Sherlock Holmes-E32: The Case Of The Impromptu Performance
30min | Crime, Drama, Mystery | TV Series (1954–1955)
A condemned man scheduled to hang the next day uses his last request to ask Sherlock Holmes to prove his innocence of the murder for which he is about to be executed.
Stars: Ronald Howard, Howard Marion-Crawford, Archie Duncan
30min | Crime, Drama, Mystery | TV Series (1954–1955)
A condemned man scheduled to hang the next day uses his last request to ask Sherlock Holmes to prove his innocence of the murder for which he is about to be executed.
Stars: Ronald Howard, Howard Marion-Crawford, Archie Duncan
Category
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Short filmTranscript
01:30I've been thinking a great deal and I've decided on my last request.
01:43Yes.
01:44What is it, my son?
01:45I want to see Mr. Holmes.
01:46Who?
01:47Mr. Sherlock Holmes, the detective.
01:48If there's any chance to prove my innocence, he's the one who can do it.
01:54You've got to bring him to me, father.
01:57Very well, Edwin.
01:59If the man can be found, I'll have him brought here.
02:02Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
02:14Watson.
02:15Hmm?
02:16I want you to assist me in a rather unusual experiment.
02:20Experiment?
02:21What kind of experiment?
02:23I want you to stand by while I drink this.
02:27Oh, and you'll need your stethoscope.
02:36I say, Holmes, is it... is it lethal?
02:40Of course not.
02:41You don't think I'd take a chance like that, do you?
02:44Are you ready?
02:51Oh, thank goodness, whoever you are.
02:54Oh, dear.
02:57Come in, Lestrade.
02:59Come in.
03:00Delighted to see you.
03:01Well, this is a warm welcome.
03:03Well, now, sit yourself down.
03:04Make yourself at home.
03:05No, I won't.
03:06Thank you very much.
03:07Tell me, social goal?
03:08No, not exactly.
03:09Oh, what's the trouble, Lestrade?
03:11Do you remember the Phyllis Brighton murder?
03:14Oh, yes, of course.
03:16Brighton.
03:17She was stabbed, wasn't she?
03:18That's right.
03:19By her husband, Edward Brighton.
03:20But an hour ago, he made known his last request.
03:23Rather an unusual one.
03:24Oh, what was it?
03:25You.
03:26Me?
03:27Why?
03:28Well, no explanation.
03:30Simply wanted to see Sherlock Holmes.
03:32And you know, Holmes, wherever it's humanly possible,
03:34we try to fulfill these last requests of condemned men.
03:37Naturally.
03:38And I take it that his execution is imminent, then, Lestrade?
03:41Yes, at dawn.
03:42He has about seven hours to live.
03:45Come on, then, Watson.
03:46We have little time to lose.
03:48If a man calls to me in his final hours,
03:50it may mean that we, too, shall be called upon
03:52to fulfill a final request.
03:54And seven hours is little enough time
03:56when the gallows is at the end.
04:14Suddenly it came to me, Mr. Holmes.
04:16I was lying here on my cot, and suddenly I remembered.
04:19Something that happened the night of the murder.
04:23It had entirely escaped my memory until now.
04:25What was that recollection, Mr. Brighton?
04:28I'm afraid it won't make sense to you
04:30until you understand some of the other facts in the case.
04:33Oh, yes, yes, of course.
04:34Well, please go on.
04:35It was a Sunday afternoon, last April,
04:38when I first met Phyllis.
04:40We hit it off together immediately,
04:42and three weeks later we were married.
04:45She was very beautiful, Mr. Holmes.
04:47Blonde hair, perfect nose, delicate little mouth.
04:52And her background, her family?
04:54We never spoke about that.
04:56Phyllis made me agree not to inquire into her past,
04:58nor she into mine.
04:59I knew it was an unusual request,
05:01but I consented readily.
05:03Mr. Holmes, I'd been just a bank clerk and very lonely.
05:07I didn't want to lose my one chance at happiness.
05:10Of course.
05:11Tell me, what was Mrs. Brighton's maiden name?
05:14LaVey, Phyllis LaVey.
05:16But she told me her friends called her Bobo.
05:19Bobo.
05:21I thought that awfully charming.
05:24Mr. Holmes, I wouldn't kill her.
05:28I bought her a little home in Benedict Lane.
05:31I insured my life for 2,000 pounds
05:33so that she'd be well protected in case I should die.
05:36I gave her everything she wanted.
05:39Every moment counts, Mr. Brighton.
05:41Now, you must tell me what happened the night of your wife's death.
05:44Oh, yes.
05:46That night we had our first argument.
05:50It's a very trivial matter.
05:54Forgive me, dear, for saying so,
05:56but don't you think it's just a little too much?
05:59What's a little too much?
06:01You know, the...
06:03As a matter of fact, I think it's too little.
06:06Now, really, Phyllis, it doesn't improve your appearance.
06:09It makes you look, um...
06:11Cheap?
06:12I didn't say that.
06:14I merely said...
06:15You're afraid I'm going to shock the Kimbles
06:17and I simply won't go.
06:18Very well, the Kimbles are expecting us.
06:20There's no need to carry on like this.
06:22I'm not carrying on, Edward. You're the one.
06:24I think I'd better take a breath of air
06:26before I say something unkind.
06:28Suit yourself.
06:30You're really a sweetie, Edward,
06:32but sometimes you're just so stuffy.
06:42That was the extent of it, Mr. Holmes.
06:45It was just a mild little row.
06:48But at the trial, the neighbors testified
06:51we had a violent argument that night.
06:54To this moment, I can't understand
06:56why they should say such a thing.
06:59After you left your wife, what did you do?
07:02I merely walked.
07:04I don't know exactly where.
07:06I just walked.
07:08After a while,
07:10I began to think of some way to apologize to Phyllis.
07:14I didn't want to make her unhappy,
07:16even over the smallest thing.
07:20I must have traveled a good long distance
07:23when suddenly I began to feel ill.
07:25Ill?
07:27Yes. I contracted malaria
07:29as a young man in South Africa.
07:31I knew I was in for another one of my seizures.
07:35Dr. Watson, you know what malaria does to a man?
07:39Oh, yes, indeed.
07:41Eye fever, sweats, chills, and sudden fainting spells.
07:45That's it.
07:47With the first chills, I instinctively turned back
07:49towards the house.
07:51I had medicine there that would lessen the effect of the attack.
07:54I wasn't aware of the street or anything around me.
07:58Each step I took became a struggle.
08:11I'd barely made it to my home.
08:14I stumbled onto the front steps.
08:17There it was, on the ground.
08:22I knew it didn't belong to me,
08:25but instinctively I reached for it.
08:29That's all I remember.
08:33When I came to, the house was swarming with police
08:37and Phyllis was dead.
08:39This object you saw on the ground, what was it?
08:43That's the maddening part.
08:45I don't remember.
08:47I'm only positive there was something
08:49and it didn't belong to me.
08:51But Mr. Brighton, have you any recollection
08:53of his general shape, size, or color?
08:55No, sir. Nothing beyond what I've told you.
08:58This has been most illuminating.
09:00Good night, Mr. Brighton.
09:02Come, Watson.
09:04I realize I haven't given you very much to go on, Mr. Holmes.
09:07Perhaps not even the slender thread you require.
09:10But a man will pray for a miracle
09:12when he's only a few hours remaining on this earth.
09:37Ah, Holmes, come in.
09:39What did Brighton want?
09:41Well, Estrade, may I see the items
09:44that you took from Edward Brighton's pockets
09:46when he was arrested?
09:48No, I said, may I see?
09:52Oh, very well.
09:54Wilkins, bring over Brighton's effects, will you?
09:57Well, I don't want to seem pessimistic, Holmes,
09:59but do you think this poor chap's got a chance?
10:01No, I'm afraid all the evidence proved conclusively
10:04that he had a violent quarrel with his wife,
10:06then murdered her in a fit of rage.
10:09These mild-mannered clerks are always the ones.
10:12Oh, thank you, Wilkins.
10:14There you are, Holmes. There's nothing unusual in there.
10:17Keys, handkerchief, wallet, and so forth.
10:20Yes, just what Estrade says.
10:22Nothing there but common-to-garden personal effects, Holmes.
10:25Well, I, for one, wonder where we go from here.
10:28We go to 14 Hanover Place, Watson.
10:30I beg your pardon? What are we going there for?
10:32That's the address of the tobacconist
10:34who prepared this mixture.
10:36Yes, I can see that's the address, but I still don't understand.
10:38Quite obvious, Watson. Brighton and his cell
10:40were smoking the inexpensive, ordinary,
10:42sea-shanty brand of tobacco.
10:44Well, that's a specially prepared blend
10:46only made for the well-to-do connoisseur.
10:48You'll note the burly base, a touch of ratiqueur,
10:51and a certain amount of Yenijay leaf.
10:54Hmm, extraordinary old factory perception, Holmes.
11:00But what has the man's smoking habits to do with the case?
11:04Perhaps everything, Lestrade.
11:06It's my guess that Phyllis Brighton had a visitor that evening
11:09while Edward Brighton was roaming the streets.
11:11And this is the something that he picked up on his return,
11:14the something that he couldn't recall.
11:16Come, Watson.
11:18The scent of this tobacco may very well lead us to the real murderer.
11:21And we have little time to lose.
11:23Good night, Inspector.
11:36The package of tobacco was a thin thread to follow,
11:40and it seemed a desperate chance for Holmes to take.
11:45With only a few hours standing between Brighton and death,
11:49there was no time for false leads that would have to be abandoned.
11:54A mistake now would mean disaster.
12:36Don't you see the shop is closed? Come back tomorrow.
12:39Tomorrow will be too late. We must see you now.
12:42What about?
12:43Murder.
12:44Murder?
12:45Murder.
12:50Oh, well, I could do with a good cigar.
12:52I don't believe we'll have time for that, Watson.
12:54You choose a cigar like another man chooses a wife.
12:57Oh, I said, I'm not a man.
12:59I'm a man.
13:00I'm a man.
13:01I'm a man.
13:02I'm a man.
13:03I'm a man.
13:04I'm a man.
13:06Oh, I say, really, Holmes.
13:11Murder?
13:12Yes.
13:13My name is Sherlock Holmes.
13:14This is Dr. Watson.
13:15May we come in, please?
13:16Oh, yes, sir.
13:17Mr. Holmes.
13:18Indeed, you come in.
13:19Come in.
13:21My shop is at your disposal.
13:22Mr. Carruthers, a man's life is at stake.
13:25The information you may give us may very well save him from the galleys.
13:28I'd like to have a look at your client's ledger
13:30with the names and addresses of all those who smoke this blend of tobacco.
13:34Why, certainly, Mr. Holmes.
13:36It's my own special mixture, you know.
13:38Not many of my clients have the discernment or the cash to smoke it.
13:43I hope this will be of some help to you.
13:47But I say, Holmes, there's at least 50 names on that list.
13:50It'll take days to check through all of them,
13:52and time's getting desperately short.
13:54Aha.
13:55Mr. Langsley-Prime, 8 Groverley Square.
13:58Langsley-Prime?
13:59Who's he?
14:00I haven't the slightest idea.
14:01But we must get to him immediately, Watson.
14:03But now, why Langsley-Prime amongst all those names?
14:06Because 8 Groverley Square is in the docks section of the city,
14:08and all the other addresses in the ledger
14:10were in the more fashionable neighborhoods.
14:12Doesn't that strike you as unusual?
14:14Yes, it does now you've come to mention it.
14:16Whereas you may recall, Watson,
14:18that the late Mrs. Brighton didn't wish to reveal her background.
14:21I think we may therefore assume that it was of a somewhat questionable nature.
14:25That's true.
14:26And 8 Groverley Square is in a questionable neighborhood.
14:29Well, these are slight leads, I grant you, Watson.
14:32But we haven't the leisure at our disposal for more thorough investigation.
14:36Our one critical factor now is time.
14:39Thank you very much, Mr. Carruthers, for your assistance, and good night.
14:42Good night.
14:4410 o'clock.
14:46Six more hours.
14:48Inspector Lestrade, do you really think Mr. Holmes will discover anything?
14:51If there's anything to be discovered, he's the man to do it.
14:56I wonder where he is now.
14:58I don't know.
15:00I don't know.
15:02I don't know.
15:04I don't know.
15:06I don't know.
15:08I don't know.
15:10I don't know.
15:13I don't know where he is now.
15:15It seems impossible.
15:17All I can give him are a few hours of vague memory.
15:30This was Mr. Priam's room, Mr. Holmes.
15:32He left me two weeks ago.
15:34And he mowed me back red, that scoundrel.
15:36Did he leave you an affording address, Mrs. Chivvie?
15:39Not him.
15:40He just left a note saying he was gone and got a job, that's all.
15:43Tell me, Mrs. Chivvie, what sort of a man was he?
15:46I mean, what did he look like?
15:48Well, he was tall and quite handsome, you might say.
15:52Then again, you might not.
15:54What do you want him for?
15:56He's not in some kind of trouble, is he?
15:58Not necessarily.
16:00You're not here to give him the 2,000 pounds.
16:022,000 pounds?
16:04He was always talking about how he was going to get his hands on 2,000 pounds.
16:08And he wanted me rent.
16:10Thank you very much, Mrs. Chivvie. You've been most kind.
16:13Yeah, but when you see him, you tell him I sent my money.
16:16From now on, all rent in advance.
16:20Well, Watson, that's one more link in a strange chain of events.
16:24Tell me, what's the time now?
16:25Must be after 10.
16:26Ah, then we just have time to get to the theater.
16:28The theater?
16:29Yes, we don't want to miss the last act.
16:30Now, look here, Holmes, you can't do a thing like that.
16:32I mean, the theater at a time like this.
16:38Ah.
16:49Really, Holmes, your desire for entertainment is most callous.
16:53What do you make of this?
16:56Hmm?
16:59Well, it's hair.
17:01And just the same, I can't see how you can go on sitting there reading the paper
17:05with apparent indifference to the matter in hand.
17:08It's not ordinary hair, Watson.
17:10It's crepe hair, used to make false beards and moustaches.
17:14Oh, nonsense. I mean, if a man wants a moustache, he can grow one like anybody else.
17:17Well, Watson, actors often have need of simulated beards and moustaches.
17:23Actors?
17:24Yes.
17:25Do you mean it's an actor we're after?
17:27I'd wager so, inasmuch as I discovered that in Mr. Prime's dressing table drawer.
17:33I see.
17:34But even then, Holmes, how are we going to find out what theater he's performing in?
17:37I mean, there must be at least two dozen plays being presented in London this evening alone.
17:40That is precisely my reason for reading the theatrical page of the newspaper.
17:44And I noticed that only one play opened at the same time our Mr. Prime
17:48suddenly departed from Mrs. Chivvy's lodging house.
17:51I hope you like Shakespeare, Watson.
18:04Nobody goes backstage. Those are my orders.
18:07But my good man.
18:09If you're from the costumes company, you can't touch a thing until after the show.
18:13Mr. Pettiford says he'll be able to pay by the end of the week.
18:17I am not here for the costumes.
18:19I'm here on a very much more important matter, one in which every moment counts.
18:23Mr. Pettiford says?
18:25See here. This gentleman here is, er, was Sherlock Holmes.
18:31Sherlock Holmes, the detective?
18:33Yes. Thank you, ma'am.
18:43It's the audience. The final death scene is just starting.
18:47I can't drink down the curtain until it's all over.
18:51And how do you know that Mr. Priam is the man that you are looking for?
18:55No, no, no, no. I'm very sorry. You'll just have to wait until after the show.
19:00I'm very sorry. You'll just have to wait until the end of the play.
19:02The show must go on.
19:04My dear sir, a man's life is at stake.
19:08With all due respect to the bard, I may be forced to tread the boards myself.
19:12Holmes? Holmes, where are you?
19:16Oh! I nearly broke my blasted neck finding you.
19:20Watson, er, this is Mr. Pettiford. Pettifoot.
19:24What? Foot. You know. Foot.
19:27Oh, I beg your pardon, Mr. Pettiford. My friend and associate, Dr. Watson.
19:31How do you do? How do you do?
19:35Mr. Pettiford refuses to lower the curtain, Watson.
19:39Absolutely. The tradition of the theatre does not permit it.
19:43Now, I must ask you gentlemen to leave. Leave.
19:47Oh, please, leave. Oh, very well.
19:51Come on, Watson.
19:53It is the cause. It is the cause, my soul.
19:57Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars. It is the cause.
20:01Did I not shed her blood?
20:05Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow?
20:09And smooth as monumental alabaster.
20:13Yet she must die, else she betray more men.
20:18Oh!
20:22Put out the light, and then put out the light.
20:26If I quench thee, thy flaming minister, I can again, therefore, my life restore.
20:30Should I repent me,
20:34but once put out the light.
20:38Thou cunning'st pattern of excelling nature.
20:42I know not where is thy Promethean heat.
20:46When I have plucked the rose, I cannot give it vital growth again.
20:50It needs must wither.
20:54I'll smell it on the tree.
20:58Oh, bar me breath, that the storm must persuade justice to break her sword.
21:02One more. One more.
21:06Be thus when thou art dead, and I will kill thee.
21:10What have you done? What have you done? Oh, quick, take us to Priam's dressing room.
21:14I'll be the laughing stock of the theatre.
21:18She wakes.
21:32Well, the final thread is woven, Watson.
21:36Or should I say, rather, that every hair is at last in place.
21:41What is going on? What are you two madmen doing?
21:45Mr. Pettiford, you can be of assistance to us in a drama even more important than the performance on your stage.
21:49In fact, you can help us to save a man's life.
21:53I can? You can indeed. Now listen very closely. When Mr. Priam comes in here...
21:57What time's it now, Inspector?
22:01Twenty past eleven.
22:05It's odd. Each minute's like an hour, but each hour's like a minute.
22:09No. I'm afraid it's too late.
22:17Telephone call for you, Inspector Lestrade. Very important, sir.
22:21Thank you, officer.
22:29He'll be here any minute. Do you want me to hide behind the door and jump him as he comes in?
22:33No, you needn't do that, Watson. Just sit there and do nothing, whatever happens.
22:38He's coming!
22:46You! How dare you? You'll ruin my scene!
22:50That, I believe, will only be the least of it. Well, who are you and what do you want?
22:54In answer to your first question, my name is Sherlock Holmes. In answer to your second,
22:58I want you for the murder of Phyllis Brighton. Murder? Phyllis Brighton?
23:02Hmm. Better known in theatrical circles as Bobo LeVay.
23:06Get out of my dressing room!
23:10Your acting stands you in good stead, Mr. Pram. You've almost convinced me of your innocence.
23:14However, acting and life are two quite different things.
23:18Tonight, on the stage, you murdered the girl Desdemona.
23:22In make-believe. A month ago, you murdered a woman in a more sordid drama.
23:26You may as well continue this farce. The stage is all yours.
23:30Thank you. I shall try to be brief.
23:34Desdemona planned what seemed to be a simple but clever scheme.
23:38She would marry some poor, unsuspecting soul
23:42and you would murder him. And then a pair of you would share the insurance policy.
23:46Ridiculous. And it might have worked but for one thing.
23:50Phyllis fell in love with Edward Brighton.
23:54I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know any Phyllis or any Brighton.
23:58Then perhaps, Mr. Pram, you are familiar with Romeo's lines.
24:03Together, at the point of death, have they been married.
24:07Get out of here! I've heard enough! Not quite enough, Pram.
24:11It was you who had the vicious argument with Phyllis Brighton when she refused to continue with your scheme.
24:15And it was you who, in a fit of jealous rage, stabbed her to death.
24:19And so shall you die!
24:23Holmes! Let me go! Let me go!
24:27I came here as soon as I got your telephone message, Holmes.
24:31What's going on here and who's he?
24:33No time to explain now, Lestrade. I want you to arrest this man and order a stay of execution for Brighton.
24:37I'll be able to prove conclusively in the morning that Brighton is innocent and this man is guilty.
24:41All right, Holmes. I'll take your word for it. You'd better come along with me.
24:45I must admit, Holmes, I've been far too shaken to think clearly.
24:49But just the same, I can't believe it!
24:53I mean, with my very eyes, I saw him stab you with that dagger.
24:57Holmes, what I heard!
25:01Watson, if actors were allowed to use real weapons on the stage,
25:05the mortality rate would be something fantastic.
25:09Observe how the actors are being shot down.
25:14Observe how the blade disappears into the handle.
25:30Holmes!
25:43Holmes!
26:14Holmes!
26:18Holmes!
26:22Holmes!
26:26Holmes!
26:30Holmes!
26:44Holmes!
26:48Holmes!
26:52Holmes!
26:56Holmes!
27:00Holmes!
27:04Holmes!
27:08Holmes!