Read all about
the pajama su1c1de.
Here you are, governor.
Thank you, sir. Thank you.
Read all about it,
another pajama su1c1de.
Here you are, governor.
Paper? Read all about
the pajama su1c1de.
Ah!
But dash it all, Susan.
Its as crime,
su1c1de is a crime.
Where are the police?
Where is Sherlock Holmes?
That's what I've been thinking,
Robert.
Where is Sherlock Holmes?
Its a beauty.
Don't let him get away.
Blast.
I've lost him.
I'm sorry you lost him,
old man.
What are you doing,
old fellow?
Just changing my fly.
Don't be mendacious, Watson.
Who? Me mendacious?
Yes, when a man slips away four
times in an hour to change his fly
and still has the same fly
on his hook
I call that being mendacious.
Perhaps it is, as a matter
of fact I felt a bit faint.
- A touch of the sun.
- A touch of humbug.
- Humbug?
- Yes, your hat's on backwards.
Oh, is it?
Ah, just as I thought,
you've been reading about those
filthy pajama murders again,
and you gave me your
solemn word of honor.
- Did you, did you say murders?
- I did.
Suicides invariably leave
notes behind them.
Not one of these men
left so much as a word.
After all a fellow hasn't got
time to dash off a note
before throwing himself
in front of a bus.
But these people didn't
throw themselves under busses.
Each and every one of them
went quietly to bed
behind locked doors.
And each and every one of them
rose up suddenly in the night
and k*lled himself.
- I never thought of that.
- Obviously.
Neither did Scotland Yard.
You know, Watson,
there's something
uncanny about it.
Something monstrous
and horrible,
something that drives these poor
fellows to their so-called su1c1de,
and when you drive a man
to su1c1de that's m*rder.
I'd say haven't we better
get back to London at once
with all this m*rder afoot?
I'm sorry, Watson,
the pleasures of the chase
are no longer for me.
I'm through with crime
now and forever.
You...you don't mean that.
Yes, unfortunately.
But why?
Watson, I have a confession
to make to you.
I'm no longer equal to it.
Lately, I've been subject to
the most alarming dizzy spells.
Not a swimming sensation,
difficulty maintaining your
balance when you stand upright?
Precisely, and you know
what that leads to.
- Cerebral hemorrhages
if you don't look out.
- Exactly.
That means get back to London
as quick as we can.
I'll take you to see Armitage.
Not until we've had our fun,
old boy.
If this is to be our last
holiday together
I'd like to get my fill of it.
Oh, sorry, old fellow. I'm
afraid I upset you with that
beastly newspaper.
Oh, think nothing of it.
At least you know now
why I left London
in amidst the most
shocking crime wave since
Jack the Ripper.
Watson!
Holmes!
Would you like a paper, sir?
Read all about it.
The name of
Ronald Boyce Carter must be
added to the list of suicides
that have shocked London
in recent months.
It is indeed regrettable
that Mr. Sherlock Holmes--
Bah!
You know Susan, that fellow
Holmes had no business
dying just now.
It's an outrage,
a dashed outrage.
I hear they're going to send all
his things to the British Museum.
Things,
what do you mean things?
You mean his old books
and discarded whiskers?
No, Robert. What would the British
Museum do with his whiskers?
It's his scrapbooks
they're going to exhibit
and all his records.
The strange death of
ex-President Murillo.
The Giant Rat of Sumatra.
What a ghastly affair.
You know in some ways,
Mrs. Hudson,
those were the happiest days
of my life.
Now, now, Dr. Watson.
Don't get down in the dumps.
You're right, my dear,
you're right.
Sentiment. Pure sentiment
Silly of me, I know.
Oh, dear.
That must be the van
from the museum
and his things aren't
even half packed.
You go down, my dear, and
hold them off for minutes.
And then they can come up
and take it all away.
But I don't want them
to take it all away.
It's like tearing a
piece out of my heart.
Oh, there, there, my dear.
I know, I know.
What's she sniffling about?
Oh, you know how
woman are, huh.
No control.
I didn't expect to
see you here, Lestrade.
British Museum, you know,
had to have protection.
They rang up Scotland Yard.
- I just happened to be there.
- Hmm?
All right, well I didn't want
every Tom, d*ck and Harry
handling his things.
No, no, of course not,
of course not.
- Ratty old chair, ain't it?
- Repulsive.
Well, sir, there's nothing
ratty about it.
Perhaps you're right, doctor.
Many a times I seen him
sprawled out in it.
Ah, ah, ah.
Oh.
Funny duck he was.
I was saying to my old woman
only this morning
if it hadn't been for him
I'd still be a sergeant.
Pity you didn't mention it
when he was alive.
Perhaps we understood each other
better than you think, doctor.
All these old pipes.
What'd you let him fall in
that blasted river?
Why didn't you jump in after
him, you big blunderhead?
Blunderhead! That's very
offensive, Lestrade.
Me jump in?
I wasn't there.
When I got there,
he wasn't there. He had gone.
He'd gone.
Oh, sorry, doctor.
Take no notice, I'm...
That's all right, Lestrade.
- Lestrade.
- What.
Would you like to have
one of his pipes?
I wouldn't mind.
Well, help yourself.
Thank you, doctor.
It's the one I want.
Its the one I remember best.
I'll be stepping downstairs
to the vans for a bit, doctor.
Take your time with
the packing, doctor,
there's no hurry, you know. The
British Museum will still be there.
What's the row about?
A registered package
for Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
- Oh, he'll sign for it.
- Thank you, sir.
Here you are. Bring it here.
Mind signing here, sir?
Pencils these days, not worth
the paper they write on.
That's right.
- You got a Kn*fe?
- No, I ain't.
Well, wait a minute.
All right.
Cool dummy.
So this is where he hung out.
These were his rooms.
Not much of a room
if you ask me.
Well, who's asking you?
Here, that's mine.
I've lost things
like that before.
Oh, well, I suppose it
suited him, all right.
All right, all right,
all right.
He was no great shakes
as a tick from what I heard.
Just one of them
easy chair Johnnies.
What sat on his tail and let
everybody else do the dirty work.
That'll be enough.
But newspapers can be bought,
can't they now?
You insect.
You dare to imply--
All right, all right,
all right, governor.
Keep your shirt on.
I got a right to my opinion
and it's my opinion
that Mr. Sherlock Holmes
was nothing more
but an old herring gut.
You...you say that again.
An herring gut,
and old herring gut.
Up to get you, worm.
We'll see whose a herring gut.
It's all right, Watson.
I take it back.
Call off your dogs.
Holmes!
Holmes.
It's all right, old boy.
Don't look like that.
Get a hold of yourself.
Here, have a drink.
My word, you made a
shambles of this room.
How could you play
such a trick on me?
You brought it on yourself,
old man.
Throwing open my records
to the public,
tipping off every criminal
in the country.
The shear addleheadedness,
you've surpassed yourself.
Don't you realize the dynamite
that's in those records?
I had to stop you.
Even if I had to come back
from the dead to do it.
I'll never forgive you
for this, Holmes,
not until my dying day.
It was a filthy trick, I grant you,
but I had to see you.
No one every looks twice
at a postman, you know.
If the books are ready,
doctor--
You can put them under lock and
key at The Yard, Inspector.
What? I'm seeing things.
How are you, Lestrade?
Well, strike me up a gum tree.
Just when we thought we had you
nicely dead and buried.
What a sell.
My return from the dead was
absolutely necessary, Inspector?
Necessary,
me Aunt Dinahs bustle.
You'd give yourself a treat
acting about all over the place.
What's the game anyway?
Very briefly this.
It's obvious that the
so-called pajama suicides
are really murders,
brilliantly conceived
and ex*cuted.
They're very near to being
perfect crimes.
Where's my calabash?
Oh well, never mind.
Indubitably these murders are the
work of a well-organized g*ng
and directing them is one of
the most fiendishly clever
minds in all Europe today.
- Any notion who?
- I suspect a woman.
Do you have tobacco
around this place, Watson?
Yes, I've packed it.
A woman? You amaze me, Holmes.
Why a woman?
Because the method,
whatever it is,
is peculiarly subtle and cruel.
Feline, not canine.
Poppy-cock.
Canine, feline, quinine,
when a bloke does himself in
that's su1c1de.
Unless the bloke is
driven to su1c1de
and then that case it's m*rder.
Driven, that sounds like
a woman doesn't it?
Definitely, a female Moriarity.
Clever, ruthless,
and above all cautious.
Therefore my first step was to
give her enough rope
by passing out of the picture.
I see.
- When the cat is away,
mice begin to play.
- Precisely.
Posh, you and your theories.
Anyone would think you had
eyes in the back of your head.
You can keep the pipe,
Lestrade.
Sorry, old man.
I gave it to him.
Very right and proper, Watson.
Thank you, Mr. Holmes.
Now, what features have these
pajama suicides in common?
Poor fellows just die
in the middle of the night.
- Nobody near them.
- Behind locked doors.
And they're all well-to-do
more or less.
Right, and each and every
one of them it seems
was fond of the pleasures
of the gaming table.
Keep that in mind,
it's highly significant.
It gives us our
one and only lead.
Lead to what?
My dear Lestrade,
if we are to set a trap
for this femme fatale
I see no reason why we
shouldn't bait it with the kind
of food she likes?
- Got a pencil, Watson?
- No, I gave it back to
the postman.
Here, take this one. Don't
break the point this time.
Now, write what I dictate,
and you Lestrade,
I trust you'd see that it gets
into the newspapers.
Murders.
- Ready, Watson?
- Go ahead.
The distinguished native
officer, Rajni Singh,
Colonel of the maharajah
of Lumpur's own lancers,
has just arrived in London.
Rajni Singh,
I never heard of the gent.
He was just born, Watson.
Oh, I see.
- Huh?
- Carry on, old boy.
In spite of his well-known devotion
to the goddess of chance...
"In spite of his well-known
devotion to the goddess of chance,
Rajni Singh insists that
his visit to our shores
in solely in the hope that British
surgeons may restore his left arm
Sounds rather a nice
person to know, doesn't he?
Exciting.
I have to get a new line
of small talk.
What do they do in India,
Norman?
- Oh, ride elephants.
- Oh, how cumbersome.
You must see that he gets a
card to the urban casino.
Number ,
black, even, pass.
Make your bets,
ladies and gentlemen,
make your bets.
Make your bets,
ladies and gentlemen.
S'il vous plaît.
May I?
By all means, madam.
You changed my luck
I hope.
Make your bets,
ladies and gentlemen,
make your bets.
Number ,
red, odd, miss.
How ghastly.
The fortune of w*r, madam.
So sorry
I didn't bring you luck.
But you have brought me the
charm of your presence, madam.
Excuse me.
Make your bets,
ladies and gentlemen,
make your bets.
- Blank check please.
- Name please?
Rajni Singh.
One hundred pounds.
Excuse me.
How's your luck, my sweet?
I think it will cut up
rather large.
Make your bets,
ladies and gentlemen.
Oh Norman, you have this
gentleman's place.
So sorry.
Thank you.
- Sixteen.
- Oh, not sixteen again.
- You play?
- Nineteen.
I feel lucky.
I almost wish that you--
Would play .
Wish me luck.
It's kind of you to be
concerned for a stranger.
But no one from your country
is like a stranger to me.
Make your bets.
You see, my father was Captain
Spedding of the Bangle Lancers.
I was born at Sri Lanka.
In the Casmia.
It is there the most beautiful
women in the world are born.
That's all now, no more.
Number ,
red, even, miss.
If only I'd let you alone.
It is fate, madam.
One cannot fight it.
- If you wish to take
my place, sir.
- Thank you.
Goodnight, madam,
and good-bye.
Make your bets,
ladies and gentlemen,
make your bets.
Don't.
Oh, you mustn't.
A struggle would be
unseemly, madam.
Another time.
If you'll excuse me.
No, please.
Things will look very different
in the morning, I assure you.
- That is easy to say.
- Oh, but I know.
I've been in the same
situation myself.
You?
Sometime ago
I lost all my money.
Nasty jolt, isn't it?
The money, madam,
it is nothing.
But honor, that is everything.
Honor?
'Tis not easy to confess.
I am as you may not know
a soldier of some distinction.
Could you believe that
just now I drew a check.
It is worthless.
Oh, I'm so sorry.
Haven't you any funds at all?
Nothing,
not even enough to
pay my bill at the hotel.
No friends?
Not here in London.
Well, haven't you anything you
can raise money on, jewels or--
You think of native princes,
madam.
Such is not my good fortune.
- Perhaps an insurance policy.
- No, nothing,
only a little
five thousand pounds.
I cannot borrow on it. It has
not been long enough in force.
Nonsense, it's perfectly simple
if you know the right people.
I can send you to someone
if you wish?
Is it possible?
Of course you have to
pay interest,
a mere five percent.
All you do is make your policy
over to the man who
accommodates you.
Make him your beneficiary.
- In the event of my death?
-Yes,
but you're not going to die,
are you?
It would impertinent, madam,
to take my life
out of your hands.
How strange that a man's life
should lie in such little hand.
So soft.
I may come tomorrow and see you
to thank you, madam. Please.
Your flowers are lovely,
Rajni Singh.
So fragrant.
It is your room
that is fragrant, madam,
with memories
of my native land.
It is all so real,
so nostalgic.
Mother India.
Mother of mysteries.
- May I--
- By all means.
They're just some photographs
my uncle picked up years ago.
I have them out to keep
my memories of India fresh.
These mountain peaks,
I do not seem to place them.
They're Coracurons
in the northeast.
The pillars of Parvati,
the natives call them.
Oh yes,
I recognize them now.
This low, rambling structure,
what is it?
The shrine of the sacred cow.
Oh yes,
a place of holy meditation.
Do you take milk and sugar?
Neither, thank you.
Tea should be taken pure,
I think
so as not to disguise
its flavor.
I quite agree with you.
I do not like disguises.
Biscuit?
Ah, thank you. Thank you.
It's so tiresome
only to have one hand.
I'm so sorry.
I should have remembered.
It is not my poor hand
I wish you to remember madam,
it is I.
Oh, but I shall...always.
Ladies have been known
to forget, you know.
That is why
I have brought you this.
Oh, you shouldn't
Why not, the man
you sent me to
advanced me five hundred pounds
on my worthless policy
and all I could think of
was you. Please.
I really shouldn't,
but I must see it.
Oh, how simply breathtaking.
You like it?
Why I'm mad about it.
You must let me take it
back to the jeweler,
have it properly marked.
A.S. or just Andrea?
Just Andrea,
but do let me wipe it.
My finger marks are all over it.
No, no, no,
they are precious to me.
Your tea must be cold.
- Do let me--
- Thank you.
Oh,
how horrible of me.
'Tis nothing I assure you,
madam.
But your poor hand.
I shall never forgive myself.
It is I who am clumsy, madam.
Hello you nice people.
My half-brother Norman Locke.
Rajni Singh.
- I'm delighted.
- How do you do?
I'm so sorry, we have nothing
in the house for burns.
I so seldom get b*rned.
Please,
I shall go to the chemist.
au revoir, Madame,
'til we meet again.
Soon I hope.
Don't bother to see me out.
Thank you.
I say, I never burn anyone
unintentionally.
Neither do I.
I wanted to see him use
that left arm and he did.
He's no more a cr*pple
than you are.
He's onto us, Norman.
Does he know
that you're onto him?
He does if he's
the man I think he is.
Don't be cryptic, darling.
Look at that.
What of it?
It's Rajni Singh.
Now look at this.
It can't be Sherlock Holmes.
He's dead.
Is he, Norman?
I doubt it.
But if you were to
say to me tomorrow
Sherlock Holmes is dead...
Here we are.
All right and tight.
Nothing can get through there.
I don't understand.
If you want to keep them out how
do you expect them to get in?
My dear Lestrade,
my purpose is fairly simple.
I merely wish to duplicate
the conditions
under which the so-called
pajama murders occurred.
Locked doors sealed windows,
and no opening through which
any human agency
could possibly enter this room.
I don't dole with that.
Where there's a m*rder
there's got to be a m*rder*r.
- That's the way I look at it.
- Precisely, but it's the
m*rder*r I'm after.
It's the means of m*rder.
The secret and terrible
machinery of these crimes.
Now you don't expect
anyone to pop out of that?
I expect nothing
and everything.
Keep your eye on that alley.
- I may be coming down
sudden-like see.
- Right.
Now, if you'll be so good
as to wait outside
I'll put Sherlock Holmes
to bed.
- I'd feel a lot easier
in the mind--
- Goodnight, Lestrade.
Just stay within call.
It happens awful quick
when it happens.
Goodnight.
Lestrade, quick.
- Mr. Holmes.
- It's all right, old boy,
here I am.
- That's just a mask
I had made.
- Oh.
There's your k*ller.
Quick, down the backstairs
to the alleyway.
Stop anyone that tries to
leave, and I'll cover the roof.
Stay where you are!
You winged him proper, Mr. Holmes.
He's dead as a doornail.
Not a mark of
identification on him.
Too bad,
I wish we had him alive.
What do you make of these?
Air holes, aye?
- Looks like he must
have carried--
- Something but what?
The instrument of death
was a spider.
There's no doubt about it,
Lestrade,
and the bite of the creature
drove these pajama suicides
to k*ll themselves.
How did he get into your room?
Through this ventilator.
Now don't tell me that,
and address in his pocket?
Hardly.
This screen was removed from
the mouth of the ventilator,
obviously to emit something
much larger than a spider.
We only know half of the
machinery of these crimes.
Out of the light.
Great Scott!
Little one, ain't it.
The footprint of a child.
Oh, paper, sir. Yes.
Read all about it
Sherlock Holmes,
he ain't dead, no not at all.
Dr. Watson would neither
confirm nor deny
the report that he had seen
his friend
since his startling
disappearance.
The good Doctor
maintains a profound silence.
Come in.
Good morning.
Good morning, sir.
Mr. Holmes, I presume?
Oh, no.
Dr. Livingston, is the name.
How are you, Mr. Stanley?
I am very happy to meet you,
Dr. Livingston.
My name is Adam Gilflower
from the Bureau of Entomology.
Oh, a bug hunter.
Let me take those.
Won't you sit down,
Mr. Gilphilly.
Gilflower is the name, sir.
Oh, Flower, yes, yes.
Goes with insects,
flora and fauna.
I see you don't like to face
the light, Mr. Philgilley.
My eyes give me
a great deal of trouble, sir.
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.
That's too bad, that's too bad.
They're useful things, eyes.
They rest the glasses.
I have an appointment with
Mr. Holmes.
Will he be here soon?
Will he? He certainly will,
Mr. Wallflower.
As a matter of fact,
he's here now.
You're sitting on him.
Oh, don't bother to get up.
You tell ducky-wucky all about it.
- I don't understand.
- Not half you don't
you old herring gut.
I beg your pardon?
Of all the transparent
old fakers I ever saw.
Gilflower, what a name to pick.
Gilflower, Bilflower,
Bull Frog,
Giggle Waggle,
Wiggle Waggle.
Why, you can do better than that.
A child can see through you.
Those dark glasses,
that preposterous wig,
come out from behind
those silly whiskers.
- I know you--
- Watson!
Holmes!
My dear fellow,
you've surpassed yourself.
I think you owe Mr. Gilflower
an apology.
The man's stark mad.
But not dangerous
I assure you.
My name is Holmes.
I know your time is precious
but my business is urgent.
Thank you for coming
so promptly.
I believe you know more about
spiders than any man in London.
Oh, I shouldn't say quite that,
Mr. Holmes.
Do you believe you could
identify this specimen
and tell me something of its
manners and its morals.
Hmm, this poor fellow
has been very roughly handled.
Have you a magnifying glass?
Yes, ah...Oh.
Here it is, Holmes.
I'm sorry.
Oh, come, come, old fellow.
Don't look so down
in the mouth.
The game is afoot
and I shall need you.
- Will you really, Holmes?
- Naturally.
Here you are, sir.
Hmm, extraordinary.
Mr. Holmes, where did you find
this creature?
You recognize it?
The deadliest insect
known to science.
It is the lycosa carnivora.
Habitat the upper regions
of the Obongo River.
Its bite is fatal?
Hideously.
Human beings are
its chosen prey
and its venom once injected
into the blood stream
causes such excruciating agony
that the victim is driven
to self-destruction.
Does the bite of this creature
leave any trace?
Only if you know
what to look for,
two small punctures hardly
visible to the naked eye.
And its venom disappears
in the bloodstream.
- Completely.
- Extraordinary thing
Tell me, sir, could one
get hold of a live specimen
of the lycosa carnivora
in London?
Oh, I doubt it.
Now hold on.
Ordway might help.
- Matthew Ordway, of Vernon Villa.
- Write it down, Watson.
Matthew Ordway, Vernon Villa,
New Road, Chipping Walton.
Mr. Ordway
is slightly eccentric
- but that shouldn't trouble you.
- Huh?
He has a remarkable collection
of spiders.
You might tell him
that I sent you.
Thank you, Mr. Gilflower.
That's very kind of
you and very helpful.
Oh, don't mention, sir.
I'm a law-abiding citizen always
willing to help in any hazard.
Good-day, Mr. Totson.
Totson, that's not very funny.
I think it's understandable,
Watson.
Now to work.
Where's my schedule?
Here it is.
Look up the trains to
Chipping Wharton, will you?
There's a good fellow.
A visit to Matthew Ordway
and his spiders is indicated.
If Ordway has disposed of
any lycosa carnivora in the
last few months
and he can tell us
who took them.
Found that train to
Chipping Wharton yet, Watson?
The wretched train start
and they go but
they never seem to arrive.
My case precisely.
I know the means of these
murders, I know the motive,
I know the woman who
directs the m*rder ring.
Then it is a woman?
A fiend, Watson.
She selects her victims
from those desperately
in need of money.
Persuades them to pawn
their insurance policies
with her various accomplices
and then kills them,
by means of lycosa carnivora.
Incredible.
No more incredible than nature
herself. Here, let me have that.
After all, nature provides
the means
our spider woman
merely uses it.
You amaze me, Holmes.
Hasn't she some difficulty in
realizing these policies later on?
Not she.
In due time,
two years under English law,
her victims' beneficiaries
come forward and cash in,
never the same man twice,
mind you.
Do you know that for a fact?
As well as I know my own name,
and yet I haven't one
shred of evidence
to connect this woman
with her crimes.
- You're in my light, old boy.
- Oh, sorry.
Here we are,
Chipping Walton.
Arrive--
Come in.
There's a lady outside
to see you, Mr. Holmes.
A Ms. Spedding.
Oh.
Ask her to come in.
All right, sir.
Mr. Holmes?
Oh yes, I recognize you
now from your picture in
the papers.
I was so relieved
to hear you were alive.
How very kind of you.
My name is Adrea Spedding.
- Won't you come in?
- Thank you.
My little nephew, Mr. Holmes.
How are you, my lad?
I'm playing nurse today.
I'm sure you'll give an
exceptional performance,
Ms. Spedding.
Poor child, he's a mute.
Vocal chords paralyzed
from birth.
Oh, how unfortunate.
Say, he's scratched his hand,
hasn't he?
Yes, he's always climbing
into the most unlikely places.
Run along, dear, and sit in
that chair. There's a good boy.
Right over there.
What are you doing, my boy?
That's me.
Sit down.
Oh, I beg your pardon.
My colleague, Dr. Watson.
Ms. Adrea Spedding.
How do you do?
It's a great pleasure.
Mr. Holmes, my business is
of utmost privacy.
I assure you, Dr. Watson,
is the very soul of discretion.
- Won't you sit down?
- Thank you.
And now, Ms. Spedding,
how can I be of service to you?
Well, I hardly know
where to begin.
Perhaps I'm unduly alarmed
but you see a friend of mine
has disappeared.
Indeed.
I've tried to get in touch with him
in his room but he's not there,
and he seems to have left
no word.
His name?
Rajni Singh.
He was from India.
Rajni Singh.
I seem to have heard of him.
Oh, Mr. Holmes,
I'm terrible afraid
I shall never see him again.
Oh, come now, Ms. Spedding.
I'm sure
you won't have to look far.
Look at all the
pretty butterflies.
Perhaps you're right.
Larry, stop that!
Oh, you naughty boy.
Put on your shoes and socks.
No, let him go barefoot.
Boys like to.
Didn't you, Watson?
Didn't I what?
Like to go barefoot?
Yes, I always ran through
the dewy grass in the
early mornings.
They used to call me
twinkle toes.
I'm sure you were a
beautiful baby, Watson.
Now, tell me, Ms. Spedding,
just why are you so concerned
about this Rajni Singh?
Well, you see, he pawned his
insurance policy to get a loan.
The minute I found
he was missing
I went to the loan shark
and redeemed the policy?
Why?
I didn't want to put
temptation in the way
of people who might
profit by his death.
How very thoughtful of you.
If you could find Rajni Singh,
you might return this policy to him
with the compliments of a friend.
Of course, you're going to
be paid for your trouble.
I have every confidence,
Ms. Spedding,
that you're not one
to leave a score unsettled.
Larry, let it go.
Come here.
He seems possessed
to catch flies.
Now, if you'll put on
your shoes and socks,
Auntie will give you
a nice sweet.
You have quite a way
with children.
Oh, I bribe him shamefully.
This will be third today,
would you believe it?
American candy,
hard to get.
There.
Now mind you
don't get your fingers sticky.
Cunning little beggar.
One could almost
tuck him into a suitcase.
- He must be a great
comfort to you.
- Oh, he is.
- Cigarette?
- Thank you.
Oh, what a lovely case.
Yes, isn't it?
I picked it up quite
by accident.
Wasn't a mark on it except
some negligible fingerprints
that the police
couldn't identify.
You may have it, Ms. Spedding.
Why give it to me?
Should we call it
a trophy of the chase?
Oh, I really shouldn't.
Breathtaking, isn't it?
I owe you a great deal
for this, Mr. Holmes.
Larry?
Don't drop the paper
on the floor, dear.
Put it in the fire.
There's a good boy.
Come along, dear,
we must be going now.
- Good-bye, Dr. Watson.
- Good-bye.
So please to have met you.
I do hope he hasn't been
a nuisance.
Not at all.
He's a dear little fellow.
Mr. Holmes, 'til we meet again.
Soon I hope.
- Good-bye.
- Good-bye.
Fine figure of a woman,
aye, Holmes?
- You think so?
- Yes.
She reminds me of a little
nurse I used to know in
Withmore Street.
Very attractive girl.
What would you say if I told
you she was the spider woman?
I wouldn't believe you.
If she was she'd have at least
eight legs, wouldn't she?
- Oh, a bit of a cough.
- Blasted impertinent.
- What, Holmes?
- Bringing that policy here.
Getting me in my own den.
Ah...
...about that train,
Watson?
I don't know.
Ah...the place we were going?
Going to see a man,
Ordway about something...
Breathe Watson,
breathe deeply.
What...what was it, Holmes?
Death, my dear fellow.
We've been entering
Ms. Adrea Spedding.
The most diabolically clever
way of administering a lethal
dose I've ever encountered.
I still don't understand.
Look here, Watson.
This little confection
has two wrappers.
The inner one made of wax paper,
the outer with silver paper.
It was between these two
wrappers, Ms. Spedding
concealed the powder
that nearly cost us our lives.
I can taste those beastly
fumes still.
What powder?
Redix pedis diabolus,
in other words, devil's foot,
a very rare vegetable poison
from Central Africa.
Devil...I remember that,
- The Cornish horror.
- That's right, Watson.
I feel like a cup of tea.
By Jove, we're lucky
we're still alive, aye.
For how long I wonder.
Here we are, Watson.
What do you mean
"Here we are Watson?"
Here we are where?
Miles away from anywhere.
Well, I fancy a
collector of spiders
might not be too welcome
in a crowded neighborhood.
I think you're right, Holmes.
Matthew Ordway
can identify the persons
to whom he sold these spiders.
Who's there?
What do you want?
You Matthew Ordway?
Never you mind who I am.
Who are you?
My name is Sherlock Holmes.
This is my friend, Dr. Watson.
How do you do, sir?
How do I know you're
what you say you are?
- Who sent you here?
- Adam Gilflower.
Why didn't you say so.
I'll be right down.
He seems a bit frightened,
Holmes.
Yes, I don't like the look
of it, Watson.
Come in, Mr. Holmes, you're right
in the line of fire, hurry.
Line of fire?
'Twas providence
sent you, Mr. Holmes.
They're after me.
Who are after you?
The men to whom he sold the
lycosa carnivora, of course.
- How do you know?
- Elementary, my dear sir.
Who else would thr*aten a man of
your proprietary and standing.
Mr. Holmes, I'll swear to you
when I first sold him
those spiders
I had no idea
the use they'd put them to.
- Then you read about
the pajama suicides?
- That's it.
And putting two and two together
refused to sell them any more.
That's right,
but only today they were here.
I was afraid for my life.
The truth now, Ordway,
did you or did you not
sell them any more
of these creatures?
I swear I didn't, Mr. Holmes.
I've got all that's left of
the shipment downstairs now.
I'll show them to you.
I hope you don't mind,
the heat I mean.
Have to keep it this way.
Tropical creatures, you know.
Must be kept comfortable.
Same temperature as
where they come from.
Humid, very humid.
Come along, gentlemen,
don't be afraid.
Everything is perfectly safe.
Now...
Here's where we keep the ly...
- The big fellows, you know.
- Quite so.
These glass cages
get all steamy.
There we are. Ugly looking
brutes, aren't they?
Positively obscene.
But they're poison is very
valuable to doctors and the like.
So I hear.
Now over here
we have some fine, healthy
specimens of the Black Widow.
- You've heard of them?
- Frequently.
Dapper little devils,
aren't they?
Female of the species, aye?
They eat their mates I'm told.
- What an unpleasant habit.
- Oh, yes.
Tell me Ordway,
have you any specimens of
a mendexsplagrante?
- Of what?
- The mendexsplegrante.
Oh, no, I'm sorry. I sold the
last one we had yesterday,
but I can get you one.
Wait a minute, Ordway.
I think I see one
on your shoulder.
Take it off!
- Take it off!
- Steady, man. Steady.
- Yes, a perfect specimen.
- What is this?
I'll tell you.
The mendexsplegrante
is let in for flagrant liar.
When you told me
you could get me one
I knew you for what you were,
a flagrant liar.
Here Watson,
take care of this.
You call these
glass cases cages.
Any scientist would
call them terrariums.
You said the poison
of the lycosa carnivora
was valuable to doctors.
Any scientist would say
the virus was valuable
to toxicologists.
You said you were told the
Black Widows eat their mates.
Any scientist would know it.
Obviously, you're not
Matthew Ordway.
- Who are you?
- Wouldn't you like to know?
Look out, Watson,
those insects are deadly.
Look out, Holmes!
He's gone.
- Blast his eyes.
- Come along.
Close the door,
will you, Watson.
Our job now is to find
the real Matthew Ordway,
if he's still alive.
It's Ordway beyond a doubt.
Poor chaps been dead
for some time.
Clever devils.
They knew he was the one link
between them and the spiders.
Now that link is broken.
What have you found, Holmes?
Some sort of record
Ordway kept.
Looks like a journal
of his travels,
dates, places,
all in Central Africa.
Look here.
"Obongo,
Lyco, Carniv...poison,
immune,
little, dogl,
faithful to."
"Obongo, Lyco, Ca, immune,
little dog, faithful."
Sounds like a crossword puzzle.
"Little, dog, faithful to."
- Whose little dog I wonder.
- The word isn't dog, Watson,
it's dog with an L after it.
Now what word begins with d-o-g
and has an L after it.
Dogle.
Oh, it has a g and an e.
No, dog-like,
that's it, dog-like.
Now what it is
that Ordway could have
had with him in the
jungles of Central Africa
immune to the virus
of the lycosa carnivora
that was both
dog-like and faithful?
Oh, why not a little dog?
No, no, no,
a dog wouldn't be immune.
Never mind,
we'll go into that later.
Ring up the local police.
Have them take charge here.
Right you are.
Don't see a phone anywhere.
Try that door.
No, no sign of one in there.
Looks as if old Ordway
must have gone in for
anatomy on the side.
That's curious.
His main interest was
invertebrates, not vertebrates.
And why chart the skeleton
of a child?
Because it isn't.
- What's that?
- It isn't a child.
Are you sure?
Look at all these teeth.
No, no, no the skull of a
normal child of this size,
five or six-years old,
would be much larger in proportion
to the circumference of the chest.
- Watson, I've got it.
- Got what?
That devil of a woman, bringing
that child to Baker Street
- to throw me off the track.
- What track.
She knew I had found
that tiny footprint.
- She wanted me to think it was
the footprint of a child.
- I don't follow you, Holmes.
Watson, I've been blind.
Mole an owl or bat.
Look here, "Obongo,
lycosa carnivora, poison,
immune, little, dog-like,
faithful to their masters."
What on earth are you
talking about?
Able to creep through
the smallest openings.
The perfect instrument
for the spider murders.
Watson, if you ever see
me getting too cock-sure again,
fancying myself more clever
than Adrea Spedding.
Just whisper one word to me.
- What word, Holmes?
- Pigmy.
No good, old man, it's like
looking for a pigmy in a haystack.
Patience, Watson.
Of all places in which we may
find a pigmy. A side show is
the most likely.
Hello, I've found it.
Found what?
That place is closed.
That's the most
significant thing about it.
In an arcade where
space is so valuable.
A booth like that
wouldn't remain
empty a single day
therefore, I'd say the place
has been closed
within the last hours,
and for good reason.
Our friends have got
the wind up.
They're trying to get away.
Or perhaps are gone already.
I don't think so.
Over here quick,
don't look back.
What's the matter, Holmes.
What's up?
Don't ask questions.
Go ring up Lestrade.
Tell him to come on the double
and wait for me here in front
of this sh**ting gallery.
- Where you going?
- I don't quite know.
Oh Watson, while you're waiting,
don't attract attention.
Try to be as inconspicuous
as possible.
- Right, Holmes.
- Hurry.
Hey sir, try your luck on
Mussolini, Hiro Hito, or h*tler
Hit'em where their hearts
ought to be
and listen to the hollow sound.
Thank you.
And now ladies and gentlemen,
step up here
and see the great Wanda,
the gypsy fortune teller.
She'll tell you but
half she won't.
I say governor, come on,
come on over, take a chance.
How about you lady?
Come on.
The pride of Bolivia.
The truth won't hurt you,
ya know.
Come on, see the great Wanda...
- One of those little dolls please.
- Yes, sir.
- They're cute, ain't they?
- Oh, very.
Thank you, sir.
Step up ladies and gentlemen,
and see Wanda,
the great gypsy fortune teller.
Come on, she won't
half tell you something.
Are you afraid? Come on...
Give me one of those dolls
please.
Yes, sir.
Just the thing to take home
to the kiddies, sir.
I'm sure it will be
appreciated.
Thank you.
Come on,
ladies and gentlemen, come on
and see the great Wanda,
the gypsy fortune teller.
Come on, she'll give you a look
into the future now, she will.
Come on, governor,
bring the missus. in.
Afraid of the truth?
That won't hurt you. Come on.
How about you lady, come on.
Come on.
Just think, it's a tenner.
A tenner for having
your fortune told.
Come on. She'll give you a
great look into the future...
Your future is in
your own hands, sir.
How fortunate.
This way, sir.
Down that passage
to the door at the far end.
Thank you.
He's on his way.
Come in, Mr. Holmes.
Don't stand in the
drafty corridor.
I should hate
to have you take cold
and die of natural causes.
That would defeat the
ends of injustice, wouldn't it?
You see,
we've been expecting you.
Obviously.
But what made you think
I'd come here alone?
You're somewhat over-developed
sense of drama, Mr. Holmes.
- Oh?
- Yes.
If we permitted you
to trail us here
there was always a chance
you might bring along
reinforcement.
So I took steps to make things
a little more...dramatic.
Melodramatic is the word.
The business with the doll.
This was a little overdone.
Yet it intrigued your interest
and brought you here alone.
You're an exceedingly
clever woman, Ms. Spedding.
Elementary, my dear Mr. Holmes.
On the other hand,
if I hadn't come here alone
I should never have got in
and you would have been
on your way.
A sensible idea
under any circumstances.
On the contrary.
It'd be such a bore
living the rest of my life
looking back over my shoulder.
So you decided to let me
catch up with you.
Precisely.
One of us had to be eliminated.
The choice was not
too difficult.
You know, Ms. Spedding,
I find it hard to believe
that anyone clever enough
to use the lycosa carnivora
and that creature in the suitcase
for the purpose of m*rder
should be reduced to anything
as conventional as a b*llet
even though the use of a back
room of a sh**ting gallery
shows a certain amount
of imagination.
Thank you.
However, it will be nothing
so trite I assure you.
The difficulty, of course,
was to liquidate you
without seeming to have
a hand in this business.
An interesting problem.
- You have, of course,
arrived at the solution.
- Naturally.
A positive inspiration,
Mr. Holmes.
We shall allow the British
public to be your executioner.
Ingenious, isn't it?
Ingenious but uninspired.
If you don't mind my saying so
it lacks the personal touch.
Taylor?
Him and his meet me here
and meet me there.
Where is he anyhow?
I'm blessed if I know.
He said wait here
by the sh**ting gallery
and look inconspicuous.
Inconspicuous?
Oh.
He said inconspicuous,
Lestrade, not half-witted.
Watch out there.
Dr. Watson and Lestrade
are out in front.
What luck.
The perfect irony.
The personal touch you said
the whole thing lacked.
Perhaps Dr. Watson
will be your executioner.
Turn it off Taylor.
Hit'em where their hearts
ought to be
and hear the hollow sound.
What do you say, Doctor,
just while we're waiting?
My dear fellow,
you're playing into the hands
of one of the best r*fle sh*ts
in England.
I say, the target stopped.
All right, grandpa,
keep your hat on.
Just a minute
mechanical problem.
My dear fellow, one can't sh**t
at a sitting bird.
- Can one?
- No, doctor.
Remove that gong.
You see, when this steel
plate is removed
there's nothing to prevent
the b*ll*ts from going
straight into your heart.
Do you mind, Mr. Holmes?
We'll stop up front long enough
to see the job is done.
Bradley,
don't forget the suitcases.
All right, Taylor,
start the machinery.
I say, I wonder where
Holmes is.
He's been a long time.
Well, if he said he'll be here
he'll be here.
There's no good
saying he won't.
Hmm.
I guess I'll get h*tler
the next time.
Not bad, Doctor, not bad.
I'm even better
with an elephant g*n.
Oh, he's gone again.
I'll get him this time.
Elementary,
my dear Ms. Spedding.
I replaced the gong.
Don't move anyone!
Your men here, Lestrade?
All right, lads.
Sergeant,
take care of that suitcase.
There's valuable evidence
inside it and it's alive.
I'll take care of it, sir.
Needn't put those things on,
Lestrade,
she'll go quietly.
Thank you, Mr. Holmes.
I say, Holmes,
where have you been
all this time?
I've been going
'round and 'round in a circle.
- Circle?
- Yes, but my heart
wasn't in it.
Remarkable woman.
Audacious and deadly as
one of her own spiders.
Audacious?
Stupid, I call it.
Fancy trying to commit a m*rder
in a place like this
- with all these people about.
- That's where you're wrong,
old boy.
In an isolated place
a cry for help or a single sh*t
might very well arouse the curiosity
of at least one casual witness.
But in an arcade like this
people are bent only
on pleasure
and will instinctively disregard
any deviation from the normal
that doesn't immediately
concern them.
Yes, Watson,
Ms. Spedding deserves credit
for picking the most
logical spot in the world
- to commit my m*rder.
- Oh, where is that?
In the middle of a crowd.
SH: Spider Woman, The (1944)
Moderator: Maskath3
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