Doctor Syn (film)
Encyclopedia
Doctor Syn is a 1937 British, black-and-white
, adventure
, drama
historical film , directed
by Roy William Neill
for Gainsborough Pictures
and starring George Arliss
(in his last feature film), Margaret Lockwood, Graham Moffatt
and Ronald Shiner
. It was produced
by Gainsborough Pictures
. The film is based on the Doctor Syn
novels of Russell Thorndike
, set in 18th-century Kent
. The character of Syn and the events at the film's climax were both softened considerably in comparison to Thorndike's original story.
), a detachment of Royal Navy tax and revenue officers arrive in the village of Dymchurch
on Romney Marsh
. The area is notorious for liquor-smuggling and they are on the trail of the culprits. They find a village of apparently honest, pious and simple folk, looked after benevolently by their philanthropic vicar Doctor Syn (Arliss). However Syn is in fact the leader of the smugglers of the parish, using his cover as a man of the cloth to run a profitable ring whose dividends are used to better the lives of the local community. Collyer gradually comes to suspect what is going on, and a series of chases and confrontations takes place across the marshes with Syn and the smugglers always managing narrowly to outwit their pursuers. Collyer finally discovers that Syn is in fact none other than the notorious pirate Captain Clegg, thought to have been executed many years earlier. Still one step ahead, Syn destroys all incriminating evidence and he and his men make their escape.
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
, adventure
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
, drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
historical film , directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Roy William Neill
Roy William Neill
Roy William Neill was a film director best known today for directing several of the Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, made between 1943 and 1946 and released by Universal Studios....
for Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London. Gainsborough Studios were active between 1924 and 1951. Built as a power station for the Great Northern & City Railway it...
and starring George Arliss
George Arliss
George Arliss was an English actor, author and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award.-Life and career:...
(in his last feature film), Margaret Lockwood, Graham Moffatt
Graham Moffatt
Graham Moffatt was a British character actor and comedian.Born in Hammersmith, London, he is best known for a number of films where he appeared with Will Hay and Moore Marriott as 'Albert': an insolent, overweight, overgrown-schoolboy type character, loosely reminiscent of Billy Bunter.His first...
and Ronald Shiner
Ronald Shiner
Ronald Alfred Shiner was a British stand-up comedian and comedic actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall.-Career:...
. It was produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
by Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London. Gainsborough Studios were active between 1924 and 1951. Built as a power station for the Great Northern & City Railway it...
. The film is based on the Doctor Syn
Doctor Syn
The Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn is the smuggler hero of a series of novels by Russell Thorndike. The first book, Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh was published in 1915. The story idea came from smuggling in the 18th century Romney Marsh, where brandy and tobacco were brought in at night...
novels of Russell Thorndike
Russell Thorndike
Arthur Russell Thorndike was a British actor and novelist, best known for the Doctor Syn of Romney Marsh novels...
, set in 18th-century Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. The character of Syn and the events at the film's climax were both softened considerably in comparison to Thorndike's original story.
Plot
Led by Captain Collyer (Roy EmertonRoy Emerton
Roy Emerton was a British film actor.He was a sailor, cowboy, stoker, stevedore, railroader, miner, etc and served in World War I. He played in a great number of popular London stage shows, including Shakespeare as well as film work....
), a detachment of Royal Navy tax and revenue officers arrive in the village of Dymchurch
Dymchurch
Dymchurch is a village and civil parish in the Shepway District of Kent, England. The village is located on the coast five miles south-west of Hythe, and on the Romney Marsh. It is typical of this part of the coast, having been a village which became larger during the 1930s...
on Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about 100 mi ² .-Quotations:*“As Egypt was the gift of the Nile, this level tract .....
. The area is notorious for liquor-smuggling and they are on the trail of the culprits. They find a village of apparently honest, pious and simple folk, looked after benevolently by their philanthropic vicar Doctor Syn (Arliss). However Syn is in fact the leader of the smugglers of the parish, using his cover as a man of the cloth to run a profitable ring whose dividends are used to better the lives of the local community. Collyer gradually comes to suspect what is going on, and a series of chases and confrontations takes place across the marshes with Syn and the smugglers always managing narrowly to outwit their pursuers. Collyer finally discovers that Syn is in fact none other than the notorious pirate Captain Clegg, thought to have been executed many years earlier. Still one step ahead, Syn destroys all incriminating evidence and he and his men make their escape.
Cast
- George ArlissGeorge ArlissGeorge Arliss was an English actor, author and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award.-Life and career:...
as Doctor Syn - Margaret Lockwood as Imogene Clegg
- John LoderJohn Loder (actor)John Loder was a British-American actor. He was born William John Muir Lowe in London.-Early life:Loder's father was General W. H. M. Lowe, the British officer to whom Patrick Pearse, the leader of the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, Ireland, surrendered...
as Denis Cobtree - Roy EmertonRoy EmertonRoy Emerton was a British film actor.He was a sailor, cowboy, stoker, stevedore, railroader, miner, etc and served in World War I. He played in a great number of popular London stage shows, including Shakespeare as well as film work....
as Captain Howard Collyer - Graham MoffattGraham MoffattGraham Moffatt was a British character actor and comedian.Born in Hammersmith, London, he is best known for a number of films where he appeared with Will Hay and Moore Marriott as 'Albert': an insolent, overweight, overgrown-schoolboy type character, loosely reminiscent of Billy Bunter.His first...
as Jerry Jerk - George MerrittGeorge Merritt (actor)George Merritt was a British film and television actor.-Selected filmography:* The W Plan * The Lodger * I Was a Spy * Crime on the Hill * The Silver Spoon...
as Mipps - Athole StewartAthole Stewart-Selected filmography:Athole appeared in the following films:* Canaries Sometimes Sing * The Speckled Band * The Faithful Heart * The Constant Nymph *Loyalties * The Four Masked Men...
as Squire Cobtree - Frederick BurtwellFrederick BurtwellFrederick Burtwell was an English actor who featured in supporting roles in over 40 British films of the 1930s and 1940s.-Partial filmography:*Down Our Street * Just My Luck...
as Rash - Wilson ColemanWilson ColemanWilson Coleman was a British actor born in 1875. Years active: 1891 to 1940.He started his stage career in 1891, playing juvenile and heavy parts. He worked with Barry Jackson for five years. He toured both North and South America as well as South Africa...
as Dr. Pepper - Wally PatchWally PatchWally Patch was a British character actor, who had supporting roles in many films. He was born Walter Sidney Vinnicombe in Willesden, London on 26 September 1888...
as Bo'sun - Muriel GeorgeMuriel GeorgeMuriel George was an English singer and film actress. She appeared in some 55 films between 1932 and 1955.She also appeared on the variety stage and sang on radio with her husband, Ernest Butcher for thirty years...
as Mrs. Waggetts - Meinhart MaurMeinhart MaurMeinhart Maur was a Hungarian film actor. He appeared in 44 films between 1919 and 1954.He was born in Hajdúnánás, Hungary and died in London, England.-Selected filmography:* Harakiri * Die Teufelsanbeter...
as Mulatto - Ronald ShinerRonald ShinerRonald Alfred Shiner was a British stand-up comedian and comedic actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall.-Career:...