It's Supposed to be Thicker than Water
Encyclopedia
"It's Supposed to be Thicker than Water" is the twenty-second 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 13 February 1970 on the ITV
. Directed by Leslie Norman
.
Hodder to deilver a letter to his nephew
Johnny, recently escaped from jail
. The letter invited him to stay with his uncle
at his large country manor and is united with the rest of his relatives who come to stay including his niece, a Spaniard and a Japanese man and an Irish vicar
who are apparently related. However, when the Spaniard one arriving at the manor is pushed out of a window
Jeff becomes suspicious. Soon after his death the next day, the nephew Johnny takes his car for a drive and is travelling over 60 mph when the breaks lock up and he runs out of control over a massive quarry mountainside, killing him. Later that evening at dinner, the Japanese man is poisoned after his meal and all the time the elderly estate owner seems the none the worse or the least bit shocked. Leaving them, Jeff becoming attached to his niece (pictured) takes her to a lodge to esacpe the troubles and soon after leaving she finds the Irish vicar in her room. With her the only one in the way of the inheritance of the estate she appears very frightened believing he will kill her. However, when Jeff returns to her lodge he discovers the vicar dead in his bedroom next door. By this time the niece had departed quickly.
Knowing the niece to be innocent Jeff tracks her to a theatre
where she works as a theatre performer and actress to inform her that the inheritance is hers. Meanwhile the elderly gentleman's butler visits Jeannie and in polite conversation manages to find out where the niece is performing. He attempts to kill her but with the help of Marty remains alive and under hypnosis
gets her to phone the police to visit the manor. It was of course the butler in cahoots with his master all along to dispose of every member of the family so he could inherit it. The elderly man was ashamed of his family, the reason why he thought killing them was the best thing to protect his estate in the future leaving it to his trusty butler.
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 13 February 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 Leslie Norman
Les Norman
Leslie A. Norman was a British director and producer. His career spanned nearly fifty years, from 1930 until 1978, and in that time he tried his hand at many different jobs, including editor, producer, and writer...
.
Synopsis
Jeff is hired by an elderly gentleman of the wealthy Crackan family and his butlerButler
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
Hodder to deilver a letter to his nephew
Nephew
Nephew is a son of one's sibling or sibling-in-law, and niece is a daughter of one's sibling or a sibling-in-law. Sons and daughters of siblings-in-law are also informally referred to as nephews and nieces respectively, even though there is no blood relation...
Johnny, recently escaped from jail
Jail
A jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States and Canada.Jail may also refer to:In entertainment:*Jail , a 1966 Malayalam movie*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...
. The letter invited him to stay with his uncle
Uncle
An uncle is a type of familial relationship.Uncle may also refer to:* Uncle , by J. P. Martin* U.N.C.L.E., a fictional organization in the TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E....
at his large country manor and is united with the rest of his relatives who come to stay including his niece, a Spaniard and a Japanese man and an Irish vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
who are apparently related. However, when the Spaniard one arriving at the manor is pushed out of a window
Window
A window is a transparent or translucent opening in a wall or door that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material like float glass. Windows are held in place by frames, which...
Jeff becomes suspicious. Soon after his death the next day, the nephew Johnny takes his car for a drive and is travelling over 60 mph when the breaks lock up and he runs out of control over a massive quarry mountainside, killing him. Later that evening at dinner, the Japanese man is poisoned after his meal and all the time the elderly estate owner seems the none the worse or the least bit shocked. Leaving them, Jeff becoming attached to his niece (pictured) takes her to a lodge to esacpe the troubles and soon after leaving she finds the Irish vicar in her room. With her the only one in the way of the inheritance of the estate she appears very frightened believing he will kill her. However, when Jeff returns to her lodge he discovers the vicar dead in his bedroom next door. By this time the niece had departed quickly.
Knowing the niece to be innocent Jeff tracks her to a theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
where she works as a theatre performer and actress to inform her that the inheritance is hers. Meanwhile the elderly gentleman's butler visits Jeannie and in polite conversation manages to find out where the niece is performing. He attempts to kill her but with the help of Marty remains alive and under hypnosis
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
gets her to phone the police to visit the manor. It was of course the butler in cahoots with his master all along to dispose of every member of the family so he could inherit it. The elderly man was ashamed of his family, the reason why he thought killing them was the best thing to protect his estate in the future leaving it to his trusty butler.
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
- Graham Armitage .... Young Stage Director
- Felix AylmerFelix AylmerSir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television.-Early life and career:...
.... Joshua Crackan - Dick BentleyDick BentleyCharles Walter "Dick" Bentley , born in Melbourne, Australia, was a comedian and actor. He starred with Jimmy Edwards in Take It From Here for BBC Radio....
.... Mesmero - Meredith EdwardsMeredith Edwards (actor)Gwilym Meredith Edwards was a Welsh character actor and writer.He was born in Rhosllannerchrugog, Denbighshire, Wales, the son of a collier. He became an actor in 1938, first with the Welsh National Theatre Company, then the Liverpool Playhouse...
.... Hodder - Liz FraserLiz FraserLiz Fraser is an English actress, mainly in comedy roles.- Life and career :Her birthdate is usually attributed as 1933, the year she gave when auditioning for her role in I'm All Right Jack, as the Boulting Brothers wanted someone younger for the part...
.... Fay Crackan - Earl Green .... Ramon
- John HallamJohn HallamJohn William Francis Hallam was a Northern Irish character actor.- Career :He appeared in many film and television roles including Nicholas and Alexandra , Murphy's War , The Pallisers , The Mallens , Flash Gordon , Dragonslayer , the BBC television adaptations of Prince Caspian...
.... Johnny Crackan - Neil McCallumNeil McCallum (actor)Neil McCallum was a British Canadian actor, trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His first major appearance on stage was with Sam Wanamaker in The Rainmaker in the mid-1950s. He appeared in many British TV series in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s. He also appeared in several films...
.... Rev. Henry Crackan - Michael RipperMichael RipperMichael Ripper was an English character actor born in Portsmouth.He began his film career in quota quickies in the 1930s and until the late 1950s was virtually unknown; he was seldom credited. He played one of the two murderers in Richard III. Ripper became a mainstay in Hammer Film Productions...
.... Punter - John A. Tinn .... Sung Lee Crackan