Patrick Mcgoohan: Danger Man or Prisoner? [Paperback]

Roger Langley (Author), Peter Falk (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 8, 2007

Patrick McGoohan changed the history of television with his landmark series The Prisoner. Many TV series since have cited The Prisoner as an inspiration, including Lost. But there is a lot more to McGoohan than The Prisoner. This renowned actor has an impressive CV of stage, screen and TV productions, and is often declared to be one of the best actors to have ever come out of Britain. Yet, his obsessive protection of his privacy and the often conflicting and provocative remarks made to the press over the years have created a need to set the record straight. This first ever biography of McGoohan does just that. It chronicles a career that begins on the Sheffield stage and ends with international stardom. The book details McGoohan's classic television series Danger Man and The Prisoner; it explains why McGoohan was top choice for James Bond, and why he turned down the role; it explores the impact he had on both actors and directors he has worked with; and highlights McGoohan's friendship with Peter Falk.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Probably one of the best books of the year" -- European Radio Features, for the Book Review Programme broadcast on radio stations across Europe. "Spend some time with Roger Langley's Danger Man Or Prisoner? and you'll come away feeling you know what truly makes the heart beat inside this extraordinary and quite unique British actor of ours." -- Brighton Magazine, 1st November 2007. "...profusely illustrated with a wealth of rare stills...Highly Recommended" -- Cinema Retro, 2008.

About the Author

Roger Langley is the organiser of Six of One - The Prisoner Appreciation Society, and author of several books on the populat TV series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Tomahawk; 40th edition (November 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0953192644
• ISBN-13: 978-0953192649
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,035,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique insight into a very private man, March 7, 2009

By 

John Joyce "Author - The Virtual Trilogy" (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patrick Mcgoohan: Danger Man or Prisoner? (Paperback)

As someone who grew up with "The Prisoner" in the 1960's and never really understood the final "Fall-Out" episode, I'm very grateful to Roger Langley for taking the time to put so much information on Patrick McGoohan between covers.

Not that this explains "Fall Out" of course, but what it does do is give some insight into what McGoohan was thinking at the time, which in itself is fascinating, as is the rest of the book - which takes the reader right from McGoohan's acting experiences at school up to his experience of appearing (and indeed Directing)some of the most successful episodes of the "Columbo" detective series with Peter Falk.

A unique insight into a very private and gifted artist, which crams an enormous amount of information and photographs into one volume, this is essential reading for McGoohan and "Prisoner" fans, as well as an interesting read for the rest of us.

Be seeing you!

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book IS Number One!!!, July 15, 2008

By 

Richard Masloski (New Windsor, New York USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Patrick Mcgoohan: Danger Man or Prisoner? (Paperback)

When "The Prisoner" first aired in the States, I was in my last year of junior high school - and I hated school with a passion. Experiencing this angst-ridden, rebellion-driven series in its first run helped me get through the rest of the hell of school immensely. I saw the Principal as Number Two, the teachers as the minions of the mysterious forces running the Village, my fellow students as mostly "rotten cabbages" and the school itself was, of course, the Village. So - upon breaking free of High School in 1972 with a graduation - I made a beeline for guess where? Yes, Portmeirion, site of the actual Village used in the series. It was magical seeing the Green Dome and Number Six's cottage first-hand. And right on the balcony leading to my guest room...there was a black cat! I wondered if it were the one used in certain episodes when they were shot in the late sixties. I asked some of the staff about what it was like when the show was being filmed at the Welsh resort. I even saw Alastair Sym ("Scrooge") vacationing there - and he wouldn't give a poor American kid an autograph! Anyway - what I am getting round to here is immense gratitude for Roger Langley's incredible labor-of-love in giving the world, finally, a biography of the mysterious and magnificent Patrick McGoohan. The book is beautifully written, meticulously researched and filled with loads of pictures. I only wish that some of the pictures were in color and that the Peter Falk foreward didn't focus so blatantly on his own book and that he could have said a tad more about McGoohan. I love Falk - but he could have written more. Also, we never learn what happened to McGoohan's parents, although they are mentioned earlier in the story of his life. I also would have loved to known more about McGoohan's relationship with Angelo Muskat (the ubiquitous Butler in "The Prisoner") such as where they met or how deep a friendship did they have and what eventually happened to the man. The same with the vitally important Alexis Kanner: news of his sudden death and its reaction on Patrick McGoohan would have been touching to have conveyed to the readers. I also wish we could have learned what Clint Eastwood and McGoohan thought about one another when they worked on "Escape from Alcatraz" together. Apart from these few complaints, this book is MUST reading for McGoohan lovers and "Prisoner" lovers alike. Reading it made me start popping in the DVDs of the series - and what a great time travel device they are - for there I was, watching the shows in order, and I was no longer a matured man...but a high schooler again on a mission NOT to let the System break him. And largely because of that show, I am certain it has NOT. Not then - nor in the ensuing years. Apart from all of its philosophical complexities and conundrums, a big and simple part of the series' power (continuing to this day) was/is that - through McGoohan's dynamic Number Six - it edifies us into re-thinking societal dictates, standing up for one's own thoughts, braving the pressures of conformity, thinking for oneself and having the guts to protect one's privacy as best one can in a world that is now, alas, so very much like the Village envisioned 40 years ago. It conveyed to us the preciousness of being an Individual via an entertaining and at the same time thought-provoking TV series. Anyway - bravo all around!!! I hated to have the book end: and that's the surest sign you have a wonderful book in your hands. Same as the series: it had to end, as do all things, but I must admit I'd give anything for a few more episodes. It was a unique show; brainchild of a unique individual; and this book is a high tribute to the star and his life. Thank you!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Just-adequate book, misleadingly represented!, January 14, 2009

By 

JHD (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Patrick Mcgoohan: Danger Man or Prisoner? (Paperback)

Let's get the big objection out of the way up front. The Amazon product description credits Peter Falk as one AUTHOR of this book. This is simply false! Peter Falk wrote the foreword... one page with lots and lots of white space in it, basically plugging his own autobiography. Nothing wrong with that, by itself; but the thing is, this volume is no more written "by" Peter Falk than it is written "by" me for having annotated the margins of my own copy! The product description really needs to be revised for accuracy.

Roger Langley is THE author, period. And that fact is a mixed blessing. Langley probably has better knowledge of his subject than any other would-be biographer, but it is still incomplete and sketchy knowledge with regard to Patrick McGoohan's personality and motivations. That sketchiness is reflected in the hodgepodge organization of the very disparate material assembled for the book.

Don't get me wrong: there is plenty of good information in this volume. But you'll have to work to make sense of it. And, while I would have preferred to see some of the photographs reproduced a bit larger or more clearly, the fact remains that most of us would never have a chance to run across most of those photos on our own, so I'm glad for them.

It's not a bad book. It's just not as good as it could have been if someone like Peter Falk really HAD been one of the authors and shared his insights with us. If you don't buy it with that expectation in mind, you probably will find it an adequate read.