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"The Scarecrow of Teeton Marsh" was a 1963 adventure. It starred Patrick McGoohan, who had just completed his series "The Prisoner." The movie's character performs yet another act of strong resistance - this time, to the tyrannical policies of an 18-th-century British king.

"We'll tweak King George's nose," McGoohan warns his band of smugglers, wearing a genuinely disturbing costume - a stark white mask, with a stitched-on scarecrow mouth. He wears a scarecrow hat and a black, tattered jacket, while barking orders to the smugglers from the top of a horse. He's assisted by his henchmen, who also wear scary bird masks - the better to hide their secret identities. They're able to spy on the king - and evade his crippling taxes - because no one suspects his true identity. "The Scarecrow" is really Dr. Syn - a thoughtful neighborhood priest.

The movie offers a lavish production. Its first scene opens at dusk, showing silhouetted horses against a dark blue sky, as the smuggler's lookout surveys an impressive oceanside cliff. The movie includes a full orchestral score, along with some imaginative camera angles rendering the horses almost abstract and timeless. There's gorgeous footage of rocky coasts, dimly-lit barns, and a distant castle in the fading light. And the director uses innovative tracking to reveal the scarecrow's secret hiding place - and then the elusive scarecrow.

McGoohan was just 35 when he took on the role, portraying Dr. Syn as a cool and fierce tactician, hiding his righteous criminal enterprise behind his reputation as an innocuous gentleman. But originally his performance only graced the Disney anthology series which ran on Sunday nights. It wasn't until six years later that the three hour-long episodes were spliced together into a movie which was released in theatres, first as "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh" and later as "Dr. Syn Alias the Scarecrow." The movie offers a good showcase for McGoohan's awe-inspiring performance as the underground rebel who is good but mysterious. He's ruthless, and at times even a little scary.

Unfortunately, too much of the movie revolves around royal intrigue, with long scenes of the British lords grousing about the smugglers. And while the Scarecrow persona is interesting, too much of the film revolves around the actions of his human alter ego, Dr. Syn. Though the movie opens with smugglers and chases, it eventually transforms itself into a standard historical melodrama. The final movie clocks in at 129 minutes, and its stitched-together episodes break up some of the dramatic tension.

But much of the fun of a Disney movie lies in savoring its colorful details. There's some dedicated character actors, and an elaborate attempt to recreate the 18th century world they live in. A memorable folk-style song connects the scenes throughout the movie - an acoustic guitar accompanying a minor-key ballad sung by "The Wellingtons" (who also sang the theme to "Gilligan's Island.") While the movie's story isn't perfect, that's only one part of the experience. The film ultimately still has lots of other treats to offer.

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