What is it with the Butler
and chess? He must be a very keen student of the game, seeing as he follows
both games of human chess during ‘Checkmate.’ He also seems to command some
importance, seeing as while the Butler
carries the box of chess pieces, he is escorted by an official from
administration who carries the chessboard and the Butler’s
umbrella to protect him from the sun. More then this, at the end of ‘Checkmate’
it is the Butler who returns the
white Queen's Pawn, being symbolic for Number 6, to the chessboard.
When I first
watched ‘Checkmate’ as a boy, I did think that perhaps it was the Butler first
making the moves on his chessboard, and those moves then relayed in someway to both
chess players. However in later years I found out that that assumption was
completely wrong.
Be seeing you
No, not at all wrong, David. To me the insinuation is evident that everything that happens in the Village is a) under their control (anyway), b) perhaps might be remotely controlled - which way, technically speaking, ever. I do not think this is actually the case, however the impression, the notion no doubt would be kept alive by the authorities. - BCNU!
ReplyDeleteHello Arno,
DeleteSo my first impression about the Butler is right after all. I suppose when I saw 'Checkmate' only for the second time in 1976, and again later that year, I observed the Butler making the move on his chessboard after the first move had been made down on the human chessboard. But yes, the insinuation that the Butler is controlling the game is there nontheless. I should have stayed with my first impression, and not taken the scene quite so literally.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Very best regards
David
BCNU