The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh

[troopermatthew]

I have it on the way to me now mate!!! Maybe we can watch it next time you are over!!! I love this movie I remeber seeing it at the movies when I was a kid!!!

Awsome!

 

[Laffo]

I cant get that DVD anywhere for less than $100 :thumbsdown

I just got it off Tiger Direct for $24.
Last week.
Laffo.

 

[Peralton]

Great idea for a costume. I first saw the movie at Disney World and I've always really liked it. I have a full size (probably reprint) poster for the movie.

The Curlew mask (the one with teh beak) is also creepy to me.

You should see if someone with a nice redcoat costume (reenactor?) will go to events with you. Will make for great pictures.

 

[dkwd]

How did they attach the crosspiece to the shoulders?

David

 

[Haunted]

Anyone have patterns for the mask and coat of Dr Syn from the "Scarecrow of Romeny Marsh" tv series? I just picked up the Disney Treasures DVD set and had forgotten how cool this outfit is...I really want to make a costume now, any help would be appreciated. I have the proper hat already, looking for patterns or measurements for the mask and coat/cloak.

Thanks,
Russell

Hello tk5378, et al. I'm about 16 years late to this party, but I'm here to share what little I know, and to learn as much as I can about faithfully recreating the costume design for The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh.

According to the pressbook for the show's somewhat truncated theatrical release (Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow), director James Neilson wanted the scarecrow to have a mysterious, almost supernatural appearance, while also being faithful to the period, regarding the materials and techniques that would have been available to a country vicar in 18th century England. The scarecrow should be terrifying, but with a handmade, loosely stitched appearance, so as to resemble an actual scarecrow.

Famed British makeup artist Harry Frampton was hired to create the scarecrow's appearance, and quickly came up with the iconic design we all know and love, featuring the dark, triangular eyes and nose, with the crooked stitched mouth. As an experiment, Frampton first painted the design directly onto actor Patrick McGoohan's face using theatrical makeup. A few early publicity photos were even released showing McGoohan in costume, with half his face painted like the Scarecrow. Frampton was not happy with the results, however, because McGoohan's distinctive features were still easily recognizable under the greasepaint. The only thing that would credibly disguise the good vicar would be a mask of some sort.

Because the Scarecrow has so much screen time, Frampton knew that McGoohan would be wearing and talking through that face for hours at a time, so the mask had to be comfortable and easy to apply and remove. McGoohan also needed to be able to breathe and speak clearly.

The solution? A dishcloth.

"I struck upon using a dishcloth because it was readily accessible," explains Frampton in the pressbook. "After some stitching and painting, it took on an eerie quality. Then I gave McGoohan a shapeless slouch hat, with straw sticking out from under it. But after putting it together, the real straw looked too fine. It didn't photograph right. We replaced it with thicker, manufactured champagne straws, imported from France."

(NOTE: I have been unable to find champagne drinking straws in any remotely acceptable color, however I have found some very natural-looking alternatives that might work: Straw by Straw makes eco-friendly, water-resistant, biodegradable drinking straws from wheat, reed, and bamboo; Mindful Nature makes disposable, biodegradable drinking straws from the stems of wheat plants, and the color is very authentic )

Frampton cut holes for the eyes, and made a nose piece out of the same dishcloth material, which he died black and stitched onto the mask. He made the mouth stitching go up on one side and down on the other, and by the time he was through, the mask looked just like a piece of burlap that might've been used for a real scarecrow. In a supplement on the Disney Treasures DVD of he film, McGoohan says, "The makeup people took a cast of my head and molded the mask to the cast , so that wearing it was completely comfortable--nothing was glued to my skin, so it was vey comfortable."

In the Thorndike novels, the vicar used "luminous paint" on the Scarecrow's mask to give him an even ghostlier appearance as he rode across the marshes at night. In the Disney film, there was no attempt to precisely replicate this effect, however the Scarecrow's face is cleverly lit in such a way as to suggest a faint bluish luminescence. It's very subtle, but it's quite a nice effect.

 

[Haunted]

How did they attach the crosspiece to the shoulders?

David

I remember attempting to replicate the effect as a kid, and I think I just inserted a 1"x2" firring strip into the shoulders of an oversized coat, but it wasn't very comfortable or functional. I could barely make it to the end of the street on my bike before the thing shifted and fell out. It certainly wouldn't have lasted very long on a galloping horse.

According to the pressbook, "Frampton placed a three-foot board across McGoohan's shoulders under a dark and tattered cloak". But I have a feeling there was a little more to it than that. With all of the running and jumping, and horseback riding he does, the idea of just placing a "three foot board" across McGoohan's shoulders and hoping it stays in place doesn't really pass the plausibility test. I suspect McGoohan was wearing some kind of featherweight harness, or else the crosspiece was sewn into the coat, which actually sounds more plausible.