Original subtitles

Theme music playing

Greville, isn't it a little late to send flowers?

I think you'll have to use them, miss Emma.

They'll be very hurt if you didn't. Roses.

The roses were always so much nicer then.

Never mind the roses, Emma.

The guests will be arriving shortly. These have only just arrived, sir.

I remember the house was always full of perfect roses.

Oh, please, come on, Emma!

Everything seemed more perfect in those days, didn't it, dear?

It should be perfect now. It's damn well cost me enough

to make it that way. It was your idea, Arthur.

That's right.

And now that I've gone to all this expense,

we're going to go along with it. And don't make any faux pas, Emma.

No, Arthur. I'll try not to.

Remember the date, and remember the year.

Yes, dear. Such a lovely day. And such an exciting year.

June 21st, 1930. Yes, dear.

Good. Greville, did you manage to get...?

Yes, sir.

I should imagine that wall street and the stock exchange would say

it was a little too damn exciting.

Stock exchange. Damn. What is it, Arthur?

I didn't get yesterday's closing prices on the Tokyo market.

Oh, dear.

High-pitched beep

low whirring

I don't care what he says. I can actually hear that thing.

Ultrasonics, miss Emma.

I don't care what they call it, greville. I can hear it.

Good evening, sir.

Good evening, miss Shaw. Are you all right?

Yes, sir. That's good.

What did Tokyo close at?

2.5 up, my lord, as you predicted. Good.

Hong Kong?

Computer beeping

a 0.6% rise on mullrine international,

and 0.4 on mullrine engineering.

Splendid. You spoke to Fairfax in Washington?

Yes, sir. He managed to knock lauderdale arms and chemicals

down to us$8 million.

He laughs I won't go to a cent more!

I told him that! Good.

He chuckles

and what do you think of the outfit? Exactly right, sir.

Damn well should be. The tailor charged me 400 quid to make it!

Not a single trace of polyester

or synthetic fibre in the whole suit.

I got him to guarantee that. Authentic...

Through and through! Through and through!

Well, if it's worth doing at all, it's worth doing thoroughly.

Indeed, yes. Oh, by the way,

you're not to come out of this door under any circumstances.

Do you understand me, Shaw? Under any circumstances whatsoever.

It would spoil the whole effect. I mean, your clothes...

I understand, sir. Good. If you want to go out,

you'll have to use this door. I don't want anyone to see you.

I intended to work through the weekend, anyway, sir.

You're a very good girl.

And you don't have to go through the house

for your bedroom in the annexe? No, sir.

All right, then. See you Monday.

I hope you have a super party, sir. Well, it'll be different, anyway.

We have to Mark our 50th year of operation, don't we?

Seems as good a way as any.

21st of June.

Summer solstice. I remember noting it then.

Ah, the cocktails.

Good man, greville. Splendid chap.

Yes, Arthur. You look very handsome.

Doorbell rings ah. The first guests.

Yes. Now it all begins.

How silly of me. I feel quite nervous.

Yes, how silly of you, Emma.

Well, you can get back here if you wanted to, silly old devil.

'All irregularities will be handled

'by the forces controlling each dimension.

'Transuranic heavy elements may not be used where there is life.

'Medium atomic weights are available.

'Gold, lead, copper,

'jet, diamond, radium,

'sapphire, silver and steel.

'Sapphire and steel have been assigned.'

Evening, greville. Good evening, mr harborough.

Good evening, greville. Good evening, mrs mcdee.

Good evening, greville. Good evening, mrs harborough.

Good evening, sir.

I like your monkey suit, greville. 1930, sir. Absolutely authentic.

I bet the theatrical costumiers must be having a field day.

All specially made, sir, by lord mullrine's personal tailor.

Must have cost a fortune. Does that imply the shareholders

will have reduced dividends this year?

God, I hope not.

The bags are in the car, greville. Thank you, sir.

Whispers: The bags are in the car.

Sorry, sir. How many guests have been invited?

I've no idea, sir. Miss Emma saw to the invitations, bless her.

Oh, lord. That spells trouble. Batty old flapper.

She'll probably have half the county down here.

While the other half tries to get away!

Keep your opinions to yourself, Annabelle.

If mullrine wants to indulge his fantasies, let him.

Go along with it, will you? Of course, darling.

I think it's fun. Honestly.

Mrs Felicity mcdee, my lord, and mr Howard mcdee.

Mr and mrs Felix harborough.

Oh, how beautiful. How lovely you all look.

Indistinct chatter

hello, Felicity. How well you look.

I do so wish George could have been here.

He would have enjoyed it, wouldn't he?

George would have hated it, Emma.

He always left ostentatious nonsense to you and your brother.

Yes. Yes, I suppose so.

Annabelle, that dress is quite stunning.

Arthur, you've been to a tremendous amount of trouble.

Yes, I have, haven't I? It's dead right, isn't it?

Absolutely. Every detail. Every detail.

Except for... Except for what?

Except for the black mourning crepe over my grandfather's portrait.

Surely on June 21st, 1930,

he was very much alive, wasn't he, grandmama? Howard.

Oh, no. Mullrine and mcdee, the two whizzkids of the depression,

both hell-bent on making a second fortune

for the mullrine family. Yes, all right, Howard. Sorry.

Greville, whisky and soda for the menfolk, will you, please?

And the ladies can have champagne

or any of those damn new-fangled cocktail things.

Splendid. What do you have in mind, Annabelle?

I shall have a green goddess.

I believe they were the "in" thing in 1930.

Greville, a green goddess for mademoiselle, please.

Oh, don't be silly. You weren't even around then. Oh?

I don't believe it.

Does this thing work? Everything works.

I was following the test match.

I wanted to see how boycott was getting on. Be my guest.

Go on, switch it on.

It'll have to warm up, you know. That's good. That's very good.

'Here we are, back for the first test.

'The weather is still glorious here at Trent bridge

'as bradman takes his stand for his fourth ball of the over.'

bradman? 'Larwood starts his long run,

'eames well back, crouches behind the wicket.

'Larwood bowls fast at good length.

'And bradman flicks it sweet into the off. A most cultured stroke.

'But Wally Hammond is there, and there's no run.'

bradman? Larwood? Eames? Wally Hammond?

This is extraordinary.

'Australia is still 123 for one wicket

as Hammond returns the ball to larwood.'

Trent bridge. First test of the 1930 season.

England against Australia.

'Incidentally, speaking of Hammond's fielding,

'there's a story about it which is, if not true, at least Ben trovato.

'It would seem it was about a year ago when larwood was bowling,

'and it was indeed bradman batting, just as it is today.

'And Hammond was in the slips. Larwood bowled,

'bradman made a stroke that was a snick,

'and Hammond dived full-length and threw the ball up in triumph.

'Only, unfortunately, it wasn't a ball.

'It was a swallow, which Hammond had caught as it...'

all done by mirrors. Or tape recorders.

Oh, that's clever. I wish to god there was a bookie handy.

I know who won that game. You can't possibly.

It hasn't ended yet. Now, let me see. It was...

Well, I know every test score going back to 1918.

England-Australia, first test...

That's funny. My memory's normally rather good.

How strange. I can't remember.

Oh! Annabelle, are you all right?

Yes, I think so. I just felt as if someone had...

Walked over your grave?

Yes.

This house has that effect on a lot of people.

George used to loathe it.

On the contrary. As Emma will tell you,

my late lamented partner did not loathe this house, Felicity.

As a matter of fact, he did some of his most creative work here.

And my sister always made him feel most welcome.

Arthur, please.

He said it was an evil house.

Oh, no, Felicity. Surely not.

Nothing ever changes, George.

Bollinger 1927? Of course.

It's a fallacy to assume that champagne matures with age.

Now, that bottle... Is only three years old

and 1927 was a very good year.

Yes, it was. We had some only last week.

It was simply divine. We've never had bollinger 1927.

Haven't we? I seem to remember we... What?

May I, sir?

Well, I thought everyone but everyone drank bollinger '27.

I say, do you notice? It's getting quite dark outside.

Impossible. It's not seven yet.

And the weather's glorious at Trent bridge.

You heard the wireless.

Well!

No, that's impossible.

What's the matter?

That green door. What about it?

Well, I could swear it seemed to disappear.

Oh, come on, grandmama.

You've only just started your first glass of champagne.

I tell you, it disappeared. Nonsense!

Only for a second or two.

Doors don't disappear, Felicity.

This one did.

That's the door to my office, Felicity.

I know, Arthur. But it wasn't there in 1930, was it?

Damn.

I forgot about that. Well, I wouldn't have known anyway.

I wasn't born then. Haha!

You built that office in 1938, Arthur.

I remember thinking how out of place that door looked in this room.

Yes, all right, Emma. Doorbell rings

that's probably young Tony purnell and his pretty little girlfriend.

Probably? Oh, dear. I can't remember her name.

You didn't invite anyone else, did you?

I don't know, Arthur.

I thought you made out the list of invitations.

Should I, sir? No.

You'd better go and receive them.

Oh, very well.

Greville, serve some drinks, will you, please?

Hello?

Good evening.

Who is it?

Miles and Virginia cavendish.

Who?

This is lord mullrine's party? We were invited.

Oh. It should be all right, then.

I hope we're not too late.

The invitation was most specific.

Allow me, sir.

Greville. Thank you.

This way, sir.

Don't be too long!

The honourable miles and mrs cavendish?

Yes. Miles and Virginia.

I didn't send that card.

Cavendish? Cavendish.

Oh, yes. He must be that chap who deals in futures.

Would he mean all our futures?

Would anybody mind if we have some music?

You'll only get that blasted test match again.

It was a tape, remember?

1930s music playing

oh, how nice. Jack Payne and his orchestra.

Is that...? Dance music, darling.

I thought everyone had heard of Jack Payne. He's all the rage.

Good heavens!

What's the matter? What's happened to the tape?

What tape, Felix?

This place seems very odd to me.

Which side of the bed would you prefer?

There's no other way? Not now, no.

Miles cavendish. Who chose that?

You did. I didn't.

Yes, you did.

The host must have started this as a game.

Well, now it's become reality.

You know, I think I'd rather be nearer the door.

It's funny. Since I arrived, I haven't seen or touched anything

that was made later than 1930. Nothing.

What about the materials?

No synthetic fibres. No plastics.

No nylon.

It's as though we stepped back 50 years

when we walked through the front door.

I wonder if the people downstairs realise that?

How long will it take you to get ready?

1930s music playing

I say, it really is getting awfully dark in here.

Longest day of the English summer. What do you expect?

I do hope it's not going to rain.

Let's have some lights on, shall we? Draw the curtains, shut it all out.

We never had summers like this in the '30s.

I was looking forward to a lovely, sunny weekend.

Tea on the lawn tomorrow with strawberries.

Well, it started out all right.

You know, I never noticed that before.

What?

You can see the church tower from here.

It's almost as though there were a path through the trees to it.

I'm afraid you're mistaken, Howard. Oh? Why?

Must be a trick of the light.

The church tower was V2'd...

Or was it doodle-bombed? One or the other.

..In 1944, 1945.

You sure, Emma? Positive. Terribly sad.

It did look like a church tower.

And it would have been there in 1930, wouldn't it?

Listen, this is just a game. It isn't for real.

This is 19...

19 what, Annabelle?

19...? 1930.

June 21st, 1930. Oh, come on, Arthur.

King George v was on the throne, ramsay MacDonald was prime minister.

And eight months ago, on October 24th, 1929,

the American stock market collapsed.

And we are in the midst of a depression.

But mcdee and I, we formed mullrine international

right here in this house.

We built it with our own hands, and we believed in it.

And it was a massive achievement.

Quite right. Yes.

Therefore you can see that church tower from that window,

you can't possibly know who won that test match at Trent bridge.

The champagne we've been drinking is definitely 1927 vintage

and only three years old.

And what's more, that damn green door shouldn't be there!

It's a paradox, Arthur. What do you mean?

You can't make it 1930. You can only pretend.

Logically, if it was 1930, only you and Emma and mrs mcdee

could be in this room. The rest of us wouldn't have been born yet.

You're an amazing man, Arthur.

Powerful, rich beyond most people's dreams,

and very, very clever. A bit of a genius, in fact.

But even you can't turn back the clock.

If you could, Arthur, would you bring George back to life?

My god, there's still a draught in here

even with the curtains drawn. Would you?

Yes.

That's interesting. What's interesting about it?

I was wondering. Wondering what?

I was wondering why the black mourning crepe has gone.

So it has!

Someone's playing some clownish trick!

They couldn't have done, Felix. We haven't left the room.

We couldn't have missed seeing someone reach up for that crepe.

You're right about that chill, Annabelle.

It seems to cut right through the centre of this room.

Why did it choose this house?

It's definitely here? Yes.

But where?

Maybe it's taken over someone downstairs.

We have to find out which one.

That won't be easy. It could be any one of them.

Or all of them. No.

It wouldn't make sense.

No, of course it wouldn't. There has to be a victim.

Or victims. Anything you say, Virginia.

Shall we go down?

Haven't you forgotten something, miles?

Yes.

Very frustrating for you, Felix. It must be.

Old dodder like me refusing to retire.

You'll have to sooner or later. I can wait.

The only way you'll ever become chairman of mullrine international

is by burying me. Don't tempt me, Arthur.

Oh, yes. I used to love going to the flower show.

Do you know queen Mary is opening it this year?

But I never get to London these days.

Queen Mary? Formidable lady, but so regal.

I want to go. Yes, all right.

We'll have to make some excuse

to leave first thing in the morning. I hate them all!

Felix and Annabelle will have to get a lift with somebody else.

Wow!

All well, sir?

Good evening, greville.

'52 years old. A totally repressed personality.'

I hope the room is to your liking, sir.

Marvellous, thank you, greville.

'He's devoted to the mullrines.'

'devoted to the family or the house?'

'to old mullrine. He's very fond of the old man.'

thank you, greville. This way, madam. Sir.

The honourable miles and mrs cavendish.

Oh, there you are, you lovely people.

We were beginning to think you'd quite deserted us.

We were just changing. My dear, what a delightful dress.

So elegant. How I wish I was still young enough

to wear fashionable things like that.

You mean they're back in fashion?

When you're 60, it's too late.

'She's 74.'

thank you, miss mullrine.

'Carrying a torch for a lost love.'

'for how long?' 'For 50 years.'

mr cavendish, you look grand.

How nice of you to say so. You're very kind.

Greville, our two new guests have no drinks.

I'm sorry, miss Emma, but I'm afraid I don't drink.

Oh! What a good idea. So sensible.

Come and meet everybody. This is mrs mcdee.

How do you do? And Howard mcdee.

How do you do? Delighted.

Champagne's awfully good.

And this is... Oh, dear.

Poor Annabelle isn't well. I do hope she hasn't caught a chill.

Is there anything I can do? I don't really know.

Shall we go and see? Annabelle, are you still feeling cold?

Yes, don't you feel it? No, I don't believe I do.

This Virginia cavendish and Annabelle harborough.

How do you do?

'Has she had temperature loss?' 'Yes.'

'she could be affected by time.' 'It's possible.'

how do you do? You haven't been here before?

I'm sorry? Here, to this house.

No. No, I haven't. Have you?

Oh, good heavens, yes. My husband is Arthur mullrine's deputy.

They're in the library, talking business.

Perhaps greville could bring you something.

Something to warm you. No, thank you. I think it's passing.

Good. Something wrong?

Ah. Howard. No. No, not really.

You're here.

Annabelle was just complaining of the cold.

On midsummer's day? Oh, my dear.

'Steel?' 'yes?'

'they're rather more than friends.'

Howard's very attentive, isn't he?

He's always been a considerate boy.

I wonder if Felix has noticed how considerate he is.

Felix wouldn't notice anything

unless it was connected with business.

Let's not argue about it, Felix.

We'll leave the whole thing to Fairfax in Washington.

Look at him now. If that's what you want, Arthur.

I won't discuss any more of this.

I never thought I'd see the day when you let sentiment

interfere with business. Well, you have now.

Are you, by any chance, losing your grip?

That'll be the day... If you ever live to see it.

Know what your trouble is, Felix? Tell me.

You don't enjoy business enough. And that's what keeps me young.

That's What'll keep me going when men like you

have packed it in and turned your toes up. Have a cigar.

Ah. Lord mullrine, how nice of you to invite us.

Grosvenor. Cavendish.

Oh, yes, of course. Miles cavendish.

Glad you could come. I'm Felix harborough.

Deputy chairman of mullrine international.

Full marks. I believe you're in the futures market.

In a way. I'm a futurologist.

Sounds like a fortune teller! Fortunes. Yes, I like that!

Well, my predictions are rather more scientific than that.

They're based on logical projections

using the advanced physical sciences.

As it were, speculative cybernetics.

Break it up, you two. You're here to enjoy yourselves, not talk shop.

You told me just now you enjoyed...

You old ruffian! What are you trying to hide?

Me, hide? You're up to something.

I know the signs. Is he planning to use you to make his killing?

Felix, if I were you, I'd keep an eye on your wife.

Young mcdee takes after his grandfather, you know.

In more ways than one.

I think I'd better go and talk to my husband. If you'll excuse me.

Feli-boo.

My dear Virginia. You haven't got a drink.

That's perfectly all right. No, no. Leave it to me.

There is a time break, and someone in this house is causing it.

What about this room? It's the same as the bedroom.

Nothing later than 1930?

Except that door.

And that's...? Out of place, would you say?

It is, rather. Thank you.

Champagne? No, thank you.

Chin-chin. 'What's he talking about?'

'say chin-chin.' 'What?'

'he can't drink until you say chin-chin.'

chin-chin. 'See?'

it has no lock and no handle.

What's the point of a door if you can't open it?

A-ha. Exactly. You've got it. Have I?

'There's an aura. A barrier.' 'Barrier?'

yes, of course, my dear fellow.

There's a certain man in this house who thinks that door

is the door to end all doors.

'It's a light. A blue light.'

ask him what the point is. 'Temperature?'

'much lower. Possibly the location of a ley line.

'There should be evidence through that window.'

you have guessed, haven't you?

What? The door. Whose idea it was.

No. You tell me.

Well, our host. His lordship, of course.

'What's behind that door?'

he's got a special device. Must have something to hide.

He's the only person who knows how to use it.

'There's something moving.' 'Tell me.'

'it's twisting, turning and writhing. It's...'

more champagne?

'Come back, sapphire. Sapphire!

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