Customer Reviews

Patrick Mcgoohan: Danger Man or Prisoner?

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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!

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!

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.

This book has been mainly assembled from previous articles and clippings (including the much lauded Peter Faulk introduction) and is presented in the author's usual labourious and cluttered manner, with badly cropped photos and poor reproduction. This is fine as a compendium of reference articles but as a biography of a much respected and beloved actor, buyer beware.

Any fan of Patrick McGoohan will enjoy this book, the first biography about this very private individual. The author painstakingly researched this book that details the career of the man famous as "John Drake" and "Number 6". McGoohan is one of the most underrated actors and probably could have been much more famous and a household name. I recently finished watching all 80-odd episodes of Danger Man/Secret Agent, have seen The Prisoner and the Columbo episodes he appeared in, and now I am reading this behind-the-scenes story of the man who practically made these series.

Patrick McGoohan is a bit of an enigma. Very protective of his privacy, did hardly any interviews.
In this light this book is an unbelievable outcome. 330 pages of fine print, plenty pictures and (too many) footnotes tell you about everything there is to know about Patrick McGoohan and his work.
The title is very well chosen as it becomes clear while reading that Mr. Mcgoohan is not exactly a cuddly person, though very interesting and thought provoking.
The Prisoner is imho the culmination of his work and to read all the ins and outs of McGoohan's personal involvement is a treat beyond excitement.
Highly recommended!

Roger Langley's book is certainly a labor of love, being the founder of the appreciation society for THE PRISONER. When writing of it's ultra-private star and creator Patrick McGoohan, he strives to give the reader an insight into the complexities of a man that there is very little known about. Described by friends and colleagues as both a tyrant and a genius, McGoohan is a force of nature for sure.

Langley has written about his subject or idol really, in complete detail or about as much detail as any author will ever get. The fact that forty years later the most controversial TV series to ever come out of Britain is still causing viewers to rage or cheer, well you just have to commend McGoohan for being so different. Back in the mid-1960's when I myself saw the show on Britain's ITV channel, we all thought it was going to be some kind of follow-up to his previous hit spy show DANGER MAN. WRONG!!!

THE PRISONER was at least 25 years ahead of it's time really, although for many it offered a meaning that I don't think even McGoohan intended. Like most things it's all very subjective. A painter can throw a bottle of ketchup against a wall and there are those who will say what an inspired creation whilst you or I will say what a piece of s***! In this case Patrick McGoohan is the artist and although the fame he derived from it was both a blessing and a curse as Langley so well describes, he never made a single penny from it.

Anyway, whether for you McGoohan is DANGER MAN, THE PRISONER, Dr.SYN, the warden from ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ or any of the other numerous roles he has played, here is the ONLY book that will let you visit him!

As a big McGoohan fan, was hoping for a little more biographical info, particularly about years prior to theatrical career. Subject famous for protecting his family's privacy; I did not expect details of marriage or daughters. Also did not expect an extensive hashing over of possible Prisoner interpretations, while Danger Man/Secret Agent gets relatively short shrift. Unless a posthumous autobiography appears someday, this may be the best one can do. As they say, six of one, half a dozen of the other.

This book provides a decent overview of McGoohan's life and career. No more, no less. The earlier chapters are best; the whole shebang unravels toward the end (see below).

Two major bones to pick: 1.) in the later chapters, the author devolves into the worst kind of fawning, fanzine-type of writing, all but bragging of what was, at best, a polite acquaintance with his subject; 2.) a bizarre misuse and overuse of footnotes. Footnotes, for example, are devoted to the minutiae of McGoohan's quitting smoking and exchanging Xmas cards with the author.
After a while, the frequent pauses in reading to check such frivolous details became truly annoying and ruined the reading experience for me.

And after reading the silly, amateurish pun with which Langley chose to end his unsatisfying book, one wonders where his editor was---or if Langley even had one. This manuscript had the promise of being the definitive biography of a worthy subject; a blue pencil, used judiciously,could've made it so.

There are great actor bios such as Callow's Orson Welles. There are middling actor bios such as Chandler's Joan Crawford.

Then there are actor bios such as this rather awful book.

Apart from a few new interviews regarding McGoohan's early career, there is precious little information in here which has not been previously published or which is not available online.

So if you want some detail on his formative years, by all means go ahead and buy the book. But if you are like me and were expecting some insight on his actual career, you will be sorely disappointed. The book is particularly poor when attempting to discuss his body of film work following his brief television stardom in the sixties.