Dark Night of the Scarecrow

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Dark Night of the Scarecrow
Directed by	Frank De Felitta
Produced by	Bobby Frank
Written by	J.D. Feigelson
Starring	Charles Durning Tonya Crowe Jocelyn Brando Larry Drake
Distributed by	Lorimar-Telepictures
Release date(s)	1981
Country	United States
Language	English

Dark Night of the Scarecrow is a made-for-television suspense/horror film released in 1981 and directed by veteran novelist Frank De Felitta (of Audrey Rose fame).

[edit] Plot Summary

Bubba Ritter (Larry Drake), a huge man with the mind and soul of a child, befriends young Marylee Williams (Tonya Crowe, AKA "Abby Cunningham" of Knots Landing fame). He even saves her life when she is attacked by a brutal dog. The townspeople are outraged by the friendship between Marylee and Bubba, none more so than brooding, mean-spirited postman Otis Hazelrigg (Charles Durning). When Marylee is almost killed by the dog, Otis promptly jumps to the conclusion that Bubba has murdered (and possible raped) her. Otis and three friends - gas station attendant Skeeter Norris, farmer-cousins Philby and Harless Hocker - form a lynch mob. They chase Bubba to his mother (Jocelyn Brando)'s house. Being Mrs. Ritter, she believes her son and they play "the Hiding Game": dressing Bubba up as a scarecrow and posting him in a nearby field. Otis's bloodhounds sniff Bubba out, however, and all four vigilantes savagely blow him away...discovering only afterward that Marylee is in fact alive, thanks to Bubba, whom they just murdered. Acting fast, Otis produces a pitchfork and plants it in Bubba's lifeless hands.

In court, Otis and his fellow vigilantes swear they acted in self-defense. Bubba's grieving mother denounces her son's killers before the entire courtroom, only to be ejected by the bailiff for her trouble. Sam Willock, the local district attorney, doesn't believe the vigilantes' story either. But he can't make his murder case stick because nobody else actually saw Bubba die. Otis and Company go free, but Sam calls after them: "If I ever find one witness, or a single shred of evidence, I'll see you all on Death Row."

A day later, Harless finds a scarecrow in his fields...just like the one Bubba was hidden in. Actually, it is the same scarecrow. Neither Harless nor his wife can figure out how it got there. That evening, the scarecrow disappears...and Harless hears noises coming from his barn, which seems to be empty. Yet his mulch thrasher is running. At first, Harless believes Sam has invited himself over. But it isn't Sam...

Skeeter and Philby inform Otis of Harless's mysterious death: he fell into his thrasher and was shredded. But the thrasher was in the barn, and the accident happened at night, which proves too coincidental for their taste. The trio investigate, and find the thrasher is no longer running. 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 can't prove anything. She denies the charges, but says that all four of them will get their just deserts promptly enough.

When Philby discovers a Scarecrow like Bubba's in his field, Otis acts fast. He steals into Mrs. Ritter's house and grabs her from behind, demanding that she explain what's going on with these Scarecrows. But she can't tell him anything because he has accidentally killed her with his chokehold. To cover his tracks, Otis turns Mrs. Ritter's gas stove on full, then walks out with the fireplace still running. The house explodes, leaving yet nothing for Sam to use against Otis.

That night at his farm, Philby notices that the "Bubba" Scarecrow (whom we cannot see) in his field has gotten off its field-post...and is walking right toward him! Panicking, Philby locks himself in a grain silo - realizing belatedly that he is now exactly where the Scarecrow wants him. The Scarecrow jams the silo door, trapping Philby inside, and then turns on the conveyer 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 knocking Skeeter's head in 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! But then a combination payloader/plowing machine starts up nearby and - like a hideous medieval dragon - chases Otis through the pumpkin patch, snapping its shovel and turning pumpkins to pulp. Then it happens: Otis accidentally runs smack 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, his dearest friend, to whom he hands a flower. She says, "Thank you, Bubba. Tomorrow, I'll teach you a new game. It's called the Chasing Game. It's fun. You'll love it."