"Scarecrow! Scarecrow! The soldiers of the King feared his name!" And so begins the hard-to-forget theme song to The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. Walt Disney's thrilling 3-part adventure was produced for his Wonderful World of Color weekly TV show and aired February 1964. Filled with action, drama and suspense, it follows the adventures of Dr. Christopher Syn - brave priest by day, righter of wrongs by night.
Dr. Syn, a country priest leads a rebel band against the King's naval press gangs. Press gangs (impressment) roam the country side beating young men into submission or unconsciousness, usually at local inns and pubs, in order to enslave them in the Royal British Navy. Dr. Syn conceals his secret identity behind a sackcloth mask, and carries on activities ala Scarlet Pimpernel and Zorro from his parish base.
Dr. Syn, alias The Scarecrow, must find a way to protect his smuggling band not only from the King's forces but also from a would-be traitor within his own gang.
Under pressure from King George III to capture The Scarecrow or lose his command, General Pugh plans to use two prisoners, an escapee from the Royal Navy and an American colonist, to trap The Scarecrow.