"The
SK79 Formula". An open and closed case - or is it?
The
story that the film would have us believe is:
- That Professor Busby discovers the formula for synthetic fuel and runs away to France to escape enemy spies who wish to steal the formula
- On the very precipice of failure, the formula is passed on to a bunch of kids from Jersey who return home after a day trip to St Malo
- On their return to home, they are going to hand the formula over to authoriies but are prevented from doing so by those pesky enemy agents who kidnap the girl
- However, thanks to the law abiding citizens of Jersey, they're brought to justice and the formula was saved.
Or was
it?
You see,
there's one awkward problem that isn't addressed by this story: the
girl, Diane, still knows the formula. She still has a copy in her
head. What's stopping enemy agents from kidnapping her later and
obtaining their own copy? True, the Black Shadow and three of his
team are captured and stopped but he can't be the only one looking
for it. And did we capture the entire team? Why do the spies have
three digit number codes if there aren't hundreds of them?
For the
safety of the formula, Diane, really needs to be locked away in a
secure facility.
But she
wasn't - so why not?
Now
there are two possibilities:
- She was hypnotised and given a false formula to recall if she was ever to be captured. That way, she could act as bait to trap any further enemy agents
- She was locked away and was replaced by a clone or a robot. This one's less likely because Diane knew exactly where to find her fiance Terry at the end of the movie. Although, having said that, it wouldn't take much surveillance for a crack team to have tracked him down and informed her. Replacement by a clone or a robot would've been a little much for 70s technology but a lookalike given emergency cosmetic surgery could've done it. There is no indication of the time period between the capture of the enemy agents and the release of Diane
Either
way, the SK79 Formula isn't what it appears to be.
And that
means that nothing in the movie is what it appears to be because the
nature of the formula defines everything else - the shadowy British
Department, Professor Busby, the trip to France, the enemy agents and
the ease with which they were defeated.
So the
question is "What is the SK79 Formula?"
Who is to say that the man who died in France really was professor Busby? Who were the two mysterious men waiting in the car? Was Guy really just "accidentally" passing by at the crucial moment? Why did the Shadow travel such a short distance from shore to interrogate the girl? Why not head off into international waters and from there straight back to his lair? Why did Benjy the macaw spectacularly fail to appear anywhere in the film? What did he have to hide???
ReplyDeleteAll good points.
ReplyDeleteWe can delve deeper. Why was the Black Shadow so far from his boat yet he was standing on a pier at Grosnez. The boat could've been just there and they could've got onto it. It's almost as if he was trying to get caught
As for Benji, that's an easy one to answer. Someone had given him beak softener so her couldn't say his lines. It appears that it was a new product on the market called "Squawk Killer 79" or something like that. Hang on ... "Squawk Killer 79"? Nah, just a coincidence
Of course there is also the notorious "changing cloak" issue still to resolve. Was the real Shadow captured at all? While at Grosnez he is clearly wearing a black cloak but when he arrives at St Aubins the cloak is clearly a light grey. Did the real Shadow actually escape with the formula via an alternate route leaving a lackey to get caught and put the authorities off the trail? Perhaps, expanding on your previous theory neither Diana or the Shadow captured at sea were the real deal.
ReplyDeleteAlso, who administered the beak softener? Who had means, motive, opportunity and a big bag of seeds????
So your theory is that a false Busby gave the real Diana a false formula. She was taken to see the real Black Shadow and that they were both replaced with a false Black/Grey Shadow and false Diana.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the Black Shadow pretended to be Diana in order to infiltrate the British Intelligence department that Busby worked for
That would make a great ending to the movie where someone takes off their mask to reveal that they were someone else and then everyone else does the same so that nobody is who they say they are! That's so Mission Impossible
Another theory might be that the cloak itself is The Black Shadow and whoever wears it becomes the meat puppet for its nefarious plans. That way, Diana could've been real but was wearing the cloak beneath her retrieved clothes.
Or Diana might have been the real Black Shadow all along and the one with the beard was just another lackey - thus explaining why he picked up the wrong cloak along the way.
As for Benji, it could've been anyone who heard his raucous squawking. Personally, I think it was someone who liked to impersonate Orson Welles and wear a broad-brimmed hat and cloak. Do you know anyone like that?
Makes perfect sense when you lay it all out, right?
DeleteAs for Benji I think it looks like an inside job - a family member, someone close who he wouldn't suspect ...
What if the Black Shadow was only one aspect of the Shadow organisation, all colour coded like in Captain Scarlet? Perhaps there are many colours of Shadow and the Black Shadow is merely one aspect, possibly just field ops? There could be a Red Shadow, a Green Shadow, a Blue Shadow and so on...
ReplyDeleteAre there just the primary colours are there shades as well? That would explain the Grey Shadow. Could there be a Pink Shadow or Aquamarine Shadow? Is it like the Dulux Range where you have Magnolia Shadow and Summer Sunset Shadow?
DeletePerhaps they are like Power Rangers and can combine into Mega- Shadow!!!
DeleteOnly if they drive super-cool megazoid transforming dinosaurs - "Mighty Morphin Power Shadows - Heroes In A half-Cape"!
DeletePerhaps we could have the roller skating Shadows and yodelling Shadows. Of course, they'll be no apache for musical shadows
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzgbcyfJgfQ
This stuff practically writes itself!
ReplyDelete"Writes itself"?!?! I'll have you know that I'm copying my stuff from "Methuselah Rottgutt's Ye Olde Almanacke Of Ancient Punnes". If it was good enough for the Bard, it's good enough for thee! Verily! Forsooth!
ReplyDelete