A retrospective of FRANK MAHER, stunt co-ordinator on THE PRISONER

The contribution of FRANK MAHER to THE PRISONER series has rarely been evaluated, which is strange when one considers that, as stunt director, he was directly responsible for the fast, complex action and perfectly choreographed fight sequences, which give the series its pace and dramatic effect. If this wasn't enough, he also doubled for Patrick McGoohan in most of the fights, often also doubling for the villain and - through the miracle of film editing - therefore fighting himself. Even in more tranquil scenes, Frank is much in evidence - virtually every long shot and back shot of No.6 in the entire series is actually Frank Maher. Stranger still, therefore, that he is credited only in one episode, LIVING IN HARMONY, for playing a small bit part. Even in THE SCHIZOID MAN, where we see him - or at least his back view - in almost every scene, there's no mention of his central role. While McGoohan takes all the credit for a piledriving blow to the villain's chin or a desperate leap for safety down a twenty-foot wall, it's Frank who's picking himself up from the floor and shaking off the dust. According to the ITC publicity for THE PRISONER, Maher is "a lean Londoner of American-Irish extraction" - not unlike the star himself! He is a man who has lived with danger since the day he volunteered for the Parachute Regiment during the war, going straight from school into a series of hazardous missions. During the filming of DANGER MAN alone, he received a broken nose, a couple of broken bones in his neck, very nearly broke his back, and received the usual array of cuts, grazes and bruises". The publicity adds that he is an expert in all forms of fighting, from boxing to judo and a past master at crashing cars, falling from heights and leaping through windows.

"No contest . . . I'm staying with you!"

Frank Maher's association with Patrick McGoohan began in "Danger Man" when he was brought in, partly for his skills as stuntman and stunt co-ordinator and partly because of his resemblance to the star. The two worked together on "Danger Man" and became firm friends. Although Frank also worked on a wide variety of other film and TV series his loyalty to McGoohan was a primary consideration and when asked to choose between working on "The Prisoner" and "Man In A Suitcase" he said "no contest, I'm staying with you".

Frank's approach to the fights and stunt scenes in The Prisoner was said to be scientific, like that of a film director. After being told what type of fight was required, he would plan it on paper as if it were a script with every movement, punch and inch of footwork carefully mapped out. The four illustrations above from FREE FOR ALL show some of the complexity of choreographing a PRISONER fight sequence, in this case involving a helicopter, a potentially unstable powerboat and three protagonists - four if you count Frank himself who doubled for McGoohan in some shots. He's the Number Six who goes overboard when attacked by the mechanic with the boathook. He's also the Number Six who pulls the mechanic into the water and then scrambles back on board and heads out to sea. The shots of McGoohan in the boat at this stage are studio inserts. FREE FOR ALL has plenty of action including a chilling moment when two guards emerge, stone faced and silent, through the floor of the "Rover Cave" and proceed to give Number Six a savage beating. This fight is short but so realistically choreographed by Frank Maher that it was cut from the original screening in the UK. In the censored version we see only the guards grabbing at Number Six, a moments confusion and almost immediately he's held by his arms with a trace of blood on his mouth and his jacket inexplicably gone.

"Which is which? How many of each?"

Picking out the Maher back shots is sometimes easy, sometimes not. He's easily spotted in "HAMMER INTO ANVIL" when Number Two and his henchman trail Number Six down to the beach. Not so easy is where he appears in the opening titles sequence, but look closely and you'll see him in several places, particularly as the camera does a "whip-pan" as 'Number Six' runs past on the beach.

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