All language subtitles for SHERLOCK HOLMES; PRELUDE TO MURDER (1946)

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>> Dartmoor Prison.

Isolated from the outside world by walls

of granite.

They say you could get out of here by

merely telling what you know.

You may or may not be another Scotland

Yard bloke.

But I'll give you the same answer I gave

the others.

I still have 2 years, 8 months, and 6

days left

in which to make musical boxes.

They'll be sold at auction for the

benefit of this delightful sanctuary.

And [bell] I intend to serve them.

>> [music]

>> Move along.

And now we come to the next object on

our list, or I should say objects,

because there are three of them.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, these can be

bought together or separately.

Now, these beautiful little musical

boxes only arrived this morning, and I

didn't intend to put them on the auction

block until later, but I'm going to sell

them now.

So, good friends, as our old pal Mark

Antony used to say,

lend me your ears.

And what do you hear?

Right.

The beautiful tinkle tinkle of a musical

box.

What a lovely trinket. What a beautiful

gift.

Created and made by loving hands. A

thing of beauty and utility.

I was going to start with £5.

>> [bell]

>> It's a bargain £5.

Do I see any hands?

Is there a connoisseur in the house for

gold? £3 for

£2.

>> [bell]

>> £1.

10 shillings.

Th-

Thank you, sir.

>> [music]

>> Ladies and gentlemen,

10 shillings is offered for a musical

box you couldn't buy anywhere in London

for less than £5.

It'd be stealing to let it go for 10

shillings.

Like taking milk from a baby. All right,

we're selling it for 10 shillings. 10

shillings, 10 shillings is offered, 10

shillings is offered, 10 shillings is

offered. Then what do you give me £1?

What do you give me £1?

Come on, someone give me £1.

Yeah, £1, £1 is offered, £1 is offered.

Ladies and gentlemen, £1 is offered.

It's against you, sir. Will you go to

£2? Will you go to £2, sir?

>> [music]

>> £2, £2 is offered, £2 is offered. Going

once,

twice,

third and last call.

Sold to the gentleman for £2.

Sold to my dear.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, comes the

opportunity to purchase

an exact duplicate of the beautiful

little musical box just bought by this

gentleman for the ridiculous low price

of £2. I say it's exactly the same.

Exactly the same. Made by the same

hands. Do you hear that? Isn't that

lovely?

A tinkle tinkle tinkle tinkle.

Sounds like bowbells to me, you know,

with little angels pulling on the ropes,

eh?

Who'll give me £2 for it?

Who's starting with £2? Will anybody

start with £2?

Oh, come come, ladies and gentlemen.

You know, from your enthusiasm we might

all be in Scotland instead of London.

Please buy it for me, Daddy. £2?

Certainly not. We all might be in

Scotland. Besides, I don't like his

manner. £1 10 shillings.

£1. £1 is asked. £1, £1 is offered, £1

is offered. Going once, any advance?

Going once, going twice, the third and

the last call.

Sold to the lady for £1.

Smart bidding, my dear. Thank you.

We come to the third and last of these

beautiful little musical boxes.

Exactly the same. Tinkle tinkle. Isn't

that lovely?

Ladies and gentlemen, I don't bring you

here to gallivant and cavort.

This is exact replica of the two I just

sold before.

We're closed. But this is extremely

important.

Come in, sir. Come in. I'm sorry to

disturb you, but I was unfortunately

delayed from arriving in time to bid on

certain articles which I was rather

anxious to obtain. Oh, perhaps they

weren't sold, sir. We are carrying

several things over. And what might the

articles be, sir? Uh three identical

musical boxes about uh so large. Oh, I'm

sorry, sir, but they were sold.

Pity you weren't here to bid on them.

They didn't bring anything like the real

value. I'm most anxious to obtain them.

I wonder if your records would show who

the purchasers were. Oh, we don't

usually give out that information, sir.

For certain, shall we say sentimental

reasons, I'm most anxious to get in

touch with the purchasers. I'd be

willing to pay, shall we say

£5? Well, for certain sentimental

reasons, sir, we'd be very happy to

oblige. Alfred, today's sales. The three

musical boxes. Musical boxes, oh.

Ah, here we are.

The first purchased for £2 from Mr.

Julian Emery, 52 Portman Square. Write

his address down, Alfred.

>> Yes, sir.

Second didn't leave any name. Oh, how

unfortunate. I think she's a dealer, you

see. They don't like us to know where

the things are going.

>> On account of the profits.

You say the second purchaser was a

woman. Can you give me a description of

her? Oh, she was a young woman,

fairly tall and slender. Uh she had a

light complexion and dark hair and

and she was wearing a gray suit, don't

you remember?

Uh she probably runs a gift shop. Uh she

paid uh £1.

You say she comes here fairly

frequently? No, I didn't say so.

But she does, sir.

Like as not, she'll come in on Thursday.

We have sales on Mondays and Thursdays.

Ah.

And the third box? The third, oh, uh Mr.

William Kilgo, 143B Hampton Way.

For 10 shillings. Hm, quite a drop from

£2. Mr. Kilgo was a Scotchman. Oh.

Well, thank you. You've been most

helpful. Oh.

Thank you, sir. And anytime you're

passing, drop in. We always have lovely

things for sale. How kind of you. Uh

thank you. I'll be back Thursday.

The message reached us too late.

The musical boxes have been sold.

Well, let's get out of here.

Someday you'll go too far.

Reaching for a star, you fool. Yet the

fool may touch a star, Colonel Cavanagh,

if he but reach high enough.

But not possess it as you would.

The musical boxes, they've been sold.

What a pity for you, my dear Colonel. Is

it my fault that the message reached us

only an hour ago?

Is it my fault that they were sold?

You can't hold me responsible for that.

Hope for your sake you're right.

>> [music]

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>> They will call upon you tonight at a

quarter to eight. A gentleman who

desires consult you upon a matter of the

very deepest moment. Right.

Remember that letter, Holmes?

It was written over 2 years ago.

An interesting case. Devilishly

interesting.

Hm.

Irene Adler.

What a striking looking woman from the

brief glance I had of her. Seems only

yesterday.

What charm. Hm.

What poise. What a mind.

Sharp enough and brilliant enough to

outwit the the great Sherlock Holmes

himself.

I take it the new issue of the Strand

Magazine is out. Containing another of

your slightly lurid tales. It is indeed.

And what do you call this one?

I call it a scandal in Bohemia. All

about title, eh? Hm.

If you must record my exploits,

I do wish you'd put less emphasis on the

melodramatic

and more on the intellectual issues

involved. More on the intel- What do you

mean by that?

Well, I do hope you've given uh

the woman a soul.

She had one, you know. By the woman,

I suppose you mean Irene Adler. Yes.

I shall always remember her

as the woman.

Come in.

Hi, Stinky.

That's an old boy. How are you? How are

you, old boy? Haven't seen you for

years. I want you to meet my old friend

Sherlock Holmes. Holmes, this is Stinky.

In other words,

Julian Emery. How do you do, Mr. Emery?

Watson has often spoken of you. Oh, has

he?

Yes, we were at school together. Yes,

more years ago than I care to remember,

but you didn't come in here just to

remind me of that. No, I just happened

to be in the neighborhood and saw your

lights burning, so I took the liberty of

looking you up. Still writing your

mystery stuff?

>> Yes, there's a new one out this week.

Good, I never miss them. Oh, good.

Thanks. I say that bandage makes you

look very interesting.

Still poking your nose into other

people's business as usual? Who hit you?

I haven't the foggiest notion. Somebody

knocked me on the head in my own living

room and then proceeded to commit the

most idiotic burglary you've ever heard

of.

Fellow must have been barmy as a coot.

Barmy, why?

Come sit down, old boy. Would you You

like a cup of tea? Huh?

Oh, all right. I'll go and tell Mrs.

Watson.

>> [clears throat]

>> Yeah.

Why do you say the robbery was idiotic,

Mr. Emery? Oh, simply for the fact that

with about 5,000 pounds worth of musical

boxes in my living room, the thief, who

I caught in the act, made off with one

that isn't even worth 5 pounds. I gather

you're a collector of musical boxes.

Yes, I am indeed. Some of them are very

beautiful, but not the one that was

stolen. The thief evidently grabbed the

first thing that came to his hand when

he heard me coming into the room.

Still it's rather odd, isn't it, that

having disposed of you,

he didn't pick up something more

valuable? Mhm. Was there anything

unusual about the stolen box? No,

nothing at all.

Well, I I picked it up in the South of

France several years ago.

You say you have many valuable music

boxes.

Yet the thief made off with one that

isn't worth 5 pounds. Sounds like rather

an intriguing little problem. As well, I

take it that he was just an ordinary

petty thief and didn't know the value.

That is a possible explanation, yet I

venture to say

that the average petty thief has a more

extensive knowledge of the valuable

object d'art than the average collector.

Well, anyway, that's Scotland Yard's

theory. They didn't get very excited

about it. That's consistent, anyway.

I wonder if I might see your collection,

Mr. Emery? Why, of course you could.

Yes,

nothing a collector likes more than

showing off his trophies. When would it

suit you? No time like the present.

Good. My place is just around in Portman

Square.

>> Shall we? Yes, right.

Hello? Where are you going? Stinky

hasn't had his tea yet.

>> Oh, I'm sorry. We're going round to my

place, but I'm going to give you

something better than tea.

>> [laughter]

>> Now, this one was made for Louis the

16th and is one of the very few still in

existence from that period and a

particularly fine specimen at that.

Charming, isn't it?

Quite.

You all sound to me like a lot of mice

running about on a tin roof.

I regret you have no ear for music,

Watson. Give me a good old band playing

a rousing march. You have all your silly

little tweet, tweet.

>> [laughter]

[whistles]

>> Another one.

Excuse me.

>> [music]

>> Stupid thing. Singing rabbit.

What would you say offhand is the value

of a box like that, Mr. Emery?

>> Well, it's hard to say offhand, but I

think it would bring about 5 or 600

pounds today. It's the gem of my

collection. Yet a thief who steals an

oddity like a musical box passes up one

worth 500 pounds for one of almost no

value at all. Odd.

Very odd.

What was the stolen box like, Mr. Emery?

Oh, just a plain wooden box about um so

big. Mhm. As a matter of fact, I have

one over here almost exactly like it.

I picked this up yesterday at an auction

room in Knightsbridge.

They didn't need 2 pounds for it. Of

course, I wouldn't in the ordinary way

add one like this to my collection, but

the

tuning intrigued me.

>> [bell]

>> I never heard it before.

>> [whistles]

[whistles]

[whistles]

>> You have a remarkable ear for music,

Holmes. Rather an unusual melody. Sit

down, old boy. Thanks.

You say you bought that box at an

auction sale yesterday. Yes, the the

Gaylord auction rooms in Knightsbridge.

Mhm. Run by old what's-his-name.

Crabtree.

That's him, that's him. At what time was

the robbery committed? About 3:00 this

morning.

You know, Mr. Emery, that box and the

robbery might well be cause and effect,

especially since you say that the stolen

box outwardly resembles this one a great

deal. And um

Scotland Yard were not particularly

interested, eh? Oh, yes, but I I

wouldn't blame them for that, especially

as I told them I was quite unable to

describe the thief, except for the fact

that it was definitely a man. All you

remember is that you came in here and

someone struck you on the head.

>> Yes, the next thing I knew, my man was

trying to revive me. It might be wise if

you would put that box away somewhere

and lock it up. Oh, I don't think that's

necessary. Besides, everything's

insured. Well, at least if any further

attempts at robbery are made, I'd

suggest that you call the police rather

than running into any personal danger.

>> Oh, come on, Holmes. Aren't you being a

bit of an alarmist? Possibly. I must

agree with old Stinky. Seems to me you

are making rather a mountain out of a

molehill. Mole Hill is the word, old

boy, and it's time you were in bed.

>> [laughter]

>> Thanks so much for letting us see your

place.

>> It's always been grand meeting you.

Holmes, I can't understand why you were

so mysterious. Seems to me the petty

thief explanation is the only sensible

one. Really? Yes, I can't see how you

can believe it was anything else. I

didn't say I believed it to be anything

else. The petty thief theory is the

obvious one, I grant you. However, it's

often a mistake to accept something as

true merely because it's obvious.

The truth is only arrived at

by the painstaking process of

eliminating the untrue.

We are not able to do that in this case

without further data. Rubbish. You're

pulling my leg. You're trying to turn a

a cup and a halfpenny robbery into an

international plot. No, I'm not. I just

hope that your friend Stinky is a little

more cautious in the future. Just in

case.

Hello?

Yeah.

Julian Emery here.

Who?

I Of course I remember you, Mrs.

Courtney.

Yes, you're the one bright spot at that

appalling dull affair of Lady Sanders.

>> [laughter]

>> Huh?

I thought it wasn't too late to come

around.

Yes, I should be delighted to give you a

drink.

I'll tell you what, come straight up and

I'll leave the door unlatched.

All right, well, 15 minutes?

Good.

I shall be counting each moment.

No, I mean that, really.

Right, goodbye.

You startled me. Did I? Yes.

Must be the pixie in me.

I know I shouldn't have called you so

late, but I was at a party just around

the corner and I remembered your

invitation to see your collection of

musical boxes. My dear, Mrs. Courtney,

pleasure is all the greater for being so

unexpected.

My friends call me Hilda. Thanks. Mine

call me Stinky. Stinky, how quaint.

What a perfectly wonderful collection of

musical boxes. You know, when you told

me you had a collection, I had no idea

it was so attractive.

>> Yes, they appeal to the ear

as well as to the eye.

Oh, what a plain little one.

Why, it looks just like a country cousin

amid all this grandeur.

>> No, no, no, no, you mustn't

underestimate the country cousin. Only

last night a burglar broke in here and

with all these to choose from, he went

off with one very much like it. Really?

Yes, I don't mind the loss of the box so

much, but I do resent this crack on the

scalp. But it makes you look so

interesting.

>> Oh, do you think so?

>> [laughter]

>> It's funny, that's what old Fetlock

said. Fetlock? I mean Dr. Watson. He was

here this evening with a friend, a Mr.

Holmes. He's interested in my

collection, too. Sherlock Holmes? Yes.

Do you know him? I've heard of him.

Yes, he he seems to think I'm in some

sort of uh

danger. What a haunting tune. It takes

me right back to my childhood. Really?

Do you know, it's odd that you should be

interested in that particular musical

box. Odd, why? Cuz Mr. Holmes is also

interested in it.

He may have been more interested in the

tune than in the box. I get you. Yes,

that's right. I remember now. He

whistled it note for note having heard

it only once. Really? He must be a

remarkable man.

Bit of an alarmist, to be honest with

you.

Don't you believe in warnings? Of course

not.

Who would want a box like that?

I would. You're not serious.

Oh, but I am.

Well, you you put me in a very awkward

position. I'm a collector, you know.

And a collector buys, but never sells.

But if the price were high enough

Price has nothing to do with it.

It's the principle of the thing.

Yes, well, we haven't had our drink.

No, thanks. I must be getting along.

Must you really? I'm afraid so.

You're not walking out on me, are you?

My reputation

stinky.

>> [laughter]

>> I say, you know, you are an attractive

woman. Thanks.

>> [music]

>> You fool. I told you to wait outside.

What did you have to kill him for?

All I had to do was walk out with this.

He held you in his arms. Don't touch

him. Don't touch anything.

Now, get out. I'm sorry. You're sorry?

What about me?

This is murder.

What about Scotland Yard?

What about Sherlock Holmes?

Now, get out.

Did you get it?

Good.

Did you have any trouble with him?

Just a matter of murder.

Ah, Mr. Holmes. Hopkins.

Thanks for coming so promptly. Inspector

Lestrade suggested that I call through

to you.

Mr. Emery was a client of Mr. Holmes,

Inspector. Indeed. You didn't mention

that when I telephoned you, Mr. Holmes.

>> Well, not exactly a client, Inspector.

Sergeant Thompson. He was killed between

the hours of 11:00 and 2:00 this

morning, Mr. Holmes.

Must have been someone he knew, someone

of whom he had no suspicion.

Poor old Stinky.

It's all my fault. I should have

prevented this. Well, it's no time to

start talking about that now, Doctor.

Apparently, it's gone.

That's the second attempt on the musical

box that Emery bought at the auction

sale, and this time it was successful.

But that box is only worth £2.

>> It's worth a man's life, Watson. I think

we better pay a visit to Gaylord's

auction room and that fellow Crabtree.

Inspector, may I suggest that you make a

complete search of this flat for a

small, plain musical box about that

size. Thank you. Come along, Watson.

You say the first box went to Mr. Julian

Emery.

Second to Mr. Kilgour, 143B Hampstead

Way.

And the third to the unidentified young

lady who presumably has a shop and lives

in a Golders Green. That's right, Mr.

Holmes. Isn't it rather strange, Mr.

Crabtree

that you should have had three identical

musical boxes, all playing the same

tune? Where did they come from? Dartmoor

Prison. Dartmoor? Here, we get a regular

shipment from there every month. The

inmates manufactured them. Well, they

make all kinds of things, you know, pipe

racks, wastepaper baskets, musical

boxes.

>> Did you happen to notice

if anyone showed any particular interest

during the auction in the purchasers of

these three boxes?

Come on now, Mr. Crabtree.

This is very literally a matter of life

and death. Well, since you put it that

way, Mr. Holmes

there was a gentleman came in here about

an hour after closing time, and he was

in an an awful state, he was.

He gave me £5 to tell him where the

boxes had gone to. He said they had a

sentimental value for him, sir. Hm,

expensive sentiment. Can you describe

him? Well, he was tall,

distinguished-looking, and he had gray

hair and a mustache. He was quite a

gentleman, sir. And what was his

reaction when you were unable to supply

him with the address of the young lady

who owned the shop? I told him the young

lady usually come back on Thursday. He

said he'd come back on Thursday. Now,

that's tomorrow.

Thank you, Mr. Crabtree. You've been

very helpful. Thank you. Come along,

Watson.

Where are we going now, Holmes? To Mr.

Kilgour, the man who bought the third

box.

But hang it all, Holmes. How do you know

those other two musical boxes are of any

importance? I don't, but I certainly

have no intention of waiting till the

owners are murdered to find out.

No one at home.

I hope that's the explanation.

I'll have a look through this window.

Doesn't seem to be anyone there.

The place seems deserted as far as I can

see.

Yes? Are Mr. and Mrs. Kilgour at home?

No. When do you expect them? Oh, in an

hour or so.

There's no use you hanging about. They

don't buy nothing from peddlers.

Peddlers? I could do with

Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes?

Oh, go on.

>> Do you mind if I come in and wait?

My [clears throat] business is rather

urgent.

>> Well, I've got to go out and do my

shopping. And I don't know as Mrs.

Kilgour like any strangers nosing about.

>> Quite all right, I assure you. Well,

I've got to be off. You sit and wait in

the parlor, and no smoking, either. Mrs.

Kilgour said it smells up the house.

Funny old girl, eh, Holmes? Hm.

>> [clears throat]

>> Park Lane. Park Lane? And what would the

likes of you be doing in Park Lane? Now,

don't worry about the fare, ducky. If

you knows how to get to Park Lane, now

hop it.

Now, Holmes, I've been thinking.

There must have been something hidden in

that box for old Stinky.

Stolen jewelry, possibly.

What's up, Holmes? Listen.

Was just the steam in the water pipes?

WATSON!

GREAT SCOTT!

COME ON, HOLMES.

GET ON THE CHAIR HERE.

It's all right, my dear.

There, there, there. Now, don't worry.

It's all over.

There you are, dear. Don't cry anymore.

She tied me up and shut me in the

cupboard.

>> I know. I know. She won't come back.

Did you show her your new musical box?

Yes, she said she wanted to hear it

play, and as soon as I showed it to her,

she grabbed all of

>> There, there. I know now. Now, don't

worry. Nobody will buy your new musical

box. Yes, my dear, the best one in

London. Watson.

Oh, what a fool, what a fool I've been.

What do you mean, Holmes? She took the

musical box out of this house in that

market basket. Right under our very

noses. Why could the little Kilgour

charwoman want to take the music box?

She isn't the Kilgour charwoman. She's a

consummate actress. An extremely clever,

unscrupulous woman who will stop at

nothing. Take care of the child while

you wait for her till till her parents

get back. Explain everything to them.

>> Of course, old boy.

Holmes! Where are you going? Somewhere

else, somehow I must get to the young

lady who bought that third musical box

before our opponents find out. I only

hope that I won't be too late.

Oh, no.

No, no.

No, no, no. Darling, you you mustn't cry

anymore. No. Cheer up.

Would you Would you like to hear old

uncle make a noise like a duck?

Oh, I'm sorry.

>> [music]

>> And now, ladies and gentlemen, how much

am I offered for this beautiful lace

Dresden China figurine?

A lady of the French court. Now, this is

the genuine article.

What a beautiful ornament for your

mantelpiece. Or you could use it as a

centerpiece on the dining room table.

Now, will someone start me for £10? Will

somebody start me for £10? £8.

£7.

All right, £5. £5 is offered. £5 is

offered. £5 is offered. £5 10. £5 15. £5

15.

£6 is offered. £6. £6 going once, going

twice. The third and last call. Are you

all done? Sold to the lady from

Twickenham for £6.

Next, we have a real museum piece,

ladies and gentlemen.

A fine 19th century doll.

The costume, an exact replica of the

holiday clothes worn by the Hungarian

peasant women.

Now, ladies and gentlemen

an article like this would cost you from

15 to 20 pounds in a Western shop. I'm

not going to ask for anything like that.

Who'll give me £2 for it?

£2. Will anyone give me £2? £2 is

offered.

£2. £1. What? Will anybody give me £1?

Anybody offer me £1 for the doll? What?

£1 is offered, ladies and gentlemen. £1

is offered.

Now, I'm not going to waste your

valuable time, or mine, in trying to get

one half of what this beautiful doll is

worth. If the young lady can steal it

for £1, that's her good fortune.

So, it's going once, it's going twice.

The third and last call. Any more?

Sold to the young lady for £1.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, may I

draw your attention to something which

may be a great surprise to you, worthy

of any collection.

The only other one like it is in the

British Museum.

It's a Ming vase of the 7th Dynasty.

This vase lay in a large collection

somewhere outside Rome for over two

centuries, I understand. It was

discovered there by the noted

antiquarian, Sir Andrew Copleston. As

some of you may remember, Sir Andrew

Copleston, besides being a noted

traveler and antiquarian, he's also a

gentleman rider.

A girl with a parcel in her hands.

That's her.

Are you sure that's the girl? She fits

perfectly the auctioneer's description.

Follow her, Hamid.

It's lovely, dear. And only £1. We can

get at least three for it.

>> Easily. I'll go make some tea. I could

do with a cup.

>> Right.

Good afternoon. Good afternoon. I'm

looking for a birthday gift for a

7-year-old girl. What would you suggest?

>> some lovely dolls. Now, this Hungarian

>> she has enough dolls already. Books are

always welcome. Well, I'm looking for

something a little different.

>> Well, that's rather cute, too. What is

it? Well, that's a musical box. Children

always love them.

And this is an exceptionally nice one.

It plays many tunes.

>> [bell]

[music]

>> Have you any others? Yes. If you'll just

step this way,

I have only two left.

They're nice.

>> [music]

>> Are you sure this is all you have? I'm

sorry. They're rather hard to find, you

know.

That's our entire allotment.

I 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?

Do you happen to know who the purchaser

was? Why, yes. He left his card just in

case anyone should inquire for him.

How interesting.

I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to

look a bit further. Thank you, anyway.

Ah, good afternoon. Thank you.

Heavy.

Follow that cab. Here now, what?

Scotland Yard. Hop in.

Sherlock Holmes. I might have known.

We thought we were the hunters,

instead of which we're the hunted. We've

been fools. We played right into his

hands.

Of course.

He's had us followed. Don't look.

The man in front of the toy shop.

Hamid,

turn sharp right at the next corner and

again at the next.

No photograph of her, Commissioner. As I

expected, she's not a known criminal.

But, how do you expect to know if you do

find her? After all, she was disguised

as a charwoman. Don't worry, old fellow.

Were I ever to see her again, I'll

recognize her.

Well, it won't be long till we know who

they are and from where they operate.

Who's covering them? Uh Sergeant

Thompson's following them, sir. They

won't get away from him. He's a good

man.

We could have arrested them at

Clifford's toy shop if we hadn't any

proof. But, we know that they killed

Emery.

Proof, my dear fellow. We must have

proof.

We have X-rayed it, sir. There's nothing

whatever concealed in the box. We'll

have a look at the plates.

Mhm.

There must be some clue. And it's

probably so obvious that we've all

overlooked it.

Seems to me we're up against a bunch of

lunatics.

Not lunatics, my dear fellow.

Extremely astute, cold-blooded

murderers. What could these little

musical boxes have in them that's so

important? Don't forget they were made

in Dartmoor Prison.

You can smuggle stuff into prison, but

not out. Do you want us to break the box

apart, sir, to see if there's anything

the X-ray hasn't caught? No, not yet. Do

you mind if I take it? Certainly.

Thanks.

The governor of Dartmoor Prison informed

us, sir, in answer to Mr. Holmes'

question, that all three musical boxes

were made by the same convict, John

Davidson, serving a 7-year term, sir.

Davidson? The Bank of England plates.

>> That'll be all.

>> Yes, sir.

Now, we're getting somewhere. If Wait a

minute.

How did you know about the plates, Mr.

Holmes? I'm a student of crime,

Inspector. I make my business to know

about such things. And when the name of

Davidson was mentioned, Oh, who is this

fellow Davidson? As long as Mr. Holmes

seems to know all about it already, I

suppose there's no harm in telling you.

Uh

two years ago in London, there occurred

a robbery of such tremendous importance,

uh although the stolen articles

themselves have no intrinsic value

whatsoever, that the Home Secretary was

instrumental in seeing that not a word

of it appeared in any newspaper. But,

you never told me anything about this,

Holmes.

You were away at the time.

Articles of no intrinsic value and yet

of such importance.

I don't understand. Davidson was

apprehended within 15 minutes of

committing the theft. But, by that time,

he'd hidden the articles in question and

they've yet to be found.

Before going further, Dr. Watson, I must

inform you that this matter is not to be

mentioned outside of this room.

>> Of course not. Do I look like a man

who'd gossip?

Let's not go into that now, old fellow,

shall we?

Davidson had been employed for years in

a position of extreme trust by the

Engraving Department of the Bank of

England. The articles he stole were

nothing less

than a complete duplicate set of plates

for printing £5 notes. What? The Bank of

England's own plates? Precisely.

And with those plates, a gang of crooks

could flood England with £5 notes, not

forged in the usual sense of the word,

but notes undetectable from genuine Bank

of England notes in any way whatsoever.

Good heavens. Any whisper of all might

have resulted in enormous damage in

shaking public confidence in the

Treasury. We tried everything after we

arrested Davidson. Offered him a shorter

sentence if he'd tell us where he'd

hidden the plates. Why, we even put in

Scotland Yard men with him as cellmates,

but no results. Obviously, Davidson's a

man of strong character and infinite

patience.

Yet, suddenly he feels impelled to

smuggle out the secret of the hiding

place of the plates to his confederates.

Why?

I don't understand, Mr. Holmes.

Well, for example, has the Bank of

England made any plans to radically

change the design of the £5 notes so

that in say

7 years from now, notes made from the

stolen plates would be worthless?

Confidentially, Mr. Holmes, such a move

was discussed. But, replacing all the £5

notes in circulation would be such a

Herculean task that nothing's been done

about it as yet. I see. Of course, there

is another possible explanation.

Davidson didn't have much time to find a

hiding place before he was captured. He

may be afraid

that the plates will be accidentally

discovered before he's released.

Hence his anxiety

to communicate their whereabouts to his

confederates as soon as possible.

I believe you've hit it, Mr. Holmes. I'm

sure that the message is contained in

this musical box.

Or rather, in all three musical boxes,

since possession of all three seems to

be essential.

Our opponents have 2/3 of the puzzle, we

have 1/3. Well, what are you going to

do, Holmes?

Try to deduce the message from the 1/3

that we have.

>> [music]

[bell]

[whistles]

[bell]

>> It's the same tune as the one played by

Emery's musical box.

And yet, it's different.

Sounds the same to me. The tune.

Somehow the tune

is the key to the mystery.

It must be the tune.

Otherwise, why use three musical boxes

to convey the message?

Why not collar boxes or shoe boxes?

Yes?

Hello.

It's for you, Inspector.

>> Oh, thank you, sir.

Inspector Hopkins speaking.

What?

Where?

Golders Green Station reports they've

just found Sir Jonathan Thompson's body.

From the tire marks on his clothes, he

was

apparently run over by a taxi.

What an unfortunate accident.

Not an accident, my dear fellow.

I'm afraid it's murder.

Oh,

you never know just who you're going to

meet

>> [music]

>> when you're walking down a busy London

street.

Mrs. Hawkins, Mrs. Brown, any subject of

the crowd. Oh, you never know just who

you're going to meet.

>> [music]

>> So,

you better hold your topper in your hand

just in case you meet a lady on the

Strand.

Girls will think you're kind and sweet,

and your [music] day will be complete.

Oh, you never know just who you're going

to meet.

Now, a gentleman is judged by his

appearance.

Yes, a gentleman is judged by how he

talks.

Now, he's much better off when he's

attired like a toff, especially if he's

taking him a walk.

What on earth is this outlandish place?

A rendezvous of actors. Actors?

Buskers, old boy.

You've seen them a thousand times.

Actors who entertain the queues

waiting outside theaters.

>> [music]

[singing]

[music]

[singing]

[music]

[music]

>> Blimey!

Mr. Holmes.

How are you, Joe?

Never better.

And yourself? Fine, thank you. I want

you to meet a friend of mine, Dr.

Watson. Joe, assist us. Oh, well, any

friend of Mr. Holmes is a friend of

mine. Hi, Joe. He did me a good turn

once that I'll never forget. Yes, I

cleared Joe of a most unpleasant charge.

Murder, no less. Oh, really? By proving

to the satisfaction of the police that

he was busy at the time blowing open

someone's safe. That's right, governor.

Good gracious me.

Now, Joe, um

now you can help me.

Come on, buzz off, buzz off. COME ON,

HOP IT, HOP IT. CAN'T A GENTLEMAN HAVE

SOME PEACE and quiet around here?

And he'll too.

There you are, Mr. Holmes. Now we can

have some peace and quiet around here.

Thank you, Joe.

There's £5 in this for you.

Well, I wouldn't want to take it on me

self, sir, but I can get somebody to do

it for you for half of that. You don't

know what the job is yet. For £5?

Murder, ain't it?

What? No, Joe, not murder, just um

music.

I want you to identify a song for me.

Oh, there ain't a song that's been

written that I don't know. That's why I

came, Joe.

Now, of course, the violin is more my

instrument, but um

oh, well, here we go. Now, listen to

this, Joe.

>> [music]

>> Wait a minute. You're playing that

wrong. That should be E natural, not E

flat. You know the song? Oh, yes, it's

an old Australian song called uh

The Swagman. But you're playing it all

wrong. That's what I hoped you'd say.

Now, listen again, Joe.

>> [music]

[music]

>> That's the same tune, all right, but

you're making different mistakes than

you did the first time. No, not

mistakes, Joe. Call them variations.

Here, play the song for me with the way

it's written.

>> [music]

[music]

[music]

>> There you are.

Thank you, Joe.

What's it mean, Holmes?

You on to something? Perhaps.

I don't know yet.

It's probably a code of some sort.

Joe.

Could you write the song down for me

the way it was originally written? Oh,

sure, Mr. Holmes, but it'll take a few

minutes.

>> Mhm.

Here, Mabel.

Hey, Leo. Come on, off to it. Along with

it.

Well, obviously, there's no lyrics. No

combination of those words made any

sense at all. The variations in the way

Emery's musical box played the tune are

different from the variations in the one

we have. You sure? Quite. You see, I

took the trouble to memorize the tune as

played by Emery's box that night we were

with him in his flat. Holmes, you amaze

me. Elementary, my dear fellow. One of

the first principles in solving crime is

never to disregard anything, no matter

how trivial. But why are there three

boxes? Why not one?

Because the message was obviously too

long to be conveyed by any one

variation. Then there's the third box.

The one that woman took from the

Kilgours.

That contains yet another set of

variations.

Yes, well, it's all beyond me.

Well, all we have to do now is to find

the secret of the variations. Not a very

easy problem to solve, my dear fellow.

Hello.

What's up?

We've had company.

I say, this is outrageous.

Ask Mrs. Hudson to come in here, will

you? Right.

>> [music]

>> Mrs. Hudson?

Yes?

Oh, there you are. Will you come up here

at once, please? I'm coming, sir.

Mercy me, Mr. Holmes. What has happened?

Who called while we were out, Mrs.

Hudson? Just a young lady, the one who

said you wanted her to wait for you, and

a nice-looking old gentleman with

>> Our friends again, Watson. Friends? What

did the young lady look like? Oh, I I

couldn't see her face. She had a a heavy

black veil on.

But she had such a nice way with her.

Oh, well.

I'm sorry, Mr. Holmes, if I've done

anything wrong.

But you did say I should always let

clients come in and wait for you. Don't

worry, Mrs. Hudson, don't worry. You had

no way of knowing.

It's quite all right, quite all right.

Now, don't worry, Mrs. Hudson.

Don't worry. They weren't after the

musical box.

They didn't get it.

Didn't get it?

Where is it?

It's in your hand. Huh?

In that biscuit jar.

Take the biscuits off the top.

Now, put your hand inside and you'll

find the music box.

Well done, Holmes. Well [laughter] done.

Amazing.

>> [music]

>> Phew.

>> [clears throat]

>> Nice fresh smell.

Like a pub after closing time.

I say, Holmes.

Come on.

It's morning.

Allow me to congratulate you on a

brilliant bit of deduction.

It's not a transposition, not a

polygraph transposition, not a trigraph,

nor any known form of decoding. How

about the Morse code? Have you tried

that? Yes, at about 3:00 this morning.

I'm sorry, old man. I was only trying to

help.

>> [music]

[music]

>> Oh, do me a favor. Not again. I say,

I've heard that thing a thousand times.

It could keep me awake all night.

Not a very distinguished composition, I

grant you.

You know perfectly well I don't know one

tune from the other.

When I was a kid, my people tried to

have me taught the piano.

I always felt sorry for that old teacher

of mine.

The poor old girl finally reached the

point of numbering the keys for me. 1 2

3 4. Even then, I I never progressed

beyond the numbering of the keys,

Watson.

The 19th key of the keyboard is the 19th

letter of the alphabet. S. Here.

I'll be down when I give it to you, old

fellow, will you?

First of all, that note. Write S first.

Now, the eighth the key

is

H.

The fifth key, E.

The 12th key, L.

The sixth key, F.

S H E L F.

Shelf.

Your piano lessons were not in vain, old

fellow. You've solved it. Thank you.

Thanks, old bean. Oh, good.

We now have two-thirds of the message

behind books.

Third shelf, secretary, Dr. S.

Presumably,

these are the first and second portions

of the message.

And this gang has the first and third

parts of it. Precisely. Then it's a

stalemate. Yes, Commissioner, but we

can't leave it like that. There's no

doubt in my mind that they will try to

secure our third of the message that's

missing. But I assume you've taken every

precaution to guard the Clifford music

club. Oh, yes, it's carefully hidden at

Baker Street with Dr. Watson on guard.

However, I'm reasonably certain that

difficult as it may be, we can find the

plates

even without the missing part of the

message. Behind books, third shelf,

secretary, Dr. S.

But outside of the fact that Davidson

hid the Bank of England plates somewhere

in London, Mr. Holmes, I don't see that

we progressed at all. Allow me to point

out to you, sir,

the keywords,

Dr. S.

It looks as if the plates were hidden in

the house of a doctor. Whether S stands

for his first or last initial remains to

be determined by a process of

elimination.

Well, there must be 10,000 doctors in

London with S for a first or last

initial. Precisely. And every one of

them will have to be questioned in

person. That's why I say this is a task

for Scotland Yard. It's a task, all

right. But Scotland Yard has searched

worse haystacks and found a needle.

Well, for the time being,

>> [clears throat]

>> I'll leave the matter in your hands,

gentlemen.

We'll call you if and when we get a lead

on our mysterious Dr. S.

Thank you. In the meantime, I'm going to

follow up a little clue concerning a

cigarette.

Mhm.

You're certain of the identification of

the tobacco? Absolutely. I have made up

this special blend for only three

customers.

It is almost pure Egyptian Mhm. with

admixture of Latakia for added body

and a pinch of Perique.

Merely a whisper, as one might say, for

elusive fragrance. Yes, yes. And the the

three customers?

Major Wilson in Bombay, India. Mhm.

Mrs. Katherine Leamington Smith in

Ireland. Yes, and the third? Mrs. Hilda

Courtney of Park Mansions, Bryanston

Square. Thank you. Thank you very much.

You've been most helpful. It is a

pleasure to have been of service, Mr.

Holmes.

Yes?

Mrs. Courtney? Yes.

My name is Sherlock Holmes. Oh, do come

in. Thank you.

I've heard of you, of course, Mr.

Holmes.

I believe we have a mutual friend in Sir

Edward Brookdale.

He's spoken to me of you quite often.

Indeed.

And to what good fortune am I indebted

for this visit?

I think you know, Mrs. Courtney.

Well, I I did get a summons for speeding

last week, but outside of that, I don't

think I'm of any interest to the police.

Oh, come now, Mrs. Courtney. You seem to

forget that you and I have met before.

I'm sorry. I'm sure I would have

remembered meeting the great Sherlock

Holmes.

Please sit down. Thank you.

You say we met before? Yes.

At the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kilgore,

143B Hampton Road.

Kilgore?

I don't think I know anyone of that

name.

I didn't say you knew them.

As a matter of fact, you called on them

when they were out.

I don't understand, Mr. Holmes.

Really?

And you were dressed rather differently.

Indeed.

Cigarette?

Thank you.

Thank you.

You know, Mrs. Courtney, people

generally forget in assuming a disguise

that the shape of the ear is an almost

infallible means of recognition and

identification to the trained eye.

Evidently, you've mistaken me for

someone else. Oh, no, not at all.

Though, naturally, I expected your

denial.

But when you paid your visit to my rooms

at Baker Street, you carelessly left

behind

another identification.

They're uh

identical, aren't they? Yes, I must

admit they are.

You see, Mr. Holmes, to catch one as

clever as you, I had to use a very

special lure.

I knew you'd be unable to resist the

bait of my cigarette, having read with

great interest your monograph on the

ashes of 140 different varieties of

tobacco. I should advise you not to

move, Mr. Holmes.

I must congratulate you on your

ingenuity, Mrs. Courtney. It was indeed

a brilliantly designed trap. Thank you,

Mr. Holmes. Praise from a master is

indeed gratifying.

I shall always cherish the memory of

your flattering words.

Memory?

Precisely. I'm afraid these gentlemen

have a most regrettable task to perform.

Unless, of course, you care to turn over

the missing musical box with your pledge

to take no action against us in the

future.

I'm afraid that will be impossible. I

thought that would be your answer.

Hamid.

Careful.

Careful.

There's no need to be unnecessarily

rough with our distinguished guest. You

realize, Mr. Holmes, that your demise

will not take place here. The

corpus delicti, you know. Well,

naturally.

Shall we go?

So fearfully awkward having a dead body

lying about. Don't you agree, Mr.

Holmes? Another dead body shouldn't

weigh too heavily on your conscience,

Mrs. Courtney.

Do you mind if I have a cigarette?

Uh

don't see why not.

Ah,

be careful, Hamid.

It's the brakes they bind. [music]

Thank you, Colonel Cavanaugh. It's very

considerate of you.

>> [music]

>> You'll be happy to know, Mr. Holmes,

that your death will be a painless one.

Hamid.

Attach this to the motor of the taxi.

That little attachment, my dear Mr.

Holmes, contains the deadly fluid known

as monosulfuric.

The Germans use it with gratifying

results in removing their

undesirables.

Stop the motor.

Tape his mouth.

Now,

up with him, Hamid.

You find yourself like Muhammad's

coffin, Mr. Holmes,

suspended between [music] heaven

and earth.

Plenty of fuel in the tank?

Good.

It would be too bad to have anything go

wrong through so simple an oversight.

>> [music]

[music]

[music]

[music]

>> Good afternoon. Mr. Sherlock Holmes? No,

I'm Dr. Watson. Oh, of course, Dr.

Watson. How stupid of me. Oh, it's all

stupid of me.

Won't you come in? Well, I I really came

to see Mr. Holmes.

>> Oh, I'm afraid he's out. I don't know

when he'll be back. Perhaps there's

something I can do. Well, won't you sit

down? Thank you.

You know,

Sherlock Holmes and I have been engaged

on a on a great many cases.

>> Oh, really?

>> Yes, indeed. Well, as a matter of fact,

this very moment we're involved in in

one of the most baffling Oh, well, well,

uh

Won't you tell me your trouble? I may be

able to help you. That's very kind of

you, Dr. Watson. Perhaps

if I wouldn't be imposing too much

>> Imposing? Oh, there's no imposition No

imposition at all. A pleasure, I assure

you. Now, tell me all about it, Miss

Miss Williams.

>> Miss Williams.

I live in Surrey, Dr. Watson, and and

I've come to London in sheer

desperation.

My only sister has disappeared, and our

local police seem utterly unable to find

her. Well, Holmes and I solved a case

exactly like that once. Very

interesting, as far as I remember. Uh

I called it the the adventure of the the

the solitary scientist. Oh, sorry.

Now I come to think of it, it wasn't so

very similar. It was entirely different.

I don't

think what I was saying. [laughter]

Where were we?

She's only 17, Dr. Watson, and

until she disappeared last Thursday, she

seemed to be in the best of spirits.

Possibly a romantic entanglement? Oh,

no, no, nothing of the sort.

She left no note. Didn't even pack a

bag. No explanation. She just started to

walk to the village from our house in

broad daylight, and

simply vanished from the face of the

earth. Oh, there there there there.

Might I have a glass of water?

>> Of course, of course. A glass of water.

Oh, well, one moment.

There you are, my dear. Thank you, Dr.

Watson.

Now, now, you're not to cry anymore. You

must pull yourself together. I feel much

better already knowing that you're going

to help me. Oh, Dr. Watson, look! Good

heavens!

Get through! GET THROUGH TO THE FIRE

BRIGADE QUICKLY!

Haven't you a fire extinguisher?

F- My dear, we have an extinguisher.

>> [music]

>> Don't you worry, Miss Williams. We'll

have this thing out in no time.

Ah, I've got it.

Yes, it's a mirror.

You see, there was

There was no need for the fire brigade

after all.

I hope you weren't too frightened, Miss

Williams.

Gone.

What's the trouble, women?

They always lose their heads in an

emergency.

Well,

a musical box.

Great Scott!

Miss Williams!

Well,

good.

And Holmes? By now, Mr. Holmes has no

doubt exchanged his violin for a harp.

Always assuming that heaven is his

destination.

And now that we have the missing musical

box

>> [music]

[bell]

>> 19th note.

19th letter.

S.

He hasn't been there, you say?

Holmes, where on earth have you been?

I've been trying to get you at the club,

at Scotland Yard, all over London.

You're looking for me in the wrong

places.

Holmes, a terrible thing's happened.

I've been duped.

That woman,

she made a complete fool of me. What do

you mean? Well, she came here, let off a

smoke bomb. I thought the whole place

was on fire, and my first thought was to

to save the musical box.

>> No need to say anymore.

She has the box. Yeah.

Don't blame yourself too much, old

fellow.

She's an extremely clever antagonist.

Smoke bomb, you said?

Well, you can console yourself with the

thought

that your charming friend is at least a

reader of yours. What do you mean? If I

remember correctly, you wrote about my

little experiment with smoke and the

crying fire in a story you entitled A

Scandal in Bohemia, which has just

appeared in the Strand Magazine. All

right, all right, old boy. Don't rub it

in.

Well, it may cheer you up to know that

you made a fool of me, too.

That cigarette stub

was planted here for one express

purpose.

We're going to abandoning around this

place. Abandoning? What's the matter,

Holmes?

You're hurt? The explanations will have

to wait until later. At the moment,

we're faced with a problem

which I fear is insurmountable. Come

over here, old boy, will you? All right.

Our opponents are in possession of all

three parts of the code, and here are we

while the Bank of England plates

pass into their possession. Cheer up,

old fellow. Cheer up. As Dr. Samuel

Johnson once said, there's no problem

the mind of man can conceive that the

mind of man cannot solve. Was that old

fellow? I'm just quoting Dr. Samuel

Johnson. He said there is no Thank you,

Watson. Thank you. Hm?

Leaving the front reception room, we

come into the main hall, where Dr.

Johnson was in the habit of passing

through to have his meager meals in the

dining room opposite, in company with

his friend and biographer, James

Boswell.

We will now pass up the stairway, which

remains in its natural wood finish,

just as it was when the good doctor was

here.

The framed etching on the wall is

believed to have been presented to Dr.

Johnson by the distinguished painter,

Sir Joshua Reynolds.

I've been told here that that picture

was given him by Mrs. Thrale, and it's

definitely not a Reynolds. Is that

important, my dear?

Oh, I'm sorry.

Uh this way, ladies and gentlemen,

please, this way.

>> Move along, children. Move along.

The secretary's not on this floor.

Patience, Harmid. I have a feeling

>> My dear Colonel, with Sherlock Holmes

out of the way, what could go wrong?

And here we have the Garrett Library, in

which Dr. Johnson wrote his famous

dictionary,

and in which you will see, also, many of

the great man's books and other items of

interest.

Step forward, ladies and gentlemen,

please, step forward.

Standing in the corner is the secretary,

which contains many of the original

works by the literary genius.

On this table, Dr. Johnson's cat, Hodge,

used to sleep while his master worked.

The strange thing about this cat, ladies

and gentlemen, was its love of oysters.

They do say that the dear doctor often

went hungry to find the cat that

delicacy.

What a pity.

Now, we will visit the gray room, which

is immediately below us,

in which you will see the very bed in

which Dr. Johnson died. What did he die

of?

Gout.

Just gout.

This way, ladies and gentlemen, mind the

steps, please.

Your

Bird shelf up.

>> [music]

>> The knife.

Gentlemen, the Bank of England plates.

Well, Mrs. Courtney,

so we meet again.

No, I shouldn't do that if I were you,

Colonel Capshaw.

I must congratulate you, Mr. Holmes.

You're far more clever than I thought.

Thank you, Mrs. Courtney.

Praise from you is indeed gratifying.

I shall always cherish the memory

of your flattering words.

Memory?

Oh.

Thank you.

And now I have a most regrettable task

to perform.

HOLMES!

COMING, HOLMES.

HOLMES.

YOU ALL RIGHT? PERFECTLY, THANK YOU, old

fellow, but I think this gentleman on

the floor requires some medical

attention. We must see that he looks his

best, you know, when he's hanged. Take

them in charge.

A brilliant antagonist.

It's a pity her talents were so

misdirected.

And will you see that these plates are

returned to the Bank of England,

Inspector? I still don't understand how

you solved it, Mr. Holmes.

>> It's entirely due to Dr. Watson.

He gave me the clue when he mentioned

Dr. Samuel Johnson. Well,

congratulations, Doctor.

>> Oh, thank you, Inspector. I don't think

I'd have done it entirely without Mr.

Holmes' help, you know.

>> [music]