JUST FOR THE RECORD • REVIEW

JUST FOR THE RECORD • DECLASSIFIED

• Pre-Titles Teaser... A warehouse on the south bank of the River Thames contains a vault secured with locked wrought iron gates. In this room are a series of filing cabinets and a desk for security personnel, but the room appears otherwise to be empty. A scratching sound can be heard, and this is coming from behind a ventilator grille high on the wall opposite the filing cabinets. A metal hand pushes the grille open and a device  - of which the hand is a part - trundles into view on its tank tracks. The device has a spotlight, a camera lens and its metal hand is on a telescopic pole. The spotlight switches on and scans the filing cabinets before it. Once it has selected the target drawer - labelled 'P' - its arm extends and the hand snakes out into the room and towards the filing cabinet drawer in question. Once it reaches the drawer, metal fingers grab at the handle and pull the drawer open successfully. Three men - the middle-aged, heavily bearded Pargiter and his two henchmen, Dorking and Surrey - watch a video screen intently as they follow the action. Pargiter  flicks a switch and then makes a few small adjustments on the control board before him. The metal hand selects and grabs a particular file from the drawer of the filing cabinet. The telescopic pole retracts, and the file is drawn back towards the ventilator shaft, eventually disappearing inside it. Pargiter beams with delight and tells his men, whom he addresses as "Lords", that he feels the test has been conclusive. Now for the real thing...

• Production Brief... Just for the Record was the nineteenth episode to go before the cameras. It was the ninth episode to have been written by Donald James and the fourth to be directed by Jeremy Summers, who also directed the previous episode When Did You Start To Stop Seeing Things?

• The opening shots of the Palace of Westminster were taken from colour test footage filmed by camera operator Alan White for director Godfrey Grayson. This was shot for an unspecified Danziger Brothers production, some years prior to Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'s filming.

• Stunt performer Paul Weston doubled for Kenneth Cope for the 2nd Unit sequence shot on London's Victoria Embankment, in which Marty sat atop the travelling Vauxhall (driven by Harry Fielder) and tried to spot Pargiter's boat. As a stunt performed in the real world, amidst genuine traffic, this was a somewhat more risky shot to capture than if it had been filmed entirely in the controlled environment of the studio. Weston did not have any form of safety harness available to him, his only security being a strap that he could hold with one hand. (At 43 minutes and 27 seconds, it is possible to see Weston ensuring that he is not thrown from the car as it corners and then relaxes a little on a straighter section of road.) Close ups of Kenneth Cope were inserted, optically processed into moving backgrounds.

Images © ITV Studios, 1969

• Exact filming dates for this episode are unknown, but it is believed to have been filmed in April 1969. A fully edited version of this episode was completed by mid-August 1969.

• On Location... Just for the Record has an impressive amount of central London location work that includes a motor yacht excursion along the River Thames, and a more conventional car chase through the city's Chelsea and Hammersmith districts. The environs of ABPC Elstree Studios are also utilised, with a higher than usual proportion of sequences relying on optical processing to graft location backgrounds on to in-studio shots. More details in Locations: Just for the Record.

• Haunting Melodies... Edwin Astley composed many new music cues for Just for the Record and this would prove to be the penultimate episode of the series that was highlighted for a fresh score. All remaining episodes recycled his existing cues with the exception of Murder Ain't What It Used To Be!

• Seeing Things... Just for the Record received its first UK broadcast on Sunday 26th October 1969 at 3.45pm when it aired in monochrome in the London Weekend Television ITV region.

• It was first shown in colour on ITV on Sunday 11th January 1970 at 11.25pm in the Granada region.

• Trivia... The opening of this episode gives a little glimpse behind the scenes of the filming of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). Since the episode's pre-titles teaser shows Pargiter's mock-up of the Public Records Office vault, as we follow him and Dorking and Surrey into the warehouse, we see how sets were constructed and the warehouse setting is actually an undressed stage at ABPC Elstree Studios.

Images © ITV Studios, 1969

• Each contestant in the Cities of the World Beauty Contest wore a specially made sash denoting the capital city that they were representing, such as "Miss Moscow", "Miss Paris" and "Miss Perth". When these were made, an additional sash was produced, emblazoned with the words "Miss Cast". This was presented to Kenneth Cope, who demonstrated his good humour by happily wearing it for publicity photographs.

• The mock-up Daily Mail newspaper showing a photo of Miss Berlin and headline "London beauty contest" - seen at 4 minutes and 31 seconds - is dated "April 9, 1969", which tallies with the month of filming.

• When Pargiter reveals his giant family tree that dates back to Medieval times, we note that he was born in 1922 (whereas Ronald Radd was born in 1929) and has a sister, Cynthia. He proclaims himself Harold XIV, though with the Royal practice of sometimes adopting different Christian names from their birthnames when they become monarchs we cannot automatically assume that Harold is Pargiter's first name. Incidentally, the family tree is a highly impressive creation which must have taken a great deal of time to create.

• Only You, Jeff? It may be coincidence, but the telephone rings with a job offer when Marty concentrates his mind in the hope of conjuring up an assignment for Randall and Hopkirk. Later, he shatters the glass of both a street lamp and a fire alarm terminal, again by concentrating his thoughts on them.

• Ghosts and Ghoulies... Just Marty in this one, but we love Marty, so who's complaining?

• The Vehicles... Appearing in this episode were the following wonders of transport...

	1964 Austin Mini Super Deluxe Mk I Registration BAP 245B Driven by Jean Hopkirk	Also appeared in: Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - 'My Late Lamented Friend and Partner', 'You Can Always Find A Fall Guy', 'All Work and No Pay', 'Never Trust a Ghost', 'Vendetta for a Dead Man', 'Could You Recognise the Man Again?', 'A Disturbing Case', 'Somebody Just Walked Over My Grave', 'The Ghost Talks' Department S - 'The Man from X' The Saint - 'The Time to Die' The Persuaders! - 'Greensleeves'
	M.Y. Lady Beatrix Registration unknown Piloted by Pargiter	(M.Y. = Motor Yacht)
	TVR Vixen S1 Registration VMF 11G Driven by Anne Soames
	1968 Vauxhall Victor FD 2000 Registration RXD 996F Driven by Jeff Randall	Also appeared in: Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - used extensively throughout the series Department S - 'The Last Train to Redbridge', 'The Man from X'
	Dennis F12 Fire Engine Registration 25 AMX
	Dennis F-Series Fire Engine Registration JYE 293D
	Unidentified Fire Engine Registration NJH 767
	Ford Zodiac MkIII Registration unidentifiable but likely to have been JKX 442C	Also appeared in: Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - 'When the Spirit Moves You', 'Money to Burn' and 'Could You Recognise the Man Again'
	1959 Bentley S2 Continental Registration 11 PPO (with fake HAL 14 plates) Driven by Dorking	Also appeared in: Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - 'The Man from Nowhere', 'When Did You Start To Stop Seeing Things?' Department S - used extensively in the series with fake European plates (Jason King's car)
	1965 Jaguar S-Type XJ3 Registration BHE884C
	1962 Thames Trader Mk II Registration 916 WAA Driven by Delivery Man	Also appeared in: Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - 'Vendetta for a Dead Man'

• Seen It All Before? The vault at the Public Records Office, seen here in two guises - as a mock-up in a warehouse and as the real vault - was a redressed version of the vault at the Martinside Bank as depicted in When the Spirit Moves You.

• Also seen before and redressed was the Tower of London interior set, which had previously popped up in Department S: The Man Who Got a New Face representing the same London location.

• The distinctive speakers seen in The Prisoner turn up again here. There must have been one or two that Number 6 didn't smash!

Images © ITV Studios, 1967 / 1969

• The large bronze-coloured bas relief wall adornment depicting mythical figures which is seen behind the judges at the beauty contest had previously been a decoration in Miklos Corri's luxury flat in When the Spirit Moves You. As if that were not enough, both sets of characters even sit on the same sofa!

Images © ITV Studios, 1969

• We won't let this go to our heads, but the male visitor to the Tower of London at 15 minutes and 36 seconds is wearing Tully's hat as seen in the previous episode, When Did You Start to Stop Seeing Things?

• Cock-ups... At 1 minute and 36 seconds, we first see Pargiter and his two goons, Dorking and Surrey. They are following the progress of their remote-controlled drone as it runs through a rehearsal of the Public Records Office robbery. We see the progress on the video screen the three men are studying intently and then Pargiter adjusts the controls... Or does he? The hand we see adjusting the dials and switches clearly belongs to a much younger person, almost certainly female... (Similar shots appear at 17 minutes and 43 seconds and 18 minutes and 56 seconds.)

Images © ITV Studios, 1969

• When Marty appears at the beauty contest reception at 6 minutes and 18 seconds, the director Jeremy Summers was arguably being far too ambitious as the shot required seven actors including Mike Pratt to freeze after a lengthy panning shot and then continue their actions once Kenneth Cope had positioned himself. All the actors get their timing very slightly wrong, even Mike Pratt, but the middle-aged man in the background to the right of screen missed the freeze point entirely. However, the eye is naturally focused on Mike Pratt and then Kenneth Cope, so this no doubt went unnoticed by most viewers.

Images © ITV Studios, 1969

• At 10 minutes and 52 seconds, Pargiter appears to be fading away to the right hand side of the screen and the flowing river can be seen through his shoulder. A problem with this particular optical process shot.

• Katya Wyeth is credited as 'Kathja Wyeth' in the end credit sequence. This appears to have been a choice on Wyeth's part as she was credited similarly on the feature film Inspector Clouseau (1968) and in 1969 television episodes of The World of Beachcomber and The Avengers.

• And Finally... We have to question security standards at the Public Records Office in this episode. The establishment clearly went to great lengths to secure their files, by installing an alarm system (albeit one that could be negated by simply snipping a single cable) and placing the files in wrought iron-gated vault, but the fact that Pargiter can gain entry with a remote controlled device through the ventilation system could be seen as an oversight on the part of the security advisers. But that's not the worst of it. If an establishment is that security-conscious, wouldn't you also expected them to have locked the filing cabinets? Mind you, if they'd done that, we wouldn't have a story...

Plotline: Scoton Productions / ITC • UK Transmissions by Simon Coward and Alan Hayes
Review by Alan Hayes • Declassified by Alan Hayes
with thanks to Vince Cox, Alys Hayes, John Holburn,
Anthony McKay, Andrew Pixley and Paul Weston

All timings given on this page relate to the Blu-ray editions of this episode