• 5 years ago
Approved | 30min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, TV Series | Episode aired 31 March 1959

John Marriott boasted to his jailers, the executioner and anyone else who would listen that before the first attempted execution he was frightened out of his wits. But when the hood was put over his head, he saw how he would die, and it would not be on the gallows.

Director: John Newland

Writers: Alfred Brenner, Merwin Gerard, Lawrence B. Marcus

Stars: John Newland, Alfred Ryder, Patrick Westwood
Transcript
00:00Have you ever felt that you knew what someone was going to say just before he said it?
00:06Or have you ever stepped into a strange room and had the sensation you'd been there before?
00:11If you have, you've taken a small step beyond.
00:15Now watch a giant step.
00:31It begins here, in Wandsworth Prison near London.
00:38The year? 1895.
00:41Our principal player is one John Marriott.
00:45Today is a big day in his life.
00:48He's to be hanged.
01:00Come on now then, Johnny lad. No need for you to look at that, you know.
01:04Here.
01:06Have a smoke.
01:19Come on, Johnny boy. You'll go.
01:22It's hot in here.
01:24It's hot.
01:25Why, ain't it?
01:31When do they come for me?
01:33At six.
01:35What time is it now?
01:37Oh, I don't know. Five-thirty.
01:39Oh!
01:41What time is it now?
01:43Oh, I don't know. Five-thirty.
01:51Does it take long?
01:53What?
01:56How?
01:57Nah.
02:02How long?
02:04How long?
02:06Well, I don't know. A couple of minutes maybe.
02:10Now come on, Johnny me boy. There's no need for you to be afraid.
02:14Who's afraid?
02:21Well, a bloke as popular with the ladies as what you want.
02:25What you mean, was.
02:27I don't judge it.
02:33I am the executioner, sir.
02:35At your service.
02:37This is my assistant.
02:39It's not time yet.
02:41You're quite correct, sir.
02:43You have exactly...
02:4521 minutes.
02:47Will you please step on this scale now?
02:59What do you need my wife for?
03:08Eleven stone, sir.
03:10Eleven stone?
03:33Seventy-one.
03:36Seventy-one inches.
03:38Seventy-one inches?
03:44Thank you, John Marriott.
04:36Breakfast here, Johnny boy.
04:38Don't want it.
04:40It's your very last breakfast.
04:42Take that slop away. I don't want it.
04:44Can't look at it.
05:06I don't...
05:08Are you all right, my son?
05:10Is there anything I can do for you?
05:12Anything you wish?
05:14Any final confession you want to make?
05:20She just sat there.
05:22With her head thrown back laughing at me like I was some kind of worm or something.
05:26I didn't mean to kill her, I swear.
05:29I didn't, but the way she laughed when I caught her with that dandy beluga...
05:35All I could see was her throat.
05:38I just grabbed it.
05:40I grabbed it.
05:42And all the time she kept laughing.
05:45Her mouth.
05:47Her voice. I can hear it now.
05:51Screaming.
05:53My hand scratching at me.
05:56Well, maybe she wasn't laughing.
05:58Maybe she was only screaming.
06:00She was only screaming.
06:02Sure, there was fellow Gishy scream.
06:04And there was Paddy O'Neil.
06:06And everybody in London knows all about that.
06:09It was like a bomb.
06:13Exploding in my ear.
06:15I fair went out of me mind.
06:17The Lord is merciful to all his poor sinners.
06:19I know, I know I'm a sinner.
06:21I know.
06:23The things I've done.
06:25Really, if I ever really started to confess.
06:29You know what I've done once?
06:31I never told nobody this.
06:34I pushed a blind beggar into the gutter and I rubbed his tin cup.
06:42It was eight pennies and four shillings and half a crown.
06:47I meant to pay him back every cent, but I never did.
07:00I went to absentee.
07:02And I later wagered on a nag named Alma's eyes.
07:05That nag is still running.
07:07There was this sweet old lady there, see, and she'd never seen a race before.
07:11So I swapped my ticket with hers.
07:13And hers was a winner.
07:15Paid 15 to 1.
07:17That week I crawled through every pub from mere to white all.
07:23That was the week I met Alma.
07:28I know I never should have touched that blind man.
07:31And I never should have touched Alma.
07:37The things I do because a lady has a pretty pair of eyes.
07:44But I can't help myself.
07:47Please.
07:49Please don't abandon me.
07:51You must be brave, my son.
07:53John Marriott.
07:56Pray. Pray.
07:58I can't.
08:00Try that.
08:01I can't. I can't.
08:03I can't.
08:05The Lord is my shepherd.
08:07I don't want to die.
08:09No.
08:10I don't want to die.
08:13No.
08:25I can't.
08:55I can't.
09:25I can't.
09:27I can't.
09:29I can't.
09:31I can't.
09:33I can't.
09:35I can't.
09:37I can't.
09:39I can't.
09:41I can't.
09:43I can't.
09:45I can't.
09:47I can't.
09:49I can't.
09:51Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
09:56There is a stable before me in the presence of mine enemies.
10:00My head is oiled.
10:02My cup runneth over.
10:04But holy goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life.
10:30I can't.
10:32I can't.
10:34I can't.
10:36I can't.
10:38I can't.
10:40I can't.
10:42I can't.
10:44I can't.
10:46I can't.
10:48I can't.
10:50I can't.
10:52I can't.
10:54I can't.
10:56I can't.
10:58Oh.
11:15What could have happened, sir? Really, I don't...
11:17I've been the executioner for 19 years and it's never happened before, sir.
11:21We examine that rope very thoroughly, as we always do.
11:24Well, how is he, doctor?
11:25Oh, he's coming around.
11:26It was merely shock. There's no physical damage at all.
11:29Are you quite certain?
11:30Quite.
11:31Then let's get on with the execution.
11:34You're wasting your time, governor.
11:37If you think that I'm going to die on your blasted gallows, you've got another thing coming, because I'm not.
11:44Marius, I'm sorry about the accident.
11:47But the court has sentenced you to be hanged.
11:49But that's the point, governor. It wasn't no accident.
11:54Let's get on with it.
11:59Ain't nobody here can kill me.
12:02Not if you've tried for a hundred years and a hundred ways.
12:05Not you.
12:07Not you.
12:09Not the executioner.
12:12Not nobody.
12:13I said let's get on with it.
12:15Hold on, hold on. I haven't had any breakfast.
12:18What are you going to do, hang me without giving me any grub?
12:21I thought you said you didn't want any.
12:23Now I do.
12:25It's unhealthy for a man to miss his breakfast.
12:28All right, but hurry.
12:33Oh, good.
12:35I haven't had a meal like this since the trial.
12:46You blokes don't normally give a man time to stow his grub, do you?
12:49Would you stand, please?
12:53I don't mind.
12:55Hey!
12:57Hey, you blokes are just wasting your time.
13:01If you want to know why, I'll tell you.
13:07Don't you forget to have a nice lunch waiting for me.
13:10I want some roly-poly pie.
13:13Hey, where's me brandy?
13:15I want me brandy. What kind of a hanging is this?
13:17They'll follow me all the days of my life.
13:19Save your breath, Vicar. They're not hanging me.
13:24You're wasting your time, mate. You really are.
13:30Oh, now, here we go.
13:32One, two, three, four, five,
13:36six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
13:39eleven, twelve, thirteen.
13:42That's my lucky number.
13:46Oh, no, I don't want that.
13:48You sure you don't want yours? Might make it easier for you.
13:50I don't need it any easier, mate.
13:52All right. This time, just to make sure, we'll try it once more.
13:59Ready?
14:10You're wasting your time, boys.
14:12You sure you don't want the odd?
14:14No, I don't want the odd.
14:18Go a little to the left, a little to the left.
14:20Getting so good at this job, I think I might become the executioner.
14:24Ooh, that's tight.
14:51I told you he was wasting your time, Governor.
14:55You can't hang me.
14:57Why don't you give up?
15:01Enough. Take him back to his cell.
15:05The man who can't be hanged.
15:10But why?
15:12Why do you think they're unable to hang you, Mr. Marius?
15:16Ooh, maybe there's a good reason.
15:19Maybe there's a good angel watching over me.
15:22More than likely, it's the devil, I'd say.
15:24Oh, I don't much mind who's watching over me, angel or devil.
15:28Just so long as it's somebody with influence.
15:31As a matter of fact, quite a lot of people with influence are interested in you, Mr. Marius.
15:36Oh.
15:37Your case has been debated right now in the House of Commons.
15:40Mr. Gladstone thinks that you should be set free, that you've suffered enough.
15:45Well, now, that makes two of us.
15:48But seriously, Mr. Marius, don't you have some theory as to why you couldn't be hanged?
15:52Oh, I know why I couldn't be hanged.
15:55And if one of your iron-mighty papers is willing to pay...
16:00500 quid for the information.
16:03500 pounds?
16:05That's not very likely.
16:07Then I'm not very likely to tell.
16:17I wager you hate to see me go away, Governor.
16:20I hate to see anyone make justice look foolish.
16:23Oh, come now, Governor, don't take on so.
16:25If you was to put me up on that there gallows 50 times, you still couldn't hang me.
16:30Now, go on home, Marius.
16:32You want another try at me neck, Governor?
16:34I'd be glad to oblige.
16:36Now, get out of here.
16:38You're smart not to take me up, Governor, because I'd win sure as I'm standing here.
16:43You know how I know?
16:45Well, you listen, and I'll tell you.
16:50Just when they was...
16:53When they was pulling that hood over my head, and the rope snapped...
16:58I saw how old John Marriott was going to die.
17:03And it wasn't on no gallows.
17:06I said get out.
17:10It's your jail, Governor.
17:13Now, go home, will you?
17:16I'm going to die in a most amazing way, Governor.
17:21In a most remarkable way.
17:31Some more for Marliott, too. Don't let them ruby lips get dry.
17:36You know, when they takes you to the gallows,
17:39they offer you a glass of brandy, and I ain't that sweet of a man.
17:42You buy the old bottle, eh, Johnny?
17:44Almost.
17:45You should have seen their faces when them gallows wouldn't work.
17:48That bloomin' executioner.
17:50He kept kicking, kicking that released bolt till I thought he'd have a stroke.
17:54You and that noose around your neck.
17:56Weren't you scared?
17:57Scared what for?
17:59They couldn't hang me, not if they tried.
18:02Till doomsday.
18:04Oh, come off it, Johnny.
18:06How could you know?
18:09Devilish stuff.
18:11Whispered in my...
18:14Johnny!
18:15Oh, Liz!
18:17Where have you been, oh, you're bloomin' like a rose.
18:19Johnny, you know who's coming in here?
18:21Will Cooper!
18:24Did you miss me while I was in the gallows?
18:26Johnny, Johnny, Will, he's coming, he's coming!
18:28Come on, give us a kiss.
18:30Johnny, he's got a gun!
18:32Come on, Liz, have an ale.
18:34Two ales, Georgie, one for Liz, and one for Will when he gets here.
18:38Ain't you afraid he'll kill you?
18:40Will?
18:42Will's a mouse, not a lion.
18:46Want to know how I'm going to die?
18:48I'll tell you.
18:49There's only one way I can die.
18:52One way, and no other.
18:55Now, gather round.
18:58Gather round and I'll tell you about my vision.
19:02Though the press offer me 500 quid, I won't charge you a farvation.
19:05Johnny, Johnny!
19:07Old Johnny Marriott's going to die at the foot of a lion,
19:11right here on the streets of London.
19:14That's how it's going to be, I know.
19:17I was standing there on them gallows.
19:19I was standing there with that white oat over my head.
19:22And I heard them release the lever, and I heard them trap doors swinging open,
19:26and I felt myself falling.
19:28And while I was falling, the inside of that oat lit up like a million candles.
19:32And there I was, lying dead at the feet of a lion,
19:36right here on the streets of London.
19:39And I knew.
19:41I knew that's how it had to be.
19:44That way, and no other!
19:52Turn around, John.
19:56Another ale, Georgie?
19:58If you think you can kill my sister and go scot-free, you've got another thing coming!
20:04Too much head on that ale, Georgie.
20:06Turn around, John, or I'll shoot you right in the back!
20:12That's better, Georgie.
20:17Hey! Hey, you know...
20:20You know, Alma Cooper?
20:22That girl, what I spangled.
20:25Well, I hear her brother's looking for revenge.
20:28Now you tell him, will you? You tell him.
20:30That if Alma were alive, I'd kill her again right now.
20:34She deserved everything she got.
20:37And you deserve what you're gonna get, John Marriott!
20:48Try it again, will!
20:52You couldn't hurt me.
20:54You couldn't hurt me with a cannibal.
20:56Not with an old regiment of grenadiers to back you up.
20:58You couldn't hurt me unless you could bring the jungles of Africa up here to London.
21:04Look!
21:05I can't wait yet!
21:07I'll lift up that pistol and shoot you.
21:10Picket here.
21:29Come on, little thing, that piano!
21:32Let's have some dancing.
21:34What is it, a funeral?
21:37Ooh!
21:38Oh, now, what's wrong?
21:40What's everybody looking at me like that for?
21:42What do you think I am, some sort of spook?
21:45Oh, put your mind at rest on flesh and blood.
21:53Yes.
21:54And when that lion finally catches up with me...
21:57I'll prove it.
21:58Yes, I'll prove it.
22:06The devil himself.
22:08Oh, blast the lot of you!
22:14Oh, every one of you, rot!
22:23I'm no more haunted than you are.
22:25You're all going to die, same as me.
22:27Only difference is, I know how.
22:30I know how.
22:48Johnny Marriott's Esquire...
22:51will face any lion, living or dead...
22:55and spit in his blooming eye.
23:01Hello.
23:02Hello.
23:03Oh, there you are, you beast.
23:07Ooh, you big angel.
23:11Big, big angel.
23:12I suppose if you got me in your jaws...
23:14there wouldn't be much left now, would there?
23:18If you're going to do me, you do me now, eh?
23:20Come on.
23:21Say, come on.
23:22Say, come on.
23:23Well, I'm feeling a bit thirsty, so...
23:25Tot's all, cat.
23:29What are you doing here at this hour?
23:30Hey, come here, you.
23:31Come here.
23:32Come here.
23:33Hey, hey, come back here.
23:35Come back here.
23:36Hey, come back.
23:54Oh, look.
23:55He's broke his blooming neck.
23:57He's stone dead.
24:14You find them all over London.
24:17The symbol of Britain, you know.
24:23The symbol of Britain, you know.
24:53The symbol of Britain, you know.

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