Sherlock Holmes - E3: The Case of the Pensylvania Gun
30min | Crime, Drama, Mystery | TV Series (1954–1955)
Holmes and Watson travel to Sussex to investigate the murder of Squire Douglas, who was shot to death in a sealed-up castle, with only two apparent suspects.
Stars: Ronald Howard, Howard Marion-Crawford, Archie Duncan
30min | Crime, Drama, Mystery | TV Series (1954–1955)
Holmes and Watson travel to Sussex to investigate the murder of Squire Douglas, who was shot to death in a sealed-up castle, with only two apparent suspects.
Stars: Ronald Howard, Howard Marion-Crawford, Archie Duncan
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
01:00Billbury le Bramble, Bilger's Bay, Bimming Mary Magna, Binster, Binge, Great Binge and
01:20Lesser Binge.
01:21Amazing.
01:22What's amazing?
01:23The names of our English villages, Watson.
01:28What foreigner reading these could ever think of us as stiff and sober-minded people?
01:33Bippery Cross, Birra Crags, Bird Cherry Brook and Birding Peace Place, Burlston Junction.
01:42When do we go?
01:43Go where?
01:44To Burlston Manor, Burlston, Sussex.
01:51Whatever led you to believe that I'm interested in Sussex, Burlston or Burlston Manor?
01:56No doubt you saw the account of the rather gruesome murder of Squire John Douglas.
02:01Quite so.
02:02The case has interesting features.
02:04But at the moment I'm more interested in the fly-fishing possibilities in the neighbourhood
02:09of Burlston.
02:10Ah, that would be the Arran.
02:12Runs within two or three miles of the manor house.
02:16What manor house?
02:18Burlston, the home of the late Squire Douglas.
02:22Oh, yes, yes, I remember.
02:24I believe he was quite a fisherman.
02:26The moat is forty feet wide.
02:30Forty feet wide.
02:32Well, well, good Lord.
02:35He could probably fish from his bedroom window.
02:37And when the drawbridge is raised, the place becomes an island.
02:41Four hours after the bridge is raised, the body of Squire Douglas is found in his study
02:46with half his head blown off.
02:48That should appeal to you.
02:51Hmm.
02:52Fishing seems a safe business by comparison.
02:54Do you row a boat?
02:56A boat?
02:58For fly-fishing?
03:00Have you ever fished before?
03:03Does this look like the equipment of an amateur?
03:07Odd word.
03:09Which?
03:11Equipment.
03:13All the fishermen I've ever known talk about their tackle.
03:17What do you deduce from that, Holmes?
03:19Obvious.
03:21Your fishing friends either lack experience or vocabulary.
03:24We deep-sea fishermen are in the equipment class.
03:28None of your nasty little bundles.
03:30Yes, that gaff is far more suitable for a shark than a trout.
03:34Do you really think so?
03:36No good for trout.
03:38Well, it depends what trout you're after.
03:41Oh, yes.
03:43Well, we must carry a tape measure.
03:46A tape measure? What on earth for?
03:48To measure our catch, of course.
03:50To measure our catch and throw back the little ones.
03:53A good rule in life, Watson,
03:55always remember to throw back the little ones.
03:59Do you think our prey will count as a big one or a little one?
04:04Well, hardly as big as Squire Douglas
04:06lying dead in his castle surrounded by his moat.
04:09Holmes, you've been analysing this case.
04:13Well, you know, I haven't got enough data yet for analysis, really.
04:16Do you think it could be an accident?
04:18What, with a sawn-off shotgun?
04:20And the triggers of both barrels wired together?
04:23Murder, eh?
04:24Yes, possibly.
04:26What do you mean by possibly?
04:28Don't sit there, man. That may be opportunity knocking.
04:36Come in.
04:44Mr Sherlock Holmes?
04:46The fisherman.
04:50Oh, God! Oh, terrible!
04:53Blowing me! No more help!
04:55Sit there, boy.
04:58Hmm, there's only a little one.
05:01Don't you like it, Watson?
05:04We'd appreciate your view.
05:06Intriguing affair.
05:08Pearlstone Manor.
05:10Signed, Inspector McLintock.
05:13Mr Sherlock Holmes?
05:15Mr McLintock.
05:17Mr McLintock.
05:19Mr McLintock.
05:21Mr McLintock.
05:23Mr McLintock.
05:25Mr McLintock.
05:27Mr McLintock.
05:29Mr McLintock.
05:31Signed, Inspector MacLeod.
05:34Ha! Police English, for I'm utterly baffled.
05:37Oh, where is it?
05:38Where's what?
05:39Well, the tape measure, of course.
05:41Where is that tape measure?
05:43Oh, in the fiddle case together, sir.
05:46Fiddle?
05:47Violin case, boy.
05:51Oh, tell me, Watson, how are we off for trains?
05:54Trains? Ah, yes, now let me see.
05:57Pearlstone.
05:59Yes, now that would be the West Sussex-Littlehampton-Bognor line.
06:03Now, there's a 10.15.
06:05Now, that doesn't stop.
06:06Now, of course, it's a 12.3.
06:08That would get us in at 4.2 or 4.7.
06:12I say, I'd forgotten, actually.
06:14You can't remember whether it's 4.2 or 4.7.
06:16Come, Watson, you're slipping.
06:18Blimey!
06:19Does it keep all the train times in his head?
06:22Where else, of course?
06:23We are a nation of railway pioneers, my boy.
06:26Like a great many Englishmen before him,
06:28Dr. Watson restricts his reading to the Bible, the Times,
06:32and Bradshaw's Railway Guide to the British Isles.
06:37Here, boy.
06:42May the mark have, that's what you two are.
06:54I say, Watson, have you seen my weekend bag anywhere?
06:57I suspect it's under the stairs.
06:59Mrs. Hudson got very tired of seeing it lying about.
07:01Oh, good.
07:02Well, that means it hasn't been unpacked anyway.
07:04I assume not.
07:05Excellent.
07:06Then everything is ready.
07:07Oh, be a good fellow, would you, and dig out that bag
07:10and put it in the cab along with that tackle.
07:14Why, aren't you going to be here?
07:16I have a little reading to do.
07:18Pick me up at the British Museum library,
07:20say, half an hour before the train leaves.
07:22Now, look here, Holmes, this is no time to go reading.
07:24You'll miss the train.
07:27I cannot vouch for the punctuality of Dr. Watson
07:29or the reliability of the company's steam engines,
07:32but I, for one, propose to be at Bolston Halt
07:34at 4 2 PM precisely.
07:44Oh, is it 4 7?
07:58It was a nice piece of work, if I say so myself.
08:01The entire story hung on a spider's thread.
08:06A spider's thread?
08:07Exactly.
08:08Ah, that sounds interesting, Inspector.
08:10Now, perhaps you'll start at the beginning.
08:12Simply stated, the castle, as you'll see, has a moat.
08:17And when it's up, as it was at the time of the murder,
08:21it's a sealed fortress.
08:23Who is it?
08:24It's a sealed fortress.
08:26Who was in the castle at the time of the crime?
08:28The murdered man's wife, Mrs. Douglas,
08:31and a foreign friend, John Morell.
08:34Just those two?
08:35And the servants.
08:36But we've been able to rule them out completely.
08:39Hmm.
08:40And from your description of the house,
08:41it would have to be one of them.
08:42Either Mrs. Douglas or this friend of hers, Morell,
08:46or both of them.
08:48They tried to make it appear as though someone
08:50had broken into the house and then
08:52dived through the windows to swim the moat.
08:54But you disproved them.
08:56Completely.
08:57How?
08:58I'll tell you when we get there.
09:01This, uh, murder weapon, a sawn-off shotgun, I believe.
09:06An odd weapon, that.
09:08And a foreign gun, too.
09:09Three letters on the barrel.
09:11P-E-N.
09:12Aha.
09:13A larger P with a flourish over it,
09:16followed by a smaller E and N.
09:18That's right.
09:19Ah, the Pennsylvania Small Arms Company,
09:21the famous American firm.
09:22That's perfect.
09:24That's all I need.
09:25You mean you need additional evidence?
09:27Well, Mr. Holmes, every little helps, you know.
09:31Then your case against Morell is not complete.
09:34It's complete as far as, how did you
09:37know Morell is the murderer?
09:39How did you know?
09:42He has to be.
09:43Why?
09:44He's the only one who could be.
09:47Suppose I were to tell you that Morell is not your murderer.
09:52How do you know?
09:53Yes, Holmes, how do you know?
09:55Why didn't you arrest him?
09:57Well, I...
09:59He doesn't act like a murderer.
10:02Ah.
10:03He's too self-confident, eh?
10:05That's right.
10:06Seems to be daring him to arrest him.
10:09Yes.
10:10How do you know all this?
10:12Holmes, do you know this man Morell?
10:16Fascinating.
10:17Fascinating.
10:18The case has suddenly assumed the most astounding proportions.
10:21And the most astonishing challenge, Watson.
10:36That's one of a period.
10:37Yes, it is lovely, isn't it?
10:39What did you mean, Mr. Holmes?
10:41Nothing.
10:42I just think it's a lovely building.
10:43I mean when you said that Morell didn't murder Mr. Douglas.
10:46Oh, that.
10:47Yes, what did you mean?
10:48How do you know he didn't do it?
10:50Well, if he didn't do it, she did.
10:52You're jumping again, McCloud.
10:53You're jumping.
10:54But it has to be one or the other.
10:56Does it really?
10:58What's he talking about?
11:00Well, don't you know?
11:01No, I don't know.
11:02If two people are in a sealed house with a murdered man,
11:05one of them has to be a murderer.
11:08That's common sense.
11:10Ah, but is it logical?
11:12What do you mean, is it logical?
11:13I don't know, but Holmes says that all the time.
11:15I was hoping you might be able to tell me.
11:32He hasn't been moved.
11:33That's just the way we found him last night.
11:36Watson?
11:37Of course, death was instantaneous.
11:39I should say so.
11:41The charge was not fired directly into the face,
11:43as the newspapers account have it.
11:44Uh-huh.
11:45I'd say the blast came from below,
11:47and that the gun was almost vertical.
11:48Excellent, Watson, excellent.
11:50May I see this shotgun, McCloud?
11:53Holmes, look at this.
11:54Good Lord.
11:56Wait, it's a brand, like cattle.
11:58Well, how old would you say it was?
12:00Have you got your glass there?
12:01Yes.
12:05It's very difficult to estimate marking like this, Holmes,
12:08but I'd say it's, well, it's over 15 years.
12:1120.
12:15Mr. Morrell?
12:16At your service, Mr. Holmes.
12:19Dr. Watson?
12:22News travels quickly.
12:24This is a small village.
12:26You said 20 years?
12:28Yes.
12:29The same age as this.
12:35It stands for Vermissa Valley, Arizona.
12:39Gold claim number 341.
12:43That is where John and I met 20 years ago.
12:47There were three of us.
12:50We registered the claim, worked it, and then sold it.
12:55We divided the money in thirds and went our different ways.
13:00Two years ago, I looked John up here and stayed on.
13:03I liked it.
13:04And the third partner?
13:07He lost his money.
13:08I believe his mind.
13:10He came to believe that we had cheated him.
13:12And he swore to kill us 10 years ago.
13:16Why didn't he?
13:18He couldn't find us.
13:21No, we didn't have the same names at the time.
13:25Do you think your old partner could have done that?
13:30I don't know, Mr. Holmes.
13:32I am not the detective.
13:35True.
13:36True.
13:37We must bear that in mind.
13:40You tried to make it appear as though another man had been here
13:44and went out through the window.
13:46Did I?
13:47He tried to build an elaborate story.
13:50A man of his size was seen passing through the village
13:53wearing a loud tweed top coat and a wide-brimmed hat.
13:56He was heading this way.
13:58On the window ledge, there is a footprint in blood,
14:02indicating, of course, that the murderer
14:04dived through the window and swam the moat.
14:08But he didn't.
14:10How do you know?
14:12Because, Mr. Morel, outside that window and just a few feet down
14:16is a very large and at least a month old spider's web.
14:21Anyone jumping or diving through the window
14:25would have to pass through the web.
14:27And no one did.
14:30Well done, McLeod.
14:32Well done.
14:34A spider's web.
14:36The English police have the most amazing allies, I must say.
14:41Now that you have made your deductions, Mr. McLeod,
14:44exactly what do they mean to me?
14:47For the moment, nothing.
14:50But I suggest you do not leave the castle grounds.
14:53And if I try to leave?
15:09Well done, McLeod.
15:10You've certainly got your man.
15:13But I'm not rushing in to make any arrest.
15:16I'm going to make sure the case is iron-cast.
15:20Iron-cast.
15:22Oh, very wise.
15:23And what's the motive?
15:25Revenge for the Vermiss Valley affair?
15:27I've got to go a bit careful there, Doctor.
15:30If you ask me, it's a case of Cherchez La Woman.
15:36Oh, was he?
15:38He's a Douglas?
15:39Well, you know how these things are, Doctor, between us men of the world.
15:43We know how a situation like this can...
15:46Oh, of course.
15:47Of course.
15:50Delicate situation, though.
15:51Delicate.
15:52Yes, delicate.
15:54Might almost be called the case of the other man.
16:09The other dumbbell.
16:12Who?
16:13Not who, what.
16:15What?
16:16That's right, what.
16:17What are you talking about?
16:18That.
16:20There's only one dumbbell.
16:22One dumbbell.
16:24That's right.
16:25Well?
16:26There's only one dumbbell, Watson.
16:29I know.
16:30That's it over there.
16:32Yes.
16:33Where's the other one?
16:35Well, I don't know.
16:36I've only just come here.
16:37Do you know where the other one is?
16:39What difference does it make?
16:40That's right, yes.
16:41What difference does it make?
16:42Maybe there is only one dumb...
16:44Bell...
16:45Dumbbell.
16:46One dumbbell.
16:47But they come in twos.
16:49Perhaps he only had one.
16:53Watson, do you mean to tell me that you can stand there,
16:56surrounded by all these athletic trophies,
16:59and suggest to me that such a man would only use one dumbbell?
17:04Well, what difference does it make?
17:06Yes, what difference does it make?
17:09Yes.
17:11Well, if you two are convinced that you can solve the case
17:14with the aid of a convenient spider,
17:17I'm going fishing.
17:19You're what?
17:20Oh, he's going fishing.
17:21He's brought his tackle.
17:22Why?
17:23To catch fish.
17:26Then I take it you're satisfied with my analysis of the crime.
17:31Find the dumbbell.
17:33Hang the dumbbell!
17:35You can't hang him until you find him.
17:37Who?
17:38The man who took the dumbbell.
17:45You've gone too far now, Holmes.
17:47I think you've made him very angry.
17:49Then he should fish.
17:50It soothes the nerve.
17:52Are you really going to fish?
17:53I am.
17:54Where?
17:55Out of that window.
17:56It looks very comfortable.
17:57Well, what do you expect to catch?
17:59A herring.
18:00A red herring.
18:02May I have the tape measure, Watson?
18:04To measure a red herring?
18:06To measure the big red herrings.
18:08The little ones I plan to throw back.
18:11Holmes, you're up to something.
18:13I am.
18:14What?
18:15Would you like to help?
18:16Of course.
18:17Well, look, take the good inspector down to the local pub
18:20and keep him there for at least an hour.
18:22While you fish for red herring.
18:24At the moment, I'm fishing for bait.
18:26I don't know what you're talking about, but I'll do it.
18:29Good.
18:30Remember, one hour.
18:34I may enjoy myself in the local and stay, too.
18:37Ha, ha, ha.
19:08He's a strange one, that Holmes.
19:10What do you think he's been doing?
19:12There's no guessing with him.
19:14For all we know, he may really have been fishing.
19:17Perhaps we should have given him more time.
19:19He's been an hour.
19:20That's all he asked for.
19:21Yes, that's right enough.
19:23Inspector MacLeod.
19:29Hello, Sergeant.
19:30Have you seen Mr. Holmes?
19:32I certainly have, sir.
19:34What's wrong?
19:36You know the staircase in that room?
19:39No.
19:40Mr. Holmes was sliding down them banisters.
19:44He was what?
19:46That's right, sir.
19:47Sliding down the banisters, he was.
19:50Well, he was probably investigating something.
19:55Probably.
19:56Well, let's ask him.
19:58There must be some reason behind it.
20:00Good afternoon, gentlemen.
20:07Go on.
20:09Ask him.
20:10Ask me what?
20:12Well?
20:14What have you been doing while we were away?
20:16Well, first I fished.
20:18No.
20:19And then I slid down the banisters.
20:21I told you.
20:23Why?
20:24Why not?
20:26Well.
20:27And you, Inspector MacLeod, are going to drain the moat.
20:30I'm going to what?
20:32Drain the moat.
20:34Just drain the moat.
20:36Empty it right down to the bottom.
20:38I can't do that.
20:40That's a major engineering job.
20:42Don't you realize that's a real river that runs around the house?
20:46Well, in that case, don't drain the moat.
20:49But tell everyone you're going to.
20:51And then what?
20:53Then we'll all meet back here in an hour's time.
20:57And see if we can find somebody pulling something out of the moat.
21:01Exactly.
21:02What?
21:03Red herrings.
21:09As mad as a march hare.
21:26How much longer?
21:28Not much.
21:29You're certain everyone believes you're going to drain the moat?
21:31I don't know who believes it, but everyone knows I said it.
21:34Do you think someone will come to the murder room?
21:36Someone has been in it for some time.
21:38How do you know? The lights are out.
21:40Because I left them on.
21:42Look.
21:43What?
21:44That's it. Let's go.
22:01Oh, excuse me.
22:03What are you using for bait?
22:09I wouldn't mind holding this.
22:15What clothes did you say the stranger was wearing in the cloud?
22:18A loud tweed top coat and a white brimmed hat.
22:21Like these?
22:26The dumbbell.
22:28Holmes, how did you know?
22:30When you're working near water, Watson, and a heavy object has disappeared,
22:33you may conclude, until you can prove otherwise,
22:36that it has been used to prevent some object from rising to the surface.
22:40All right, Morel.
22:42You're under arrest for the murder of John Douglas.
22:45It is my duty to warn you that anything you say may be taken down
22:48and used in evidence...
22:50No, no, no, McCloud.
22:52You haven't got it at all.
22:54What?
22:55This gentleman didn't kill John Douglas because John Douglas isn't dead.
23:00He isn't what?
23:02Dead.
23:03The man whose body you discovered in here is the very man who came back to...
23:08No, you're not with me, are you, McCloud?
23:12Now, would you tell him, please?
23:15These clothes belong to our third partner.
23:18The man who's been searching for you for ten years?
23:21Yes.
23:22He found us and arrived here with a shotgun.
23:26He and John struggled, and the shot went off.
23:29That explains the vertical angle of the blast.
23:32In the ensuing struggle, the gun went off.
23:34I heard the report and ran down immediately.
23:37I timed it from your room.
23:39Fifteen seconds if you run, and ten seconds if you slide down the banisters.
23:44I ran.
23:45I thought you would.
23:47John was panic-stricken when he saw what he had done.
23:50I got the idea to change their identities.
23:54But then where is Douglas?
23:56With the aid of my tape measure, I was able to ascertain...
23:59that there is a hollow space behind that wall.
24:02I imagine it conceals a passage under the moat.
24:05Yes, Mr. Holmes, it does.
24:08And John has had a 36-hour head start.
24:11We'll stop him.
24:12I told him you would.
24:14I'll issue orders for the apprehension of Mr. Douglas...
24:17and we'll talk about your part in this, sir, in the morning.
24:22You have conspired to conceal evidence.
24:25I'll still be here in the morning, Inspector.
24:37A very brilliant piece of deductions, Mr. Holmes.
24:41An excellent application of applied psychology.
24:44I haven't been tricked many times in my life.
24:48You must remember that...
24:49the next time you become involved with murder.
24:51And you can now continue your fishing in a more normal manner.
24:55Fishing?
24:56No, I don't care for it really.
25:00Unless it's deep sea, of course.
25:04Yes.
25:05Yes, yes.
25:06But in the absence of an ocean in the immediate vicinity...
25:09I think we'd better start back.
25:11Well, now, there's a 9.13 or a 10.23.
25:14The 10.23 will hold us up at Townbridge quite a while.
25:22Thank you, Mr. Holmes.
25:23Ah, not at all, not at all.
25:41THE END
26:11© BF-WATCH TV 2021