Doctor Syn

This is is a rather creaky, flawed effort, that reminds me a little of Jamaica Inn. And yes, this is George Arliss's last film, and he is indeed getting on. But he hadn't lost that unique Arliss delivery -- exuberant I'd call it -- that's so delicious to watch. And he had that angular look that lent itself to so many vivid characters, from Disraeli to Rothschild to Richelieu. He had a gaze that added the dimension of guile, even to his heroic characters, and also made him a great villain, as he was in The Green Goddess and finally (or as another reviewer says, eventually) in Dr. Syn.

Every glimpse of the great Arliss is a treat, and you should grab anything you see him in, because his vehicles are very hard to find. And that includes this one. If for no other reason, see it to see the man who discovered Bette Davis.

In the year 1780, the notorious pirate Captain Clegg marooned a mulatto sailor on a desert island. The sailor's ears and tongue were mutilated, and he was trussed up and left for dead. Now it is 1800, and the scene is set in Dymchurch, an English coastal village. A detachment of sailors from the Royal Navy has arrived in the village to hunt down smugglers and contraband. The mulatto is part of the naval complement, having been rescued many years previously by the warship's crew. In the village churchyard a tombstone marks the last resting-place of Captain Clegg, who was hanged for piracy ... or was he?

In this costume yarn the village of Dymchurch is a law unto itself, the whole community being actively involved in the smuggling industry. At night men dress in the eerie garb of the 'marsh phantoms', and take their orders from the sinister Scarecrow. Why does the village parson, Doctor Syn, react so violently to the presence of the mulatto?

George Arliss plays Doctor Syn in this, his last film. As one career was ending another was beginning, an incredibly young-looking Margaret Lockwood appearing as Imogene the barmaid.

The scenery is nice and atmospheric, successfully evoking the rickety feel of vernacular architecture of the period. The Ship Inn is particularly good.

Undercranking the camera in order to liven up the fist fight seems a somewhat clumsy technique to the modern viewer. The humour, mainly in the form of Jerry Jerk the overgrown schoolboy (Graham Moffatt) doesn't come off. And would a coroner really allow a naval captain to turn an inquest into a discussion forum on smuggling? How does the captain know about the parson's injured wrist?

Verdict - An odd little British film with nice atmospheric sets.

I regard this black & white movie highly, for it has many applications into the modern struggles of those seeking justice - in any era! It has stood the test of time. That's something the lack of vision of fundamentalists & puritans, across time & place, fail to appreciate. Freedom of speech is not an issue to such conservative powers who had a powerful voice in 1937 when this movie was made, as to today. Rationalism & fundamentalism are entirely broad enough for themselves. No room for fantasy, adventure or contrary thought some would respectfully observe. No complexities of life or possibility.

The character of "Dr Syn" is displayed as the quietly pious but genuine pastor looking after his flock, is a credible cover for his secretive nocturnal activities of much merit & substance in their justice. Such justice is something that hardliners would portray as an extravagance they can do without. Indeed, people without a breath of vision won't find much here. They can just listen to too many politicians or shock-jock media personalities who could have an immediate fix to any confrontation without justice but suitable to themselves.

Dr Syn might have appeared to be a bible basher. But that is where his common bond with bigots & hypocrites ceases. He was of principle & integrity in his justice, remaining committed to the marginalised outcasts he is sympathetic to the cause of. As such, his expression of two seemingly conflicting characters neatly blends into his one person of integrity. No hypocrisy. No injustice.

In a dictatorship of such historical authority of that time, he is forced to present a message faithful to his faith, but remain loyal to his kin of broader vision & concern for true justice & friendship beyond lip service. He is a bridge between kingdoms of much merit. Such as were his friends were people not intending to crucify a king of heaven or be unjust traffic cops, across time & place. In a modern world, harsh & unmoved in raking up revenues for corrupt governments, it has much relevance to its message.

Of course, such things as rum-runs were anti-authority & subjective in judgement - something black & white thinkers who don't like others having free will, prefer to oppose. But the drama presented in "Dr Syn" is anything but black & white. The dilemmas of the broad-thinking parson not engulfed by religiousness as he might have been, are passionately voiced by the protagonist in actor George Arliss. If this final movie of his life was his only offering, it would have been a substantial contribution in an otherwise productive life & varied acting career.

I think the plot is a realistic one & believable in the era of small churches were scattered along the English coast, & has been verified as historical fact. In such places, activities such as illegal liquor trade & potential invasion were commonly witnessed or experienced threats, that caused the citizens to be wary & vengeful in forming any trust bar their most trusted relationships.

In reality, this movie is much more than an historical piece. Certainly, it is much more than a black & white movie as some may dismiss it!

The final film of the actor George Arliss was this version of the story of Dr Syn, who was a pastor by day and a smuggler by night. Later versions would star Peter Cushing for Hammer and Patrick McGoohan for Disney, this is the weakest version of the story.

The movie is okay melodrama, but isn't anything to write home about. Certainly had it not been an a multi-feature DVD I would never have picked it up, but now that I've seen it I can't say it was a complete waste of time.

Part of the problem is that Arliss was well past his prime when he played the lead. While the fact that he was pushing 70 should not be held against him; the fact that he looked very close to dead, or at least embalmed and was playing a man of action should. The role should have been played by Tod Slaughter and you would have had a classic film.In his day Arliss was hailed as a great actor of the stage, unfortunately sound came too late to allow him to be anything but okay.

If you want an okay time killer or to see a once great actors last gasp then see this version of Doctor Syn, otherwise stay away.

There are some black and white films which as they grow older become more and more evergreen. (The obvious example is Casablanca). This is one such, although it may not appeal to the young and non-british. Some of its fascination lies in the attitudes, acting styles and techniques which are so neatly frozen in time. If the plot seems a little contrived here and there, or the dialogue rather stilted especially in the romantic scenes, it all adds to the feel of the period in which the film was made (rather than that in which it was set).

The plot centres on the coastal hamlet of Dymchurch, where a detachment of the Royal Navy is about to make a search for smuggled goods. The inhabitants of the village are outwardly honest and simple folk, but many of them have nefarious secrets to conceal.

The original novel "Dr. Syn", derived from Kentish local legend, was very much darker and bloodier than this film. Likewise, George Arliss's performance as the mild and unctuous parson bears little outward resemblance to the eponymous reprobate of the novel. However, Arliss's character becomes much more believable and deserving of the viewer's wholehearted sympathy towards the end of the film.

There are some other acting highlights, notably Wilson Coleman's tipsy country doctor and Graham Moffat's Dickensian fat boy. This was one of Margaret Lockwood's early starring appearances and she smiles, bursts into tears and pouts beautifully throughout.

The action sequences all start suddenly without any preceding build-up of tension, and end even more quickly. The comic aspects of the film are given greater emphasis than the action and this adds to the general lightness of atmosphere. The only menacing undertones are provided by the constant references to dark goings-on on the surrounding marshes, and Meinhard Maur's performance as the mutilated mulatto seaman, intent on revenge.

All in all, the film is delightful nonsense which deserves more attention than it has received.