Changes: Episode 106: The Soldier and Death

	The StoryTeller; (as part of The Jim Henson Hour)
Air Date	April 28, 1989
Written by	Anthony Minghella, from an early Russian folk tale
Director	Jim Henson

Revision as of 06:46, 9 March 2019

Devils Cards — Playing cards with the devils

Jim directs storyteller — Jim Henson watches an effect as it is created for the episode.

A Russian hussar is rewarded for his kindness to beggars with a special sack which can force anything inside it, as well as a deck of lucky cards that guarantees he wins every game. When he learns of a palace that is haunted by devils who play cards all night and have yet to be defeated, the soldier goes to the castle to play a game with them. They offer him gold if he wins and he offers his soul to them if he loses. The soldier wins, gathering the devils into the sack, and after driving off the rest, forces one of them to serve him faithfully.

Many years later, the soldier's son becomes ill. The soldier's devil shows him a special glass in which Death can be seen. Through Death's position in the glass, the soldier can determine whether the victim will recover, with the application of holy water, or perish, and uses the glass to become a healer. However, when Death comes to take him (the result of a bargain to spare the Tzar), the soldier makes use of the sack again, with unforeseen consequences.

At the end of the story, the dog asks where the soldier could be. The storyteller replies he could be anywhere. The dog notes the sack that the some biscuits he wanted looks like the one death was in. The storyteller simply throws it off, and on landing, one of the devils jumps out and flies away. The dog looks quite surprised at the sack, but ignores it.

Cast

Bob Peck as the Soldier
Stuart Richman as Fiddling Beggar
Walter Sparrow as Card Trick Beggar
John Franklyn-Robbins as Tzar
Ishia Bennison as Tzar's Wife
Jan Chappell as Soldier's Wife
Gavin Knights as Soldier's Son
David Fleeshman as Innkeeper
Alistair Fullarton as Death/Devil
David Alan Barclay, Michael Bayliss, Marcus Clarke, Richard Coombes, John Eccleston, Geoff Felix, Brian Henson, Mike Quinn, Francis Wright as the Devils (puppeteers)
Tony Jackson, Peter Hawkins, and Peter Marinker as the Devils (voices)

Notes

There is some unusual compositing in the first shot of this episode (of the Storyteller by the fire). Part of a different take has been superimposed over the center of the shot and is faded in and out.
This episode theatrically accompany Fathom Event's Fan Celebration screenings of Labyrinth on April 29, May 1, and May 2, 2018.^[1]

Sources

↑ Geeks of Doom

Previous episode:	Next episode:
The Heartless Giant	The True Bride

[1] Geeks of Doom

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{episode|show=[[The StoryTeller]]<br><small>(as part of [[The Jim Henson Hour]])</small>|image=Soldierandeathtitle.jpg|airdate=April 28, [[1989]]|writer=[[Anthony Minghella]], from an early [[Russian]] folk tale|director=[[Jim Henson]]}}
-'''Air date:''' April 28, [[1989]], as part of ''[[The Jim Henson Hour]]''
+[[image:Devils_Cards.JPG|thumb|300px|Playing cards with the devils]]
+[[Image:Jim_directs_storyteller.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Jim Henson]] watches an effect as it is created for the episode.]]
+A Russian hussar is rewarded for his kindness to beggars with a special sack which can force anything inside it, as well as a deck of lucky cards that guarantees he wins every game. When he learns of a palace that is haunted by [[The Devils|devils]] who play cards all night and have yet to be defeated, the soldier goes to the castle to play a game with them. They offer him gold if he wins and he offers his soul to them if he loses. The soldier wins, gathering the devils into the sack, and after driving off the rest, forces one of them to serve him faithfully.
-'''Director:''' [[Jim Henson]]
+Many years later, the soldier's son becomes ill. The soldier's devil shows him a special glass in which [[Death]] can be seen. Through Death's position in the glass, the soldier can determine whether the victim will recover, with the application of holy water, or perish, and uses the glass to become a healer. However, when Death comes to take him (the result of a bargain to spare the Tzar), the soldier makes use of the sack again, with unforeseen consequences.
-'''From a Russian folk tale'''
+At the end of the story, the dog asks where the soldier could be. The storyteller replies he could be anywhere. The dog notes the sack that the some biscuits he wanted looks like the one death was in. The storyteller simply throws it off, and on landing, one of the devils jumps out and flies away. The dog looks quite surprised at the sack, but ignores it.
-:In this story, a soldier is rewarded for his kindness to beggars with a special sack which can force anything inside it, as well as a deck of lucky cards that guarantees he wins every game. When he learns of a palace that is haunted by [[devils]] who play cards all night and have yet to be defeated, the soldier goes to the castle to play a game with them. They offer him gold if he wins and he offers his soul to them if he lose. The soldier wins, gathering the devils into the sack, and after driving off the rest, forces one of them to serve him faithfully.
+==Cast==
-Many years later, the soldier's son becomes ill. The soldier's devil shows him a special glass in which [[Death]] can be seen. Through Death's position in the glass, the soldier can determine whether the victim will recover, with the application of holy water, or perish, and uses the glass to become a healer.  However, when Death comes to take him (the result of an earlier bargain), the soldier makes use of the sack again, with unforeseen consequences.
+*[[Bob Peck]] as the Soldier
+*[[Stuart Richman]] as Fiddling Beggar
+*[[Walter Sparrow]] as Card Trick Beggar
+*[[John Franklyn-Robbins]] as Tzar
+*[[Ishia Bennison]] as Tzar's Wife
+*[[Jan Chappell]] as Soldier's Wife
+*[[Gavin Knights]] as Soldier's Son
+*[[David Fleeshman]] as Innkeeper
+*[[Alistair Fullarton]] as [[Death]]/[[The Devils|Devil]]
+*[[David Barclay|David Alan Barclay]], [[Michael Bayliss]], [[Marcus Clarke]], [[Richard Coombes]], [[John Eccleston]], [[Geoff Felix]], [[Brian Henson]], [[Mike Quinn]], [[Francis Wright]] as [[the Devils]] (puppeteers)
+*[[Anthony Jackson|Tony Jackson]], [[Peter Hawkins]], and [[Peter Marinker]] as the Devils (voices)
+==Notes==
+*There is some unusual compositing in the first shot of this episode (of the Storyteller by the fire). Part of a different take has been superimposed over the center of the shot and is faded in and out.
+*This episode theatrically accompany Fathom Event's Fan Celebration screenings of ''[[Labyrinth]]'' on April 29, May 1, and May 2, 2018.<ref>[https://www.geeksofdoom.com/2018/04/30/labyrinth-david-bowie-returning-theaters Geeks of Doom]</ref>
+==Sources==
+<references />
+{{nav|episode|prev=[[Episode 105: The Heartless Giant|The Heartless Giant]]|next=[[Episode 107: The True Bride|The True Bride]]}}
+__NOWYSIWYG__
 [[Category:StoryTeller Episodes|106]]
+[[Category:Death]]

The StoryTeller (as part of The Jim Henson Hour)

Air Date	April 28, 1989
Written by	Anthony Minghella, from an early Russian folk tale
Director	Jim Henson