First broadcast 4th February 1990.
A well-known banker, Mr Davenheim, has disappeared. For Poirot, this is a case to be solved not so much by clues as with "the little grey cells", as he is confined to his flat.
David Suchet as Hercule Poirot
Hugh Fraser as Captain Hastings
Philip Jackson as Chief Inspector Japp
Pauline Moran as Miss Lemon
Kenneth Colley as Mathew Davenheim
Mel Martin as Charlotte Davenheim, his wife
Tony Mathews as Gerald Lowen
Fiona McArthur as Martha, maid at Kimberley House
Richard Beale as Merritt the boatman
Bob Mason as Sergeant
Peter Doran as Policeman
Stewart Harwood as Delivery Man
Jonty Miller as Mechanic
Malcolm Mudie as Chief Engineer
Charles Rayford as Race Spectator
Cy Town as Race Spectator
A well-known banker, Mr Davenheim, has disappeared. For Poirot, this is a case to be solved not so much by clues as with "the little grey cells", as he is confined to his flat.
David Suchet as Hercule Poirot
Hugh Fraser as Captain Hastings
Philip Jackson as Chief Inspector Japp
Pauline Moran as Miss Lemon
Kenneth Colley as Mathew Davenheim
Mel Martin as Charlotte Davenheim, his wife
Tony Mathews as Gerald Lowen
Fiona McArthur as Martha, maid at Kimberley House
Richard Beale as Merritt the boatman
Bob Mason as Sergeant
Peter Doran as Policeman
Stewart Harwood as Delivery Man
Jonty Miller as Mechanic
Malcolm Mudie as Chief Engineer
Charles Rayford as Race Spectator
Cy Town as Race Spectator
Category
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TVTranscript
00:00I
00:30Mr. Davenheim's back, madam.
00:53Thank you, Walter. I won't be needing the car over the weekend.
00:56Thank you, Walter.
01:26You look tired, darling servants.
01:39How was your meeting this morning?
01:41Well, so-so.
01:44They must refer back to Wall Street, so it'll be a few days yet.
01:46Oh, by the way, Lowen rang.
01:50He said he wouldn't be catching the earlier train, after all.
01:53Oh.
01:53I don't know why you agreed to see him, anyway.
02:09You keep saying how much you detest the man.
02:12It wasn't quite that easy.
02:13He's a shark, and he's very slippery.
02:17He's angling for a directorship at the bank.
02:20Has been for months now.
02:21But you'd sooner die.
02:24Gerald Lowen, a seat on your own bank.
02:27Oh, he wants to make life as uncomfortable for me as he can,
02:30and that would give him just the power base to set about it.
02:33Unfortunately, he does hold a bit of a trump card this time.
02:36A 5% stake in Cape Girl, which she knows we're desperate to get hold of,
02:40puts him in a rather strong bargaining position, I'm afraid.
02:47You all right?
02:47Yes, I'm fine.
02:51Well, leave these on the 4.45.
02:56He'll be here pretty shortly.
02:59I really want to go through one or two of these papers.
03:03Before he gets here,
03:04I am sorry about all this.
03:07Oh, German.
03:08You all right?
03:09You all right?
03:10Yes.
03:11You're right.
03:11I'm sorry.
03:19I'm sorry.
03:28You're right.
03:28Oh, look.
03:57I just want to catch the last post.
03:59I think I'll take a wander into the village.
04:01Lone will just be getting in.
04:02I can meet him off the train.
04:03Right.
04:03Anyway, spot a fresh air and do me good.
04:09Matthew.
04:27I can meet him.
04:57I can meet him.
05:27I can meet him.
05:28I can meet him.
05:29I can meet him.
05:30I can meet him.
05:31I can meet him.
05:32I can meet him.
05:33I can meet him.
05:34I can meet him.
05:35I can meet him.
05:37I can meet him.
05:38I can meet him.
05:39I can meet him.
05:41I can meet him.
05:43I can meet him.
05:44I can meet him.
05:45I can meet him.
05:46I can meet him.
05:47I can meet him.
05:48I can meet him.
05:49I can meet him.
05:50I can meet him.
05:51I can meet him.
05:52I can meet him.
05:53I can meet him.
05:54I can meet him.
05:55I can meet him.
05:56I can meet him.
05:57I can meet him.
05:58I can meet him.
05:59I can meet him.
06:00I can meet him.
06:01I can meet him.
06:02I can meet him.
06:03I can meet him.
06:04I can meet him.
06:05I can meet him.
06:06I can meet him.
06:07I can meet him.
06:08I can meet him.
06:09I can meet him.
06:10I can meet him.
06:11I can meet him.
06:12Say, the embassy, will you?
06:14You think so?
06:16I take it you haven't heard, then, about the strange business of Mr. Matthew Davonheim.
06:22And we are talking about Mr. Davonheim of Davonheim and Sermon.
06:26Ah, the big banking firm.
06:27Of which Matthew Davonheim was a senior partner.
06:30And a very wealthy man, too, if his house is anything to go by.
06:34Incidentally, my dear Chief Inspector,
06:36you will have a little something to warm you before you leave.
06:39Well, seeing as I'm not on duty.
06:42Yes, it's a rare old puzzle, all told.
06:45Friday afternoon, he told his wife he was off to the village to post some letters.
06:49Walks out the front gate. Hasn't been seen or heard of since.
06:58And at what time, precisely, did Mr. Davonheim leave?
07:01We gather around 4.40.
07:04He was expecting a business colleague to arrive by train that afternoon
07:07to talk over some financial deal or other.
07:10Mr. Gerald Lowen.
07:12A gentleman to see Mr. Davonheim, madam.
07:20Gerald Lowen.
07:23How do you do?
07:24Mr. Lowen.
07:26You drove here, then.
07:28I didn't hear the car.
07:29No, I came by train, but we were a little early, so I thought I'd walk up from the station.
07:35But my husband was walking down to meet you.
07:37How maddening.
07:38You must have passed each other in the lane.
07:40I don't think so.
07:41Oh, but you must have.
07:44He left here not far...
07:45Mrs. Davonheim, I couldn't possibly have passed your husband.
07:48The fact is, I didn't pass anybody.
07:51There wasn't another soul in the lane all the way.
07:53Please make yourself comfortable in here.
08:01I'm sure he won't be very long.
08:03Good.
08:04Mrs. Davonheim showed Lowen into her husband's study, and there he waited.
08:09And waited.
08:12And waited.
08:13Well, over an hour goes by.
08:19Still, Davonheim doesn't return.
08:25Gerald Lowen, his patience exhausted, takes his leave.
08:32This is the way your husband treats important business clients, is it?
08:35But I'm...
08:36I'm quite at a loss.
08:38I'm so sorry.
08:38Yes.
08:39I'm very sorry, too, Mrs. Davonheim.
08:42Very sorry, indeed.
08:54Inquiries are made throughout the village.
08:56Yes, the police are out.
08:56They've searched in the grounds.
08:58They've searched everywhere.
08:59They've found nothing.
09:00Well, I don't know who else to tell you.
09:01All intents and purposes, Matthew Davonheim has vanished off the face of the earth.
09:05I'll call you back.
09:05Please, just come on.
09:07Good evening, Mum.
09:09It seems everyone saw Lowen.
09:11Nobody saw Davonheim.
09:13Lowen.
09:14Why does that name ring a bell?
09:19Certainement.
09:20It is most obscure, my dear chief inspector.
09:24Which gives me the great hopes of solving it.
09:26I'm afraid I can't see it myself.
09:29Ah, but I do not see, Mon Ami.
09:32I shut my eyes and I think.
09:35One must always seek the truth from within.
09:38If you've told me that once, you've told me a thousand times.
09:46All right, then, Poirot.
09:49Here's a challenge for you.
09:52A fiver of my money that says you can't solve this little mystery without leaving the house.
09:58We'll give you seven days.
10:08Of course, if it's beyond even your magical powers.
10:11Eh bien, seven days, huh?
10:18Provided the facts are placed before me and that you will allow Hastings here to furnish me with such information as I require,
10:24the solution becomes inevitable.
10:27I accept.
10:27Good night, Poirot.
10:33Thanks for the drink.
10:35Like robbing a baby.
10:48Now, that's a way to walk to the village, sir.
10:50About five minutes on foot.
10:53During which time he must have passed low on coming from the station.
10:57Can I just ask, what's down there?
11:03That takes you right into Brooklyn.
11:04It's a big motor racing venue.
11:06A little way down there is a boat in Lake.
11:09Now, we've checked with the keeper.
11:10He swears Davenheim never passed it up.
11:13Thank you, Inspector.
11:17I beg your pardon, sir?
11:19What colour were they, if you can remember?
11:22Mr. Lowen's trail, sir, sir.
11:24Well, I know it's a rather odd question, but a rather odd person would like to know.
11:30Kind of a light colour, I suppose you'd say they were.
11:34Light grey.
11:35Very smartly turned out, it was.
11:38Apart from that stupid moustache.
11:40It goes back a long way, this rivalry between them.
11:53Lowen lost out to my husband in a big deal over some shipping company shares.
11:58Poor man was nearly wiped out.
12:01That was a few years ago now, but he's never stopped hounding Matthew ever since.
12:07I believe he came here to barter some South African stock or something,
12:12in exchange for a position on the bank.
12:17Did a lot of business in South Africa, did he, your husband?
12:21He was over in Johannesburg all last winter.
12:24Must have been three months.
12:29He brought me back the most wonderful diamond earrings.
12:33He always brought me back jewellery of one kind or another,
12:37whenever he went away.
12:38Do you believe in a sixth sense, Chief Inspector?
12:52I had it the day my mother died.
12:56I had it again on Friday.
12:58All day, the certain knowledge that something like this was going to happen.
13:04And now it has, hasn't it?
13:08I wonder if I might have a word now with your maid.
13:13I think I might have a word now with your mistress.
13:22Chief Inspector.
13:24You have nice news.
13:36Surprised to see you're still here, Mr Poirot.
13:39I thought you'd be out on the Davenheim case.
13:43Ah, well, Miss Lemon.
13:45The Chief Inspector, Jap,
13:46has bet me five pounds
13:48that I cannot solve this mystery
13:50without leaving my apartment.
13:53And I accept his bet.
13:54Oh, are you sure that was wise?
13:57Perhaps not, Miss Lemon.
13:59On reflection,
14:00ten pounds
14:02would be a much rounder sum.
14:04I just told all I know to that police inspector.
14:14I ain't got time to tell that all again.
14:16No, quite.
14:17I can see you're a very busy man, Mr Merritt.
14:19Boatman's work's never done.
14:21Yes.
14:22On Friday afternoon, Mr Merritt...
14:24I remember it all plain enough.
14:29Friday afternoon's one of my busiest times.
14:31I remember looking at my watch.
14:35That said 4.55.
14:37A couple of vagrants come by.
14:39Then this, uh, girl on a bike.
14:43One of them was blind.
14:45Ugly-looking pair, all told.
14:47Looked as if they'd been drinking.
14:49That were all that afternoon.
14:52There weren't no-one else come by.
14:54I'd remember, wouldn't I?
14:57Yes.
14:58Well,
14:59I'd better be getting along.
15:01Wouldn't want to keep you from all your work,
15:03Mr Merritt.
15:05Don't you worry about that.
15:07Soon as that paint's dry on that bench,
15:09I'll be right up and giving that a second coat.
15:16Ah, light grey, you say, Hastings.
15:19That may be significant.
15:24I'd still like to know what the colour of Lowen's trousers
15:26has got to do with anything.
15:28Surely that is obvious, Hastings.
15:34Monsieur Lowen says that he did not pass
15:36Monsieur Davenheim in the lane.
15:38Wait.
15:39Now, is he lying, Hastings?
15:42Or did he, in fact, kill Monsieur Davenheim?
15:44A messy scuffle in the country road,
15:49a disposal of a body in a muddy field,
15:52and still he manages to turn up to the house
15:54minutes later,
15:55so immaculately dressed.
15:58Ah.
16:00Seemed rather trivial.
16:01No, Hastings.
16:02Nothing is trivial in the matter of murder.
16:05I commend also for your attention
16:07the fact that before he leaves the room,
16:09Monsieur Davenheim puts onto the gramophone
16:10a record of the 1812 overture.
16:13Well, that was highly significant too, was it?
16:15Well, we may as yet be on the wrong track,
16:17but at least it is suggestive.
16:19Track?
16:20That was it.
16:21Gerald Lowen.
16:22Comment?
16:22Gerald Lowen.
16:24Races a couple of Bugattis.
16:26Just beginning to make your name for himself
16:27on the circuit.
16:28I bet it's the same chant.
16:29Ah, the racing of the cars, eh?
16:32Round and around in the circles.
16:34Never will I understand the passion
16:36for such a pointless pastime.
16:37Oh, you've got to experience it, Poirot.
16:39The sheer exhilaration.
16:40Flying round by the seat of your pants.
16:43Yes, well, Hastings,
16:45perhaps you should try cleaning them first.
16:49All right, lads.
16:57Fan out.
16:58Keep your eyes open.
17:19Bring it in.
17:49Oh, my God.
17:54It's my husband's.
18:09You might just as well admit it, Mr. Poirot.
18:11You can't stand being cooped up here on your own
18:13away from all the action.
18:14Miss Lemon, he becomes denser by the minute, eh?
18:19If his body had been discovered in the lake,
18:21eh bien,
18:22a simple murder problem
18:24or an intriguing suicide.
18:25But his clothes are no Monsieur Davenheim, eh?
18:29We are dealing here, Miss Lemon,
18:31with a body of evidence
18:32requiring the most skilful dissection.
18:34Well, in that case,
18:36why don't you call off this stupid bet
18:38and get out there ferreting for yourself?
18:40Get out there ferreting, Miss Lemon.
18:43We are not hunting the jackrabbits.
18:46This is a delicate exercise
18:47in the skill of...
18:49Miss Lemon, the door, if you please.
18:51Mr. Poirot!
18:52Morning, sir.
19:03I've got a pair-up of Mr. Poirot.
19:05Eh, no, no, no, no.
19:06Poirot.
19:07It is pronounced Poirot.
19:09I beg your pardon, Governor.
19:11I've got a poir-rope of Mr. Poirot.
19:19But I heard nothing from the commander, Wallis.
19:21He promised me faithfully
19:22he was going to clear it with you first.
19:26It's just that he had to dash away to Scotland
19:28for a few days
19:28and there was no one else
19:29who could look after it for him.
19:34Anyway, be a bit of extra company for you
19:36as you're stuck inside the office for a week.
19:39You do like birds, don't you, Mr. Poirot?
19:42Miss Lemon, small animals have no part to play
19:45in the home life of a private detective from Belgium.
19:49Hello!
19:51Except, of course, as a source of nourishment.
19:53A lot of horses and horses.
19:56There are how to participate in the house,
19:56but I have no potential.
19:57I'm sorry.
19:57I have no potential in my house.
20:10I have no potential in my house.
20:11But I'm going to get on that.
20:12You're a part of the house,
20:14and it's just a thing to do.
20:14It's such a thing to do.
20:15Well, I'm not going to get on that.
20:16I'll let it go.
20:17The weather of Car 17, kindly report
20:18to the Secretary of the meeting.
20:19Excuse me, I'm looking for a Mr. Gerald Lowen.
20:20Well, that was him.
20:21He'll come back into the paddock next time around.
20:23you're interested in the car I say never seen a Bugatti fly like that before best
20:28time we've ever done really yes we can meet him by the ship so you altered the
20:33fuel system oh yeah we took out the dual belt drive 224 as well
20:42so you raised the compression ratio oh yes I uprated the supercharger sir
20:46brilliant bet you get a fantastic HP to your reverie this is the gentleman who's
20:50interested in the car captain Hastings your general loan Hastings well you better
20:57take her for a spin terribly kind of you you sure do you want to get the whole
21:04picture well of course it alone
21:08I'm sorry to trouble you mr. lowen but I'm from Scotland Yard I wonder if you wouldn't mind
21:24answering a few questions Colonel Brian mr. lowen this is the gentleman I was telling you about
21:30who's interested in buying the car right Hastings
21:38chief inspector I think the police have had quite enough of my time chief inspector
21:55uh just one moment please miss alone how many more times you want me to tell you
22:00I didn't pass Davonheim in that lane perhaps he fell down a rabbit hole and good riddance I gather he'd
22:14given you a bit of a hiding on the markets once twice mr. lowen scored a few major coups at your
22:19personal expense Davonheim's wealth was accumulated at many people's expense I don't imagine I'm the
22:25only financier in the city who bore him a grudge well you know what it's like oh what is it like mr.
22:32lowen dog eat dog in the city high-powered money men going for each other's throats look if you're
22:39suggesting that I killed Davonheim and then tossed his damn clothes away into that lake clothes in the
22:44lake mr. lowen I don't think we've officially announced that yet must have heard it on the exchange
22:55good god you don't think you can keep a thing like that secret surely I'll give mr. lowen good day
23:02he sounds quite unbearably vain this man Hastings how did he know about the clothes in the lake in the city
23:29they would know what we have for breakfast if it was important to the share prices where does that
23:35leave us then you think Davonheim's been kidnapped where is the ransom note or the demand a murder then
23:44where is the cops and what sort of matter is it where the killer removes the clothes of his victim and
23:52throws them into the lake well those two vagrants could have attacked him robbed him of his clothes then
23:58panicking in case the clothes identified them as the man's killer tossed them into the water and made a
24:03run for it well the boatman said he saw nothing then he spends most of his time asleep anyway
24:08bravo Hastings you begin to use your little grass cells huh of course your reasoning is fallacious in
24:16every respect your common sneak thieves are very rarely the murderers Hastings and unless also he is a
24:25member of the magic circle and has constructed the secret trapdoor somewhere in the lane how has he made the
24:34his body disappear and please do not fraternize with that creature I am still training him it's only a parrot I was talking to the parrot
25:04old moneybags is still missing it expect he's in Rio by now
25:34and you are certain that the lock it had been forced nobody knows when could have been like that since
25:58friday everything had gone including the gems the gems all those expensive jewels he kept bringing
26:05back cleaned out the lot huh things are now moving in a very definite direction you cannot fail to see
26:11the thread all the same there are still certain litmus tests to be carried out before we can be
26:18absolutely sure where are you going ah we unless of course you've changed your mind certainly not a wager is a wager
26:31Hastings you are not busy this afternoon well I want you to help me in a little experiment
26:36but I don't know why we're all standing around here talking while he's out there going scot-free
26:48well we have question mr low and madam but at the moment we don't actually have any would you mind
26:54awfully if I went to get a glass of water oh please no no no I'll go myself
26:58well the man was determined to ruin my husband we know that and he was on his own right there in
27:06the study for well for well over an hour we don't know for sure it was broken into on friday afternoon
27:12I locked it up myself chief inspector just as Matthew was returning home we couldn't have been burgled
27:19since then why haven't any of the doors or windows been forced open it can only have been done by someone
27:26who knew what you want to call home inside the house
27:29Gabriel fucking okay
27:56Uh, just, uh, conducting a little experiment that, um,
28:26it's a wonder Jap didn't lock me up for breaking and entering.
28:32But, Hastings, you performed magnificently.
28:36I don't see what it proves,
28:38except that you need a strong hand to get that thing opened.
28:42Lowen isn't exactly a weakling.
28:43Ah, our old friend, Monsieur Lowen, huh?
28:47He has suffered so badly at the hands of Monsieur Davenheim
28:49that he vows to exact his revenge on the demon banker.
28:52So, first he kills his adversary,
28:57and then he turns up at the house in order to ransack the safe
29:00and make off with the family jewels, huh?
29:02Well, it's the only explanation that fits.
29:04Like the round hole into the square peg.
29:08The opening of the safe door, Hastings.
29:11How did he force open such a lock
29:12without being overheard?
29:14As you yourself so expertly demonstrated,
29:19it is quite impossible.
29:22Well, you've only got three days to go.
29:27This is quite tasty.
29:30It is a recipe of my own Hastings.
29:32Oh, yeah.
29:33Nuthusks, birdseed, and a ground cuttlefish.
29:35What do you think, then?
29:41Is Davenheim dead, or what?
29:43I think, Histings,
29:45that there is much more to the disappearance of Monsieur Davenheim
29:47than at first appears.
29:49But you tell me, Mélanie,
29:50you are my eyes and ears.
29:52What is our next move?
29:53Brooklyn's, and the final meeting of an exciting season
30:14brings up the fastest of the speed cars.
30:17With the biggest rules of the day during the big race,
30:19the Gold Star handicap over a distance of 20 miles.
30:23A keen crowd of enthusiastic spectators
30:26takes advantage of the unusually mild autumn weather
30:29to rally at the famous track.
30:31The drivers go round and round and come out here.
30:34Or at least this one does.
30:37Well, in speed, the crowd will come to see,
30:38and Gerald Rowan, number three, obliges.
30:53My God, he took that one a bit fine.
30:59Lowan, cut up beer as Bugatti there on the inside like nobody's business.
31:03Man's certainly got a ruthless streak in him, and no mistake.
31:06Our ruthless remains to be seen.
31:09We've had him under close surveillance for four days now,
31:12hoping he might point us towards a body.
31:13All he's pointed us towards so far are cartels and carburettors.
31:18Blimey!
31:19Old Shuttleworth's got some juice in that Alfa Romeo.
31:21Must be averaging one four something at least.
31:24Sorry, Jim.
31:26Just thinking aloud.
31:28Look out!
31:56Look out!
31:56Oi!
32:21Outside there. Sergeant, cuff him.
32:23Billy Kellett. My God! Some people never give up.
32:28Friend of yours, Sergeant?
32:29The only last winter we put him inside for three months.
32:31Same game, lifting wallets in the crowd.
32:36Looks like mine was the first of the day.
32:40Hello.
32:43Well, now.
32:46How very interesting.
32:48What is it?
32:53PHONE RINGS
32:55PHONE RINGS
32:57PHONE RINGS
32:58Hello?
33:00Ah, Poirot.
33:01Haven't caught you at a bad moment, I hope.
33:03Believe me, my dear Chief Inspector.
33:05If you had caught me at a bad moment, I should certainly have told you.
33:10I just thought you'd like to hear the news.
33:12We've found the signet ring of Matthew Davenheim.
33:16PHONE RINGS
33:20PHONE RINGS
33:22PHONE RINGS
33:37PHONE RINGS
33:39what's the matter then kellett three months inside last time not enough for you
33:49get homesick for prison did we
33:52see the charming house guests we get in here
33:59they never learn of course his type must have a nappy time for prison food
34:05i'll ask you once more kellett where did you get this ring
34:14the wrong answer and your next port of court could be the gallows laddie
34:20well i was with me mate frankie frankie march you know
34:30and i was going down the race down from lands
34:35i come back on my own about seven o'clock
34:47i did a little bit of a drink you know
34:49so i sits down by the side of the road for a little rest
34:52and i was just about doors and a half of her when i heard this sound
35:01of something dropping into the leaves at the side
35:05that's when i saw it
35:13so this is his story
35:18word for wood
35:20someone had thrown the ring over the hedge
35:23i looks up and sees this geezer walking away
35:26knobby gent with a light grey suit
35:29and a poncy moustache
35:30so tell me
35:51my dear chief inspector
35:52do you not find it
35:55the most remarkable coincidence
35:58that the man who stole your wallet
36:01should also turn out to be
36:04the most important witness
36:06in the case of a monsieur davenheim
36:09rather an unfortunate coincidence from his point of view
36:13yes but sometimes the most simple coincidence is not
36:16all
36:17that she appears
36:19you do follow my train of reasoning
36:25no
36:26good
36:28and since there is at stake five pounds
36:31you would not wish me to elaborate further
36:33and of course he denies all knowledge
36:36still we're planning to test kelly's story with an identity parade
36:40it can't be ruled out that he's telling the truth
36:42no but i find it improbable
36:46that having removed the ring
36:50from off the finger of his victim
36:52monsieur lowen should suddenly decide
36:55to toss it away
36:56into the ditch
36:57of course he
37:04one has to ask her
37:05why bother to remove the ring at all
37:08valuable piece of merchandise
37:10well not easy to pull no surely
37:11far too easy to recognize
37:13well that's probably why i took it off
37:14ah
37:15what is it poirot
37:17don't tell me you've sorted it all out
37:20perhaps
37:22but first i will need the answer to two questions
37:26what was in the bathroom cabinet of monsieur davenheim
37:30on the day that he disappeared
37:32and did he and his wife sleep together
37:36or either separate bedchambers
37:40a gentleman to see you madam
37:52i'm most dreadfully sorry to trouble you again mrs davenheim
38:01yes captain hastings
38:03come on mr quarrel
38:08god that's a devil of a day out there
38:17you can hardly see your hand in front of your face
38:21how true miss lemon
38:23there are days when none of us can see the hand in front of her face
38:26when even i argue quarrel cannot see what is staring plainly at me between
38:30yes
38:32i think you've lost me again
38:36certainly miss lemon
38:40it is very easy to lose a person
38:44sometimes because you do not know who it is you are trying to find
38:50analysis and synthesis miss lemon there lies the key to the art of deduction
38:56to strip apart the evidence
38:58detail by detail
39:00detail by detail
39:02to its barest essentials
39:06until miraculously all the pieces they just fall into place and we have the complete picture
39:13of everything that happened
39:15everything that happened
39:19yes
39:21Ah, Hastings! What news do you have for me? The mystery it is told, yes?
39:28You know, Poirot, I sometimes wonder if you don't set me these little tasks
39:31just to find out how much embarrassment I can take in any one day.
39:34The facts, Hastings. This is of critical importance.
39:37Charlotte and Matthew Davenhine have occupied separate bedrooms since the spring.
39:42Ah, and it is now the middle of October.
39:45Bon. And the bathroom cabinet?
39:48You sure you want to hear all this?
39:50Hastings, do you think I play the games?
39:53Two toothbrushes, one hairbrush, one pot of skin cream, one bottle of liver pills,
39:57one tube of toothpaste, one shaving brush, one packet of razor blades,
40:01one bottle of sleeping pills, one nasal spray, one bottle of eye drops...
40:04Thank you, Hastings, I have heard enough.
40:06There's another two pages.
40:07Yes, but the evidence it is complete.
40:09Now, Hastings, Miss Lemon, I trust you have no money deposited in the bank of Davenhine and Salmon?
40:14None.
40:15No?
40:16No, nor me. Why?
40:17Because I should advise you to withdraw it all, mon ami, before it is too late.
40:20You think there's trouble looming?
40:22I expect a big crash within the next few days, Miss Lemon, perhaps sooner.
40:25So, if you please, a note to the Chief Inspector Schaap.
40:30Advise you to withdraw any monies deposited with the firm in question.
40:36Still, he will not comprehend.
40:38I'm not sure I comprehend.
40:39Hastings, as I told you at the start, once all the facts were placed before me, the solution becomes inevitable.
40:49All right. How did you know? Or are you going to tell me it was all done with mirrors?
40:54You will permit me, my dear Chief Inspector, one moment longer of the suspense.
40:59I have, as I promised, solved this mystery without leaving my apartment.
41:03Well, so you say, but I'm still pretty much in the dark.
41:06Very well.
41:07I will simply draw your attention to three details which taken together are really quite conclusive.
41:15One.
41:17What is significant about the period of time that Monsieur Davenheim spent during the winter in Johannesburg?
41:23Two.
41:25Why had he and his wife not been sleeping together in the same bedchamber from that moment on?
41:30And three.
41:33What was in the bathroom cabinet belonging to Monsieur Davenheim which should never have been there?
41:39Hm?
41:40I give up.
41:42I give up.
41:43I give up.
41:45I give up.
41:47What's up?
41:48Chief Inspector.
41:50This afternoon you are staging the identity parade for the scoundrel Kellett to point out Monsieur Lowen.
41:55I think you will find the results really, yes, quite surprising.
42:00You will not object if I leave the confines of my apartment to witness the conclusion of our wager.
42:09All right, Sergeant.
42:19In your own time, if you would, now.
42:30This is him.
42:31He threw the ring into the ditch.
42:32Why, you loser of all.
42:33You filthy little liar!
42:35You killed the guy by my life!
42:36I know you've got a suicidal thing!
42:37You idiot!
42:38Get out of my head!
42:39You prank!
42:40Help me!
42:41Help me!
42:42Stop me!
42:44Stop me!
42:45Stop me!
42:46Help me!
42:47Help me!
42:48You grubby!
42:49See you hurt!
42:50Take it away!
42:51You killed a damn alive!
42:53I know you've got to spin it all over!
42:55Get off!
42:56Get off!
42:57Get off!
42:58Get off!
42:59Get off!
43:00Get off!
43:17So now, what'd you make of that, Poirot?
43:20I'd say Lowen's as good as shopped himself.
43:23On the contrary, my dear Chief Inspector, a mere moment of the hot-headed rage.
43:27Monsieur Gerard Lowen could not be more innocent in his whole bizarre affair.
43:31Couldn't he?
43:32Well, then, perhaps it's about time you explain to us what the hell is going on.
43:43Mrs Charles Davenheim, sir.
43:45Oh, Monsieur Poirot.
43:47Madame.
43:48I came as soon as I could.
43:51Oh, what is it?
43:53If you've found anything out, then for God's sake, please, don't...
43:57Oh!
43:59Stop him!
44:00More are they callets and what's all this about?
44:06Or perhaps I should ask you that question.
44:09Mais certainement, my dear Chief Inspector.
44:13I think that this charade has gone on quite long enough.
44:18Has it not?
44:22Gentlemen, may I present to you the missing merchant banker, Matthew Davenheim.
44:30Damn you.
44:31You Belgian.
44:32Take another step.
44:35Damn you.
44:36You Belgian.
44:37Take another step.
44:38Take another step.
44:40From the start, I was intrigued by Monsieur Davenheim buying of the priceless jewelry for his wife.
44:55For years, you see, he had been embezzling vast sums of money from his own bank, draining it to death, as we have seen, and converting the spoils into the gems which he stores in the safe.
45:16So he'd always planned to have scarlet with them, right from the very start.
45:21Having first very cleverly prearranged with his hated arch rival in the city, Monsieur Gerald Lowen, to be at his house on that day.
45:31So that he would become the chief suspect in this unfortunate affair.
45:36So Davenheim had already forced his own safe open before he left the house that day, using the good Monsieur Tchaikovsky as his accomplice.
45:46Cunningly, he uses the cannon fire in the music to mask any sound that would have allotted his wife.
46:02Having made it look as if the safe has been broken into, he steals his own money and jewels.
46:07Because he believes he has found for himself, until all has blown over, the most perfect place to hide.
46:17In prison.
46:18You see, during the winter, when he was supposedly in Johannesburg, Monsieur Davenheim was in fact creating the character of Billy Kellett, spending the three months in jail.
46:28After three months, he returns to the racetrack to steal the wallet, knowing he will be caught and put once again behind bars.
46:37And no one will suspect a thing.
46:40Of course, he always meant for you to find in his pocket the ring.
46:43So he could use it to further incriminate Monsieur Gerald Loewen.
46:50And the contents of the bathroom cabinet?
46:53A razor blade, Sistings.
46:54When resuming his identity, Monsieur Davenheim was forced to wear the false beard.
47:01To share the same bedchamber as his wife would certainly lead to detection.
47:06In fact, he was still shaving from time to time, in order to become Billy Kellett again.
47:13Billy Kellett again?
47:14Billy Kellett again?
47:15Billy Kellett again?
47:16Billy Kellett again?
47:31Just so no one can say I'm not a man to honour my work.
47:36Billy Kellett again?
47:39Ah, my poor chap, huh?
47:42He's like robbing a baby.
47:44Robbing a baby?
47:47But it is more remuneration for the seven days in first confinement to my own home.
47:54Having to listen to the non-stop demented squawks and the screechings.
47:59But Madame and Monsieur, I want you to observe something very closely.
48:06Mom!
48:14Mom!
48:19Hi-ho!
48:22Mom!
48:29Hi there.
48:30Oh, well, at least it was worth a try.