Mon ami le fantôme

The last time I've seen this show was on re-runs in the 70's, approximately 1977. Hard to forget the show. Great theme song, beautiful girl, fabulous 60's, and a unique situation. To others who couldn't see Marty, Jeff was often seen talking to himself, making for some hilarious moments. I would love to see, or own, the series again.

I saw all the episodes when originally aired in the late sixties / early seventies. To me, then it was unmissable TV (I cannot count the times that I refused invitations because Randall and Hopkirk is on tonight). Over the years the memories faded until I noticed that amazon were selling the complete series on DVD, I have just watched all 26 episodes again. I love the acting and the way the comedy in no way detracts from the serious private eye case in question, I just wish they had made more. The recent attempt at reviving this genre by making a new series was a good chance to carry on the work, but it was an awful re-make, in my opinion the characters were just not believable.

As long as you don't expect too much from the low budget special effects department this series was Brilliant Stuff ! I will be watching it over and over.

As a child of the 60's and 70's, I was a complete sucker for all the ABC fantasy / thriller programmes which were so much in abundance at the time. I guess it started with "The Avengers" and "The Saint", continued with "The Baron", "Man in a Suitcase" and "The Prisoner" but for me it really kicked in with the more "out-there" shows - "Department S", "The Champions" and of course this, the great "Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)". I remember having to watch it on re-runs very late at night but always thrilling to the outlandish mis-en-scene, and slightly tongue-in-cheek lead acting of hangdog Jeff Pratt and chirpy Kenneth Cope. Each episode was not unnaturally a variation on a theme, with down on his luck private eye Randall invariably taking on a case which got him into hot water and required the assistance of his partner the ghost. The plotting was always inventive, the acting engaging and looking back now of course you get the extra benefit of seeing vintage exteriors, cars and fashions - and yes, Annette Andre was a visual delight to my 10 year-old eyes. I'm so pleased to own this and many of the other series mentioned above. Haven't got round to watching them all yet (the curse of the DVD boxed set!) but as I write this, somewhere there's a voice coming through the ether saying "Only you, Jeff, only you" and I know that I will sit down one day in my dotage and view them all wall-to-wall and I know I'll forgive the continuity errors, low-budget sets and corny special effects as I happily regress again to age 10.

Randall and Hopkirk (deceased) was shown in the US during the 1970s under the name My Partner the Ghost. As a child, I remember this series with foundness and every time I think about it a smile appears on my face. I have never been able to see it again since then but I yearn to one day. Once in a while they sell the complete series for about $100 but in Region 2 (UK). I hope that I may stumble on a used version in a used DVD store. It would be like striking oil! I can't express how mesmerizing the theme was or the enticement of waiting for Saturday afternoon to come around so I could watch the episodes when I was a child. I highly recommend for everyone that has any artistic blood for european culture or the swining 60s to see the original series! They are releasing the remade series on A & E Home Video but I fear that the improved special effect will take away from the magic that great acting, wonderfully clever storylines and cheesy special effects gave me three decades ago. If you can get your hands on a copy.....buy it and watch them.

The premise is so absurd (a detective solves cases with the help of the ghost of his deceased business partner) and the special effects so primitive, that it's very surprising how well it works.

The atmosphere is almost Hitchcockian in the first episodes, with some comedy added. But the grittiness is such that an alternative interpretation is possible: that there's no ghost and the cases actually happen only in the confused mind of the surviving partner. In the latter episodes the tone is mellower and more comical -- personally I prefer the early ones, but I know that opinions differ on that.

The actors are all fantastic, especially Mike Pratt -- a Bogart in minor mode, with his perma-ciggie, elegance and the battered look of someone who has seen too much of the world.

Unlike other commentators, I saw this series for the first time as an adult, and I was surprised that it has a moderate reputation for being a children's show: it's way too scary for kids. Still, it totally deserves to be rediscovered.