The Cube (film)
| The Cube | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Jim Henson Jerry Juhl |
| Directed by | Jim Henson |
| Starring | Richard Schaal |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Jim Henson |
| Running time | 54 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | February 23, 1969 – February 21, 1971 |
The Cube is an hour-long teleplay that aired on NBC's weekly anthology television show NBC Experiment in Television in 1969. The production was produced and directed by puppeteer and filmmaker Jim Henson, and was one of several experiments with the live-action film medium which he conducted in the 1960s, before focusing entirely on The Muppets and other puppet works. The screenplay was co-written by long-time Muppet writer Jerry Juhl. The program was recorded in Toronto and aired later the same month. In the previous year, Henson had produced a documentary for NBC Experiment in Television, "Youth '68".
The teleplay only aired twice: first on February 23, 1969, with a rerun on February 21, 1971.
Plot
[edit] | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (April 2015) |
An unnamed man, simply called "The Man in the Cube", is trapped in a cube-like white room. A stool is brought in by a maintenance man named Arnie. After Arnie leaves, the Man tries to find the door, and encounters a variety of people who come through various hidden doors, while each one claims that he can get out through his own door.
His first visitor is a woman named Margaret, who claims that the man is her husband Ted and appears with her parents. Her door closes on the Man before she can get him out.
The Man then meets Mr. Thomas, the manager of this entire establishment. When asked about the Cube, Mr. Thomas states that he has asked himself that question many times, then shows the Man the call button that he should push if he ever needs anything. As Mr. Thomas leaves, he tells the Man that he must find his own door.
Arnie returns again where he gives the Man a telephone and states that he can get him anything he wants. As Arnie goes outside to call the Man to see if the telephone is working, the Man sees a brief opening until the telephone rings and Mr. Thomas briefly appears to give the receiver to him before leaving. The Man answers it and Arnie tells him that the telephone is in business. The Man discovers that his telephone only calls up Arnie. When the Man throws it towards the wall, Arnie opens it as it flies through.
Two police officers consisting of a police sergeant and Officer Fritz from the MPD enter with a search warrant. They find different things in the panels of the Cube like smuggled diamonds, a stack of gold bullion from the Bank of Munich and an arsenal (consisting of machine guns, sten guns and dynamite). The Man is then handcuffed by the police sergeant as the police officers leave with everything while telling the Man to wait until they return.
A house painter and decorator named Miss Bix comes in while the Man tries to get out of his handcuffs. Upon trying to hold back the info on how long the Man will be in the Cube, Miss Bix changes her mind about the paint and has shellac sprayed onto the already white Cube as she leaves.
A guitarist comes in and gives the Man the keys to the handcuffs which frees the Man. Upon finding a bed that manifested, the Man rests on it while the guitarist practices his music. The guitarist is then joined by the rest of his band as they sing a song to the Man about never getting out of the Cube. After the band leaves, Mr. Thomas briefly enters telling the Man that the "Rest Period" is over.
A prisoner named Watson enters the Cube having escaped from his Cube. He notices that the Man hasn't been here for long while mentioning how his Cube had squares while the Man's Cube has rectangles. Watson decides to return to his Cube to see if he left anything behind. When Mr. Thomas enters asking if someone else was in his Cube, the Man states that there was a visitor. Mr. Thomas states that the other visitor was acting and introduces him to Jack Van Evera. As they leave, Jack asks Mr. Thomas what the rest of these Cubes are for anyway. Before leaving, Mr. Thomas states, "He was only kidding. You know that."
A seductress named Cora enters as a couch and a liquor cabinet suddenly appear. Cora states that she always comes to the Cube. The Man sits down on the couch. As they make out, a physician named Dr. Bradowski enters with Dr. Bingham (Moe Margolese) and a nurse (Jean Christopher) run some medical tests on the Man while Cora leaves. The doctors tell the Man his results before leaving to tend to a platypus.
A professor enters stating that him being here is either part of a teleplay or he's hallucinating. He even shows him the ending with him in the Cube with a girl before leaving.
A black militant (Don Crawford) enters. When he wants the Man to go out the door, the Man states that he can't since it is the black militant's door. The black militant then leaves quoting "You make me sick".
A classy party manifests in the Man's cube. When Mr. Thomas arrives offering tonic to the guests, the Man tries to get some only to be blocked by a barrier. A female partygoer named Mrs. Stratton (Alice Hill) exclaims that Mr. Thomas is projected and states that nobody having a party in the Man's Cube is real. The image of the party then disappears as it shows the Man on his stool.
The Man is visited by a scientist who asks the Man to define reality for him. When the Man claims that the scientist's hammer doesn't exist, the scientist proves him wrong by throwing the hammer at one of the cube's walls causing a hole in it. Arnie reprimands the scientist for breaking the wall and gives him his hammer back while he gets the wall fixed. Upon being unable to convince the Man, the scientist leaves hoping that the Man rots in the Cube. Arnie fixes the hole and leaves stating that the scientist is a real pain in the neck.
A woman named Liza enters where she gives the Man a hint on how to get out which is "it's going to get worse before it gets better". Her other hint is "don't trust anybody" as she turns into an elderly-like appearance. After she leaves, Mr. Thomas enters stating that the Man's time is up and that he must leave. The Man attempts to step out and is assaulted by two gorillas (depicted as two men in gorilla suits) tutus who grab him, drag him back into the cube, throw him to the ground, and dance around him singing "Cube! Sweet Cube!"
Two comics and enter and tell jokes to the audience. They then turn their attention to the Man when they find that he isn't joining in on the laughter. The Man states that he just didn't feel like laughing. The comics then laugh at the Man before leaving.
A kid on a tricycle rides around the Cube mocking the Man stating that he's never going to get out of the Cube and then leaves.
A monk enters and disperses his wisdom onto the Man while stating that he is part of the "All." Before leaving, the monk gives the Man an orb called the Ramadar which is supposed to hold the meaning of life. After the monk leaves, the Ramadar only makes a grinding noise. The Man smashes it with the stool to find that inexplicably it is made of strawberry jam inside. Arnie comes in and cleans up the broken Ramadar stating that most people break their Ramadar. After six people bring in a coffin, the Man finds a gun is left in the room. Grabbing the gun, the man attempts to shoot himself and ink squirts onto his face.
All the people he had encountered enter and laugh at him as Arnie states that this is all a joke. Enraged, he tells them he's had enough with their tricks and that no matter what happens he knows he is real. The Man then leaves the Cube as the people applaud him. The Man is then escorted into an office so that Dr. Connors (Claude Rae) can sign his release. Once there, the Man accidentally cuts himself with a knife and is asked to taste his blood. He does so and discovers his blood is strawberry jam. Dr. Connors and his office fade away to reveal the Man is still trapped in the cube.
As the credits roll, the Man wanders around the room one last time and then sits down on the floor apparently resigned to his fate of never getting out while the band's song is reprised in the background.
Cast
[edit]- Richard Schaal as The Man in the Cube
- Hugh Webster as Arnie
- Rex Sevenoaks as Mr. Thomas
- Jack Van Evera as Himself/Watson
- Jon Granik as Straight Comic, Police Sergeant
- Guy Sanvido as Comic, Officer Fritz
- Eliza Creighton as Cora
- Don Crawford as Black Militant
- Jerry Nelson as Monk
- Sandra Scott as Miss Bix
- Claude Rae as Dr. Connors
- Don McGill as Professor
- Ralph Endersby as Guitarist
- Trudy Young as Liza 1
- Ruth Springford as Liza 2
- Moe Margolese as Dr. Bingham, Father-In-Law
- Alice Hill as Mother-In-Law, Mrs. Stratton
- Loro Farrell as Margaret
- William Osler as Scientist
- Eric Clavering as Dr. Bradowski, Old Man
- Jean Christopher as Nurse
- Jerry Juhl as Pipe-Smoking Party Guest (uncredited)
- Jim Henson as Gorillas (voice, uncredited)
Adaptations
[edit]In 2007, the German Fringe Theater troupe Glassbooth presented a live stage adaptation of The Cube titled KUBUS, directed by Roger Hoffmann and starring Jens Dornheim.[1]
In 2012, Tale of Sand, a graphic novel co-written by Henson and Juhl, was released utilizing similar set pieces and sight gags. Although released long after The Cube, the script for Tale of Sand actually predates it by several years.
References
[edit]- ^ "Watch review (in German) for "KUBUS"" (in German). Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2012.