This is the fourth week of JPiC’s Inktober 2026, and today’s featured made-for-television movie in Dark Night of the Scarecrow.
By the time the 80s rolled around, made-for-television movies had worn out their welcome. Home video, specifically “direct to video” features, were coming into their own. The production values were slightly higher and distribution was more wide spread. But that didn’t stop CBS from entering the burgeoning “slasher” trend that was gaining fans with films like Halloween and Friday the 13th.
Just in time for the 1981 Halloween season, Dark Night of the Scarecrow premiered on CBS. Charles Durning at his “asshole-iest” played mean-spirited postal worker “Otis Hazelrigg,” the ringleader of a band of small town miscreants out to make life miserable for mentally-challenged gentle soul Bubba Ritter (played by typecast Larry Drake). When Bubba is falsely accused of killing little “Marylee Williams,” Hazelrigg and his cohorts set out to lynch the hapless Bubba. Bubba’s mother hides her son in a field in the guise of a scarecrow. But the Hazlerigg’s posse discovers him and shoots him to death.
But, of course, it doesn’t end there.
The spirit of Bubba exacts revenge and each member of Hazlerigg’s gang meets a horrible demise. The movie was pretty intense and slightly more gory than previous for a made-for-television entry. However, it was far tamer than its theatrical contemporaries. Dark Night of the Scarecrow was well-received by the horror community and has come to be a cult favorite. The film featured Marlon Brando’s sister Jocelyn and Alice Nunn (best remembered as “Large Marge” in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure) in supporting roles. Larry Drake, as Bubba, made a career playing mentally-challenged characters beginning with his Emmy-winning portrayal of “Benny Stulwicz” on L.A. Law.