Original subtitles

How was the flight?

Fine. Could I see you for a minute?

She's been here for over an hour. What's her name? Mrs. Ann Gordon.

She didn't want to speak to anybody except you, so I hadn't pressed her. Harry.

She's been crying.

Hi, I'm Harry Rule. How are you?

Can I take your coat?

No, it's all right.

Well, why don't you tell me what's wrong?

I don't even know why I came.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, For nearly three weeks now,

you have listened with patience to the massive evidence put before you.

But there is no doubt in my mind that the three accused, David Blair, Henry Franks,

and John Stuart Gordon, are the three who made the

savage and fatal attack on police officer Stangate.

I couldn't think of anything else to do, I suppose.

All these last months, and now this.

One by one, their pleas and alibis have been shown to be false.

The case against them is irrefutably proven.

I'm sure that your verdict will reflect that conclusion.

This has been a long and tiring case for all concerned.

And I suspect that counsel for the defense will wish

to address at some The court will be upstanding.

The court will be upstanding.

What's the matter? Get his collar. Keep away. Somebody get a doctor.

My husband, I haven't seen him for two days.

Find him, please.

Hello, Judge Cronin. Oh, hello. How are you feeling?

I'm very well, thank you, sister.

You know, the way you're caring for me, I should be back in harness very soon.

Good.

You sure you're quite warm enough?

Yes, yes, thank you, I'm fine.

Isn't it a lovely day?

Mm.

I wonder if the weather forecasters ever confessed to misleading people. Oh?

It was supposed to rain. Oh, was it?

Judge Cronin?

I've got to speak to you. Who, you? My name's Gordon, Arthur Gordon. I'm John, Gordon's

father.

This is highly improper. You must leave immediately.

You're not being fair.

I must not and will not speak to you. That boy's only 18.

There is nothing you can say to me.

Now will you please leave me alone? Take your hands off me! Innocence!

I see. Yes.

Yes, well, I appreciate your confidence.

No, no, of course I'll do this for you, yes.

Thank you. Goodbye.

How's the judge?

Oh, he's very shaken up, but nothing more. It could have been worse.

Well, this is all the weeklies I could find.

Tell me, what's the procedure in a case like this?

Well, the judge got sick just before the summing up, so the case was adjourned,

which is not without precedent.

By the end of the week, there'll either be a

resumption or there'll be a retry. Oh, I see.

What concerns me more is the boy's father, Gordon.

20 days in court with tension building, and then the judge collapses.

You can imagine his state of mind. Yeah.

I think we better find him. Paul, check his office. I'll seek out his local haunts.

Okay, will do.

Here.

Hello.

Can I help you?

Yes, my name's Paul Boucher. I'm looking for Arthur Gordon.

Oh, he isn't here.

Well, could you tell me where I could find him?

I haven't seen him for weeks. He's been at the court. You know, the trial.

Well, his son killed a policeman.

Clyde Nursing Home.

Um, Judge Cronin, please.

Who's speaking, please?

Clock of the Court.

Judge Cronin here.

Ah.

Judge Cronin, I just want to apologize about this morning.

Hello?

Hello?

Hello?

Hello?

Hello?

Good evening.

Like a light lager, please.

Mind if I sit down?

Your, uh...

Arthur Gordon.

Thank you.

You want something from me?

Yeah, I'd like to talk to you.

You're a reporter.

No, no, no. My name is Rule.

Harry Rule.

Your wife asked me to find you.

Did she? Yeah, she felt you were under quite a strain, and she asked me to help.

I need no help.

Why did you see that judge?

I just wanted to talk to him. Yes, you're right, it was a mistake.

I should never have gone to see him. I see that now.

Vodka, sir?

You married?

Divorced.

Children?

One son.

Normal?

I'm sorry. Is he normal?

Oh, yes, I'd say he was.

How old is he?

He'll be six on his next birthday.

Six.

Well, just imagine he were 18. They're starting off at university.

Good business ready for him to take over.

The business I started from nothing.

And now he's on trial for murder.

The judge is so twisted, so biased. You're questioning the judge's impartiality.

Impartiality?

You should have seen him at the trial, kneeling away,

poisoning the minds of the jury.

Your vodka, sir. Thank you.

I'm going to give you some advice.

Go home to your wife.

Go home and stay home.

You think I've got a fair trial, eh?

What the hell are you doing here?

I thought I gave you some advice.

Why did you follow me?

I wanted to help.

What are you doing here, Gordon?

I hate to mention it, but this does happen to be my office.

I thought I might pick up some work.

Take my mind off things.

Sounds like a good idea.

Why don't you pick up whatever it is you want and come along with me?

I promised your wife I'd find you.

Okay?

You go ahead.

I'll look up.

See anything?

Well, there's no blood.

Listen, why do you think Gordon tried to fix you?

Oh, I don't know.

He just wanted to get me out of the way for a while.

What interests me more, though, is what he was doing in his office.

Yeah. Oh.

Oh, I guess so. Let's take a look.

You've no idea where he is. No.

Mrs. Gordon, does your husband have a gun? Gun?

Yes, he used to keep one in the office.

It was a small coat.

Black, I think.

I see.

Yes, but it can't be fired.

Arthur filed off the... Firing pin.

Firing pin, yes, that's right.

Yes, it was quite useless.

I'm so sorry, Mr. Rawls.

Well, thanks for talking with us.

We'll let you know if anything develops.

But you've got to do something. We're doing all we can.

But you don't understand. Arthur.

Oh, I should have told you the first time I came to see you.

Five years ago.

My husband had a break.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It was when John... My husband and he never seemed to be able to talk.

They didn't really get on together, you see.

My husband was working all hours, day and night.

The business was going through a bad patch.

And he believed, he was absolutely convinced that several other companies, rivals,

you know, had ganged up on him. And had they? No.

It was... The psychiatrist called it a persecution complex brought about by stress.

He just cracked with the worry of it all.

And...

It's all right. Now come and sit down. Come on.

Now go on, Mrs. Baldwin.

Oh, seeing him sitting in court day after day. I saw the same worried...

The same symptoms? Yes.

Yes.

Persecution complex.

And the judge is the persecutor.

The man on the edge of a breakdown.

Determined to get Judge Cronin.

And he is armed.

Yeah, but the gun can't be fired.

Well, Gordon's practical. He can replace the firing pin.

The man has the capability to kill. Therefore, I think we should contact the police.

We're used to a lot of false alarms in our work, Mr. Ruhm.

Inspector, I don't think Gordon is a false alarm.

Well, we'll see.

The judge will be giving police protection, of course.

But I'm quite sure nothing will happen.

Well, let's hope so.

I say, is all this really necessary?

Well, goodbye, sister. Thanks once more.

Goodbye, sir.

You know, a man in the back of a moving car...

Isn't an easy target. How well do you think Gordon can use that gun?

Well, he was in the army. Well, that doesn't mean anything.

Rule here.

Yes, Mrs. Gordon.

Okay. Okay.

Right.

But... He just walked in his own front door.

Well, that's a relief.

I'm not so sure about that.

I still don't understand why he was in his office.

Usual, sir.

What are we looking for? I don't know. I followed Gordon here last night, though.

He must have come for some reason.

Break it open.

There's a clock there on the wall. Now it's gone.

Look at this.

Detonators.

You need explosives for demolition work.

A time bomb.

All right, thank you.

Get me the radio room. Emergency.

The radio message, sir. There may be a bomb planted in your car.

I would have thought that rather unmarkly.

Now then.

Oh, as usual, that's seven minutes fast.

What happens next?

Well, that depends on the police. There's obviously a serious case against you.

If you accept that, and the fact that you need help, psychiatric treatment,

things might be a lot easier.

That was all for the boy.

Before I deal in points of evidence in detail,

it is my duty to remind you That the onus of proof

lies squarely on the shoulders of the prosecution.

You may feel that the evidence presented against

Blair and Franks satisfies you of their guilt.

But in the case of John Stuart Gordon,

you may prefer his version of what happened on that night in question.

If you do, or indeed if there is a reasonable doubt in your minds as to his guilt,

then it is your duty to find him not guilty.

When the soul of a man is easy to buy, everybody's wheeling, everybody's stealing,

all the lower living are high.