COULD YOU RECOGNISE THE MAN AGAIN? • REVIEW

COULD YOU RECOGNISE THE MAN AGAIN? • DECLASSIFIED

• Pre-Titles Teaser... At his West End amusement arcade, Ben Craddock receives an unwelcome visit from Jennings, a protection racketeer. Craddock is behind on his payments and Jennings has come to collect. Craddock stands his ground, saying that he and his fellow shopkeepers have changed their stance since Jennings' brother Mick was sent to prison. He will not pay. Jennings threatens to smash up every machine that Craddock owns and storms out after he learns that Craddock now pays protection money to George Roden. Craddock is straight on the phone to Roden, to let him know what has happened. Meanwhile at the Randall and Hopkirk office, Jean is trying to rush Jeff  through the admin work. They have to be at The Whitlock Hotel  for the Rotary Dinner, where they will be meeting potential divorce clients. Jeff has forgotten the engagement and has consequently neglected to hire a dress suit. Jean orders him out of the office. A little while later, Jennings meets with Harry aboard the Woolwich Ferry, complaining that George Roden is squeezing him out of business. Harry says that they should get something done about it. Tonight...

• Production Brief... Could You Recognise the Man Again? was the twentieth episode to go before the cameras. It was the fifth (and third consecutive) episode to have been directed by Jeremy Summers, and the tenth to be written by Donald James, who at this point was responsible for writing exactly half of the episodes produced.

• This episode was set dresser Sue Long's final engagement on Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), with the role being filled by Roger Christian from The House on Haunted Hill until the end of the series.

• To achieve the effect of Marty being levitated towards the ceiling at 44 minutes and 35 seconds, Kenneth Cope was fitted with a Kirby harness and was pulled upwards on wires. The Pepper's Ghost technique, using sparingly in the series due to the time involved in setting each shot up, was employed for the special effect of Marty appearing through the floor in the flat above Jean's apartment. The shots of Marty emerging through the floor were achieved with the 'Pepper's Ghost' technique which had been used several times previously in the series.

• When Marty appears in the court room at the end of the episode and is shown looking down from a position on the ceiling, this was achieved with a set constructed for When the Spirit Moves You. A high mounted camera looked down on this set, giving the impression that it was looking up at the ceiling.

• 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 early August 1969.

• On Location... Could You Recognise the Man Again? sports a sequence shot at one of the most regularly visited haunts of ITC and other Elstree-made productions, The Thatched Barn Hotel - now sadly long gone. The episode also visits various London West End locales including its theatreland, some rather seedy destinations in Soho, and Covent Garden. Lauderdale Road in Maida Vale and the environs of ABPC Elstree Studios were also utilised. More details in Locations: Could You Recognise the Man Again?

• Haunting Melodies... Edwin Astley was not asked to compose any new music cues for Could You Recognise the Man Again?, with its score coming entirely from stock. Two pieces of library music were used, namely a recording of Auld Lang Syne by George Chase, sourced from the Keith Prowse Music library and heard at the Whitlock Hotel Rotary dinner, and Robert Farnon's Jazz Jumping Bean. There is also a tiny snatch of John Barry's Mood Three in the sequence showing sleazy Soho destinations which had previously been used more expansively in When Did You Start to Stop Seeing Things? in which it was used for the scene where Sir Oliver, under hypnotic instruction from Marty, behaves like a secret agent.

• Seeing Things... Could You Recognise the Man Again? received its first UK broadcast on Monday 26th October 1969 at 7.30pm when it aired in colour in the ATV ITV region.

• Trivia... The story description given in ITC publicity materials would appear to have been sourced from an early version of Donald James' script since it refers to Marty using an indoor television aerial at the end of the episode in order to find Jean. In the transmitted episode, since Marty keeps being drawn back to the flat he used to share with Jean, Jeff suggests that Marty concentrates his thoughts on his widow while he is at the flat. He does and is drawn up towards the ceiling - as Jean is being held in the flat directly above.

• The Whitlock Hotel (in reality The Thatched Barn Hotel) was possibly named after regular Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) sound recordist Dennis Whitlock.

• We do not see the interior of The Whitlock Hotel and instead the camera zooms in on the exterior view while the strains of Auld Lang Syne are sung by the assembled guests before they depart for their cars. This song is traditionally sung on New Year's Eve at the stroke of midnight to bid farewell to the old year. There are no references to this being a New Year's party, so the choice of song is odd.

• As The Thatched Barn Hotel did not have a sufficiently large car park for the film crew's requirements, the car park sequences were filmed at ABPC Elstree Studios in the north eastern car park near Stage 6. Judging by the footage shot at this location, there had been snow in the lead-up to filming.

• Marty observes the court proceedings from the ceiling, bringing to mind his haunting of Calvin P. Bream from a similar position in When the Spirit Moves You.

• Could You Recognise the Man Again? marks the fifth and final appearance in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) by the brilliant Ivor Dean as Inspector Large. It is to his credit that it seems that his larger-than-life character appeared in a great many more episodes than he did in actuality.

• One of the uncredited background artistes seen in this episode, Frank Henson, who was among the identity parade line-up, appeared some years later in The Sweeney as Jack Regan's driver.

• Only You, Jeff? Marty is drawn back to Jean's apartment when she is in danger. At first Jeff thinks this is simply him being drawn back to their home. However, when Marty concentrates, he finds himself drifting up towards the ceiling. He eventually emerges through the ceiling and sees that the Rodens are holding Jean there - and that is why he has been drawn to the home they used to share. Marty also later delays the court proceedings by blowing all the papers around the room.

• 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...

	1963 Diesel Motor Ferry 'Ernest Bevin' (Woolwich Ferry) Registration 304643
	1965 Ford Zodiac Mk III Registration JKX 442C Not seen in motion	Also appeared in: Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - 'When the Spirit Moves You', 'Money to Burn' and possibly 'Just for the Record'
	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'
	1968 Ford Zephyr 6 MkIV Registration OXE 998F	Also appeared in: Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - 'It's Supposed To Be Thicker Than Water', 'Money to Burn', 'The Man from Nowhere', 'The Ghost Talks' Department S - 'The Man in the Elegant Room', 'The Last Train to Redbridge', 'The Double Death of Charlie Crippen'
	Austin FX4 Hackney Carriage (London Black Cab) Registration YLM 202
	1963 Buick LeSabre Registration ID•73• 09 Driven by Mort Roden	Also appeared in: Department S - 'The Double Death of Charlie Crippen'
	1964 Austin Mini Super Deluxe Mk I Registration BAP 245B Owned by Jean Hopkirk (not seen in motion)	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', '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'

• Seen It All Before? Mort Roden and Mike Hales could well have seemed familiar to viewers of Could You Recognise the Man Again? as the actors who played these characters - Dudley Sutton and Norman Eshley - had recently played Sonny and Red, a similar villainous duo in Department S: Handicap Dead.

• The clothing hire store's interior set was a redress of Sir Oliver Norenton's consulting room, seen in When Did You Start to Stop Seeing Things?, complete with ornate wall lamps and flock wallpaper that look somewhat out of place in a department store.

• Perhaps unsurprisingly as it was meant to represent the living space directly above Jean's apartment, the flat where Jean was held captive by Mort Roden and Mike Hales was a subtly redressed version of the standard 'Jean's flat' set.

• Cock-ups... At just 5 seconds into the episode, the first cock-up of Could You Recognise the Man Again? begins to unfold. The clock on the Del Monico Provisions store on Old Compton Street tells us it is 12.56pm. Four seconds later, we are on Frith Street and another clock - on the wall of the Bar Italia restaurant - reads 1.11pm. Tempus fugit!

• At 10 minutes and 14 seconds, Inspector Large is at the morgue, viewing Jennings' corpse. Only it isn't actor Roland Curram, who we had seen in the role in the pre-titles teaser!

Images © ITV Studios, 1969

• A debatable cock-up that looks sufficiently questionable, meaning that we mention it here. When Jeff parks up outside the Rodens' lock-up (in reality ABPC Studios buildings near Stage 5), the area outside it looks quite open, but when we cut to a studio interior the Vauxhall is seen to be parked up tight to a brick wall opposite.

Images © ITV Studios, 1969

• At 32 minutes and 16 seconds, Marty accuses Jeff of having "just stood there and watched [Mrs. Roden] eating chocolates, and did nothing". However, Mrs. Roden is not seen to be eating anything during her confrontation with Jeff in the scene immediately before. Presumably it was scripted that she did this.

• At 43 minutes and 3 seconds, a light blue truck begins to drive past Jeff, who is supposedly at Covent Garden but is actually on the ABPC backlot. As the lorry passes, the shot cuts to another lorry passing the camera at Covent Garden. The two lorries are not at all similar. Once Jeff has completed his business at the market, the same original truck drives off from a standing start.

Images © ITV Studios, 1969

• Actor David Cargill was erroneously credited as 'David Gargill' in the end titles. Additionally, John Harvey's role is given as 'Prosecuting Council' when the correct term is 'Prosecuting Counsel'.

• And Finally... Seen in this episode as The Whitlock Hotel, The Thatched Barn in Borehamwood had a rich history which was brought to an end with its demolition in 1990. Commissioned in 1927, it opened in 1934 as a roadhouse and venue where those working in the local film studios could find entertainment away from home - not always of a squeaky clean nature. It was then acquired in 1939 by fairground and holiday camp entrepreneur Billy Butlin as his first foray into the hotel business, but the building was requisitioned soon after in June 1942 by the Inter Services Research Bureau, a division of the Special Operations Executive, who developed a top secret research facility at The Thatched Barn (designated Station XV) to create camouflage, explosive devices and coding technology. Former film studio workers, artists, prop makers, and even magicians were employed to devise these war-winning inventions. By the end of the conflict, the building had fallen into disrepair and was eventually taken over by the Ministry of Works, who used it as their Building Research Station in the 1950s, where they tested concrete and other materials and processes. During this period, the exterior of the building was seen regularly in locally produced film and television productions. The building returned to private hands in 1961 when it was sold at auction and opened as a casino and playboy venue. Unfortunately the new owner quickly went bankrupt after a fire devastated the famed thatched roof in 1962, and the building was purchased by the Tolaini Brothers, who had been unsuccessful bidders in the 1961 auction. They re-opened The Thatched Barn in 1963 and undertook a £20,000 restoration of the hotel's swimming pool a year later. Under the Tolaini Brothers' ownership, the hotel regularly welcomed important film and television stars working at ABPC Elstree and MGM-British and other Borehamwood film studios, including Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Bette Davis and, later, Clint Eastwood. The Brothers also extended the buildings to almost entirely encircle the pool, increasing the capacity of the hotel, and its security. Film crews were welcomed, hence its regular appearances in ITC and other Borehamwood-made productions, and ITC stars such as Patrick McGoohan (of Danger Man and The Prisoner fame) treated The Thatched Barn as their 'local' - indeed it is Number 6's local in The Prisoner: The Girl Who Was Death. After its demolition in 1990, a modern hotel was built on the land, launched as The Elstree Moat House, which lacked its predecessor's character and charm. It still stands today and was acquired by the Hilton group in 2021 and rebranded as a DoubleTree Hilton hotel.

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 and Andrew Pixley

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