have a
VHS copy I made several years ago when Disney had a rerun on
tv. I am 48 years old and recently went with my children and
about 200 other High School kids on a trip to Florida. We went
on Charter Buses, I took that copy of Dr. Syn, Alias The Scarecrow I had made and the kids all loved it. We had five
Buses in all and there was a constant fight over which Bus
was going to get the tape next. So Disney, you realy need to

re-release this classic on DVD, you have a whole new generation
of fans that would go wild over this great movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A completely original take on an old theme
Review: We all grew up with superheroes - people who put on masks and stride forth, usually armed to the gills with either super-powers or cool gadgets. Disney took a storyline from a popular series of novels originally published in Great Britain that were set in the 18th century and "spun" it into that superhero genre with amazingly good results. The Vicar of Dymchurch secretly becomes The Scarecrow to lead his smugglers in their quest to make some money that the king won't tax out from under them. The Scarecrow's voice, his costume, his (seemingly) ruthless behaviour, all contrast so starkly with his clean-cut secret identity (a Vicar) that comparisons with the Batman are inevitable. Batman rose to great popularity a few years ago because that same kind of contrast struck a nerve with the Batman-reading public. I will not carry the comparison further by noting that the Scarecrow keeps his horse in a secret "cave" under his house - shades of the Batcave! So here we have an 18th century "superhero" that is just scary as heck when he rides his black horse across the English countryside, ragged clothes flapping and eery laugh echoing wildly. This show can't miss on DVD - every kid I knew when this was televised in the mid-60s was glued to the TV. I would buy the first copy I could and buy others as gifts. In fact, Disney, this could be remade more closely with the original storyline, and it would agree more with modern viewers. Anyone familiar with the Thorndyke and Buchanan storyline will know what I mean. BTW - I only gave this four stars because the VHS version I saw was very choppy. I see from other reviews that it must not have contained all that was originally televised. DISNEY - RERELEASE THIS PLEASE!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: DVD is the long version!!
Review: Good news for you concerned Scarecrow fans: according to Amazon, this is the long version of the Scarecrow. If you go to the Product Details section, click on "click here for more technical details about this edition...", scroll down to "Technical Information", it states that this DVD version has a run time of 129 minutes. I'm guessing this would be equivalent to the original full running length of 135 minutes minus the repeats of the intro and outro songs, but I don't know for sure. At any rate, it's much better than the shortened 90 minute version. Great googly moogly!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Will the Scarecrow Of Romney Marsh ride again???
Review: What is Disney waiting on??? Ever since THE SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH first aired on Disney back in the early 1960's I have remembered the sound of that screeching laugh and of course the Scarecrow song by Terry Gilkyson. The film was both scary and exciting all at the same time and made Halloween seem spookier than ever. The actors were chosen carefully as were the costumes, even the atmosphere of the film was perfectly eerie. No one could have played Dr. Syn as effectively as Patrick McGoohan did. He gave the part the contrast it needed between good and evil and all the gray area in between. THE SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH is by far my favorite Disney film of all time. Other Disney films of a similar nature were THE MOONCUSSERS and THE LEGEND OF YOUNG DICK TURPIN. Disney Treasures should release these great films on DVD accompanied by the soundtracks.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Please Release Me!
Review: Way back in 1963, I was the only person in my high school who missed the Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Why? Because an episode of the Disney series Dr. Syn--The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh--was running on another channel opposite it! I've been a fan of Patrick McGoohan for a lot of years (even before Scarecrow), and this is one of my favories. Disney did a wonderful job with their "tinned" set of Davy Crockett. I'm hoping they'll do the same for Dr. Syn--release all three episodes in the original version (but clean up the picture first!). If and when they do, I'll be one of the first in line to buy a copy or two!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Scarecrow was my hero
Review: I was so excited when I found out that Disney was rereleasing The Scarecrow. I loved this show when I was a kid. Dr. Syn was my hero and I fell head over heels in love with Patrick McGoohan. The new generation will probably love this movie as much as we did back then. In fact, I chose watching this over the Beatles debut on Ed Sullivan. Thank you Disney for giving us Scarecrow lovers what we have been waiting for.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Childhood Memories
Review: As a child, I remember watching the Wonderful World of Disney when the 3 part mini series was first aired. We were all huddled on the floor of the family room in our PJ's, glued to the TV.

Of all the Disney films, Scarecrow is the one that I remember most vividly. As kids we made our own costums and played Scarecrow instead of Superman.

I have to get a copy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: DVD Release?
Review: The studio had a release date for this DVD of August, 2004. I'm disappointed that it seems to have reversed itself. This movie (or series) is a classic and with a little marketing to those unfamiliar from this genearation it would do very well. (I wonder if the current Disney studio is afraid to compete with this level of quality from the past?!)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh
Review: This is an outstanding tale of real courage and finesse during the royal tyranny of 18th century England. We need this film on DVD now! The character of Dr. Syn, played by Patrick McGoohan, is a genuine role model. In my opinion, this is McGoohan's best role and all of his are good.


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