Never Trust a Ghost
Encyclopedia
"Never Trust a Ghost" is the fourth 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 12 October 1969 on ITV
. Directed by Jeremy Summers
.
witnesses the murder of a Mr. Howarth by the hitman, Rawlings as Howarth enters his home.
He travels back to Jeff's apartment to wait for him, whereupon Jeff turns up in the early hours of the morning with a beautiful girl in tow. Marty demands Jeff send his date home and call the police, which he eventually begrudgingly does, travelling with Inspector Clayton to the house where the murder took place. However, when they arrive they find his wife and it appears that Mr. Howarth is back alive and well.
Jeff leaves after Howarth threatens to sue him, only to arrive back the next morning to apologise to Mrs. Howarth, again at Marty's insistence. Marty sees Rawlings in the study and calls Jeff in, by which time Rawlings has disappeared into the secret room branching off it. Engrossed with the case, Marty spends time in the Howarths' house, whereby he learns that both Mr and Mrs Howarth have been murdered and replaced by impostor
s. Insisting Jeff returns after he locates the bodies in the basement, Jeff returns to the house again, only to find the bodies are no longer there.
Jeff now in serious trouble uses Jeannie as an alibi
to escape a third police warning, but is growing increasingly concerned by Marty's behaviour. He visits a psychic medium Professor Plevitt at the British Museum
, who convinces Jeff that Marty like all ghosts is hallucinating. Driving home, as a result of Plevitt's advice Randall disbelieves Marty's warning that Rawlings is out to kill him, only convinced when he narrowly avoids being shot in his car.
Later Rawlings turns up at Jeff's office pretending to be a James Wenworth-Smith of Westminster". However, Marty warns Jeff and the two struggle, whereupon Jeff is knocked unconscious
by the highly physically trained Rawlings and tied up back at the Howarths', with their plan to frame him for the murders.
However, under Jeff's guidance Marty visits Professor Plevitt in order to get him to call the police. The process takes a great deal of time and Marty finds it extremely difficult to convince the medium that he is an extraordinary ghost with excellent capabilities. It appears that disguises were being used to impersonate the murdered Howarths (the female agent's name is revealed as "Karen"), and that Mr. Howarth was in charge of savings for the Secret Service
. His murder meant that the enemy impersonators had access to the full names and details of every undercover agent in the UK. The police arrive and arrest all three, though Marty winds up Jeff by pretending to hallucinate for seeing a body in a cupboard, getting his revenge on Jeff for his disbelief.
and several times on DVD
with differing special features. The Disturbing Case episode was released by Carlton
on DVD with the first episode My Late Lamented Friend and Partner
.
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 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 12 October 1969 on 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 Jeremy Summers
Jeremy Summers
Jeremy Summers is a retired British television director and film director, best known for his directorship of ITC productions in the 1960s and 1970s, most notably The Saint.-Background:...
.
Synopsis
While out on a late-night stroll Marty HopkirkMarty Hopkirk
Marty Hopkirk is a fictional ghost played by English actor Kenneth Cope in the television private detective series Randall and Hopkirk from 1969 to early 1970...
witnesses the murder of a Mr. Howarth by the hitman, Rawlings as Howarth enters his home.
He travels back to Jeff's apartment to wait for him, whereupon Jeff turns up in the early hours of the morning with a beautiful girl in tow. Marty demands Jeff send his date home and call the police, which he eventually begrudgingly does, travelling with Inspector Clayton to the house where the murder took place. However, when they arrive they find his wife and it appears that Mr. Howarth is back alive and well.
Jeff leaves after Howarth threatens to sue him, only to arrive back the next morning to apologise to Mrs. Howarth, again at Marty's insistence. Marty sees Rawlings in the study and calls Jeff in, by which time Rawlings has disappeared into the secret room branching off it. Engrossed with the case, Marty spends time in the Howarths' house, whereby he learns that both Mr and Mrs Howarth have been murdered and replaced by impostor
Impostor
An impostor or imposter is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but just as often for purposes of espionage or law enforcement....
s. Insisting Jeff returns after he locates the bodies in the basement, Jeff returns to the house again, only to find the bodies are no longer there.
Jeff now in serious trouble uses Jeannie as an alibi
Alibi
Alibi is a 1929 American crime film directed by Roland West. The screenplay was written by West and C. Gardner Sullivan, who adapted the 1927 Broadway stage play, Nightstick, written by Elaine Sterne Carrington, J.C...
to escape a third police warning, but is growing increasingly concerned by Marty's behaviour. He visits a psychic medium Professor Plevitt at the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, who convinces Jeff that Marty like all ghosts is hallucinating. Driving home, as a result of Plevitt's advice Randall disbelieves Marty's warning that Rawlings is out to kill him, only convinced when he narrowly avoids being shot in his car.
Later Rawlings turns up at Jeff's office pretending to be a James Wenworth-Smith of Westminster". However, Marty warns Jeff and the two struggle, whereupon Jeff is knocked unconscious
Unconsciousness
Unconsciousness is the condition of being not conscious—in a mental state that involves complete or near-complete lack of responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli. Being in a comatose state or coma is a type of unconsciousness. Fainting due to a drop in blood pressure and a...
by the highly physically trained Rawlings and tied up back at the Howarths', with their plan to frame him for the murders.
However, under Jeff's guidance Marty visits Professor Plevitt in order to get him to call the police. The process takes a great deal of time and Marty finds it extremely difficult to convince the medium that he is an extraordinary ghost with excellent capabilities. It appears that disguises were being used to impersonate the murdered Howarths (the female agent's name is revealed as "Karen"), and that Mr. Howarth was in charge of savings for the Secret Service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
. His murder meant that the enemy impersonators had access to the full names and details of every undercover agent in the UK. The police arrive and arrest all three, though Marty winds up Jeff by pretending to hallucinate for seeing a body in a cupboard, getting his revenge on Jeff for his disbelief.
Cast
- Mike Pratt as Jeff Randall
- Kenneth CopeKenneth CopeKenneth 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 :...
as Marty Hopkirk - Annette AndreAnnette AndreAnnette 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....
as Jeannie Hopkirk
- Philip MadocPhilip MadocPhilip Madoc is a Welsh actor who has had many television and film roles.One prominent role was the title character in the BBC Wales drama The Life and Times of David Lloyd George...
.... Rawlins - Peter VaughanPeter VaughanPeter Vaughan is an English character actor, known for many supporting roles in a variety of British film and television productions. He has worked extensively on the stage, becoming known for roles such as police inspectors, Soviet agents and similar parts...
.... James Howarth - Edina RonayEdina RonayEdina Ronay FRSA is an Anglo-Hungarian fashion designer and former actress, the daughter of food critic Egon Ronay and mother of actress/writer Shebah Ronay....
.... Sandra - Caroline BlakistonCaroline BlakistonCaroline Blakiston is an English actress who has appeared predominantly in television roles, notably in the series Brass. She also appeared as Mon Mothma in the science fiction film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
.... Karen Howarth - Donald Morley .... Inspector Clayton
- Brian OultonBrian OultonBrian Oulton was an English character actor.Born in Liverpool, he made his acting debut in 1939 as a lead actor...
.... Dr. Plevitt
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
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
with differing special features. The Disturbing Case episode was released by Carlton
Carlton Television
Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
on DVD with the first episode My Late Lamented Friend and Partner
My Late Lamented Friend and Partner
"My Late Lamented Friend and Partner" is the pilot episode of the popular 1969 British television series Randall and Hopkirk starring Mike Pratt, Kenneth Cope and Annette Andre. The episode was first broadcast on 21 September 1969 on ITV...
.