In watching 'Doctor Syn' (1937) I quickly realized that I had encountered this story before. There is a Hammer Film version from 1962 alternately known as 'Captain Clegg' and 'Night Creatures'. Dr. Syn was the creation of English novelist Russell Thorndike (1885-1972), who over the course of seven novels chronicled the adventures of his title character, a reformed pirate who reinvented himself as a clergyman and uses the profits of his smuggling to do good in the world.
The story here deals with Captain Collyer (Roy Emerton) of the Royal Navy, come to the village of Dymchurch on the south east English coast to hunt for smugglers (turns out Dymchurch is a real place). Collyer comes to suspect that the notorious pirate Captain Clegg isn't dead, but operating a smuggling ring in the tiny community. Dr. Syn must try and keep Collyer off his tail, protect his co-conspirators, fend off the murderous intentions of a mute former colleague dubbed simply 'Mulatto' (this part hasn't aged well), and of course find time to help two young lovers get together.
This was Arliss's last film role and he is rather enjoyable in it. The movie is hampered most by night shots that are simply not clear, and some other rather 30's trappings. Margret Lockwood (the female lead in on of my favorite films, 'Night Train to Munich') plays the young orphan unaware that the kindly vicar is really her father. John Loder plays her love interest.
Also of note are the spectral 'Marsh Riders', a 'Scooby-Doo' villain type cover for the smuggling operation. Peter Cushing played the lead character in the Hammer version, while Patrick McGoohan had that part in a Disney 'Wonderful World of Color' TV production in 1963, which I think I might have seen at least part of when I was a kid. The Arliss version I give **1/2
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