02x25 - I k*lled the Count: Part 1

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Good evening,
ladies and gentlemen.

This is Alfred Hitchcock.

Tonight's play takes place
in merry old England,

and is called,
"I k*lled the Count."

When they asked me
to wear this, I demurred.

I didn't realize
it would be an invitation
for automation to take over.

Empty. Now what does
that imply?

Oh well! Let the play begin.

Count Mattoni, your tea.

Oh, there you are!

Too drunk to make it to bed
this time.

Well, I hope you slept it off.

Count Mattoni,
wake up, sir.

It's : ...

It's awful!
Simply awful, Inspector!

Having a tenant
sh**t himself in Oxley Court.

All the publicity.
The notoriety.

I'm afraid
Count Mattoni didn't sh**t
himself, Mr. Martin.

Someone did that
for him.

What?

You mean that
he was m*rder*d?

In Oxley Court?
How dreadful.

Mr. Martin,
will you tell us a little
about your late tenant?

His previous address,
references, business habits,
friends, that sort of thing?

Yes, I'll get his address
from the records, of course,

but I'm afraid there's
not very much else that
I know about the Count.

He's only been here
about three months.

So far as I know,
he had no business.

The maid's here, sir.
Do you want to see her now?

Yes, show her in.
Yes, sir.

And you'll get us
whatever else you can
from your records, will you?

Yes. Immediately.

This is Polly Stevens,
Inspector.

The maid on this floor,
she's the one who
discovered the body.

Ah, yes. Thank you.
Yes.

Won't you sit down?

All right.

We know you've had rather
a shock, Polly, and talking
about it may be disturbing,

but I'm afraid we must
ask you a few questions,

so I'll be as quick as I can,
and you just try not to let it
upset you. Hmm?

Oh, it don't.

Good.

Why not?

Oh, I've been mixed up in
so many murders and robberies

and whatnot,
it's an old story to me.

I'm always losing me job
because me employer got
arrested or shot or something.

That's how I lost
me last one.

I see. Then you probably know
the kind of question
I want to ask you.

Now, then...

When did I last see
the deceased alive?

Did I notice anything unusual?
Who were his friends?

Did I ever
hear him quarreling?

Yes, well. Suppose we
just run through that batch
for a starter.

Well, I last seen him
last night when I came in
to turn the bed down.

About : , as usual.

He came in as I was leaving,
drunk, as usual.

Am I going too fast
for you?

No, no, no. Go on.

As for friends,
I never saw him
with anybody else.

No wonder,
if you ask me.

Oh. You didn't care
for him, then?

He wasn't no gent.
I'll say that much.

I see.

Tell me.
Have you ever seen
this before, Polly?

Yes. It's his.

He keeps it in
that drawer there.

Now, when you came in
this morning,

did you notice
a cartridge case,
by any chance?

On the floor or anywhere?

No. I didn't.

Can I get on with me beds now?
I'm getting terribly behind.

Oh, yes. Of course, yes.
And thank you for being
so helpful, Polly.

Do you want to talk to some of
the other tenants now, sir?

No, I think we'll finish
with our landlord first.

Oh, yes, sir.

Oh, thank you.

Yes, this is your first m*rder
since they passed you out of
Hendon, isn't it, Raines?

Yes, sir.
Yes, well, it should be
a good experience.

Of course, I'm afraid
you'll find that some of
that beautiful theory

they taught you
at Hendon won't stand up
in actual practice.

But, don't let that
worry you.
No, sir, I shan't.

Just remember to be
thorough and persevere,
and you'll be all right.

You can take my word for that.
I have rather a good record
myself, as it happens.

Twelve murders so far
and convictions.

Oh, that's very good, sir,
isn't it?

What happened
to the other one, sir?

Well, let's run over
what we have, Raines.

Yes, sir.

The time of death,
according to Surgeon Dodds,

probably between
midnight and : a.m.

Cause of death,
g*nsh*t wound in temple
from close range.

Probably from g*n

found here,

which belonged
to the deceased,
a Count Victor Mattoni.

His wallet,

found here with two very good
fingerprints in blood on
one of the bank notes, sir.

Very obliging of him, I think.

Yes, sir. If they
belong to the m*rder*r.

Well, of course, Raines.

This tassel or whatever it is
looks like it might have been
torn off

a drapery or something.

But it doesn't seem to match
anything in here.

Well, let me see it.

And this turned over lamp,
and that's about all, sir.

Yes. But no cartridge case.
No, sir.

Strange room,
a fired p*stol, a b*llet
and no cartridge case.

Shall I send the p*stol
and the wallet down
to the Yard, sir?

Yes. Have the prints checked
against our records,

and as soon as the surgeon
has the b*llet, have it
checked against the g*n.

Yes, sir.

Listen to this, Raines.

"Lord Sorrington regrets that
he must ask Count Mattoni to
regard the dinner invitation

"provisionally extended
for Monday the th
as definitely cancelled."

Viscount Sorrington, eh?

So he knew the Count!

Doesn't sound
very happy about it,
does he?

Well, try and get him
on the telephone.

There's a number here,
Grosvenor something.

Yes, sir.

That's odd, sir.

Oh, what?

Well, this is dated
the first, sir.
That's days ago.

Well, this is only
postmarked yesterday.

Yes, it is.

I wonder what it's
been doing since...

Come in.

Grosvenor, , please.

Here is the Count's
previous address,
Inspector. In Rome.

Oh, thank you.

Is Lord Sorrington there,
please? Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Martin?

There don't seem to
be any references,
I'm sorry to say.

He always paid his rent
in advance, very promptly.

So we didn't ask
for a name.

Oh, by the way,
Mr. Martin,

is this flat occupied?
Just one moment please,
excuse me, sir,

I have his office
on the wire now.

Oh, good.

Hello?
Inspector Davidson
of Scotland Yard here.

I'd like to speak to
Lord Sorrington, please.

No, I'm sorry.
I'm afraid you'll
have to interrupt him.

Lord Sorrington?

This is Inspector Davidson
of Scotland Yard. I'm so sorry
to disturb you, sir, but

there's been an accident
to a friend of yours,
Count Victor Mattoni.

Who'd you say?

There must be some mistake,
Inspector. I've never heard
of the man.

I beg your pardon, sir.
Are you sure? Because...

Could you please come over
to the Count's flat, sir,
so we can talk about this?

Oxley Court, Baker Street.

That's quite impossible,
Inspector. I have an important
engagement in a few minutes.

Yeah.

Well if you insist, in...
In about an hour, then?

We'll try not to keep
you long, sir.

Thank you so much.
Goodbye.

Now, this next flat,

we noticed the doors
were unbolted on this side.

Is that usual?

Oh, no, sir. No.

Oh, dear, it's been
a great worry to me.

There was
a terrible scandal
here once when...

That was
before my time,
of course.

Yes, of course.
Is the flat occupied now?

Well, yes, in a way.

Well, what do you mean,
"In a way"?

A gentleman named Rupert...

Oh, dear, I'm afraid
he's rather mysterious, too.

He engaged the flat
two weeks ago,

by letter, enclosing
a week's rent.

Only a week?

Yes. Yes.
The furnished flats are
let by the week sometimes.

So I thought he would
just stay a week.

But on the following
Friday morning,

Polly found another week's
rent in an envelope
on the table.

What does he look like?

Nobody has seen him,
as far as I know.

Except Mullet.

The night liftman
on the first night.

Polly dusts the room
every day but

she says
it doesn't look
lived in at all.

Oh. Well, I shall like to
have a word with Mr. Rupert
if he's there.

I don't know.
We could see.

Good.

Now, Mr. Martin, what
other tenants are there
on this floor?

Well, in this wing,
only Mr. Rupert,
Inspector.

That flat is unoccupied.

Two ladies in
the other wing,
and one empty flat there.

They've all been told
not to leave until
you've seen them, sir.

One of them is
of the theater,
a dancer, sir.

A Miss La Lune.

Steady, Raines.

Open up.

Another week's rent.
So he was here last night.

Look here, sir.
The cartridge case!

So it is, and now
we're getting someplace.

What is it, Inspector?
What does it mean?

It means that you're not
likely to be seeing
your Mr. Rupert.

Not as a tenant,
at least.

Do you mean that
he shot the Count?

A tenant
shot a tenant?

Well, if he didn't,
he'll have some very difficult
questions to answer.

Yes. If he fired
from here,

the cartridge case
could've been
ejected there.

Look at this, sir.

What?

It's a letter to
a Bernard K. Froy.

"Dear Mr. Froy,

"I must repeat that
I have nothing whatever
to discuss with you.

"I do not wish to see you
either here at my flat or"...

My hat, sir! It stops.
There's a space,
and then it goes on,

"Froy has just come in room,
can see him in mirror.

"He has g*n, if anything
happens you will..."

And that's all, sir.
Now, let me see it.

Is that
the Bernard K. Froy?

The American fellow,
the racehorse owner

and polo player
and all that?

I doubt if there are
two Bernard K. Froys.

Get me
The Dorchester Hotel
right away, please.

I believe we can let you
return to your duties now,
Mr. Martin.

Would you be good enough
to ask Clifton to step in?

Yes, I'd be glad to.

Thank you.

Hello, Dorchester?

Is a Mr. Bernard K. Froy
staying with you?

He is.
No, I don't want to speak
to him at the moment.

Oh, is he?
Good bye, miss. Thank you.

He's there, all right.

But leaving this morning,
so he thinks.

Come in.

All right, Clifton,

off you go, take somebody
with you and get
right over to the Dorchester,

and bring back
a Mr. Bernard K. Froy
with you.

Bernard K. Froy, sir?

Tell him
it's nothing important

but be sure
and bring him,
understand?

Yes, sir.

Well that didn't
take long, did it?

Do you think that Rupert and
Bernard K. Froy are one and
the same and the m*rder*r?

Well it seems
rather inescapable,
don't you think?

Of course,
we may have to prove
Froy is Rupert.

So, let's get on with that.

Now, the night liftman,
Minnow...

Mullet, sir.

Whatever his name is,
we'll have him next.

Yes, sir. Right away.

Mullet isn't
here yet, sir.

We've sent for him, sir.
He only lives
just around the corner.

Good.

What we're looking for,
Johnson, is someone who knows
Mr. Rupert in the next flat.

Have you seen him?
Could you identify him?

Never set eyes on him
myself, sir.

But you were
on the lift last night.

Didn't you bring him up
or see him?

No, sir.

All right. Thank you.

Oh, you don't happen to know
Mr. Bernard K. Froy, do you?
An American.

Oh, yes, sir!
That's one I would know.

He was in to see
the Count, he was.

One afternoon,
maybe three weeks ago.

I remember because when
I told him the Count was out,
he gave me a funny look

and said, "He's in, all right,
he's just afraid to see me."

Then you'd know him,
you think,
if you saw him again?

Oh, yes, sir.

That's all. Thank you.

No, sir, I never saw
Mr. Rupert, night or morning.

Wouldn't know he was ever
in the place, if he hadn't
left the rent that time.

Do you go in to turn
the bed down at night
whether he's there or not?

Yes, sir.
About what time?

Oh, : ,
when I leave here.

Now, did you notice
when you went in last night
if the rent was on the table?

Yes, sir. I did notice.
And it wasn't.

Well, thank you,
Polly. I think
that's all for now.

Yes, sir.

Mullet's here, sir.

Mullet, eh?

That's right.

Odd.

What's so odd about it?

Oh, nothing. I...
I seem to know your
face from somewhere.

I don't know yours.

You're the night liftman
here, is that right?
That's right.

And you showed Mr. Rupert
up to the next-door flat
when he arrived?

Yes, sir.

Would you know him?
Could you positively identify
him if you saw him again?

Well, of course
I could.
Good.

Now, have you seen him
since that time...

Excuse me, sir.

Mr. Froy is here.

Oh, well, uh, Mullet,

would you wait
in the bedroom, please?

For the time being.

We'll call you
when we need you.

Very good, sir.

Just a minute, Raines.

All right, show him in.

Come in, please, Mr. Froy.

I'm Detective Raines, sir.
This is Inspector Davidson.

He'd like to ask you
a few questions.

How do you do?
I'd like to ask
a few myself.

To begin with,
what's this all about?

I'm leaving for the Continent
this afternoon and I haven't
time for games.

We seldom indulge in games
at Scotland Yard, Mr. Froy.

We wanted to ask you about
an acquaintance of yours.
Count Mattoni.

Count who?
A Count Victor Mattoni.

Sorry,
never heard of him.

Perhaps I should tell you
that Johnson, one of
the liftmen here,

says he can positively
identify you.

And that you called in
to see the Count
one afternoon.

And you said, when
told he wasn't in, that
he was afraid to see you.

Shall I send for Johnson?

Oh, never mind.

All right.
I knew him.

Didn't wanna be
connected with him,
that's all.

He's a pretty
unsavory character.

I stopped by once
to try to collect
a gambling debt.

But it didn't work.

And why did you come by
last night, Mr. Froy?

Last night?

But I didn't.
That once was
the only time.

And you don't happen to
have rented the next flat
under the name of Rupert?

Of course I didn't.
Why should I?

Would you be kind enough
to examine this?

Why didn't you tell me
you had this?

So you were here.

Seems rather obvious,
doesn't it?

Yes. I'm afraid it does,
Mr. Froy.

In fact, the whole thing
seems rather obvious.

Inescapable, I should say.

The Count was m*rder*d
last night.

Yeah, I know.

I k*lled him.

Well.

I k*lled him.

Would you care
to tell me about it?

However,
you're not compelled
to make a statement.

And I must warn you
that anything you do say
will be taken down in writing

and maybe used in evidence.

What difference
does it make?

I'm cooked anyhow,
with the letter and
everything else.

Yes, I'm afraid you are,
Mr. Froy. And besides
the letter,

there's your renting
of the next flat
under the name of Rupert.

The cartridge case
there...

Wait a minute,
what's this
Rupert business?

I don't know anything about
him or the flat next door
or anything else.

I think
you're rather confused,
Inspector.

Do you?

We might as well
settle this right now,
I suppose.

Come in, Mullet.

Now, will you take
a good look at
this gentleman, please?

Well?
Well, what?

Well, have you
seen him before?

No, not him.

Huh?

You mean...
You mean he's not Rupert?

Nah. Nothing like him.
Mr. Rupert looks like
a real gent, he does.

Yes, but...

Hello?

Oh, is he?

No, thank you.

Mr. Froy, I'm afraid I must
interrupt this for a moment.
We shan't be long.

Will you follow me, please?

Clifton, will you escort
Mr. Froy to the empty flat
opposite, please?

Yes, sir. Come on, sir.

You can go now, Mullet.
But don't leave the premises.

No, sir.

Lord Sorrington?
Yes.

I'm Inspector Davidson.

It's very good of you
to come, sir.

Sorry to have
kept you waiting.

I should like to know
what this is all about,
Inspector.

Won't you sit down, sir?

Thanks.

I hope we haven't
inconvenienced you
too greatly, sir.

If we'd known what we do now,
it might not have been
necessary for you to come.

However, now that
you're here,

all we want to ask you
is what you know
about Count Mattoni.

You see,
he's been m*rder*d.

Oh.

But I told you, Inspector,
I've never heard of the man.

I'm sure you'll have some
good reason for saying that,
sir, but, uh...

Where'd you get this?

It came in the post this
morning, though apparently it
was written a fortnight ago.

My secretary shall
hear about this.

Well, obviously I did know
the fellow, but though
very slightly.

And if you know him
at all, Inspector,
you'll understand

my reluctance to be
connected with him.

Especially with
Scotland Yard involved.

One assumes something
disreputable with his sort,
you know.

Yes, I quite understand.

So, there's nothing
you can tell us
about him?

No. I'm afraid not.

So, if that's all...

I beg your pardon,
sir.

Excuse me, my lord.
What is it, Raines?

Are you sure?
He insists, sir.

All right, bring him in.
Yes, sir.

Now, I'm afraid something
has come up to delay us
some more, sir.

If you'll be so kind.
Yes, of course.

Mullet.

Do I understand that you
believe this gentleman
to be Rupert?

There's no believing
about it, sir,
that's him.

Good morning, sir.

What's he talking about?

Rupert, sir, is
the name of a tenant
in the next flat.

Why, the man's mad.

Are you sure,
Mullet?

Well,
of course I am.

How could I forget
a fine looking gent
like him?

All right.
Thank you.

Look here, Inspector,
I don't know
the meaning of this

but obviously
the man's lying.

I'm afraid not, sir.
You'll be difficult
to mistake.

Besides, what purpose
could he have?

All right,
I did take the flat.

After all, Inspector,

you're a man of the world.
Is there anything
wrong in that?

Wasn't it indiscreet
to take such a flat
in the same building

next door
to someone you knew?

It's pure coincidence.

I... I had no idea
that Count Mattoni had
a flat in this building.

Much less that... Oh.

My letter.
Yeah.

You have not been
frank with me, sir.

And now, I shall like you to
tell me everything you know
about the m*rder*d man.

Well, you're obviously
going to find out the truth
sooner or later,

so I might as well
admit it.

Admit what, sir?

I k*lled him.

You k*lled whom?

I k*lled Mattoni.

That's impo...

Are you sure, I mean...

Did you say
you k*lled him?

Yes, that's right.

I k*lled the Count.

Well, this is embarrassing

how time is running out
and here we are with an
unfinished story on our hands.

I'm afraid you'll have to wait
until our next show

to find out more about
just who k*lled the Count.

Personally, I shall welcome
a week in which to think up
some answers.

After all,

Froy and Lord Sorrington can't
both be telling the truth.

There's nothing I detest
more than a m*rder*r
who tells fibs.

Next time, we shall
continue the strange case
of Count Victor Mattoni.

Thus far,
our desperate detectives
have two very good suspects.

But their confessions seem
to ask more questions
than they answer.

If all this has managed
to pique your curiosity,

please join us
for the next installment.

Oh, I know what
you're thinking.

No, I did not k*ll the Count.

Good night.