The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh: Part 1

I remember seeing this on the Wonderful World of Disney as a kid, and I thought it was just great. It gave me a lifelong appreciation for Patrick McGoohan, whose work, both as actor and director, I have continued to admire.

I first saw this as SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH on DISNEY'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR (1963). The whole mystique of the character has remained with me all these years. McGoohan is subperb in portraying both the kindly vicar and the horrific Scarecrow.

The cool thing I recalled most about this movie was that McGoohan's Dr Syn, the vicar of Dymchurch, would sit between General Pugh (obsessed with the Scarecrow's capture) and the Squire (the local law) and listen contentedly to the plans.

I've seen this movie on ebay for 200 doallrs. Why Disney has not re-released this again on video is beyond me

This is the kind of movie you hardly see anymore, full of adventure, action and intrigue without the "R" rating, mindless violence and profane language that so permeates modern movies. It would be wonderful if this could be re-released via DVD, hopefully that will be done in the not-too-distant future. Patrick McGoohan is incredible in this movie, you can see how young he is and what a great actor, before he became so well known. I used to have the comic book for this movie at one time and am still kicking myself for selling it. The story of the Scarecrow and his band of outlaw smugglers is an exciting tale, to say the least. Another contemporary movie from the same time frame (1964) that covers the story of the Scarecrow is "Night Creatures" which I believe is soon to be re-released in DVD format, that one starred Peter Cushing. The masks used to cover their identities and their wild rides in the countryside from both movies are incredible. A must see and a must buy!

I remember seeing this as a 12 year old on The Wonderful World of Disney, I'm now 58 and I just watched it again on YouTube. I was blown away, absolutely fantastic, the best thing I've seen in many a year, do yourself a favour and watch this.

Some of the reviews mentioned the fact that the film could be scary for young viewers. I just wanted to say that I saw this film in the UK as a child, I was probably about 7 or so in the early sixties, and the fear it invoked in me remained with me for many many years. I probably still have it even now! This evening I was remembering that dread I had of seeing the Scarecrow mask when I was talking to my own children, and that made me look up the film on the Internet. I'd be curious to see the film again forty or so years later. I've been told that I need more words to complete the text, so I would say maybe you shouldn't watch this film with a child who is under ten or so. I guess the horrors of this film are nothing compared to what so many kids see in the cinemas and at home these days, but my own recollection of terror is very strong. I recall I watched the film with my father and sister, and from something on the Internet I read I think it must have been shown together with The Sword in the Stone or something. But I can't remember the other film, I just remember The Scarecrow.