The Girl Who Was Death
Encyclopedia
"The Girl Who Was Death" is a television
episode of the British
science fiction
-allegorical
series, The Prisoner
. It originally aired in the UK on ITV
on 18 January 1968. According to several sources, including The Prisoner by Robert Fairclough, this episode was adapted from an unused, two-part script originally commissioned for Danger Man
.
on a past assignment, before he went to The Village
. He has to track down Professor Schnipps, a mad scientist who wants to destroy London
. Number Six dresses up in various disguises, including "Sherlock Holmes" with moustache
, side whiskers and attitude, and tracks down a seductive woman called Sonia, alias "Death", who sets a series of deadly traps for him.
Eventually, after faking his death, Number Six tracks Sonia to a lighthouse
where Schnipps and his associates are based. The villains all appear to have a Napoleon complex
, dressing up as the Emperor himself. Captured, Number Six is tied up and left inside the rocket as it is about to launch, but he escapes and the rocket blows up, killing the villains.
In the end, it turns out that Number Six was telling some children a bedtime story in the Village nursery. Number Two (who looks like Schnipps) and his assistant (who looks like Sonia) were hoping that he would drop some clue as to why he resigned. But Number Six, after putting the children to bed, turns to the camera and cheekily wishes: "Good night, children...everywhere."
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
episode of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
-allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
series, The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
. It originally aired in the UK on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
on 18 January 1968. According to several sources, including The Prisoner by Robert Fairclough, this episode was adapted from an unused, two-part script originally commissioned for Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
.
Plot summary
The basic plot appears to be Number SixNumber Six (The Prisoner)
Number Six is the central fictional character in the 1960s television series The Prisoner, played by Patrick McGoohan. In the AMC remake, the character is played by Jim Caviezel, renamed "Six"....
on a past assignment, before he went to The Village
The Village (The Prisoner)
The Village is the fictional setting of the 1960s UK television series The Prisoner where the main character, Number Six, is held with other former spies and operatives...
. He has to track down Professor Schnipps, a mad scientist who wants to destroy London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Number Six dresses up in various disguises, including "Sherlock Holmes" with moustache
Moustache
A moustache is facial hair grown on the outer surface of the upper lip. It may or may not be accompanied by a type of beard, a facial hair style grown and cropped to cover most of the lower half of the face.-Etymology:...
, side whiskers and attitude, and tracks down a seductive woman called Sonia, alias "Death", who sets a series of deadly traps for him.
Eventually, after faking his death, Number Six tracks Sonia to a lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
where Schnipps and his associates are based. The villains all appear to have a Napoleon complex
Napoleon complex
Napoleon complex is an informal term describing an alleged type of inferiority complex which is said to affect some people, especially men, who are short in stature. The term is also used more generally to describe people who are driven by a perceived handicap to overcompensate in other aspects of...
, dressing up as the Emperor himself. Captured, Number Six is tied up and left inside the rocket as it is about to launch, but he escapes and the rocket blows up, killing the villains.
In the end, it turns out that Number Six was telling some children a bedtime story in the Village nursery. Number Two (who looks like Schnipps) and his assistant (who looks like Sonia) were hoping that he would drop some clue as to why he resigned. But Number Six, after putting the children to bed, turns to the camera and cheekily wishes: "Good night, children...everywhere."
Additional guest cast
- Number Two/Schnipps: Kenneth GriffithKenneth GriffithKenneth Griffith was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker.-Early life:He was born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Six months after his birth his parents split up and left Tenby, leaving Kenneth with his paternal grandparents, Emily and Ernest, who immediately adopted...
- Sonia/Assistant: Justine LordJustine LordJustine Lord is an English actress, active on television throughout the 1960s.She began her acting career in repertory theatre, and in the 1960s made guest appearances on The Avengers, The Saint, The Prisoner and Man in a Suitcase as well as playing regular roles on Crossroads, Compact,...
- Potter: Christopher Benjamin
- Killer Karminski: Michael BrennanMichael Brennan (actor)Michael Brennan was an English film and television actor.Born in London, Brennan was married to actress Mary Hignett. He appeared in such films as Nicholas Nickleby, Thunderball, The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders, Tom Jones, and The 39 Steps...
- Boxing M.C.: Harold Berens
- Barmaid: Sheena Marsh
- Scots Napoleon: Max Faulkner
- Welsh Napoleon: John Rees
- Yorkshire Napoleon: Joe GladwinJoe GladwinJoe Gladwin was a British actor born in the Ordsall district of Salford, Lancashire. He was baptised at Mount Carmel RC Church, Ordsall and educated at the parish school...
- Bowler: John Drake
- Little girl: Gaynor Steward
- Little boy: Graham Steward
- Little boy: Stephen Howe
- Photographer: Alexis KannerAlexis KannerAlexis Kanner was a French-born Anglo Canadian actor, most notable for appearing in the ground-breaking TV series The Prisoner....
(uncredited)