The legend of Dr. Syn, an 18th century country vicar disguised as a demon from Romney Marsh who, in reality, leads a band of smugglers fighting the British military, originated in 1915 in a novel by Russell Thorndike, and reappeared in a string of books through the 1930s. Two other film versions preceded this Walt Disney production (originally broadcast on television in three parts): Dr. Syn (1937), with George Arliss, and Hammer Films’ Captain Clegg (1962, retitled Night Creatures by American distributor, Universal, to capitalize on Hammer’s growing horror movie popularity). Peter Cushing was renamed Dr. Blyss (in order to avoid copyright issues with Disney). Patrick McGoohan (star of the two 1960s British TV series, “Secret Agent” and, most famously, “The Prisoner”) is Dr. Syn in this version that was theatrically released by Disney in the UK and other territories before its re-edited TV incarnation.
