We know
‘The Schizoid Man’ has a slight flaw in the plot. Number 24-Alison, after her
mind reading act in Number 2's office, produces a photograph she claims to have
taken only the night before, and claiming that there is a much easier way to
identify Number 6. "Isn't it awful, I took it last night, he's all arms
and legs. He has a mole on his left wrist." Well there lies the flaw in
the plot, because Number 6, to whom Alison-Number 24 is alluding, is wearing a
cream blazer with black piping. And the man in the photograph is wearing a dark
blazer with off white piping! Of course the production crew and cast have not taken
into account this change of coloured blazer in the scene, and still remain
faithful to that of the original script which called for a dark blazer. One
further observation, Number 6, who under went conditioning to make him left
handed, has not taken this left-handedness into account. He still wears his
stainless steel banded wrist watch on his left wrist, when of course, being
left handed, it should have been worn on his right wrist. I remember I was at
school with a boy who was left-handed, and he wore his wristwatch on his right
wrist!
Be seeing you
Dear David,
ReplyDeleteI just noticed another point regarding this plot flaw. They reveal that Alison must have known about the plans of the Village, since she told them that she has taken the photograph the night before. She is actively supporting their ploy. Maybe she also deliberately ignored the colors of the Blazers.
Best wishes,
Jana
BCNU
Dear Jana,
DeleteI think the taking of the photographs of Number 6 were coincidental, and had nothing to do with the main plot. But it was a convenient extra ploy to use against Number 6. Yes Curtis did use the polaroid picture to prove that he was Number 6 in the scene in Number 2's office. But instead of proving his identity as Number 6, the polaroid should have "disproved" his claim to be Number 6. Why? Because Curtis is wearing a cream blazer, while Number 6 in the polaroid is wearing a dark blazer, the same as Number 6! Now if they had kept with the original idea of both Number 6's wearing identical blazers that scene with the polaroid picture would have worked. But the moment they took the decision to change the colour of the blazer worn by Curtis to cream, well it makes a complete mockery of the use of the polaroid picture in the scene.
Best regards
David
BCNU
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteI find it fascinating that they chose to use the black and white blazers... because by using the white blazer for Curtis ( the "bad" guy) and the black blazer for Number 6 ( the "good" guy )they have reversed the typical visual clues as to who is the good guy and who is the baddie.
Yes, it does fly in the face of the photograph "evidence" because Number 6 is wearing a black blazer...and I would have found it much more challenging had they both worn the black blazers...but it might have been a matter of production process...or knowing that most people might not be interested in watching closely enough to be able to tell who was "Curtis" and who was the real Number 6... that caused them to make the decision to use the 2 colors.
I found it to be doubly enjoyable seeing Patrick McGoohan in both roles though...great job as usual!
BCNU
Karen
Hallo Karen,
DeleteThey should have kept to the same colour dark blazer, that would have made 'The Schizoid Man' a far better episode. As it is its too easy to distinguish between the two 6's.
The change in one colour blazer was because McGoohan thought it would be too complicated for the television viewer to have the two 6's in the same coloured blazer. Mind you one 6 could have worn the dark blazer with the broken piping at the lapel, while the other 6 wore the blazer with joined up piping at the lapel. that would have been a subtle difference!
I always think of McGoohan’s stunt double Frank Maher {a really nice man} he played both Number 6’s in 'The Schizoid Man' and probably the real schizoid man, because he played both parts, but was never credited for it!
Best regards
David
BCNU
Hi David . .
ReplyDeleteI try to acknowledge everyone who worked with Patrick McGoohan on the production of The Prisoner . ..because it was a team effort to get it on film.
Without any one of those folks The Prisoner would not exist in the exact form that it is known and loved .
We can only speculate about whether a change would have been better or worse . ..but the show is awesome as it stands .
I wish someone would be able to get hold of all of the outtakes from The Prisoner that were disgarded...and assemble them according to episode . ..and nd let fans purchase them ...so we can see all of the alternative scenes. It might help us understand the thought process of Patrick McGoohan while making The Prisoner .
I wish I had the money to buy a complete set of the ORIGINAL scripts...AND the ACTUAL edited scripts for final approval by Patrick McGoohan .
Patrick admitted that he had a lot of happy accidents. ..but a lot of the things WERE planned by HIM with that 40 page outline that he had made to take to the meeting with Lew Grade.
BCNU
Karen
Hello Karen,
DeleteBetween them, Patrick McGoohan may well have had the original idea about ‘the Prisoner,’ but without the scriptwriters, and various members of the production crew ‘the Prisoner’ wouldn’t be what it is. More than that, there wouldn’t have been a series at all! Sometimes devotees forget that. The numerous scriptwriters forged each episode to their own ideas, rough hewn a little around the edges by Patrick McGoohan.
On the whole ‘the Prisoner’ is a great series, and has withstood the test of time, but it does have its weak points, ‘Do Not forsake Me Oh My Darling’ being a big weak link in the episode chain!
I think that all the out-takes of ‘the Prisoner’ have long gone. But I’m still surprised by what is found, such as the Prisoner Mini-Moke HLT 709C found in a barn on a farm in the Netherlands in 2011. So I suppose one can never been sure what is still out there, somewhere, to be found of ‘the Prisoner.’
David
Be seeing you
Hi David ,
ReplyDeleteI have also been thinking about the fact that Number 6 is wearing his USUAL colored blazer of black with white piping.
If the intention was to shake his confidence . ..they should have put Number 6 in the white blazer.
It also may be expounding the fact that they consider Number 6 to be the "baddie" and Curtis to be the "good" guy. Which is another aspect of the duality aspect of rebellion vs. acceptance and that good and evil are grey areas to man....what is acceptable to me might be unacceptable to someone else.
BCNU
Karen
Hello Karen,
DeleteThat’s quite right, as you say if they wanted to shake Number 6’s confidence even more, he should be wearing the cream blazer {white on the screen} and then that would have made the scene with the Polaroid photograph right, if Curtis had been wearing the dark blazer. A case of the right blazer on the wrong man.
Yes I agree, Curtis in the cream blazer is the goodie, and Number 6 in the dark blazer as the baddie, stemming back to early American Western films, the good guy wears a light coloured hat, the baddie wears a black hat.
‘The Prisoner’ about good versus evil within man, or at least within Number 6, who is fighting his other self Number 1 who is tormenting him. But the one cannot live without the other, that is why Number 6 and Number 1 escape The Village at precisely the moment, and why Number 6 is just as much a prisoner at the end as he was at the beginning, a prisoner of himself. You can escape, but you can never escape yourself!
Best regards
David
Be seeing you
Hi David ,
ReplyDeleteYou're right . ..quite right...that EVERYONE made their own contributions to the finished product...and it's the show that it is because of the collective effort.
I can't imagine what the overall effects would have been without Jack Shampan's sets...or the scripts...lighting...set decorations...etc.
BCNU
Karen