.gif)
The Ghost Talks (Randall and Hopkirk Deceased)
Encyclopedia
"The Ghost Talks" is the twenty-first episode
of the popular 1969 ITC
British
television series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
starring Mike Pratt, Kenneth Cope
and Annette Andre
. The episode was first broadcast on February 6, 1970, on the ITV
. Directed by Cyril Frankel
.
While still alive, Marty was hired by Major Brenan, a man pretending to be Sir Basil Dougan, a top MI5 official at a country club to retrieve "stolen" important documents from a perceived unloyal member of the British Sectre Service. However the morning after Marty and his hired Liverpudlian safecracker (who also personally steals a diamond necklace) successfully locate the documents, it turns out to be an actual theft from the real important member of MI5. Marty, in disgust, tries to hunt down the imposter Major Brenan and eventually locates him in the sauna of the country club where Marty is forced into an overheated sauna with his suit on (underneath the robes) to attempt to avoid capture from the imposter's henchmen.
Despite this he escapes and later overpowers one of the imposter's leading henchman who attempts to kill him in his car. Marty slams on the brakes smashing the henchman's head against the window, later tying him up in his apartment.
Marty tracks down the imposters registration number and shadows him to the docks where the faulty Sir Basil Dougan plans an escape with the stolen documents aboard a ship to a foreign country. Marty is eventually able to contact the BBC
via the ships radio
for the police to round up the perpetrators.
and several times on DVD with differing special features.
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
of the popular 1969 ITC
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
television series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk , first transmitted during 1969-70, is a British private detective television series starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk, respectively. The series was originally created by Dennis Spooner and produced by Monty Berman...
starring Mike Pratt, Kenneth Cope
Kenneth Cope
Kenneth Cope is an English actor. He is most famous for his roles as Marty Hopkirk in Randall and Hopkirk , Jed Stone in Coronation Street and Ray Hilton in Brookside.- Career :...
and Annette Andre
Annette Andre
Annette Andre is an Australian actress best known for her work on British television throughout the 1960s and 1970s. She was educated at Brigidine College, Sydney. Her father was an upholsterer....
. The episode was first broadcast on February 6, 1970, on the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. Directed by Cyril Frankel
Cyril Frankel
Cyril Frankel is a British film and television director, now retired. His career in television began in 1953 and he directed for over 30 TV programmes until 1990....
.
Synopsis
With Jeff in a hospital bed, Marty seizes the opportunity to tell him about a spy drama that he handled while he was still alive, involving a corrupt MI5 official and spy ring, the details of which he had never revealed before.While still alive, Marty was hired by Major Brenan, a man pretending to be Sir Basil Dougan, a top MI5 official at a country club to retrieve "stolen" important documents from a perceived unloyal member of the British Sectre Service. However the morning after Marty and his hired Liverpudlian safecracker (who also personally steals a diamond necklace) successfully locate the documents, it turns out to be an actual theft from the real important member of MI5. Marty, in disgust, tries to hunt down the imposter Major Brenan and eventually locates him in the sauna of the country club where Marty is forced into an overheated sauna with his suit on (underneath the robes) to attempt to avoid capture from the imposter's henchmen.
Despite this he escapes and later overpowers one of the imposter's leading henchman who attempts to kill him in his car. Marty slams on the brakes smashing the henchman's head against the window, later tying him up in his apartment.
Marty tracks down the imposters registration number and shadows him to the docks where the faulty Sir Basil Dougan plans an escape with the stolen documents aboard a ship to a foreign country. Marty is eventually able to contact the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
via the ships radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
for the police to round up the perpetrators.
Overview
This the only episode in the entire series where the main story is based on a past event.Cast
- John BoxerJohn Boxer (British actor)John Boxer was a British film and television actor.Boxer's television appearances included Emergency – Ward 10, Dixon of Dock Green, The Saint, Randall and Hopkirk , The Onedin Line and The Life and Times of David Lloyd George.-Selected filmography:* There Ain't No Justice * Convoy *...
... Dr. Musgrove - Ian Butler ... Page Boy
- Martin Carroll ... Groves
- Peter CellierPeter CellierPeter Cellier is an English actor who has appeared in film, stage and television. He is perhaps best known for his role as Sir Frank Gordon in Yes Minister and then Yes, Prime Minister in the 1980s.-Biography:...
... Long - John CollinJohn Collin (actor)John Collin was a British actor frequently seen on UK television during the 1960s and 1970s mainly in supporting roles. John Collin's best known role was as Detective Sergeant Haggar in the long running BBC police series Z-Cars...
... Jackson - James CullifordJames CullifordJames Culliford was a British actor on stage, film and television.He met his life partner, the actor Alfred Lynch at theatre acting evening classes. Some of his noted roles are The Entertainer , Quatermass and the Pit and The Trygon Factor...
... Parker - Thomas HeathcoteThomas HeathcoteThomas Heathcote was a British character actor.He was educated at Bradfield College, near Reading in Berkshire, England. His films included A Night to Remember , Village of the Damned , Billy Budd , A Man for All Seasons , Night of the Big Heat and Quatermass and the Pit...
... Chief Inspector Horner - Geoffrey King ... Sir Basil Duggan
- Jack LambertJack Lambert (British actor)Jack Lambert was a British film and television actor.-Selected filmography:* Red Ensign * The Ghost Goes West * Premiere * Nine Men * Floodtide * The Lost Hours...
... 2nd Man in Steamroom - Jack MacGowranJack MacGowranJohn Joseph "Jack" MacGowran was an Irish character actor, whose last film role was as the alcoholic director Burke Dennings in The Exorcist. He was probably best known for his work with Samuel Beckett.-Stage career:...
... Joe Hudson - Alan MacNaughtanAlan MacNaughtanAlan MacNaughtan was a Scottish actor, born in Bearsden, Dunbartonshire, Scotland. An experienced Old Vic, West End and Broadway actor, he became active in television and certain films between 1954 and 1999....
... Major Brenan - Marne MaitlandMarne MaitlandJames Marne Maitland was an Anglo-Indian character actor in British films and television programmes.He made his film debut in Cairo Road , and went onto be type cast as villains from the Far East, particularly for Hammer Film Productions...
... Captain Rashid - Hilary Wontner ... 1st Man in Steamroom
Video and DVD release
The episode was released on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and several times on DVD with differing special features.
External links
- http://www.anorakzone.com/randall/old/index.html