All language subtitles for The Mystery of the Deadly Silver Coins & The Ancient Curse ¦ Sherlock Holmes (1954)

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>> [music]

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>> My name is Dr. John Watson.

I shared a flat at 221B Baker Street

with a young man named Sherlock Holmes.

This would normally be a simple

statement of simple fact, but I had

learned in the first few weeks of our

association that the normal process of

returning home was in itself an

adventure. I never knew what to expect.

I seldom expected what I found.

I had decided to spend a quiet evening

at home, and I was determined not to

become involved in any new scheme that

Holmes would invent.

>> [music]

>> Alfie gas.

>> Oh.

>> Do you remember the Deep Street case

where the defense tried to prove that no

one could produce the deadly poison

without a trained chemist?

>> No.

>> Well, I'm going to try it now.

With kitchen utensils

and a secondary school chemistry book.

I knew it could be done. There it is,

Watson.

Brilliant.

>> Now you've gone too far.

>> That woman was guilty as a vulture.

Clever, too.

>> Holmes,

I wish you wouldn't forget that we got

to live in these rooms.

>> Can't imagine why the prosecution didn't

think of this.

>> The gentleman arrived here in a hansom.

He appears to be coming up here.

>> What else did you notice about our

visitor?

>> Well, now I say about 30-ish,

conservatively dressed, a man of modest

means.

What do you think, Holmes?

>> I don't know. I didn't see him.

>> You did.

>> Oh, yes.

Yes, of course.

Oh, excuse me.

Boy, do come in, will you?

>> Good morning. Is this Sherlock Holmes'

flat?

>> Yes, indeed.

Oh, solve it gas.

>> Oh.

>> Mr. Holmes has been experimenting.

>> That's Mr. Holmes.

>> How do you do, Mr. Holmes?

>> How do you do?

>> I must apologize for calling upon you

without an appointment, Mr. Holmes, but

uh it is urgent. May I present my friend

and colleague uh Dr. Watson.

>> How do you do?

>> How do you do?

>> Now then, Mr. Winthrop. Mr. Harvey

Winthrop, isn't it?

>> Have we met before, sir?

>> No, but you mustn't underestimate your

reputation.

Won't you come in?

>> Man, sit down.

>> Thank you.

>> Over there.

>> I had heard your powers of observation

were remarkable, Mr. Holmes.

Perhaps you've solved the purpose of my

visit.

>> I can only say it's a personal matter.

>> How do you know?

>> It is always a personal matter when one

consults me rather than the police.

>> Uh, of course.

But my reason to see you actually

concerns my elder brother, John. It is

he who controls the family wealth.

In the event of his death, I would be

sole heir.

>> Does his death seem imminent?

>> Well, his life has been threat-

>> In what way?

>> I noticed you didn't ask by whom.

>> You took pains to point out that only

you would benefit by your brother's

death.

If you knew who made the threat, you

wouldn't be so concerned with your own

innocence.

>> You're right.

I do not know who's making these

threats.

Actually, I don't even know if it is a

who.

>> I beg your pardon, sir?

>> Well, it is possibly a what, Dr. Watson.

In this case, the heritage of every old

family,

the family legend.

>> What is the Winthrop legend?

>> Every member of the family destined for

a violent death

finds about his person silver coins.

>> Silver coins?

Oh, you mean like those silver coins the

pirates used called pieces of eight?

>> Exactly, Dr. Watson.

Pieces of eight is a warning

and at the time of death a gold

doubloon.

>> Have these coins any special

significance?

>> 30 years ago, my father was killed by a

fall down the stairs in the main hall of

Winthrop Manor.

A gold doubloon was found under his

body.

>> Was he actually seen to fall downstairs?

>> Uh, no.

The manor was closed and has remained so

ever since.

>> I assume your brother has discovered

several silver coins.

>> Each day for the past 7 days.

>> I see. What has been his reaction?

>> He has decided for the first time in 30

years to reopen Winthrop Manor.

>> In defiance of the legend?

>> Exactly.

We are going to be there this weekend.

>> Who is we?

>> My brother, my fiancee and myself.

And I would like you two, Mr. Holmes and

Dr. Watson, to be there as well.

>> Well, that's very good of you, sir.

Do you have any other evidence to

substantiate your belief?

>> I was very young in those days, but I

can still remember the sight of my

father's body at the bottom of those

stairs.

>> Dr. Watson and I will arrive at Winthrop

Manor this Friday night.

>> Oh, thank you very much.

If there is anything I can do until

then, or if there's any question you

want to ask me before, please don't

hesitate to call upon me at any time.

>> We'll do that.

>> Thank you.

Again, thank you, gentlemen.

>> Not at all. Good day to you, sir. Good

day.

Well, Holmes, what do you think?

>> I think it's amazing, the extent to

which people will go to obscure the

simple facts of murder or threatened

murder.

>> You don't believe in the legend?

>> Nonsense.

>> Well, but after all, Holmes, you said

yourself that these things very often

have a basis of fact.

>> The odor lingers.

>> There was no mention of that in the

Dietrix case.

>> I'm a man of science myself, Holmes, you

know that. And yet there are things that

happen every day for which they have no

logical explanation.

>> How would Mrs. Dietrix have removed the

odor?

>> Of course it would work equally well

both ways. Winthrop himself admitted

that in the event of his brother's

death, he was the heir to the estate.

His visit here might have been a blind.

>> The solution of a murder, Watson, is

infinitely easier than the prevention.

We have committed ourselves to a weekend

in a drafty manor house that has been

closed for 30 years.

We will watch and we will wait.

And in time, we will apprehend the

person, persons, or ghosts who will

commit the murder of the Winthrop

legend.

>> Hello.

Is that you, Harvey?

Please come in.

>> Thank you.

>> The thunder was making so much noise, I

wasn't certain that I heard you knock.

>> Yes, I think we got here just in time.

>> Yes, we were worried that we would be

caught in the storm.

I'm Mrs. John Winthrop.

>> How do you do?

I'm Dr. Watson. This is Sherlock Holmes.

>> How do you do?

>> I'm very pleased to meet you.

You can leave your things here and go

into the sitting room.

>> We managed to get it comfortably warm.

>> [music]

>> I'll have your luggage brought up to

your room.

You'll have to excuse the inconveniences

of the house. My husband's decision to

spend the weekend here [music]

was rather sudden.

And I'm afraid we're understaffed.

>> Please don't concern yourself with us,

Mrs. Winthrop. I'm sure we'll be very

comfortable.

Oh, there you are.

>> I'm glad you made it before the storm.

I see you've already met my

sister-in-law.

>> Yes, we have.

>> How do you do?

>> Oh, Harvey, perhaps you can show Dr.

Watson and Mr. Holmes to their rooms.

>> Yes, I think you probably want to

freshen up.

>> Good evening, gentlemen.

This is my brother, John Winthrop. Dr.

Watson.

>> How do you do?

>> How do you do?

>> How do you do?

>> How do you do, sir?

>> I hope you'll be comfortable. Or as

comfortable as possible in a house

that's been closed for 30 years.

I feel I should apologize.

>> Not at all, sir. I'm sure everything

will be fine.

>> I hope so.

>> Come down to the sitting room when

you're ready. It's a bit more cheerful

there.

>> Let me show you to your room, gentlemen.

>> A long idea.

You didn't mention your brother was

married.

>> Didn't I?

I thought I had.

>> Then surely she would be the heir to the

estate if anything should happen to your

brother.

>> No, the estate upon his death goes to

the next male member of the family.

>> Oh, I see.

How did Mrs. Winthrop lose her sight?

>> Uh it was a riding accident shortly

after they were married.

My sister-in-law is a remarkable woman,

Mr. Holmes.

She took to her new way of living with

uh cheerfulness and thoroughness.

>> Yes, it's always encouraging to hear of

such cases. And it reflects great credit

on those surrounding the patient.

Oh, begs.

I want you to meet uh

>> Dr. Watson.

And you must be Sherlock Holmes.

Harvey has told me so much about you.

>> Gentlemen, my fiancee, Miss Margaret

Hall.

>> How do you do?

>> How do you do, Miss Hall?

>> Uh John and Alice are in the drawing

room, darling. We'll be down shortly.

>> All right, darling.

I think we're going to have a wonderful

weekend in spite of this old house.

Don't keep yourselves from us too long,

gentlemen.

>> You're a very lucky man, Mr. Winthrop.

She's a lovely girl.

>> As a matter of fact, you'll know there's

some very good hunting country around

here.

>> Do you would you go in for that sort of

thing, Mr. Holmes?

>> On occasion, sir, not very often, thank

you.

My wife thinks I'm a bit reckless.

She worries about my neck.

>> A glass, my dear?

>> Thank you.

>> That appears to be a preoccupation with

more than one member of your family,

sir.

>> You mean my brother, too?

And the reason for your being here?

>> Nonsense.

I said the same thing.

>> And you agree with me. You too think

it's a lot of rubbish.

>> I don't think we're referring to the

same thing, sir.

I'm talking about the legend, of course.

>> Ah, I see.

May I ask, sir, what precautions you've

taken against it?

>> What would one do?

How does one fight a myth?

>> What is your opinion, Mr. Holmes? Should

I take this matter seriously?

>> You are obviously taking it seriously.

By defying it.

By coming down here to prove that it

doesn't exist.

>> I say, I hadn't thought of it like that.

You're dead right, of course.

But let me put it like this.

Do you really believe the legend is

dangerous?

>> You are obviously overlooking the second

conclusion, sir.

If the legend is real and beyond our

understanding,

then your life may be being threatened

by the supernatural.

If we rule that out,

then the threat has a very realistic

source.

In either case, the threat remains.

>> I hadn't thought of it that way.

>> There are just the six of us here, Mr.

Holmes.

Surely if there is danger for John,

it couldn't come from any of us.

>> There are just the six of us now, Miss

Hall.

But now, there are seven.

>> [music]

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>> John.

What is it?

>> Nothing, my dear. Nothing at all. I

think we better go into dinner.

>> Excellent idea.

>> [music]

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>> I don't like it, Holmes.

>> Neither do I, Watson.

Neither do I.

>> [music]

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>> Come in, Watson.

Oh,

don't be alarmed, old chap.

I don't think this contraption has been

fired for centuries.

>> [music]

>> You could hardly expect me to know that

from here, Holmes.

>> Seems it's working after all.

>> [clears throat]

>> I wanted to talk to you about that

dinner we just had.

>> Oh, yes. Yes.

Excellent, Doc. Don't you agree?

>> Well, it was better than the

conversation or lack of conversation,

don't you?

>> Well, quite natural under the

circumstances. Everyone suspecting

things they'd rather not say.

>> What do you make of it, Holmes?

Did you realize that young Harvey

Winthrop was in love with her? That is,

before she married his brother.

>> Holmes, you're fantastic.

How did you determine that?

>> He told me.

>> Oh.

>> Oh, well. Have you got a match, Watson?

>> Yes, I think I should have.

I

Holmes.

Look.

>> Yes, I know. I slipped it in your pocket

during dinner.

>> You what?

>> I just wanted to see how easy it was to

plant those things on someone else.

>> Well, really, Holmes, for all you know,

I

Well, I

I might

>> [screaming]

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>> I saw it.

I saw him fall, and

>> He's dead.

Neck broken.

>> [music]

>> A gold doubloon.

>> What happened?

>> [music]

>> Will someone tell me

what's happened?

>> And now, we return to the case of the

Winthrop legend.

>> Had quite a time getting back here.

Roads are turning bad.

>> Um Harvey Winthrop.

>> Uh good evening, sir. Could you get

everybody together and see if we can try

and get this thing sorted out? Uh

where's the body?

>> Over there.

Broken neck. Died instantly.

>> I say, you up there.

Uh-oh.

>> Good evening, Constable.

>> That is Mr. Holmes. I've spoken to you

about him.

>> Oh, yes. Good evening to you, Mr.

Holmes. Glad to have you on this case.

>> Ha.

>> His wife.

>> It'll be a terrible shock for her.

>> Oh, Mr. Holmes, I'd like to discuss this

case with you. I've got several

theories. Doctor Watson was saying

you're coming down in the carriage.

>> I think it would be better if she

retired for a while.

These will help.

>> Thank you, Doctor.

>> Doctor Watson summarized the legend for

me on the way down, but quite frankly,

Mr. Holmes, I would say we're opposed to

a devilish mind here.

>> Holmes, really.

I don't know.

What on earth do you think you're doing?

>> A button. At the very least, the very

least. Observe, Watson, I've almost torn

a button loose.

>> Well, so I should think after all those

acrobatics.

Are you going to sit there all evening?

>> And yet the late Mr. John Winthrop fell

down a long flight of exceptionally

sharp stone stairs without damaging his

clothing.

>> What's that? I better check.

>> Yes, I think you had.

>> He may not have torn a button, but he

suffered some very severe damage to his

neck, I'd like to remind you.

>> An indisputable fact, my dear Watson.

Well, what are you getting at, Holmes?

>> That's right. Now we're getting

somewhere.

Come on, Watson, let's examine the

situation more thoroughly. The killing

blow was struck at the back of the neck,

is that right?

It was. He must have struck the edge of

the stairs as he fell.

Stair edges quite sharp.

The wound would be deeper, more

pronounced, Watson. Would you re-examine

the injuries like a good fellow?

>> Mhm.

>> The skin's broken, but not

unusually so.

Still, it's difficult to know the

position of the body when he fell.

>> I agree with Mr. Holmes.

>> Winthrop the blind woman were at the top

of the stairs when he fell.

Mhm.

And in a position to have pushed him

down. Right.

You then imply that Miss Hall, being

downstairs all the time, may be ruled

out as a suspect.

Well, I should take that as a prima

facie proof of her innocence.

You really think so, Watson?

What's there?

Who are you accusing, Mr. Holmes?

Your fiancee.

Holmes, you're insane. Not at all, I

assure you. Your brother didn't fall

down these stairs. He was killed, struck

by a blow from behind, very probably in

this room. His body was then placed at

the foot of the stairs, and the legend

having been carefully reawakened, and

the manner in which your father met his

death, and the gold doubloon, all led

you to the obvious conclusion. She

couldn't have done it.

I assure you she could.

But Holmes, she had no motive. His

estate now passes to Harold Winthrop.

Well, yes, and the only one who had a

motive?

I would say you and the lady you are

going to marry.

Are you going to report her to the

police? Less than useless, I'm afraid.

No court in this world would ever

convict her on the evidence we have.

Well, assuming you're right, and mind

you, to me it's only an assumption, is

nothing we can do?

Yes, there is.

We can at least remove the assumption.

Come with me, gentlemen, into the

drawing room.

>> [music]

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[music]

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>> Oh, Constable, I didn't know you were

there.

>> Just looking around, routine, you know,

miss.

>> Of course.

Did you want to see me?

>> Not especially, miss. A few more things

to check up on.

The rest lies completely in your hands.

>> Alice is resting now.

Not sleeping, but

Oh, this whole thing is horrible.

>> If you'll forgive us, Dr. Watson has a

medical certificate to fill out.

>> Yes, I should attend to that.

>> Oh, it's Holmes.

>> At your service, my good Constable.

>> [music]

>> That's Holmes.

What a peculiar man.

>> What?

>> Oh, Holmes, yes, he is, isn't he?

Peggy, I am.

>> Yeah?

>> Well, this is difficult to say.

>> What is, darling?

>> In light of what's happened, I think

it's best we break off our engagement.

>> Break off?

But why?

>> Well, there's certain to be a mess in

the papers about all this.

>> Well, you needn't worry about me,

darling.

>> Well, actually, it's Alice I'm thinking

of.

>> Alice?

>> Yes, she must be terribly alone now.

In a way, I feel responsible for her.

>> You love her.

You've always loved her, and now that

your brother's dead, you

>> You mustn't think that.

There's something else.

>> What else?

Why this sudden protective, fatherly

interest?

>> 10 years ago, Alice and I went riding

across the moors.

I started a race.

Her horse broke away from her, and

>> [music]

>> she couldn't stop him.

Took a high fence and fell.

>> And Alice became blind.

But you can't live with that for the

rest of your life. It was an accident.

It was unfortunate, but it shouldn't

influence our relationship now.

>> I'm afraid it does.

To me.

>> Huh.

John dies and you take Alice.

That's funny.

That's really ironic.

>> Ironic?

What makes you see irony in such a

situation?

>> I don't know. I just meant

nothing.

>> [music]

>> Just an expression.

>> Very interesting choice of words, I

might add.

Alas, I must confess we were

eavesdropping.

Is there anything you'd like to confess,

Miss Hall?

>> What does this mean?

>> You spoke of irony.

Such a choice word.

You didn't kill John Winthrop so that

Harvey could share the family fortune

with Alice.

You'd have seen to that in time.

>> You're insane.

I couldn't have pushed John down the

stairs. I was at the bottom myself.

>> Why, you were in a perfect position to

strike him with this.

And then, very thoughtfully, placed the

end in the fire to remove any evidence

of the blow.

>> No court in the world would convict me

on evidence like that.

>> You're quite right, Miss Hall.

But you know the facts.

And we know the facts.

>> [music]

>> But surely, Holmes, something can be

done?

>> I don't think so, Watson.

The young lady used her wits

and an ancient legend.

And a murderess walks free.

>> [music]

[music]

[screaming]

[music]

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>> But it's a girl to blue.

And she said no court in the world would

ever convict her.

>> [music]

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>> Ah.