The lowdown: Yet another show from ITC Entertainment, 'Randall and Hopkirk (deceased)' was first broadcast on ITV1 between
21 September 1969 and 13 March 1970, with a total of 26 episodes. It starred Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as private detectives
Jeff Randall and as Marty Hopkirk. Familiar fare from ITC, perhaps, but the unique twist with this show was that Marty is a ghost,
who can only be seen by Randall. He is killed in the first episode, but returns from the grave to assist Randall to solve his murder.
However, he stays out of his grave for too long and is destined to remain on Earth for 100 years. Randall continues to operate the 
detective agency, assisted by Hopkirk's widow, Jeannie. Randall also assists Hopkirk whenever he can, using his ghostly powers.
This of course led to many humourous moments, as Randall is frequently seen talking to himself (as far as other people are
concerned). The series was remade in 2000, with a similar premise, and the addition of Tom Baker to the cast, and featured 
a similar mix of action, drama and humour.

The episode: 'The Ghost Who Saved the Bank at Monte Carlo' was the 11th episode of the series, and was first broadcast on
30 November 1969. The episode sees the detectives and Jeannie travel to Monte Carlo with Marty's Aunt Clara, who has devised
a seemingly foolproof gambling system that she is convinced will win her a lot of money at the casino. Clara initially has great
success, and quickly wins a large sum of money. However, a gang of British villains follows Clara to France with the intention of
getting their hands on her gambling system. To complicate matters, a French gang also want Clara's system, and both gangs
will stop at nothing to achieve their goal - including killing Clara, Jeannie and Randall. The manager of the casino, Tapiro (played
by Roger Delgado) is determined to protect Clara, and sets his own men on the two gangs. The episode's climax sees Jeannie
held at gunpoint while Clara plays the roulette table, unaware that if she wins the two gangs intend to kill herslf and her friends.
Marty uses his unearthly powers to ensure that Clara loses, so the gangsters will think her gambling system does not work. 

Who connections: Apart from Roger Delgado, this episode also features Nicholas Courtney as Max, a member of the British
gang, while Brian Blessed (Yrcanos in 'Mindwarp') played the leader of this gang, Jim Lawsey.

Video Clips:  Randall meets Tapiro        3.8mb          The lost notebook     4.2mb
   
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