Sherlock Holmes - E2: The Case of Lady Beryl
30min | Crime, Drama, Mystery | TV Series (1954–1955)
Lady Beryl confesses to a murder that was committed at her home, but Sherlock Holmes is convinced that she is innocent.
Stars: Ronald Howard, Howard Marion-Crawford, Archie Duncan
30min | Crime, Drama, Mystery | TV Series (1954–1955)
Lady Beryl confesses to a murder that was committed at her home, but Sherlock Holmes is convinced that she is innocent.
Stars: Ronald Howard, Howard Marion-Crawford, Archie Duncan
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
01:00I wish to see Inspector Lestrade at once.
01:07Your name, sir?
01:08Dr. John Watson.
01:09Is he expecting you, sir?
01:11In a way, I believe he is.
01:12Well, I'll tell him you're here, sir.
01:23You can go in, sir.
01:25Ah, Dr. Watson, I didn't expect to have the pleasure of seeing you again so soon.
01:31Will you kindly read that?
01:33What is it?
01:34Read it.
01:38Oh.
01:39Yes, sir.
01:40Oh.
01:41I think it's disgraceful, sir.
01:43Absolutely disgraceful.
01:45What?
01:46Yes, and I'm glad you are here so that I can tell it to you personally.
01:51Why, you and I both know that it was Sherlock Holmes who solved the Cunningham case.
01:55If it wasn't for his brilliance and his persistency, the fact would never have been brought to light.
02:00And I think it's scandalous, sir, that the newspaper should have given me all the credit
02:05and said so very little about his magnificent achievement.
02:08What do you think, Doctor?
02:09Hm?
02:10I absolutely agree with you.
02:12I'm glad you're on my side, Doctor.
02:14Why, of course I'm so glad you take it that way.
02:16What does Holmes think?
02:18Oh, he doesn't mind, you know.
02:19He doesn't care who gets the credit.
02:21Oh, dear old Holmes, such a modest fellow.
02:23Yes.
02:24Well, look, you must give him my kind regards.
02:26Yes.
02:27And tell him that, although I know he doesn't think anything about it,
02:30I intend to get the newspapers to get the facts straight.
02:33Well, that's very good of you.
02:34What's Holmes doing these days?
02:36Well, the last time I saw him, he was playing about with a lot of ink smudges
02:39and talking about the prints that fingers make.
02:42No.
02:43Yes.
02:44Good old Holmes, always experimenting.
02:48Inspector Lestrade, sir.
02:49Yes, what is it?
02:50There's been a murder reported at the home of Lord Beryl.
02:53What, Lord Beryl of the Foreign Office?
02:55That's him, sir.
02:56I'll be right with you.
02:57Excuse me, Doctor.
02:58Yes, of course.
02:59Lord Beryl.
03:01This is going to be a tricky situation to handle,
03:03what with a Foreign Office and who knows what else.
03:06Yes.
03:07Can I be of any assistance?
03:09I don't think so, Doctor.
03:10Oh, perhaps as a medical man.
03:12Mind you, I don't know what to expect,
03:14but I think you would be of invaluable assistance.
03:16Say no more.
03:17Here's the address, sir.
03:18Your carriage is waiting outside.
03:20Oh, thank you very much.
03:21Perhaps you'd care to acquaint Sherlock Holmes of what has happened.
03:24Well, I don't know.
03:26I don't know myself what's happened.
03:28As you said, the people involved make this case rather delicate.
03:32Perhaps a little suggestion now and then might help facilitate matters.
03:36One never knows.
03:38Yes, you're so right.
03:40Take a message to Mr. Sherlock Holmes of 221 Baker Street.
03:43221B.
03:44Yes, of course.
03:45221B Baker Street.
03:46Tell him what has happened and drive him to Lord Beryl's residence.
03:49Yes, sir.
03:50And tell him Dr. John Watson is already there.
03:52The flat's the first floor up.
03:53Yes, sir.
03:54Very good, sir.
03:59221B Baker Street.
04:14221B Baker Street.
04:35Come in.
04:38Excuse me, Mr. Holmes.
04:40Yes?
04:41I have a message for you, sir.
04:43There's been a murder committed at the home of Lord Beryl.
04:46Inspector Lestrade and Dr. Watson have already gone there.
04:50Would you care to have some tea?
04:53Some tea, sir?
04:54Yes.
04:55Is that what you're making?
04:57Oh, come along. Come and have a look at this.
04:59I'm working on an extract from a special series of pygmy poisons.
05:04Oh, very interesting, sir.
05:06Tea?
05:07Well, yes, I don't mind if I do.
05:14You take milk?
05:15Yes, sir, please, sir, if I may.
05:17Certainly.
05:18Sugar?
05:19Thank you, sir.
05:20Now, where did I put that sugar?
05:22Ah, there it is.
05:25Help yourself.
05:26Thank you, sir.
05:33What's this sure doing here, sir?
05:35Well, I believe that certain poisons, if taken in the correct doses,
05:39can actually have beneficial rather than fatal effects.
05:42Now, that's very interesting, sir.
05:44Yes, it is, isn't it?
05:46And what's all this over here, sir?
05:48Oh, that? Oh, those are some tropical leaves.
05:51They were sent to me by a friend of mine who hunts in that part of the country.
05:55The essence, you see, passes through this tube,
05:59down here and across the table,
06:01and is condensed in that retort there.
06:05And what's that stuff in the bottom there?
06:07That's lime.
06:08That acts as a catalytic agent to combine the essence of the leaves
06:12with a dark, tar-like substance,
06:15which you can see at the bottom.
06:28Inspector Lestrade, I demand to see my wife.
06:30You kept me waiting half an hour, and now I should like an explanation.
06:33Of course, you're entitled to one, sir.
06:35You know that Karl Oberstein was murdered in your study?
06:38I was informed of that, indeed. It is a tragedy, of course.
06:41But I still don't see that that is...
06:42Lord Beryl, your wife has confessed to shooting him.
06:47What?
06:48That's why I couldn't allow you to see her.
06:51We were taking her statement.
06:53What does she say?
06:55Apart from the actual confession of murder, she refuses to say anything.
06:59You may go in now, if you wish, Lord Beryl.
07:36What's that you're putting in now, sir?
07:38Well, it's a form of acid dye.
07:40There.
07:42That's all right.
07:45Oh, where have you two been all the afternoon?
07:48Didn't the sergeant tell you?
07:50Oh, yes, I remember.
07:52There was a murder somewhere.
07:54Wasn't it interesting?
07:55No, Mr. Dewey.
07:56Uh-huh.
07:57Well.
07:58Lestrade, come and have a whisky and soda.
08:00Whisky and soda, Lestrade.
08:01Oh, I don't know.
08:02I'll be off duty in, um, five minutes.
08:05Yes, I think that'd be all right.
08:08Don't...
08:09Meat for me.
08:11Well, um, sit down, if you can find yourself a place.
08:14There you go.
08:17Yes, well, I think we can leave that to boil for a little while now.
08:20Now, gentlemen, what's the problem?
08:23What's the problem?
08:25I don't know.
08:27Now, gentlemen, what's the problem?
08:30Who was murdered?
08:32A man named Carl Oberstein.
08:35Oberstein?
08:36Oberstein.
08:37Oh, yes, I remember.
08:38An Austrian chap.
08:39He was originally, but of course, for a number of years,
08:42he's been a freelance agent.
08:44Mm-hmm.
08:45Buying and selling anything he can get his hands on, eh?
08:47But his hands on a bit too much this time.
08:49Lady Beryl shot him.
08:51Holtsmith 38.
08:53Oh, really?
08:55It was a nasty bit then.
08:56I examined the body before it was removed.
08:58Entire back of the head gone.
09:00Instantaneous death, of course.
09:01Did you find the bullet?
09:02No, the police surgeon will do that.
09:04It hadn't come out.
09:05Yes, and that shot in the back of the head
09:07removes any possible chance Lady Beryl may have had
09:10of claiming self-defense.
09:12You're off duty now, aren't you, Wilkins?
09:14Yes, sir.
09:15You may go home.
09:17Thank you, sir.
09:18It's been a pleasure working for you this afternoon, Mr. Holmes.
09:22Like to know how it all turns out.
09:25I'll let you know.
09:26Thank you, sir.
09:27Good afternoon, sir.
09:28I feel sorry for Lord Beryl.
09:30There'll be quite a scandal when this appears in the papers.
09:33Yes, there certainly will be.
09:37I wonder why Lady Beryl lied to you.
09:41What nationality was Lady Beryl originally?
09:44Well, um, she was born in Austria,
09:46although she was brought up in America.
09:48She's been here in England for the past five years
09:50since her marriage, you know.
09:52It's a shame a woman like her has to remain in prison.
09:54Still, she might decide to tell you...
10:03What did you say?
10:05I beg your pardon?
10:08What did you say just now?
10:11I didn't say anything.
10:13Oh, yes, you did.
10:17You said, I wonder why Lady Beryl lied to you.
10:20Oh, that.
10:21Yes, what did you mean?
10:23Nothing, except, of course, that Lady Beryl
10:25didn't shoot this chap Oberstein at all.
10:27But she confessed to it.
10:29Nonsense.
10:30She didn't shoot Oberstein because Oberstein wasn't shot.
10:32His head was bashed in with a blunt instrument.
10:34The revolver you claimed was the murder weapon
10:36actually belonged to Oberstein.
10:38She found it lying by his side
10:40and pretended she'd done it in order to shield her husband.
10:43She's no more guilty than you two are.
10:45Would you hold that like a good fellow, please?
10:47Would you please repeat that?
10:49Of course.
10:50It's as plain as her ear.
10:51I'm holding that.
10:53Well, it's not plain to me.
10:55Well, you told me that Lady Beryl confessed to shooting Oberstein.
10:58But Oberstein wasn't shot.
11:00Just because you find a man with the back of his head shattered
11:02and a gun lying by his side is no reason to assume he's been shot.
11:07You also assumed that the bullet had lodged in Oberstein's cranium
11:11because it hadn't emerged through the front.
11:13Now, any student of elementary ballistics
11:15knows that the greatest damage to the skull
11:17is on the opposite side to which the bullet entered.
11:20That entry is always clean.
11:22But the gun we found was an Austrian gun
11:25and Lady Beryl is an Austrian.
11:28Now, there's a logical bit of reasoning for you.
11:30Would you mind holding that, please?
11:32Lady Beryl saw Oberstein lying there
11:34and jumped to the same conclusion we did.
11:36Lady Beryl's innocent.
11:37Then somebody else is guilty.
11:39Brilliant.
11:41We've got to get back to the premises
11:43and re-examine them for clues.
11:45You come with us, Holmes.
11:46This nonsense can wait.
11:48Nonsense?
11:50Nonsense.
11:53Nonsense?
11:54Did you say nonsense?
11:55I'll have you know, Inspector Lestrade,
11:57that if the law enforcement agencies of this country
11:59were a little, an infinitesimal amount more advanced
12:02than ancient Neolithic man,
12:03I would not have to be doing the basic research work
12:06that will in time benefit police bureaus throughout the earth.
12:08You may have a point, Mr. Holmes.
12:10A point? The only point is,
12:12the only point is humans, of which there is a paucity
12:14in the halls of our defense to the public.
12:16I certainly do think so.
12:17I'll tell you a few other things in a minute.
12:43And now we return to the case of Lady Beryl.
12:47That is to be dependent 90% on a good memory.
12:50Details, Lestrade, those are the things.
12:52She's in here.
12:53Normally I'd detain her for confessing to a crime she didn't commit,
12:57but, well, what with the foreign office and all that,
13:00I don't believe I would.
13:01No, no, Lestrade, you don't want to hold her.
13:03Much easier to solve a crime if she's out.
13:06Exactly.
13:11Inspector Lestrade.
13:18Come on.
13:43Lady Beryl, you know of course we're releasing you.
13:47So I understand.
13:49Do you know why?
13:50No.
13:51We've been able to prove that you didn't commit this murder you confessed to.
13:57I see.
13:59We would, however, like an explanation as to why you confessed to this crime.
14:11I prefer not to explain my actions, Inspector.
14:14You realize, of course, that your actions are in themselves punishable
14:17and that we could detain you.
14:21I see.
14:23You still prefer to make no statement?
14:27That is correct.
14:33Very well, Lady Beryl.
14:34You'll be released as soon as the formalities can be cleared.
14:43Human beings lie to gain, to cover, or to protect.
15:03I don't know how to thank you, Mr. Holmes.
15:05Please consider me forever in your debt.
15:07Not at all.
15:10You're in the Foreign Office, aren't you, Lord Beryl?
15:13I am.
15:15Had you ever met Herr Oberstein before?
15:19I had.
15:21Exactly when?
15:22Last week.
15:24For the first time?
15:26And the last time.
15:28I see.
15:29I believe it was his habit to offer large sums of money to men in key positions
15:34for the information they may have had in their possession.
15:37I believe that was his habit, Mr. Holmes.
15:42Oh, Lord Beryl, while your wife is on her way here,
15:44I wonder if I might look at the premises of the crime.
15:47Well, of course, of course.
15:49It happened in the study.
15:51With your permission.
15:52My house is yours, sir.
16:06Well, now, let me see.
16:08Karl Oberstein was lying about... about there.
16:14Of course. It's been removed.
16:16Yes, yes.
16:17Of course.
16:20I see you've cleaned everything up with your usual remarkable efficiency, Lestrade.
16:24Now, look here, Holmes.
16:25I didn't know there was going to be any mystery about this affair.
16:28Oberstein's head was here, Holmes. His feet were there.
16:31Thank you, Watson.
16:41Where was the gun lying?
16:43To the left of the body.
16:45Nearer the hand or the feet?
16:47Nearer the head.
16:49Was Oberstein face up or down?
16:52Face up. I had to turn him over to examine him.
16:58Has there been any effort made to gain forceful entry into the house?
17:01None was reported. Why?
17:07Lord Beryl, do you use glasses when you read?
17:11Yes, I do.
17:13These.
17:16Are they your only pair?
17:18Yes.
17:20Who first discovered the body?
17:22I believe my secretary.
17:25Is he here?
17:26Yes.
17:28I'll call him.
17:38Lestrade?
17:40Where was Lord Beryl at the time you estimated the crime was committed?
17:45He'd been at a meeting with high government officials all day.
17:48Oh, good, good.
17:51Why did you ask about the glasses, Holmes?
17:54It's because Lord Beryl wears glasses when he reads.
17:58But Lady Beryl confessed to a crime she didn't commit.
18:03What?
18:06This is my secretary, Mr. Ross.
18:08You've met Inspector Lestrade and Dr. Watson.
18:11This gentleman is Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
18:13How do you do?
18:14I understand it's through your efforts that Lady Beryl was returning home.
18:18Partially through my efforts.
18:20I wonder if I could impose upon you, Mr. Ross.
18:23Why, of course, sir.
18:25Would you mind taking these sheets of paper
18:27and roughly outline the position in which you discovered the body?
18:31Outlining it in scraps of paper?
18:33If you would be so kind.
18:35Why, of course.
18:38It's the purpose of Earth.
18:39How many men have you on the premises, Lestrade?
18:41Two outside, why?
18:43Good, good. I wonder if you'd mind taking them into the garden behind this window
18:47and making a thorough search of the premises for a radius of 30 feet.
18:51Looking for what?
18:53Anything that doesn't belong in a garden.
18:56Are you serious, Holmes?
19:00Shh. Completely.
19:06Let's get him out of our way.
19:12Have you examined your safe, Lord Beryl?
19:14I have, Mr. Holmes.
19:15All my papers are intact.
19:18Excellent, excellent.
19:21Does Mr. Ross have a combination to your safe?
19:24Yes.
19:25There's been no question of robbery?
19:27Of course not, Ross.
19:28One must ask these questions in an investigation.
19:31Of course.
19:34Good afternoon, Lady Beryl.
19:37My darling.
19:40How are you?
19:41I'm all right, George. Quite all right.
19:43You must rest.
19:45This experience must have been horrible for you.
19:48It's all right. It didn't last long enough to be too difficult.
19:51I don't know how, but Holmes has solved the entire thing.
19:57Has he really?
19:59Not entirely, Lady Beryl. Not yet.
20:03Do you expect to?
20:05I can only hope to.
20:11Mr. Holmes, if there's anything I can do to help...
20:15If it would not be too much of an imposition, Lady Beryl,
20:17I would like you to retake the position in which Mr. Ross discovered you when he entered the room.
20:21Mr. Holmes.
20:23My wife has had a harrowing experience.
20:25Please consider her nerves at this point.
20:27You're forgetting, Lord Beryl, that your wife confessed to a crime she didn't commit.
20:30The circumstances are somewhat exceptional.
20:33But if Lady Beryl would rather not...
20:37It's quite all right, George.
20:42Now...
20:44Let me see...
20:51I was standing here.
20:53Exactly there?
20:55I... I believe so.
20:59Mr. Ross, are you quite certain that that is the position in which Lady Beryl was standing?
21:04Well, if you'll pardon my saying so, Lady Beryl,
21:08just for the sake of accuracy, you understand,
21:10I believe you were standing just a bit further to your left.
21:15A little to your left, Lady Beryl.
21:19Like that?
21:21Yes. I'd say right there.
21:23Good.
21:25Now, Lady Beryl had a revolver in her hand.
21:27Mr. Holmes.
21:29That is correct.
21:30In which hand?
21:33My right hand.
21:35Mr. Ross?
21:36That's right. Lady Beryl's right hand.
21:39Lord Beryl, do you happen to have a revolver in the house?
21:42Yes, I have.
21:43May I have it?
21:45I'm not going to ask my wife to...
21:47Yes, I am.
21:49If your wife has no objection.
21:51Of course she has objections.
21:54I have no objections, Mr. Holmes.
22:05Ah, excellent. A .38 caliber.
22:07Do you notice, Watson, that it's patterned very closely after the Schmidt-Holmes,
22:10the revolver in question?
22:13Lady Beryl, is that the way you held it?
22:17I... I believe so.
22:19Mr. Ross?
22:20Yes, it was like that.
22:23Mr. Ross, I'd like you to think very hard.
22:25A great deal depends on what you're going to say now.
22:28As far as you can remember, that was the position of Herr Oberstein's body?
22:34Yes.
22:35And where in relation to Herr Oberstein's body and Lady Beryl were the broken eyeglasses?
22:40Over there.
22:41There?
22:42Yes.
22:50Watson, were there any glasses on the floor when you found the body?
22:53Absolutely not.
22:55You're positive?
22:56Positive.
22:57That's right. I didn't know what I was saying.
23:01There were no glasses on the floor at all.
23:03There weren't any glasses on the floor when you found Lady Beryl bending over the body.
23:07But there were when you were sent Herr Oberstein crashing to the ground.
23:16Before you run, Mr. Ross, look at Lady Beryl.
23:23I don't understand this, Mr. Holmes.
23:25Oh, very simple, really.
23:26Herr Oberstein approached you with an offer to buy Foreign Office secrets.
23:29You threw him out.
23:31Then Ross contacted and prepared to sell him the secrets.
23:34Was there nothing missing from the safe?
23:36Of course not.
23:37If you sold anything, you'd have been found out.
23:40Herr Oberstein came here expecting to buy.
23:43You opened the safe, showed him the papers he wanted.
23:46He put his glasses on to examine them.
23:48And then when he paid you, you smashed his skull in.
23:51He fell, breaking his glasses.
23:54His revolver dropped from his pocket.
23:56Then you replaced the papers, pocketed the money and left.
23:59It's a lie!
24:00Why, you filthy...
24:01The unfortunate point occurred when Lady Beryl discovered the body.
24:05You read the evidence incorrectly.
24:08I thought the gun was my husband's.
24:10Similar, but not the same.
24:12And the glasses.
24:13A very common variety of frame.
24:15You gathered up the pieces, except a few fragments, and threw the frames away.
24:20Yes.
24:22Then you lied to protect your husband.
24:25Yes.
24:26Nina.
24:27Brilliant, Holmes. Absolutely brilliant.
24:30Thank you, Watson.
24:43My humble and very grateful thanks, Mr. Holmes.
24:46It's been a pleasure to help so brave and noble a woman.
24:50I'm still not quite certain what's happened, but...
24:52I know we shall both be forever indebted to you.
24:58Well, I've searched the whole garden, Holmes.
25:02Couldn't find anything but this old pair of glasses.
25:05They're broken at that.
25:06Really?
25:07Mr. Holmes has solved the entire case, Inspector.
25:11He has? How?
25:13By the little things, Lestrade.
25:15The little things that one must remember.
25:18The little things that make the difference between success and disaster.
25:22One must never forget that the difference between...
25:27Good heavens.
25:28What?
25:29What is it, Holmes?
25:30I left the gas on under the experiment.
25:33All Baker Street will be blown up.
25:37Holmes, I turned it off!
25:39I...
25:42Lestrade, hold that!
25:44Holmes! Holmes!
25:46Holmes! Holmes! Holmes!
25:57THE END
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