MovieChat Forums > Ice Station Zebra (1968) Discussion > Patrick McGoohan Deserved His Own Film

Patrick McGoohan Deserved His Own Film

posted 9 years ago by dalecoleman3
7 replies | jump to latest

This is playing on Turner Classic Movies right now.

It's a solid yet flawed film, but the beating heart of it is Patrick McGoohan's icily, cryptically charged British spy "David Jones." He's mesmerizing to watch. It's hardly surprising; McGoohan turned down the role of James Bond, and he was exceptional in Danger Man, Secret Agent Man and The Prisoner, and "David Jones" is, effectively, the embittered, cynical "John Drake" after years of service as depicted in the aforementioned two series and bridging into the dystopian and totalitarian misery of The Prisoner.

Just a fantastic performance.

[–] thinkmcfly16 9 years ago

I always enjoyed his performances, but apparently he did not carry a show by himself, and was always relegated to supporting roles.

[–] jinx_malone 8 years ago

Um. The Prisoner.

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"It's better not to know so much about what things mean." David Lynch

[–] Prismark10 8 years ago

'Um. The Prisoner.'

As well as Danger Man.

It's that man again!!

[–] jinx_malone 8 years ago

I'm with you. He's the best thing about the film and he gets all the best lines. He's superb.

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"It's better not to know so much about what things mean." David Lynch

[–] tonycarr 8 years ago

Iirc in the book his character is the main lead. Guess you couldn't have Rock Hudson as a supporting actor

[–] a_l_i_e_n 8 years ago

Yes, he displays so much presence and should've been nominated for an Oscar.

[–] ecarle (14979) 5 years ago

Patrick McGoohan's then-hip turn on British TV as "The Prisoner"(which was then shown in America) got him a contract with MGM that seems to have played out only in one "epic"(Ice Station Zebra) and one "minor action thriller"(Elmore Leonard's The Moonshine War with Richard Widmark and Alan Alda) and then...back to TV (notably, as a Columbo villain a few times.)

Too bad. We didn't really have McGoohan as a star for very long but -- Ice Station Zebra, oddly enough -- probably stands as his biggest star role, and his best performance -- it was a shot at Richard Burton level stardom.