Random McGoohan Observations #3

There are some aspects that I enjoy - aside from all the obvious ones - when watching Danger Man. I very much appreciate that he gave his character Drake his acting abilities so we see him play little roles within the role. Sometimes it’s just a change in manner, sometimes he puts on an entire character.

One of my favorite examples is in The Black Book (illustrated above). He begins of course in his courteous, professional demeanor, then turns on a suave charming fellow blackmailer persona to get information from Simone. Then, as quickly as a knock on the door, he whips off his hat while ruffling his hair, and instantly becomes the awkward, apologetic innocent American bystander, rounding his shoulders and making all the subservient moves. So much happens in that few seconds!

McGoohan had some experience as a boxer in school, another skill set for Drake. Yes, he knows how to hit - he knows what throwing that knockout punch feels like, with the whole body behind the long reach.  But, that also means he knows what it feels like to BE HIT. He knows what those body blows feel like, and we can see it in Drake's face and body when he gets hit.

And like the experienced stage actor that he is, he learned how to fall down from a standing position. He goes down like a tree, and it doesn’t look like the controlled descent that it is. He’s very good at it - but I’ll bet after a few takes the floor still felt pretty hard.

One last VERY random observation, completely off-topic from above, is that in The Gallows Tree, there’s a nice, economical scene less than a minute long where the proprietor’s daughter Jean gets Drake’s bed ready while he takes his jacket off and washes his hands, and they converse. It’s a good example of how rich with detail a 25 minute episode can be. What I find interesting is that the director chose to spend a full 20 seconds on a fairly close view of Drake washing his hands in the wash basin. Yes, he has lovely hands, but he could have been lounging in the doorway to talk. But he and the actor chose to put that much detail in.

“You are the most exasperating man!” “Yes, yes I am. I am inquisitive, idle, greedy, ambitious, but also very, very clever.” The Black Book