- 5/27/2025
#casanova #romeoandjuliet #thescapegoat
The tyrannical patriarch of a dysfunctional but wealthy family summons his adult children for a Christmas reunion, but prior to the holiday his throat is slashed apparently by one of them. Starring: David Suchet, Philip Jackson, Vernon Dobtcheff.
The tyrannical patriarch of a dysfunctional but wealthy family summons his adult children for a Christmas reunion, but prior to the holiday his throat is slashed apparently by one of them. Starring: David Suchet, Philip Jackson, Vernon Dobtcheff.
Category
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Short filmTranscript
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00:01:30Morning.
00:01:31Good morning.
00:01:33Can I help you?
00:01:35No, no, thank you. I'm just looking.
00:01:45Christmas presents, is it?
00:01:47For the wife?
00:01:49No, no, no.
00:01:51No, if you please, monsieur,
00:01:53I should like to buy the present for a good friend.
00:01:55With a sense of humour, I dare say.
00:01:58Well...
00:02:00Bulb-operated hairy spider?
00:02:03Oh!
00:02:05No, thank you.
00:02:07My three-in-one package of itching powder,
00:02:10ink blot and stink bombs.
00:02:12No, no, no. You see, my friend, he is a policeman.
00:02:15Oh.
00:02:17He, er, won't be wanting the Sherlock Holmes detective set then.
00:02:21I do not imagine so.
00:02:23No.
00:02:28Cigars?
00:02:29Exploding?
00:02:31Jamaican?
00:02:33Ah.
00:02:36Bon.
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00:03:03Bonjour, Madame Lee.
00:03:05Bonjour, monsieur.
00:03:06Good morning, Mr Poirot.
00:03:08Pardon, Madame, but I do not understand that which you do.
00:03:12Oh, it's just a hobby of mine.
00:03:15Miniature gardens.
00:03:17This one's a desert oasis,
00:03:19and this'll be an Italian vineyard when it's finished.
00:03:23And this is a Japanese garden.
00:03:25Do you see all the stones?
00:03:28C'est charmant.
00:03:30Mr Poirot, why did my father-in-law ask you to Galston?
00:03:35To tell you the truth, Madame, I am not sure.
00:03:39He told me that his life was in danger.
00:03:42But from whom?
00:03:44He did not specify.
00:03:51There is somebody I don't trust.
00:03:54Aubrey's only been with us a year, and...
00:03:59Tell me, Madame,
00:04:01at the time of the murder, your husband,
00:04:03he was in the dining room with Monsieur Harry?
00:04:07Where were you?
00:04:08I was in the drawing room having coffee.
00:04:10So you were alone?
00:04:12No, no, the Spanish girl was there.
00:04:15No, no, she wasn't.
00:04:17She went out a couple of minutes before.
00:04:19First Magdalena went, and then Pilar went.
00:04:26So you were quite alone?
00:04:28Yes, I suppose I was.
00:04:31And tell me, who was the first to arrive
00:04:33at the door of your father-in-law?
00:04:35I was.
00:04:38It's locked, it's locked!
00:04:40And you saw there no other person?
00:04:42No other person who came out of the room?
00:04:44Of course not!
00:04:48Tell me, Monsieur Lee,
00:04:50I have to, I'm afraid, ask the questions most obvious,
00:04:53as well as the subtle ones.
00:04:55Did you know the combination of the safe-belonging
00:04:58Did you know the combination of the safe-belonging to your father?
00:05:01No, nobody did.
00:05:03But it would have been easy enough to discover.
00:05:05You must find out who did this awful thing, Mr Poirot.
00:05:09You must find out!
00:05:11You must find out!
00:05:27Very violent sort of blokes, these Africans.
00:05:30Europeans do not figure too badly in the arts of violence, Chief Inspector.
00:05:34No, but it gives you the creeps, this place, doesn't it?
00:05:36You are too sensitive, mon ami.
00:05:38That's true.
00:05:41Chief Inspector.
00:05:43What is it, Poirot?
00:05:45We know of two possible motives for the murder of Monsieur Simeon Lee.
00:05:48One is a simple case of the theft of the diamonds.
00:05:51And the other is old Simeon's will.
00:05:53Did someone want him dead before he could make the changes he was threatening?
00:05:57Precisement.
00:06:00No, no, no, no.
00:06:02You'll go in off if you do that.
00:06:05Now, grip the butt of the cue firmly and...
00:06:13Oh, good morning. Mr Harry Lee, I presume.
00:06:16And who are you?
00:06:18Chief Inspector Jack Scotland Yard.
00:06:20Brought in the big guns, have they?
00:06:23I'd like a word with Miss Estravados.
00:06:26Estravados.
00:06:28Yes.
00:06:30In private.
00:06:36Don't let them bully you, kid.
00:06:41Now then, Miss Estrav...
00:06:43Vados.
00:06:45Estravados, quite.
00:06:47You understand English all right, dear?
00:06:50My mother was English.
00:06:52I am really a very English person.
00:06:55Is your passport English?
00:06:58It is Spanish.
00:07:00We'd better have a look at it.
00:07:02It is Spanish.
00:07:04We'd better have a look at that, if you don't mind.
00:07:07It's in my luggage, I think.
00:07:09So your grandfather sent for you to come from Spain,
00:07:12and you arrived here yesterday, is that right?
00:07:14Yes.
00:07:16Tell me, mademoiselle, when...
00:07:19Sorry, I was looking for Sergeant Coombs.
00:07:22Please, don't let me interrupt.
00:07:26When you first met your grandfather,
00:07:29what did you think of him?
00:07:31He was very, very old.
00:07:34He had to sit in a chair,
00:07:36and his face was all dried up.
00:07:39But I like him all the same.
00:07:41I think that when he was a young man,
00:07:44he must have been very handsome.
00:07:47Like you.
00:07:50Very handsome.
00:07:53There you are, sir.
00:07:55I think I'd better go and find Sergeant Coombs.
00:07:59Are these diamonds that have been stolen?
00:08:01They were not like diamonds,
00:08:03just very ugly little stones.
00:08:05So he showed them to you, did he?
00:08:07Didn't give you any of them, I suppose?
00:08:09No.
00:08:11But I thought that one day he would,
00:08:13if I was very nice to him
00:08:15and came often to sit with him.
00:08:17Because old men,
00:08:19they like very much young girls.
00:08:26Tell me, mademoiselle,
00:08:28who do you think stole them?
00:08:30Robbery.
00:08:31Why do you say that?
00:08:33He has the face of a thief.
00:08:35His eyes go so...
00:08:37from side to side, and he listens at doors.
00:08:42Where were you when the crime was committed, Miss Estravados?
00:08:46I went up to my room.
00:08:48I remember the butler had just brought in the coffee.
00:08:51But I wanted a clean handkerchief,
00:08:53so I went upstairs.
00:08:57I was sitting at my dressing table,
00:08:59repairing my make-up.
00:09:03And then far away I heard a scream
00:09:05and everybody running,
00:09:07and so I went too.
00:09:10I see.
00:09:12So you were all by yourself,
00:09:14up in your bedroom,
00:09:16when Simeon Lee died?
00:09:19Yes.
00:09:21Yes, I was.
00:09:39Here, sergeant!
00:09:57Empty.
00:09:59Whose room is this?
00:10:01It's that Member of Parliament's and his wife's.
00:10:47You know what I think, Poirot?
00:10:49No, Chief Inspector. What is it that you think?
00:10:51I think this murder was done by a woman.
00:10:53That's what I think.
00:10:54And why is it that you think that?
00:10:56Right.
00:10:58Simeon Lee was a frail old man, yes?
00:11:00Monsieur Simeon Lee was a man of the frailness extreme.
00:11:03Then how do you account for the furniture in his room
00:11:05being knocked about all over the shop like it was?
00:11:07I mean, he couldn't have put up much of a struggle against a man, could he?
00:11:10But against a woman?
00:11:12Chief Inspector, you have been thinking
00:11:14again. I have warned you of this before.
00:11:16Oh, well.
00:11:18But you know, seriously, Chief Inspector,
00:11:20all of the family, the women included,
00:11:22they will have alibis for the time of the murder.
00:11:24Well, the lovely Magdalena Lees is pretty flimsy,
00:11:26and it was her luggage we found the diamond case in.
00:11:30If I'd stolen the diamonds,
00:11:32do you really think I'd be stupid enough to leave the box in my own luggage?
00:11:36Would you tell us where you were at the time of the murder, Mrs Lee?
00:11:39In the drawing room.
00:11:41In the drawing room with Mrs Lydia Lee?
00:11:43Um, no. I'd come in here to telephone.
00:11:46Was anybody in the room with you?
00:11:48No.
00:11:50It was a private call. I was alone.
00:11:53How long were you in here, Madam Lee?
00:11:55What's it got to do with you?
00:11:57Just answer the question.
00:11:59How should I know?
00:12:0115 minutes?
00:12:0320?
00:12:04You know how long it takes to put a call through in the evening.
00:12:07It was a trunk call, then.
00:12:09Well, of course it was.
00:12:11You don't honestly think I'd know anybody in this godforsaken dump, do you?
00:12:15Well, one of them's lying.
00:12:17The lovely Magdalena can't have been in there alone making a phone call
00:12:20the same time as her husband was in there alone making a phone call.
00:12:23Exactement.
00:12:25Perhaps we should tax them with this together, Chief Inspector.
00:12:31Here's another thing I've been thinking, Poirot.
00:12:33Here's another thing I've been thinking, Poirot.
00:12:35Boy, on the desk in my room you'll find my spectacles.
00:12:39In your room, Madam?
00:12:41There's something not quite English about this murder.
00:12:43Common?
00:12:44His throat's slitting.
00:12:46Not quite our style, then.
00:12:55What'll you have, then, Poirot?
00:12:57Well, that's very kind of you, Chief Inspector.
00:12:59A glass of dry white wine.
00:13:01What?
00:13:03Um, mouscadet, perhaps?
00:13:05Well, I might have some cider.
00:13:13Hello, Hercule.
00:13:16How are you doing?
00:13:20Let me buy you a drink.
00:13:22Non, merci. The Chief Inspector's up. He's already buying me one.
00:13:26So...
00:13:28it was the glamorous Magdalena who had the diamonds all the time, I hear.
00:13:34Uh, the leather box, but not the diamonds.
00:13:38Ah.
00:13:39Ah, Mr. Lee. I've been looking for you.
00:13:41Well, you only had to look in the nearest pub.
00:13:44But tell me, though, what do you think of the opening times in this country?
00:13:49Sit down for a minute.
00:13:55Good health.
00:14:01What made you decide to return to England after all these years?
00:14:04I thought the fatted calf would make a welcome change.
00:14:09Now, my father wrote to me a year or so ago,
00:14:13suggesting that I came home, so I came.
00:14:16And Monsieur Alfred, how did he feel about your return?
00:14:19Alfred's always been jealous of me.
00:14:22You see, he was the good stay-at-home, stick-in-the-mud son.
00:14:29Tell me, Monsieur Lee,
00:14:31what do you think was the purpose of the confrontation
00:14:33that your father had with his family before dinner last evening?
00:14:37He wanted to see the fur fly.
00:14:41He was watching us like a cat.
00:14:43See how we reacted.
00:14:45What changes in his will was he thinking about, do you know?
00:14:48I imagine...
00:14:50Shall I say I hoped
00:14:52the change would be to the benefit of your humble servant.
00:14:56Pilar, too, wouldn't be surprised.
00:14:58Have you got any theories about this murder, Mr Lee?
00:15:01I don't understand it at all.
00:15:03I mean, that door was locked.
00:15:05It took some doing to break it open.
00:15:07There was no-one in the room but Dad.
00:15:09Nobody could have gone out through the window.
00:15:12The door was locked from the outside?
00:15:14No, the key was on the inside.
00:15:17You notice that, Monsieur Lee?
00:15:22I do notice things.
00:15:25It's a habit of mine.
00:15:30Edgar, I must get back to my friends.
00:15:40I've been feeling very queer.
00:15:43Very queer indeed.
00:15:45It is indeed a business mustard.
00:15:47Oh, dear, it gave me quite a turn, it did.
00:15:50When I went into the hall and there was this strange man standing there,
00:15:54and Mr Harry's voice said,
00:15:57''Still here, Tressillion?
00:15:59''Alive? The same as ever?''
00:16:02It must have been a feeling more strange.
00:16:05It seems sometimes, sir, as if the past isn't the past at all.
00:16:09It seems to me the bell rings and I go to let someone in.
00:16:13Doesn't matter if it's Mr Harry or Mr George,
00:16:16Superintendent Sunday.
00:16:18And I'm saying to myself...
00:16:22''Could I have done this before?''
00:16:27It is most interesting, Tressillion.
00:16:30Yes, well...
00:16:32I'd just like to check some times with you, Mr Tressillion.
00:16:36When the noise started upstairs, Mr George Lee was telephoning.
00:16:40Can you confirm that?
00:16:42Oh, somebody telephoned, sir.
00:16:44As the bell rings in my pantry here,
00:16:46if anybody lifts the receiver to dial in under,
00:16:49there's a faint noise on the bell here.
00:16:51And about this fellow Hawberry, the valet,
00:16:53he was definitely out of the house by quarter past eight?
00:16:56It was a bit before that, I'd say, sir.
00:16:58It was just after the superintendent arrived.
00:17:00I remember particularly because he broke a coffee cup.
00:17:04Hawberry broke a coffee cup? How was that?
00:17:07He was just lifting it up, admiring it like,
00:17:10and I happened to mention that Superintendent Sugden had arrived,
00:17:15and he just dropped it.
00:17:18Did he indeed?
00:17:27Sit down, will you?
00:17:32I prefer to stand.
00:17:34Very well.
00:17:36It's about these telephone calls on the night of the crime.
00:17:39You put through a call to Westringham, I think you said, Mr Lee.
00:17:43To my agent in the constituency, yes.
00:17:46Your call went through at 7.56 exactly.
00:17:49I couldn't say the exact time.
00:17:51Ah, but we can, you see, Mr Lee.
00:17:54Your call was put through at 7.56 and ended at 8.09.
00:17:59Your father was killed, Mr Lee, at about 8.15,
00:18:02so I must ask you for an account of your movements during those six minutes.
00:18:07But the exchange must have made a mistake.
00:18:11Well, I may have just finished telephoning.
00:18:14I think I debated making another call.
00:18:18You would hardly debate whether or not to make a telephone call for six minutes.
00:18:22Are you doubting my word?
00:18:24We do like these questions answered, Mr Lee, in a murder case.
00:18:29I don't like your tone, Chief Inspector.
00:18:32I'm sorry for that, Mr Lee.
00:18:34Mrs Lee, I think you said that you were telephoning when the alarm broke out
00:18:40and that at that time you were alone in the study.
00:18:45Telephoning?
00:18:47You didn't telephone from here.
00:18:50Didn't I?
00:18:52Um, I don't know.
00:18:54I was so upset.
00:18:56Well, you stated that.
00:18:57George, don't let them bully me.
00:18:59You know people shout at me. I can't remember anything at all.
00:19:03I'm so upset.
00:19:10I won't have my wife treated like this. It's disgraceful.
00:19:13She's a very sensitive woman.
00:19:15I warn you, I shall have a question asked in the house
00:19:18about the bullying methods of the police.
00:19:26She'll be back.
00:19:27In about five minutes, I should say.
00:19:29When she's worked out a story, eh, Poirot?
00:19:36Do not you respect for this case?
00:19:38It certainly gives one to think, Nespa.
00:19:40It gives one to think, all right, Poirot.
00:19:51Look at it, poor thing.
00:19:56It's what I picked up in Grandfather's room.
00:19:58He must have had a balloon too, only this was a pink one.
00:20:16Have you seen a ghost or something, Poirot?
00:20:20She was better.
00:20:22I might just have done precisely that.
00:20:27On Christmas night, all Christians sing
00:20:33To hear the news the angels bring
00:20:37On Christmas night, all Christians sing
00:20:41To hear the news the angels bring
00:20:45News of great joy, news of great love
00:20:52News of a merciful King's birth
00:21:00And why should men on earth be so sad
00:21:04Since our Redeemer, He has bled
00:21:08And why should men on earth be so sad
00:21:12Since our Redeemer, He has bled
00:21:15Good-bye, sir. Good-bye, and Merry Christmas.
00:21:18Ah, Madame Lee. Monsieur Poirot.
00:21:21Only enough. I wanted a word with you.
00:21:26I can trust you, I know, Monsieur Poirot.
00:21:30You look so kind.
00:21:33You see, there's...
00:21:35This doesn't have to go any further, does it?
00:21:38I mean, you don't have to tell that awful policeman.
00:21:43I wanted to telephone somebody.
00:21:46A friend of mine.
00:21:48A man.
00:21:50And I didn't want George to know about it.
00:21:53I know it was wrong.
00:21:55I do not judge, Madame.
00:21:57No.
00:22:00Anyway, I went to telephone after dinner,
00:22:02when I thought George would be safely in the dining room.
00:22:05After seven years!
00:22:06I've got these blokes chasing me for cash!
00:22:10And when I got there, I heard him telephoning, so I waited.
00:22:17And where did you wait, Madame?
00:22:19There's a little place for coats and hats and things just by the door.
00:22:22And I slept back there, where I could see George come out of the study.
00:22:26Only he didn't come out.
00:22:28And then I heard all the noise, and I heard Mr Lee screaming.
00:22:34Anyway, it would be very, very awkward.
00:22:38Very, very awkward for me to talk about this in front of George.
00:22:42You do see that, don't you?
00:22:52Here, Poirot!
00:22:57Listen to this.
00:22:59Good afternoon, Sergeant.
00:23:00Sir.
00:23:01Tell Mr Poirot what you just told me.
00:23:03Well, sir, the superintendent asked me to make a few inquiries,
00:23:06like about any reason that Hawberry might have
00:23:09for being a bit careful about the police.
00:23:11Did you find any reason, Sergeant?
00:23:12That he did.
00:23:13Extorting money under threat in Bedfordshire.
00:23:15Modified blackmail.
00:23:17The case couldn't be proved, so he got off.
00:23:20But he could not have possibly committed the murder.
00:23:23His lady friend said he was at the cinema,
00:23:25and everyone agrees that he left the house before 8 o'clock.
00:23:28Yes, I know. Blessed infuriating.
00:23:30Tell him the other thing, Coombs.
00:23:32Well, sir, we also made an inquiry or two about Mrs George Lee.
00:23:35Ah. Magdalena Jones, as she was
00:23:37when she was living with a Commander Jones down in Hambledon.
00:23:40Passed her off as his daughter. Only she wasn't.
00:23:43And before that, she was Madeleine Potts of Wilsdom.
00:23:46She left with most of the Commander's savings
00:23:49and debts all over Hampshire.
00:23:54Thank you very much, Sergeant.
00:23:56I do not think that that one is as simple as she seems, Chief Inspector.
00:23:59On the night of the murder, she said that she went to telephone a man.
00:24:03But she overheard her husband on the telephone
00:24:05and concealed herself until he finished.
00:24:07Well, it sounds like about her dap.
00:24:15What are these blooming things, Plorum?
00:24:17Ah. Now, these are the miniature gardens of Madame Alfred Lee.
00:24:22Well, what's the point of having a miniature garden?
00:24:25I mean, you can't do anything with it, can you?
00:24:27You can't take a deck chair out and sit in it.
00:24:30They are ours, Chief Inspector.
00:24:32See here.
00:24:34This one is the Vineyard Italien.
00:24:38And this one is the Garden Japanese.
00:24:41Well, it's just stones, isn't it?
00:24:43I mean, I know the Japanese are peculiar, but...
00:24:50What are you looking at?
00:24:56What is it?
00:24:59It's a stone.
00:25:02Very nice.
00:25:08Nicer than you think, Chief Inspector.
00:25:23Frog's been doing his Christmas shopping.
00:25:26I want to see what he has brought for me.
00:25:28It's heavy on.
00:25:31No, it's not for me, I think.
00:25:33What the devil is it?
00:25:36It is an imitation moustache.
00:25:38I knew that thing of his couldn't be real.
00:25:46What is it?
00:25:47We'd like a word, Mrs Lee, if that's convenient.
00:25:50Yes. All right, I'll come out.
00:25:54I'm sorry, Alfred's resting. He had very little sleep last night.
00:25:58Would you come through here?
00:26:03This is his mother's old room.
00:26:05It hasn't been touched since she died.
00:26:08Tell me, madame, your husband, he was very attached to his mother.
00:26:12He adored her.
00:26:14We were wondering if you could explain these.
00:26:17What are they?
00:26:18Uncut diamonds, Mrs Lee.
00:26:20We found them in your Japanese garden.
00:26:22My dear Chief Inspector, if I'd stolen the diamonds,
00:26:25I would have just dug a hole in a flower bed somewhere and buried them there.
00:26:29Have you still really no idea who could have done this awful murder?
00:26:33We've got more idea who didn't do it.
00:26:35Please, God, let it be a stranger, not a member of the family.
00:26:40It might be both.
00:26:43What do you mean?
00:26:45It might be a member of the family and at the same time a stranger.
00:26:50It is merely a little idea that has occurred to the mind of Hercule Poirot.
00:26:59The official reading of the will generally takes place after the funeral of the deceased.
00:27:05However, as that will not now be until after the inquest,
00:27:09I have been asked to give you the bare bones of Mr Simeon Lee's testament now.
00:27:14Asked by whom?
00:27:16Interested parties, Mr Lee?
00:27:18The main provisions of the will, which was made ten years ago, are quite simple.
00:27:23Half Mr Simeon Lee's property goes to his son, Mr Alfred Lee.
00:27:28The remainder is divided equally between his other children.
00:27:31Alfred struck lucky again, as per usual.
00:27:35Half the old man's fortune.
00:27:37You ought to think yourself lucky. My father left you anything at all.
00:27:42Well, I don't think I need to go any further with that.
00:27:45But what about Pilar?
00:27:46Miss Estravados is not mentioned in the will.
00:27:49Doesn't she get her mother's share?
00:27:51Jennifer Estravados, if she had lived,
00:27:54would of course have received her equal share with the rest of you.
00:27:57As she is dead, the portion that would have been hers goes back into the estate
00:28:02to be shared out between you.
00:28:04Then I have nothing.
00:28:07Oh, my dear, the family will see to that, of course.
00:28:10I think she ought to get Jennifer's whack.
00:28:13Well, I really must be going.
00:28:15Goodbye, Mrs Lee.
00:28:17Anything I can do, please consult me at any time.
00:28:24I agree with Harry. I think Pilar is entitled to a definite share.
00:28:28I mean, this will was made years before Jennifer's death.
00:28:31The law is the law, I'm afraid.
00:28:34We must abide by it.
00:28:36Yes, we're all very sorry for Pilar.
00:28:39But as George says, the law is the law.
00:28:42My dear, this must be very unpleasant for you.
00:28:45Would you please leave us while we discuss the question?
00:28:48Yes.
00:28:50Yes, very well.
00:29:01Well, gentlemen, you've heard what you came for.
00:29:05This is family business now.
00:29:20You really are a skinflint, George, aren't you?
00:29:25At least I'm not a sponger.
00:29:27You have battened on Dad these last 30 years.
00:29:32As an elected member of His Majesty's Parliament...
00:29:35Can we please discuss this sanely and quietly?
00:29:39Yes. Jennifer only died last year.
00:29:42I am sure that when Simeon sent for Mr Charlton,
00:29:45he intended to make provision for Pilar in a new will.
00:29:48I think we should carry out what we can assume were his wishes.
00:29:51I agree. Certainly not. The whole thing's preposterous.
00:29:54Considering George is the only person in this family who has done anything in the world,
00:29:58I think it's shameful his father left him so little.
00:30:01Well, that's clear enough.
00:30:03Of the family, Alfred and I are in favour of the motion.
00:30:06George is against. The ayes have it.
00:30:09There isn't any question of ayes or noes.
00:30:12My share of my father's estate is mine absolutely.
00:30:16I shall not part with one penny of it.
00:30:29So who profits by the fact that Simeon Lee didn't have time to alter his will?
00:30:34All of them except the Spanish girl.
00:30:37So we can cross her off the list, then?
00:30:40Yes.
00:30:43Well, maybe.
00:30:51No, I will not!
00:30:53It's all right, Pilar. You're blood right.
00:30:55You speak like that. That is why I cannot do it.
00:30:58But it's not a matter of charity. It's justice.
00:31:01You have already spoiled everything.
00:31:03I am going away.
00:31:05Now, at once.
00:31:08You will not be troubled by me no more.
00:31:13Now, the matter of your passport may...
00:31:15Go to hell!
00:31:21What's going on?
00:31:23It's a family matter.
00:31:25I'm sorry.
00:31:27Alfred and I had agreed to settle a third of our share of the estate on her.
00:31:31She refused to take it.
00:31:53She's still alive.
00:34:24Good morning, Mr. Henry.
00:34:26Good morning, sir.
00:34:28Merry Christmas.
00:34:30Oh, thank you, sir.
00:34:34Hercule.
00:34:36Have you heard how the girl is this morning?
00:34:39Merry Christmas to you, Monsieur Henry.
00:34:42And to you, Mr. Henry.
00:34:44And to you, Mr. Henry.
00:34:46And to you, Mr. Henry.
00:34:48And to you, Mr. Henry.
00:34:50Merry Christmas to you, Monsieur Henry.
00:34:53Yes.
00:34:55Mademoiselle Estravado, she sleeps peacefully.
00:34:57She has, I think, the clavicle that is broken.
00:35:00Yes, yes, I heard all that from the doc last night, but...
00:35:03I mean, who would want to do such a thing?
00:35:09Excuse me.
00:35:21What have you got to tell me, then, Poirot?
00:35:44Do, do, do.
00:35:51Ah.
00:36:03What's the meaning of all this?
00:36:08Merry Christmas, Maggie.
00:36:12Good morning.
00:36:14Please do come in.
00:36:34Please do make yourselves as comfortable as possible.
00:36:39Mademoiselle Estravados has something that she wishes to say to you.
00:36:45You think I am your niece, Pilar Estravados?
00:36:51That is not so.
00:36:54I don't understand, Pilar.
00:36:56I would not have told you.
00:36:59Not ever, but for the money.
00:37:02To come here and pretend and cheat and act, that was fun.
00:37:09But when Lydia said that the money was mine,
00:37:12and that it was only justice, it was not fun any longer.
00:37:17I am sorry.
00:37:19Pilar was killed when I was travelling with her in her car in Spain.
00:37:25And I had not much money and nowhere to go,
00:37:28and I thought, why should I not go to England and be kind of rich?
00:37:32And when it began, it was fun wondering if I could...
00:37:35This is preposterous!
00:37:37This is criminal! Getting money by false pretences.
00:37:41Well, she didn't get much from you, old boy, did she?
00:37:44So, I'm not your uncle any more, eh?
00:37:48I'm afraid it's rather more serious than that.
00:37:51If she could lie about that, she could lie about anything.
00:37:54I'll tell you what I think, Miss...
00:37:57What's your name?
00:37:59Lopez. Conchita Lopez.
00:38:02Very well, Miss Lopez. I'll tell you what I think happened.
00:38:06When Mr Lee found that the diamonds were missing,
00:38:08he sent word for you to come and see him immediately after dinner.
00:38:11You did so, and he accused you of the theft.
00:38:14You denied it. No. This is not true.
00:38:19I left the drawing room after dinner.
00:38:21I came up here to my room.
00:38:23I wanted a clean handkerchief,
00:38:25but then I thought I would go and see the old man.
00:38:30I thought he would be pleased.
00:38:33But when I turned out onto the stairs,
00:38:35I saw that someone else was there at his door.
00:38:41I slipped back into the corridor in case the person turned around.
00:38:46I did not want him to think that I was...
00:38:48Oh, I don't know the word.
00:38:50Ingratiating yourself?
00:38:52Yes.
00:38:53No. Go on, Pelop. Conchita.
00:38:56I heard those horrible noises.
00:38:58Crashes, screams, and...
00:39:01When the people came running, I came out at the end and joined them.
00:39:04Wait a minute, wait a minute. This is all very airy-fairy.
00:39:07You say you saw someone standing outside Simeon Lee's door.
00:39:11Who did you see?
00:39:13I do not know who it was.
00:39:16It was too dimly lit to see, but...
00:39:20It was a woman.
00:39:21Rubbish.
00:39:22She's just saying anything to get off the hook.
00:39:25I always said an outsider killed my father.
00:39:29In my opinion,
00:39:32Simeon Lee, your father,
00:39:34he was killed by his own flesh and blood.
00:39:38One of us? I deny that.
00:39:41Oh, yes.
00:39:43There is a case against every person...
00:39:46in this room.
00:39:48Nonsense.
00:39:49Balderdash!
00:39:52Eh bien.
00:39:56I will begin with the case against you,
00:39:58Monsieur George Lee.
00:40:00Now, wait a minute.
00:40:01You had no love for your father.
00:40:03You kept on good terms with him for the sake of money.
00:40:06On the day that he died, he threatened to cut down your allowance,
00:40:09but you knew that when he died,
00:40:11you would probably inherit the sum most substantial,
00:40:13and there is your motive.
00:40:15I never heard...
00:40:16After dinner, you went to telephone.
00:40:18This telephone call lasted 13 minutes.
00:40:26You could then have easily visited the room of your father
00:40:29and killed him.
00:40:33Afterwards, you left the room,
00:40:35turned the key from the outside
00:40:37in the hope that the whole affair would look like that of a burglar,
00:40:40but you omitted in your panic to make sure that the window it was left open
00:40:43to support this burglar theory,
00:40:45and that was stupid.
00:40:47But you are, you will pardon me for saying so,
00:40:49rather a stupid man.
00:40:51But you know, many of the stupid men have become criminals.
00:40:53How dare you speak to my husband like that?
00:40:55Ah, yes.
00:40:56Then there is, of course,
00:40:58Madame Lee.
00:41:02She also had a motive.
00:41:04She is, I think, in debt,
00:41:06and the tone of the remarks made by Simeon Lee
00:41:09would have caused her some uneasiness.
00:41:11Roger, you know this, sir.
00:41:13She also has no alibi.
00:41:15She said she went to the telephone,
00:41:17but did she in fact make a call?
00:41:19And in any case, we only have her word for what she did.
00:41:25I suppose it's our turn now.
00:41:27Now, how do you suggest
00:41:29that dear Alfred killed his beloved father
00:41:33when we were both together in the dining room at the time?
00:41:38Yeah, that is very simple, monsieur.
00:41:43You and your brother are on the terms very bad, n'est-ce pas?
00:41:46Oh, that is well known.
00:41:48But let us suppose that these bad terms are all part of a clever plot.
00:41:51Let us suppose that you and he got together some time before,
00:41:54and then comes the night of the murder.
00:41:56Which together you had planned so cleverly.
00:42:00One of you remains in the dining room,
00:42:02talking out loud and quarrelling
00:42:04to make it appear as though there were two people in the room.
00:42:07While the other brother, he goes upstairs and commits the crime.
00:42:12I mean, I don't think you understand.
00:42:14You devil!
00:42:16But what if it was not a woman
00:42:18that Mademoiselle Lopez saw outside the room of Simeon Lee?
00:42:21What if Mademoiselle Lopez is again lying,
00:42:24but this time to support a man of whom she has grown rather fond?
00:42:27Now, look... No, you're wrong.
00:42:30It was me that Pilar saw.
00:42:32You, Lydia?
00:42:35I can't believe I've been such a coward
00:42:37to keep silent just because I was afraid.
00:42:40I think you'd better tell us now, Mrs Lee.
00:42:43I'd been thinking all evening
00:42:45about the unpleasant scene we'd had with Simeon before dinner.
00:42:51When Pilar...
00:42:53I'm sorry, Conchita left the drawing room,
00:42:56I decided to go up and see him.
00:43:02I was going to be firm with him.
00:43:04I was going to tell him that Alfred and I were leaving.
00:43:07Lydia!
00:43:09Yes, yes, I was!
00:43:11I'd had enough humiliation, Alfred.
00:43:17I knocked on Simeon's door.
00:43:19There was no answer.
00:43:21I knocked again. Still no answer.
00:43:25I tried the door handle, and the door was locked.
00:43:29Then those terrible noises started inside the room.
00:43:35I stood there, paralysed.
00:43:40And then Alfred and the others came running
00:43:42and battered down the door, and we saw inside the room...
00:43:46And we saw inside the room.
00:43:49And there was no-one there.
00:43:52Just Simeon lying dead.
00:43:55There was no-one else there. Do you understand me?
00:44:00And no-one had come out.
00:44:03And all this time you've said nothing?
00:44:05No, because if I had, there is only one thing that you could have thought.
00:44:10That I had killed my father-in-law.
00:44:12No, no, no, no, madame.
00:44:15When you heard those screams, most of all,
00:44:17when you heard the sounds of the struggle,
00:44:19Simeon Lee was already dead.
00:44:21Already dead?
00:44:23What do you mean, already dead?
00:44:26Did I not tell to you, Chief Inspector, that I thought I had seen a ghost?
00:44:31The first intimation I had of this was when I visited the shop in the village.
00:44:35And the owner of this shop, he is a fellow most jovial, n'est-ce pas?
00:44:40He delights in the childish pranks and the...
00:44:44How do you say, les blagues?
00:44:47The practical tricks.
00:44:49You're not trying to tell us that this is all a practical joke.
00:44:52No, no, no, madame. Not a joke.
00:44:55But a trick most deadly.
00:44:58The killing itself was simple.
00:45:09Our murderer sets the scene.
00:45:12The diamonds are taken from the safe which had already been opened by Simeon Lee.
00:45:19As much furniture as possible is piled in the center of the room like a tower.
00:45:28Then, a strong, thin length of cord is tied around this tower.
00:45:41The two ends of the cord are then passed through the narrow gap in the window
00:45:46and allowed to drop to the ground below.
00:45:52The door, it is locked from the outside.
00:46:00The stage, it is set.
00:46:04Our murderer walks casually away, waits a little while,
00:46:08then returns to the wall below the window
00:46:11and takes up the slack on both ends of the cord.
00:46:19And now, at last, the perpetrator has prepared the final element in his ruthless plot.
00:46:30But the scream. The terrible scream.
00:46:32Ah, yes, of course.
00:46:34The dying screams of Simeon Lee.
00:46:36The cry of a man in mortal agony, a soul in hell.
00:46:40Monsieur Harry Lee came closest to it when he described that sound as that of a killing of a pig.
00:46:45And it was here that my friend in the village shop unwittingly played his part.
00:46:53Morning.
00:46:56In that establishment most eccentric,
00:46:58the owner sells long pink bladders which have painted on them faces.
00:47:04These are called dying pigs.
00:47:08They are blown up like a balloon
00:47:10and the little wooden peg is placed in one end to prevent the escape of air.
00:47:15Our murderer had placed in the room one of these balloons
00:47:19and had attached the cord to the little wooden peg.
00:47:35Ah!
00:47:40His plan accomplished.
00:47:42Our murderer then pulls the remains of the dying pig out through the window
00:47:47leaving behind only the little wooden peg
00:47:51and the tell-tale fragment of the balloon.
00:47:56But you know, the most valuable clue in this case
00:47:59was uttered quite unknowingly by the butler, Tresilion.
00:48:03He said that he felt strange.
00:48:07He said that he felt that things were happening that had happened before.
00:48:14And it was one very simple occurrence that gave to him this feeling most strange.
00:48:19It was when he met Monsieur Harry Lee,
00:48:21when Monsieur Harry Lee first entered the house.
00:48:23Bless my soul if it ain't Tresilion!
00:48:27Mr. Harry!
00:48:28And when you look at the face of Monsieur Harry Lee you can see why.
00:48:32What the devil do you mean?
00:48:33In the face, Monsieur Harry Lee closely resembled his father.
00:48:39But the similarity is quite striking
00:48:41when one observes the portrait of Monsieur Simeon Lee in the sitting room.
00:48:45En effet, all of the men in the Lee family have a likeness that is most strong.
00:48:55All right, Poirot. All very clever, no doubt.
00:48:58But who is this murderer we keep hearing about?
00:49:02Ah, the good Chief Inspector Japp.
00:49:04Always the one to make Poirot stick to his task.
00:49:08Et bien, Chief Inspector, in order to answer your question,
00:49:10it is necessary that we make a short journey.
00:49:13I hope you know what you're up to, Poirot.
00:49:44Bonjour, Madame de Saxa.
00:49:47We would like to see your son, if you please.
00:49:51Oh, God.
00:49:59This was indeed the death of an evil man.
00:50:02Remember the reputation of Simeon Lee?
00:50:06How he broke the heart of his wife because of his numerous affairs with other women?
00:50:11Remember also his boasts of the illegitimate sons that he had sired.
00:50:17A man born, you will pardon me, Madame,
00:50:20on the wrong side of the blanket can nonetheless inherit the features of his father.
00:50:25His pride, his patience, and his vengeful spirit.
00:50:32It was my revenge, my pride, my vengeful spirit.
00:50:36And I did not inherit it from Simeon Lee.
00:50:39I got nothing from Simeon Lee. Nothing.
00:50:43And you waited.
00:50:45You and your son followed Simeon Lee.
00:50:48And you waited.
00:50:50Forty years.
00:50:52You instilled in your son your own rage.
00:50:54I saved Simeon Lee's life.
00:50:56And he used me. And he stole from me.
00:50:59And he deserted me and my child.
00:51:01Your son changed his name, settled down to a career,
00:51:04and he also waited.
00:51:07Nothing in this life was so important to either of you but the total destruction of Simeon Lee.
00:51:13Simeon Lee earned his death as he earned nothing else in his whole life.
00:51:17He was a...
00:51:35Come in, Superintendent.
00:51:49What's going on?
00:51:51And now you can see it, can you not, Chief Inspector?
00:51:53You can see why Trosilien felt so disoriented.
00:51:57What's all this about?
00:51:58The extent of his disorientation did not fully dawn upon me.
00:52:02Until I purchased from the village shop the false moustache
00:52:08and attached it to the portrait of Simeon Lee in the sitting room.
00:52:29The likeness, it was extraordinary.
00:52:34You're saying I look like Simeon Lee?
00:52:44You are like Simeon Lee in almost every respect.
00:52:50None of that!
00:52:54You resemble very closely to me.
00:52:56You resemble very closely your father.
00:53:01And also like your father,
00:53:04you are prepared to wait years if necessary for your revenge.
00:53:18And your revenge is indeed terrible.
00:53:26No!
00:53:32And so you embark on your ingenious subterfuge.
00:53:42Weaving the intricate web of deception
00:53:45that will make the murder which you have committed
00:53:48appear to have been perpetrated by an innocent member of the household
00:53:54while you yourself were absent.
00:54:00You make sure that Trosilien notes well your exit from the house.
00:54:04We'll be having more snow tonight, I shouldn't wonder.
00:54:08Good night!
00:54:09Good night, sir.
00:54:17You stop halfway down the drive.
00:54:20Wait long enough to distance yourself from the crime in the minds of the family.
00:54:27And then return to the house.
00:54:38Once beneath the window,
00:54:40you activate the mechanism most crude
00:54:44that creates the hideous sound of a murder.
00:54:49A murder that you had already committed.
00:54:59And then to further your alibi,
00:55:02you find an excuse to actually come back into the house.
00:55:05I've forgotten my book.
00:55:11I want this room cleared.
00:55:13In this way, you are fortuitously present to investigate your own crime.
00:55:18These are mere ravings.
00:55:23Unsubstantiated ravings.
00:55:25No, no, no, no, Superintendent.
00:55:28Also like your father.
00:55:31You are prepared to stop at nothing to achieve your aim.
00:55:38As the investigating officer,
00:55:40you're perfectly placed to put the diamonds where you know they will be found.
00:55:48And to do the same with a black leather case.
00:55:53In this way, you sought to incriminate the innocent.
00:56:02And worse.
00:56:05I was a Lopez had given to you already one very nasty moment.
00:56:09I think that when he was a young man,
00:56:12he must have been very handsome.
00:56:15Like you.
00:56:18You knew, which we did not know,
00:56:21that she meant that literally.
00:56:23I think I'd better go and find Sergeant Coombs.
00:56:26She saw the likeness.
00:56:28And then,
00:56:30she made the discovery of the balloon.
00:56:33It is what I picked up in Grandfather's room.
00:56:36He must have had a balloon too.
00:56:38Suddenly you were afraid.
00:56:41You thought that she might put the two and two together.
00:56:44And from that moment,
00:56:46the fate of Mademoiselle Lopez,
00:56:49it was sealed.
00:56:55It was indeed fortunate for her
00:56:57that at your first clumsy blows, she screamed
00:57:00and you were forced to leave the task unfinished.
00:57:05Madre de Dios.
00:57:09Harold Sugden.
00:57:10I am arresting you on a charge of the willful murder of your father,
00:57:14Simeon Lee.
00:57:17May his soul rot in hell.
00:57:32I'm sorry, Mother.
00:57:37We did well, Harold.
00:57:40Come on, let's get over with.
00:58:10The gracious story
00:58:12now proclaimer as sorry as God.
00:58:17Gloria
00:58:25in excelsis Deo.
00:58:29Gloria
00:58:33Where were you going to telephone then?
00:58:35My dressmaker.
00:58:36At eight o'clock on the night before Christmas Eve?
00:58:40Gloria
00:58:44Why did old Simeon ask you down here in the first place?
00:58:48Because Superintendent Sugden
00:58:50wanted an expert witness to the proceedings
00:58:52to prove that he could not have been involved.
00:58:54So he asked Simeon Lee to invite me.
00:58:56But Sugden said he didn't.
00:58:59That is because he did not want us to know
00:59:01that he'd been in contact with Simeon Lee before.
00:59:11Mr. Poirot, Chief Inspector Jap,
00:59:13must you go so soon?
00:59:16It is with regret, Madame,
00:59:17but we have to catch the train.
00:59:20Monsieur Lee.
00:59:21Mr. Poirot, I wanted to thank you
00:59:23so very much.
00:59:24No, no, no, pas de tout, Madame.
00:59:27It is a sad thing, no?
00:59:29To meet like this and at Christmas.
00:59:34Au revoir, Madame.
00:59:40Au revoir.
00:59:49Monsieur Poirot.
00:59:52I wanted to say goodbye
00:59:54and to thank you.
00:59:56Mademoiselle Lopez.
00:59:59And might I suggest that in the future
01:00:01you maintain your own identity.
01:00:03It will cause, I am sure,
01:00:05much less of the complications.
01:00:08Harry and I are going to Paris.
01:00:10She knows she'll be safe with an old man like me.
01:00:14I'm sure she will, Monsieur Harry.
01:00:16Goodbye.
01:00:20Oh, yes.
01:00:38Oh.
01:00:49Merry Christmas, Chief Inspector.
01:00:51Oh, Poirot, you shouldn't have.
01:00:54I have not yet thanked you for my present.
01:00:56Oh, I hope you like them.
01:00:58Oh, I do very, very much.
01:01:00Such wonderful colours and such workmanship.
01:01:03Emily's been knitting away
01:01:04at those blessed gloves for months.
01:01:08Ah, well, you must tell her how much I thank her
01:01:11and how much skill it is appreciated.
01:01:14I will. I will.
01:01:21You're not going to wear them now, then?
01:01:23No, no, no, no.
01:01:25No, mon ami.
01:01:26These must be kept for best, huh?
01:01:29I shall wear them only when I go to church.
01:01:37THEME MUSIC
01:02:07THEME MUSIC
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