Sherlock Holmes Dressed To Kill 1946 ★★★½ Mystery (CC)

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Dressed to Kill is a 1946 American mystery film directed by Roy William Neill. Released by Universal Pictures, it is the last of fourteen films starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson. It is also known by the alternative titles Prelude to Murder (working title) and Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Code in the United Kingdom.   The film has an original story, but combines elements of the short stories "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" and "A Scandal in Bohemia." It is one of four films in the series which are in the public domain and is available online.   Plot: Sherlock Holmes is intrigued when Dr. Watson's friend, Julian 'Stinky' Emery, visits and tells them of a strange robbery at his flat the previous night. Stinky is an avid collector of music boxes and has several quite expensive pieces in his vast collection. The previous night, someone broke into his flat and knocked him unconscious when he tried to intervene. All they took however was a simple wooden music box he had bought at auction that day for a mere £2. The box was one of three available for sale and as Holmes and Watson begin to trace the other purchasers, it becomes apparent that someone will stop at nothing, including murder, to retrieve all three. When Holmes learns the identity of the music box maker, he is convinced it contains directions to the retrieval of something very valuable that the government has kept from the public   Credits:  Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes  Nigel Bruce as Dr. John H. Watson  Patricia Morison as Hilda Courtney/Charwoman  Edmund Breon as Julian "Stinky" Emery (as Edmond Breon)  Frederick Worlock as Colonel Cavanaugh (as Frederic Worlock)  Carl Harbord as Inspector Hopkins  Patricia Cameron as Evelyn Clifford  Holmes Herbert as Ebenezer Crabtree  Harry Cording as Hamid  Leyland Hodgson as Tour Guide  Mary Gordon as Mrs. Hudson  Ian Wolfe as Scotland Yard Commissioner  Anita Sharp-Bolster as the Schoolteacher on a Museum Tour  Cyril Delavanti as John Davidson (uncredited)  Harry Allen as William Kilgour (uncredited)  Topsy Glyn as the Kilgour Child (uncredited)  Delos Jewkes as Joe, the piano player (uncredited)   Directed by Roy William Neill  Written by Frank Gruber, Leonard Lee  Based on The Adventure of the Six Napoleons  1903 short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle  Produced by Roy William Neill  Cinematography Maury Gertsman  Edited by Saul A. Goodkind  Music by Milton Rosen

Transcript

00:00:00The End

00:00:30The End

00:01:00Dartmoor Prison

00:01:20Isolated from the outside world

00:01:23By walls of granite

00:01:25They say you could get out of here by merely telling what you know

00:01:40You may or may not be another Scotland Yard bloke

00:01:44But I'll give you the same answer I gave the others

00:01:48I still have two years, eight months and six days left

00:01:54In which to make musical boxes

00:01:56That'll be sold at auction for the benefit of this delightful sanctuary

00:02:01And I intend to serve them

00:02:06Move along

00:02:12And now we come to the next object on our list

00:02:16Or I should say objects

00:02:17Because there are three of them

00:02:19Now ladies and gentlemen these can be bought together or separately

00:02:23Now these beautiful little musical boxes only arrived this morning

00:02:27And I didn't intend to put them on the auction block until later

00:02:29But I'm going to sell them now

00:02:31So good friends as our old pal Mark Antony used to say

00:02:34Lend me your ears

00:02:36And what do you hear?

00:02:39Right

00:02:41The beautiful tinkle tinkle of a musical box

00:02:45What a lovely trinket

00:02:47What a beautiful gift

00:02:49Created unmade by loving hands

00:02:51A thing of beauty and utility

00:02:53I was going to start them with five pounds

00:02:56It's a bargain five pounds

00:02:59Do I see any hands?

00:03:01If there's a connoisseur in the house

00:03:04We'll go three pounds for it

00:03:05Two pounds

00:03:07One pound

00:03:10Ten shillings

00:03:13Ten

00:03:15Thank you sir

00:03:16Ladies and gentlemen

00:03:18Ten shillings is offered for a musical box

00:03:20You couldn't buy anywhere in London for less than five pounds

00:03:23It'll be stealing to let it go for ten shillings

00:03:25Like taking milk from a baby

00:03:27All right we're starting for ten shillings

00:03:29Ten shillings

00:03:30Ten shillings is offered

00:03:31Ten shillings is offered

00:03:32Anybody give me one pound?

00:03:33Anybody give me one pound?

00:03:34One pound

00:03:35One pound

00:03:36One pound

00:03:38One pound is offered

00:03:39Ladies and gentlemen

00:03:40One pound is against you sir

00:03:41Will you go to two pounds?

00:03:42Will you go to two pounds sir?

00:03:44Two pounds

00:03:45Two pounds is offered

00:03:46Two pounds is offered

00:03:47Once

00:03:48Twice

00:03:49In the last call

00:03:51Sold to the gentleman for two pounds

00:03:53Sorry my dear

00:03:55Now ladies and gentlemen

00:03:57Comes the opportunity to purchase

00:03:59An exact duplicate of the beautiful little musical box

00:04:02Just bought by this gentleman

00:04:03For the ridiculous low price of two pounds

00:04:06That's exactly the same

00:04:07Exactly the same

00:04:08Made with the same hands

00:04:09You hear that?

00:04:10Isn't that lovely?

00:04:11That tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle

00:04:13Sounds like bow belts to me

00:04:15You know with little angels pulling on the ropes

00:04:17We'll give me two pounds for you

00:04:18Who's starting with two pounds?

00:04:19Who's starting with two pounds?

00:04:20Will anybody start with two pounds?

00:04:22Oh come come

00:04:23Ladies and gentlemen

00:04:24You know from your enthusiasm

00:04:26We might all be in Scotland

00:04:27Instead of London

00:04:28Please buy it for me daddy

00:04:29Two pounds certainly not

00:04:31We all might be in Scotland

00:04:33Besides I don't like his manner

00:04:35One pound ten shillings

00:04:36One pound

00:04:37One pound

00:04:38One pound is asked

00:04:39One pound

00:04:40One pound is offered

00:04:41One pound

00:04:42Any advance?

00:04:43Went once

00:04:44Went twice

00:04:45One pound

00:04:46One pound

00:04:47Sold to the lady for one pound

00:04:48One pound

00:04:49Smart bidding my dear

00:04:50Thank you

00:04:51We come to the third and last

00:04:53Of these beautiful little musical boxes

00:04:55Exactly the same

00:04:56Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle

00:04:57Isn't that lovely?

00:04:58Ladies and gentlemen

00:05:00I don't bring you here to gullion

00:05:01And swindle you

00:05:02This is the exact replica

00:05:03Of those two I just sold before

00:05:05We're closed

00:05:06But this is extremely important

00:05:15Come in sir come in

00:05:19I'm sorry to disturb you

00:05:21But I was unfortunately delayed

00:05:23From arriving in time

00:05:24To bid on certain articles

00:05:25Which I was rather anxious to obtain

00:05:27Oh perhaps they weren't sold sir

00:05:29We are carrying several things over

00:05:31What might the articles be sir?

00:05:34Three identical musical boxes

00:05:36About so large

00:05:38Oh I'm sorry sir

00:05:39But they were sold

00:05:40Pity you weren't here to bid on them

00:05:42They didn't bring anything like the real value

00:05:44I'm most anxious to obtain them

00:05:46I wonder if your records would show

00:05:48Who the purchasers were

00:05:50Oh we don't usually give out that information sir

00:05:53For certain shall we say sentimental reasons

00:05:56I'm most anxious to get in touch with the purchasers

00:05:59I'd be willing to pay shall we say

00:06:02Five pounds

00:06:04Well for certain sentimental reasons sir

00:06:06We'd be very happy to oblige

00:06:07Alfred

00:06:08Today's sales

00:06:09Three musical boxes

00:06:11Musical boxes

00:06:12Ah

00:06:13Here we are

00:06:14The first purchase for two pounds

00:06:15From Mr. Julian Emery

00:06:16Fifty-two

00:06:17Portman Square

00:06:18Write this addresses down Alfred

00:06:19Yes sir

00:06:20Second didn't leave any name

00:06:21Oh how unfortunate

00:06:23I think she's a dealer

00:06:24You see they don't like us to know

00:06:25Where the things are going

00:06:26On account of the profits

00:06:28You say the second purchaser was a woman

00:06:31Can you give me a description of her?

00:06:33Oh she was a young woman

00:06:35Fairly tall slender

00:06:37Had a light complexion and dark hair

00:06:40And she was wearing a

00:06:42A grey suit don't you remember?

00:06:43That's right

00:06:44She probably runs a gift shop

00:06:45She paid one pound

00:06:48You say she comes here fairly frequently?

00:06:52No I didn't say so

00:06:53But she does sir

00:06:55Like us not

00:06:56She'll come in on Thursday

00:06:57We have sales on Mondays and Thursdays

00:06:59Oh

00:07:00And the third box?

00:07:02The third?

00:07:03Oh

00:07:04Mr. William Kilgore

00:07:05143 B Hampton Way

00:07:06For ten shillings

00:07:08Hmm

00:07:09Quite a drop from two pounds

00:07:10Mr. Kilgore was a Scotchman

00:07:12Oh

00:07:14Thank you

00:07:15Thank you

00:07:16You've been most helpful

00:07:17Oh

00:07:18Thank you sir

00:07:19And any time you're passing

00:07:20Dropping

00:07:21We always have lovely things for sale

00:07:23How can't you?

00:07:24Thank you

00:07:25I'll be back Thursday

00:07:34The message reached us too late

00:07:37Musical boxes are being sold

00:07:42Well let's get out of here

00:07:50Someday you'll go too far

00:07:56Reaching for a star you fool

00:07:58Yet a fool may touch a star Colonel Cavanaugh

00:08:01If he would reach high enough

00:08:03But not possess it as you would

00:08:08The musical boxes they've been sold

00:08:10What a pity for you my dear Colonel

00:08:12Is it my fault that the message reached us only an hour ago?

00:08:15Is it my fault that they were sold?

00:08:18She can't hold me responsible for that

00:08:20I hope for your sake you're right

00:08:22I hope for your sake you're right

00:08:52Then we'll call upon you tonight at a quarter to eight

00:08:57A gentleman who desires to consult you

00:08:59Upon a matter of the very deepest moment

00:09:02Remember that letter Holmes?

00:09:04It was written over two years ago

00:09:06An interesting case

00:09:08Devilously interesting

00:09:10Hmm

00:09:11Irene Adler

00:09:12What a striking looking woman

00:09:14From the brief glance I heard of her

00:09:16Seems only yesterday

00:09:17What charm

00:09:19Hmm

00:09:20What poison

00:09:21What a mind

00:09:22Sharp enough

00:09:23And brilliant enough

00:09:24To outwit the

00:09:25The great Sherlock Holmes himself

00:09:27I take it the new issue of the Strand Magazine is out

00:09:30Containing another of your slightly lurid tales

00:09:33It is indeed

00:09:34And what do you call this one?

00:09:36I call it

00:09:37A Scandal in Bohemia

00:09:39Not a bad title, eh?

00:09:40Hmm

00:09:41If you must record my exploits

00:09:44I do wish you'd put less emphasis on the melodramatic

00:09:47And more on the intellectual issues involved

00:09:49More on the intellectual

00:09:51What do you mean by that?

00:09:52Well, I do hope you've given, uh

00:09:54The woman

00:09:55A soul

00:09:56She had one, you know

00:09:58By the woman

00:09:59I suppose you mean Irene Adler

00:10:01Yes

00:10:02I shall always remember her

00:10:05As the woman

00:10:07As the woman

00:10:17Sorry

00:10:22Stinky!

00:10:23That's it, old boy!

00:10:24How are you?

00:10:25How are you, old boy?

00:10:26Haven't seen you for years

00:10:27I want you to meet my old friend Sherlock Holmes

00:10:29Holmes, this is Stinky

00:10:30In other words, Julian Emery

00:10:33How do you do, Mr. Emery?

00:10:34Watson has often spoken of you

00:10:35Oh, has he?

00:10:36Yes, we were at school together

00:10:38Yes, more years ago than I care to remember

00:10:40But you didn't come in here just to remind me of that

00:10:42No, I just happened to be in the neighborhood

00:10:44And saw your lights burning

00:10:45So I took the liberty of looking you up

00:10:47Still writing your mystery stuff?

00:10:49Yes, there's a new one out this week

00:10:51Good, I never miss them

00:10:52Oh, good, thanks

00:10:53I say that bandage makes you look very interesting

00:10:56Still poking your nose into other people's business as usual

00:10:59Who hit you?

00:11:00I haven't the foggy's notion

00:11:01Somebody knocked me on the head in my own living room

00:11:03And then proceeded to commit the most idiotic burglary you ever heard of

00:11:07The fellow must have been barmy as a coot

00:11:09Barmy? Why?

00:11:10Come sit down, old boy

00:11:12Thank you

00:11:13Would you like a cup of tea?

00:11:14What?

00:11:15Oh, all right

00:11:16I'll go and tell Mrs. Hudson's father

00:11:18Oh

00:11:20Why do you say the robbery was idiotic, Mr. Emery?

00:11:24Oh, simply from the fact that with about 5,000 pounds worth of musical boxes in my living room

00:11:29The thief who I caught in the act

00:11:31Made off with one that isn't even worth five pounds

00:11:33I gather you're a collector of musical boxes

00:11:36Yes, I am indeed

00:11:37Some of them are very beautiful

00:11:38But not the one that was stolen

00:11:40The thief evidently grabbed the first thing that came to his hand

00:11:43When he heard me coming into the room

00:11:45Still it's rather odd, isn't it, that having disposed of you

00:11:48He didn't pick up something more valuable

00:11:50Hmm

00:11:51Was there anything unusual about the stolen box?

00:11:53No, nothing at all

00:11:55No, I picked it up in the south of France

00:11:58Oh, several years ago

00:11:59You say you have many valuable music boxes

00:12:02And yet the thief made off with one that isn't worth five pounds

00:12:05Sounds like rather an intriguing little problem

00:12:07That's where I take it that you're just an ordinary petty thief and didn't know the value

00:12:11That is a possible explanation and yet I venture to say

00:12:14That the average petty thief has a more extensive knowledge of the value of object dar than the average collector

00:12:19Well, anyway, that's got in the art's theory

00:12:21They didn't get very excited about it

00:12:23That's consistent anyway

00:12:25I wonder if I might see your collection, Mr. Emery

00:12:28Oh, of course you could, yes

00:12:30Nothing a collector likes more than showing off his trophies

00:12:33When will it suit you?

00:12:34No time like the present

00:12:35Good, my place is just round in Portman Square

00:12:38Shall we?

00:12:39Yes, right

00:12:44Hello

00:12:45Where are you going?

00:12:46Stinky hasn't had his tea yet

00:12:48Oh, I'm sorry

00:12:49We're going round to my place

00:12:50Where I'm going to give you something better than tea

00:12:52Now this one was made for the Royal the 15th

00:12:57And is one of the very few still in existence from that period

00:13:00And a particularly fine specimen, yes

00:13:02Charming, isn't it?

00:13:06Quite

00:13:08They all sound to me like a lot of mice running about on a tin roof

00:13:14I'm afraid you have no ear for music, Watson

00:13:16Give me a good old band playing a rousing march

00:13:19You have all your silly little tweet-tweets

00:13:28No room

00:13:32This is me

00:13:38Stupid thing

00:13:43Singing rabbit

00:13:44What would you say offhand is the value of a box like that, Mr. Emery?

00:13:49Well, it's hard to say offhand

00:13:50But I think we'll bring about five or six hundred pounds today

00:13:54It's the gem of my collection

00:13:55Yet a thief who steals an oddity like a musical box passes up one worth five hundred pounds for one of almost no value at all

00:14:02Odd

00:14:03Very odd

00:14:04Very odd

00:14:05What worth a stolen box like, Mr. Emery?

00:14:07Oh, just a plain wooden box about so big

00:14:11As a matter of fact, I have one over here almost exactly like it

00:14:15I picked this up yesterday at an auction room in Knightsbridge

00:14:18Paid only two pounds for it

00:14:20Of course, I wouldn't in the ordinary way add one like this to my collection

00:14:23But the, um, the tune intrigued me

00:14:26I'd never heard it before

00:14:46You have a remarkable ear for music, Hermes

00:14:48Rather an unusual melody

00:14:49Sit down

00:14:50Thanks

00:14:51You, uh, say you bought that box at an auction sale yesterday

00:14:56Yes, the Gaylord auction rooms in Knightsbridge

00:14:59Run by old, uh, what's his name?

00:15:01Crabtree

00:15:02That's the man

00:15:03At what time is the robbery committed?

00:15:05Oh, about, uh, three o'clock this morning

00:15:07You know, Mr. Emery

00:15:09That box and the robbery might well be cause and effect

00:15:12Especially since you say that the stolen box

00:15:14Outputly resembles this one a great deal

00:15:16And, uh, Scotland Yard were not particularly interested, eh?

00:15:20Oh, yes, but I, I wouldn't blame him for that

00:15:23Especially as I told him I was quite unable to describe the thief

00:15:26Except, of course, for the fact that, uh, it was definitely a man

00:15:29All you remember is that you came in here and someone struck you on the head

00:15:31Yes, and the next thing I knew my man was trying to revive me

00:15:35It might be wise for you to put that box away somewhere and lock it up

00:15:37Oh, I don't think that's necessary

00:15:39Besides, everything's insured

00:15:41Well, at least if any further attempts at robbery are made

00:15:44I'd suggest that you call the police

00:15:46Rather than running into any personal danger

00:15:48Oh, come, Holmes, aren't you being a bit of an alarmist?

00:15:50Possibly, possibly

00:15:51Oh, I must agree with old Stinky

00:15:53Seems to me you are making rather a mountain out of a moleskir

00:15:56Mole hill is the word, old boy, and it's time you were in bed

00:15:58Thanks so much for letting us see your place

00:16:00Now the place has been grand meeting you

00:16:04Holmes, I can't understand why he was so mysterious

00:16:07Seems to me the petty thief explanation was the only sensible one

00:16:10Really?

00:16:11I can't see how you can believe it was anything else

00:16:13I didn't say I believed it to be anything else

00:16:15The petty thief theory is the obvious one, I grant you

00:16:18However, it's often a mistake to accept something as true

00:16:20merely because it's obvious

00:16:22The truth is only arrived at

00:16:24by the painstaking process of eliminating the untrue

00:16:28We are not able to do that in this case

00:16:31without further doubter

00:16:32Rubbish, you're pulling my leg

00:16:34You're trying to turn a

00:16:36a tuppenny hapenny robbery into an international plot

00:16:39No, I'm not

00:16:40I just hope that your friend Stinky is a little more cautious in the future

00:16:43Just in case

00:16:58Hello?

00:17:11Yeah?

00:17:12Julian Emery here

00:17:14Who?

00:17:15Why, of course I remember you, Mrs. Courtney

00:17:20Yes

00:17:21Yes, you're the one bright spot at that affordingly dull affair of Lady Sampson's

00:17:26Huh?

00:17:27Of course it isn't too late to come round

00:17:30Yes, I shall be delighted to give you a drink

00:17:33I tell you what, come straight up and I'll leave the door unlocked

00:17:37Right, well, fifteen minutes?

00:17:40Good

00:17:41I shall be counting each moment

00:17:44No, no, no, I mean that really

00:17:47Right, goodbye

00:18:08Boo!

00:18:09Oh!

00:18:10You startled me

00:18:11Did I?

00:18:12Yes

00:18:13Must be the pixie in me

00:18:15I know I shouldn't have called you so late

00:18:17But I was at a party just around the corner

00:18:19And I remembered your invitation to see your collection of musical boxes

00:18:22My dear, Mrs. Courtney

00:18:24The pleasure is all the greater for being so unexpected

00:18:27My friends called me Hilda

00:18:28Oh, thanks

00:18:29Mine called me Stinky

00:18:31Stinky, how quaint

00:18:32Oh, what a perfectly wonderful collection of musical boxes

00:18:36You know, when you told me you had a collection I had no idea it was so attractive

00:18:39Yes

00:18:40Yes

00:18:41They appealed to the ear

00:18:42As well as to the eye

00:18:44Oh, what a plain little one

00:18:47Why, it looks just like a country cousin amid all this grandeur

00:18:50No, no, no, no, you mustn't underestimate the country cousin

00:18:53Only last night a burglar broke in here

00:18:55And with all these to choose from went off with one very much like it

00:18:58Really?

00:18:59Yes, I don't mind the loss of the box so much

00:19:01But I do resent this crack on the scalp

00:19:03But it makes you look so interesting

00:19:04Oh, do you think so?

00:19:05It's funny that's what old Fatso said

00:19:08Fatso?

00:19:09I mean, Dr. Watson

00:19:10He was here this evening with a friend

00:19:12Mr. Holmes

00:19:13He's interested in my collection too

00:19:15Sherlock Holmes?

00:19:16Yes

00:19:17Do you know him?

00:19:18I've heard of him

00:19:19Yes, he seems to think I'm in some sort of danger

00:19:23What a haunting tune

00:19:25It takes me right back to my childhood

00:19:27Really?

00:19:28Do you know, it's odd that you should be interested in that particular musical box

00:19:31Odd? Why?

00:19:32Because Mr. Holmes is also interested in it

00:19:34He may have been more interested in the tune than in the box

00:19:37I get you, that's right

00:19:39I remember now

00:19:40He whistled it note for note having heard it only once

00:19:43Really?

00:19:44He must be a remarkable man

00:19:46Bit of an alarmist if you ask me

00:19:48Don't you believe in warnings?

00:19:50Of course not

00:19:51Who'd want a box like that?

00:19:53I would

00:19:54You're not serious?

00:19:56Oh, but I am

00:19:57You put me in a very awkward position

00:20:00I'm a collector, you know

00:20:02And the collector buys but never sells

00:20:04But

00:20:05If the price were high enough

00:20:07The price has nothing to do with it

00:20:10It's the principle of the thing

00:20:12Yes, well, we haven't had our drink

00:20:15No thanks, I must be getting along

00:20:18Must you really?

00:20:20I'm afraid so

00:20:22You're not walking out on me, are you?

00:20:26My reputation

00:20:28Stinky

00:20:29I say you know you are an attractive woman

00:20:33Thanks

00:20:42You fool

00:20:43I told you to wait outside

00:20:44What did you have to kill him for?

00:20:46All I had to do was walk out with this

00:20:48He held you in his arms

00:20:50Don't touch him

00:20:51Don't touch anything

00:20:52Now get out

00:20:54I'm sorry

00:20:55You're sorry?

00:20:56What about me?

00:20:58This is murder

00:20:59What about Scotland Yard?

00:21:01What about Sherlock Holmes?

00:21:03Now get out

00:21:16Did you get it?

00:21:37Good

00:21:38Did you have any trouble with him?

00:21:41Just a matter of murder

00:21:46Ah, Mr. Holmes

00:21:48Hopkins

00:21:49Thanks for coming so promptly

00:21:51Inspector Lestrade suggested that I call through to you

00:21:54Mr. Emery was the client of Mr. Holmes, Inspector

00:21:57Indeed

00:21:58You didn't mention that when I telephoned you, Mr. Holmes

00:22:00Well, not exactly a client, Inspector

00:22:02Dodgen-Thompson

00:22:03He was killed between the hours of 11 and 2 o'clock this morning, Mr. Holmes

00:22:09Must have been someone he knew

00:22:10Someone of whom he had no suspicion

00:22:12Poor old Stinky

00:22:14It's all my fault

00:22:16I should have prevented this

00:22:17Well, there's no time to start talking about that now, Doctor

00:22:20Apparently it's gone

00:22:22That's the second attempt on the musical box that Emery bought at the auction sale

00:22:26And this time it was successful

00:22:28But that box was only worth two pounds

00:22:30It was worth a man's life, Watson

00:22:32I think we'd better pay a visit to Gaylord's auction room and that fellow Crabtree

00:22:35Inspector, may I suggest that you make a complete search of this flat for a small, plain, musical box about that size

00:22:42Thank you

00:22:44Come on, Watson

00:22:46You say the first box went to Mr. Julian Emery

00:22:48The second to Mr. Kilgore, 143 B Hampton Way

00:22:52And the third to the unidentified young lady who presumably has a shop and lives near Golders Green

00:22:56That's right, Mr. Holmes

00:22:58Isn't it rather strange, Mr. Crabtree

00:23:00That used to have had three identical musical boxes all playing the same tune

00:23:04Where'd they come from?

00:23:05Dartmoor Prison

00:23:06Dartmoor?

00:23:07Yeah, we get a regular shipment from there every month

00:23:09The inmates manufacture them

00:23:10Well, they make all kinds of things, you know, pipe racks, waste paper baskets, musical boxes

00:23:14Did you happen to notice if anyone showed any particular interest during the auction in the purchasers of these three boxes?

00:23:22Oh, come now, Mr. Crabtree

00:23:24This is very literally a matter of life and death

00:23:26Well, since you put it that way, Mr. Holmes

00:23:28There was a gentleman came in here about an hour after closing time

00:23:31And he was in an awful state, he was

00:23:35He gave me five pounds to tell him where the boxes had gone to

00:23:37He said they had a sentimental value for him, sir

00:23:39Oh, expensive sentiment

00:23:41Can you describe him?

00:23:42He was tall, distinguished looking

00:23:44And he had grey hair and a moustache

00:23:46He was quite a gentleman, sir

00:23:47Now, what was his reaction when you were unable to supply him with the address of the young lady who owned the shop?

00:23:52I told him the young lady usually come back on Thursday

00:23:55He said he'd come back on Thursday

00:23:56Now, that's tomorrow

00:23:57Thank you, Mr. Crabtree

00:23:58You've been very helpful

00:23:59Thank you

00:24:00Come along, Watson

00:24:01Where are we going now, Holmes?

00:24:03We're home by Mr. Kilgore

00:24:04The man who bought the third box

00:24:12But hang it all, Holmes

00:24:13How do you know those other two musical boxes are of any importance?

00:24:16I don't

00:24:17But I certainly have no intention of waiting until the owners are murdered to find out

00:24:22No one at home

00:24:24I hope that's the explanation

00:24:26Well, have a look through this window

00:24:34Doesn't seem to be anyone there

00:24:37The whole place seems deserted, as far as I can see

00:24:41Yes?

00:24:42Mr. and Mrs. Kilgore at home?

00:24:43Now

00:24:44When do you expect them?

00:24:45Oh, in an hour or so

00:24:46There's no use your hanging about

00:24:48They don't buy nothing from peddlers

00:24:50Peddlers?

00:24:51My good woman

00:24:52This is Mr. Sherlock Holmes

00:24:53Sherlock Holmes?

00:24:54Oh, go on

00:24:55Do you mind if we come in and wait?

00:24:56My business is rather urgent

00:24:58Well, I've got to go out and do my shopping

00:25:01And I don't know if Mrs. Kilgore like any stranger's nosing about

00:25:05Quite all right, I assure you

00:25:06Well, I've got to be off

00:25:07It's a wait in the parlour

00:25:09And no smoking either

00:25:11Mrs. Kilgore says it smells up the house

00:25:16Funny old girl home

00:25:18Hmm

00:25:37Park Lane

00:25:38Park Lane?

00:25:39And what would the likes of you be doing in Park Lane?

00:25:41Now, don't worry about the fair ducky

00:25:43If you knows how to get to Park Lane, I'll bet

00:25:48You know, Holmes, I've been thinking

00:25:53There must have been something hidden in that box of old stinkies

00:25:57Stolen jewellery, possibly

00:26:01What's up, Holmes?

00:26:02Listen

00:26:05What, just the steam in the water pipes?

00:26:14Watson!

00:26:15Great Scott!

00:26:19Come on, Holmes

00:26:20Get out of the chair here

00:26:24It's all right, my dear

00:26:27There, there, there

00:26:28Now, don't worry

00:26:30It's all over

00:26:32There you are, dear

00:26:33Don't cry anymore

00:26:34She tied me up and shut me in the cupboard

00:26:37I know, I know

00:26:39She won't come back

00:26:40Did you show her your new musical box?

00:26:43Yes, she said she wanted to hear it play

00:26:46And as soon as I showed it to her

00:26:48She grabbed all of it

00:26:49I know, I know

00:26:50Now, don't worry, nobody

00:26:51We'll buy you a new musical box

00:26:52Yes, my dear

00:26:53The best one in London

00:26:54Watson

00:26:56Oh, what a fool, what a fool I've been

00:26:58What do you mean, Holmes?

00:26:59She took the musical box out of this house

00:27:01In that market basket

00:27:02Right under our very noses

00:27:04Why could the Kilgore child woman want to take the music box?

00:27:07She isn't the Kilgore child woman

00:27:09She's a consummate actress

00:27:10An extremely clever, unscrupulous woman

00:27:12Who will stop at nothing

00:27:13Take care of the child, will you, Wolf

00:27:15Until her parents get back

00:27:16Explain everything to them

00:27:17Of course I will

00:27:18But, Holmes

00:27:19Where are you going?

00:27:20Somewhere, somehow

00:27:22I must get to the young lady

00:27:23Who bought that third musical box

00:27:25Before our opponents find her

00:27:26I only hope that I won't be too late

00:27:28Oh, no

00:27:33No, no

00:27:34No, no

00:27:35Darling, you

00:27:36You mustn't cry anymore

00:27:37Now, cheer up

00:27:39Would you

00:27:40Would you like to hear old uncle

00:27:41Make a noise like a duck?

00:27:53Oh, sorry

00:27:58And now, ladies and gentlemen

00:28:21How much am I offered for this beautiful lace Dresden China figurine?

00:28:26A lady of the French court

00:28:28Now, this is the genuine article

00:28:30What a beautiful ornament for your mantelpiece

00:28:33Or you could use it as a centrepiece on the dining room table

00:28:36Now, will somebody start me for ten pounds?

00:28:38Will somebody start me for ten pounds?

00:28:40Eight pounds

00:28:41Seven pounds

00:28:43All right

00:28:44Five

00:28:45Five pounds is offered

00:28:46Five pounds is offered

00:28:47Five pounds ten

00:28:48Five pounds fifteen

00:28:49Five pounds fifteen

00:28:50Six pounds is offered

00:28:52Six pounds

00:28:53Six pounds

00:28:54Once

00:28:55Going twice

00:28:56The third and the last call

00:28:57Have you all done?

00:28:58Sold to the lady from Twickenham for six pounds

00:29:01Next, we have a real museum piece, ladies and gentlemen

00:29:04A fine 19th century doll

00:29:07The costume and exact replica of the holiday clothes worn by the Hungarian peasant women

00:29:12Now, ladies and gentlemen

00:29:13An article like this would cost you from fifteen to twenty pounds in a West End shop

00:29:17I'm not going to ask for anything like that

00:29:19Who will give me two pounds for it?

00:29:20Two pounds

00:29:21Anybody offer me two pounds?

00:29:22Two pounds

00:29:23Two pounds

00:29:24Two pounds

00:29:25One pound

00:29:26Anybody give me one pound

00:29:27Anybody offer me one pound for the doll

00:29:28One pound is offered, ladies and gentlemen

00:29:30One pound is offered

00:29:31Now, I'm not going to waste your valuable time or mine

00:29:34In trying to get one half of what this beautiful doll is worth

00:29:37If the young lady can steal it for one pound, that's her good fortune

00:29:40So, it's going once, it's going twice

00:29:42The third and last call

00:29:43Anymore

00:29:44Sold to the young lady for one pound

00:29:47And now, ladies and gentlemen

00:29:49May I draw your attention to something which may be a great surprise to you

00:29:52Worthy of any collection

00:29:53The only other one like it is in the British Museum

00:29:56It's a Ming vase of the seventh dynasty

00:29:59This vase lay in a large collection

00:30:02Somewhere outside Rome for over two centuries, I understand

00:30:06It was as discovered there by the noted antiquarian, Sir Andrew Copleston

00:30:09Now, some of you may remember Sir Andrew Copleston

00:30:11Now, some of you may remember Sir Andrew Copleston

00:30:12Besides being a noted traveler and antiquarian, he's also a gentleman rider

00:30:20The girl with the parcel in her hands, that's her

00:30:23Are you sure that's the girl?

00:30:25Well, she fits perfectly the auctioneer's description

00:30:28Follow her, Hamid

00:30:39Well, I don't even swear to me

00:30:41Well, he doesn't have an idea

00:30:42That's her

00:30:43Well, she's a girl

00:30:44Well, she's a girl

00:30:45I don't have a bother

00:30:46Well, she's a girl

00:30:47I don't have a忙 evangelical

00:30:48It's lovely dear and only one pound we can get at least three for it easily I'll go make some tea I could do with a cup right

00:31:18good afternoon good afternoon I'm looking for a birthday gift for a seven-year-old girl what would you suggest we have some lovely dolls now this Hungarian I think she has enough dolls already books are always welcome well I'm looking for something a little different well that's rather cute what is it well that's a musical box children always love them and this is an exceptionally nice one it plays many tunes

00:31:48have you any others yes if you'll just step this way I have only two left

00:31:56how nice

00:32:02are you sure this is all you have I'm sorry they're rather hard to find you know that's our entire allotment

00:32:13I did have one other but I sold it earlier this afternoon but it was only a plain wooden one it wouldn't have been a very nice gift for a child really

00:32:21do you happen to know who the purchaser was why yes he left his card just in case anyone should inquire for him

00:32:30how interesting

00:32:38I'm sorry but I'm afraid I have to look a bit further thank you anyway

00:32:44good afternoon thank you

00:32:47thank you

00:33:13heavy

00:33:17all of that cab here now what gotland yard

00:33:21hop in

00:33:29Sherlock Holmes I might have known

00:33:32and we thought we were the hunters

00:33:34instead of which were the hunted

00:33:37we've been fools we played right into his hands

00:33:39of course

00:33:41he's had us followed

00:33:44followed

00:33:45don't look

00:33:46the man in front of the toy shop

00:33:50I mean

00:33:51turn sharp right at the next corner and again at the next

00:33:54no photograph of her commissioner as I expected

00:34:04she's not a known criminal

00:34:06but I expect to know if you do find her

00:34:08after all she was disguised as a charwoman

00:34:11don't worry old fellow

00:34:13if I ever see her again I'll recognize her

00:34:15well

00:34:16it won't be long till we know who they are and from where they operate

00:34:19who's covering them

00:34:20Sergeant Thompson's following them sir

00:34:22they won't get away from him he's a good man

00:34:24we could have arrested them at Clifford's toy shop if we had any proof

00:34:27but we know that they killed Emrah

00:34:29proof my dear fellow we must have proof

00:34:32we have x-rayed it sir there's nothing whatever concealed in the box

00:34:37we'll have a look at the plates

00:34:47there must be some clue

00:34:49and it's probably so obvious that we've all overlooked it

00:34:51seems to me we're up against a bunch of lunatics

00:34:54not lunatics my dear fellow

00:34:58extremely astute cold-blooded murderers

00:35:01what can these little musical boxes have in them so important

00:35:04don't forget they were made in Dartmoor prison

00:35:07you can smuggle stuff into prison but not out

00:35:10do you want us to break the box apart so to see if there's anything the x-ray hasn't caught

00:35:14no not yet

00:35:15do you mind if I take it?

00:35:16certainly

00:35:17thanks

00:35:24the governor of Dartmoor prison informed us sir

00:35:30in answer to Mr. Holmes question

00:35:32that all three musical boxes were made by the same convict

00:35:35John Davidson

00:35:36serving a seven year term sir

00:35:38Davidson?

00:35:39the bank of England plates

00:35:40that'll be all

00:35:41yes sir

00:35:42now we're getting somewhere

00:35:44if

00:35:45wait a minute

00:35:46how did you know about the plates Mr. Holmes?

00:35:48I'm a student of crime inspector

00:35:50I make it my business to know about such things

00:35:52and when the name of Davidson was mentioned

00:35:54well who is this fellow Davidson?

00:35:56as long as Mr. Holmes seems to know all about it already

00:35:59I suppose there's no harm in telling you

00:36:01er

00:36:02two years ago in London

00:36:04there occurred a robbery of such tremendous importance

00:36:07although the stolen articles themselves have no intrinsic value whatsoever

00:36:11that the home secretary was instrumental in seeing that not a word of it appeared in any newspaper

00:36:16but you never told me anything about this Holmes?

00:36:19you were away at the time

00:36:21articles of no intrinsic value and yet of such importance

00:36:25I don't understand

00:36:26Mr. Davidson was apprehended within 15 minutes of committing the theft

00:36:30but by that time

00:36:32he'd hidden the articles in question and they've yet to be found

00:36:35before going further Dr. Watson

00:36:37I must inform you that this matter's not to be mentioned outside of this room

00:36:40of course not

00:36:41do I look like a man who'd gossip?

00:36:43let's not go into that now old fellow shall we?

00:36:45Davidson had been employed for years

00:36:48in a position of extreme trust

00:36:50by the engravings department of the Bank of England

00:36:52the articles he stole were nothing less

00:36:54than a complete duplicate set of plates for printing five pound notes

00:36:59what? the Bank of England's own plates?

00:37:01precisely

00:37:02and with those plates a gang of crooks could flood England with five pound notes

00:37:07not forged in the usual sense of the word

00:37:09but notes undetectable from genuine Bank of England

00:37:12notes in any way whatsoever

00:37:13good heavens

00:37:14any whisper at all might have resulted in enormous damage

00:37:18in shaking public confidence in the treasury

00:37:20we tried everything after we arrested Davidson

00:37:22offered him a shorter sentence if he'd tell us where he'd hidden the plates

00:37:25why we even put in Scotland Yard men with him as cellmates

00:37:29but no results

00:37:30obviously Davidson is a man of strong character and infinite patience

00:37:35yet suddenly he feels impelled

00:37:37to smuggle out the secret of the hiding place of the plates to his confederates

00:37:41why?

00:37:42I don't understand Mr. Holmes

00:37:45well for example

00:37:47has the Bank of England made any plans

00:37:49to radically change the design of the five pound note

00:37:52so that in say

00:37:53seven years from now

00:37:54notes made from the stolen plates would be worthless?

00:37:57confidentially Mr. Holmes

00:37:59such a move was discussed

00:38:00but replacing all the five pound notes in circulation

00:38:03would be such a Herculean task that

00:38:05nothing's been done about it as yet

00:38:07I see

00:38:08of course there is another possible explanation

00:38:10Davidson didn't have much time to find a hiding place

00:38:13before he was captured

00:38:14he may be afraid

00:38:16that the plates will be accidentally discovered

00:38:18before he's released

00:38:20hence his anxiety

00:38:22to communicate their whereabouts to his confederates

00:38:24as soon as possible

00:38:25I believe you've hit it Mr. Holmes

00:38:28I'm sure that the message is contained in this musical box

00:38:32or rather in all three musical boxes

00:38:35since possession of all three seems to be essential

00:38:38our opponents have two thirds of the puzzle

00:38:40we have one third

00:38:41well

00:38:42what are you going to do Holmes?

00:38:44try to deduce the message from the one third that we have

00:39:08it's the same tune as the one played by Emery's musical box

00:39:18and yet it's different

00:39:21sounds the same to me

00:39:23the tune

00:39:27somehow the tune

00:39:42is the key to the mystery

00:39:44it must be the tune

00:39:46otherwise why use three musical boxes to convey the message

00:39:50why not collar boxes or shoe boxes

00:39:54yes

00:39:56oh

00:39:57it's for you inspector

00:39:58oh thank you sir

00:40:00inspector Hopkins speaking

00:40:02what?

00:40:05where?

00:40:07gold is green station

00:40:10reports they've just found sergeant thompson's body

00:40:12from the tire marks on his clothes

00:40:14he was apparently run over by taxi

00:40:16what an unfortunate accident

00:40:18not an accident my dear fellow

00:40:21I'm afraid it's murder

00:40:23oh

00:40:25you never know just who you're going to meet

00:40:30when you're walking down a busy London street

00:40:35mrs orchid mrs brown

00:40:38any subject of the crown

00:40:40oh you never know just who you're going to meet

00:40:44so you better hold your topper in your hand

00:40:50just in case you meet a lady on the strand

00:40:55girls will think you're kinda sweet

00:40:58and your day will be complete

00:41:00oh you never know just who you're going to meet

00:41:04now a gentleman is judged by his appearance

00:41:09yes a gentleman is judged by how he talks

00:41:14now he's much better off when he's acting like a toff

00:41:19especially if he's taking him a walk

00:41:23what on earth is this outlandish place?

00:41:26a rendezvous for actors

00:41:28actors?

00:41:29buskers old boy

00:41:31you've seen them a thousand times

00:41:33actors who entertain the queues

00:41:35waiting outside theatres

00:41:37oh you never know just who you're going to meet

00:41:42when you're walking down a busy London street

00:41:46so you better wear your vest

00:41:50go with pies to look your best

00:41:52cause you never know just who you're going to meet

00:41:56so you better keep your manners right in view

00:42:02just in case a lie gives a how to do

00:42:07keep your trousers in a fleet

00:42:10shine your shoes and keep them neat

00:42:12cause you never know just who you're going to meet

00:42:17blimey

00:42:18mr holmes

00:42:20how are you joe?

00:42:22never pet him

00:42:23and yourself?

00:42:24fine thank you

00:42:25i want you to meet a friend of mine

00:42:26dr watson

00:42:27joe's sister

00:42:28oh well any friend of mr holmes is a friend of mine

00:42:30hi joe

00:42:31he did me a good turn once that i'll never forget

00:42:33yes i cleared joe of a most unpleasant charge

00:42:36murder no less

00:42:37oh really?

00:42:38by proving to the satisfaction of the police that he was busy at the time blowing open someone's safe

00:42:42that's right governor

00:42:43good gracious me

00:42:44now joe

00:42:46now you can help me

00:42:48come on buzz off buzz off

00:42:50come on up here up here

00:42:52can't a gentleman have some peace and quiet around here

00:42:54and you too

00:42:57there you are mr holmes

00:42:58now we can have some peace and quiet around here

00:43:00thank you joe

00:43:01there's five pounds of this for you

00:43:03well i wouldn't want to take it on meself sir

00:43:05but i can get somebody to do it for you for half of that

00:43:07you don't know what the job is yet

00:43:09for five pounds?

00:43:10murder ain't it?

00:43:11what?

00:43:12no joe not murder just music

00:43:14i want you to identify a song for me

00:43:16oh there ain't a song that's been a song for me

00:43:18oh there ain't a song that's been a song for me

00:43:21that's why i came to you

00:43:24of course the violin is more my instrument but um

00:43:27oh well

00:43:28here we go now listen to this joe

00:43:30wait a minute

00:43:32you're playing that wrong

00:43:34that should be e natural not e flat

00:43:36you know the song?

00:43:37oh yes it's an old australian song called uh

00:43:39the swag man

00:43:41but you're playing it all wrong

00:43:42that's what i hoped you'd do

00:43:43i want you to identify a song for me

00:43:44oh there ain't a song that's been written that i don't know

00:43:46that's why i came to you

00:43:47that's why i came to you

00:43:48that's why i came to you

00:43:49but you're playing it all wrong

00:43:50that's what i hoped you'd say

00:43:51now listen again joe

00:43:52that's the same tune all right

00:44:00but you're making different mistakes than you did the first time

00:44:03no not mistakes joe

00:44:04call them variations

00:44:05here

00:44:06play the song for me

00:44:07we'll know the way it's written

00:44:08there you are

00:44:26thank you joe

00:44:27what's it mean holmes

00:44:29are you on to something?

00:44:30perhaps

00:44:31i don't know yet

00:44:32it's probably a code of some sort

00:44:36joe

00:44:37could you write the song down for me?

00:44:38the way it was originally written?

00:44:39oh sure mr alms

00:44:40but it'll take a few minutes

00:44:42here mabel

00:44:43pale ale

00:44:44come on up to it

00:45:00come on up to it

00:45:01long with it

00:45:04Well, obviously, it isn't the lyrics.

00:45:13No combination of those words made any sense at all.

00:45:16The variations in the way Emery's musical box played the tune

00:45:19are different from the variations in the one we have.

00:45:21You're sure?

00:45:22Quite.

00:45:22You see, I took the trouble to memorize the tune as played by Emery's box

00:45:26that night we were with him in his flat.

00:45:28Oh, you amaze me.

00:45:29Elemental, my dear fellow.

00:45:30One of the first principles in solving crime

00:45:32is never to disregard anything, no matter how trivial.

00:45:35But why the three boxes? Why not one?

00:45:38Because the message was obviously too long to be conveyed by any one variation.

00:45:43Then there's the third box.

00:45:45The one that woman took from the Kilgores.

00:45:48That contains yet another set of variations.

00:45:51Yes, sir, it's all beyond me.

00:45:54Well, all we have to do now is to find the secret of the variations.

00:45:57Not a very easy problem to solve, my dear fellow.

00:46:02Hello.

00:46:05What's up?

00:46:10We've had company.

00:46:16I say, this is outrageous!

00:46:21Ask Mrs. Hudson to come in here, will you?

00:46:23Right.

00:46:29Mrs. Hudson?

00:46:30Yes?

00:46:34Oh, there you are.

00:46:34Will you come up here at once, please?

00:46:36I'm coming, sir.

00:46:53Merci, me, Mr. Holmes.

00:46:55What has happened?

00:46:56Who called while we were out, Mrs. Hudson?

00:46:58Just a young lady.

00:47:00The one who said you wanted her to wait for you.

00:47:02And a nice-looking old gentleman with her.

00:47:04Our friends again, Watson.

00:47:05Friends?

00:47:06What did the young lady look like?

00:47:07Oh, I couldn't see her face.

00:47:09She had a heavy black veil on.

00:47:12But she had such a nice way with her.

00:47:14Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Holmes, if I've done anything wrong.

00:47:18Oh, but you did say I should always let clients come in and wait for you.

00:47:23Don't worry, Mrs. Hudson, don't worry.

00:47:25You had no way of knowing.

00:47:27It's quite all right, quite all right.

00:47:28Now, don't worry, Mrs. Hudson.

00:47:33Don't worry.

00:47:35Well, where on earth's the musical box?

00:47:36They didn't get it.

00:47:39Didn't get it?

00:47:40Where is it?

00:47:42It's in your hand.

00:47:43Huh?

00:47:44In the biscuit jar.

00:47:48Lick the biscuits off the top.

00:47:52Now, put your hand inside, and you'll find the music box.

00:47:58Well done, Holmes.

00:47:59Well done.

00:48:00Amazing.

00:48:01Ha, ha.

00:48:02Nice, fresh smell.

00:48:24Like a pub after closing time.

00:48:26Mr. Holmes.

00:48:34What?

00:48:35It's morning.

00:48:37Allow me to congratulate you on a brilliant bit of deduction.

00:48:47It's not a transposition, not a polygraph transposition, not a trigraph,

00:48:52nor any known form of decoding.

00:48:54How about the Morse code?

00:48:56Have you tried that?

00:48:57Yes, at about three o'clock this morning.

00:48:59I'm sorry, old man.

00:48:59I was only trying to help.

00:49:18Oh, do me a favor.

00:49:19Not again.

00:49:20Must have heard that thing a thousand times.

00:49:22Get me awake all night.

00:49:24Not a very distinguished conversation, I grant you.

00:49:33You know perfectly well I don't know one tune from the other.

00:49:36When I was a kid, my people tried to have me taught the piano.

00:49:40I've always felt sorry for that old teacher of mine.

00:49:42The poor old girl finally reached the point of numbering of the keys for me.

00:49:46One, two, three, four.

00:49:47Even then I, I never progressed beyond a numbering of the keys, Watson.

00:49:52The 19th key of the keyboard is the 19th letter of the alphabet.

00:49:57S.

00:49:58Here.

00:49:58I'll write this down when I give it to you old fellow, will you?

00:50:00The first altered note.

00:50:04Write S first.

00:50:05Now the eighth key is H.

00:50:09The fifth key, E.

00:50:14The twelfth key, L.

00:50:17The sixth key, F.

00:50:19S-H-E-L-F.

00:50:23Shelf.

00:50:25Your piano lessons were not in vain, old fellow.

00:50:27You've solved it.

00:50:30Thanks, old man.

00:50:31Hold it.

00:50:32We now have two-thirds of the message behind books.

00:50:38Third shelf, secretary, Dr. S.

00:50:43Presumably, these are the first and second portions of the message.

00:50:48And this gang has the first and third parts of it?

00:50:51Precisely.

00:50:52Then it's a stalemate?

00:50:53Yes, Commissioner, but we can't leave it like that.

00:50:55There's no doubt in my mind that they'll try to secure our third of the message that's missing.

00:50:59Well, I assume you've taken every precaution to guard the Clifford musical.

00:51:02Oh, yes.

00:51:03It's carefully hidden at Baker Street with Dr. Watson on guard.

00:51:05However, I'm reasonably certain that, uh, difficult as it may be,

00:51:09we can find the plates even without the missing part of the message.

00:51:14Behind books, third shelf, secretary, Dr. S.

00:51:19Outside of the fact that Davidson hid the Bank of England plates somewhere in London, Mr. Holmes,

00:51:23I don't see that we've progressed at all.

00:51:25Allow me to point out to you, sir.

00:51:26Uh, the key words, Dr. S.

00:51:30It looks as if the plates were hidden in the house of the doctor.

00:51:34Whether S stands for his first or last initial remains to be determined by a process of elimination.

00:51:39Well, there must be 10,000 doctors in London with S for a first or last initial.

00:51:44Precisely.

00:51:45And every one of them will have to be questioned in person.

00:51:48That's why I say this is a task for Scotland Yard.

00:51:50It's a task, all right.

00:51:52But Scotland Yard has searched worse haystacks and found a needle.

00:51:55Well, for the time being, I'll leave the matter in your hands, gentlemen.

00:52:00We'll call you if and when we get a lead on our mysterious Dr. S.

00:52:05In the meantime, I intend to follow up a little clue concerning a cigarette.

00:52:08You're certain of the identification of the tobacco?

00:52:18Absolutely.

00:52:19I have made up this special blend for only three customers.

00:52:23It is almost pure Egyptian, with admixture of Latakia, for added body, and a pinch of Perique.

00:52:32Merely a whisper, as one might say, for elusive fragrance.

00:52:37Yes, yes.

00:52:37And the three customers?

00:52:38Major Wilson, in Bombay, India.

00:52:42Mm-hmm.

00:52:43Mrs. Catherine Leamington-Smith, in Ireland.

00:52:47Yes, and the third?

00:52:48Mrs. Hilda Courtney, of Park Mansions, Brianston Square.

00:52:53Thank you very much.

00:52:54You've been most helpful.

00:52:55It is a pleasure to have been of service, Mr. Holmes.

00:52:57Thank you very much.

00:53:27And to what good fortune am I indebted for this visit?

00:53:32I think you know, Mrs. Courtney.

00:53:34Well, I did get a summons for speeding last week.

00:53:38But outside of that, I don't think I'm of any interest to the police.

00:53:42Oh, come now, Mrs. Courtney.

00:53:43You seem to forget that you and I have met before.

00:53:45I'm sorry.

00:53:46I'm sure I would have remembered meeting the great Sherlock Holmes.

00:53:50Please sit down.

00:53:52You say we met before.

00:53:55Yes.

00:53:55At the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kilgore, 143B Hampton Road.

00:54:01Kilgore?

00:54:03I don't think I know anyone of that name.

00:54:06Well, I didn't say you knew them.

00:54:08As a matter of fact, you called on them when they were out.

00:54:12I don't understand, Mr. Holmes.

00:54:14Really?

00:54:16And you were dressed rather differently.

00:54:18Indeed.

00:54:18Cigarette.

00:54:36You know, Mrs. Courtney, people generally forget, in assuming a disguise,

00:54:44that the shape of the ear is an almost infallible means

00:54:48of recognition and identification to the trained eye.

00:54:51Evidently, you've mistaken me for someone else.

00:54:53Oh, no, not at all. Though naturally, I expected your denial.

00:54:57But when you paid your visit to my rooms at Baker Street,

00:55:00you carelessly left behind another identification.

00:55:05Well, uh, I don't declare they.

00:55:10Yes, I must admit they are.

00:55:12You see, Mr. Holmes, to catch one as clever as you, I had to use a very special lure.

00:55:17I knew you'd be unable to resist the bait of my cigarette,

00:55:20having read with great interest your monograph on the ashes of 140 different varieties of tobacco.

00:55:26I should advise you not to move, Mr. Holmes.

00:55:30I must congratulate you on your ingenuity, Mrs. Courtney.

00:55:35It was indeed a brilliantly designed trap.

00:55:37Thank you, Mr. Holmes. Praise from a master is indeed gratifying.

00:55:42I shall always cherish the memory of your flattering words.

00:55:45Memory?

00:55:47Precisely. I'm afraid these gentlemen have a most regrettable task to perform.

00:55:53Unless, of course, you care to turn over the missing musical box

00:55:58with your pledge to take no action against us in the future.

00:56:02I'm afraid that will be impossible.

00:56:04I thought that would be your answer. Hummed!

00:56:07Careful!

00:56:08Careful!

00:56:09There's no need to be unnecessarily rough with our distinguished guests.

00:56:13You realize, Mr. Holmes, that your demise will not take place here,

00:56:17the, uh, corpus delecti, you know?

00:56:21Well, naturally.

00:56:22Shall we go?

00:56:26It's so fearfully awkward having a dead body lying about.

00:56:29Don't you agree, Mr. Holmes?

00:56:31Another dead body shouldn't weigh too heavily on your conscience, Mrs. Courtney.

00:56:44Do you mind if I have a cigarette?

00:56:46Well, I don't see why not.

00:57:01Be careful, Hamid.

00:57:04It's the brakes. They bind.

00:57:08Thank you, Colonel Kavanagh. It's very considerate of you.

00:57:31You'll be happy to know, Mr. Holmes, that your death will be a painless one.

00:57:48Hamid, attach this to the motor of the taxi.

00:57:52That little attachment, my dear Mr. Holmes, contains the deadly fluid known as Monosulfride.

00:58:02The Germans use it with gratifying results in removing their undesireless.

00:58:12Start the motor.

00:58:22Start the motor.

00:58:32Start the motor.

00:58:35Start the motor.

00:58:47Part of it, Hamid.

00:58:48You'll find yourself like Mohammed's coffin, Mr. Holmes.

00:58:51Suspended between heaven and earth.

00:58:58Plenty of fuel in the tank?

00:59:01Good.

00:59:03It would be too bad to have anything go wrong through so much.

00:59:06I don't know.

00:59:08I don't know.

00:59:09I don't know.

00:59:10I don't know.

00:59:11I don't know.

00:59:12I don't know.

00:59:13I don't know.

00:59:14I don't know.

00:59:15It would be too bad to have anything go wrong through so simple an oversight.

00:59:45What the hell is to have with you?

00:59:46Oh.

00:59:47Excuse me.

00:59:50Stop.

00:59:51You're welcome.

00:59:52Hey, Henry.

00:59:54Why?

00:59:55Let's go.

00:59:59Hey, Henry.

01:00:02Hey, Henry.

01:00:03Hey, Henry.

01:00:04Hey, Henry.

01:00:05Hey, Henry.

01:00:06Hey.

01:00:07Hey, Henry.

01:00:08Hey, Henry.

01:00:09Hey, Henry.

01:00:10Hey, Henry, Henry.

01:00:11Hey, Henry.

01:00:12Hey, Henry, Henry.

01:00:13Hey, Henry.

01:00:14His wife is wyn34.

01:00:15Good afternoon.

01:00:32Mr. Sherlock Holmes?

01:00:33No, I'm Dr. Watson.

01:00:35Oh, of course, Dr. Watson.

01:00:37How stupid of me.

01:00:39Oh, sure, stupid of me.

01:00:41Won't you come in?

01:00:43Well, I really came to see Mr. Holmes.

01:00:45Oh, I'm afraid he's out.

01:00:46I don't know when he'll be back.

01:00:48Perhaps there's something I can do.

01:00:49Won't you sit down?

01:00:52You know, Sherlock Holmes and I have been engaged on a great many cases.

01:00:57Oh, really?

01:00:57Yes, indeed.

01:00:58As a matter of fact, this very moment, we're involved in one of the most baffling...

01:01:03Oh, well, won't you tell me your trouble?

01:01:05I may be able to help you.

01:01:07That's very kind of you, Dr. Watson.

01:01:09Perhaps if I wouldn't be imposing too much...

01:01:12Imposing?

01:01:13Oh, there's no imposition.

01:01:15No imposition at all.

01:01:16A pleasure, I assure you.

01:01:17Now, tell me all about it, Miss...

01:01:19Miss Williams.

01:01:20Miss Williams.

01:01:21I live in Surrey, Dr. Watson, and I've come up to London in sheer desperation.

01:01:26My only sister has disappeared, and the local police seem utterly unable to find her.

01:01:30Well, Holmes and I solved a case exactly like that once.

01:01:33Very interesting, as far as I remember.

01:01:35I call it the adventure of the solitary cyclist.

01:01:39Oh, sorry.

01:01:40Oh, now I've come to think of it, it wasn't so very similar.

01:01:43It was entirely different.

01:01:44I don't think of what I'm saying.

01:01:47Oh, where were we?

01:01:48Well, she's only 17, Dr. Watson, and until she disappeared last Thursday, she seemed to be in the best of spirits.

01:01:57Possibly a romantic entanglement?

01:02:00Oh, no, no, nothing of the sort.

01:02:02She left no note, didn't even pack a bag, no explanation.

01:02:05She just started to walk to the village from our house in broad daylight, and simply vanished from the face of the earth.

01:02:12Oh, there, there, there, there.

01:02:14Might I have a glass of water?

01:02:16Glass of water, of course, glass of water.

01:02:18Have one in one minute.

01:02:35There you are, my dear.

01:02:52Thank you, Dr. Watson.

01:02:54No, no, no, you're not to cry anymore.

01:02:56You must pull yourself together.

01:02:57I feel much better already knowing that you're going to help me.

01:03:00Oh, Dr. Watson, look!

01:03:01Good heavens!

01:03:02Get through, get through the fire brigade, quickly!

01:03:13Haven't you a fire extinguisher?

01:03:16Sorry, we haven't again.

01:03:32Don't you worry, Miss Williams, we'll have this thing out in no time.

01:03:43Ah, I've got it.

01:03:58Yes, it's the mayor.

01:04:01Well, you see, there was, there was no need for the fire brigade after all.

01:04:05Oh, I hope you weren't too frightened, Miss Williams.

01:04:11Oh, gone.

01:04:13That's the trouble of women.

01:04:15They always lose their heads in an emergency.

01:04:17Oh.

01:04:21Hello.

01:04:26A musical box.

01:04:29Great Scott!

01:04:30Miss Williams!

01:04:35Miss Williams!

01:04:42Well?

01:04:45Good.

01:04:46And Holmes?

01:04:47By now, Mr. Holmes has no doubt exchanged his violin for a harp.

01:04:51Always assuming that heaven is his destination.

01:04:53Yes.

01:04:56And now that we have the missing musical box.

01:05:00Nineteenth note.

01:05:09Nineteenth note.

01:05:13Nineteenth letter.

01:05:17Yes.

01:05:21He hasn't been there, you say?

01:05:23Holmes, where on earth have you been?

01:05:25I've been trying to get you at the club,

01:05:26at Scotland Yard, all over London.

01:05:28You were looking for me in the wrong places.

01:05:32Holmes, terrible things happened.

01:05:35I've been duped.

01:05:36That woman, she made a complete fool of me.

01:05:39Well, what do you mean?

01:05:40Well, she came here, let off a smoke bomb.

01:05:42I thought the whole place was on fire,

01:05:43and my first thought was to save a musical box.

01:05:46No need to say anymore.

01:05:48She has the box.

01:05:49Yes.

01:05:49Don't blame yourself too much, old fellow.

01:05:54She is an extremely clever antagonist.

01:06:00Smoke bomb, you said.

01:06:04Well, you can console yourself with the thought

01:06:07that your charming friend is at least a reader of yours.

01:06:10What do you mean?

01:06:11If I remember correctly,

01:06:13you wrote about my little experiment with smoke

01:06:15and the crying fire

01:06:15in a story you entitled

01:06:16A Scandal in Bohemia,

01:06:18which has just appeared in the Strand magazine.

01:06:20All right, all right, old boy.

01:06:21Don't rub it in.

01:06:24Well, it may turn you up to know

01:06:25that you made a fool of me too.

01:06:28Ah.

01:06:29That cigarette stub.

01:06:31It was planted here for one express purpose.

01:06:34You got a bandaging around this place.

01:06:36Bandaging?

01:06:36What's the matter, Holmes?

01:06:38You hurt?

01:06:38And explanations will have to wait until later

01:06:40at the moment we're faced with a problem

01:06:42which I fear is insurmountable.

01:06:44Come over here, old boy, will you?

01:06:45Right.

01:06:48Our opponents are in possession

01:06:50of all three parts of the code.

01:06:51And here are we

01:06:52while the Bank of England plates

01:06:53pass into their possession.

01:06:55Cheer up, old fellow, cheer up.

01:06:57As Dr. Samuel Johnson once said,

01:06:59there's no problem the mind of man can set

01:07:01that the mind of man cannot solve.

01:07:04What's that, old fellow?

01:07:05I was just quoting Dr. Samuel Johnson.

01:07:07He said,

01:07:08there is no...

01:07:08Thank you, Watson.

01:07:09Thank you, all.

01:07:10Hmm?

01:07:14Leaving the front reception room,

01:07:16we come into the main hall

01:07:17where Dr. Johnson was in the habit

01:07:20of passing through

01:07:21to have his meagre meals

01:07:22in the dining room opposite

01:07:23in company with his friend

01:07:25and biographer,

01:07:27James Boswell.

01:07:29We will now pass up the stairway

01:07:30which remains in its natural wood finish

01:07:33just as it was

01:07:35when the good doctor was here.

01:07:37The framed etching on the wall

01:07:38is believed to have been presented

01:07:40to Dr. Johnson

01:07:41by the distinguished painter

01:07:43Sir Joshua Reynolds.

01:07:45I've been told here

01:07:47that that picture was given him

01:07:48by Mrs. Thrail

01:07:49and it's definitely not a Reynolds.

01:07:51Is that important, my dear?

01:07:55Oh, I'm sorry.

01:07:57This way, ladies and gentlemen, please.

01:07:59This way.

01:07:59Move along, children.

01:08:00Move along.

01:08:01The secretary's not on this floor.

01:08:04Patience, Hamid.

01:08:05I have a feeling that...

01:08:06My dear Colonel,

01:08:07with Sherlock Holmes out of the way,

01:08:09what could go wrong?

01:08:18And here we have the Garrett Library

01:08:21in which Dr. Johnson wrote

01:08:23his famous dictionary

01:08:24and in which you will see also

01:08:26many of the great man's books

01:08:28and other items of interest.

01:08:29Step forward, ladies and gentlemen,

01:08:31please. Step forward.

01:08:33Standing in the corner

01:08:34is the secretary

01:08:35which contains many of the original works

01:08:38by the literary genius.

01:08:40On this table,

01:08:41Dr. Johnson's cat, Hodge,

01:08:43used to sleep while his master worked.

01:08:45A strange thing about this cat,

01:08:47ladies and gentlemen,

01:08:48was its love of oysters.

01:08:50They do say that the dear doctor

01:08:52often went hungry

01:08:52to find the cat that delicacy.

01:08:56What a pity.

01:08:57Now we will visit the green room

01:08:59which is immediately below us

01:09:01in which you will see the very bed

01:09:03in which Dr. Johnson died.

01:09:06What did he die of?

01:09:08Gout.

01:09:09Just gout.

01:09:12This way, ladies and gentlemen.

01:09:13Mind the steps, please.

01:09:14No keys.

01:09:28No keys.

01:09:28Third shelf up.

01:09:53The knife.

01:09:54Gentlemen, the bank of England plates.

01:10:04Well, Mrs. Courtney,

01:10:06so we meet again.

01:10:08No, I shouldn't do that

01:10:09if I were you, Colonel Kavanagh.

01:10:11I must congratulate you, Mr. Holmes.

01:10:14You're far more clever than I thought.

01:10:15Thank you, Mrs. Courtney.

01:10:20Praise from you is indeed gratifying.

01:10:23I shall always cherish the memory

01:10:25of your flattering words.

01:10:27Memory?

01:10:29Oh, thank you.

01:10:31And now I have a most regrettable task to perform.

01:10:34Holmes!

01:10:42Coming, Holmes!

01:10:45Holmes, you all right?

01:10:48Perfectly, thank you, old fellow,

01:10:49but I think this gentleman on the floor

01:10:50requires some medical attention.

01:10:52We must see that he looks his best,

01:10:53you know, when he's hanged.

01:10:54Take them in charge.

01:10:55A brilliant antagonist.

01:11:15It's a pity her talents were so misdirected.

01:11:18Will you see that these plates are returned

01:11:20to the Bank of England, Inspector?

01:11:21I still don't understand how you solved it, Mr. Holmes.

01:11:23It's entirely due to Dr. Watson.

01:11:24He gave me the clue

01:11:26when he mentioned Dr. Samuel Johnson.

01:11:28Well, congratulations, Doctor.

01:11:30Oh, thank you, Inspector.

01:11:31I don't think I'd have done it entirely

01:11:32without Mr. Holmes' help, you know.

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