In a scene in 'The Schizoid Man' No.24-Alison tells No.2 that there is an easy way to prove which one of the two 6's is the real No.6, as No.6 has a mole on his left wrist. The only problem being, No.6's mole has been removed! There is a precident set for this, and it takes place in the 1963 film ‘Carry On Jack.' Is the tale of Albert Poop-Decker, a newly commissioned Midshipman. The story starts with the death of Nelson who has said that Britain needs a bigger navy with more men. Anton Rodgers played Hardy. Poop-Decker (Bernard Cribbins) has taken 8½ years and still not qualified as midshipman but is promoted by the First Sea Lord as England needs officers. He is to join the frigate Venus at Plymouth. Arriving to find the crew all celebrating as they are sailing tomorrow, he takes a sedan chair with no bottom (so he has to walk) to Dirty Dick's Tavern. Jim Dale and Ian Wilson who plays his father carry the sedan chair.
Mobbed by women in the tavern as he is holding a sovereign aloft as advised by the men carrying the sedan chair, he is rescued by serving maid, Sally. She wants to go to sea to find boyfriend Roger but landlord Ned has let her down. She finds that Poop-Decker has not reported to the ship yet and is unknown to them so in a room upstairs, she knocks him out and takes his midshipman's uniform.
Poop-Decker wakes and dons a dress to cover his long johns and downstairs is shanghaied by a press gang, along with a cess pit cleaner named Walter Sweetly run by First Officer, Lieutenant Jonathan Howett and his bosun, Mr Angel They come to when at sea and are introduced to Captain Fearless who is anything but fearless. Poop-Decker makes himself known but there is already a Midshipman Poop-Decker aboard - Sally, in disguise. In attempting to prove his identity Poopdecker tells Captain Fearless he has a mole on his "whatsir!" Sally turns the table by declaring the man cannot be Midshipman Poop-decker because Midshipman Poop-decker doesn't have a mole on his "Whatsir!"
Okay, it's not a 100 pecent parallel, but the use of a mole to prove one's identity does set a precident, unless of course you the reader know of an earlier one.
I'll be seeing you
Hi David,
ReplyDeletethat's very interesting, so there is one more example for a reference to the (former) life and career of an actor co-starring in an episode.. I wonder whether all those occasions might have been planned right from the start. McGoohan, Marry Morris, Kenneth Griffith, Anthony Rodgers. Who else?
Best wishes,
Jana
Hello Yana,
DeleteNo, I don't think such occasions were planned deliberately, coincidence might be a better word. But here is another Clifford Evans {No.2 in Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling} appeared in the Armchair Theatre production of 'The Man Out There' in 1961.
Kind regards
David
BCNU
Hello David,
Deleteah, thank you! I will have a look at it.
I agree, it's more plausible to call it coincidence. Nevertheless, what I find very interesting is that there are those examples where the parts of the actors were rewritten or changed just in a way that there occured a connection to the careers of those actors, like when Mary Morris played Peter Pan. As if they had a fondness for injokes.
Kind regards,
jana
Hello Jana,
DeleteYes, there was a fondness for in-jokes while 'the Prisoner' was in production, just as long as they were Patrick McGoohan's in-jokes, as he would not tolerate anyone elses in-jokes!
Kind regards
David
BCNU