PHENOMENALITY: *uncanny*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *sociological, psychological*
DR. SYN, ALIAS THE SCARECROW was first shown on television in separate parts on the Wonderful World of Disney teleseries, and later collected for theatrical and DVD showings. Given the nature of the project, SCARECROW is much more episodic than SYN, and places little emphasis on the vicar Christopher Syn's past history as an ex-pirate. The Scarecrow and his men operate in full costume but they make no attempt to portray themselves as phantoms as they carry on their smuggling operations while undermining the king's soldiers and press-gangs.
As with Disney's 1957-1961 ZORRO teleseries, the scripts validate the lawbreaking activities of a swashbuckling rebel by framing his activities against an evil hegemony that oppresses the people as a whole. This time both Syn and Scarecrow are portrayed by thirtysomething Patrick McGoohan, who, forty years before Christian Bale's Batman, gives his masked identity a harsh, grating voice that conceals his identity just as well as the stunning Scarecrow-mask. (For that matter, McGoohan's scary-voice blows Bale's out of the water).
However, despite the greater youth of the actor playing the masked hero, the direction and script doesn't include much more action than DOCTOR SYN. I remembered watching the teleseries' original broadcasts and being disappointed that the Scarecrow didn't get into more swordfights or gun-fights, in marked contrast to the impressive fencing-battles of ZORRO. Director James Neillson had worked on two ZORROs before SCARECROW, and seemed able to adapt to the strong action qualities of a single BATMAN episode later on ("The Clock King's Crazy Crimes"). So I suspect that someone in the Disney organization decided to emphasize suspense over swordfights, which resulted in scripts full of talk talk talk.
Still, even the stories are forgettable, the mask and voice of this Scarecrow carry all the spooky vibes needed for a good uncanny film, and the theme song is one of the best produced for Disney's television properties-- not just in the 1960s, but even up to the present day.
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