"An Interview with Frank Maher from the TV series The Prisoner"

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

Frank Maher and Patrick McGoohan in action

Season four of "Danger Man", the precursor to "The Prisoner" comprises of only two episodes - "Koroshi" and "Shinda Shima". They were actually shot at the back end of season three's filming schedule and were the first to be shot in colour. In the last ten minutes of "Shinda Shima", the screen literally explodes with as fine an example of choreographed screen fighting you're ever likely to see. John Drake and his rag tag band of escapees have to fight off the Controller's hired thugs and a desperate hand-to-hand battle ensues. Stunt co-ordinator Frank Maher's skill in directing action is very evident in this sequence as the violence becomes almost balletic.

Halfway through the fight, Maher steps in front of the camera to demonstrate his skill as a stunt heavy, and McGoohan faces his teacher in a brutal final confrontation. The action is so fast and furious, it's impossible to show every frame of film here, but get the video and use the slow motion control to really appreciate the careful planning, the attention to detail and the directorial flow of action which goes into such an action sequence.

As Drake runs into the central arena, Maher, playing the villain, drops from an upper level and takes up an attack stance, knife in hand.
He lunges, Drake blocks Maher's leading fist, knocks the knife away and lands a cross punch to the jaw.
Maher drops back to the ramp but delivers a stinging kick to the face.
Drake staggers back, momentarily stunned, giving another heavy the opportunity to wade in with a vicious kick across the lower back. Drake falls to the floor, out of it for the moment.

Maher rises as one of the Chinese dives towards him, only to be brushed aside and hurled to the ground. As another Chinese moves to attack, Maher goes into a defensive crouch, unaware of the girl moving behind him and picking up the knife dropped earlier.

And so, big Frank gets a chance to ham it up in splendid style as his character receives a fatal stab in his unguarded back, reacts in shock, clutches his arm, rolls forward down the ramp and expires at the bottom. Great stuff!

On the next page we look at another fight sequence, this time from the climax of Prisoner epidode "Free For All" and which was heavily censored the first time the series was transmitted.