Crown Court - Crime Passionel (1977) - video Dailymotion

Jezza

Possibly the most camp edition of Crown Court, but most entertaining nonetheless! :)   Jasper Fortescue (Frank Middlemass) is charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.  Some wonderfully "arch" performances here and some genuinely funny moments: look out for some knowing looks and a bravura performance from Barbara Hicks as Lady Dupuis!   Both Barbara Hicks and Frank Middlemass appeared in different episodes with Joan Hickson in "Miss Marple". Denis Carey (Sir Harold Dupuis), George Waring (the police constable) and Angus MacKay (defence counsel) appeared in many TV programmes, including Doctor Who. Carol Gillies, with that brilliant expressive face, was known for her appearances in Within These Walls and Widows. Keith Barron, known from Duty Free, appears as the prosecuting counsel. Richard Caldicot is perhaps best known for his appearance in the Fawlty Towers' episode "Gourmet Night".

Transcript

00:00:00.

00:00:18Trouble. That's all I smell is trouble.

00:00:22Sugar, Mr. Crimble? Three, please.

00:00:25I mean we went off with these decorators without the adjournment of this case

00:00:29before it began. The last time we had to send out for jurors was May 1942.

00:00:34Well, I wouldn't argue.

00:00:36Morning, Pat.

00:00:39They pulled a woman in off the street.

00:00:42You could have thought that better, couldn't you?

00:00:44Oh, she wasn't best pleased, I can tell you.

00:00:46Mr. Tin of Apricots at the co-op.

00:00:49She sat over there, seated she was.

00:00:52A prejudice juror if ever I saw them.

00:00:55Oh, what do I mean? No Apricots. Guilty.

00:00:59Well, a frame of mind bent on revenge and never mind the legal niceties.

00:01:03Poor us.

00:01:06But you mark my words.

00:01:08We'll be tiptoeing around one blue-blooded whim after another.

00:01:12The judge has adjourned the court because the defendant, through his counsel, has challenged so many jurors that the jury panel has been exhausted.

00:01:25And the judge has had to send court officers out into the street to bring in passers-by.

00:01:30As in all other trials, the jury has been selected from members of the public whose names appeared on the electoral register and who are eligible for jury service.

00:01:39Mr. Dorney appears for the prosecution and Mr. Crawford White for the defence.

00:01:43Mr. Justice Craig presides in the case of the Queen against Fortescue.

00:01:48I remind you, members of the jury, that the charge against the defendant is one of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

00:01:57Now, what the prosecution says is that on the evening of the 17th of September 1976, Mr. Jasper Fortescue stabbed Vice Admiral Sir Harold Dupuis with a dagger.

00:02:07Now, I must tell you that the standard of proof in a criminal case is proof beyond all reasonable doubt.

00:02:13And that the burden of proof rests with the prosecution.

00:02:18And now I shall call the evidence before you.

00:02:21Call Sir Harold Dupuis.

00:02:27Call Sir Harold Dupuis.

00:02:37Call Sir Harold Dupuis is 62 years old.

00:02:44A mason, secretary of the conservative club, master of the fox hounds and a keen fisherman and shot.

00:02:52Sir Harold, what is your full name?

00:02:56PAYNE HAROLD DUPUI.

00:02:58No extra names needed in my family i'm glad to say.

00:03:01Just answer the question, sir Harold.

00:03:04Excuse my lord. I'm only here to assist justice.

00:03:06Justice. Very right and proper attitude, if I may say so. And where do you live? Oak Lodge in the

00:03:12village of St. Jude. That is next door to the defendant's estate. Quite correct. Families have

00:03:17been in juxtaposition since good King Henry VIII. And what are the terms on which you live with the

00:03:23defendant? Heaven forbid, live with him. Bad enough over the wall, so to speak. Fact is, things have

00:03:29gone from bad to worse, from non-speakers to this little lot. I see. Now, would you please tell the

00:03:35course, Harold, what happened on the evening of the 17th of September, 1976? Most certainly.

00:03:41Let me see. I must get it straight. It all started when I was checking me, Hunter, with the news.

00:03:49Why, this, of course, don't hold with the television, those fumes and rays coming out. I was reading

00:03:56an article in the Telegraph. Just the facts, if you would be so good, Sir Harold. Report like a rating

00:04:01on the bridge, eh, sir? Where was I? Checking your watch with the news. Oh, yes, of course,

00:04:08me Hunter. Eh? Exhibit number one. It is for Mr. Dorney to decide whether anything should be

00:04:14exhibited, Sir Harold. Oh, quite. And I'm sure he can make that decision without any suggestions

00:04:19from you. Quite so. Where was I? Checking your what, your hunter? Oh, yes, of course, with

00:04:25the six o'clock news. When I noticed some honey on the face. Couldn't see a damn thing. So

00:04:32I rummaged around from his chamois, couldn't find it, went into the hall and saw the newspaper.

00:04:38Daily Telegraph, of course. And the other one. The Times. Just so. And why are your papers

00:04:43delivered at such a late hour? Oh, oh, my lord, we're off the beaten track. Can't stand

00:04:48those contraptions with combustion engines belching forth. So, er, the paper shop's assistant

00:04:56delivers the letter of the, er, the paper on his way home. I see. Thank you. You, er, see

00:05:04the papers? Yes, indeed I do. Ah, I read it as usual. The Telegraph, of course. And then

00:05:12the... The Times? Yes. Just so. When I see this letter, most outrageous, quizzing propaganda,

00:05:23the most disgraceful, threatening stuff I've ever read in all my born days. And who wrote

00:05:28this letter? Him, of course. The defendant? Just so. And in the dark as well as he might

00:05:33be. Lord, we do have copies of this letter. Paragraph two. Gibraltar is the boil on the

00:05:39body politic of Spain, separating and chronic. However, now that General Franco is dead, I

00:05:43see no good or valid reason why it should not be handed back to the country it is naturally

00:05:47a part of, both ethnically and geographically. Now, this is a copy of the letter you saw in

00:05:52the newspaper. It is. Most disgraceful. No wonder the country's sinking like a prick, Lilo.

00:05:58The letter will be Exhibit One, my lord. And when you'd finished reading this letter,

00:06:01Sir Harold, what did you do? Do? What any man with pride and patriotism would do. Any honourable

00:06:10man went round to have it out of him. And it was going against the grain, I tell you. It

00:06:16was an outrage, an absolute outrage. The man's always been a traitor. My lord, I must say.

00:06:20Sir Harold, we are not interested in any pejorative statements about the witness. All we are interested

00:06:27in are the facts. Well, this is one of the facts, my lord. No, it is not. And, er, what happened

00:06:33then? Might I perhaps refer to my log book? Your what? Me diary, my lord, where I logs me

00:06:42doings. Ah, yes. How soon after the event did you make your notes? That very night. But how

00:06:48many hours after the event? Ah, yes. Yes, that's the point. Well, I'd just been strapped up

00:06:53by the sawbones and left on a trolley in the hospital corridor. Oh, damned. Unfair it was.

00:07:04I'd lost me socks. But it must have been two hours after Fortescue attacked me. I see.

00:07:11Well, you may use your darling. Much obliged, my lord. Might I possibly have a glass of water? I should

00:07:20explain that witnesses, and not just the police, but any witness, may refresh his mind with

00:07:26notes about the event, provided those notes were taken within a reasonable time after the

00:07:31event to which they refer. And let us hope that it will expedite the witness's evidence.

00:07:36Ah. Me medicine, my lord. Right. Ah. I'm proceeding. At a smart pace up Fortescue's drive,

00:07:50when I hear his voice coming from the library. Did you hear what he was saying? Well, not then,

00:07:55my lord, but the tone was unmistakable. Most unpleasantly thin, if you take my meaning.

00:08:01So I tiptoed to the laurels by the French windows of said library and pierced through.

00:08:07There I espied Fortescue and... Me wife facing Lady Dupuy. Don't stock a harem at Oaks Lodge.

00:08:17One wife, many dogs. That's the order of things. I believe you stated earlier that you were not on

00:08:23speaking terms with Fortescue. I gather that does not apply to your wife. Well, as far as I knew,

00:08:28it did, my lord. I mean, me dear wife is allowed to come and go as she pleases. The village gubbins

00:08:33and the St. Jude's wildlife show and the coven. Coven. Well, being a lady with the heart of gold, my lord,

00:08:42she's much involved with nature. Most peculiar lady, not like many in the world.

00:08:48You were saying that your wife was facing the accused. Was I? Oh, yes. At this moment,

00:08:58I heard Fortescue pipe, Dottie, I'll have my way. You'll see. And here's the damn nitty gritty.

00:09:07In his right hand is a dagger. May the witness be shown Exhibit 2, please.

00:09:12Well, that's it. Know it anywhere by the pansy handle. And where was your wife, Sir Harold?

00:09:19You may well ask. Well, that is what the court wants to know. Oh, I see. Yes, yes. Well,

00:09:27she was there with the accused. But where, exactly? Fortescue was here. And me poor,

00:09:33misguided wife, she was brainwashed, you know. What's there? Sir Harold, it is not possible for the

00:09:39shorthand writer to take down your arm movements, graphic though they may be. Will you please

00:09:45explain their positions in words? Well, enough. Well, me wife was standing facing the French

00:09:51windows, warding him off with some bulrushes. Fortescue, sitting facing her, is back to me

00:09:58threatening her person with the weapon between the two of us. How's that? Very clearly put.

00:10:06Now, Sarah, would you describe the defendant's threatening position more exactly?

00:10:11Etched in me memory. Fortescue was sitting with his embroidery frame on his left, you know,

00:10:17one of those fiddly contraptions. The dagger raised in his right hand, me poor wife holding

00:10:22the bulrushes in front of her belly. But what protection they would afford is beyond me.

00:10:27She's very unworldly. And how did she look?

00:10:30As she was sporting a sort of nightdress, which she bought, let me see, in what's called

00:10:38Rubber Dub in Marrakesh.

00:10:40Uh, Ramadam, I think you mean, Sir Harold. However, I was referring to her expression.

00:10:45She was terrified, poor mate.

00:10:46And then?

00:10:48Well, I dived straight through the laurels to save her, by which time she's screaming to burst.

00:10:54I tries the windows, which don't budge, bolted or something, and no wonder.

00:10:57So, all the while, Fortescue is scrambling up like a camel, shouting most abusively,

00:11:05I've warned you, set one foot in my house, and I'll defend myself.

00:11:11At this very moment, the windows open.

00:11:14So I enters, dear Dottie, shouting, you care, you care, to me between screens,

00:11:20while Fortescue lingers and lunges forward, crouched for the attack.

00:11:25He was in a killer mood, I can tell you.

00:11:29And he gouges me through Harris and flesh.

00:11:34Harris?

00:11:35Let me tweed, tweed, sir.

00:11:37None of your pansy stuff good enough for beating with?

00:11:41Beating the undergrowth for game?

00:11:44Well, I don't beat women, that's what you imply.

00:11:46And how, how exactly were you knifed?

00:11:49As I said, he lunges forward, piercing me left thigh there.

00:11:53And then, what's happened?

00:11:56In all hells let's loose, that's what happens.

00:12:00But he throws the bulrushes in the air, I falls to the ground at Fortescue's feet,

00:12:04who's hopping about, well, sort of demented, shouting something.

00:12:09I wasn't listening too busy with me leg.

00:12:12And at this very moment, Constable Simpson appears.

00:12:16Pop, like a genie out of a bottle.

00:12:19And, milord, Police Constable Simpson had just entered the defendant's main gate

00:12:22when he heard Lady Dupuy's screams.

00:12:24Most fortuitous.

00:12:26Well, it would have been settled with fisticuffs and all over,

00:12:29if he hadn't poked his nose in.

00:12:31If I might explain, milord.

00:12:32I would be most grateful.

00:12:34Apparently the Fortescue and Dupuy families have always been at loggerheads

00:12:37ever since the disillusion of the monasteries,

00:12:38when the defendant's forebear, Bede Fortescue,

00:12:41was the abbot of St. Jude's Abbey, renamed Oaks Lodge,

00:12:44when Henry VIII gave it to Sir Harold's family for services rendered.

00:12:47In bed.

00:12:48You can talk.

00:12:49Silence, both of you.

00:12:52And I will not have laughter in court, as they're clearly understood.

00:12:56Abbott Bede and the monks having been thrown up.

00:12:59That is correct.

00:13:00I see.

00:13:01And what has this potted history to do with Sir Harold's objections to the police?

00:13:05Well, apparently the families have always preferred to settle their differences between themselves.

00:13:09Oh, have they?

00:13:10Duells, my lord.

00:13:12A quick slash, and Victor takes all.

00:13:16And this is the first time they've come to court?

00:13:20Because of Constable Simpson witnessing the assault.

00:13:23That is correct.

00:13:24I see.

00:13:25Then let me state very plainly, Sir Harold, and Mr. Jasper of Fortescue,

00:13:30that now that you are in court, you will abide by its procedures.

00:13:35This is a court of law, not a stage for self-indulgent exhibitionism.

00:13:39Is that clear?

00:13:40Yes, my lord.

00:13:43Yes, my lord.

00:13:45Very well, then.

00:13:46You may proceed.

00:13:48The constable had just arrived, Sir Harold.

00:13:52Oh, had he?

00:13:54Oh, yes.

00:13:55And seeing me conditioned, very properly tries to telephone for an ambulance.

00:14:01However, he's forestalled by me wife, who don't approve of doctors.

00:14:04And what is the defendant doing during this, er, tussle?

00:14:07He had the impudent gall to seize one end of the rug I'm on, and roll me helter-skelter onto the parquet,

00:14:14grabs a damn great flower vase and empties it over the rug, and then starts scubbing off me life's blood.

00:14:20Now, he's showed no contrition for his act of violence.

00:14:22Well, that'll be the day.

00:14:23And the constable?

00:14:25Well, telephones for a police car, and I asked them to order an ambulance, not the fortest you will leave when it arrives.

00:14:32Oh, he was resisting arrest?

00:14:35Refused to budge.

00:14:36I must say, I was only too happy, seeing as how I was wet through and gory to boot.

00:14:42And how long were you in the hospital?

00:14:43Not hospital, sir.

00:14:45Never left me own roof, like me father before me, except during the war.

00:14:50I was henned up and hospitalised home.

00:14:53But you were in bed for some time.

00:14:55Indeed I was, most incommoded.

00:14:57I've got it here, marked somewhere.

00:15:00Yeah.

00:15:00Difficult to read through the honey.

00:15:05Honey.

00:15:06It's a long story, my lord.

00:15:08Yes, but never mind.

00:15:09Could you not remember how many days you were laid up?

00:15:12Certainly.

00:15:13Five days and six hellish nights.

00:15:15And I notice you're still limping, Sir Harold.

00:15:18Me leg will not see a horse's flank this side of Micklemass.

00:15:21So what might say that you are an injured husband in both senses of the word?

00:15:26Couldn't have put it better meself.

00:15:28Ha, ha, ha, ha.

00:15:30Ha, ha, ha, ha.

00:15:32Shh.

00:15:40Now, Sir Harold, we know that your families have lived side by side for centuries, often apparently at odds.

00:15:45But would you tell the court, as simply as possible, what happened the last time you entered the defendant's garden prior to the incident in which you were wounded?

00:15:53I had this loud speaker.

00:15:55I'm sorry.

00:15:56I didn't phrase my question as clearly as I should have done.

00:15:59Would you tell us first what led up to your entry?

00:16:03Well, let me see.

00:16:05Late September 74.

00:16:06I remember particularly because I decided to move Pontius Pilate closer home.

00:16:12Pontius Pilate?

00:16:14Me gun dog, my lord.

00:16:16Lovely mouth, but inclined to be sidetracked like the original.

00:16:19Anyway, I moved him to a patch by the party wall.

00:16:23Between your house and the defendant's?

00:16:25That's right.

00:16:27A friendly beast.

00:16:28A pee-pee, not the defendant.

00:16:30So that way I can wave hello to him in the morning from my bedroom window.

00:16:35Anyway, I moved the dog, the kennel, and the run.

00:16:39Ah, well, of course, the dog, being a dog, lets rip an occasional high-spirited bark.

00:16:45Natural, of course, but...

00:16:46And what did the defendant do?

00:16:49Well, he went raving berserk.

00:16:51Screamed over the wall that the dog with his barks was stopping his night's ease.

00:16:58Said perfectly well myself, of course, but then I have a healthy mind.

00:17:02And then what happened?

00:17:04What happened?

00:17:05Oh, well, I refused to move.

00:17:08It was my dog, my kennel, my run, my wire.

00:17:12And that was that.

00:17:13However, late that night, Fortescue, under cover of darkness, and surreptitiously, I might

00:17:21add, secretes a loudspeaker on top of the party wall, just above P.P.'s kennel.

00:17:28But it so happened that I was having a good scrub at the ivories when I was riveted to

00:17:34the spot, by God save the Queen, blaring forth for what seemed like an eternity.

00:17:40Most unseemly, there I was in my pie jars, bare feet on the linoleum, rooted to attention,

00:17:48foaming at the mouth, toothed powder coming down me front, and me as cold as a monkey's

00:17:54whatnot.

00:17:54P.P. didn't take kindly to it, either.

00:17:58And you were naturally angry.

00:18:01Well, of course I was beside myself with rage.

00:18:04Not only the inconvenience, it was the way he used Her Majesty's tune for his own mealy-mouthed

00:18:11ends.

00:18:12The following morning, I emptied the loudspeaker into his ornamental puddle pond, one speaker

00:18:19the less.

00:18:20Now, did the defendant see you?

00:18:22See me?

00:18:22Of course he did.

00:18:24And me wife.

00:18:25Never do anything underhand.

00:18:27Always have been the same.

00:18:28And where was the defendant?

00:18:32Skulking in the herbaceous border.

00:18:35Daisy high, so to speak, fiddling about as usual.

00:18:39And where was your wife?

00:18:41Straddling on the party wall with me compass.

00:18:43Where else?

00:18:43What did the accused say to you?

00:18:46Oh, well, it wasn't so much a say, but scream.

00:18:49If you set one foot on my estate again, I'll have the law on you.

00:18:54I'll run you through the guts.

00:18:56You've massacred my goldfish.

00:18:57And, my lord, the mention of goldfish is not as ridiculous as it sounds.

00:19:01I'm glad to hear it.

00:19:02The defendant is a world authority on goldfish, and the specimen in his pond costs many hundreds

00:19:07of pounds.

00:19:09I'll run you through the guts.

00:19:11Now, did the defendant's threat sound serious?

00:19:15Totally so.

00:19:15And were those words accompanied by any gesture?

00:19:19He threatened me with his secateurs, opening and closing them like a jaw.

00:19:25Most distasteful.

00:19:27He even had the effrontery to remind me that his grandfather had decapitated mine during

00:19:32the Boer War.

00:19:33Uh, just this incident, please, Sir Harold.

00:19:37Ah, yes.

00:19:38Some things better left buried.

00:19:39And not me grandfather, of course.

00:19:42Yes.

00:19:43And after this incident in 1974, you have not set foot on the defendant's estate until the

00:19:49evening of the 17th of September, 1976.

00:19:52Certainly not.

00:19:52Never wanted to.

00:19:53Now, that must have taken a lot of courage.

00:19:55Well, I flatter myself that I've never balked, when it's a question of my duty.

00:20:01Then there was my poor wife in danger.

00:20:03Moral danger, as well as physical, no less.

00:20:06Very, very commendable.

00:20:09Thank you, Sir Harold.

00:20:11Not at all, not at all.

00:20:15Sir Harold, please remain where you were.

00:20:18Sir Harold, I have no doubt that the Defence Council, Mr. Crawford White, will wish to

00:20:22cross-examine you.

00:20:23If you please, Lord.

00:20:28Sir Harold, what is your routine between five and eight o'clock in the evening?

00:20:34Oh, that's easy.

00:20:36I settle as at me desk in the drawing room.

00:20:39And there I stays, pee-pee at me feet, until eight o'clock, and me pre-dinner noggins.

00:20:45Never vary.

00:20:47Now, in 1975, a year before your knifing, did you have a letter published in the Times?

00:20:52What's that to you, sir?

00:20:53Well, that's exactly what I wish to discuss, Sir Harold.

00:20:56A letter in the Times about Gibraltar.

00:20:58Well, why not?

00:20:59I was stationed there during the war.

00:21:02Gateway to the Med.

00:21:03Heroic Times.

00:21:05Happy.

00:21:05Yes, I see, but...

00:21:07You haven't been listening to Domi Mason, have you?

00:21:10No, Sir Harold, no hearsay.

00:21:12I would just like to read part of your letter.

00:21:15Copies for his Lordship and the Jury.

00:21:16Paragraph number three, my lord.

00:21:20Having been stationed in gallant Gibraltar in what must have been one of the most trying

00:21:24periods in its glorious history, I feel I can safely say that the loyal natives would

00:21:29rather be hung, drawn, and quartered than live under the Spanish flag, and any Englishman

00:21:34who suggests otherwise should be tried for treason and marched through traitor's gate.

00:21:38In other words, killed.

00:21:39That would be too good for them.

00:21:41I said that would be too good for them.

00:21:43You feel very strongly about the rock.

00:21:46Yes, I do.

00:21:46They're British to the core.

00:21:48They even got a boot.

00:21:50What exactly is that medicine you are taking, Sir Harold?

00:21:54Brandy, my lord.

00:21:55For me circulation.

00:21:56Well, Mary, this is too much.

00:21:59You will hand that flask to the clerk immediately, and it will not be returned to you until you

00:22:03leave this court.

00:22:03Lord, if anyone needs to keep a clear head, it is yourself.

00:22:07Sir Harold, during your wartime service in Gibraltar, is it not true that you hit a guard

00:22:13on the camber of the Admiralty docks merely for suggesting that Gibraltar might one day

00:22:18be returned to Spain?

00:22:20I was doing my duty, sir.

00:22:21Early.

00:22:23The man in question was given compensation for a broken jaw, and you were severely reprimanded.

00:22:28The laws are jackass.

00:22:30Not always, Sir Harold.

00:22:31Now, I suggest that the day you were nighed, the 17th of September, 1976...

00:22:37Yes, one moment, please.

00:22:40Would it not be possible to quieten some of that noise?

00:22:42We've had quite enough of it in court as it is.

00:22:45Well, it's caused through the alterations in court number two.

00:22:47Yes, yes, I'm well aware of that.

00:22:48Whether the changes will be of any help to the judges, I take leave to doubt.

00:22:52I'm told the drill won't be used long.

00:22:54I see.

00:22:55Oh, very well, then we will adjourn.

00:22:58We'll all please be back in this court at two o'clock.

00:23:01Court will stand.

00:23:10Oh, he was in a pubby.

00:23:12I've never seen him as best.

00:23:13I hear they're putting strip lighting over his desk.

00:23:16He's had to have his morning coffee in the corridor here.

00:23:19Oh, and I know he doesn't like that, I can tell you.

00:23:21Of course, he's got these, you know, his own china and this fancy crystal sugar.

00:23:27Now, let me tell you that if the case continues like it has this morning,

00:23:32he'll make Judge Jeffries seem like nuddy.

00:23:34He will.

00:23:35He will.

00:23:35The case is in Forchester,

00:24:05Forchester are fictitious.

00:24:06Tomorrow, you can join us again when the Queen against Fortescue will be resumed in the Crown Court.

00:24:11In all my years of the spectator, I've never known, no provocation.

00:24:26Well, what do you expect with all these, uh, number nine hats, then?

00:24:31No common.

00:24:32I mean, when you think it were their ancestors, what caused this law?

00:24:35Well, that's why there's no respect for it.

00:24:38Familiarity, breeding as it does, contempt.

00:24:41Off court?

00:24:42Why, a defendant's within an air's bread.

00:24:44It's the sex, wealth, a great muddier of issues, is sex.

00:24:48Aye, how right you are.

00:24:50And you mark my word, we'll be in the gutter press before this is over.

00:24:55That press box will be overflowing.

00:24:57And no room in the Publix canteen.

00:25:00Oh, cooks that make sound as hell today.

00:25:04Apple crumble as light as a feather duster.

00:25:07Well, it's the same now again, eh?

00:25:10Court kitchen does for everybody.

00:25:12It's only that we eat separately, that's all.

00:25:14Aye, well, let's say, we're all the same, aren't we?

00:25:17And I said, they don't know.

00:25:23Jasper Fortescue, the defendant, is charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm

00:25:28to Vice Admiral Sir Harold Dupuis when Sir Harold entered his library

00:25:33after he'd read a letter in the Times written by the defendant.

00:25:36Sir Harold has stated that some years earlier,

00:25:38the defendant had threatened to run him through the guts

00:25:41if he ever set foot on his estate again.

00:25:43The jury in today's trial is selected from members of the public.

00:25:48Is your full name Miss Helga Eloise Weimer?

00:25:52That is so.

00:25:52And are you the defendant's housekeeper

00:25:54and you reside in the defendant's house bead retreat in the village of St Jude?

00:25:58That is so.

00:25:59Now, a week before Sir Harold was wounded by your employer,

00:26:02I believe you served Madeira wine in the library.

00:26:06That is so.

00:26:08Madeira wine and the sponge fingers at the twenty to the seven o'clock.

00:26:12Punctual.

00:26:13And who was in the library on that day?

00:26:15That day.

00:26:16Any day.

00:26:17Mr Fortescue and her from over the wall.

00:26:21You mean Lady Dupuis?

00:26:22That is so.

00:26:23And what was the defendant saying to Lady Dupuis?

00:26:30Oh, Mr Fortescue, I have sworn.

00:26:35Oh, the poor, poor man.

00:26:37He is on his kneeling position,

00:26:40begging that woman to leave her sailor man and to be married to him.

00:26:44And she married already.

00:26:45And what did Lady Dupuis reply?

00:26:48She is pulling him on while pushing him back.

00:26:52You know, in her heart,

00:26:54if she has such a thing, which I doubt,

00:26:56up and downing her pretend eyelashes at him,

00:27:00saying that she is married already

00:27:02and that her husband needs her.

00:27:04Who needs her, I say?

00:27:05And what was Fortescue's reaction?

00:27:09Mr Fortescue was quite distracted.

00:27:13And with good reason to be,

00:27:15it was most horrible.

00:27:17Horrible.

00:27:18Him so beautiful in love

00:27:20and that woman so unworthy of his delicacy.

00:27:23Miss Viner, you are not here

00:27:24to make derogatory statements about the witness.

00:27:27I am the truth-telling.

00:27:29The Bible being my oath.

00:27:31Just so.

00:27:32But you will please stick to the facts only.

00:27:36Now, the day after this proposal,

00:27:37you were given a letter to Post.

00:27:39Now, to whom was that letter addressed?

00:27:40I remember a special because I had to...

00:27:43How do you call it?

00:27:45Register it.

00:27:47It was to the Times newspaper.

00:27:50I see Mr Fortescue's letter when it is in the print

00:27:53and I am most proud.

00:27:54The letter suggesting that Gibraltar

00:27:57should be given back to the Spanish.

00:27:58That is so.

00:27:59Now, on the day that that letter was published,

00:28:01the day when Sir Harold was wounded,

00:28:0317th of September, 1976,

00:28:05where were you in the evening?

00:28:07At the Roxy.

00:28:08Oh, it was your day off.

00:28:11That is not so.

00:28:13Mr Fortescue,

00:28:14he sees my feelings with my friend,

00:28:17Mr Appleby,

00:28:19and in the goodness of his heart,

00:28:21he sends me off.

00:28:23Is my English not of a good standing?

00:28:25Oh, quite excellent, Miss Viner.

00:28:27Now, does he often do such a kind action?

00:28:30Not often,

00:28:32but not never.

00:28:34Here an evening,

00:28:34there an evening.

00:28:36He is a gentleman.

00:28:38Oh, perhaps, Miss Viner,

00:28:39he wished you out of the house

00:28:40because he'd set a scene

00:28:41for something that he did not wish to be witnessed.

00:28:44That is not so.

00:28:46That is not so.

00:28:51Miss Viner,

00:28:51how long have you worked

00:28:54for Mr Fortescue?

00:28:55Work?

00:28:56Who says work?

00:28:57This is a pleasure.

00:28:59Four years,

00:29:00seven months,

00:29:01and three weeks.

00:29:02No days?

00:29:04If you so wish.

00:29:05Five.

00:29:06Would you say Mr Fortescue

00:29:08was a man of a passionate nature?

00:29:10Never.

00:29:11Not even under the torture.

00:29:13A man of honor,

00:29:14where women are concerned?

00:29:15Eternally.

00:29:17Opening and closing the doors.

00:29:19So graceful.

00:29:20Then you don't see him

00:29:21taking advantage of a woman?

00:29:23My God,

00:29:24upside down they have it.

00:29:26Women

00:29:26coming into our house

00:29:28through everywhere.

00:29:29Everywhere.

00:29:30And him

00:29:31trapped

00:29:31like a bird

00:29:32in a cage.

00:29:34And that woman,

00:29:34she is the worst,

00:29:36tying him up

00:29:37in a parcel

00:29:37on her wings

00:29:38and roundabouts.

00:29:40How I have suffered for him.

00:29:42Only my mother knows

00:29:43that she is dead.

00:29:45Mein armer mutterf is dead.

00:29:46Und ich bin

00:29:47jetzt ganz,

00:29:48ganz allein

00:29:48mit ihm

00:29:49in a france.

00:29:50Approximately 6.45pm

00:29:52on the 17th of September 1976,

00:29:55I am at the entrance

00:29:56to Mr Fortescue's estate.

00:29:58Do you see him in the court?

00:29:59Yes, sir,

00:30:00he's in the dock.

00:30:01To Mr Fortescue's estate

00:30:03with a book of raffle tickets

00:30:05for the police ball

00:30:06when I hear a screaming

00:30:07coming from the defendant's library.

00:30:10I therefore proceed

00:30:11to the French window.

00:30:12Excuse me,

00:30:12excuse me,

00:30:13Councillor Simpson.

00:30:13How long did this take you?

00:30:15Well, now, my lord,

00:30:16I were admiring

00:30:17Mrs Miniver.

00:30:18Oh.

00:30:19I, I presume

00:30:20you mean the roads?

00:30:21That's right, my lord.

00:30:23I remember most particularly

00:30:25because me own

00:30:25had not flourished.

00:30:27So I set off

00:30:27at a smart pace

00:30:28past the laburnum,

00:30:30cutting across the lawn

00:30:31through the sweet-scented

00:30:32stocks and dwarf pinks

00:30:33and through the Daphne L'Oriola

00:30:35by the French windows.

00:30:36I couldn't have been

00:30:37more than 20 seconds.

00:30:38I see.

00:30:39I then see Sir Arrol

00:30:42just inside the windows.

00:30:44He must have entered

00:30:45at that second, sir,

00:30:47because the windows

00:30:48were still all of a quiver.

00:30:50What's going on here,

00:30:52I say,

00:30:53as Sir Arrol falls,

00:30:54revealing Mr Fortescue

00:30:56facing him

00:30:56with a dagger

00:30:57in his right hand?

00:30:59Is that the dagger?

00:31:03Yes, sir,

00:31:04that's it.

00:31:05Please, continue.

00:31:09The defendant

00:31:12looks down

00:31:13at Sir Arrol

00:31:13and shouts,

00:31:15Felix Cooper,

00:31:16it's good to see

00:31:17you bite the door.

00:31:18Just a minute.

00:31:19Who?

00:31:21Felix Cooper, my lord.

00:31:22Who's he?

00:31:25Well, I don't know, my lord.

00:31:27I'm sure.

00:31:28Another cul-de-sac

00:31:29we shall be forced

00:31:30to explore and continue.

00:31:33And where was

00:31:34Lady Dupuis?

00:31:35Well, towards the back

00:31:36of the room, sir.

00:31:37You see,

00:31:38when Sir Arrol fell,

00:31:39her ladyship

00:31:40was holding

00:31:41some bulrushes

00:31:42in front of her person

00:31:43and she sort of

00:31:44chooks them in the air

00:31:45and they all go

00:31:46scattering over Sir Arrol.

00:31:48She must have been

00:31:48terribly upset,

00:31:49poor lady,

00:31:50because she's still shouting.

00:31:52Anyway,

00:31:53seeing as the admiral

00:31:54was wounded,

00:31:55I go and phone

00:31:57for an ambulance

00:31:57and, um,

00:32:00I'm ampered

00:32:00by her ladyship

00:32:01who says,

00:32:03I'll not have him

00:32:04tinkered with

00:32:05by them.

00:32:05I never did trust

00:32:07white.

00:32:08To which Sir Arrol

00:32:09replies,

00:32:10and I'll not have

00:32:11your herbal cures

00:32:12on my shank.

00:32:15And Lady Dupuis

00:32:17screams again,

00:32:18very strong it was,

00:32:19reject my herbs

00:32:21and you reject me.

00:32:24She then mumbled

00:32:25something about

00:32:26vessel virgins.

00:32:27I think you mean

00:32:28vestal virgins.

00:32:30Oh, do I?

00:32:31Well, thank you, sir.

00:32:33Please, continue.

00:32:35I then hold

00:32:36her ladyship back

00:32:37with one hand

00:32:38and with the other

00:32:38phone for the panda

00:32:39and ask them

00:32:40to send an ambulance,

00:32:42at which moment

00:32:43she points at the defendant

00:32:44and shouts,

00:32:45murderer, murderer.

00:32:47He doesn't react, sir,

00:32:48he just scrambles about

00:32:50examining the rug

00:32:51under Sir Arrol,

00:32:53who is a being

00:32:55rolled off

00:32:56by the defendant.

00:32:58I try to stop him, sir,

00:32:59but do not manage

00:33:00to do so.

00:33:01Was he violent with you?

00:33:03Well, he moved

00:33:04besides himself,

00:33:05my lord.

00:33:06You see,

00:33:07I would have feared

00:33:08of trampling on

00:33:09Sir Arrol,

00:33:10whose thrashing about

00:33:11in the bulrush

00:33:12is something terrible.

00:33:15The defendant

00:33:16then picks up

00:33:17a vase of water

00:33:18and pours it over

00:33:20Sir Arrol

00:33:20and the rug,

00:33:21which he then

00:33:22commences to clean.

00:33:24I then attempt

00:33:25to catch his ear.

00:33:28Well, there was

00:33:29a lot of noise

00:33:30from the wireless

00:33:32and everything.

00:33:35I informed him

00:33:36that I was

00:33:37arresting him

00:33:38for grievous bodily harm

00:33:39and cautioned him,

00:33:41to which he replied,

00:33:43and who asked you in?

00:33:45This is not

00:33:45a public toilet.

00:33:47Lavatory, ma'am.

00:33:48The word is lavatory.

00:33:50Fortescue,

00:33:50I have already

00:33:51cautioned you

00:33:52twice before.

00:33:53One more word

00:33:54and you will find yourself

00:33:55in serious trouble.

00:33:57Please continue.

00:33:59This is not

00:34:00a public toy

00:34:01lavatory.

00:34:02Come to think of it,

00:34:04at least they charge

00:34:05a penny.

00:34:06And he holds out

00:34:07his hands

00:34:07to make his point.

00:34:08And when the police

00:34:09car arrived,

00:34:09you took him

00:34:10to the station?

00:34:10Well, in the end,

00:34:11sir.

00:34:12Oh, he was

00:34:13resisting arrest.

00:34:14Well, we couldn't

00:34:15get him partied

00:34:15from the rug, sir.

00:34:17And it was too big

00:34:18to bundle him

00:34:19with it,

00:34:19though we did try.

00:34:21He keeps on repeating,

00:34:23if Cleopatra can

00:34:24travel in one,

00:34:26why can't I?

00:34:27And where was

00:34:27Lady Dupuis

00:34:28during...

00:34:29Where was she?

00:34:31Well, my lord,

00:34:32after she debated

00:34:33and allowed me

00:34:34to turn off

00:34:35the wireless,

00:34:36she shouts

00:34:37at Sir Harold,

00:34:38lying on the stretcher,

00:34:41you had your chance

00:34:42to return to favour

00:34:43and now you've

00:34:44muffed it.

00:34:45I will have

00:34:46my herb garden.

00:34:49Did you suggest

00:34:51she accompany

00:34:51her husband?

00:34:52Well, indeed,

00:34:53yes, my lord.

00:34:54But she refused.

00:34:56She just gathered

00:34:57the bulrushes together

00:34:58and arranged

00:35:00them in a vase.

00:35:02She was singing

00:35:03We'll Gather Lilacs.

00:35:07Well, I...

00:35:08I were a bit

00:35:08out of my depth.

00:35:10I'm not at all surprised.

00:35:12I've, uh,

00:35:12no more questions,

00:35:13my lord.

00:35:16Constable Simpson,

00:35:17you said in your statement

00:35:17about Lady Dupuis

00:35:18then she points

00:35:19at the defendant

00:35:20and shouts,

00:35:20murderer, murderer.

00:35:22Yes, that is so, sir.

00:35:23How did you know

00:35:24she was pointing

00:35:24at the defendant?

00:35:26Well, I don't quite

00:35:27understand you, sir.

00:35:28I mean, she was...

00:35:29Yes, but at whom?

00:35:30You've already stated

00:35:31he doesn't react,

00:35:32just examines the rug

00:35:33under Sir Harold.

00:35:35Oh, well now, sir,

00:35:35the defendant

00:35:36has just knifed Sir Harold.

00:35:37In other words,

00:35:38you were assuming

00:35:39that Lady Dupuis

00:35:40was referring

00:35:40to Mr Fortescue

00:35:41in the same way

00:35:42that you assumed

00:35:43that Mr Fortescue

00:35:44had used the word

00:35:45toilet

00:35:45instead of the word

00:35:46lavatory.

00:35:48With Mr Fortescue's

00:35:49background and education,

00:35:51it is quite inconceivable

00:35:52that he would have

00:35:53used the word

00:35:54toilet,

00:35:55a word in his

00:35:56social circles

00:35:57which is quite

00:35:58unacceptable.

00:36:01Well, I don't know,

00:36:03I'm sure.

00:36:03Then you should know,

00:36:04considering it was

00:36:05what the defendant

00:36:06said after being

00:36:06cautioned.

00:36:08Well, it's all

00:36:09very muddled, sir.

00:36:10I must say

00:36:11Constable Simpson

00:36:12has my sympathy.

00:36:19I call Jasper Fortescue.

00:36:40What is your religion?

00:36:41Roman Catholic.

00:36:42Would you hold the book

00:36:43Bible in your right hand

00:36:44and repeat the words

00:36:45on the card?

00:36:46I swear by almighty God

00:36:48that the evidence

00:36:49I shall give

00:36:50shall be the truth,

00:36:51the whole truth

00:36:51and nothing but the truth.

00:36:54Is your full name

00:36:55Jasper Bede Avrian

00:36:57Quentin Fortescue?

00:36:59Yes, Geoffrey,

00:37:00it is.

00:37:01And do you live

00:37:02at Bede Retreat

00:37:03in the village

00:37:04of St Jude?

00:37:05Yes, I do.

00:37:06And what is your

00:37:07relationship with

00:37:07Lady Dupuis?

00:37:08Well, of course,

00:37:10I'm dedicated to her,

00:37:12a lady of truly

00:37:13divine sensibility.

00:37:15In fact, I'm quite sure

00:37:16that eventually

00:37:17we shall be united.

00:37:19But, of course,

00:37:19I would not dream

00:37:21of attempting

00:37:21to achieve this

00:37:22blissful state

00:37:24by killing her husband.

00:37:25That would taint

00:37:27the purity

00:37:27of our relationship.

00:37:29Then you would not

00:37:29deliberately wound

00:37:30Sir Harold.

00:37:31Certainly not.

00:37:32I'm a vegetarian.

00:37:34What has that

00:37:35got to do with it?

00:37:37Everything, my lord,

00:37:38if one does not

00:37:39approve the killing

00:37:40of animals of the field

00:37:41and birds of the air,

00:37:43well, then how much

00:37:44more must one deplore

00:37:45the killing of a man?

00:37:48Not that he's innocent.

00:37:49Far from it.

00:37:51In other words,

00:37:51you hope that one day

00:37:53Lady Dupuis

00:37:53may obtain a divorce

00:37:55so that you might

00:37:55marry her.

00:37:56Ah, well,

00:37:56that would, of course,

00:37:57be sublime.

00:37:58But I would be

00:37:59more than content

00:38:00to live with the lady

00:38:01in what the world

00:38:02chooses to call

00:38:03sin.

00:38:05Prove, my lord,

00:38:06that he'd drag her

00:38:06into the dust.

00:38:07Silence in court.

00:38:08You are a cancer,

00:38:09a seducer of women.

00:38:10Silence in court.

00:38:11You should be

00:38:12horse-wrapped,

00:38:13deported of God.

00:38:14Silence in court.

00:38:24Now let us take

00:38:25the incidents leading

00:38:26up to the wounding

00:38:26in their chronological

00:38:27order.

00:38:29In the autumn of 1974,

00:38:31Sir Harold moved

00:38:32his gun dog,

00:38:33Pontius Pilate,

00:38:34from a perfectly

00:38:35good run out

00:38:36of your hearing

00:38:37to the party wall

00:38:39where its incessant

00:38:39barking kept you awake

00:38:41most of the night.

00:38:42A deliberate act

00:38:43of menace against

00:38:44myself and Lady Dupuis.

00:38:46I mean, after all,

00:38:47that was the exact spot

00:38:48where she had wanted

00:38:49to plant her medicinal

00:38:50herb garden.

00:38:51Ah, yes.

00:38:52Now, because Sir Harold

00:38:53refused to move his dog,

00:38:55you placed a loudspeaker

00:38:56on the wall

00:38:57and played

00:38:57God Save the Queen,

00:38:58but only to demonstrate

00:39:00to him how irritating

00:39:01noise can be.

00:39:02It was a purely

00:39:03practical demonstration,

00:39:04was it not?

00:39:04Exactly.

00:39:05A beautiful stroke,

00:39:06embracing, as it did,

00:39:07poetic justice.

00:39:09And it was the next

00:39:10morning that Sir Harold

00:39:11threw the loudspeaker

00:39:12into your goldfish pond,

00:39:14and this was when

00:39:15you were said to utter

00:39:16your so-called threat.

00:39:19Yes, but it wasn't

00:39:20the speaker,

00:39:21you understand.

00:39:22It was my beautiful

00:39:22goldfish.

00:39:24Poor innocent creatures

00:39:25going about their business,

00:39:26swimming, spawning,

00:39:28doing harm to no one.

00:39:30They were, you know,

00:39:31the red Chinese carp

00:39:32which have always been

00:39:33cherished for ornament,

00:39:34a thing of beauty

00:39:35as a joy forever.

00:39:38Except, of course,

00:39:39to a homicidal maniac.

00:39:41I am becoming

00:39:42increasingly tired

00:39:44of warning this court

00:39:45about pejorative statements.

00:39:46One more remark like that

00:39:47and you will find yourself

00:39:48in serious trouble.

00:39:49Is that clearly understood?

00:39:50Yes, my lord.

00:39:51Continue.

00:39:52Mr Fortescue.

00:39:53Yes, yes, ma'am.

00:39:54Mr Fortescue,

00:39:55what did Sir Harold

00:39:56then say to you?

00:39:58Well, I can't remember

00:40:00the exact wording.

00:40:01Perhaps you could give us

00:40:02the precise meaning.

00:40:03Well, I said something like,

00:40:05um, never set foot here again,

00:40:09you have massacred my goldfish.

00:40:11And I might well have added,

00:40:13I'll have your guts for garters.

00:40:14Which is a quaint peasant expression

00:40:17I sometimes use, my lord.

00:40:19But you at no time

00:40:20threatened Sir Harold's life.

00:40:22Certainly not.

00:40:22And now to the evening

00:40:24of the 17th of September 1976.

00:40:26Where were you

00:40:27at approximately 6.45pm?

00:40:29In my library,

00:40:31you see,

00:40:32Lady Dupuis and I

00:40:33had fallen into

00:40:33the delightful habit

00:40:35of meeting at dusk

00:40:36between 6 and 8.

00:40:37The witching hour,

00:40:38as she so charmingly calls it.

00:40:40Her metaphors

00:40:41are always charming.

00:40:44And I would be working,

00:40:46you see,

00:40:46at my gros point,

00:40:48on this occasion

00:40:48a rather charming conceit

00:40:50of the Fortescue arms

00:40:51surmounted by our motto,

00:40:53Out Caesar, Out Nihil.

00:40:56Which I sometimes say

00:40:57might be roughly translated

00:40:59as Emperor or Bust.

00:41:03And Lady Dupuis?

00:41:05Ah, well, of course,

00:41:05she was attending

00:41:06to the niceties

00:41:07of our surroundings.

00:41:09She has a wonderfully true eye.

00:41:12She would perhaps be doing

00:41:13a little flower arranging,

00:41:16occasionally breaking into song.

00:41:18And then,

00:41:19at 20 to 7 au point,

00:41:20the estimable

00:41:21Frau Lanzheimer

00:41:22would bring in

00:41:23the Madeira wine,

00:41:24in good time, you see,

00:41:25for our friends the Archers.

00:41:27It sounds a very peaceful scene.

00:41:29Oh, it was quite idyllic.

00:41:30We're both very, very fond

00:41:32of Dan Archer,

00:41:32one of nature's gentlemen.

00:41:34You know,

00:41:35Ruskin has something

00:41:36to say.

00:41:36Now, did you,

00:41:36in this idyllic scene

00:41:37on the 17th of September 1976,

00:41:40threaten Lady Dupuis

00:41:41with your dagger?

00:41:43Please show

00:41:43the defendant

00:41:44at exhibit number one.

00:41:45Oh, yes,

00:41:49that's the chap.

00:41:51An exquisite example

00:41:52of Florentine work.

00:41:54Early, um,

00:41:55early 18th century,

00:41:57I should say,

00:41:57though, of course,

00:41:58I could be wrong.

00:41:59No, no,

00:42:00but as for threatening

00:42:01the dear lady with it,

00:42:02I mean,

00:42:02the idea is obscene.

00:42:04Quite obscene.

00:42:05But Sir Harold says

00:42:06that he heard you say,

00:42:07Dottie,

00:42:08I'll have my way,

00:42:09you'll see.

00:42:11As if I would rape her

00:42:12during the Archers.

00:42:13And what about

00:42:15after the Archers?

00:42:17Rape is not part

00:42:19of my repertoire.

00:42:20That's a relief.

00:42:21Please continue.

00:42:22Anyhow,

00:42:23what I said was,

00:42:25I'll have it my way,

00:42:26yellow and sweet pea,

00:42:28referring, of course,

00:42:29to shades of wool,

00:42:31which Lady Dupuis

00:42:32felt might clash.

00:42:33And was Lady Dupuis

00:42:34protecting herself

00:42:35with the Woolrush?

00:42:36Good idea.

00:42:37She was about to start

00:42:38on one of her

00:42:39unique arrangements.

00:42:40She really is remarkable.

00:42:42She can do wonders,

00:42:43you know,

00:42:43with an old calendar

00:42:44and a handful of tweaks.

00:42:46Now,

00:42:47would you now describe

00:42:48how your peace

00:42:49was disturbed?

00:42:51Well,

00:42:52now,

00:42:53Dan was talking

00:42:55to his amiable wife,

00:42:56Doris,

00:42:57about Walter Gabriel's

00:42:58garden furniture project.

00:43:01And then,

00:43:01quite suddenly,

00:43:02this extraordinary banging

00:43:03started up behind me.

00:43:05Dottie started to scream,

00:43:07utterly astonished.

00:43:08I wheeled round

00:43:08on my stool

00:43:09and there was

00:43:10a demented form

00:43:11of Sir Harold,

00:43:12shouting and rattling

00:43:14the window handles

00:43:15like a raving lunatic.

00:43:17Well,

00:43:17naturally,

00:43:18I rushed across the room

00:43:19to lock him out.

00:43:19I mean,

00:43:20he really did look

00:43:20very dangerous.

00:43:22But at that moment,

00:43:23the doors burst open,

00:43:24he came bursting in

00:43:25like a flying saucer

00:43:27and straight onto my dagger.

00:43:29But why were you holding

00:43:30such a weapon

00:43:31in the first place?

00:43:32I was cutting my magenta.

00:43:35Your what?

00:43:36Magenta wool,

00:43:38my lord.

00:43:39It must be cut

00:43:40into manipulative lengths,

00:43:43you see.

00:43:43On this occasion,

00:43:44I was working

00:43:45on a rather charming

00:43:47deadly nightshade

00:43:48which has a very

00:43:49devious petal.

00:43:53And then what happened?

00:43:55Ah, well then,

00:43:56Constable Simpson

00:43:57was upon us.

00:43:58Ah, yes,

00:43:59Constable Simpson.

00:44:00Now,

00:44:00he has stated

00:44:01that you said,

00:44:01Felix Culper,

00:44:03it's good to see

00:44:03you bite the dust.

00:44:04The man's a fool.

00:44:06Which man?

00:44:07Well,

00:44:08our rustic constable,

00:44:09my lord,

00:44:09at the salt of the earth

00:44:10and all that,

00:44:10but still a fool.

00:44:11I mean,

00:44:11everybody knows

00:44:12it was St. Augustine

00:44:13who said Felix Culper.

00:44:14For those of us

00:44:15who are not as learned

00:44:16as yourself,

00:44:17perhaps you would

00:44:17translate it.

00:44:20Well,

00:44:20I should have thought

00:44:21that was a matter

00:44:23of universal knowledge.

00:44:24However,

00:44:24it is,

00:44:25of course,

00:44:25Latin

00:44:26and it means

00:44:27a happy mistake.

00:44:28You see,

00:44:29Sir Harold

00:44:29had thrown himself

00:44:30onto my dagger

00:44:31which I was unaware

00:44:32that I was still holding.

00:44:34It's not every day

00:44:35of the week

00:44:35that a mad admiral

00:44:36burst in on one's soiree,

00:44:38but as he was not

00:44:39severely wounded,

00:44:41rather less than he deserved,

00:44:43in my opinion,

00:44:44why then,

00:44:44you see,

00:44:44it was a happy mistake.

00:44:47So once you were sure

00:44:48that Sir Harold

00:44:49was not dangerously wounded,

00:44:51you then turned

00:44:51your attention

00:44:52to the rug?

00:44:53It's the most natural

00:44:54thing in the world.

00:44:55I mean,

00:44:56that has won more prizes

00:44:57than he's sunk battleships.

00:44:59I have no more questions,

00:45:00Ron.

00:45:02Mr Fortescue,

00:45:02in your statement

00:45:03to Mr Geoffrey Crawford White,

00:45:05you said,

00:45:05and I quote,

00:45:06I now know his

00:45:07maniacal views on that,

00:45:08meaning Gibraltar.

00:45:10Yes,

00:45:11that's correct.

00:45:11But is it?

00:45:12Surely you read

00:45:13Sower's letter

00:45:13when it was printed?

00:45:15Yeah,

00:45:15I might have done

00:45:16and I'm going to write more.

00:45:17Mr Fortescue,

00:45:18over the years

00:45:18you've become

00:45:19a minor celebrity

00:45:20for your many offbeat

00:45:21and extremely witty

00:45:23letters in the times.

00:45:24It's very civil of you.

00:45:25So you must have

00:45:26read this letter.

00:45:28Well,

00:45:28I suppose,

00:45:29as I recall it now,

00:45:30I suppose I must have

00:45:31read it,

00:45:32but until the incident

00:45:33I have no idea

00:45:34how madly unhinged

00:45:36he was on the subject.

00:45:37Now,

00:45:37I really can't accept that.

00:45:38The man you've quarreled

00:45:39with all your life,

00:45:40the family that your family

00:45:41have feuded with

00:45:41for over 300 years,

00:45:43in fact,

00:45:43I suggest that any opinion

00:45:44of his

00:45:45would have registered

00:45:46very clearly.

00:45:47If you say so.

00:45:49Indeed,

00:45:49I do say so.

00:45:50Now,

00:45:50this registered letter

00:45:51you sent to the Times

00:45:52suggesting that Gibraltar

00:45:53would be given back

00:45:54to the Spanish,

00:45:54why did you send it?

00:45:57Why?

00:45:58Why on earth

00:45:59shouldn't I?

00:46:00More specifically,

00:46:01why did you send it

00:46:01immediately after

00:46:03Lady Dupuis

00:46:03had turned down

00:46:04your proposal of marriage?

00:46:06It's as good a time

00:46:07as any other.

00:46:08Better,

00:46:08I would have thought.

00:46:09After all,

00:46:10you knew that Sir Harold

00:46:11felt very strongly

00:46:11about Gibraltar,

00:46:12so what better

00:46:13than to send a letter

00:46:14so inflammatory

00:46:15to Sir Harold

00:46:16that he would break

00:46:17his two-year silence

00:46:18and dash round

00:46:19to your house

00:46:19to have it out with you

00:46:21face to face

00:46:21and not...

00:46:22But who is to say

00:46:23that it's going

00:46:24to be published?

00:46:24Oh,

00:46:26there was an odds

00:46:26on chance.

00:46:28Well,

00:46:28they're very kind,

00:46:29but really,

00:46:29I still don't understand.

00:46:30Now,

00:46:30I think you understand

00:46:32very well.

00:46:33Sir Harold

00:46:33had not set foot

00:46:34on your estate

00:46:35since the Goldfish

00:46:35incident,

00:46:36in other words,

00:46:37since the time

00:46:38when you and his wife

00:46:39began your affair.

00:46:40How dare you

00:46:42besmirch our relationship

00:46:43with your smutty

00:46:44implication?

00:46:45Mr Fortescue,

00:46:46you will please

00:46:46address counsel

00:46:47in a seemly manner.

00:46:48But, my lord,

00:46:49is he to be allowed

00:46:50to make remarks

00:46:51that might take

00:46:52the reputation

00:46:52of an innocent woman?

00:46:54He is to be allowed

00:46:55by me to say

00:46:56anything that is

00:46:57relevant to the issue.

00:46:58And you may be sure

00:46:59if he oversteps

00:47:00the bounds

00:47:01of cross-examination

00:47:02he will be stopped

00:47:02immediately.

00:47:03Is that clearly understood?

00:47:04My lord.

00:47:06Thank you,

00:47:06my lord.

00:47:07Now,

00:47:08by forcing a confrontation

00:47:09with the underhand

00:47:11method of fanning

00:47:12Sir Harold's hatred

00:47:13of the Spanish government,

00:47:15you had hoped

00:47:15he would be faced

00:47:16with a picture

00:47:17of yourself

00:47:17and his wife together

00:47:18in a scene

00:47:19of domestic bliss.

00:47:21He would then be forced

00:47:22to recognize

00:47:22his wife's relationship

00:47:23with yourself

00:47:24and from pride,

00:47:26if nothing else,

00:47:27would have turned her

00:47:27out of his house,

00:47:28thus creating

00:47:29the very situation

00:47:30you wish to bring about.

00:47:31How dare you,

00:47:32malign a lady

00:47:33of impeccable honour

00:47:34and utter simplicity.

00:47:35You, sir,

00:47:35are a rotter.

00:47:36Under any other

00:47:37circumstances,

00:47:38I would call you out.

00:47:39I call Lady Dupuis.

00:47:47I call Lady Dupuis.

00:48:09The cases in Forchester

00:48:13are fictitious.

00:48:14Tomorrow,

00:48:15you can join us again

00:48:16when the Queen

00:48:16against Fortescue

00:48:17will be concluded

00:48:18in the Crown Court.

00:48:20Sir Harold Dupuis

00:48:33Sir Harold Dupuis

00:48:34is alleged

00:48:35that he was stabbed

00:48:36by his neighbour,

00:48:37Jasper Fortescue,

00:48:38and as a consequence,

00:48:39Fortescue is on trial

00:48:40for wounding

00:48:41with intent

00:48:41to cause grievous bodily harm.

00:48:44Dupuis claimed

00:48:44that the incident occurred

00:48:46on the 17th of September,

00:48:471976

00:48:48when,

00:48:49angered by a letter

00:48:50in the Times

00:48:50which Fortescue

00:48:51had written,

00:48:52he went to Fortescue's house

00:48:53and there found Fortescue

00:48:54and Lady Dupuis together.

00:48:56I call Lady Dupuis.

00:48:58The jury is selected

00:48:59from members of the public.

00:49:00Call Lady Dupuis.

00:49:07I do apologise, my lord.

00:49:11I hadn't realised

00:49:12that you were upon me.

00:49:14Before you ask,

00:49:15I am pagan.

00:49:19I do solemnly, sincerely

00:49:21and truly declare

00:49:22and affirm

00:49:23that the evidence

00:49:23I shall give

00:49:24shall be the truth,

00:49:25the whole truth

00:49:26and nothing but the truth.

00:49:27Lady Dupuis,

00:49:30would you please

00:49:31tell the court

00:49:32what the nature

00:49:33of your relationship

00:49:34with the defendant,

00:49:35Mr Fortescue,

00:49:36is?

00:49:37The past tense,

00:49:39if you would be so kind,

00:49:40was,

00:49:41not is.

00:49:43Since the bloodletting,

00:49:45but before then,

00:49:46oh, most, most tender.

00:49:48We were soulmates

00:49:49until the small

00:49:50unpleasantness

00:49:50in the library.

00:49:52Now,

00:49:52this relationship

00:49:54with Mr Fortescue...

00:49:54You need to be coy,

00:49:56dear boy.

00:49:57I'm sure the word

00:49:58sex was on the tip

00:49:59of your clever tongue.

00:50:00After all,

00:50:01it is one of the more

00:50:02joyous mysteries

00:50:03of this planet,

00:50:04so there's no need

00:50:05to be timid.

00:50:06Of course,

00:50:07we enjoyed sexual relationship,

00:50:09relished it with

00:50:10some abandon,

00:50:11I might add.

00:50:12But in the mind only.

00:50:14You understand.

00:50:17And how long

00:50:18have you been friendly

00:50:19with the defendant?

00:50:21Let me see.

00:50:21Since 74,

00:50:24when my late husband...

00:50:25Just one moment.

00:50:27This is the first

00:50:27we've heard

00:50:28of a previous marriage.

00:50:29When did you marry Sir Hammond?

00:50:31We married to celebrate

00:50:32the Festival of Britain,

00:50:331951.

00:50:34In fact,

00:50:34we should have had

00:50:35our silver jubilee

00:50:36last year.

00:50:38Perhaps I should explain.

00:50:40I think perhaps

00:50:40you'd better.

00:50:42In 74,

00:50:43the spirits led me

00:50:44to an extraordinary book

00:50:45called

00:50:46Nature Knows All.

00:50:48It was here

00:50:49that I learned

00:50:50that if I planted

00:50:51certain herbs

00:50:52at a given angle

00:50:53to the stars,

00:50:54boiled them up

00:50:55and quaffed them down,

00:50:56why,

00:50:57then the benign influences

00:50:58of the celestial bodies

00:51:00would cure my own.

00:51:02Well, naturally,

00:51:03I set to

00:51:04with compass and ruler.

00:51:05I'm a bit of a dud

00:51:06at geometry,

00:51:07but I had a go

00:51:08by the party wall

00:51:10in the very spot

00:51:12where Sir Harold

00:51:12moved his horrible hand.

00:51:15He did it

00:51:16quite,

00:51:16quite deliberately.

00:51:18Typical Scorpio.

00:51:20And do you know

00:51:20what he said to me?

00:51:21I can't imagine.

00:51:23He said,

00:51:23Dotty,

00:51:24if you must plant

00:51:24your bits,

00:51:25then shove them

00:51:26in the herb garden

00:51:26with the mint.

00:51:28I have not communicated

00:51:30with him since.

00:51:31He never wanted me cured.

00:51:33He wished me dead.

00:51:35And so,

00:51:36in his eyes,

00:51:37dead I am.

00:51:39And he is dead to me.

00:51:40Lady Dupree,

00:51:41I've listened

00:51:42with commendable patience.

00:51:44And I am here

00:51:44to tell you

00:51:45we are not present

00:51:46to play games

00:51:47of cement.

00:51:48Oh,

00:51:48you do surprise me.

00:51:50I had imagined

00:51:51that the law

00:51:51was based

00:51:52on semantics.

00:51:54The Greek word

00:51:54semantikos

00:51:55meaning significant.

00:51:57I must say,

00:51:58I find it

00:51:59quite refreshingly naive

00:52:00if you consider

00:52:01the law

00:52:02is not semantic.

00:52:03We live

00:52:04and we learn.

00:52:05You understand

00:52:06me very well

00:52:06and you will

00:52:07bear that in mind

00:52:08when giving your evidence.

00:52:09Is that clearly understood?

00:52:10Certainly,

00:52:11my lord.

00:52:12Though I would like

00:52:13to make comment

00:52:13on the joy

00:52:14of your

00:52:15fine,

00:52:16vibrant voice.

00:52:17You are not here

00:52:18to make any comments

00:52:19however agreeable.

00:52:21Will you please

00:52:21just answer

00:52:22the questions?

00:52:23If that is your pleasure,

00:52:24my lord.

00:52:25It is,

00:52:25Lady Dupree.

00:52:27Please continue,

00:52:28Mr. Crawford White.

00:52:29And when precisely

00:52:30did you meet

00:52:31the defendant,

00:52:32Mr. Fortescue?

00:52:33After the massacre

00:52:34of the goldfish.

00:52:36So suitable.

00:52:37We're both Pisces.

00:52:39In fact,

00:52:39it was in the autumn

00:52:40of 1974.

00:52:41I think I can

00:52:41pinpoint the date

00:52:42more precisely.

00:52:43It was the full moon.

00:52:45I remember thinking

00:52:46how auspicious

00:52:47this was

00:52:47for a vibrant

00:52:48relationship.

00:52:49And did you keep

00:52:50this relationship

00:52:51with Mr. Fortescue

00:52:52a secret from Sir Harold?

00:52:53I don't slink,

00:52:55if that's what

00:52:55you're implying.

00:52:56Let me put it

00:52:57another way then.

00:52:58Do you think

00:52:59Sir Harold knew

00:53:00of your relationship

00:53:00with the defendant?

00:53:01Who can tell

00:53:02except the stars?

00:53:04He's a strange

00:53:05and unpredictable man.

00:53:07I mean,

00:53:07he dotes on

00:53:09blancmange

00:53:09and loathes jelly.

00:53:10Now,

00:53:11where's the difference there?

00:53:13Lady Dupuis,

00:53:14were you not

00:53:15very careful

00:53:15to conceal

00:53:16from Sir Harold

00:53:17your clandestine meetings?

00:53:18Otherwise,

00:53:19why else would you

00:53:20have chosen

00:53:20the witching hour,

00:53:21six o'clock,

00:53:22when you knew

00:53:23that Sir Harold

00:53:24would be shut

00:53:24in his drawing room,

00:53:25never to emerge

00:53:26until eight o'clock?

00:53:27That's his problem,

00:53:28silly boy.

00:53:29The times I've told him

00:53:30that routine

00:53:30is the canker

00:53:31of the soul.

00:53:32Mind you,

00:53:33if he had known,

00:53:34he would never dare

00:53:35to have stopped me,

00:53:37with or without

00:53:38the forces.

00:53:39The forces?

00:53:40The spirits,

00:53:42ever present

00:53:42to protect their own,

00:53:44even here.

00:53:47Come to think of it,

00:53:48more than ever here.

00:53:50Is it not right,

00:53:51Lady Dupuis,

00:53:52that there is

00:53:53a thick shrubbery

00:53:54between the two houses,

00:53:55so that it would have been

00:53:56quite impossible

00:53:57for Sir Harold

00:53:58to have seen you

00:53:59when you approached

00:54:00Mr Fortescue's house?

00:54:01I'm very perceptive of you,

00:54:02that is right.

00:54:04But what about

00:54:05the party wall?

00:54:06That is nine feet high,

00:54:08my lord,

00:54:08and needs steps to clear,

00:54:10as I know to my cost.

00:54:11But surely Sir Harold

00:54:12could have seen you

00:54:13from an upstairs window.

00:54:14Happily there are no windows

00:54:15overlooking the front garden,

00:54:17or rather there were,

00:54:19until Cuthbert Dupuis

00:54:20had them bunged up

00:54:21to cut off the offending view

00:54:23of enemy territory.

00:54:25It is unbelievable.

00:54:27In fact,

00:54:27Lady Dupuis,

00:54:28when Sir Harold stated

00:54:29that he did not know

00:54:30of your relationship

00:54:31until the fateful evening

00:54:32of September the 17th,

00:54:34he may have been

00:54:35telling the truth.

00:54:36And one man's truth

00:54:37is another man's tool.

00:54:40You have only

00:54:41to contemplate Cromwell.

00:54:42Lady Dupuis,

00:54:43I believe that you

00:54:44were with Sir Harold

00:54:45in Gibraltar.

00:54:46In fact,

00:54:46I believe you met him there.

00:54:47Spirited times.

00:54:48I was in the Wrens

00:54:49on deadly hush-hush,

00:54:51no less.

00:54:52I wore a tin hat.

00:54:53And I believe

00:54:54that Sir Harold

00:54:54was something of a joke

00:54:56for his pride

00:54:57in the rock remaining British.

00:54:58Oh, my lord.

00:54:59Mr Crawford White,

00:55:00that question is out of order,

00:55:02as you very well know.

00:55:03I do apologise, my lord.

00:55:04Oh, do please enlighten me.

00:55:06I will not have

00:55:07a man's values derided,

00:55:08even though they may appear

00:55:09old-fashioned to some people.

00:55:11Charming.

00:55:12I do apologise, my lord.

00:55:14Well, just see

00:55:15that it does not happen again.

00:55:16Yes, my lord.

00:55:17I would now like to ask you

00:55:19about Mr Fortescue's threat

00:55:21in the autumn of 1974.

00:55:24We have already heard

00:55:25how Sir Harold

00:55:26moved his gundog

00:55:27to the party wall,

00:55:29and how Mr Fortescue

00:55:30couldn't sleep

00:55:31because of the barking.

00:55:32How, to demonstrate

00:55:34how irritating noise can be,

00:55:36he then placed a loudspeaker

00:55:37on the wall

00:55:38and played God Save the Queen,

00:55:40and how Sir Harold

00:55:40then threw the loudspeaker

00:55:42into Mr Fortescue's

00:55:43goldfish pond.

00:55:44Now, were you a witness

00:55:46to this incident?

00:55:47I had a ringside seat.

00:55:48Do so enjoy

00:55:49a bit of gutsy horseplay.

00:55:51Now, please think very carefully

00:55:52before you answer

00:55:53my next question.

00:55:55What did Mr Fortescue

00:55:56say to Sir Harold?

00:55:58Well, I cannot remember

00:56:00verbatium

00:56:00from the Latin verbum

00:56:02meaning word.

00:56:04But the meaning was,

00:56:06don't set foot here again.

00:56:08You've no guts

00:56:09if you kill goldfish.

00:56:10Then he did not

00:56:12threaten Sir Harold's life.

00:56:13Larks away, no.

00:56:15All work and no play

00:56:16makes Jack a dull boy.

00:56:18Really.

00:56:19Now, to return to the evening

00:56:21of the 17th of September 1976,

00:56:23Constable Simpson has stated

00:56:25that he heard you screaming

00:56:27from the defendant's library.

00:56:28Now, why was that?

00:56:29I should have thought

00:56:30it was perfectly obvious.

00:56:32I saw a black man

00:56:33peering at me

00:56:34through the foliage,

00:56:35rolling his eyes

00:56:37at me he was.

00:56:38Now, please do not

00:56:39misconstrue my meaning.

00:56:40I have no racial prejudice

00:56:42per se.

00:56:43It is just that it was

00:56:44not a familiar sight

00:56:46in Forty's laurels.

00:56:47Notting Hill Gate, perhaps.

00:56:49The black and white minstrels

00:56:50show inevitably,

00:56:52but not there.

00:56:53A black man?

00:56:54Indeed.

00:56:55Sir Harold.

00:56:57Mucky puppy.

00:56:57Had dirt from the leaves

00:56:59all over his face.

00:57:00He always attracted bits

00:57:02like crushed velvet.

00:57:04I mean, look at the honey.

00:57:06Why, then,

00:57:06did you continue to scream?

00:57:09It is my wont.

00:57:10Then it was not

00:57:12the defendant

00:57:12who frightened you.

00:57:13Forty?

00:57:14Good gracious, no.

00:57:15He couldn't frighten pussy.

00:57:17And he did not

00:57:18threaten you with a knife?

00:57:19He would never be so bold.

00:57:22How did Sir Harold

00:57:23enter the library?

00:57:24How should I know?

00:57:25He was just there

00:57:25like a cloudburst.

00:57:27He never made

00:57:28a graceful entrance

00:57:29in his life,

00:57:29even at our wedding.

00:57:31He tripped over

00:57:32his dress sword

00:57:32and fell under my train.

00:57:35Did you see Sir Harold

00:57:36when he sustained

00:57:37his wound?

00:57:38I saw pulsating

00:57:39red auras,

00:57:41and that was quite

00:57:41blood-curdling enough.

00:57:43Thank you very much.

00:57:44Where you are,

00:57:45were you not looking

00:57:46in Sir Harold's direction?

00:57:47I was looking

00:57:48at the ceiling.

00:57:49Where else?

00:57:50I might add

00:57:51that I always look away,

00:57:53spiritually, of course,

00:57:54when confronted

00:57:55by sordidity.

00:57:56I mean,

00:57:57I saw this extraordinary

00:57:58black face,

00:58:00and I immediately

00:58:00raised my eyes

00:58:02to higher things.

00:58:03In this case,

00:58:04an exquisite ceiling,

00:58:06fair sagging

00:58:06with putty.

00:58:08Putty?

00:58:09The plural of putto,

00:58:10my lord.

00:58:11Italian.

00:58:13Meaning naked boys,

00:58:14as in Cupid.

00:58:17And when did you

00:58:19lower your eyes?

00:58:20After Sir Harold

00:58:21was spread-eagled,

00:58:23when I heard

00:58:24Constable Simpson's

00:58:25resonant tones.

00:58:27I do so love

00:58:27a genuine burr.

00:58:29Country accents

00:58:29give one such a sense

00:58:30of identity,

00:58:31don't you agree?

00:58:32Lady Dupree,

00:58:32did you have no feelings

00:58:34for your husband's injury?

00:58:35It is his soul

00:58:36that concerns me,

00:58:37my lord,

00:58:37and that is a

00:58:38full-time occupation,

00:58:39I can tell you.

00:58:40After all,

00:58:41he's had dozens of legs,

00:58:42in other lives.

00:58:43but his soul.

00:58:46You can't get a spare

00:58:47for that.

00:58:50To whom, then,

00:58:51were you pointing

00:58:52when you shouted

00:58:53murderer?

00:58:54To no one in particular.

00:58:57I mean,

00:58:59the library was awash

00:59:00with violent vibrations.

00:59:03Sir Harold,

00:59:03wishing me dead,

00:59:04fought it dithering about

00:59:05with a bloodstained dagger.

00:59:07Murderer

00:59:07seemed to me

00:59:08to be the only

00:59:09sane comment,

00:59:10and it still does.

00:59:12From then onwards,

00:59:12I cut myself adrift

00:59:14on the ocean

00:59:15of higher thoughts.

00:59:17Dear Ivor Novello,

00:59:18Lady Dupuis,

00:59:38I believe one of your

00:59:39many hobbies

00:59:40is composing

00:59:41crossword puzzles.

00:59:43Indeed it is,

00:59:44my speciality being

00:59:45in the Latin.

00:59:46it is a gentle sport

00:59:48that harms no one.

00:59:49Oh, I quite agree with you.

00:59:50However,

00:59:51your apparent vagueness

00:59:52as to what people have said

00:59:53could directly harm

00:59:54the course of justice.

00:59:56Surely you mean the law.

00:59:58The two are not synonymous.

00:59:59From the Greek word

01:00:00suno neumon meaning name.

01:00:03Bravo!

01:00:05So let us more accurately name

01:00:07the actual words used

01:00:08when the defendant

01:00:09threatened your husband.

01:00:10I believe you said

01:00:11that the defendant's meaning

01:00:12was,

01:00:13don't set foot here again,

01:00:14you've no guts

01:00:15if you massacre goldfish.

01:00:17Something like that.

01:00:18Oh,

01:00:19well then it could equally

01:00:19well have been,

01:00:20if ever you put so much

01:00:21as one foot on my estate again,

01:00:22I'll run you through the guts,

01:00:24you've massacred my goldfish.

01:00:26No,

01:00:26that is quite inaccurate.

01:00:27The sentence is too long.

01:00:29Oh,

01:00:29so it's the length you query,

01:00:31not the changed sense.

01:00:33On the contrary,

01:00:34the length can change the sense

01:00:36as you very well know.

01:00:38The length can change the sense.

01:00:41So,

01:00:42if you had said,

01:00:42don't set foot here again

01:00:43or I'll run you through the guts,

01:00:45that would have been acceptable.

01:00:46I distinctly remember

01:00:47the word massacre,

01:00:48so that is inaccurate.

01:00:50Try again.

01:00:51Indeed I will,

01:00:52as massacre was not

01:00:53in your original statement.

01:00:56Now,

01:00:56do you remember the words

01:00:57foot,

01:00:58gut,

01:00:59massacre and fish?

01:01:01Distinctly.

01:01:02And do you remember

01:01:02the exact order

01:01:04in which they were put?

01:01:05I've said,

01:01:06not offhand.

01:01:07But we're not talking offhand.

01:01:08You've sworn to tell the truth,

01:01:09which does not mean

01:01:09an approximation of it.

01:01:11Indeed,

01:01:12I put it to you

01:01:12that you remember

01:01:13certain words in the threat

01:01:14and that you arrange them

01:01:15in your mind

01:01:16as you saw fit,

01:01:17as you might arrange the words

01:01:19in a crossword puzzle.

01:01:20How dare you browbeat my wife?

01:01:22Poor delicate creature.

01:01:23I can't actually,

01:01:23it is a disgrace.

01:01:25Dupuis Fortescue,

01:01:27sit down and be quiet.

01:01:32Now,

01:01:33no one is allowed

01:01:36to browbeat anyone

01:01:37in this court,

01:01:38but they are allowed,

01:01:39indeed encouraged,

01:01:41to pin down

01:01:41an elusive witness

01:01:43on the accuracy

01:01:44of their statements.

01:01:46And I am quite sure

01:01:47that Lady Dupuis

01:01:48is perfectly capable

01:01:50of sustaining questions

01:01:52from prosecuting counsel.

01:01:55Flatterer.

01:01:55Thank you,

01:01:58my lord.

01:02:00Now,

01:02:01bearing in mind

01:02:01what I've said

01:02:02about your attitude

01:02:03to words,

01:02:04let's turn to the

01:02:04defendant's library

01:02:05on the evening

01:02:06of the 17th of September,

01:02:071976,

01:02:08when you shouted

01:02:09murderer.

01:02:10When you shouted

01:02:11murderer,

01:02:12your husband

01:02:13was lying on the rug

01:02:14with a deep gash

01:02:14in his thigh

01:02:15and Fortescue

01:02:16was standing over him

01:02:17with a bloody knife.

01:02:17Now,

01:02:18that's a very

01:02:18dramatic picture.

01:02:20Now,

01:02:20I put it to you

01:02:20that when you shouted

01:02:21murderer,

01:02:22it was at

01:02:23the defendant.

01:02:24Oh, dear,

01:02:24I've said I shouted

01:02:25murderer at both of them.

01:02:28Do you love

01:02:29the defendant?

01:02:30No,

01:02:31not really.

01:02:32Viewed from here,

01:02:33he looks a bit silly,

01:02:35but I could always

01:02:36change my mind.

01:02:38Do you love

01:02:38your husband,

01:02:39then,

01:02:40even your late husband?

01:02:41I know him,

01:02:42not in the biblical sense,

01:02:44of course,

01:02:45but he could be

01:02:46maddeningly likable.

01:02:47But you care

01:02:47for what he does,

01:02:48what he thinks of you.

01:02:50From time to time.

01:02:52But then,

01:02:52of course,

01:02:53time is relative.

01:02:54You care enough

01:02:55to get at him

01:02:56and to get him boiling.

01:02:57He doesn't say.

01:02:58Ah,

01:02:58but not as a game,

01:02:59and that is the difference.

01:03:01Now,

01:03:01I suggest to you

01:03:02that you did point

01:03:03at the defendant

01:03:03and you quite fairly

01:03:05shouted murderer.

01:03:06Then,

01:03:07when you discovered

01:03:07your husband

01:03:08was only wounded,

01:03:09you used this

01:03:09spontaneous cry

01:03:10to have revenge on him

01:03:12for not taking

01:03:13your herbal medicine

01:03:13seriously.

01:03:14After all,

01:03:15Sir Harold has stated

01:03:15that when he entered,

01:03:17you shouted,

01:03:18you care,

01:03:18you care.

01:03:19It was stirring stuff.

01:03:23Why did you so forcibly

01:03:24try and stop

01:03:25Constable Simpson

01:03:26for telephoning

01:03:27for an ambulance?

01:03:28Goodness gracious,

01:03:29I thought we'd been

01:03:30into all that.

01:03:31To me,

01:03:31our living bodies

01:03:32are pulsing seas,

01:03:34though tideless.

01:03:36Shakespeare got it

01:03:36quite wrong.

01:03:37Now,

01:03:37I suggest to you

01:03:38that when you stopped

01:03:39the constable

01:03:39for telephoning

01:03:40for an ambulance,

01:03:41there was an extra

01:03:42and a more important reason

01:03:43than the one you stated.

01:03:45I suggest that you

01:03:45saw the wound

01:03:46and you then realised

01:03:48there might be

01:03:48official proceedings

01:03:49and you attempted

01:03:51to protect

01:03:51the defendant.

01:03:53And why should I

01:03:54try to protect

01:03:54Forty more than

01:03:55Sir Harold?

01:03:56Answer me that.

01:03:56Quite simply,

01:03:58Fortescue is on trial

01:03:59and he may be sent

01:04:00to jail,

01:04:00no less,

01:04:01but your husband

01:04:02is not.

01:04:03And you don't care

01:04:04how much you twist

01:04:05the evidence

01:04:06so long as you

01:04:06remain at the centre

01:04:07manipulating the two

01:04:09men in your life

01:04:10for your own

01:04:11egotistical satisfaction.

01:04:13But if he does

01:04:14go to jail,

01:04:15you are no longer

01:04:16in control.

01:04:18You can no longer

01:04:19play one man

01:04:20off against the other.

01:04:23Lady Dupuis,

01:04:23I suggest to you

01:04:24that you are

01:04:25a very dangerous

01:04:26and a very amoral woman.

01:04:28Ah,

01:04:29dangerous I may be.

01:04:31In fact,

01:04:31I am inclined

01:04:32to agree with you.

01:04:33Since my earliest days

01:04:35I have been a catalyst,

01:04:37though both Sir Harold

01:04:38and Forty

01:04:38have told me

01:04:39that I am fun.

01:04:41Rampagious,

01:04:43glorious fun.

01:04:45However,

01:04:46I most forcibly

01:04:47disagree with the word

01:04:48amoral.

01:04:49Far too wishy-washy.

01:04:52Now,

01:04:52if you had said

01:04:52immoral,

01:04:54that's quite a

01:04:54different kettle.

01:04:56I have always been

01:04:57a woman of

01:04:57ungovernable passion

01:04:59and both my boys

01:05:00will agree with me.

01:05:02A femme fatale,

01:05:04no less.

01:05:07How's that?

01:05:08Now you've heard

01:05:11from the defendant's

01:05:12housekeeper

01:05:13how Fortescue

01:05:14was turned down

01:05:15by Lady Dupuis

01:05:16and of how he was

01:05:18extremely upset by it.

01:05:20How the very next day

01:05:21he sent a registered

01:05:22letter to the Times,

01:05:23a letter so inflammatory

01:05:25that Sir Harold

01:05:26was certain

01:05:27to break his

01:05:27two-year silence

01:05:28and to go to

01:05:29bead retreat

01:05:29to have it out

01:05:30with the defendant.

01:05:32You've also heard

01:05:34that only the day

01:05:35before the wounding,

01:05:36Fortescue

01:05:37happened to lose

01:05:39his scissors

01:05:39and replaced them

01:05:41with a dagger.

01:05:44How on the day

01:05:44of the wounding,

01:05:45Fortescue was sitting

01:05:46in his library

01:05:46with Sir Harold's wife

01:05:47and at the judge's moment

01:05:48when he could expect

01:05:49Sir Harold to appear,

01:05:50he was sitting

01:05:51facing Lady Dupuis

01:05:52with a knife in his hand.

01:05:55Now, the defendant

01:05:56must have known

01:05:57that Sir Harold

01:05:58would come sometime

01:05:58after 6pm

01:05:59and yet he stated

01:06:01that he was

01:06:01utterly astonished

01:06:03when he heard a noise

01:06:05behind him

01:06:05at 6.45.

01:06:07Now, is that possible

01:06:08or is it not much more likely

01:06:09that he lied?

01:06:10And if so,

01:06:11there was only one motive

01:06:12for his lie.

01:06:14And you must bear in mind

01:06:15that at no time

01:06:16had Fortescue

01:06:16warned Lady Dupuis

01:06:18to stay away.

01:06:19Of course he didn't

01:06:20because the scene

01:06:22of cosy domesticity

01:06:23that Sir Harold

01:06:24was to witness

01:06:25was preconceived.

01:06:27A scene set so carefully

01:06:28that Sir Harold

01:06:29would be driven

01:06:29to force an entry

01:06:30into the library

01:06:31and then

01:06:32the defendant

01:06:33would have an excuse

01:06:33to kill him

01:06:34so that he would be free

01:06:36to marry Lady Dupuis

01:06:37or at the very least

01:06:38to wound him

01:06:39in revenge

01:06:41for the affection

01:06:42he was still

01:06:43held in

01:06:44by his wife.

01:06:46In other words,

01:06:47he wounded Sir Harold

01:06:49with intent

01:06:49to cause

01:06:50grievous bodily harm.

01:06:53Now, you may feel

01:06:53that Lady Dupuis

01:06:55was the cause

01:06:56of this incident

01:06:56but that's not

01:06:58why you're here

01:06:58to decide.

01:07:06Ladies and gentlemen

01:07:08of the jury,

01:07:09you have seen

01:07:11Sir Harold

01:07:11in the witness box

01:07:12and you have seen

01:07:14how passionately

01:07:15he feels

01:07:15about Gibraltar

01:07:16remaining British.

01:07:18How, during the last war,

01:07:20he injured a man

01:07:20for merely suggesting

01:07:22that one day

01:07:23Gibraltar might

01:07:24be returned to Spain.

01:07:26You have also seen

01:07:28how passionately

01:07:29he loves his wife

01:07:30who in his eyes

01:07:31can do no wrong.

01:07:34Imagine then

01:07:35the scene

01:07:36that confronted him

01:07:37when he rushed round

01:07:39to Mr Fortescue's library

01:07:40after having read

01:07:42his letter in the Times.

01:07:43he is already furious.

01:07:45He peers through the laurels

01:07:48and sees his beloved wife

01:07:51with the man

01:07:52whom he hates

01:07:53who appears to be threatening her

01:07:55with a dagger.

01:07:57Now imagine

01:07:58the feelings of the defendant

01:08:00on seeing Sir Harold

01:08:02standing there

01:08:03shaking the doors

01:08:05in an angry

01:08:06and threatening manner.

01:08:07what more sensible

01:08:09than that the defendant

01:08:11jumps up

01:08:12to lock those doors

01:08:13against the intruder

01:08:14what more understandable

01:08:15than that he forgets

01:08:17that he has a dagger

01:08:18in his hand

01:08:19for cutting his wool.

01:08:20But too late

01:08:21Sir Harold

01:08:23has fallen

01:08:23into the room

01:08:24and onto the dagger.

01:08:26A terrible accident.

01:08:28But an accident

01:08:30no less.

01:08:31You may think

01:08:33it's high time

01:08:34that Sir Harold Dupuy

01:08:36the defendant

01:08:36in Fortescue

01:08:37and not least

01:08:39Lady Dupuy

01:08:40saw their childish

01:08:41behavior

01:08:42in its true light

01:08:43and made up

01:08:44their historic quarrels

01:08:45once and for all.

01:08:48Sitting here

01:08:49listening to this case

01:08:50you may have come

01:08:52to the conclusion

01:08:52that these three people

01:08:54need each other

01:08:55as much as they profess

01:08:57to hate each other

01:08:58and that if they did not

01:09:00live next door

01:09:01to each other

01:09:01or the color

01:09:03and interest

01:09:04would go out

01:09:05of their lives.

01:09:07But of course

01:09:08that is not

01:09:09what you're concerned with.

01:09:12Will the foreman

01:09:13of the jury

01:09:13please stand?

01:09:15Have you reached

01:09:15a verdict

01:09:16upon which you're

01:09:17all agreed?

01:09:17Please answer

01:09:18yes or no.

01:09:19Yes.

01:09:20What is your verdict?

01:09:21Please answer

01:09:21guilty or not guilty.

01:09:23Not guilty.

01:09:24Very well.

01:09:25You may go.

01:09:31Thank God

01:09:40that's over.

01:09:40Oh no it isn't

01:09:41you know.

01:09:42What do you mean

01:09:42Mr. Greenville?

01:09:43Well they've got

01:09:44my taste for it now.

01:09:45They'll be taking

01:09:45each other to court

01:09:46as regularly as

01:09:47winter follows summer.

01:09:49God help the judge.

01:09:49God help.

Crown Court - Crime Passionel (1977)

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