Dark Night of the Scarecrow
Encyclopedia
Dark Night of the Scarecrow is a 1981 made-for-television suspense/horror
film directed by veteran novelist Frank De Felitta (author of Audrey Rose) from a script by J.D. Feigelson. Feigelson's intent had been to make an independent feature, but his script was bought by CBS for television; despite this, only minor changes were made to the original screenplay.
), a large but gentle retarded
man, befriends young Marylee Williams, (Tonya Crowe
). Some of the townspeople are upset by the friendship between Marylee and Bubba, and the brooding, mean-spirited postman Otis Hazelrigg (Charles Durning
) is the worst. When Marylee is almost killed by a vicious dog (Bubba saves her) and lies unconscious at a doctor's office, Otis promptly assumes that Bubba has murdered (and likely raped) her. Otis and three friends - gas station attendant Skeeter Norris and farmer-cousins Philby and Harliss Hocker - form a lynch mob. They chase Bubba to his mother (Jocelyn Brando
)'s house. She believes her son and they play "the Hiding Game": disguising Bubba as a scarecrow
and posting him in a nearby field to wait for the drama to cool down. Otis' bloodhounds sniff Bubba out, however, and all four vigilantes empty multiple rounds from their guns into him, killing him. Afterwards, they discover that Marylee is in fact alive, thanks to Bubba, whom they have just murdered. Acting fast, Otis places a pitchfork
in Bubba's lifeless hands to make it appear as if he were attacking them with a weapon.
In court, Otis and his fellow vigilantes swear they acted in self-defense. Bubba's mother denounces her son's killers before the courtroom, stating, "You may think that you're getting off free, but there's other justice in this world, besides the law!" only to be ejected by the bailiff
. Sam Willock, the local district attorney
, does not believe the vigilantes' story but he cannot make the murder case stick due to a lack of witnesses. The vigilantes go free, but Sam calls after them: "Hazelrigg, just a minute. I want to tell you "men" one thing. I think you executed that man. And I promise you this; If I ever find a single shred of evidence, I'll see every one of you on Death row
."
A day later, Harliss finds a scarecrow in his fields like the one Bubba was hidden in. Neither Harliss nor his wife can figure out how it got there as neither of them placed it. That evening, the scarecrow has disappeared. As he begins his walk up the steps to his front door, the wood chipper begins to run, and a light comes on in the barn. At first, Harliss believes Sam has invited himself over, walks to the barn, and shuts off the chipper. As he investigates, he climbs up the hayloft to confront what he now believes is the district attorney snooping around his barn. Walking on the support beam, he is startled as the wood chipper is mysteriously reactivated. Losing his balance, he grabs the cord of the light that is hanging in the barn. Screaming, he calls for his wife. No longer able to hang on as the sparks from the light shower him, he loses his grip on the light and dies after falling into the chipper.
Skeeter and Philby inform Otis of Harliss's mysterious death. The trio investigate, and find the thresher is no longer operational. Otis figures it must have run out of gas, but when its tank proves to be nearly full, he jumps to another conclusion. The next morning, he visits Mrs. Ritter and accuses her of killing his friend, although he cannot prove anything. She denies the charges, but says that all four of the men will get their just deserts promptly enough (and also implies that Otis is a pedophile).
When Philby discovers a scarecrow like the one Bubba was dressed as in his field, Otis acts fast. He breaks into Mrs. Ritter's house as she sits before her lit fireplace and grabs her from behind, demanding that she explain what's going on with the scarecrows. But she cannot tell him anything because she has suffered a heart attack as he tries to muffle her screams. To cover his tracks, Otis turns Mrs. Ritter's gas stove on full, then walks out. As the gas reaches the fireplace the house explodes, again leaving nothing for Sam to use against Otis.
That night at his farm, Philby notices that the "Bubba" scarecrow (whom the viewer cannot see) in his field has gotten off its field-post, and is walking toward him. Panicking, Philby locks himself in a grain silo
. The scarecrow jams the silo door, trapping Philby inside, and then turns on the conveyor belt
feeding into the silo. Philby is buried in grain and perishes.
Skeeter is ready to turn himself in rather than face the scarecrow's wrath. Yet Otis remains convinced that it's all a hoax by somebody seeking to avenge the Ritter murders. To verify said theory, Otis and Skeeter break into the local cemetery that night. They dig up Bubba's coffin and open it. Bubba is inside. Otis has to wrestle Skeeter to stop him from fleeing in terror. They agree to fill the grave back in and forget any of this ever happened. But as Skeeter is nailing the coffin shut again, Otis kills him from behind by striking his head with a shovel. Otis re-buries both corpses and then drives off, back towards town.
En route home, Otis finds Marylee alone at roadside, and chases her into a pumpkin
patch. He grabs Marylee and accuses her of masterminding the scarecrow murders. A combination payloader/plowing machine starts up nearby and chases Otis through the pumpkin patch, snapping its shovel and turning pumpkins to pulp. As he flees, Otis accidentally runs into the Bubba-Scarecrow, still holding the pitchfork, on which Otis has just impaled himself. Otis sinks to his knees and points at the Scarecrow, who nods, before keeling over dead. The scarecrow walks off through the pumpkin patch and finds Marylee, to whom he hands a flower. She says, "Thank you, Bubba. You know what? Tomorrow, I think I'll teach you a new game. Did I ever show you how to play the Chasing Game? It's fun. You'll love it. It's sort of like playing tag."
Note:
"With its 1981 release “Dark Night of the Scarecrow” was the first feature length horror film with a scarecrow as its centerpiece. In the intervening years many have copied this image, but with “Dark Night of the Scarecrow” writer J.D. Feigelson is credited as creator of the entire “Killer Scarecrow” horror film sub-genre."
Aaron Crowell
Managing Editor
HorrorHound Magazine
on October 24, 1981 and was re-released on 29 April 2010 as part of the Texas Frightmare Weekend
2010.
by Key Video in the mid-1980s; it is now difficult to find the film in this format.
The film was released on September 28, 2010 on DVD
by VCI Entertainment. The 30th anniversary Blu-ray disc was released on October 11th 2011 with additional bonus features.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
film directed by veteran novelist Frank De Felitta (author of Audrey Rose) from a script by J.D. Feigelson. Feigelson's intent had been to make an independent feature, but his script was bought by CBS for television; despite this, only minor changes were made to the original screenplay.
Plot summary
Charles Elliot "Bubba" Ritter (Larry DrakeLarry Drake
Larry Drake is an American actor.Drake was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Lorraine, a homemaker, and Raymond Drake, a drafting engineer for an oil company. Drake is renowned for his portrayal of developmentally disabled Benny Stulwicz on the television show L.A...
), a large but gentle retarded
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
man, befriends young Marylee Williams, (Tonya Crowe
Tonya Crowe
Tonya Crowe is an American actress, best known for playing Olivia Cunningham on Knots Landing during the 1980's.-References:...
). Some of the townspeople are upset by the friendship between Marylee and Bubba, and the brooding, mean-spirited postman Otis Hazelrigg (Charles Durning
Charles Durning
Charles Durning is an American actor. With appearances in over 100 films, Durning's memorable roles include police officers in the Oscar-winning The Sting and crime drama Dog Day Afternoon , along with the comedies Tootsie, To Be Or Not To Be and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the last two...
) is the worst. When Marylee is almost killed by a vicious dog (Bubba saves her) and lies unconscious at a doctor's office, Otis promptly assumes that Bubba has murdered (and likely raped) her. Otis and three friends - gas station attendant Skeeter Norris and farmer-cousins Philby and Harliss Hocker - form a lynch mob. They chase Bubba to his mother (Jocelyn Brando
Jocelyn Brando
Jocelyn Brando was an American film, stage and television actress.Her film debut came in the war movie China Venture with Edmond O'Brien and Barry Sullivan. Her best-known movie role was as detective Glenn Ford's doomed wife in the gangster film noir The Big Heat...
)'s house. She believes her son and they play "the Hiding Game": disguising Bubba as a scarecrow
Scarecrow
A scarecrow is, essentially, a decoy, though traditionally, a human figure dressed in old clothes and placed in fields by farmers to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.-History:In Kojiki, the oldest surviving book in Japan...
and posting him in a nearby field to wait for the drama to cool down. Otis' bloodhounds sniff Bubba out, however, and all four vigilantes empty multiple rounds from their guns into him, killing him. Afterwards, they discover that Marylee is in fact alive, thanks to Bubba, whom they have just murdered. Acting fast, Otis places a pitchfork
Pitchfork
A pitchfork is an agricultural tool with a long handle and long, thin, widely separated pointed tines used to lift and pitch loose material, such as hay, leaves, grapes, dung or other agricultural materials. Pitchforks typically have two or three tines...
in Bubba's lifeless hands to make it appear as if he were attacking them with a weapon.
In court, Otis and his fellow vigilantes swear they acted in self-defense. Bubba's mother denounces her son's killers before the courtroom, stating, "You may think that you're getting off free, but there's other justice in this world, besides the law!" only to be ejected by the bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
. Sam Willock, the local district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
, does not believe the vigilantes' story but he cannot make the murder case stick due to a lack of witnesses. The vigilantes go free, but Sam calls after them: "Hazelrigg, just a minute. I want to tell you "men" one thing. I think you executed that man. And I promise you this; If I ever find a single shred of evidence, I'll see every one of you on Death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
."
A day later, Harliss finds a scarecrow in his fields like the one Bubba was hidden in. Neither Harliss nor his wife can figure out how it got there as neither of them placed it. That evening, the scarecrow has disappeared. As he begins his walk up the steps to his front door, the wood chipper begins to run, and a light comes on in the barn. At first, Harliss believes Sam has invited himself over, walks to the barn, and shuts off the chipper. As he investigates, he climbs up the hayloft to confront what he now believes is the district attorney snooping around his barn. Walking on the support beam, he is startled as the wood chipper is mysteriously reactivated. Losing his balance, he grabs the cord of the light that is hanging in the barn. Screaming, he calls for his wife. No longer able to hang on as the sparks from the light shower him, he loses his grip on the light and dies after falling into the chipper.
Skeeter and Philby inform Otis of Harliss's mysterious death. The trio investigate, and find the thresher is no longer operational. Otis figures it must have run out of gas, but when its tank proves to be nearly full, he jumps to another conclusion. The next morning, he visits Mrs. Ritter and accuses her of killing his friend, although he cannot prove anything. She denies the charges, but says that all four of the men will get their just deserts promptly enough (and also implies that Otis is a pedophile).
When Philby discovers a scarecrow like the one Bubba was dressed as in his field, Otis acts fast. He breaks into Mrs. Ritter's house as she sits before her lit fireplace and grabs her from behind, demanding that she explain what's going on with the scarecrows. But she cannot tell him anything because she has suffered a heart attack as he tries to muffle her screams. To cover his tracks, Otis turns Mrs. Ritter's gas stove on full, then walks out. As the gas reaches the fireplace the house explodes, again leaving nothing for Sam to use against Otis.
That night at his farm, Philby notices that the "Bubba" scarecrow (whom the viewer cannot see) in his field has gotten off its field-post, and is walking toward him. Panicking, Philby locks himself in a grain silo
Silo
A silo is a structure for storing bulk materials.Silo may also refer to:* Silo , a 3D modeling software* Silo , a defunct chain of retail electronics stores* SILO , used in Linux...
. The scarecrow jams the silo door, trapping Philby inside, and then turns on the conveyor belt
Conveyor belt
A conveyor belt consists of two or more pulleys, with a continuous loop of material - the conveyor belt - that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt forward. The powered pulley is called the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley...
feeding into the silo. Philby is buried in grain and perishes.
Skeeter is ready to turn himself in rather than face the scarecrow's wrath. Yet Otis remains convinced that it's all a hoax by somebody seeking to avenge the Ritter murders. To verify said theory, Otis and Skeeter break into the local cemetery that night. They dig up Bubba's coffin and open it. Bubba is inside. Otis has to wrestle Skeeter to stop him from fleeing in terror. They agree to fill the grave back in and forget any of this ever happened. But as Skeeter is nailing the coffin shut again, Otis kills him from behind by striking his head with a shovel. Otis re-buries both corpses and then drives off, back towards town.
En route home, Otis finds Marylee alone at roadside, and chases her into a pumpkin
Pumpkin
A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
patch. He grabs Marylee and accuses her of masterminding the scarecrow murders. A combination payloader/plowing machine starts up nearby and chases Otis through the pumpkin patch, snapping its shovel and turning pumpkins to pulp. As he flees, Otis accidentally runs into the Bubba-Scarecrow, still holding the pitchfork, on which Otis has just impaled himself. Otis sinks to his knees and points at the Scarecrow, who nods, before keeling over dead. The scarecrow walks off through the pumpkin patch and finds Marylee, to whom he hands a flower. She says, "Thank you, Bubba. You know what? Tomorrow, I think I'll teach you a new game. Did I ever show you how to play the Chasing Game? It's fun. You'll love it. It's sort of like playing tag."
Note:
"With its 1981 release “Dark Night of the Scarecrow” was the first feature length horror film with a scarecrow as its centerpiece. In the intervening years many have copied this image, but with “Dark Night of the Scarecrow” writer J.D. Feigelson is credited as creator of the entire “Killer Scarecrow” horror film sub-genre."
Aaron Crowell
Managing Editor
HorrorHound Magazine
Release
Dark Night of the Scarecrow premiered on CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
on October 24, 1981 and was re-released on 29 April 2010 as part of the Texas Frightmare Weekend
Texas Frightmare Weekend
Texas Frightmare Weekend is a horror-oriented for-profit media event held occasionally in the Dallas, Texas area. Guests have included actors, directors, and producers from classic and upcoming horror films.-Past events:...
2010.
Home media
The film was released on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
by Key Video in the mid-1980s; it is now difficult to find the film in this format.
The film was released on September 28, 2010 on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by VCI Entertainment. The 30th anniversary Blu-ray disc was released on October 11th 2011 with additional bonus features.