This video entitled “Half a Dozen of the
Other….” was filmed during the 1996 Prisoner convention at Portmeirion. That
year special guests were actress Norma West, Camera Operator Jack Lowen,
Production secretary Tina Davis, and special guest appearance {because no-one
at the convention knew he was coming} Alexis Kanner. Also present, as he was at
conventions in the mid 1990’s, was Frank Ratcliff, a representative of Polygram
Television Ltd, who were copyright holders of ‘the Prisoner’ at that time. I
used to feel sorry for Frank, because he first informed those at one convention
that there was to be a Hollywood production of ‘the Prisoner,’ and at
another that the cameras were set to role on the production. But of course they
never did, but that wasn’t Frank Ratcliff’s fault, as he could only inform us
what he had been told.
1996 was also the year of the gun runners
scene from ‘Many Happy Return’s’ re-enactment aboard the stoneboat. The
re-enactment was officially cancelled because an event was to take place in the
Hercules Hall at that time. Well I thought to hell with that! So much work had
gone into producing the re-enactment and I wasn’t about to let it be cancelled
just like that, so we performed the re-enactment anyway, and to a very large,
and appreciative audience.
Since the 1994 Prisoner convention my wife
and I would perform a re-enactment for the enjoyment of the audience during the
Friday evening in the Hercules Hall. 1996 was the turn for the night cap scene
from ‘Checkmate.’
I was interested and amused, to read in the
1996 Convention report, that editor of the report wrote of the Touring Village
Theatre {a series of re-enactments performed around The Village} “Two highlights stand out to me, for
different reasons. The first, when Dave Stimpson finally mutated into Patrick
McGoohan on the Belvedere Outlook.”
Here are a couple of links for the 1996 Prisoner
convention.
The Interview with Alexis Kanner
And aslo a BBC Documentary filmed during the 1995 Priosner convention. http://youtu.be/6ClX6TUwcDU
Be seeing you
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