I had gotten a couple of requests to feature the Dr. Syn Scarecrow on the blog over the years, but I couldn't find many images and nothing ever really came together. When Jeff O'Hare recently made the request, I decided to to try once again. Jeff is a Patron of this blog, which means that his suggestions will get special consideration, so I was happy to give it another crack.
Another reason it took me so long to do a Doctor Syn cover is that I have never seen the Patrick McGoohan film that he comes from - it's tough to do covers when I know very little about the subjects. Still, I was intrigued with what I read on him, and I tried to find a copy of the movie on Netflix, to no avail. I'll have to make a point of watching it one of these days.
This isn't the first time Jonathan Crane has encountered another Scarecrow...
He acttaly first appeared in a book series back In 1915
ReplyDeleteI loved those books when I was younger, but haven't seen one in years. I'd like to reread them.
ReplyDeleteBy Russel Thorndyke, by the way.
https://youtu.be/24I__ARFAmg
ReplyDeleteI saw that film on TV when I was a kid, and decided to dress up as the character (as best I could at the time) for Halloween that year. Out trick-or-treating, I actually managed to scare one of the people handing out candies!
ReplyDeleteThere's at least one other Scarecrow that you haven't yet featured in this blog, and he'd be quite welcome to have in... if he only had a brain.
You could have used that portrait from the briefing scene in LOEG THE MOVIE. That featured the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh holding criss-crossed flintlock pistols (as an allusion to the Shadow, probably)!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of portraits; how about an encounter between Ebenezar Laughton and that mysterious demon hunter who seems to live inside a cursed painting?
The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh was a Disney production starring Patrick McGoohan as the dual-identitied Scarecrow. Disney repeated it a lot on their Sunday slot. It had a theme song. The show made an impression on people that are now fans of a certain age.
ReplyDeleteThe books are pretty looney.
Thank you, Ross!!! Dr. Syn is one of my personal all-time favorites... Thorndyke wrote the first at the end of which The Scarecrow-Dr. Syn-Captain Clegg dies. Then he wrote 6 prequels. Vic Crum wrote an adaptation of Disney's movie and there were 3 Gold Key comics. There were 2 other movie versions. Hammer did 'Night Creatures' with Peter Cushing playing the renamed Dr. Blyss. And there was a black & white film from the 1940s... again thank you Ross for all you do and for this cover, my new favorite... later... the jack-el
ReplyDeleteSorry for the error above... the 3rd film was Doctor Syn from 1937 and starred George Arliss...... the jack-el
ReplyDeleteThe Disney version of Dr. Syn alias the Scarecrow made a big impression on me when I was a boy!
ReplyDeleteYou probably know that Marvel Comics also has TWO characters call the Scarecrow. The first was a villain who originally fought Iron Man. According to Wikipedia:
"Scarecrow's first appearance was in Tales of Suspense #51, in a story created by Stan Lee and Don Heck."
The other Marvel Scarecrow was mystic hero/villain. The only story I ever read with this Scarecrow was from Marvel-Two-In-One #18 when he teamed up with The Thing. Again, according to Wikipedia:
"The Scarecrow was created by Scott Edelman and Rico Rival and first appeared in Dead of Night #11 (August 1975)"
Also according to Wikipedia, this version of the Scarecrow was later called "The Straw Man"
You can also find another comic image The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh by scanning the cover of Gold Key's Walt Disney Showcase #53.
Finally, I received the Walt Disney Treasures version of the DVD several years ago as a Christmas present. It includes the original TV episodes of "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh" as well as the movie "Dr. Syn: alias The Scarecrow". Great stuff!
Ross-This is a terrific cover! Thank you so much for fitting him in. You did a great job of fitting that art style into the scene. Another great job (as is the Luke Cage). The remaining Scarecrow character is now called the Straw Man in Marvel comics. Jeff
ReplyDeletePrecisley the double-reference I was hinting at in my missive from the 18th! Thanks to both of you, Jeff and SW. :-)
ReplyDeleteI remember the Disney version, and it was one of my favorites!
ReplyDeletePatrick Mcgoohan was a terrific actor and did a great job as the Doctor Syn Scarecrow. The movie is available on Youtube as I post this message.
ReplyDelete