Living In Harmony

 

    I wonder what the citizens of the village thought when they were forced to move out of their cottages in that annex to the village which they used for the American frontier town called Harmony? The architecture of Harmony couldn’t be more different to the Italianate architecture of the village itself, the frontier town of the American 1800’s was there all the time, stables, the Jailhouse and Sheriff’s office, Silver Dollar Saloon, General Black Smithing, the Wagon Yard, Ira J. McKnight Stables and Horse Dealer. The Stables where horses are for sale, Rooms * Rent, and Lane’s General Merchandise. Except the Silver Dollar Saloon is the Recreation Hall, I wonder how long it took to cover the two towers with all that wooden cladding? And what did citizens think when they were told they couldn’t go there once the “annex” had been cordoned off? Because no citizen would be allowed to go there, you couldn’t have village citizens wandering through as Zeke and the boys were teaching the stranger that it’s not safe to go about not wearing a gun!

    And there are some curious elements about the filming off the Prisoner - Living In Harmony. For example, in the scene when Cathy brings the Kid a bottle of Whiskey and they have a drink together on the wall behind the Sheriff’s desk are two posters as seen here. And they are the same when the stranger and the Judge are in the Sheriff’s office when the stranger agrees to wear the badge. However when the Sheriff is in his office washing up after a fist-fight with the Judge’s men and Cathy comes to see him, there has been a change in the posters! A third poster has been added ‘The Bishop Is Coming’ placed next to the poster for Oliver Curtis Perry.

    There’s more, when Jim goes to see the Sheriff and tells him that the town’s people will help the Sheriff “clean up the town,” there has been a change in posters again! The poster of Joaquin has gone, replaced by ‘Central Dakota You Need A farm!’ although its possible this final arrangement of posters could be the same when Cathy pays a call on the Sheriff, its clearly difficult to say, but why the need to swap the posters about during filming in the first place? What was the continuity lady, Phyllis Townsend, doing during filming of those scenes?
    And the life-size cardboard cut-outs of both the Judge and the Kid in black and white, when the cardboard cut-out of the horse is in colour? Of course back in the days of good old black and white television anyone watching would not have known the difference! And the sign of HARMONY, well it’s the wrong way round, it should be pointing out of town, not towards it!

   I have enjoyed the series of Harmony Posters for my blog, although there is one which have failed to be identified, pasted to the mirror behind the bar in the Silver Dollar Saloon, it contains a man sitting on a horse, the text is unfortunately illegible! And a NOTICE, probably some form of public notice regarding laws, again the main text of the poster is illegible. I have also attempted to see what it is the Marshal is writing when the Sheriff hands in both his badge and his gun, but I’ve not been able to discern what it is he’s writing. But he is wearing a shirt like the one worn by the Judge. Apparently that style of frilly shirt was very popular, as I’ve seen the same style in several American Wild West films.

 Be seeing you again next time