Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow (1963)

In the 1770s, Doctor Christopher Syn (Patrick McGoohan) is a vicar in a small town on the English coast.  The town is known as a hotbed of smuggling and a masked villain called the Scarecrow leads this band of smugglers.  Dr. Syn is the Scarecrow.  King George III is so annoyed with the loss in tax revenue that he dispatched General Pugh (Geoffrey Keen) to crush the smuggling ring.  Pugh knows his business and uses a variety of tactics to turn the smugglers against the Scarecrow.  However, each of his strategies is countered by the clever Scarecrow.  It is hardly any surprise that Dr. Syn is an excellent chess player.

This Disney feature is based on the novels by Russell Thorndike, though McGoohan's portrayal of the character makes him much less of the anti-hero from the source.  Though most of his band of smugglers have no idea who the Scarecrow truly is, he has two confidants who do: Sexton Mipps (George Cole) and young John Banks (Sean Scully).  Mipps has a roguishness about him and it is only thanks to Dr. Syn that his natural inclinations have been turned to noble use.  Mipps is a regular at the local tavern and knows all the local gossip.  John Banks is the teenaged son of Squire Thomas Banks (Michale Hordern), the kind-hearted magistrate of the town.  As such, he provides vital news to the Scarecrow.

McGoohan is impressive in the dual roles of Syn and Scarecrow.  Where Syn is serene and scholarly, Scarecrow is gruff and sharp.  It reminded me of Christian Bale in Batman Begins.  However, the personality and mannerism gap between Syn and Scarecrow is much greater than that between Bruce Wayne and Batman.  Great job by McGoohan.  It comes as little surprise that this was one of his favorite roles in his career.

Good popcorn fun and recommended.  It is available on YouTube.

Hell Drivers (1957)

Tom Yately (Stanley Baker) is recently out of prison and seeking a job.  He finds a position as a truck driver for a company that delivers gravel to building sites.  His fellow drivers are a rough crew led by C. "Red" Redman (Patrick McGoohan).  Red takes an immediate dislike to Tom and most of the drivers join in that attitude, except Gino (Herbert Lom).  Gino plans to earn enough to travel back to Italy with the company secretary, Lucy (Peggy Cummins).  However, Lucy suddenly has eyes for Tom.  When Tom refuses to fight in a brawl with the rest of the crew, the general dislike grows to hate.  Talk about a hostile work environment.

The noteworthy thing about the movie is the number of stars who appear before their big break in show business:

1. Sean Connery - future James Bond - has a small role as truck driver Johnny Kates.  He doesn't have a lot of lines but his charisma shows.

2. Herbert Lom - Chief Inspector Dreyfus of the Pink Panther Series - is truck driver Gino Rossi.  Lom was an established actor by now and received second billing.

3. Patrick McGoohan - Danger Man/Secret Agent/The Prisoner - is the prime villain, Red.  I have long liked McGoohan but here he is a one-dimensional villain.  Constant hostility with a cigarette clamped between clenched teeth and an angry glower on his face.  He's got less depth than a comic book villain.  Of course, the moment Tom stops taking his guff and proves that Red's bark is worse than his bite, Red makes dastardly plans to kill Tom.

4. William Hartnell - the original Doctor Who - is Administrator Cartley.  He has the commanding gruff demeanor that is familiar to his later fans but it isn't counterbalanced with his Doctorly charm.

5. Jill Ireland - frequent co-star of future husband Charles Bronson - is the landlady's daughter.

6. David McCallum - the Russian Man from UNCLE - plays Tom Yately's younger brother.  Also of note, he was Jill Ireland's first husband and they met on this movie.  When McCallum was working on The Great Escape (1963), he introduced his wife to Charles Bronson.

The movie is just okay but it is worth seeing for the cast.