 a fellow can snuff a life out if you would a candle. Not by the demonstration, okay? Plenty of heart is investigating the murder. Chief Inspector Taylor is in his office and he's discussing the situation with his assistant, Sergeant... Well, this blowgop was killed with a shovel for Lord Lebanon. His name was William Studd. He was returning from a fancy dress ball and was strangled on the way. Nobody hated him and there's no cues to who killed him. Fancy dress ball, eh? What was he wearing? Aha! He was dressed in Indian clothes, Tanner. And that's where my theory comes in. It was Dr. Amisham who found the chauffeur at two o'clock in the morning. Now what was Dr. Amisham doing at two in the morning in the priory field? Yes, your theory, Sergeant. Suppose you tell me. Well... Chief Constable Tanner, Lord Lebanon? Right. Lord Lebanon is outside. Go bring him in. I hope I'm not an awful nuisance. No, not at all, Lord Lebanon. I'm Chief Inspector Tanner. What can I do for you? Well, Inspector Tanner, the whole thing is very vulgar and when one's mother's involved... well, everything was all right while my father was alive, shocking him, really. Never left his room for 15 years. Your visit here concerns your father? Not exactly. I'm just starting at the beginning, you know. When father died, I should have come back from India. But then Amisham came out after me, wanted me to take my seat in the House of Lords. Silly. What? But you came back? Yes. To find my mother was expecting me to marry Isla Crane. It's...do you sit awkward? Awkward? She's terribly nice, but there's something odd about her. Odd? She's been frightened since that infernal murder. One idea, fellow, she walks in her sleep. You say she's frightened, Lord Lebanon? Of what? I shouldn't be surprised if it's that American footman my mother hired, a strapping big fellow. He lurks. He does what? Lurks. You know, you pop out of your room and there he is lurking in the hall. Oh, why don't you fire him? You're the master of the house. Oh, yes, I'm the master in a way. Still, it's rather difficult when a fellow has a mother, but I don't want any fuss. I'll probably marry Isla in spite of her walking in her sleep. What about this Dr. Amisham? Oh. Well, you might as well know Dr. Amisham is a man I dislike intensely. Is he a friend of your mother? I suppose so, in a way. But he doesn't like me. He doesn't like Isla. He doesn't like anybody. And I'll tell you something else about him. When he was in India, a woman was killed in his bungalow. Indian woman. Beautiful girl. Can you tell me any more about it? You strangled with some sort of scarf. Oh, there was a terrible row about it. But he got out of it. I see. Lord Lebanon, why exactly have you come to see me? Well, I'll be perfectly frank with you. I'm frightened. I don't want to make a scene, but at the same time, I... I don't want to die. Aren't you possibly exaggerating? I don't know whether I am or whether I'm not, but there's something going on. But I don't understand it. Honestly, I do wish you'd come down and look into it. All right, Lord Lebanon. We'll be down the first thing tomorrow morning. You're taking me with you to Mark's priory, tenor. As I always say, you can't go wrong when you've got the coolest head in the yard along with you. Here we are. Can you imagine a lightweight, brain-like Lord Lebanon having all this and 40,000 pounds a year? Now, if I had that money... She's very tall, undisciplined, aged women. We're going in now, Toddy. Mind your manners. Yes, sir. Chief Inspector Tenor and Sergeant Toddy of Scotland Yard. We're here to see Lady Lebanon in the household. Lady Lebanon's in the drawing room. I'll announce it. Wait a minute. You're not the butler. No, sir. Butler's busy just now. I'm the doorman. Butman, eh? Then you must be the American, Gilda. Yes, sir. How long have you been here, Gilda? Eight years. I believe you have an account at the London and Provincial Bank. Haven't you? Yes, Inspector. Very unusual, isn't it? For a footman to have an account in the London Bank? Some of us are very thrifty. Oh, I know this. You had rather a large balance. Three or four thousand pounds. I bought some good stocks now and then. What is your salary here? Pretty good one. A lady's ship is generous. Well, I'll want to talk to you later, Gilda. Sure. Any time. Now I'll announce it to our lady ship. Never mind. I'll announce myself. Come on, Toddy. That seems to be the drawing room ahead. Lady Lebanon? Yes. I am Chief Inspector Tanner Scotland Yard. This is Sergeant Toddy, who was down here two days ago. How do you do? This is Dr. Amisham, my physician. How do you do? How do you do, Inspector? Why are you here, Inspector? I must remind you, lady ship, that your son Chouffeur was murdered only a few days ago. It would be necessary for me to question all of you. Toddy, you take care of the servants. Right, sir. Lady Lebanon, I would like to see your son and his fiancée, as well as you, and the doctor. Very well. Dr. Amisham, will you step upstairs and ask Ila to come down? Glad to, if the Inspector won't read something criminal into my actions. You never know about these police. Oh, before you go, Doctor, I believe you spent some time in India. Oh, yes, yes. I'm practically a colonial. And I believe there was some incident of a naked girl being strangled in your bungalow. A very unfortunate incident, Inspector. I'm sure you must be interested in the police work on the case. For some time, perhaps, I'll tell you all about it. Now, if you'll pardon me, I'll see if I can find Miss Cray. Is there anything you wish to tell me, Lady Lebanon? I knew very little about the poor Chouffeur. The servants can probably tell you the things you have to know. I suppose you want to look over the castle. Yes, of course. Are you interested in Blaisnery, Inspector? The coat of arms you see in here represents an eternity. The Lebanon line stands unbroken for twelve hundred years. It would be a pity were it to die out. I'm sure it would. How long have you known Dr. Amisham, Lady Lebanon? Many years. Since before my husband died. I was aware of that. In fact, I noticed that your husband's death certificate was signed by Dr. Amisham. Yes, it was. I believe you said you wished to see my son, Inspector. I'll go and tell him. When you can serve your lady duties to be done, to be done, not police. I should say, that's all the jolly. I didn't know policemen could sing. Oh, good morning, Lord Lebanon. I see your mother found you. My mother, no. I haven't seen her. I suppose it's beastly of me, but I'm always rather glad when I don't see her. I say, I'm awfully glad you've come down. Have you met Amisham? I haven't met him. He's a nasty piece of work, isn't he? I love him. You know, it just occurred to me. This chauffeur chap of ours might have been strangled by a scarf, like that Indian gal I told you about. Wouldn't surprise me if you were right. You wouldn't? You know, Inspector, I've always thought I had a talent for that sort of thing. Snooping around for clues. You have? Yes, indeed. It would never do, though, I suppose. The trouble is I can't stand the sight of blood. That nerves me for days. Gastly, isn't it? Oh, I don't know. I imagine there are many people who can't stand the sight of blood. You think so? I say, you will look into this, Amisham, won't you? Things are pretty rum around here, and I'm sure that he's at the bottom of it. Really? What were you saying to the Inspector? Nothing, Mother. I'm just remarking that Dr. Amisham is a founder. Nonsense, Willie. I'll not have you talking that way about Dr. Amisham. Where were you? I was looking everywhere for you. You couldn't have looked very hard. I was in the den all morning. It seems to be taking Dr. Amisham quite a while to bring Miss Crane down, I wonder. He has been a little long, but I'm sure they'll be here any minute. If you ask me. What if I love? What can be the matter? Dashed odd girl. We'll see. Come on. I love. What's the meaning of this nonsense? The matter with you, all you do is fidget and look frightened. I don't know. I heard the police saying that Dr. Amisham and the chauffeur were both strangled with a scarf. They found red threads on their throats. What's frightening about that? Well, I opened the drawer of your desk this afternoon, and I found a red scarf there. My dear child, you're dreaming. Which drawer? This one. Gee, there's nothing there. You mustn't let these things get on your nerves the way you do. These things! Lay about it. I sent your mother her quarterly check last week and just had a letter from her this morning. She's so happy to be secure after all the hard time she's been through. Oh, no! I wouldn't be here if it weren't for her. She knew what I'm doing. She'd rather starve than have me go on. Don't be stupid. For heaven's sake, don't be hysterical. I can't stand hysterical women. They have unhealthy children, and you must have healthy children after you're married to Willie. Yes, Gilda? It's a gentleman from Scotland Yard. I've finished showing him over the house. I want to see you, Lady Lebanon. Have you been to the castle already, Inspector Tanner? Every room except one. The lumber room, my lady. On the first floor. One of the best positions in the house. That's a queer place for a lumber room. We call it the lumber room. It's really a place where I keep a few valuables. Your man has the key? No, I never open that room. Inspector Tanner, I'll tell you the truth. That is the room where my husband died. It hasn't been open since that day. But I'm sure I've seen it open, Lady Lebanon. You are quite mistaken, Isla. You must be overwrought. Go to your room. Yes, Lady Lebanon. I'm sorry, my lady. But I must insist on the room being open. But why, Inspector? Surely there's nothing there that would interest you. There might be. I'm looking for a collection of silk scarves. And I want to find them before somebody else gets strangled. Ridiculous. I don't think so. Incidentally, we discovered that a scar, perhaps the one used on Dr. Amidham, was burned this afternoon in a stove in the kitchen. Would you know anything about it? If anything has been burned, I haven't the least idea who burned it or what it was. I'm afraid I'm at fault, Inspector. I found some odd bits of silk on the carpet and burned them. Why, of course, Gilda. I was cutting out a doll's dress for the village bizarre. Doll dresses? Look, Chief, just give me a few minutes. Not now, Tuddy. Not now. Lady Lebanon, it strikes me that you're not very anxious to have the murder of your friend cleared up. Dr. Amidham was not a friend of mine. So the fact that he was murdered within a few yards of this room really doesn't matter. Aren't you being rather insolent, Inspector Tanner? I suppose I am. But your own attitude is rather peculiar. He wasn't a friend of yours, what was he doing here? He came to see me as a doctor. At your request? No, he just dropped in. So early in the morning, an hour after dropping in? I had a touching eritis in my arm. Oh, yes, neuritis. But you didn't send for him? No. He just guessed that you had neuritis and dropped in. Very convenient type of doctor to have. I'm not interested in your conclusions, Inspector Tanner. You will be in some of them. And Lady Lebanon, I intend to see that room, which you choose to call the lumber room. If not voluntarily, then with a court order. This is an outrage. No magistrate in this county would grant it. Then I'll go to the Home Secretary. You won't be able to reach him until tomorrow, Chief. So my home will belong to me until tomorrow, at least? Maybe. You don't seem to realize, or want to, that there's a murderer around. I know the identity of the murderer, Lady Lebanon, but I haven't got the proof. It may be in that room you refuse to open. Impossible. Not so impossible. Sergeant Totty and I are staying here this evening. I suggest that you reconsider and give us the key to the lumber room. It may save somebody's life. I'm glad the household's getting tucked into their beds. I could do with a bit of sleep myself. We've got to bed ourselves. Totty, as soon as we're sure that everything's quiet, we can step into the library for a last smoke while we're waiting. Look, Chief! They're on the floor. He's got another one. I see her. Miss Crane. Thank heavens he wasn't successful this time, Totty. She's still alive, although she'll have a sore throat for a while. Here's that scarf he did it with, too. I think she's coming around. Hello? I say, what's wrong? What's wrong? Our murderer tried to get Miss Crane. Oh, I say, poor girl. Is she done for? You know, she'll be all right in a moment. Okay, this is Inspector Tanner. You've had a nasty shock, but you're not hurt. Then suddenly, then... It's all right. Tell us the rest tomorrow. Now it's upstairs to bed for you. Best take a sedative. Totty, you help Miss Crane up to her room and get her made for her. Right, sir. Here, just lean on me, ma'am. Thank you, Inspector. Poor girl. Of course, she is a bit odd, but she doesn't deserve to die that way. No, thank heavens, she didn't die. I'm glad. Don't you think it's about time my line was wiped out, Inspector? Your line? I'm afraid I don't understand you. This sort of thing's been going on for years. Ask my mother. She's got all their dates, all their pedigrees. The leavenance has always been somewhat off. My father was more than somewhat... He spent 15 years in the Old Lord's room as mad as a hatter. I guess that. But... he never strangles anybody. The first time I saw it down was in Pooner. A little fellow slipped up behind a big hoaking man and found a girl, an Indian girl. She went out like that. I suppose one uses a scar like this one. You do understand. I brought back dozens of these cars from India. I'm not a big fellow, but I am awfully strong. Feel my arm. It's rather a laugh. People never think I have this strength. Even Gilda doesn't guess. Gilda? She's not really a footman, you know. He sort of... Well, he looks after me. You understand? Yes. That's what I thought. And that room my mother wouldn't show you. Well, it's all padded, you know. Rubber cushions all around the wall. Go there when I... when I realize things you mean. When you imagine things. When I realize things, I know what I'm saying. When I'm quite well, I don't realize things. It's only when I get excited that my brain becomes clear. Don't touch me. I just wanted a light for my cigarette. Oh, I'm awfully sorry. Here, are you friend or foe? You're friend, of course. Now, why did you... why were you so unkind to the chauffeur? Stud? Oh, I'm awfully sorry about that. He was such a good fellow. But I'm afraid of Indians. One of them tried to kill me. They were very angry about that girl. I didn't know about this beastly masquerade ball in the village. I thought the chauffeur was an Indian. And Dr. Amishon? I didn't like him. He had my mother under his thumb. She knew about my realizing things. You see, and he blackmailed her. I'll show you something. Swear you won't tell anybody. I swear. Here. It's a gun loaded. I took it from Gilda's room this evening. It's the first one I've been able to get a hold of since I came back from India. Very nice. Would you mind not pointing it at me? It might go off. So it might. Sometimes I think I should turn it on myself. Wipe out the whole silly line. I wonder where Gilda put her. Put who? Isla. She was looking awfully like that Indian girl this afternoon. I went behind her for my arms around her. Did you hear her run down the stairs? She knows. That's why she's frightened of me. She came downstairs the night I smashed up this place. I don't remember doing it. But I suppose I must have. That was the night I nearly got Amishon. And last night when I did get him, she saw me coming back into the house. I'm terribly strong. You wouldn't think so, would you? You know, when you were at my office in Scotland Yard, I said to myself, this fellow is very strong. Did you really? You are smart, aren't you? I said I worried them tonight. I didn't drink my bro mine. There are lots of ways of getting out of that room of mine. I don't know it, but I do. I fool them lots of times. Yes, I expect you to fool them pretty often. Well, I'm going to bed. Oh no, you're not going to bed. You're pretending that you're not scared. But you are. You see, I frighten people. I must frighten them. No. I'll be sensible and give me that. No, no, no. You want to fool around with a thing like that. There are lots of things I could do with this. I could end the line with this. Here comes my mother. We'll ask her. Give me that gun. No, no, I've always wanted a pistol. I've asked you for one dozen of times. You're going to give me that gun, old fellow? No, no, don't touch me. Don't touch me. This is 11,000 years of greatness like a candle in the wind. Tully. Yes, sir. Get Scotland Yard. All those other people. He had to go and spoil a perfect record by shooting. Don't go, please. Don't go. They're rehearsing our next performance in a green room. Like that record you just played? Oh, it's terrible. Corny. It's so commercial. Are those the records you want to hear? Yeah, what's the matter with them? Oh, long hairs. Why don't you get out of your long underwear? So long. Was that an insult? No, dear, no. Just a jive talk. Play one of our records. Okay, darling. Hey, Nora, what's got bucket? Oh, I don't know, darling, but it sounds to me like some new kind of girdle. Sit down, dear. What kind of stuff is that? Beethoven's Romance Beer. It's about time you developed a taste for good music. What's the matter with my taste? I like to see everything dinosaur sing. I learned to appreciate the higher form of beer. Oh, Mr. Bailey. Nikki, I want you to meet Mr. Benjamin Bailey, the proprietor of the Cadenza Record Shop. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Charles. Oh, you do. Just call me Beethoven Bunny like everybody else does. Well, Mr. Charles, shall I start lecturing at him? Oh, please, Benny. You know, is this some kind of a plot? Uh-huh. Mr. Charles, now you're just listening to a hunk of music called Romance. It's a big one, Beethoven, which is written in Andante, which means not too fast, but don't fall asleep. You get it? Hey, Benny, where'd you learn about music? Oh, in my youth, I was the first piccolo player in the Sing Sing Philharmonic Orchestra. Now you take that album there. Chastikovic's sixth symphony. Chastikovic was influenced by Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Rachmaninov, Brimsky-Korsakov, Glasnov-Masikovsky, and Tchaikovsky. So what happens? So Chastikovic makes wooden notes, and if you spend an ear, it sounds a little like Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Rachmaninov, Brimsky-Korsakov, and Tchaikovsky. Now they're not to be confused with Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Mozart, and Papa Haydn, or if the German school, as against the Russian school, two nations which are at war today, which is something to think about, ain't that, Mrs. Charles? Oh, oh, yes. Yes, it certainly bears thinking about it. So to get along with my suppression, Beethoven was carrying the torch for a hot little tomato called Countess Guiciotti. Now Hockey had a great bile in his bloody Fadkin place. This passage. It's sheer perspiration. Oh. Well, what's the matter with Freddie? Did he run out of perspiration? No, the record stopped. Something messed up his phonograph. Oh, won't it go? No, it's dead. Well, how do we push it away from the wall, Benny? Well, what killed it, Nikki, Fadkin's plane? Oh, baby, it was murdered. Oh, phonographs don't get murdered. They die natural dead. Well, here's the bullet, Nora. That's where's the motor. Well, now, who'd want to murder a phonograph? Must be some parpeito who hates music. The bullet came through that wall. There's the hole. What's on the other side of this wall, Benny? Another boat like this. There's just a ten-partition of the expensive soundproof junk between the boats. Someone in that other booth found that bullet. Come on. I bet it's one of my competitors trying to ruin my business. Well, there's the door to the other booth. Oh! Steady, baby. Oh, look, Nikki, you love that woman. Benny, turn off that record. All right. Is she dead? Three bullet wounds in the head. Benny, you'd better call the police. Yeah, I'll phone right now. Nikki, do you think the killer's still around? No, darling. If he was smart enough to turn on that record to cover the noise of the shots, he's smart enough to turn on that record. He must be a very queer killer, dear. He left his lipstick behind. What do you mean? This lipstick I just found. It's called Passion Smear. Oh, but that probably belongs to the corps. Uh-uh, it's a different shade. You see? They don't match her lip. Yeah. Hey, listen, oh, you wait here. Where are you going? I want to speak to headquarters. This looks like a case for an inspected gallery. I'll be back in a minute. Hmm. I don't know. Hmm. I wonder if... Oh, I didn't notice that before. This is interesting. Nikki, did you...? Oh, who turned off the lights? Oh, there's been two of me! Let's... We present Nick and Nora Charles in the Adventures of the Thin Man. This is Peter Lawry closing the doors. Good night. Good night.