Sherlock Holmes - E28: The Case of the Jolly Hangman
30min | Crime, Drama, Mystery | TV Series (1954–1955)
A traveling salesman is found hanged in his hotel room. Although the police eventually rule it to be a suicide, his widow thinks otherwise and asks Holmes to investigate the mysterious "suicide" further.
Stars: Ronald Howard, Howard Marion-Crawford, Archie Duncan
30min | Crime, Drama, Mystery | TV Series (1954–1955)
A traveling salesman is found hanged in his hotel room. Although the police eventually rule it to be a suicide, his widow thinks otherwise and asks Holmes to investigate the mysterious "suicide" further.
Stars: Ronald Howard, Howard Marion-Crawford, Archie Duncan
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:30Not all Sherlock Holmes' plans were successful.
00:59For the rich and famous, they came from all walks of life, even the humblest.
01:04Indeed, he was more apt to give heed to the humble client, the minor tragedy, because
01:09that was the nature of the man, human and understanding.
01:13Yeah, hang it all Holmes, let me have a look after all, I didn't buy the beastly thing.
01:19Why don't you wait for moving pictures, Watson?
01:22Much more interesting, you know.
01:24Pictures that move?
01:25Ridiculous.
01:26I'm not being ridiculous.
01:28They've already been invented by a Frenchman named Lumiere, and an American, Edison, seems
01:31to have made it quite practical.
01:33Observe.
01:34He'll never get anywhere with them, you'll see, not commercially anyway, nobody will
01:43be interested.
01:44Come in.
01:45It's Mr. Sherlock Holmes, please, sir.
01:46Yes, he is.
01:47I'd like to see him, if you'll speak to me, please, sir.
02:00Of course, he will.
02:06This is Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I'm Dr. Watson.
02:09Miss...
02:10Mr...
02:11Mr. Snoop.
02:12Oh, come now, my dear, it's not as bad as that.
02:16It's Billy, sir, my husband, he's dead.
02:19Oh, my dear.
02:20Come, sit down and tell me about it.
02:23Get a cup of tea, Watson.
02:28They say he hanged himself, sir, three days ago, in a hotel in Glasgow.
02:33Oh, yes, I remember, William Hooper, a travelling salesman with Whipple Brothers, I believe.
02:38Yes, brooms and brushes.
02:40He was on his last job for the firm, they were letting him go.
02:44Yes, sir, but Billy would have found another job, he wasn't afraid to work.
02:48Of course he wasn't.
02:50He didn't hang himself, sir, he didn't.
02:53Jessie, I believe you have a baby.
02:56Yes, sir, six months old.
03:02Is there any insurance?
03:05Yes, sir, but they say because Billy hanged himself...
03:08The policy won't be paid.
03:11Tell me, Jessie, when did you last see Billy?
03:14On the day he went out to Glasgow, on the train.
03:18I went out part of the way with him to Doncaster.
03:21To cheer him up, I take it?
03:23Yes, sir.
03:24He was so upset about losing his job,
03:27about it being his last trip for Whipple's.
03:30Yes, of course, I understand.
03:32Was he in a more cheerful frame of mind when you left the train at Doncaster?
03:35Oh, yes, sir, we had ever such a jolly time.
03:38There was a gentleman in the compartment who was so funny,
03:41he kept us in stitches.
03:43When he laughed, you just couldn't help laughing with him.
03:46I see.
03:47Was there anyone who might have benefited by his death?
03:50No, sir, no one at all.
03:53Was he a native of London?
03:56No, sir, he came from Export, that's a little village in Cornwall.
04:00I see.
04:02Well, I can't promise anything, Mrs Hooper, but I'll certainly do my best.
04:06Now, where can I get in touch with you?
04:08Number 26, Western Lane.
04:11And, sir, there's something I must tell you.
04:13Yes, Jessie?
04:14I'm not very well off, and what with the expenses of the baby and...
04:18Never mind, never mind. There's no fee.
04:20Oh, thank you, sir.
04:28Goodbye, sir.
04:29Goodbye, Jessie.
04:31Sir, I don't know how to...
04:36Holmes?
04:37Hmm?
04:38How did you know so much about William Hooper?
04:41I read about it in the papers, Watson.
04:44One of those domestic tragedies that become buried in the back page.
04:48How did you know so much about William Hooper?
04:51I read about it in the papers, Watson.
04:53One of those domestic tragedies that become buried in the back page.
05:18Bye, flower, sir.
05:19No, thank you.
05:27Flowers, sir. Flowers for you, missus.
05:29Got any stingy nettles?
05:39If you want to kill somebody, you can poison them, or shoot them, or...
05:44You can poison them, or shoot them, or stab them, or push them over a cliff if you like,
05:49but you don't hang them. It's still docilely awkward.
05:52Unless, of course, you want to make it look like suicide.
05:58Oh, Watson, be a good fellow, would you,
06:00and buy me 15 feet of manila rope before we go after Glasgow?
06:05Well, we could buy that anyway, we...
06:08Glasgow?
06:14Of course, you know, Mr. Holmes,
06:16I'm only allowing you to see this rope
06:18because my cousin, Inspector Lestrade, asked me to.
06:22He tells me you've been a wee thing useful to him
06:25down there in London from time to time.
06:27Well, that's very kind of you to say so, Inspector McDougal.
06:30I'm sure that your cousin would appreciate that.
06:34Well, there it is.
06:37Nothing but an ordinary rope.
06:39Nothing unusual about it at all.
06:41Well, it's an efficient knot.
06:43Which anyone could have tied.
06:45And you're quite convinced that Billy Hooper hanged himself with it, eh?
06:49Well, he put the rope round his neck,
06:51stood in a chair, and then kicked the chair from under him.
06:54But first, slinging the rope over a ceiling beam
06:57and tying it to a bedpost, eh?
06:59Right.
07:01Have you examined the rope with a glass, Inspector?
07:05Glass, Mr. Holmes?
07:07In Glasgow, we have another use,
07:09a more practical use for a glass.
07:12To put a wee drop in your game.
07:14Oh, yes, yes.
07:15And you'll find this glass a wee bit different, Inspector.
07:18It helps you to see things more clearly.
07:22Just what am I supposed to see with this?
07:25That the fibres on the rope that were slung over the beam
07:28point towards the noose.
07:31I can see which way they point,
07:33but I can't see the point of them.
07:36You will, Inspector.
07:37Now I shall like to have a look at Billy Hooper's shoes
07:39and the room in which he was supposed to have hanged himself.
07:42Mr. Holmes,
07:44I'm beginning to have a great deal of sympathy
07:47for my cousin, Inspector Lestrade,
07:50to say nothing of the entire London police force.
07:54Who is it?
07:55What's the matter?
07:56Who is it?
07:57What's the matter?
07:58Who is it?
07:59Huh?
08:00Morning, sir.
08:01Morning.
08:02Beautiful morning, isn't it?
08:04This is the room, gentlemen.
08:10Oh.
08:11Oh.
08:12Oh.
08:13Oh.
08:14Oh.
08:15Oh.
08:16Oh.
08:17Oh.
08:18Oh.
08:19Oh.
08:20Oh.
08:21Oh.
08:22Oh.
08:23This is the beam, I presume,
08:25over which the rope was slung.
08:27And this is the bedpost the laddie tied the rope to.
08:30Interesting.
08:31Just a little routine detection, sir.
08:33Why don't you go back to sleep?
08:35Watson, let me have the rope you bought in London, would you?
08:38Yes.
08:52Now, would you come and stand under the noose?
08:58Just a minute, Holmes. What are you up to?
09:00Mr. Holmes, I'm afraid I can't allow you to hang your friend in my presence.
09:05Oh, very well. I only wanted to make the demonstration as graphic as possible.
09:08Would you hold it, Watson?
09:11Now, observe the rope, Inspector, passing over the beam as I hoist Watson up.
09:16Holmes, what is all this in aid of?
09:18Oh, just an experiment, Watson.
09:20I believe you put on a bit of weight, old chap.
09:26What is all this nonsense in aid of?
09:29Now, let's have a look at the rope.
09:31Inspector, observe that part of the rope which passed over the beam.
09:35You will note that the fibres point towards the noose,
09:39exactly like the fibres of the rope Hooper was hanged with.
09:43Sure they do.
09:44But if he had hanged himself by kicking the chair from under him,
09:47his body dropping down would have caused the fibres to bend in the opposite direction,
09:51away from the noose.
09:54I've got it, Holmes.
09:55And because the fibres bend towards the noose,
09:57therefore Hooper must have been pulled upwards.
09:59And since he obviously didn't pull himself up, someone else must have.
10:02And that is murder.
10:04Murder? What are you talking about?
10:08The late William Hooper, Sir.
10:11The late William Hooper, Sir.
10:13Mr. Holmes here, by brilliant feat of detection,
10:15has just proved conclusively that he was hanged here,
10:19in this very room.
10:23Hanged in this very room?
10:27Oh, let me go in here.
10:35And this, I presume, is the chair that Hooper stood on.
10:38That's it.
10:41Yes, there are no scratches on the seat.
10:43And there was a nail sticking out of Hooper's right shoe.
10:46Further evidence, if you require any, Inspector.
10:50Ah, fragments of glass.
10:52Was there a broken drinking glass found on the floor, Inspector?
10:55No, nothing at all.
10:57Oh, I expect the murderer tidied up after him.
11:00But I think that we'll discover that he gave Hooper a drink with a drug in it.
11:04Rather difficult to analyse at the moment, but I shall have a look into it.
11:08Wasn't there someone in the bed, Watson, when we came in?
11:19John Carver, 28 Minute Road, Birmingham.
11:21Henry Hampton, 76 Casket...
11:2576 Casket Lane.
11:28Do you recall Hampton?
11:29Hampton. Hampton.
11:31Yes, I remember a salesman, I believe.
11:33Stayed just the one night. No one of the regulars.
11:36Did you notice anything in particular about him?
11:39No, no. Yes, he lint.
11:42That's right, he lint.
11:44He lint, did he? That will prove useful. Thank you.
11:56Aside from the fact that Hooper was murdered, what else do we learn in Glasgow?
12:01Well, Watson, that the man who registered under the fictitious name of Henry Hampton
12:04of 76 Casket Lane is the murderer.
12:07Oh, I see.
12:09A salesman just happened to be wandering about with a length of manila rope on him.
12:12Yes, of course. Didn't you know? He's a rope salesman.
12:15But hang it all, Holmes.
12:17At least 50 people registered at the hotel that night.
12:20What makes you pick on this Hampton chap?
12:23Because, my dear fellow, an elementary geographical knowledge of London
12:26would tell you that the even numbers in Casket Lane stop in the 60s.
12:30Number 76 is obviously a figment of Mr Hampton's imagination.
12:34I see.
12:37But then, if both his name and his address are false,
12:40where are we going to start looking for him?
12:42We begin, obviously, with a trip to X-Bar, Billy's birthplace in Cornwall.
12:47Now I'll tell you one.
12:49About the chap who woke up one morning with an elephant trunk instead of his nose.
12:54Began the day by blowing his own trumpet.
13:00Anyway, it's nonsense.
13:03The murder of the other side of the world, my love.
13:16And now we return to the case of the Jolly Hangman.
13:20Knock, knock, knock.
13:31Oh, Mr Holmes. Dr. Watts.
13:34Good morning, Jessie. I hope we haven't interrupted your household chores.
13:37Oh, no, sir. Please come in.
13:39Thank you. So that's the little man, eh?
13:41Yes, sir. That's little Billy.
13:43Oh, I say, Holmes. Look at that chest.
13:46Look at these biceps.
13:48Yes, Watson. And look at that nice high forehead and that well-developed cranium.
13:52Won't you have some tea, sir?
13:54I'm sorry, Jessie, but I'm afraid we won't have time.
13:57We've come to ask you a few questions about your husband.
14:00Please sit down.
14:04Dr. Watts and I have just come back from X-Bar.
14:07It occurred to me that the seeds of what happened in Glasgow were sown in the past.
14:12We learned, Jessie, that when Billy was seven years old, his grandfather was murdered.
14:16Did you know that?
14:18No, sir. Billy never told me.
14:21I can understand that. He was a sensitive young man.
14:24And he wouldn't want to burden you with a gruesome story.
14:27What happened, sir?
14:29Well, at that time, Billy was living alone with his grandfather on an isolated farm.
14:34One night, the old man gave shelter to a stranger.
14:37The following morning, Billy's grandfather was found murdered.
14:41And Billy was discovered incoherent with fear, hiding in a shed.
14:45The murderer was never identified.
14:48The only thing that Billy could tell the police was that the man lived.
14:51Exactly, Watson.
14:52However, years passed. The murderer felt comparatively safe.
14:56There was only one person in the world who could identify him.
14:59The man who once had been that seven-year-old boy.
15:02And he probably thought the little boy would forget anyway.
15:05But the little boy didn't forget.
15:07The memory remained here, dormant for many years,
15:12until it was reawakened in Glasgow.
15:15Oh, that window.
15:17It's just dark, don't it? Always dropping shut like that.
15:22Billy was going to fix it.
15:27In Glasgow, sir?
15:29Yes, where he encountered the murderer.
15:31The memory began to stir, perhaps awakened by that limp.
15:35And the murderer began to realise that sooner or later,
15:38Billy would remember and identify him.
15:41Now I understand.
15:43Understand what?
15:45Billy's nightmares, all such frightful ones he'd always have.
15:49Moaning something about a hobble.
15:52Of course, a hobble, a limp.
15:55But he could never remember what the nightmares were about.
15:58Did Billy ever mention meeting a man who limped?
16:02No, sir, never.
16:04Then I believe, Watson, we can conclude that Billy had never met the man
16:07before the chance encounter in Glasgow.
16:09Oh, I'm sure he hadn't, sir.
16:13So the signs still point to our mysterious Mr. Hampton.
16:17Who is Mr. Hampton, sir?
16:19A gentleman I very much wish to lay my hands on.
16:22And I will.
16:25You may be sure of that, Jessie.
16:29My feet are killing me. How many more of these companies have we got to see?
16:32Oh, chin up, old chap, only about a dozen or so.
16:34Well, can't we cover them in a Hanson?
16:36What? A Hanson cab on a beautiful day like this?
16:38Oh, don't be silly.
16:43Oh, dear.
16:50Good afternoon.
16:52Do you use a colon or a semicolon after, dear sir?
16:55Oh, a colon, miss.
16:57Now, come along, Holmes, you know better than that.
16:59A semicolon, young lady.
17:01But I can't find either.
17:03Tell me, is your sales manager in?
17:06A sales manager?
17:08That'd be Mr. Thornton, wouldn't it?
17:11Or Mr. Baxter?
17:13Yes, Mr. Baxter.
17:15Did you have an appointment with him?
17:17No. Must we have one?
17:20I don't know.
17:22I'll ask him.
17:28New, I'd say, Holmes.
17:30Yes, a safe deduction, Watson.
17:32You noticed the fingernails unbroken?
17:35Not really.
17:37Mr. Baxter says you don't have to have an appointment.
17:39He'll see you now.
17:46Good afternoon, gentlemen.
17:48Good afternoon.
17:50And what may I do for you?
17:52Good afternoon. My name's Dr. Watson and this is Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
17:55Sherlock Holmes, eh?
17:57Oh, this is an honor.
17:59Not here to arrest anyone, though, I hope.
18:01Would it be an imposition to ask for your salesman's itinerary
18:04during, let's say, the last few weeks?
18:06The cities they've covered?
18:08No, sir. Ask them done, as the genie said.
18:12Oh.
18:14Must be in the file drawer.
18:16I road-chart, you know.
18:18Dr. Watson, would you mind getting it?
18:20It's in the drawer over there.
18:22Yes, of course I will.
18:24The brown folder.
18:26Yes, that's it.
18:30Now, let's see, shall we?
18:33Hmm?
18:35Uh, Johnson covered Wales all this month.
18:39Harkinson over in Ireland.
18:41You're quite sure you've had no one in Glasgow?
18:43That's right.
18:45Used to go on the road myself, but not any longer.
18:47Can't stand the trains.
18:49Haven't been in one for years.
18:53Well, thank you very much indeed.
18:55And, uh, good day to you, sir.
18:57Good day.
18:59Come back if you've got any loose ends to tie up.
19:01Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha
19:31Good afternoon Mrs Hooper. You don't remember me? Mr. Baxter.
19:59Oh, yes, of course I do, sir. Won't you come in?
20:04You were the jolly gentleman on the train with Billy and me.
20:08Give me your coat, sir.
20:09Oh, thank you.
20:11I've come to offer you my deepest sympathy.
20:15Yes, sir.
20:16Oh, a tragedy, a tragedy. He was a fine boy.
20:20Yes, sir.
20:21Oh, there, there, there. Come now, little lady.
20:24There's always a ray of sunshine somewhere.
20:27Ah, there it is.
20:35Ah, a little bundle of happiness.
20:37A joy and blessing for you.
20:42You'll always have...
20:48Ah, that's right. You didn't know, did you?
20:52I was seated all the time you were in the compartment, wasn't I?
20:56Well, just going to show you.
20:59We all have our trials and tribulations.
21:03Yes, sir.
21:04Oh, but here am I, forgetting what I came for.
21:09How'd you like a job, little lady?
21:11And somewhere to take care of the baby?
21:13Oh, sir.
21:15Then let's have a cup of tea and talk about it, shall we?
21:17Oh, sir, I don't know how to thank you.
21:20I'll do anything.
21:23I'll send you to a secretarial school.
21:25And then you'll be my secretary.
21:28Oh, sir, that would be wonderful.
21:31You know, I didn't know how I was going to manage.
21:34Oh.
21:41Take sugar, sir.
21:42Huh? Oh, no, thank you.
21:47Looking at you, is sugar enough for me?
21:49Oh, so really.
21:51My friend Sherlock Holmes tells me you've been to see him.
21:55Do you know Sherlock Holmes, sir?
21:58Oh, I should think I do.
22:00Always asking my advice, Sherlock is.
22:03Can't solve a case without me, he says.
22:08He and Dr. Watson went up to Glasgow, you know.
22:11Inquiring at the hotel where Billy was.
22:14And then they went down to X-Bar.
22:18How do you know all that, sir?
22:21Oh, Sherlock tells me everything.
22:27I suppose you told him that you and Billy met me on the train.
22:30And you gave him my name.
22:33I'm afraid I'd forgotten your name, sir.
22:36Had you now?
22:39Then you're the only one who knows, eh?
22:42Well, wouldn't Sherlock be surprised
22:45to find that I'd met Billy on the train?
22:48Yes, indeed. Wouldn't he be surprised?
22:51Yes, sir.
22:54Now, drink up your tea, and we'll talk about your new job.
22:57Huh?
23:06Watson. What is it?
23:09On the train coming down from Glasgow.
23:12What about the train?
23:15That's where we heard that laugh.
23:18By Jove, you're right. The man telling jokes in the next compartment.
23:21Oh, I've been a fool.
23:24Why do you suppose he sent you to get that road chart when he could have got it himself?
23:27Well, I suppose I was nearer, sir.
23:30No, because he didn't want us to see that he limped.
23:33Don't you understand? He's the jolly man on the train
23:36who cheered up Billy and Jessie.
23:40Baxter's office?
23:43No. Who's the only person who can prove that Baxter met Billy?
23:46Why, uh, uh, Jessie!
23:49Yes, of course. 26 Western Lane, driver and fast.
23:52We've got to stop another hanging.
23:55Just sleep. Sleep.
24:10So.
24:13You had to go to Sherlock Holmes, eh?
24:16Couldn't leave well alone, could you?
24:19You're just like your husband in that.
24:22He couldn't let sleeping dogs lie either.
24:25The way he looked when he saw me walk out of the train at Glasgow.
24:31Well, maybe he wouldn't have remembered my limp from that night.
24:34And maybe he would.
24:37No point in taking chances.
24:40I don't believe in taking chances.
24:43Mrs. Hooper?
24:46Mrs. Hooper, it's Sherlock Holmes.
24:49Open the door.
24:52Mrs. Hooper. Jessie, it's Sherlock Holmes.
24:55Open the door.
24:58Jessie, open the door.
25:01All right, Watson, break it down.
25:07No!
25:10It's all right, she's just drunk.
25:13Look, Watson.
25:18Oh, no.
25:24Neck broken.
25:37No!
25:40No!
26:07No!
26:10No!
26:13No!
26:16No!
26:19No!
26:22No!
26:25No!
26:28No!
26:31No!
26:35No!
26:38No!
26:41No!
26:44No!
26:47No!
26:50No!