Surely Rock couldn't have known that the Russians would stick the capsule on a balloon to be collected by a passing jet (even if such a collection method is possible?). So he handed it over cos he was preparing to explode it once the Russians had withdrawn - almost certainly killing several of them.
Conclusion: Commander Farraday was a cynical cold warrior every bit as murderous as Vaslov or Ostrovsky - right?
No. They knew all about the helium balloon thing earlier. Jones explained the pick-up collection method when he explained everything else to the Captain.
The collection method was very common in WW2. If you ever get the chance to see an Errol Flynn movie called "Objective Burma" there is genuine footage of aeroplanes picking men up as they fly past and even vehicles. It's stunning!! And true.
Nowadays, in our safe little bubbles, we sometimes forget how clever people can be.
http://theatrical-mcgoohan.mysite.orange.co.uk/
Ah...can't have been paying attention at that point! To be honest, the film only interests me cos of McGoohan so thanks for the link - are there plans to include data on his 60s TV work?
I've always been curious as to McGoohan's motivation for doing this film - he had to take time off from a fraught production schedule on The Prisoner to make it and he's basically just playing a more cynical John Drake - the role he was trying to escape from on The Prisoner. Was it just a bid for Hollywood stardom?
Ah...can't have been paying attention at that point! To be honest, the film only interests me cos of McGoohan so thanks for the link - are there plans to include data on his 60s TV work?I would like to in some ways, but I'm wary of drifting into being some kind of unofficial biographer. There are people far better qualified than me, but apparently he made it known back in the Eighties that he would have no truck with biographers...
I've always been curious as to McGoohan's motivation for doing this film - he had to take time off from a fraught production schedule on The Prisoner to make it and he's basically just playing a more cynical John Drake - the role he was trying to escape from on The Prisoner. Was it just a bid for Hollywood stardom?Certainly not stardom. Lore has it that he ploughed all his fee for ISZ into finishing the Prisoner, as best as he could, because Lew Grade was refusing to give him any more budget..... or maybe I just made that up......
As far as I'm concerned, the holy grail of lost Mcgoohan TV shows is the adaptation of Bridget Boland's play 'The Prisoner' from 1963. Has this definitely been wiped? I've seen the earlier film version and it seems to suggest a strong influence on 'Once Upon A Time'(although '1984' was obviously a shared reference). Would be fascinating to see McG effectively playing the No. 2 role.
Certainly not stardom. Lore has it that he ploughed all his fee for ISZ into finishing the Prisoner, as best as he could, because Lew Grade was refusing to give him any more budget..... or maybe I just made that up......
As far as I'm concerned, the holy grail of lost Mcgoohan TV shows is the adaptation of Bridget Boland's play 'The Prisoner' from 1963.My quest lieth in 'Rafferty'.........
the man looks knackered.Well.. he was hitting forty..
Rafferty must still exist, I mean it was available on VHS for a time wasn't it?
Is it true that it was shortlived cos McG threw a No. 6 style hissy-fit and just walked out mid-run?
Those underwater sequences were pretty imprressive but I guess if he was prepared to throw himself in the Irish Sea in autumn for The Prisoner then a nice heated Hollywood tank was no problem. Also impressed with the character's grit - having been immersed in freezing arctic water for 10 minutes, rather than change out of his drenched icy clothes he just grabs a bottle of whiskey and sits under a blanket. Magnificent.
Rafferty must still exist, I mean it was available on VHS for a time wasn't it?I certainly hope it still exists!! I've never come across a copy anywhere, except some 'collector trading' offers, which I assume were 'off-air'.
Is it true that it was shortlived cos McG threw a No. 6 style hissy-fit and just walked out mid-run?I think it just didn't make it in the ratings war that year. I have a couple of TV Guides from the season and it was matched against 'Monday Night Football' on the opposition US channel, which won't have helped. I've read a McGoohan quote that the producers insisted it be 'hospital-based' rather than, as he wanted, more of a hobo approach of a wandering medicine man. It may have just been too similar to lots of other medic-dramas.
In response to your question about the book, the book, as almost always, is very different than the movie. A few quick differences: No soldiers, no Russian paratroopers, no heilum balloon, no CIA agents or double agents, more action on sub. All in all, I like Alistair MacLean's books much better than the movies that are made from them. Both ISZ and Where Eagles Dare are good action movies but the books are, in my opion, much better.
share