THE TRIAL an Orson Wells film based on the book by Franz Kafka

Patrick McGoohan was himself much influenced by the work of Orson Welles, with whom he'd worked on the London stage version of 'Moby Dick', and Welles's film of Kafka's novel "The Trial" was very obviously a source of inspiration for "The Prisoner". Not only does the story have a simlar premise, many of the graphical set-pieces in the film have direct equivalents in "The Prisoner". Joseph K (we never learn his full name) awakes to find himself an accused man. Neither the reason for his accusation, nor the nature of his implied crime is ever revealed but he will spend the rest of his life under surveillance, being interrogated, and trying to escape from a situation not of his choosing. The action takes place inside a strange series of buildings, which seem to interconnect, yet their relative positions and internal layouts alter unexpectedly. Every wall seems to be lined with mysterious filing cabinets and every corridor seems to go on forever.

Entire crowds of people will somehow appear and then disappear as Joseph K moves from room to room and the unsettling sense of unreality never lets up. The whole place is populated by people unsure of their own situations. Many of them are also accused men and women, endlessly waiting to plead their own case but unable to breach the complex and often inexplicable workings of "The Law". Others are officials of the court and work in and around the buildings in only vaguely understandable roles. One woman has sat outside an empty storeroom every day for many months because someone who appeared to be in authority told her to. The accused people are unable to tell who are the accused (the prisoners?), and who are the officials (the guardians?) and Joseph K is treated as both. He soon discovers that potential allies are anything but, and ultimately comes to trust no-one but himself.

Despite being technically under arrest, he is able to move around freely and can return to his own room at night. He can also continue his work, which seems to be in an enormous office with row upon endless row of desks. The people there never acknowledge him, or anyone else, and leave their desks en masse when a bell sounds. The whole place is run by an enormous computer which takes up an entire wall.

Although his actual job is never disclosed, Joseph K. appears to be high up in the organisation, his desk is seperate to everyone else's and he can receive visitors and come and go as he pleases.    As far as an accused person is concerned, their whole life changes and they are consumed by the need to build up a case for their innocence and ultimately convince one or more of the mysterious "Judges" of that innocence.

These appear to be the ultimate authority but in reality no-one seems to have ever seen one, or to have actually been tried by one, although everyone knows someone who knows someone, who knows someone, who has!    Needing an ally, Joseph consults a lawyer (Orson Wells), who he thinks might be able to build his case. He finds the house run by a nymphomaniac housekeeper and a servant who is himself an accused person.

Joseph K. goes to see a man who, he is told, may be able to influence the Judges. The man is an artist who lives in a ramshackle attic. The building itself seems to be infested with hordes of sinister unruly children, and Joseph K. finds himself struggling against a torrent of these children up a narrow, almost vertical staircase. The artist's 'room' is actually a cage-like structure made from rough planks, with as many gaps as there are planks. Although he closes the door, the room is surrounded by the children who constantly peer through the gaps and jeer at the two men.

Despite the "open" nature of the room, Joseph K. increasingly feels hemmed in by the claustrophobic nature of the situation and becomes desperate to leave. The strange artist suggests he leaves by another door to avoid the children. Joseph steps through, and is hit with the nightmarish realisation that he's back in the courthouse and walking down yet another endless, filing-cabinet-lined corridor.

He panics and breaks into a run. Somehow he's now at basement level and running scared through a rabbit's warren of tunnels pursued by packs of howling children. This chase sequence was duplicated almost exactly in the "Dance Of The Dead" Prisoner episode.

And here are some "Prisoner" images. Just try comparing them with "The Trial".

Orson Welles produced a unique piece of film noir with "The Trial" and Anthony Perkins as Joseph K. is excellent as the strong, but ultimately doomed, hero. Welles also appears as Joseph K.'s duplicitous lawyer and the Storyteller. It isn't an easy film to watch, but if you really want "hidden meanings" then this might be for you. You can also read the original novel of course, although the film only draws inspiration and basic plot from it.

The main set, like Portmeirion, was a real place, and was used extensively in it's raw state, sometimes bending the film to fit. The main location was the vast crumbling ruins of the Orsay railway station in central Paris before it became the very posh Musee D'Orsay. Whether The Trial actually provided direct inspiration for The Prisoner is a matter of speculation, but there are too many similarities to be explained away by coincidence. For example . . .

The hero is never properly identified, nor do we actually find out much of his personal life. The "Villagers" are unable to determine who is friend and who is enemy. The hero is revealed as a strong character, determined to beat the system at it's own game despite the fact that virtually everyone else is apathetic. When Joseph K. steps out of the ramshackle attic he sees virtually the filing cabinet corridor in The Prisoner title sequence At one stage, Joseph K. has to push through a strange crowd of people, all wearing numbers to identify themselves. The film and the series carry a strong comment on the way "the system" manipulates and then discards people to protect it's own status quo. The chase through the sewers is exactly the same as the chase through the tunnels under the Town Hall in "Dance Of The Dead. The real authority behind the system is often referred to but never seen, except maybe in the final sequence. The ending involves blowing things up! This is by no means an exhaustive list and I invite you to view the film and come up with your own. I'd be delighted to publish it!

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