Character Profiles

Storyline
The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh is a variation on the Robin Hood legend: an outlaw robbing unjust rulers to ease the poverty that those rulers have created. For those unfamiliar with Walt Disney's tale, the story takes place in 1775. It is set in the Romney Marsh region of the Kent-Sussex coast, Southeast England, and concerns the heroic exploits of the Reverend Dr. Christopher Syn - who was once the infamous pirate Captain Clegg, but is now both the Vicar (a pastor) of Dymchurch by day, and the smuggler called "the Scarecrow" by night. The Scarecrow's smuggling ring is known as "The Gentlemen". Dr. Syn, as the Scarecrow, gives the profits from his smuggling activities - which rob the government of revenue - to the poor of his parish. The profits help the poor to pay the heavy taxes imposed by King George III, and so help them to keep their properties and livelihoods. As a result, almost all the people of the Marsh either work with or support the Scarecrow - unaware that he is, in fact, their pastor.

News of the Marsh folk's "rebellion" reaches London, where editorial cartoons in the papers depict the Scarecrow making a fool of King George. In response, the angry King orders his Commissioners of Customs to pay a reward of one-thousand pounds in gold for any information leading to the Scarecrow's capture - "alive or dead." When the offer of a reward alone fails to result in the Scarecrow's capture, King George sends General Pugh to break the Marsh folk's spirit - by "whatever means necessary."


Here is a brief article that was written about the 1st of the three episodes.

The Mask Of Sanity, The character of Dr. Syn in Walt Disney's "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh" by Tom Hering

The Reverend Dr. Syn was the invention of British author Russell Thorndike (1885-1972). The character appeared in seven novels published between 1915 and 1944, and made his first appearance on the screen in the 1937 London Films production, Doctor Syn. Dr. Syn (renamed "Dr. Blyss" due to copyright) made his second screen appearance in Hammer Films 1962 production, Captain Clegg AKA Night Creatures. Dr. Syn made his third and last screen appearance in Walt Disney's 1963 British production, starring Patrick McGoohan. Filmed on location in the Romney Marsh region of England, and at Pinewood Studios, London, the production was originally edited as a three-episode television presentation titled The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh.

The original Dr. Syn was an anti-hero. Thorndike portrayed him as a man who could be driven to madness - a man every bit as capable of cruelty as his enemies. In the novels, Dr. Syn's pastorate was only a cover for his smuggling operations, as well as a way to hide from those in his past who still sought to kill him. In Walt Disney's production an actual conversion of Captain Clegg to Christianity is presumed as part of the back story. So Dr. Syn's pastorate was changed to a genuine vocation. Understanding how the background of the character was revised in this one, simple way explains all the differences between Thorndike's anti-heroic Dr. Syn, and the personal character and motivations of Walt Disney's Dr. Syn.

In the first episode, we are immediately introduced to Dr. Syn. The opening scene depicts a nighttime smuggling operation on the Kent-Sussex coast (Romney Marsh region) of Southeast England, in 1775. Two longboats filled with contraband have landed from a foreign merchant ship that lays offshore. Dr. Syn's smuggling gang is busy transferring barrels of brandy and bales of silk onto wagons and pack ponies. Dr. Syn, disguised as the Scarecrow, enters the scene on horseback, accompanied by his lieutenants, Mr. Mipps disguised as "Hellspite", and young Master John Banks disguised as "Curlew".

Seven important things about the Dr. Syn character are established in this smuggling scene, as well the next two scenes of the opening sequence - the chase scene, and the underground stable scene. First, when we watch Dr. Syn make his appearance - dressed in a frightening costume, we do not see anyone among his gang or the merchant sailors run away. So we learn right off that those who work with the Scarecrow do not, ordinarily, fear him. (One purpose of Dr. Syn's disguise is to frighten his enemies. It also conceals his true identity from them. But its main purpose, in Walt Disney's production, is to conceal Dr. Syn's true identity from his own men - which helps to protect his men and their families from interrogation by the authorities.)

Second, when we first hear Dr. Syn speak as the Scarecrow (in a gruff, disguised voice), he gives an order: "Load up and away, lads!" So we also learn right off that the fearsome appearance of Walt Disney's Scarecrow is not the most important thing about him. Rather, his leadership of his men is the most important thing about him.

Third, although we are watching an illegal activity in the smuggling scene, we do not see Dr. Syn take advantage of the situation by robbing the merchant ship's captain, or by haggling over price at a time when everyone is in a hurry to be gone. Instead, we see him simply pay the captain their previously agreed upon price for the shipment. So we learn that Walt Disney's Dr. Syn is a man of his word - moral and trustworthy.

Now the King's Revenue Men show up in the distance. Dr. Syn orders everyone to be off, as he and Hellspite and Curlew ride away to intercept the King's men. There is a reward of one thousand pounds in gold on the Scarecrow's head, so Dr. Syn makes certain that the Revenue Men see and recognize him. He knows that the Revenue Men will chase him for the reward, and in this way be led away from his own men. So, fourth, we learn that Walt Disney's Dr. Syn will, without hesitation, risk his own skin to keep his "lads" from being captured or tortured for information in prison, and then hanged.

During the chase, the leader of the Revenue Men fires his pistol at the fleeing Scarecrow. Dr. Syn, although armed himself, does not return fire but rather continues to tempt the Revenue Men to chase him - both by laughing at them, and by stopping momentarily and waving at them. So, fifth, we learn that Walt Disney's Dr. Syn is not a man given to gunplay, but a man who survives and succeeds by his wits and courage. The Scarecrow only uses his pistol three times: to shoot another man's pistol out of his hand, to force General Pugh to release a prisoner - by merely threatening to blow a soldier's brains out, and to fire a signal shot.

At the end of the chase, Dr. Syn has led the Revenue Men to a dilapidated old barn. The Revenue Men search the barn, but their prey is nowhere to be found. Dr. Syn, Hellspite, Curlew, and their mounts are all hiding in an underground stable - accessed through a large trapdoor in the barn's floor. Now we realize that Dr. Syn did not lead the Revenue Men off in just any direction, but rather to a place prepared ahead of time to deceive pursuers. So, sixth, we learn another very important fact about Walt Disney's Dr. Syn: he is in command and control of every situation - and this by two specific means: #1 careful planning that considers every possible action of his enemies, and #2 tactics of deception.

The three scenes of the opening sequence end with the Revenue Men riding away frustrated, and Dr. Syn, Hellspite, and Curlew removing their disguises, and returning to their normal lives. Which brings us to the seventh thing we learn about Walt Disney's Dr. Syn: he has a sense of humor. As Dr. Syn and Mr. Mipps are leaving the dilapidated old barn, Dr. Syn mentions that the orders for the next smuggling run will go out that very night. Mr. Mipps asks how, and Dr. Syn replies with a smile, "By my Lord Bishop's coach. His poor Lordship - how he'd hate it if only he knew!"

After the opening sequence, just two other scenes in Episode One establish important facts about Walt Disney's Dr. Syn. The first is the scene in the parsonage, where Dr. Syn is shown recording a smuggling shipment in the parish Register of Burials. Mr. Mipps asks Dr. Syn why he goes on risking his life and vocation to help the people of his parish - who do not know that Dr. Syn is also their benefactor, the Scarecrow. Dr. Syn then propounds the love of neighbor, the political convictions, and the religious faith that motivate him. This short speech is important because it tells us how Dr. Syn is justified in opposing the authorities, and breaking the law.

The second is another scene in the underground stable, after the Scarecrow's capture of the Press Gang. Before leaving the hiding place, Dr. Syn assures the leader of the Press Gang, Petty Officer Stabbit, that he and the others have "bread and water - bread without the weevil bug, water that is pure - better than you give the prisoners you dragged aboard ship to serve the King!" From this scene we learn that Dr. Syn is never interested in taking revenge. Instead, he always treats his enemies much better than they deserve. This fact is brought home to us with even greater force in the infamous scene in Episode Two, where the Scarecrow conducts a nighttime trial in a barn, and then pretends to hang the traitor, Joseph Ransley. Ransley is finally allowed to go free, into exile, away from Romney Marsh.

Consistent, then, with the production's revised background for the character, we can conclude that Walt Disney's Dr. Syn simply follows the biblical injunctions to "Love thy neighbor as thyself" and "Be wise as a serpent, but gentle as a lamb."

This portrayal of the character as a man who is stable, courageous, merciful, compassionate, intelligent, and self-sacrificing - a man who inspires respect among most men, but who also inspires fear among some men (when in disguise as the Scarecrow), makes Walt Disney's version of Dr. Syn a truly unique figure among the heroes of the big screen.