Always good to hear from you, Mr. Tiger, and a pleasure to read your insightful posting. And it's nice to know you are still out there.
You've brought up some interesting points and added to our knowledge of the workings behind "Court of the Lions."
As Mr. Culp said, Peckinpah gave him some valuable writing advice early on.
"Peckinpah used to say in the early years when I first knew him, in TV you are always in a hurry. You are going to steal ideas. Don't worry about it. Just be sure to steal from the best."
And from my background in editing (O.K. - besides Tatia's photography ... ), we always used to say "There are
only seven stories out there, the rest are just adaptations - the same stories told in different ways.
Not just Culp's, but
many of the "I SPY" stories paid homage to other stories, movies, etc. - let's go with the term "inspiration from elsewhere." (As we've said before "homages" ALWAYS sounds so much better than "rip-offs") ...
We've mentioned that the I SPY writers often set their stories in the backdrops of movies like "The Manchurian Candidate" (Anyplace I Hang Myself is Home), "Born Yesterday" (Trouble with Temple), "Ninotchka" (A Gift from Alexander), "Ipcress File" (It's All Done With Mirrors), "Naked Prey" (Name of the Game), "Pink Panther" (Chrysanthemum), etc. etc. (If anyone else can add to this list, please send them on ....)
I guess I SPY's stories were never judged on their originality, but on their entertainment value (and of course, other shows out there were "borrowing" storylines all the time, also). And, truth be told, I am sure most people never, never gave this aspect of a story's background or source much thought ... (except for us "literary/movie buff types" out there). And many people would not be totally familiar with the source material, even if they were told.
None of the stories (Culp's or the other writers) ever listed a "Based on ..." acknowledgment in the credits at the end of the show. Perhaps it was considered an "honor" to have someone's story "adapted" and used as the basis for another. Or perhaps, some "legal permission" route was attended to before the show was produced.
As to Mr. Culp's stories, he specifically mentions in the DVD commentaries that be was strongly influenced by "The Bitter Tea of General Yen" and "No Orchids for Miss Blandish" and "Terry and the Pirates" in creating his powerful "War Lord" tale, but that he created the captivating characters himself. And I know I read somewhere that "Magic Mirror," which was originally entitled "The Enchanted Cottage" after the Robert Young, Dorothy McGuire movie about a disfigured war hero and his love, who only see beauty in one another while in their enchanted cottage - versus the cruel reality of the outside world. But I believe the studio that made the movie would not give them permission to use the title. (The 1945 film version was based on an earlier 1924 version.) So the story's titled was changed to "Magic Mirror." So maybe there was some agreement or permission granted for the title "Court of the Lions."
As to your comments "I was flabbergasted to note how much it was an outright modern-day paraphrase of an adventure novel by Robert Krepps called THE COURTS OF THE LION (circa 1949), set in Africa. To the point where Culp's villain, as played by Godfrey Cambridge, considers himself a bloodline descendent of the book's likewise dark (but more complex) force, King Tchaka Zulu." ...
Chaka "Great Zulu warrior" was a well-known historical figure (often spelled different ways, including Shaka) ... with many stories based upon him. I looked him up on Google and quotes included "The Black Napoleon" and an "Absolute ruler and tyrant." "He was known for a strong leader and military innovator, revolutionizing l9th Century Bantu warfare." "A man of great power and the heart of a tiger." "It was his legacy that created the powerful Zulu Kingdom and consolidated a nation."
As to Godfrey Cambridge's view and Mr. Culp's vision of the character, Cethswayo, Chaka Zulu's descendant, the I SPY book gives a
very interesting background story in the "Story Behind The Story" section for this episode. (A quick aside, "The Story Behind the Story" sections in Marc's and Linda's book for each episode are
absolutely wonderful - bestowing us with gems of information mostly unheard before!!)
Apparently Mr. Culp envisioned Cethswayo as a genius/academic type - "a rumpled Albert Einstein, who is black - with grey hair, glasses, cane." Godfrey Cambridge wanted to play a "black Goldfinger." He arrived on the set all stylish in a double breasted blazer. Culp was not happy, to say the least, and he had his work cut out for him as the director on this episode.
Thank you again so much Mr. Tiger for sharing that section "The Tyrant Justifies Tyranny" from THE COURTS OF THE LION by Krepps - and for filling us in on the background of Culp's story. I found it most intriguing. And it was good to hear from you, again!
As always,
Tatia
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