Do you Play Chess?

    Number 6 does, and his first game is against Number 66-the ex-Admiral in ‘Arrival.’ The game ends in a checkmate win for the ex-Admiral, who offered to give 6 another chance. But his opponent wasn’t on form that day. The next chess match Number 6 takes part in, not a player, merely a pawn in the game.
  During that episode of ‘It’s Your Funeral’ Number 6 finds another opponent on the lawn of the Old People’s Home, the game ends in an eleven move checkmate win for Number 6.

   Number 6 must be losing his grip, it was once mate in seven moves when he played the General during ‘The Chimes of Big Ben.’ But perhaps the elderly gentleman in the light blue blazer put up more resistance. But then that is not Number 6. Well it is, but in the guise of McGoohan’s stunt double Frank Maher. And yet at the moment of checkmate, the film cuts, the next image which has been edited into the film. It would have been better if McGoohan was facing the right way even.

The frame of film taken from ‘Arrival’ when Number 6 is playing chess with the ex-Admiral, and then the film cuts back to this next shot.

Soon after which Number 6 {Frank Maher} gets up out of his seat and walks away.
  It is clear enough, even without the re-mastering of the 35mm film, and subsequent High-definition and Blu-ray DVD’s, to see that its Frank Maher acting the role of Number 6, even with his back to the camera. So perhaps the insertion of the single fame of film of Patrick McGoohan was to emphasise the point that he is Number 6, and not Frank Maher! Otherwise I see no reason for inserting that one frame of film.


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