Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)- Episode Guide

[Hawkman]

21. The House On Haunted Hill.
Jenny , Jeannie's sister is helping out while Jeannie is away, and Jeff has to prove that a house isn't really haunted despite evidence to the contrary, so the estate agent can sell it. Jeff also is engaged in solving an industrial diamond robbery from a vault. The two cases collide when Jenny is kidnapped by the robbers and taken to the supposed haunted house.

 

[Hawkman]

22. A Disturbing Case.
Episode co written by Mike Pratt who plays Jeff. Jeannie and sister Jenny have recorded evidence of Jeff talking to himself thinking he's talking to Marty, which if course he is, but the sisters are worried and take the recording to a psychiatrist. Jeff is sectioned and Marty has to get him out of the clinic he's been put in. Marty discovers the head of the clinic is crooked and is hypnotising patients to open their safes. They then are instructed under hypnosis to allow an associate of the crooked Dr Conrad to walk in and help himself to the valuables. Probably the funniest episode as Marty imitating Conrad's voice uses a hypnotised Jeff to round up the gang.

 

[Hawkman]

23. The Ghost Who Saved The Bank At Monte Carlo.
Marty's aunt Clara hires Jeff to accompany her to Monte Carlo to test her foolproof roulette system. A gang from England follow her and they and French counterparts vie to steal her system. Jeff believes her system is baloney but when it appears to work he realises Marty's concern for his aunt's safety might be justified.

 

[Hawkman]

24. Murder Ain't What It Used To Be.
Jeff is hired by an American crook to look after his daughter while in England on business. Paul Kerstner has a problem though, he is being haunted by a ghost of a Chicago gangster from the 1920's. Kerstner double crossed Smiler Spanio during the 20's prohibition years of alcohol smuggling , and Smiler is going to use Marty to help get Kerstner. If he doesn't then Jeannie dies.

 

[Hawkman]

25. Somebody Just Walked Over My Grave.
Near Marty's grave Jeff sees strange characters including an 18th century man in a three cornered hat. Could a bang on the head he received be giving him hallucinations? Jeannie persuades him to see a doctor and after losing his temper Jeff is declared dangerous and escapes before the ambulance arrives to take him away. This all started with Marty's concern at digging going on near his grave and a tunnel is discovered being dug, but to where?

 

[Hawkman]

26. The Ghost Talks.
A flashback episode, where we finally get to see Marty when he was alive. Jeff is in hospital with a broken leg and Marty entertains ( or bores him in equal measure), by telling him of a case he worked on years ago when Jeff was away in Scotland. Marty was hired by Sir Basil Duggan of MI5 to rob a safe of a traitor to recapture stolen papers. Unfortunately he was tricked , it wasn't MI5 hiring him, the safe didn't belong to a traitor and Marty has handed the papers over to an enemy agent.
How did Marty get out of this mess? As Jeff says stifling a yawn, " do tell me Marty , as if I didn't know." Poor Jeff has heard this story so many times and when Jeannie visits him in hospital, and says ," hey Jeff did I tell you about that Marty and the MI5 case when you were away in Scotland?"
A resigned look of despair from Jeff as he has to listen to the whole story again.

THE END

 

[AndyB2008]

2. But What A Sweet Little Room.
A crooked investment adviser is in cahoots with a psychic medium to entrap seance clients who want to communicate with their dead family. Phoney messages from beyond the grave encourage victims to contact Arthur Decressy who rips them off and then kills them. Marty's widow Jeannie now working with Jeff since Marty's death, poses as a potential victim, much to Marty's fury as he's worried for her safety.

That episode always sticks out when I see it in reruns.

The sweet little room was actually a studio set constructed in Elstree. So Frances Bennett (aka Anne Fenwick) is in a studio acting her death scene.

Bunny's cottage is no longer there as the house used for exteriors later was demolished.

 

[Angela Channing]

16. The Man From Nowhere.
A man turns up at Jeannie's flat and claims to be Marty! He says he's Marty Hopkirk in another body, and the last thing he remembers is dying in a car crash. Marty is apoplectic with rage at this conman trying it on, but this guy seems to know everything Marty ever knew. So a real puzzle for Jeff to sort out. A wood in Oxfordshire holds the key.

I watched this episode last night. It was interesting to see a very young Ray Brooks playing the man who was pretending to be Marty. I don't think I've ever seen him that young in any show previously.

I'm continually impressed by Mike Pratt in this series and the physicality of his performance. Some of the action uses a stunt double but it's clear that he does a lot of running, fighting, jumping, falling and various acrobatic moves himself.

 

[Angela Channing]

2. But What A Sweet Little Room.
A crooked investment adviser is in cahoots with a psychic medium to entrap seance clients who want to communicate with their dead family. Phoney messages from beyond the grave encourage victims to contact Arthur Decressy who rips them off and then kills them. Marty's widow Jeannie now working with Jeff since Marty's death, poses as a potential victim, much to Marty's fury as he's worried for her safety.

Doris Hare, who was best know for playing the mother of Stan Butler in On The Buses appears in this episode. I've never seen her in a dramatic role before although this episode, like most of them, has a lot of humour in it.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

23. The Ghost Who Saved The Bank At Monte Carlo.
Marty's aunt Clara hires Jeff to accompany her to Monte Carlo to test her foolproof roulette system. A gang from England follow her and they and French counterparts vie to steal her system. Jeff believes her system is baloney but when it appears to work he realises Marty's concern for his aunt's safety might be justified.

View attachment 32612

This episode features two actors who would later go on to play iconic characters in the BBC's Doctor Who series.

Roger Delgado, the actor with the goatee, would originate the role of the Master opposite Jon Pertwee's Doctor. It was Roger's birthday recently on 1st March.

In the last picture the actor in the middle is Nicholas Courtney who would later play fan favourite Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, again opposite Jon Pertwee's Doctor. He returned to the show on various occasions, most notably in the Twentieth Anniversary special The Five Doctors.

Two fabulous actors, there legacy to Doctor Who is held in high regard by the show's fan's. May they both Rest In Peace.

 

[Angela Channing]

This episode features two actors who would later go on to play iconic characters in the BBC's Doctor Who series.

Roger Delgado, the actor with the goatee, would originate the role of the Master opposite Jon Pertwee's Doctor. It was Roger's birthday recently on 1st March.

In the last picture the actor in the middle is Nicholas Courtney who would later play fan favourite Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, again opposite Jon Pertwee's Doctor. He returned to the show on various occasions, most notably in the Twentieth Anniversary special The Five Doctors.

Two fabulous actors, there legacy to Doctor Who is held in high regard by the show's fan's. May they both Rest In Peace.

I watched this one earlier in the week. I'm watching the episodes in the order they were broadcast which is different to @Hawkman's list. It's actually episode 11 and one of my favourites so far. I didn't recognise the actors from Doctor Who but then I'm only an intermittent viewer of that show.

 

[Angela Channing]

22. A Disturbing Case.
Episode co written by Mike Pratt who plays Jeff. Jeannie and sister Jenny have recorded evidence of Jeff talking to himself thinking he's talking to Marty, which if course he is, but the sisters are worried and take the recording to a psychiatrist. Jeff is sectioned and Marty has to get him out of the clinic he's been put in. Marty discovers the head of the clinic is crooked and is hypnotising patients to open their safes. They then are instructed under hypnosis to allow an associate of the crooked Dr Conrad to walk in and help himself to the valuables. Probably the funniest episode as Marty imitating Conrad's voice uses a hypnotised Jeff to round up the gang.

View attachment 32611

This was in fact the second episode broadcast and as you say, it was co-written by Mike Pratt. Of the episodes I've watched so far (I've seen the first 15) this one has the most comedy, in fact it plays a bit like a sitcom, which I think gives a bit of an insight into how Mike Pratt saw the series, i.e., it wasn't to be taken seriously and is far from being a straight drama. I thought Mike Pratt played Jeff Randall in this episode far less seriously than he did elsewhere and showed that he could have been a great comedic actor. The more I've watched this series the more I've been impress with Mike Pratt's performance in it.

 

[Angela Channing]

21. The House On Haunted Hill.
Jenny , Jeannie's sister is helping out while Jeannie is away, and Jeff has to prove that a house isn't really haunted despite evidence to the contrary, so the estate agent can sell it. Jeff also is engaged in solving an industrial diamond robbery from a vault. The two cases collide when Jenny is kidnapped by the robbers and taken to the supposed haunted house.

View attachment 32609View attachment 32610

Do you know why Annette Andre wasn't around to play Jeannie in this episode? It did feel like the re-wrote her part to accommodate Judith Arthy returning as Jenny.

 

[Angela Channing]

13. When The Spirit Moves You.
A conman is peddling bearer bonds to a gullible business man. But is shocked to discover the man is a front for crime boss Nicholas Corri, and you don't dupe him and live to tell the tale. The conman Bream drops Jeff in it by telling Corri that Jeff is his boss and has the bonds. Corri wants to launder money using the bonds and gives Jeff a limited time to get the bonds or else. But help is at hand, Bream has an unusual reaction to getting drunk , he sees Marty, and that can be used to get Jeff out of this mess.

I thought that this was one of the weaker episodes of the series. The story wasn't particularly interesting and I didn't like how they changed viewers understanding of the show just to fit the storyline. For some inexplicable reason, Marty could be seen by someone whenever that person was drunk. Where did that come from? However, it was nice to see a young Anton Rodgers playing the con man in this episode. It was also the second episode in which Annette Andre didn't appear, even though her name was in the credits.

 

[Angela Channing]

25. Somebody Just Walked Over My Grave.
Near Marty's grave Jeff sees strange characters including an 18th century man in a three cornered hat. Could a bang on the head he received be giving him hallucinations? Jeannie persuades him to see a doctor and after losing his temper Jeff is declared dangerous and escapes before the ambulance arrives to take him away. This all started with Marty's concern at digging going on near his grave and a tunnel is discovered being dug, but to where?

View attachment 32614

Episode 17 was a return to form. The storyline was better with a good mix of drama and comedy. There was a real mystery here and a surprise twist regarding the perpetrator of the crime. Geoffrey Hughes (Eddie Yates from Coronation Street) appeared in this episode as did Andrew Sachs in a blink and you miss it moment playing a football commentator. The writing for the son of Mandrake wasn't great, falling into all the cliches for how a hippy would speak (ending every sentence with "man" and describing things as being a "drag" etc.).

 

[Angela Channing]

20. Could You Recognise The Man Again?
Jeff finds a dead body in his car and can recognise the man suspiciously loitering around his car just prior to the discovery of the body. Gang pressure is put on him to remain silent, when this doesn't work Jeannie is kidnapped to force Jeff to stay silent. Marty must find Jeannie so Jeff can testify before the murderer is acquitted.

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I really liked this episode although the resolution was a bit rushed to fit everything into the broadcast hour of the show's running length. I really like episodes that make good use of Annette Andre and here she plays quite a pivotal role being a witness to finding the dead body and being a kidnap victim to prevent her and Jeff from giving evidence in court. The actor who played Jeffrey Fourmile in George and Mildred played a heavy in the gang involved in the murder and he just didn't look the part. There was a scene in which he had to fight Jeff Randall and from what we all seen in previous episodes, Jeff is handy with his fists and would have no trouble dispatching this guy, however Randall lost to a weak and slightly camp opponent.

There was a large use of stock footage of London to link the various scenes and I always find it fascinating to see the place as it would have been 50 odd years ago.

 

[Angela Channing]

4. A Sentimental Journey.
Jeff is gently but firmly forced by a gangland boss to accompany a lady from Glasgow to London. Dandy Garrison was held in Glasgow as an insurance that the spoils of a robbery carried out by two gangs working together are equally split.
But there's treachery in the gangs and Jeff is caught in the middle. Marty is needed to keep Jeff in one piece.

This is episode 19 and the series has settled into a comfortable niche but isn't particularly predictable. This was a strong episode with a clever twist at the end. Again, no Annette Andre and I always miss her presence when she's not featured. What I didn't like is how they add to Marty's powers, this time he could blow the propeller of a jet aeroplane causing it to to move at speed along the runway which I can accept if Superman did it but is a bit of a stretch when done by a ghost.

 

[J. R.'s Piece]

Do you know why Annette Andre wasn't around to play Jeannie in this episode? It did feel like the re-wrote her part to accommodate Judith Arthy returning as Jenny.

Well, The House on Haunted Hill was filmed immediately before A Disturbing Case. Annette Andre was seriously ill. She herself says that she had been prescribed Valium and took too many. Judith Arthy, who had previously guested in The Baron (made by many of the same team) and Man in a Suitcase. As a thank you, Judith Arthy was retained for A Disturbing Case.

 

[J. R.'s Piece]

This is episode 19 and the series has settled into a comfortable niche but isn't particularly predictable. This was a strong episode with a clever twist at the end. Again, no Annette Andre and I always miss her presence when she's not featured. What I didn't like is how they add to Marty's powers, this time he could blow the propeller of a jet aeroplane causing it to to move at speed along the runway which I can accept if Superman did it but is a bit of a stretch when done by a ghost.

It was filmed fourth. Kenneth Cope still has his wig positioned incorrectly in most scenes but it is correctly positioned for the first time in the location scenes involving Marty tracking Dandy. It was the first episode in production order to not feature Annette Andre.

 

[J. R.'s Piece]

I really liked this episode although the resolution was a bit rushed to fit everything into the broadcast hour of the show's running length. I really like episodes that make good use of Annette Andre and here she plays quite a pivotal role being a witness to finding the dead body and being a kidnap victim to prevent her and Jeff from giving evidence in court. The actor who played Jeffrey Fourmile in George and Mildred played a heavy in the gang involved in the murder and he just didn't look the part. There was a scene in which he had to fight Jeff Randall and from what we all seen in previous episodes, Jeff is handy with his fists and would have no trouble dispatching this guy, however Randall lost to a weak and slightly camp opponent.

There was a large use of stock footage of London to link the various scenes and I always find it fascinating to see the place as it would have been 50 odd years ago.

In this, Norman Eshley (still active on Facebook) is again in a villainous team with Dudley Sutton. They had been paired in Department S: Handicap Dead many months earlier. Department S and Randall and Hopkirk Deceased were in parallel production from the same team.

Dudley Sutton (Mort) later appeared in the Reeves/Mortimer/Higson Randall and Hopkirk Deceased.