My Partner the Ghost (TV Series) When the Spirit Moves You (1969) User Reviews

A hair of the dog

[ygwerin1 · 8/10 · 20 December 2022]

A small time conman Calvin P. Bream bites off more than he can chew, when his double dealings draws him to contact with a notorious villain named Miklos Corri, and after he discovered the reality of his dilemma he desperately, seeks a suitable scapegoat to get him off the hook.

Masquerading as an American detective far from home in London Bream manages, all too easily to con Jeff Randall into becoming a crucial part of his machinations, but what exactly has Jeff actually got himself involved in?

It doesn't happen that often during the episodes of Randall and Hopkirk Deceased, that Marty Hopkirk actually becomes visible to people, other than his long time partner Jeff Randall, but it happens in this episode with Calvin Bream unfortunately, it only works while he is permanently Brahms and Lizt.

This is one of the very few episodes where Marty Hopkirk's, spouse does not put in an appearance, and remarkably there is not even a mention of it between Jeff and Marty, and it's particularly strange for Marty to never once speak of Jeannie.

Bream and Hopkirk (deceased)

[rich_groovy · 7 February 2006]

Randall and Hopkirk episodes are always a mixture, some mysteries, intelligent whodunits with a sprinkle of laughs, whilst others are played almost entirely for laughs with only the slightest of plots. 'When the Spirit Moves you' is one of my very favourite episodes for the simple reason that it manages to be very funny and clever at the same time.

Perhaps the best thing about the episode is the wonderful Anton Rodgers as Calvin P. Bream, probably the best guest character the show ever had. Rodgers' drunken con artist is hilarious. Getting ideas above his station, he tries to dupe a mobster and, when everything gets too big for him, he tries to make the unsuspecting Randall his fall guy. All the leads give great turns, and Ivor Dean puts in another appearance as Inspector Large (virtually a reprisal of his role as Inspector Teal opposite Roger Moore's The Saint). The story moves at a speedy pace and remains interesting throughout.

There are a few moments which are less than believable (Jeff survives an explosion at very close quarters) and Bream's American accent isn't entirely convincing, but he's such a lovable character you almost wish he could stay on for the rest of the series.

9/10

Another standout episode that perfectly blends its hard boiled thriller elements with high comedy.

[jamesraeburn2003 · 8 November 2018]

Private eye Jeff Randall (Mike Pratt) is approached by a con man called Calvin P Bream (Anton Rodgers) who is pretending to be a New York detective needing a bodyguard. He claims to be in danger because word has got out in London that he is trying to recover negotiable bonds, which were stolen from his client back home in the States. In reality Bream is attempting to double cross a client called Cranley (Anthony Marlowe) and his partner Miklos Corri (Kieron Moore), two big shot gangsters in the Capital's underworld, whom he had promised a non-existent endless supply of bearer bonds. In a vain bid to get them off of his back, he told them that he was only a "middle man" and he is deliberately leading them on to believe that the big boss is Jeff. Jeff puts Marty Hopkirk (Kenneth Cope) on the case because, after all, being a ghost he is the ideal man to shadow a man unseen. Marty discovers that Bream is an alcoholic and, much to his surprise, when he is drunk he can see and hear him. This is how he discovers just how much danger Jeff is in. But, when Bream is sober, he cannot see him nor can he remember ever meeting him when he was under the influence of alcohol. Nevertheless, he does confess to Jeff about how he stupidly tried to con two big shot gangsters and it is a dead certainty that they will find out and kill him. They have already planted a corpse in his hotel room and Jeff is caught and arrested by Inspector Large (Ivor Dean) while attempting to dispose of it. When Bream refuses to back Jeff up, Marty gets him drunk and puts the frighteners on him so he will go to Large and tell all. Large releases Jeff, but says he will press charges against both him and Bream unless he catches the big men behind the bearer bonds scam. The next forty-eight hours will be deadly because Corri and Cranley have hot money that they are desperate to get out of Britain and they see the bonds as the best way of doing it. So just how will Jeff, Marty and Bream turn the tables on the ruthless pair?

Another standout episode featuring an engaging comic guest appearance from Anton Rodgers as the drunken, hapless con man Calvin P Bream. He is especially good in his scenes with Kenneth Cope; another actor who was a natural for comedy but who could also adapt to more serious and dramatic parts when called upon to do so. Here he is hilarious in the way his ghostly Marty Hopkirk character haunts the alcoholic confidence trickster into going to the Yard in order to clear his partner, Jeff, who is realistically played by the late but talented actor, writer and musician Mike Pratt who sadly died young. As a result of Marty's hauntings, Bream's alcoholism is cured and he suddenly becomes a converted tee-total. But, this also provides the suspense aspect in a tense finale in which the villain, Miklos Corri, who is played with an unnerving sense of calm menace by Kieron Moore, takes Jeff prisoner and tries to kill him by putting him in front of a safe chock full of gelignite that's set to explode. Since the only hope Marty has of saving him is Bream, he has to try and get him off the wagon again and that is going to be extremely difficult. The film is tautly directed by Ray Austin, a former stuntman and fight arranger on such TV shows as The Avengers who showed that he was also a very competent director, neatly blends the hard-boiled thriller elements with the high comedy so that one does not threaten to outdo the other.