All language subtitles for A Boys Best Friend - starring Tim Brierley & Phyllis Calvert (1981)

double gaming animation ofurally

Sidney had a fox, was born at the turn of the century.

The illegitimate son of a railway porter, from the age of 13 to 31, he led a life of

deception and pretense as the honorable Sidney of Fox.

He maintained poses as an old Italian as an RAF officer.

He was an under-judged bankrupt and a master of forgery and fraud.

Fox's victims included his closest friends.

He was devoted to his adoring widowed mother, Rosalind.

On a total income of 18 shillings a week, they traveled together, staying at the very

best and most expensive hotels all over England.

With the little old lady, this well-spoken handsome young man obtained credit, passed

false and stolen checks until his increasingly twisted path led to this courtroom.

The morning of the 12th of March 1930 found Sidney had a fox in the not unfamiliar confines

of a prison cell.

Sidney, dear, brush your collar.

Why, mumsie, you lost years!

Aww, aren't I really wearing such beautiful clothes?

Oh, so cute.

Well, we're quite comfortable here, aren't we?

Oh, all those shimes.

Oh, those lovely, lovely charms.

You look younger than I ever remember.

You said that to me once before.

When?

When we went to see mercenary men.

Yeah, you mean men?

Yeah.

Oh, this is so sudden.

Sure, didn't you know that?

I'm a little bit fond of you, fan of myself.

It's two things I never do for myself.

I do for you.

I do.

My white locks I cheer off.

I didn't even shave my beard off.

Or now that I'm really sure you all belong that I adore.

Which proves that I'm a little bit nicer to you, than to myself.

I am just a little bit sweeter to you than to myself.

I am.

I know I'm old and grey and that I've passed my turn.

But darling, you will always be writing the swim for I'm a little bit nicer to you than to myself.

I am.

I am an old feature hunter.

Shh.

Your card is here, Mr. Fox.

That's enough of that, Fairfax.

Thank you, Davis.

Sydney Harry Fox.

You are charged on indictment, but on the 23rd of October 1929, you murdered your mother, Mrs. Rosalind Fox, in room 66 at the Hotel Metropole Margate.

Well, Sydney Harry Fox.

Are you guilty or not guilty?

Not guilty.

The alleged crime of metroside was almost unprecedented in this country.

It exerted an intense fascination upon the minds of the English public.

For the purpose of this drama, the trial has been condensed and simplified.

The characters freely interpreted and dramatic license has been taken.

The hearing was now well underway.

They come to the hotel from France. They've been visiting his brother's grave, sir.

We'd have little chats together.

It did, Mrs. Fox. He may a healthy woman to you.

She seemed a bit feeble, had a shuffling step, a wobbly walk.

Yes, Mrs. Bigmore, any odd duties as a chambermaid, you must have noticed what clothing Mrs. Fox possessed.

Oh, yes. She had two dresses. She'd wear the black one on top and an AV-1 underneath.

Then there was combinations, corsets, vests, pericues, two pairs of stockings, a coat, hat and a fox fur.

They didn't have night attire. The luggage had been sent on. He told me.

Yes, and when she took off her clothes at night, where would she leave them?

All over the shop. The chair by the fire. The floor, sir.

Where would she leave her false teeth?

Two mornings out of free, the teeth would be in a glass on the washstand.

Once there was on the floor, sometimes in the basin.

When I took her tea in the morning, I'd give her teeth with it.

Did you receive any tip from the accused?

He'd give me seven and six months.

You wanted Mrs. Fox looked after. They were the best of pals.

He was affectionate to her. He had to go to town on business, see?

He was a busy gentleman.

Good. Now, on the night Mrs. Fox died, did you see her? All the accused?

At seven. She were in a chair by the fire. Last time I saw them alive together, he was washing his hands.

He was washing his hands?

That's right. They went downstairs.

Did you enter the room again that night?

At eight fifteen. No one was there. The guest bar was out. I put the bottle in the bed.

I never saw Mrs. Fox alive again. Mr. The accused was ever so upset at the tragedy.

He'd give me his mother's teeth. God bless him.

On the 23rd of October, I came back to the Metropolitan Metropolitan.

And entered the lounge around 11.20 pm.

There were maybe three other commercial travellers at the bar.

How long did you stay there, Mr. Hopkins?

Until about 11.40. Then I saw the accused running downstairs. I was startled.

He was naked, except for a shirt of some kind. He was crying fire.

Where's the boots? My mummy's on fire. My mummy.

I see you. And so what did you do?

Well, I shouted fire. I ran upstairs after the accused. Said it's some others.

We went along the hotel corridor. There was a little smoke.

And the accused opened the door to room 67. The door was shut? Yes.

There was smoke in it and no light on. The accused went out again. I followed him.

He pointed to the room next door at 66 and said, my mother's in there.

I opened the door. So that door was also shut? It was.

I walked in a few feet, but I was beaten back by the smoke.

It was very thick. I couldn't breathe, probably. The fumes were very pungent.

I tried again with the handkerchief over my mouth, but I didn't get much further.

Yes, now...

What was the accused doing?

I didn't see him do anything. I see. Sorry.

What did you do then?

Well, the air was a little clearer, close to the floor.

So I went in on my hands and knees.

I bumped into Mrs. Fox's bare legs, hanging over the bed. There was a foot.

Well, I caught her under the arms and I pulled her off the bed.

I think her back was towards me because she was only in her under best.

Was she under the clothes on the bed?

No, I can't remember.

Hello.

So you dragged Mrs. Fox to safety?

Yeah, towards the corridor. A voice said, mind you're burning her feet.

I don't know who he said it.

How did Mrs. Fox look to you? What did her face look like?

Pail. Her mouth was open as though she couldn't control the muscles.

And her head was all wobbly and flapping about.

Did she seem to be dead? Yes.

Well, I laid her down outside the door as I was completely exhausted.

I placed my raincoat over it. I remember a burning chair being brought out.

Is this the chair which was on fire?

Yes. I identified the chair.

What did you do next?

Well, I appeal to the people around to help me get the woman away from the smoke.

Then they did.

Was the smoke filling the corridor growing thicker?

Yes. I was feeling very bad. I was ill for three weeks afterwards.

Yes, we'd all agree to do the very plucky action. You're all right now, I hope.

Yes, well, I'm still a little nervous and my legs give me pain.

Yes. Now, Mr. Hopkins, while you were rescuing Mrs. Fox from the smoke,

did the accused play any part?

No. None at all.

None at all. Thank you, Mr. Hopkins.

My dear boys, it's so kind of you to visit me here, Cecil.

Uncle.

It's so dreadful. I had to walk out of that market place.

A circus. A brute of a sailor's individual. Slander. Pure slander.

To see you in a position like this.

Are you well attended? One was not to complain.

The trunk was delicious.

Oh, have you enjoyed my little lunches? How was the wine today?

I may die on the gallows. They may end my life, Cecil.

But you know the truth. Of course I know. No such tragedy could before you.

Of course, Rosalind and I had our little differences after that unfortunate unpleasantness

of the club. The birds fly free. It won't be long now.

Well, I'm... I'm sleeve you. With a... a small memento.

Oh, you're so kind. Remember me. Remember me.

Know that you have a true friend, my dear boys.

The one who understands all that you suffer. The truth will out.

I shall take care of you. Till soon then.

What am I? Auf Wiedersehen.

How strong is the divine? Priggerdale Windboat.

My uncle.

It's all love.

That policy was twice extended by the accused until it expired on the 13th of September.

Mr. Eve, did the accused then visit you in September and ask you certain questions?

Yes. He was now interested in an accident policy for Mrs. Fox.

He asked if she drowned in the bath. Would that be an accident within the meaning of the policy?

Yes.

I said I presumed if Mrs. Fox became ill in the bath and drowned, that would not be an accident.

Did the accused have any further questions for you?

Yes. What if his mother became ill in a restaurant and died of poisoning?

I said that would not be regarded as an accident either.

And was this accident policy issue?

Yes. On the 24th of September to the amount of £3,000.

And when did it expire?

It was to lapse on the 8th of October. The accused then extended the policy four times.

Finally, it was extended not to noon as previously but to midnight on the 23rd of October.

The night, in fact, on which Mrs. Fox died? Thank you. No further question.

Mr. Castle.

Hello, my lord. Is it the fact that had Mrs. Fox died on the 26th or 27th of August in the circumstances set out in the accused earlier policy,

your company would then have been liable for £3,000?

That is so.

Have you issued other policies that have expired at midnight?

Very seldom. It can be arranged to cover a particular period, for example, the journey.

And did the accused tell you his mother was very nervous and that she would not travel without being insured?

Yes. He did.

My name is Gwendolyn Bug and I'm a waitress at the Metropolitan Hotel, Margate.

I knew the accused as a visitor to the hotel last October.

Yes. Did you know Mrs. Fox?

Oh, yes, sir. Mr. Fox and his mother set it one of my tables and waited on them at meals in the dining room.

Mr. Fox never took breakfast. He only had coffee.

Mrs. Fox never came downstairs to breakfast. But when Mrs. Fox was in good health, they'd dined together in the dining room. She wasn't very well.

Oh.

Her eyes were fixed and she always walked with a shuffle or a waggle and always had to be laid.

Can you tell us, please, what happened on Sunday, October the 20th?

On that Sunday, Mrs. Fox did not come downstairs, but ate in her room as Mr. Fox was away.

Yes. When did the accused return?

Mr. Fox returned from London on the evening of Tuesday, October the 22nd, and he and his mother dined together.

How did Mrs. Fox appear on Wednesday, October the 23rd?

Mrs. Fox ate good meals on Wednesday, October the 23rd, and seemed quite as usual.

Yes. What was the behaviour of the accused of his mother that day?

Mr. Fox seemed quite affectionate to his mother during lunch and dinner that day.

That evening, Mrs. Fox had half a pint of bitter with her dinner. She ate a good meal that night.

Yes. When did your last see, Mrs. Fox?

I last saw Mrs. Fox when she was leaving the dining room with Mr. Fox on the Wednesday evening.

But I saw the accused the next day at lunchtime.

Did he tell you anything about himself on that occasion or on any other occasion?

Oh, yes, sir. I told him I was very sorry how his mother lost her life, and I asked him what he was going to do.

He said, I do not know, but I do not think I shall stay in England, as I only have some cousins in Norwich.

I shall probably go to Australia. I said, you will have to get married.

Did your accused say anything else?

He gave me half a crown and said, that is all I have at present, Gwen. As you know how things are.

Silence in court.

Proceed, Mr. Biffin.

On the 23rd of October, we were caught to a fire in Room 66 of the Metropolitan.

And in your opinion, where had that fire originated?

Are you directly underneath the armchair? Only the underneath part was burned away.

Yes, was the carpet badly burned under the chair.

Yes, and the felt under that. The floorboards were slightly charred. It was an incandescent fire.

Incandescent? People may not know what that means.

I mean, the material had smoldered more than it had flame.

Ah. My Lord.

Was there a strip of unburnt carpet between the armchair and the gas fire?

Yes. At first I thought the woman had brought some clothing into contact with the gas fire and dropped it on the floor by the chair.

But I've since made certain tests.

What were these tests?

I cut up pieces of the carpet from Room 66 and I burnt things on top of it.

Newspapers, a marino vest, orsera newspaper, orsera and cotton wool.

But with disappointing results, the carpet wouldn't burn through.

Ah, what conclusion did you reach?

That it was almost impossible to burn that carpet flat on the floor.

Yes, did you experiment with underwear?

Yes. I am some combinations. They were the back of a cane chair and I set fire to them.

What happened?

Most damage was done to the top of the chair.

Now this is a very serious question. I want you to tell the jury, do you or do you not think that this could have been an accidental fire?

I cannot find any means of it being an accidental fire.

Thank you, Mr. Griffin.

Mr. glasses.

Mr. Griffin, how many years experience have you had a fire?

29 years experience.

Have you experimented with lighting paper beneath an armchair such as this one?

No.

Did you not try burning horse hair suspended over a burning carpet?

No, I didn't.

Was the carpet with which you experimented as warm as this part was?

I did not compare the thread.

Can you suggest how the cane chair became burned?

I have no suggestion whatsoever.

Why do you consider that a chair such as this one would not burn readily?

Because the horse hair was padded too tightly.

You've got to have oxygen for a fire.

Ah, then I suggest you take a handful of horse hair from the chair and burn it in court.

Certainly be delighted.

I don't think that should be done, Mr. Cusses. It may affect the air of the court.

There's no point in us all being asphyxiated.

Very well, my Lord.

Mr. Griffin, have you in your experience ever known of a fire the origin of which could not be ascertained?

Yes, many of them.

Sydney.

Sydney.

Harbour.

Savage and fierce aborigines.

Cow all of this.

Cow all of this.

There's chimes.

It's like to stop by.

Those lovely, lovely chimes.

What a splendid new hat, Mother dear.

Found it in the churchyard.

In the churchyard.

There's a charity fair, so I borrowed it, made to amend.

It's worth a bobber too.

Yeah, look, that nice present, the bringer there, I'll give you.

Hello.

You know, your father were a real gentleman, and Lord...

Was mother, he was, not were.

Did you know that our little princess Lily, but is going to have a younger brother?

How splendid for the British Empire.

How did your house center of left my walking stick behind? Would you mind?

The one dear Ronna could visit me. Everything would be...

Well, I don't.

You never knew him.

He was so talented, mum's a yew.

Such a voice, such a figure.

He's playing in that thing, don't you?

Oh dear, Siddy, all I do is feel faint.

Oh, I do wish I could have a drop to drink.

I do miss it, sir.

Mother, you're tiring yourself out.

It's all this travelling that comes and sit down.

You are a fraud.

You can't feel faint.

Can you?

Oh no, I'll never tell you to stop.

Oh, oh, you say it's in the new ones.

Oh, they're such a bad fit. It's not what you're saying.

I'm going to be rich, mother.

I'm going to walk out of here with £3,000.

And dear Rowland.

You've been so generous to me.

Isn't there a shame I can't give you what you want?

Oh, well, I'll go to our plans.

Rolo is to tour Australia. I'm going with you, mother.

We're sailing on the Duchess of Sydney.

Mm-hmm.

I'm going to leave this sorely dreadful of your life.

All of the humiliations are just fade away on the horizon.

Oh, you're very confident, aren't you?

I'm in love.

Oh, oh.

My city is so clever.

Get away with...

Well...

with all those, anything.

What do you know?

I hear that our poor dear friend, Mrs. Moss,

is being sued for a divorce now, and you're being named.

I never cared for that woman.

My youngest son is nothing but a whore.

Another language? You're going to the dogs without me.

You did let her down, you know, city.

Psh, I'm missing marriage.

Borrowing on her, George.

I've served time for that.

Well, then, there was that time two years ago

when you tiptoeed across her bedroom,

turned on the gas tap.

She hadn't woken up.

You'd have been left a rich man.

Why?

You were trying to blackmail me.

Oh, me?

The police have inquiries about you.

Their files, my dear.

How are you?

Do you know everything?

What's to happen?

Mother!

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Mother!

Oh!

Mother!

The air passages were clear.

I could scrape no traces of soot or particles of carbon from smoke.

At the back of the larynx, I found a large recent bruise,

about the size of a half-crack.

It was then that I had the first indication of the conclusions to which I finally came.

To what do you attribute to that bruise?

I suspected the bruise was the result of some handling of the larynx,

such as in manual strangulation.

And after dissecting all that part, I finally excluded all other causes.

Did you find any further bruise?

Yes.

I found a recent bruise in the substance of the tongue.

On the left margin, about midway between the tip and the back base of the tongue.

The bruise was not visible to the naked eye.

It was spherical and about a quarter of an inch in diameter.

Having regard to the absence of any soot or any carbon monoxide in the body,

have you reached a point where certain causes can be eliminated?

Yes.

I can eliminate the effects of a fire in that room.

What happens to a person lying asleep, apart from government oxide?

If the room fills with smoke, there would be violent coffee, and the person would wake up.

The person would wake before any question of carbon monoxide poisoning a rope.

Yes.

I see.

Sir Henry, my lord, could the positive symptoms which you found possibly be accounted for by any disease of the heart?

No.

Sir Bernard, you know the gravity of this case.

I do.

And the responsibility that rests upon you.

Yes.

Have you or have you not any doubt as to the cause of this woman's death?

After weighing all the facts very carefully, I can have no doubt.

In my opinion, the cause of death was asphyxia due to manual strangulation.

Sir Bernard, could not the diseased condition of the heart have contributed to the sudden death of Mrs. Fox?

No. Not in my opinion.

How many bodies have you exhumed in cases of death from manual strangulation?

This is the only one.

With the exception of the chief constable in attendance.

Has any other person seen this bruise at the back of the larynx?

No.

When you got to your laboratory the next day, could you see it?

No, I could not.

It could not then be seen because of putrefaction, which had set in after the exhumation.

The bruise at the back of the larynx might easily be a mark of putrefaction.

It was a bruise and nothing else.

There are no two opinions about it.

If it had been putrefaction, the mark would not have been red in colour but green.

Sir Bernard, in your experience of strangulation cases, have you ever heard of a case with fewer signs than this?

No. I have not.

Sir Bernard, is it possible for you to have made a mistake?

And the stake in the post-mortem change for a bruise?

No. Quite impossible.

This was a bruise?

Yes. Thank you for that.

Very well. We will have drawn that.

All stand.

He must be very fond of you.

Oh, he's a generous man, my uncle.

Thank you.

My new mr. Davis wouldn't bring my dessert in time.

Oh, never mind. I'll see you get some tea.

My dear mr. Armstrong, do you know you're the only person I can rely on in these dreadful circumstances?

My dear mr. Davis, do you know that in these dreadful circumstances,

you're positively the only person I can trust.

You are Sydney Harry Fox, the fourth and youngest son of the deceased.

I am.

How would you describe your mother's health in the last few years?

After 1926, she began to have attacks of giddiness and to fall backwards.

She'd been nervous and shaky for a few minutes and then recovered.

What was the feeling between you and your mother?

Excellent. The ordinary feeling between mother and son.

During that last year, did your mother suggest that she should make a will?

Yes. She told me what to put down. I wrote it word for word as she told me.

Tell me this, Fox. Did you sometimes leave hotels without paying?

Yes.

And on the 16th of October, you arrived at the hotel Metropole Margate. Did you intend to stay long?

No, only for one night, but mother contracted a chill.

So when did you intend?

Then we had dinner in the dining room.

And what did you do after dinner?

About nine o'clock. I took my mother to her room. I lit the gas fire.

She asked for an evening paper, which I fetched for her.

I asked her if she would like a glass of port, she said she would.

I immediately purchased a half bottle.

How much port did your mother drink?

About a quarter of the half bottle, I had the remainder.

And when did you leave her?

A little after ten.

I put the cane chair near her in front of the fire to act as a table.

Some grapes, I bought, and the newspaper were on it.

What was she doing when you left?

Stinging by the fire.

I kissed a good night and asked if I should come in again and turn out the light.

She said no, it's quite all right. I should be getting into bed very shortly. I shall turn it out myself.

The half bottle of port was finished.

Yes. I went and hired a couple of beers and went upstairs again, about ten forty.

I went straight to my room to bed and I fell asleep.

What was it that way couldn't you?

I heard a rattling noise. The wind was very strong and I thought it was my window.

Then I smelled some burning. Suddenly I remembered my mother sitting in front of the fire.

I opened the communicating door to her room.

There was very, very thick smoke. I couldn't get in.

And what did you do?

I dashed downstairs as the quickest way to get help.

The other people seemed to think I was joking or in my sleep, but they did come up behind me.

I went through the door of my own room and then I realized that the best way would be through the corridor.

It was closer to the bed.

Ah, and did you remember Mr. Hopkins being driven back out by this work?

I hardly remember. I do remember seeing him drag my mother out.

She was carried downstairs. I told people to be careful and not drop her.

What happened when you reached the hall?

I note down on the floor beside her to see if I could be of any help.

I was then taken to the hotel manager's room.

The doctor came and told me she was dead.

I couldn't believe it and asked to see her.

The doctor took me upstairs and I saw her.

I was then given an injection.

Yeah. Thank you.

How much money had you on the evening of October the 23rd?

I cannot say exactly.

Approximately one pound.

Had your mother any money?

As far as I know she had none.

A fortnight or so before your mother's death, the death of Valburger Lady Padgett took place.

Yes.

She was no lady who died. It was a result of a fire.

The paper said she was reading a newspaper in front of the fire when her dress caught a light.

My mother read it out to me.

Did this make some impression on your mind?

No, I did not own Lady Padgett.

My mother did.

They met at the Red Cross.

Now in room 66 there was a cane chair which was burned and yet was not found near the seat of the fire.

It was found by the window.

Did you move that chair that night?

Most certainly not.

No one could say definitely where it was with all the commotion.

When you opened the communicating door that night, did you realize the atmosphere in your mother's room was such as it was probably suffocate anybody inside of the fire?

I stayed in three or four minutes. I should have been suffocated.

So that you must have been greatly apprehensive for your mother?

I was.

Fox, you closed the door.

It's quite possible I did.

Can you explain to me why it was that you closed the door instead of flinging it wide open?

My explanation for that now is that the smoke should not spread into the hotel.

Rather that your mother should suffocate and the smoke should get about the hotel.

Certainly not, sir.

Does it not now strike you as an inconceivable thing to have done?

Not in a panic I was in.

So did you leave your mother with the communicating door closed and the door of room 67 closed?

Did you pass the door of room 66 but did not open it and you knew that your mother was inside?

Yes, but a rash downstairs to get help which I think is a quite reasonable explanation.

I was agitated at discovering the hotel was on fire.

Discovering the hotel was on fire.

I should have thought what would have made you agitated was your mother being in that room.

Certainly.

Well which is it now?

I cannot remember all that happened that night.

I suggest if you wanted to preserve your mother's knife you would have flung open the doors.

I tried to get in when I could not a dash downstairs.

Did you tell the coroner that you had had a boxing match with your mother?

Because you were apprehensive lest some bruise be found upon her.

Certainly not.

It was friendly play.

I hold her hands and then let go.

Were you heartbroken that your mother's death?

I was.

Quite stricken down when you knew...

I don't think it is necessary to ask.

Did the doctor then take you to the room when your mother laid out?

Yes.

The most solemn moment of your life was...

It was.

You then tell the doctor that your mother had 24 pounds in her handbag.

Some time after I did which was of course untrue.

Still heartbroken were you when you told that lie.

I did not want you to think she was staying in the hotel without money.

Were you trying to make another 25 pounds or so?

Most certainly not sir.

Did it ever occur to you that it was an amazing piece of good fortune that you had this insurance policy for death?

Never.

Was the truth about this policy that you were desperately hard up for money?

I did not agree.

Did you renew the life you were leading could come to one end in that quickly?

No.

Did you go into your mother's room on the night of the 23rd of October after she'd gone to bed?

I did to try to get her out.

Did you go towards the bed before there was any fire at all and stretch out your hand against your own mother?

Certainly not.

Did you then start a fire?

Certainly not.

Did you move that cane chair back to the window?

Certainly not.

Did you then go out to the room?

Did you go into your own room, close the door and then give the alarm?

No, no.

Decidely not.

Did you destroy your mother on the 23rd of October in order that you might reap 3,000 pounds from that insurance policy?

Certainly not.

It is a horrible suggestion.

Horrible.

I don't think so.

My dear is the brightest star.

A very distant seems your light.

I read of you and the boys.

My ordeal is almost over.

I know your horror of prisons.

I ask nothing but that you remember.

We will sail together.

This little gift is an emblem of our future.

Your own Harry.

Mmm.

Well, son.

Back again.

Missed me?

Of course.

Another new hat, mother.

Oh.

I wish...

I wish we were together again having tea.

Old Grey and your favourite ginger snaps.

By the fire in a cozy lounge, eh?

By the fire.

You know, I missed you and I travelled.

You know where both somebodies were famous.

I've only read the papers.

Bit cold in here, shouldn't it?

Mm.

No, it's fine.

Thank you.

Mr. Fairfax, will you tell the chaplain that I must see him?

What now?

Mr. Dello?

Virgin, is it?

Yeah, it's very urgent.

Please tell him.

I'll do my best.

Cha, please, siddin'.

It's just very nice giving away presents.

Oh, I'll do that, mummy.

Oh, so you still think you're going to Australia?

You wouldn't try to stop me from starting a new life.

Oh, whose life do you think is ended, siddie?

Whose life?

I couldn't ever...

I've carried you round all my days, mother.

You've stopped me from... from being me.

Oh, or how can you?

You know, one day when I'm no longer with you,

you'll suddenly realise that a boy's best friend...

Why do you come here?

It's time I was free.

Oh, you've always been free, mother.

I've always been a prisoner.

You've had your time, haven't you?

I've not told you me what's had my time, it's you.

But I'm young!

I did not enjoy that bottle of porcity.

No!

I was strange.

Mr. Fox, you sent for me.

Yes, father.

What can I do for you?

Do you want to make...

No, not now, there's something more important.

Indeed.

Yeah, would you be very, very kind.

Do you deliver these to a friend?

It's awfully important very well.

I will have to ask the authorities.

Yeah, you will deliver them to impersonate, please.

I will.

Never fear, Mr. Fox.

I understand.

Oh, that's it.

Yes, a dear friend.

A talented artist.

You will bring me a reply.

If there is a reply from your friend, I will bring it.

Thank you so much.

And if you should want to make any concessions...

Yes, yes.

Dear God-an-wolf.

I swear by my regard that the evidence I should give

should be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

I'm sorry.

Ah, Dr. Bronte, you are a pathologist.

I am.

No, it's formally crowned pathologist for all Ireland.

Did you visit Sir Bernard Spillsbury's laboratory with regard to this case?

I did.

And from what I saw, and from the evidence of Sir Bernard,

as to the market, the back of the larynx,

I am prepared to say that it was not a bruise,

and must have been a postmortem change.

If it had been a bruise, it would have been there

so long as the tissue or organ existed,

and would have been capable of demonstration.

Could such a bruise have been made without some external mark?

No, impossible.

Might not see how bruising of the inner tissues could occur

without bruising of the tissues themselves.

Could Mrs. Fox have died from asphyxia?

Well, from the material available to me,

my opinion is that Mrs. Fox died of heart failure

as a result of disease of the vessels of the heart

and disease of the muscles of the heart,

accelerated by shock.

Was she in such a condition that fright might bring about sudden death?

Yes, I saw the bruise in the tongue,

and it could have been caused very soon after death,

but much more probably sometime before death.

Thank you, Dr. Bronte.

Sometimes, you know,

specialists with the best will in the world

may take a preconceived view of a case

and make things fit into it.

I do not think that applies to specialists in the line I specialize in.

It applies to most specialists, but perhaps not in the arcade.

If I'd found all the traces Dr. Spildsbury said he'd found,

I'd have been an entire agreement with him.

Sir Bronte Spildsbury is a very distinguished practicing pathologist.

Yes.

Do you accept that he saw a bruise on the larynx?

I only say that I did not see it.

Are you suggesting that Sir Bronte did not see what he said he saw?

No.

I'm saying it was not there when I saw the larynx.

Well, if Sir Bronte had made this mistake,

it would be a very elementary mistake to make.

The sort of mistake every laboratory assistant has warned about.

No.

My lord, Sir Henry Curtis Bennett is trying to make me be little Sir Bronte Spildsbury.

I will not do it.

Just answer the question.

Does it amount to this?

You did not see the bruise,

and you are not prepared to accept it.

I am not.

I see.

Hello.

Do you still say there was no asphyxia?

I found no evidence of asphyxia.

You may get death from strangulation without any marks on the neck.

Ah, yes, but it isn't common.

In manual strangulation, death results from shock,

and not from asphyxia.

Now remember, I am on my oath.

I have not the slightest doubt insane

that no one could suffocate me without damaging my throat.

I am alone.

May I join you for coffee, Sir Bernie?

Members of the jury.

In this case,

I am not.

I am not.

I am not.

I am not.

I am not.

I am not.

I am not.

I am not.

I am not.

I am not.

I am not.

I am not.

In this case, no question arises of manslaughter or anything of that kind.

It is murder or nothing.

No prejudice ought to attach to the accused for murder.

From the circumstance that he was a dishonest man,

he is not being tried for there.

But there is no guiding in the position that if Mrs. Fox died between midnight on Tuesday

and midnight on Wednesday,

the whole aspect of affairs would change for the accused

from a state of despair and utter difficulty

to a state of affluence.

You have now got to decide how there came to be any fire.

When the accused discovered the fire,

he obviously pulled the door to,

although the room was full of smoke.

Not to open the doors.

When your mother is suffocating inside by the smoke,

which would escape if the doors were opened,

seems very odd.

You may think it odd that he did not make a more determined effort to reach his mother.

You have to decide whether, as according to the Bernard Spillsbury,

this was a case of manual strangulation and nothing else,

or whether it was a case of partial strangulation,

followed by death from heart failure,

or whether, as according to the defense doctor,

she had been in the smoke and coughed badly,

and that such coughing in the state of her heart would have caused sudden death.

You must ask yourself if there was any smoke,

while Mrs. Fox was still alive.

Now, you must face up to your duty.

That is all one can say.

Consider your verdict.

I'm so sorry.

Your friend wouldn't accept the gift.

He wouldn't read the note.

No message?

None.

Sorry.

Do you... do you want to pray?

Pray? No! No!

Now!

Well, I'm always here.

Hmm.

The jury's returning.

Members of the jury, will your foreman please stand.

Are you agreed upon your verdict?

We are.

Do you find the prisoner at the bar, Sydney, Harry Fox, guilty,

or not guilty of the murder of Rosaline Fox?

Guilty.

You find him guilty, and that is the verdict of you all?

It is.

Prisoner at the bar, you stand convicted of murder.

Have you anything to say before judgment of death is passed, according to law?

I lord it.

I never murdered my mother.

Sydney, Harry Fox, the jury has convicted you of murder.

The sentence of the court upon you is that you be taken hence to a lawful prison,

and there are two places of execution,

and that you there be hanged by the neck until you be dead,

and that your body be buried within the precincts of the prison,

within which you shall last have been confined before your execution.

And may the lord have mercy upon your soul, amen.

Fox was returned to Maidstone jail, where he took up residence in the condemned cell.

He was to be hanged at 815 in the morning on Tuesday 8 April 1930.

No other case has ever been recorded in this country of a son murdering his mother for financial gain.

Sydney Fox never confessed. He never showed any sign of repentance.

He was the first convicted murderer never to appeal.

He tried to keep occupied by writing his memoirs for the Sunday newspapers.

He had 18 days to live.

Do you remember my lovely wristwatch?

I'm going to leave it to you.

I don't have anyone you see.

Mr. Fairfax, I want you to have my cigarette case,

and my mother's ring will be for dear Mr. Davis.

I've written it in my will.

That's very generous of you.

Thank you.

Who's winning?

He is.

You are?

Mother?

Mother?

Mother?

Mother?