MovieChat Forums > Danger Man (1961) Discussion > NATO or Not NATO?

NATO or Not NATO?

posted 18 years ago by pridelander-1
11 replies | jump to latest

I've been watching the 1960 Danger Man series and have noticed that the intro monologue sometimes mentions NATO... and other time it doesn't? Is John Drake a freelance "trouble shooter" or does he work for NATO Security? Also, some episodes John Drake outright mentions that he works for NATO and in others he is much more cryptic. In one particular episode he asked for a $10K payment to take a particularly "messy job". Any thoughts on the evolution of the John Drake character and if the series writers changed their minds about his NATO employment after the series began?

[–] Moor-Larkin 18 years ago

Most times people talk about Patrick McGoohan, they start ranting about "copyright" and "Who owns the rights?"....so maybe N.A.T.O. withdrew their licensing permission ;-))

N.A.T.O. is of course only a co-operation between sovereign nations so it may be easy to imagine that funding difficulties led to John Drake having to negotiate where and when he could. You know what's it's like when the end of the financial year is looming and budgets have been exceeded!

[–] ArielBreeze 17 years ago

Do you want my own personal theory on the subject? Wait, don't answer that--

I theorize that John Drake began working for British Intelligence. After he gained a reputation for efficiency and discretion, however, he was transferred over to the States to work for NATO, as a British "military donation" if you like.

My explanation for the "American" bits in the 30 min eps? Drake intentionally took on many of the mannerisms of his American neighbors, including a none-to-perfect accent, and usually referred to himself as an American because he was living in the States at the time, theoretically.

It does seem that he was allowed more freedom to operate than he might otherwise have been if he was actually working for a specific government. In "Find and Return" Hardy counters Drake's reluctance to do a job by offering to make it a "personal job" for which Drake would be allowed to set his own price.

After the show's hiatus and renewal, Drake is explicitly working for the English government, so I guess Mr. Hardy and the other NATO boys got tired of arguing with their high strung secret agent.

Interesting to note: In many of the 30 min eps. it seems to be implied that he does live in the States. However, in the episode "Deadline," to my knowledge the last of the 30 min episodes, he begins the show in London. He also comments on his "contact with the hush-hush branch of a government." He does mention NATO in the intro, but is he still working for NATO at this point...hmmm...

Yes, I'm a crazy theorist...it makes life interesting.

[–] Moor-Larkin 16 years ago

Given the world situation in 1959 I don't think NATO would have based their agents in America. The flights to and from Europe would have been far too time-consuming and the annual fares wildly over any sensible budget. NATO agents would be far more likely based in Belgium or Holland. It's also the case that America would be unlikely to want any British agents within a thousand miles of their organisations, given that the British secret services were riddled with Commie sympathisers at the time.

Drake himself explains that he was a 'trouble-shooter'..... a messy job? Then they call on me, or someone like me. NATO would be picking up the tab but Drake wasn't 'employed' by them. He was a freelancer, that's why he could josh Hardy so much, and get away with it.

http://flickr.com/photos/11417707@N04/

[–] vawlkee_2000 13 years ago

It's kind of amusing - isn't it!
In reality Patrick McGoohan was born in Chicago... Does that make him American?
Just like Mel Gibson was born in NY.

If you're interested in a nice montage from the series with the NATO intro, look up: "our man from NATO lounge edit" on youtube

[–] amyghost 13 years ago

Actually, he was born in Astoria, New York...a fairly near neighbor to my hometown neighborhood of Jamaica in the borough of Queens. Interesting about Gibson, though--I never knew he was a 'New Yawker' too!

He (McGoohan) was born in the US to parents who'd emigrated from Ireland (and moved back not long after he was born). So, technically, he was automatically an American citizen by birth; I don't know if he chose to retain his US citizenship once he'd become an adult, but as a youngster, I'm guessing he had dual American/Irish citizenship status. But he also lived/worked in Britain for some years...before returning to live in America permanently in the 1970's, which would mean he either had maintained or had to re-obtain a US citizenship status. I don't think I've ever read anywhere whether or no he'd at any point relinquished the American citizenship he would have held by virtue of being born in the USA, though.

[–] vawlkee_2000 13 years ago

Yes I'm aware of the fact that he was born in NY, thank you.
Try looking up Patrick Macnee sometime and see how long he's been an American citizen!
Even during "The Avengers" he was a US citizen.

[–] amyghost 13 years ago

Don't know about Macnee's citizenship--I thought we were talking about McGoohan; in your above post, you plainly wrote that he (McGoohan) was born in Chicago, and I pointed out that he was actually born in NY. Online biographical information says Patrick Macnee was born in Paddington, England and became a naturalized US citizen in 1959.

In reference to the NATO question: I'm just recently re-watching the series for the first time in many years. Does it ever specifically say that he works for NATO? I more get the impression from the intro that he works on something of a freelance, on-call basis for the organization, but he's not actually in their direct employ. On the other hand, he does identify himself as working for NATO when he's on assignment, so it's just a bit confusing at times.

[–] vawlkee_2000 13 years ago

I agreed with you about McGoohan, there was no argument.
As for Macnee, my point was that though he was born in the UK he was a US citizen even when he did the Avengers.
He still lives in Palm Springs.
I've read other reports that he became a US citizen as early as 1952. You tell me...

I remember watching the original "Danger Man" that was run as a summer replacement in the early 60's. Once the Bond craze hit in '65 it was renamed "Secret Agent" (barf!).

[–] amyghost 13 years ago

LOL, yes, I guess "Secret Agent" was deemed a more marketable title in the US...although the show aired in other countries, I think America is the only one where it aired under that name. I found the Johnny Rivers theme to be sort of catchy, but I think I recall reading that McGoohan didn't much care for it, probably because it somewhat suggested in the lyrics that Drake's a womanizer, something he staunchly wasn't in either series.

One of the funny things about re-watching the hour-long series now is realizing how much of it I remember from viewing it as a youngster. Not precise details of the stories so much, but a lot of the imagery, and McGoohan's very unique presence in particular...same thing with "The Prisoner". When I watched that show again during its rebroadcasts on PBS in the 80's (the first time I'd seen it since watching as a child when it originally aired--also as a summer replacement, for the old Jackie Gleason variety show), I really was astounded at how clearly I remembered much of it...McGoohan had an incredible talent for creating some of the most striking and indelible imagery on tv of that era, as well as some of the most unforgettable characterizations. He was truly 'sui generis' as a personality and presence on television (as I think he must have also been in real life). I know he's definitely very much missed by this viewer.

[–] vawlkee_2000 13 years ago

Yes no argument, that crazy man from Astoria was pretty good at his craft.
If you want to see him at his out and out craziest, may I suggest Cy Enfield's 1958 gem "Hell Drivers". Pat played the psycho head driver for the "Hawlett" (haul it) trucking company, "Red".

Not only is this film superbly directed and photographed (in Vistavision no less) but it has the most amazing cast one could ever imagine. No less than three future secret agents as well as a DR Who and one crazy police inspector, among too many others to mention.
Look it up - that is unless you don't know it already - which I suspect you do.

[–] amyghost 13 years ago

I've seen some clips of 'Hell Drivers' on YouTube, and I'm looking for it now, LOL...he looks to be utterly intriguing in it, I have a feeling, from what I've seen in those, he makes one hella psychopath!

I'd like to see as many of his pre-'Danger Man' films as I can--I've seen a few things, most notably 'The Quare Fellow', which I thought was excellent (and he was excellent in), and the Disney stuff--'Dr. Syn' and 'Thomasina' (I remember seeing that film as a child, and honestly, his performance in that was quite unsettling--years later, even after I'd forgotten about the film's details, I clearly recalled just how cold he was; the scenes where he refuses to save his daughter's pet cat were actually rather upsetting--Patrick played what I think may have easily been one of the darkest characters ever to appear in a Disney film, and played it darned well, almost traumatically so). Most of the films I've seen him in have been 'post-Drake and Number 6', for the simple, if unfortunate, reason that they've been mainly the only ones easily obtainable to us here in the States (a notable exception is his American film 'The Moonshine War', made in 1970, but never released to home video. It wasn't a great film, but I thought he made it noteworthy with his portrayal of the corrupt revenue agent who's out to corner the market in illegal booze). I'm hoping that that will change soon, because the little bits from his earlier work that I've been able to catch on the internet look tantalizing.

One of those things that you wish you could go back in time for--his performances, on stage, during the 1950's of Ibsen's 'Brand' and the Orson Welles re-visioning of 'Moby Dick'...all the articles I've ever read mentioning him in those roles say he was quite something to see in live performance, and I'll bet he was.