Thriller (1960-61) S01 E04 'THE MARK OF THE HAND' Mona Freeman , Jessie Royce Landis , Shepperd Strudwick | Hollywood Classics movie
Episode aired Oct 4, 1960
Stars: Mona Freeman • Jessie Royce Landis • Shepperd Strudwick
A young girl is accused of murder and refuses to speak to anyone ever again.
Stars: Mona Freeman • Jessie Royce Landis • Shepperd Strudwick
A young girl is accused of murder and refuses to speak to anyone ever again.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:20 [Gunshots]
00:26 [Tires Screeching]
00:35 [Tires Screeching]
00:37 [Music]
00:52 He's dead. My brother's dead.
00:56 [Music]
01:13 Tessa, give me the gun.
01:16 [Music]
01:27 An instrument of murder is hardly a proper toy for an eight-year-old, as sure as my name is Boris Karloff.
01:35 And this instrument casts an evil shadow even beyond the death it has caused.
01:41 And upon it is the mark of the hand. That's the name of our story, based on a novel by the celebrated Charlotte Armstrong.
01:51 Our principal players are Miss Mona Freeman, Miss Jessie Royce Landis, Mr. Shepard Strudwick, Miss Rachel Ames, and Mr. Judson Pratt.
02:05 Let me assure you, my friends, this is a thriller.
02:12 [Music]
02:26 [Music]
02:47 Somebody get killed, Lieutenant, one of the Kilburns.
02:50 [Music]
02:55 How'd the bullet enter?
02:57 Straight up. Shattered some of the crystals.
03:00 The other bullet, Doc, through the back.
03:04 Thanks.
03:05 It's my pleasure. Come on, boys.
03:15 You ready for me now, Lieutenant?
03:17 I think so. Come on in.
03:21 You must understand, of course, Mr. Kilburn, that our main concern is to shield the child.
03:26 She's my daughter, Lieutenant. What do you think my concern might be?
03:32 It's one of the Mowry brothers from the house next door. The young one, the good looking one.
03:55 Has she ever been under psychiatric care?
03:58 No.
03:59 Anything different about her lately? Anything peculiar about her behavior?
04:03 Not that I've noticed.
04:06 You wouldn't hide anything from me?
04:08 Why should I? How could I?
04:10 My mother's brought the family here every summer since I can remember.
04:14 This is a small resort community, Lieutenant. People know us, everything about us.
04:18 You'd be surprised what people manage to keep hidden, Mr. Kilburn, even in the best of families.
04:22 I'll see you in about an hour, boys.
04:31 Thanks, Fred.
04:34 Oh, Mr. Kilburn.
04:35 Betty, this is Lieutenant Gordon, Miss La Follette, Lieutenant. She divides the time between Tessa and my mother.
04:41 Hello.
04:42 How do you do? About Tessa, Mr. Kilburn. She's in shock.
04:46 She's under sedation, Betty. Just stay with her, please.
04:49 I'm frightened for her.
04:51 I know. We all are. Please, go up and stay with her.
04:54 Betty! Betty, do you hear me? Betty!
05:00 Go up and see what she wants, but she's not to come downstairs. Do you understand?
05:06 Betty!
05:09 You come in, please.
05:23 I'm here, Mrs. Kilburn.
05:24 Oh, get me out of here. Do you hear me? I said get me out of here.
05:27 Your son told me you to remain in your room.
05:33 Thank you.
05:34 I'm always up at the crack of dawn. Habit, I guess.
05:37 Do you usually entertain at eight o'clock in the morning?
05:40 I'm not sure I care for your phrasing, Lieutenant Gordon.
05:43 Coffee was being served for three, Miss Walsh.
05:46 Mr. Mallory and his brother are our neighbors.
05:49 They'd work their garden and, well, it became a ritual.
05:54 We'd have breakfast together here every Sunday.
06:00 It was the same as every Sunday. The servants are off, so I prepare breakfast.
06:06 Well, it was a little different this morning.
06:09 This morning when I opened the door, Charlie was alone.
06:12 I asked him what had kept Paul.
06:14 He said something jokingly about Paul getting more topsoil on himself this morning than there was in the rosebed, and he was still washing up.
06:23 We came into the living room and Tessa walked in.
06:26 She seemed in the best of spirits.
06:28 I kissed her good morning, gave her a piece of cinnamon bun, and Charlie and I walked over there just chatting.
06:40 The next thing I knew, she had the gun cabinet open and was playing with that gun.
06:46 She'd done it before, and Douglas had been furious.
06:49 She tried to turn away, and it went off somehow.
06:53 It hit the chandelier, and he turned, and it went off again, and Charles...
07:02 I screamed! I screamed! I screamed!
07:07 Sylvia! Sylvia, darling. It's all right now. Settle down. It's all right.
07:11 I'm sorry. I just lost control.
07:15 It's all right. If you don't mind, Lieutenant...
07:18 No, darling. I'm all right.
07:27 You say your daughter had played with the guns before.
07:32 I'd found they'd been handled one night, and no one else had been in the room except Tessa.
07:40 You accused her?
07:42 Well, yes, I did, and she'd lied before about things that we both knew that she'd done.
07:47 And I just couldn't understand how a normal little girl would...
07:50 You think she's normal?
07:52 What a horrible thing to say.
07:54 Is she? Do you think she's normal?
07:59 I can't answer that. I'm not a doctor.
08:05 Let's get back to the gun. She denied touching it?
08:09 That's right.
08:12 But the thing that really upset me was...
08:18 I'd found the key to the gun cabinet in her room, and she knew it.
08:22 And in the face of all that, she...
08:25 She still lied about it?
08:27 She didn't lie about it. I told Douglas it was child's fantasy storytelling.
08:35 Mr. Murray?
08:37 Yes?
08:38 The two shots and the rest of it, you heard all this too?
08:43 I saw it, Lieutenant. I was almost at the door. It was locked, you remember?
08:50 Yes.
08:51 Why was the door locked?
08:55 Since Tessa trampled my prized flowers, I'd ordered it locked.
09:02 Did she admit to this?
09:04 No, but her footprints were clearly outlined in the flowerbed.
09:08 Obviously, this child is not to be trusted.
09:10 That's not true. The child's had little guidance. Her grandmother is old and sick.
09:16 What about Miss Fowler?
09:18 Betty's just a college student. She's going back to school as soon as we leave for the city.
09:24 There's been a long succession of nurses and governesses.
09:28 Well, what can you expect of the child?
09:30 That's why Sylvia's been our house guest this summer. We plan to be married in a month or so, and then she...
09:35 devote all the time that's needed to Tessa and her problems.
09:47 Is she awake?
09:49 It's difficult to say.
09:50 I'd like to see her.
09:52 Of course.
09:53 Alone?
09:55 Don't frighten her, please.
09:57 Don't worry.
10:23 I see you like parakeets.
10:26 I like them, too.
10:27 What's his name?
10:29 Or should I say hers?
10:33 I wish there was some way you'd talk to me, Tessa.
10:36 I'd like to have you trust me.
10:39 Wouldn't you like to tell me what happened?
10:41 Are you a psychiatrist?
10:42 No.
10:45 No, I'm a policeman.
10:48 Oh.
10:49 You're not afraid of me, are you?
10:51 No.
10:52 That's good.
10:54 Now, wouldn't you like to tell me what happened today?
10:56 I won't tell you anything.
10:58 I want you to deliver a message to my family.
11:01 A message?
11:02 Yes.
11:03 What is it?
11:04 I'm never going to speak again.
11:07 Why, Tessa? Are you angry with them? Is that why you won't speak to them again?
11:11 You don't understand.
11:13 I'm never going to speak to anyone.
11:16 Why, Tessa?
11:18 Because it's nothing but trouble for kids.
11:21 Speaking's for grown-ups.
11:23 It doesn't matter what they say.
11:25 But for kids...
11:27 No.
11:29 No matter what, I'm never going to speak again.
11:33 [Music]
11:41 [Music]
11:45 [Music]
12:13 Busy, Doc?
12:14 Just a couple of minutes.
12:17 What do you see?
12:21 Huh?
12:24 All right, why don't you take a five-minute rest?
12:26 When you come back, maybe you'll see something.
12:29 Go. Go.
12:32 Amnesia.
12:39 If you saw his wife...
12:42 Have you seen the Kilburn girl?
12:44 Uh, yeah, yeah, little Tessa, yes.
12:47 Did she speak to you?
12:48 No.
12:50 She has not spoken for two days.
12:52 But that is not unusual.
12:56 I have seen cases like this where they don't speak for a month, two.
13:03 Maybe a month in a state hospital under observation.
13:07 Oh, Doc, I can't wait a month.
13:09 In the case where a child has lost her power of speech, she has just decided not to talk.
13:15 Well, isn't there some way we can make her talk?
13:17 Hmm...
13:20 You beat her, maybe, huh?
13:23 This... this child has had a traumatic shock.
13:27 Another shock would cause damage beyond repair.
13:30 But I need her testimony.
13:34 Huh!
13:35 Testimony, testimony.
13:38 You want a wonder pill, yes?
13:41 Methamine diazepoxide.
13:44 Would that work?
13:46 You take it.
13:47 Make a line, lick it, keep a spore set in the paper.
13:51 Okay, Doc, I'll keep in touch.
13:54 Send in Mr. Amnesia, yes?
14:07 I want a make on all those people right now.
14:09 Douglas Kilburn, Charles Mallory, Paul Mallory, Sylvia Walsh.
14:12 What about the old lady?
14:13 Be my guest. Try them all, but get the information as fast as you can.
14:16 Any special hunches where?
14:17 No, FBI, New York police, go the route.
14:23 Find us in Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, Detroit.
14:27 If the rest of you would leave us, I'd like to speak to Mrs. Kilburn alone.
14:34 Thank you.
14:39 I wondered how long it would be before you got around to suspecting me.
14:43 Suspecting you, Mrs. Kilburn? Don't you think it was an accident?
14:46 It was not.
14:48 That child didn't shoot him.
14:50 Tess has never fired a gun in her life.
14:53 The mark of her hand was on the pistol.
14:57 She didn't do it.
14:58 I'm old and spoiled and a nuisance because I'm ill, but I know the people in my little world.
15:04 And I know that eight year old child.
15:06 And I tell you, she did not do it.
15:11 May I?
15:14 Help yourself.
15:17 The whiskey's on the left.
15:19 Water, thanks.
15:20 Water?
15:23 You know why the child won't speak?
15:26 No.
15:27 You think she's mentally sound?
15:28 Yes.
15:29 Disturbed, but mentally sound.
15:31 And I won't have my granddaughter or any Kilburn committed.
15:35 Nobody suggested committing her.
15:36 Lieutenant.
15:40 I love that child.
15:45 What are you looking so stupid about?
15:49 Mrs. Kilburn, everyone suggests such great love for Tess,
15:54 but no one in this house ever came right out and said it, except you.
15:58 You know that?
16:00 Everyone just took it for granted that Tess had fired that shot.
16:04 Is there anything wrong with a Mrs. Kilburn?
16:07 No, of course not.
16:08 She's been to psychiatric care before.
16:11 That's not true.
16:13 She asked me if I was a psychiatrist.
16:15 Now an eight year old doesn't know the meaning of the word, unless she's been in contact with one.
16:19 I don't know anything about it.
16:21 Then who does?
16:23 I suggest you ask my son.
16:25 I already have.
16:27 He claims to have no knowledge of it.
16:30 Then you have your answer already.
16:32 Mrs. Kilburn, I suggest you consider telling me the whole truth.
16:37 Because if you don't, I'll be forced to place Tess in a state institution for observation.
16:42 You wouldn't.
16:45 I have no choice, Mrs. Kilburn.
16:47 Your granddaughter killed a man.
16:49 [Music]
16:52 [Music]
16:56 [Music]
16:59 [Music]
17:05 [Music]
17:12 [Music]
17:22 [Music]
17:25 [Music]
17:31 [Music]
17:38 What have I got for clues?
17:44 Fingerprints?
17:46 Tess is on a pistol.
17:48 Miss Walsh and Mr. Mowry's all over the table.
17:51 Tess is the only one to tell us anything.
17:54 That we already know.
17:55 Can't you trust me, Lieutenant?
17:57 The last time I trusted a pretty girl your age...
18:04 Well, that's a story I only tell when I'm in my cups.
18:08 Please, Lieutenant.
18:10 This is serious.
18:12 Far more serious than you might imagine, Miss Follett.
18:15 When Charles Mowry was shot, his brother couldn't have possibly got there fast enough to see it happen.
18:21 [Music]
18:24 [Music]
18:39 [Music]
18:42 Mrs. Kilburn, your son disclaimed any knowledge of having sent Tess to a psychiatrist.
18:50 I don't think Douglas would lie about a thing like that.
18:53 Would you?
18:55 See here, young man.
18:56 Tess has been under the care of a Dr. Richards.
18:59 You sent her to him.
19:01 Mrs. Kilburn, we found Tess's last governess.
19:04 She told us that she took the child to the doctor's office periodically.
19:07 On your instructions.
19:09 Well?
19:11 Yes, it's true.
19:14 Why didn't you tell me?
19:16 A little girl is found with a gun in her hand and a dead man on the floor.
19:20 It's an accident.
19:21 Would you expect me to give you reason to suspect her of anything more?
19:25 I don't understand.
19:26 When Douglas's wife died, I think he died too.
19:29 He functioned like a machine.
19:31 He really didn't care.
19:34 He paid absolutely no attention to Tess.
19:37 When she grew up, she would deliberately smash things.
19:41 And then she'd tell Douglas what she'd done.
19:43 Because of her truthfulness, he didn't punish her.
19:46 Well, you know what she was doing.
19:48 Yes, the doctor told me it was a perfectly normal reaction.
19:51 The child was trying to get her father's attention.
19:55 She couldn't do it by telling the truth, so she proceeded to lie about it.
19:59 For that, Douglas did punish her.
20:02 And even punishment was better than being ignored.
20:05 Yes.
20:07 But then she began to resent the punishment.
20:10 I don't know.
20:12 Perhaps she considered Sylvia a rival for her father's attention.
20:16 Did she resent being punished for something she didn't do?
20:19 Was she denied trampling the flowers?
20:21 Was she denied handling the pistols?
20:24 Perhaps she was telling the truth that nobody believed in.
20:28 [Chuckles]
20:30 [Telephone Rings]
20:33 Yes?
20:39 Oh, put him on.
20:42 Yes, Mr. Mowry.
20:45 I'd like to talk to you, Lieutenant.
20:48 Please, let me talk to you.
20:51 When?
20:53 Eight?
20:55 Here?
20:56 Good.
20:58 Lieutenant, do you think there's a chance for Tessa?
21:06 Yes.
21:08 If she tells us what really happened.
21:10 If not, you know what I have to do.
21:14 Oh, I thought you were alone, Lieutenant.
21:19 Excuse me, Mrs. Kilburn.
21:22 [Footsteps]
21:25 Have you got something?
21:29 One of your customers has a nice little record.
21:31 Forgery, fraud.
21:34 Thanks, Joe.
21:36 Anytime.
21:38 Give me the Kilburn house.
21:45 Hello?
21:51 Oh, Betty?
21:52 This is Lieutenant Gordon.
21:54 Is Mr. Kilburn there?
21:56 Huh?
21:58 Oh, he's downtown shopping, huh?
22:00 Uh-huh.
22:02 Okay, thanks.
22:04 [Door Closes]
22:06 [Footsteps]
22:14 [Footsteps]
22:21 [Footsteps]
22:25 [Footsteps]
22:28 [Footsteps]
22:32 [Footsteps]
22:36 [Footsteps]
22:39 [Footsteps]
22:43 [Footsteps]
22:47 [Footsteps]
22:51 [Footsteps]
22:55 [Footsteps]
22:59 [Footsteps]
23:04 [Footsteps]
23:07 Mr. Kilburn.
23:10 I got something I want to talk to you about.
23:16 This is a report that just came in.
23:19 [Doorbell Ringing]
23:22 [Doorbell Ringing]
23:31 [Doorbell Ringing]
23:34 [Footsteps]
23:38 [Footsteps]
23:47 [Door Opens]
23:51 [Door Closes]
23:59 [Footsteps]
24:02 [Door Opens]
24:11 [Door Closes]
24:18 Did you get the prescription?
24:21 [Door Opens]
24:24 [Footsteps]
24:27 [Footsteps]
24:30 [Footsteps]
24:34 [Footsteps]
24:38 What's the matter, Douglas?
24:45 I don't know how to begin.
24:48 Begin what, dear?
24:51 Did you know Charles Mowry before we met?
24:54 Is that what the detective told you?
24:57 I'm asking you, did you?
24:59 You don't have to get angry.
25:02 Did you know he served a term for forgery and another for fraud?
25:06 No, I didn't.
25:08 It was an accident, wasn't it, Sylvia?
25:10 Why do you suppose a policeman starts to investigate an accident?
25:13 I don't know, Douglas.
25:15 Because of discrepancies.
25:18 When you told Gordon what happened, you said the first shot hit the ceiling, but I remembered afterwards.
25:22 It was the second shot that hit the chandelier.
25:24 I guess I was upset. I must have made a mistake.
25:28 Did you know Mowry before? Answer me.
25:30 All right. Yes, I did.
25:33 I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid to.
25:36 Afraid of what?
25:37 Of Charles.
25:39 You don't know what he was capable of.
25:41 We were engaged once, but I broke it off.
25:44 So he followed me here.
25:47 Don't you see? I had to pretend that we just met.
25:51 Why?
25:53 Because I love you, Douglas.
25:55 I don't want to lose you.
25:58 I don't know what I'd do if I lost you.
26:01 I might as well be dead.
26:04 Look out!
26:18 You almost got your wish.
26:21 Is Douglas still upstairs with Tessa?
26:47 No, he took a tray up to her, but she refused to eat, so he brought it down again.
26:51 Excuse me.
26:53 I hope you forgive the drawn shades.
27:13 It's because of that little girl.
27:15 She's always looking into the room.
27:17 She stands up there in her window and stares.
27:20 Well, she's not there now.
27:27 Well, what do you want to talk about, Mr. Mowry?
27:29 Well...
27:31 No, across the garden.
27:43 Douglas, it's Tessa!
27:45 Tessa, she tried to kill me!
27:47 Get over here.
27:48 Douglas, she tried to kill me!
27:50 She did!
27:52 Take her downstairs.
27:57 [footsteps]
28:25 I think you'd better stay with her.
28:27 I don't understand. She tried to kill me.
28:33 I don't know, darling, but she must not upset you so.
28:36 I can't...
28:38 What happened, Miss Walters?
28:45 Well, she... she tried to kill me.
28:49 I was taking some dessert to her room.
28:53 Well, when I walked in, she... she had that knife under her pillow and...
28:56 Where did she get it?
28:57 Douglas, you took her her tray, didn't you?
29:00 Yes, but I took it back downstairs with me. I'm sure I did.
29:03 Well, maybe she stole it from her lunch tray and... and... and waited until I walked...
29:06 Miss Walsh...
29:08 Are you sure?
29:12 Are you absolutely sure that this child threatened you with this knife?
29:17 Well, of course I'm sure. Don't you believe me?
29:21 [footsteps]
29:23 I saw it.
29:26 Well, I... I can't say I blame you.
29:32 After that ridiculous story I told when Charles was killed.
29:36 Are you saying you lied about what happened to Charles Mowry?
29:40 Yes.
29:42 Then Tessa didn't shoot him?
29:44 Yes. Tessa did shoot him.
29:49 What I'm trying to say is that it... it wasn't an accident.
29:53 She... she did it deliberately.
29:56 As long as my story was accepted, I didn't mind, but...
29:59 well, obviously it wasn't.
30:02 I almost lost Douglas because of it.
30:05 And I almost lost my own life.
30:07 That child's insane.
30:10 What are you saying?
30:11 I'm sorry, Douglas. I can't pretend it was an accident.
30:17 Tessa knew what she was doing.
30:20 She shot Charles Mowry deliberately.
30:24 She had the gun with her when she came into the room.
30:34 It was fully loaded.
30:36 Obviously, she'd hidden it just as she hid the knife.
30:39 She said, "Mr. Mowry, I'm going to kill you."
30:43 Charles thought she was playing a game.
30:46 She fired.
30:48 I leaped at her and grabbed her wrist.
30:50 The gun went off again, hitting the chandelier.
30:54 I'm sorry.
30:58 I'm sorry.
31:02 I didn't want to tell the truth for Tessa's sake.
31:05 And you, Mr. Mowry, you saw all this too?
31:11 No, he... he heard the shot just like everybody else and came running.
31:15 I told him to just back me up no matter what story I told for Tessa's sake, and he agreed.
31:22 Oh, Douglas, we were just trying to shield that child.
31:26 It was a mistake.
31:29 Is this why you called me, Mr. Mowry?
31:33 Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Just what Sylvia told you.
31:36 I was going to...
31:38 Just what Sylvia told you.
31:44 Stay here, all of you.
31:46 Great. I really fixed it up great, didn't I?
32:04 Yes, I heard.
32:06 You know what this means, don't you?
32:08 Up until now, I could have reported Mowry's death an accident.
32:12 Now it's going to be murder.
32:15 Oh, an eight-year-old child murdered. Don't be ridiculous.
32:18 I have to report Miss Walters' story. Who's to deny it?
32:22 If that child deliberately shot that gun, she'll be institutionalized.
32:28 We have just one chance to prevent that.
32:31 What's that?
32:33 Ask her father to come up here.
32:35 Ask her father to come up here.
32:38 (SNORING)
32:40 (SIGHS)
33:07 Sit down, Paul.
33:08 I don't want to sit down.
33:10 What are you looking at, Miss Follett?
33:15 Nothing.
33:16 Paul, please sit down.
33:18 Look here, Miss Follett.
33:21 For one week, I've had that child staring at me from her window.
33:24 I will not have you staring at me, too.
33:27 What do you find so fascinating about my hands, anyway?
33:31 Paul, for heaven's sakes, leave the girl alone.
33:33 We're all under a strain.
33:35 You've been up there for a long time.
33:37 Don't you understand, Tessa, that even an accident is serious enough?
33:44 But now we've been told that you deliberately shot Mr. Mowry,
33:48 and that's far more serious.
33:50 Tessa, listen to me.
33:51 She's exhausted, Gordon. Why don't you let the...
33:53 I'll let that child do whatever she wants, after she tells me what happened.
33:57 Tessa, was it an accident?
34:00 Did you shoot him at all?
34:02 Was the gun placed in your hand?
34:05 Did you see Mr. Mowry lying on the floor when you walked into the room?
34:08 Tessa, answer me!
34:09 Stop badgering the child.
34:11 You afraid of what she might tell me, Mr. Kilburn?
34:13 Do you know what I'll have to do if you don't talk to me, Tessa?
34:16 Do you know, Tessa?
34:18 Was the gun placed in your hand?
34:20 Did you see Mr. Mowry lying on the floor when you walked into the room?
34:23 Tessa, answer me!
34:24 That's enough, Gordon. Let her alone.
34:25 You keep out of this.
34:26 She's my daughter, and I said let her alone.
34:27 Now you listen to me, you little girl!
34:29 I didn't think your daughter meant that much to you, Mr. Kilburn.
34:45 Get out of here, now!
34:47 I'll go.
34:48 But I'll be back with a court order for that child's custody.
34:52 Did she speak, Lieutenant? Did Tessa speak?
34:54 No. No, she didn't.
34:56 What are you going to do?
34:58 What I should have done days ago.
35:00 You're not going to send that child to a state institution.
35:03 I have no choice.
35:05 Good night.
35:07 And you know something, Tessa?
35:09 I never hit anyone over a lady in my life before.
35:12 I've never hit anyone over a woman in my life.
35:18 I've never hit anyone over a woman in my life.
35:21 I've never hit anyone over a woman in my life.
35:24 I've never hit anyone over a woman in my life.
35:27 I've never hit anyone over a woman in my life.
35:30 I've never hit anyone over a woman in my life.
35:33 I've never hit anyone over a woman in my life.
35:36 I've never hit anyone over a woman in my life.
35:39 I've never hit anyone over a woman in my life.
35:42 I've never hit anyone over a woman in my life.
35:45 I've never hit anyone over a woman in my life.
35:48 I've never hit anyone over a woman in my life.
35:51 I've never hit anyone over a woman in my life.
35:54 I've never hit anyone over a woman in my life.
35:57 I've never hit anyone over a woman in my life.
36:00 I know I haven't been...
36:03 I haven't paid very much attention to you, but then...
36:06 I haven't paid very much attention to anyone or anything.
36:10 Tessa, the only reason I want you to speak to me now is because of my concern for you.
36:19 After that, you don't...
36:22 ever have to speak to me again if you don't want to.
36:26 But I want you to know that I don't believe you shot that man.
36:30 I don't believe you attacked Miss Walsh...
36:34 and about the flowerbed.
36:38 Footprints aren't such a proof of anything.
36:41 They could have been planted there.
36:44 Hey, that's funny. Footprints planted in a flowerbed.
36:52 Footprints can be planted just as well as fingerprints, my darling.
36:56 Tessa.
37:01 Tell me, Tessa, whatever it is, I'll believe you.
37:04 Because I'm your father.
37:09 And because I love you.
37:12 (Tessa crying)
37:15 - Good night. Good night, everyone. - Good night.
37:28 Good night, Paul.
37:31 Douglas, how is she?
37:36 Asleep. She's exhausted.
37:38 - Did she talk? - No.
37:40 All I had to do was to make contact with her.
37:43 A simple act of trust between father and daughter.
37:46 - I couldn't do it. - And it's hopeless?
37:48 No, I didn't mean that.
37:50 Just now, for the first time, she showed some emotion. She cried.
37:54 In the morning, I'm sure she'll talk to me.
37:57 Where are you going?
37:59 To stop Lieutenant Gordon getting that court order any way I can.
38:02 - Will you be long? - As long as it takes.
38:06 (car engine starts)
38:09 Betty, why were you staring so at Paul, Maury?
38:18 What did you see on the table?
38:20 I'm not sure, Mrs. Kilvan.
38:23 - But you did see something. - Yes.
38:26 Why didn't you tell Lieutenant Gordon?
38:28 Because I couldn't connect it until now.
38:33 Connect what?
38:35 Lieutenant Gordon told me among the worthless bits of evidence he was trying to piece together,
38:39 there were some fingerprints.
38:41 - Whose fingerprints? - Paul Maury's.
38:44 There were three sets of Paul Maury's fingerprints on the table.
38:48 What of it?
38:50 He was outside the door when I entered the room.
38:53 I saw him break in and go straight to the body of his brother.
38:56 He never touched a thing in that room.
39:01 Are you... positive?
39:04 Yes.
39:06 Don't you see, Mrs. Kilvan?
39:09 That means that Sylvia's second story is also untrue.
39:13 It means that Paul Maury was in the room earlier that morning.
39:17 He had to be. He was there before he broke in.
39:20 Now, Lieutenant Gordon couldn't have known that.
39:22 He naturally assumed that Paul Maury touched the table after his brother was killed.
39:28 [♪♪♪]
39:31 You want to see me? Now?
39:37 All right, I'll be right over.
39:40 [♪♪♪]
39:43 [♪♪♪]
39:46 [♪♪♪]
40:14 Paul, you frightened me.
40:17 I saw Miss Follett leave. Where did she go?
40:20 I don't know. She just ran out of here.
40:22 Sylvia, she knows something. I'm sure she knows something.
40:24 - The way she kept looking at me... - Oh, get a hold of yourself, Paul.
40:28 - Who's in the house? - Tessa, the old lady upstairs.
40:33 What was Lieutenant Gordon doing at your house when that child attacked me with a knife?
40:39 I think he dropped it to question me.
40:42 Oh, you sent for him. Why, Paul?
40:45 Sylvia, I can't take any more of this.
40:48 - I will not burn for you. - But he's going to burn.
40:51 I was willing to go along with you and my brother when it came to fleecing Kilburn.
40:54 A fast marriage, a quick divorce, and a big settlement to divide among the three of us.
40:58 That much my conscience could live with.
41:01 But murder? No.
41:05 Obviously, you haven't told this to Lieutenant Gordon.
41:08 No. We'd just come into my study when we heard you scream.
41:12 - Your luck held, Sylvia. - Your luck held too, Paul.
41:16 What do you mean? You put the gun in the child's hand. I didn't.
41:19 - Yes, but you stood by to back me up. - I didn't kill Charles.
41:23 I had no idea that he intended to divulge the entire scheme to Douglas.
41:26 I had to stop him from doing that, didn't I, Paul?
41:29 He said he was doing it for love, Paul.
41:35 The love of me.
41:38 He didn't want me to marry Douglas. Not even for one day.
41:43 Now, what do you think of that?
41:46 Sylvia, you've got to let me out of this.
41:51 No, Paul.
41:54 And if you ever feel talkative again, just remember this.
41:57 Yes, I pulled the trigger, but you're guilty too. By law, you're just as guilty as I am.
42:01 Now, get out of here. Don't you ever set foot in this house again unless you're invited.
42:06 But you called me on the phone.
42:09 What?
42:12 - Didn't you? - No.
42:16 - You did. You said... - Up.
42:28 - The old lady. - It must have been the old lady.
42:31 I remember. I had trouble hearing on the phone. I said, "Syl...
42:35 - Sylvia! You can't... - Keep out of this, Paul.
42:38 Sylvia, this is diabolical.
42:41 - Sylvia. - This is cold-blooded murder. - That old lady knows about us.
42:45 Thanks to your stupidity, she's trapped us.
42:48 Well, this'll be the same as with Charles.
42:51 They'll find the old lady dead and the gun in the child's hands.
42:55 - And they'll put her away once and for all. - You're the one that should be put away, Sylvia.
42:59 Get out of here. And if you say anything to anybody, I'll tell them you killed your brother.
43:05 (FOOTSTEPS)
43:09 (FOOTSTEPS)
43:37 The time is 10.23.
43:40 The time is 10.23 and 10 seconds.
43:47 The time is 10.23 and 40 seconds.
44:06 The time is 10.23 and 50 seconds.
44:09 The time is 10.23...
44:23 (FOOTSTEPS)
44:26 I'm here, Sylvia, waiting.
44:52 (FOOTSTEPS)
44:55 What happens to me is of no importance.
45:02 Don't do this to Tessa. She's so troubled, so helpless.
45:09 You should have thought of Tessa when you phoned Paul, Mrs. Kilburn.
45:13 Now I have to do this.
45:18 (FOOTSTEPS)
45:21 (GUNSHOT)
45:24 - Let go of me. - Let me go!
45:27 (SOBBING)
45:36 Oh, here, let me have her.
45:39 Daddy! Daddy!
45:44 You mean to say that you were in this house all the time?
45:48 Right here with Tessa. We used the outside stairway to get back in.
45:52 - I'm curious. I thought I was on my own. - She all right?
45:55 She's a Kilburn. Of course she's all right.
45:58 I understand you're responsible for this trickery.
46:02 Do you realize I might have been killed?
46:04 Mother, nobody asked you to telephone Mowry and impersonate Sylvia.
46:08 Well, I... Well, that's no excuse for this...
46:13 This policeman to lie about a court order.
46:17 Well, let's just say it was a cover story to compel a disagreeable old lady to help me smoke out a murderer.
46:24 Betty here was my accomplice. She told the crucial part of the story to you.
46:28 B... Betty?
46:31 - Is that true? - Yes, ma'am.
46:35 Well...
46:37 - You're fired. - Fired?
46:40 - Oh, no! - Anyone who'd fool an old crow like me is dangerous.
46:44 You'll have to learn all my secrets.
46:46 From now on, you'll take charge of Tessa exclusively.
46:50 Now let's get out of here and leave my son alone with my granddaughter.
46:54 I thought I just fired you.
46:56 Lieutenant Gordon will see me to my room, won't you, Lieutenant?
47:01 (SAD MUSIC PLAYING)
47:04 (SAD MUSIC PLAYING)
47:08 (MUSIC PLAYING)
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47:45 (MUSIC PLAYING)
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48:33 (MUSIC PLAYING)
48:36 (MUSIC PLAYING)
48:46 (MUSIC PLAYING)
48:55 (MUSIC PLAYING)
48:58 (upbeat music)
49:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]