Here is what Rachel Herbert had to say about her experience of the Prisoner.
"I don't remember much about the actual filming. I expect I drove everybody wild with the Mini-Moke, I wasn't very adept at stopping it on the mark, but I cannot remember Patrick ever being impatient with me. I had a bad tooth all the time I was there. He was very nice to work with. The first evening I arrived in the village he rang me to see if I was happy with my cottage. Apart from that he didn't have much time to speak to me during ‘the Prisoner,’ he was extremely busy all the time I was in Portmeirion."
What's The Butler
I think the Butler
Well he seems to be behind everything else! I mean here he is pictured as a "special effects" man during the episode of once Upon A Time.
Not only is the Butler the perfect personal gentleman's gentlemen, but he can also turn his hand to most all other things, as well as more often than not, being at the centre of things within the Prisoner. And don't forget the Butler was there at the outset of the series, well who do you think packed those two suitcase which the Prisoner collected after he returned to his home after handing in his letter of resignation - his personal manservant and valet - the Butler.
You will recall how towards the end of Fall Out, after the Prisoner had driven off in his Lotus 7, it was the Butler who entered No.1 Buckingham Place, and it must have been he who packed those two suitcases which the Prisoner collected together upon his return home during the opening sequence of Arrival, because the Prisoner had never had time to pack them himself.
Instead of "Kosho" it was originall intended to have been "Judo."
As with the Generals office, so too should have been that of the Colonels in The Chimes of Big Ben. Yet with its "Naval" militaria the Colonel's office is more meaningful to the Admiral, as in Admiral Hobbs, John Drake's superior in Danger Man.
Actress Valerie French as Cathy-No.22 in 'Living In Harmony' is wise to American Wild West films, having appeared in so many - Decision at Sundown with Randolph Scott for one.
If trampling a loudspeaker under foot does not stop the music..... If ripping the wiring and paper out of a teletype isn't enough to stop it from printing..... then perhaps obliterating the village, wiping it off the face of the Earth won't be enough either!
Actor Charles Lloyd Pack seems to excel at playing characters in wheelchairs, No.118 in Its Your Funeral and in the 1950's 'B' film Cover Girl to name but two, as he has appeared in other films in wheelchairs, but their titles elude me for the moment.
If there is no call for any other maps as the Shopkeeper told the Prisoner on the day of his arrival in the village. Why then is there a "map of the World" on the chamber all of the Control Room?
Today Gollywogs are frowned upon. So its just as well that No.6 placed a clown in full view of the camera at the end of The Girl Who Was Death, and not a Gollywog, otherwise it would probably have to be "cut!"
German stick hand grenades are thrown with the stick, and do not come apart as shown in 'The Girl Who Was Death.'
If No.6 had been unconscious during the third session of 'A B & C,' then he would not have been able to control his dream the way he did.
12 hours in a crate, what about a call of nature?
That frilly shirt worn by Pat McGoohan during the episode of 'The Girl Who Was Death' was also worn previously by David Bauer as the Judge in Living In Harmony, and later by Alexis Kanner in Fall Out.
I’ll be seeing you
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteregarding A,B&C: I've often wondered, whether No6 really was sedated during the third session. Because all we see is a man who pours his poisoned tea, drinks some water and then turns away and stumbles and breaks down like a good actor. So he might really have been simulating his sedation. But then again, what about his collapse when he recieves the third dose of the wonder drug? Could he really have remained concious after that breakdown?
Kind regards,
Jana
Be seeing you
Hi Jana,
DeleteNo.6 pours away his drugged night cap into the sink. He takes a glass of tap water, examines it's clearness and takes a sip. He walks back to the bedroom and collapses on the floor, unconscious I presume. Again I presume that whoever collects the body of No.6 would have seen the glass and spilled water soaked into the carpet, or at least examined the teacup on the draining board of the sink, just as the doctor does the night they took No.6 away in 'The Schizoid Man.'
Aha! The nightcap. When No.6 is drugged the second time, the drug works so quickly that No.6 drops the cup and saucer, spilling the remains of the hot chocolate onto the carpet. Seconds later No.6 is lying collaped on the floor. It's the same way the third time, save for it's a glass of water, and not a cup of hot chocolate! Those who come to take No.6 away in the night, would have seen that there was no spilled chocolate on the floor as there was the second time. And if the tap water was not drugged, then they would know that No.6 had not drunk the drugged night cap. However if the tap water is drugged, then it doesn't matter, as it's relatively the same.
For many years there has been the question amongst fans of 'the Prisoner,' was the tap water drugged or not? Is No.6 really unconscious or not? The answer is we simply don't know. It's all a question of how on interprets the scene, and what you believe.
The fact of the matter is, No.6 breaks into the laboratory, and during that time he actually dilutes the third dose of the wonder drug.
So when he receives the third dose, he was probably semi-conscious, and therefore able to manipulate his own dream to a certain extent.
And there is another question. When one is asleep, can one really manipulate one's dreams?
Kind regards
David
Be seeing you
Hello David,
ReplyDeletethat's a good point, I haven't thought about that. Indeed the village might have been suspicious when No6 did not break down immediately. I thought maybe he wanted them to think that he drank his nightcup at the sink and then took a glass of water after it, but you could be right, taking into account the time that he needed to collapse after his first nightcups. Again a very well put scene where it is up to the viewer to decide whatever he wants to think.
As for the possibility to control ones own dreams while one is asleep, that's possible, sometimes. I'm not quite sure to which extend, but I've read that there are people who really practice it, to be aware that they dream and control it. It's called lucend dreaming.
Maybe in a way that's what the Dreamers do, too?
Kind regards,
Jana
BCNU
Hello Jana,
DeleteThat's the thing about that scene in 'A B and C' nothing is conclusive about it. One can only theorise about it, and in that lies the fun of the matter.
Dreams, I've had dreams that seem to go on and on, or seem to, and in some very strange places and circumstances. Dreams about working for a company which I used to work for but which no longer exists. Very wierd dreams, which when you wake up, if you remember the dream, you ask yourself whatever made me dream that?! But to control or manipulate my dreams, I do not think I've been able to do that. Oh yes, in the past Portmeirion had a strong hold over me, and I sometimes went to bed and prepared myself to dream of going to Portmeirion....I never managed to do it!
Best regards
David
BCNU
Hello David and Jana,
ReplyDeleteYes,it is possible to realise that you are dreaming.It happens to me from time to time and I have to say that it is quite frightening.I usually try and wake myself up by shouting.
Paul is able to fly in his dreams,away from danger or unpleasant situations - It sounds wonderful to be able to fly,I wish I could do it!!
Very best regards,
Anna
Hello Anna,
DeleteMorag told me that she can manipulate her dreams. As far as I know I've never been able to do this.
Indeed what it would be to be able to fly. I feel an experiment coming on the next time I find myself dreaming.
Best regards
David
BCNU
Hello Anna, hello David,
Deletefrom time to time it happens to me, too, that I know when I am dreaming. But usually I'm not afraid, although sometimes it is scary. It's very seldom that I am able to really control or manipulate my dream, especially the others in it, but sometimes I've tried, or I've decided to do something weird, just because I knew that I was dreaming, and nothing could happen. Sometimes this feeling that I'm manipulating the dream was first and made me think that I was dreaming.
Good luck with the experiment, David!
Best wishes,
Jana