Ministry of Fear (1944) - full transcript

Neale?

- Oh, there you are.
- Come in.

You know, it's interesting to watch
the last minute crawl by,

after so many of them.

I've always meant to have
that thing speeded up.

It's a fine time to think of it.

Free man.

- You're not wasting any time, eh?
- Not if I can help it.

Where do you plan to go?

London.

It's being heavily bombed
these nights.



Don't you think
some quiet town at first

and get employment there for a while?

I'm gonna spend the first month
being pushed and jammed

by the biggest crowds I can find.

I want to hear
people talk and laugh.

After that clock,
seeing faces will be a good tonic.

Well, I don't blame you.
I'll walk to the gate with you.

One parting thought, Neale.

Don't get involved with
the police again in any way.

- A second charge wouldn't be easy.
- A quiet life from here on.

Well, goodbye and good luck.

Thank you.

- Good evening to you.
- Evening. Ticket to London, please.

Yes, sir, in the wink of an eye.



What's happening over there?

That's our charity fête. The ladies
are doing themselves proud tonight.

You might like to have a look at it
and spend a shilling or two.

It's well worth it.

- May I leave my things here?
- Certainly.

Put 'em right there on the bench.
I'll keep me eye on 'em.

Thank you.

- Good evening.
- Evening.

- Will you join our party?
- Yes.

The charge is a shilling. Doesn't seem
quite fair, though. It's so late.

If you wait five minutes, you could
go in at the reduced price.

- It's all right.
- I always think it's fair to warn people.

We don't want them to feel cheated,
even in a good cause, do we?

No, no.
What is the cause?

Mothers of the Free Nations.

Catch it!

Thank you.

Come now, children. Come along.
It's getting towards blackout time.

Now we'll have the treasure hunt.
Go and get your spades and dig.

And mind the vicar's petunias.
Now run along. Run on.

Young gentleman,

won't you buy a ticket
and guess its weight?

It's a shilling.
Whoever is closest wins it.

- All right.
- Oh, thank you.

Oh, er...
three pounds, five ounces.

A very good guess, I should say.

- Your wife must've been teaching you.
- I have no wife.

Now you must try the fortune-tellers.
You really must.

Mrs Bellane is wonderful.
She told my son...

I was just telling this gentleman
about Mrs Bellane and my son.

- And...
- Oh, I'll see her.

Oh, thanks. How nice.

Isn't he a lovely gentleman?

Sit down,

and cross my palm with silver.

Your hand.

You're up to date here.
Electric light.

First the character, then the past.

By law, I'm not allowed
to tell the future.

Aha. You have found true
contentment in a happy marriage.

- I'm not married.
- Then you will be.

Heaven help the woman.

All right, don't be angry, please.

I haven't had as much pleasure
in two years.

- I mean it.
- Really? Well then, let's get on with it.

Now the past.

This line that runs here,

you have made one woman happy.

Is something wrong?

No. Nothing.

Forget the past.
Just tell me the future.

My instructions are these:
what you want is the cake.

You must give the weight

as four pounds,
fifteen and a half ounces.

- Well, is it the right weight?
- That's immaterial.

- Don't I hear any more fortune?
- No.

You can go now.

Thank you.

I'll try it.

- I would like to buy another chance.
- Bravo!

Bravo! That's a splendid idea.

Splendid!

I would say four pounds,
fifteen and a half ounces.

Lawks! Anybody could tell
you're a bachelor.

As a matter of fact,
the gentleman has won it.

He's not more than
a fraction of an ounce out.

You'd better not eat too much.

It'll be heavy as lead.

On the contrary,
it's made with real eggs.

There you are.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

Hoo-hoo! Hoo-hoo!

Oh, the gentleman with the cake,
please, wait.

Oh, I've made a terrible mistake
about the weight.

I'm so sorry,
but it wasn't what you said.

The real weight is
three pounds and two ounces,

and the other gentleman won it.
What gentleman?

There, with Mrs Bellane.

What did he guess?

Oh, much closer.
Three pounds and eight ounces.

Well, in that case, I still win.

My first guess was
three pounds and five ounces.

Give the gentleman this shilling and
tell him you're awfully sorry. Good night.

You don't find many
good cakes these days.

I told you it'd be worthwhile.

Here's an empty one where
you can stretch out and sleep.

There's no reading with those dim-out
lights, and keep the curtains drawn.

- All right.
- The blasted Nazis'll be over in a bit.

The red alert just went up.

I hope our lads give 'em
a proper pasting.

- Well, good night, sir.
- Good night. Thank you.

- Hope they don't bomb the railway.
- I hope.

Is there space here for one more?

It's empty except for me.
Come in.

Here. That's right.

Thanks.

You are very kind.

Not at all.
Good to have company.

- Going through to London?
- Yes. They say the red's up.

So I was told.

Seems strange to hear people
tell of the blackout.

I guess I'm better off than most

at getting about in the dark.

I haven't been out much
at night myself.

I hear the bombers
overhead every night.

They pass over my farm
on their way to London.

- It's a dread sound.
- Yes, it is.

- Would you like some cake?
- Cake?

Yes. I won it back there at the fête.

You might as well share it with me.
It's a long way to a London restaurant.

Well, if you're going to have some.

Here you are.

Feel how light it is.

Made with eggs.

You'd think it was made with gold,
the way they wanted to hang onto it.

I hear them now.

- What?
- The Nazis.

They must be trying
for the Black Moor factory.

There are some low buildings
about a mile.

That's it.
It's a munitions plant.

Excuse me. There didn't seem
to be anyone here.

- What do you want?
- I'm looking for Mr Rennit.

I'm Mr Rennit. You should
have made an appointment.

Evidently, you don't want clients.
Good morning.

Now, now, now, now,
you don't want to lose your temper.

I'm a busy man.
There are ways of doing things.

Take a chair, and
we'll both have a drink.

- Not a bad idea.
- It's an excellent idea.

These raids are bad for the nerves.

One must have a little something.
One gets rattled.

You'll excuse a teacup?

I've never objected to stimulants,

as stimulants.

- Your health.
- I may need it.

Aaah!
Now, to business.

- Your name?
- Stephen Neale.

Have you a pencil?

Thank you.

How did you happen to come to me?

Because I don't like my hotel room being
ransacked when I'm out at breakfast.

I don't like being robbed
on trains or shot at.

Mr Neale, this is a respectable
business with a tradition.

I'm not Sherlock Holmes.

A man in my position doesn't
go crawling about floors

with a microscope
looking for bloodstains.

If you're in that kind of trouble,
you should go to the police.

I don't wish to be mixed up
with the police. Sorry.

It would have been worth twenty pounds
to have you come with me.

Twenty pounds, eh?

- Well, let's get on with it.
- I see.

War plays the devil
with a business like this.

Come on.

You come in if there's trouble.

Yes?

- Good afternoon.
- Good afternoon.

I'm looking for the address
of a Mrs Bellane.

No lady of that name works here.

She was helping with
your charity fête at Lembridge.

Oh, they were voluntary helpers.
I'm sorry.

We can't possibly disclose

the addresses
of the voluntary helpers.

Well, isn't there
some way I can get it?

You see, a mistake was made.

She gave me a cake
that didn't belong to me.

Well, it's against the rules,

but I'll enquire.

Will you come through, please?

Come in, won't you?

I'm terribly sorry, but I couldn't help it.

People have baked some sad-looking
pastries to sell at our fêtes,

- but was it as frightful as all that?
- Frightful?

That you'd come all the way from Lembridge
to give it back.

He hasn't any cake with him.

Have a chair.

You know, my sister has
a grim sense of humour.

Well, if it had been any good,
he'd have eaten it.

- May I ask your name?
- Stephen Neale.

- I'm Willi Hilfe. Carla, Mr Neale.
- How do you do?

- Who was it you wanted?
- A Mrs Bellane.

Bellane? Bellane.

I don't remember any name like that.
We have so many of them.

- Er, do you know her?
- No. Look in the index.

Well, we're not supposed to give...
why do you want it?

We got along quite famously.
I'd like to see her next time I'm down.

- Find out how the mix-up happened.
- Oh, I see.

- You got along famously?
- Yes.

- Didn't her husband object?
- Has she a husband?

It sounds like it: "Mrs"

- Yes, it does, doesn't it?
- Bell... Belden...

Bellane.

Here she is.
Mrs Rolf Bellane, a clairvoyant.

- Is that the one?
- Yes.

But she lives here in London.
209 Campden Lane.

Canon Topping recommended her.

- Here you are.
- Thank you.

Could any of your volunteers
be using this organisation as a shield?

- For what?
- Some kind of crime?

Our dear old dowagers?
Oh, no!

He tried to kill you?

There's just one bullet left.

He'd have used that
if the bomb hadn't got him.

But it... it's fantastic,
the whole thing.

I'd like to investigate
this Mrs Bellane with you, Neale.

- I'd like to have you.
- Oh, no, Willi, please.

If they tried to kill Mr Neale,
something might happen to you.

Nonsense. If they use our charity fêtes,
I want to find out about it.

She may be right, Mr Hilfe.

Ah, she's just tired of
getting me out of scrapes.

Got me out of Austria,
as a matter of fact.

Grow some grey hairs, Afferl.
You'll be stunning.

Come on, Neale.

- Goodbye.
- Bye.

What do you want?

- Is this Mr Finney?
- No.

No? I didn't think so.

- Is Mrs Bellane at home?
- Who is calling, please?

Mr Hilfe, secretary of
the Mothers of the Free Nations.

Will you come in?

Will you please wait a moment?

- Oh, I see.
- She's not the one.

- Mr Hilfe?
- I'm Mr Hilfe.

- Er, Mrs, er...
- Bellane.

Yes, I've heard many of
the ladies speak of you.

I should have paid a call
at your office long ago.

I would have enjoyed it.

May I present Mr Neale?

Mr Neale, are you one of our group?

By adoption, yes.

Mrs Bellane?

- Oh, I beg your pardon.
- We'll start at once, doctor.

I have a group waiting for
a séance.

Won't you join us?
We can talk afterwards.

Yes, we'd like to.

Splendid. I want to tell you
about our fête at Lembridge.

We took in over a hundred pounds.

Oh, er... were you there?

Yes. I told fortunes.

I'm so sorry to keep you waiting.

You especially, Mr Newby.

- I know you have to catch the early train.
- Not at all.

Can you make room for
Mr Hilfe over there, doctor?

Certainly.

This is Dr Forrester.

Mr Hilfe?

And you, Mr Neale,

over there.

- Mr Newby.
- How do you do?

Miss Penteel.

She has extraordinary powers
of painting the inner world.

Coloured, rhythmic arrangements.

Will you please form the circle?

Now, if you will all join hands,

before the lights fade.

We mustn't break the circle.

The lights will...

Oh, Mr Cost,
I didn't think you were coming.

Always those customers
at the last moment. May I?

May I present our newcomers?
Mr Neale, Mr Cost.

- How do you do?
- It seems we've met before.

I'm sorry.
I don't believe I recall it.

This is Mr Hilfe, secretary
of the Mothers of the Free Nations.

- How do you do?
- How do you do?

The lights will fade now.

Yes?

Yes?

I can't hear you.

One of you won't

let her come through.

Someone whose motives are evil.

You can speak.

There is no enemy here.

I had to find you.

I watched it too, Stephen.

Stephen, you sat there
watching the clock.

I know.

You waited for me to die.

Was the poison strong enough?

The clock stood still.

You killed me.
The poison.

The clock stood still.
You murdered!

Who speaks?
Who said that?

- Don't break the circle!
- Who told you that?

Turn on the lights!
Turn on the lights!

Cost. Look at Cost!

What happened, Doctor?

Look after her, will you?

A doctor's no good, I'm afraid.

There's only one thing to do.
Call the police.

He did it. He broke the circle.
All our hands were locked.

I didn't kill him.

- You have that revolver.
- But I didn't fire it.

There was only one bullet left.
It's still there.

You hold him here, Mr Hilfe.
I'll ring up the police.

I'll not be drawn into this.

You will excuse me.
I have to catch my train.

I'd advise you to stay, Newby.
The police will want all of us.

Well, I'll not wait
in here with him!

Then go into the library.

Wait for me, Mr Newby!

You have to believe me, Hilfe.

I've only your word for it
that there was one bullet.

It's the truth. I'm done if
the police arrest me again,

and someone here knows it,
knows all about me.

But why would they kill him?

I don't know. He's the one
that came to Lembridge for the cake.

Oh, I see.

Give me a chance to find out, Hilfe.
I'll never clear myself behind bars.

I'd like to, Neale,

but I'd be in trouble myself
if I let you go.

I'm an alien.

You know what?

You might knock me out.
Go ahead. It's a good alibi.

But get away from London.

Well, I've never said
"thank you" this way before.

Mothers of the Free Nations.

Mr Neale?
This is Carla Hilfe.

- Is your brother there?
- No. There's a fête at Bloomsbury.

He wanted to see
if there was anything...

anything like Lembridge.

He told you what happened?

Yes. He said the police
didn't hold any of the others.

- They're searching for you.
- I can imagine.

- Where will you hide?
- I don't know yet.

I thought I had a place, but it seems
that my unknown friends got there first.

Where are you now?

Longacre and Bend?

Wait there for me.

- I was afraid you'd be gone. The air raid.
- I would have waited.

I know a place.
We can't get through now.

A girl I helped out of Austria
hid there until I got her papers...

Down to the tube, please.
Come along, now.

We expect them over any moment.
This way, please.

- It's hot, isn't it?
- Yes.

- Carla?
- What?

I wonder if you realise what it means
to stand all alone on a dark corner,

knowing that, somewhere, one person
is coming towards you to help.

Yes.

It was that way the first night
I stepped off the boat

in England.

It changed things.

I thought at first I could let you help
without telling you the truth, but...

You didn't kill him?

No. Not Cost.

I was sentenced here in London
two years ago... for murder.

What the voice said at the séance?

- Your brother told you?
- Yes.

"Murderer."
Perhaps I was,

if thinking of the thing for months
before you do it makes you one.

Lying awake every night,
thinking of it,

until at last
you go out and buy the drug.

I bought it to kill my wife.

She'd been ill for more than
a year, slowly wasting away.

She couldn't stand the pain any longer,
and the doctors couldn't help her.

We'd come all the way
from a plantation in Africa,

and the doctors couldn't do a thing.

She begged me then, day after day.

I got the drug for her,
carried it home.

Then I couldn't go through with it.
I hid it in a drawer.

And she found it.

I didn't know
until just before she died.

The pain was gone then.

She smiled,

and held my hand
while she fell asleep.

I sat there for hours,
holding her hand,

watching the clock.

Then it was dawn,

and there wasn't any more pain.

The court called it a mercy killing.
Sent me to an asylum.

I wasn't mad, you see,

but the law called for it.

I don't know if I was right
even now.

Anyway, you know.

Yes.

- It makes a difference?
- No.

I'd still like to help.

- What?
- He was the one at Rennit's office.

All clear.

What time is it?

Almost five.

Did you sleep?

I thought our friend with
the fingernails might come back.

You won't need to worry
where I'm taking you.

Let's leave.

Here we are.

Not a word.
No murder, no Bellane. Nothing.

- Why would the police keep it quiet?
- I don't know, but they have.

Probably want to keep me happy.

Ah, Miss Hilfe.
Come in, come in.

I'm sorry to disturb you
so early, Mr Newland,

but I had to see you.

You don't visit me often enough.

- And who is this young man?
- Mr Neale.

- Mr Newland.
- How do you do?

In trouble, eh?
Come along.

You're very lucky, Mr Neale,
having this young lady for a friend.

She's always helping people.

- You aren't Austrian.
- No, British.

He has to hide for a few weeks.

He isn't guilty,
but the police are looking for him.

Fine, fine. The room
where Maria stayed, eh?

- Do you mind?
- Not at all.

What is it?

Noticed a book here.

The Psychoanalysis of Nazidom,
by Dr Forrester.

That's selling very well.
Bring a copy along if you like.

Thank you. I will.
Who is Dr Forrester?

He's a psychiatrist.
Getting quite famous here.

Sort of advisor to
the Ministry of Home Security.

Writes propaganda.
Interesting fellow, too.

Purchases books from me
now and then.

Here you are.

Customers.

Sometimes I loathe
people who like to read.

Customers.

Ministry for Home Security.

It's a nice place to be an advisor.

- The heart of Britain's defence system.
- You don't think he's...

He's a friend of Mrs Bellane's,

and Cost wasn't after that cake
because he was hungry.

But that doesn't make the doctor a spy,
just because he went to a séance,

any more than you or Willi.

I wonder if they're listed
in your volunteers.

Oh, now the Mothers of the Free Nations
are turning into a spy ring.

Next you'll have me one.

No. You don't look like one.

Well, you can forget it. Willi and I
have run that office for three years,

And your dear old dowagers. I know.
But Mrs Bellane was listed.

Why not some of the others?
Dr Forrester, Cost, Newby, Miss Penteel?

- The artist? Was she there?
- You know her?

I've never met her, but she has
a studio in the old art centre.

She auctioned off
some paintings for us.

- A volunteer?
- Yes.

I'm going back to the office
and look through every card in our files.

- Still angry?
- Of course.

- A woman always hates to be wrong.
- Good.

Will you have dinner
with me tonight?

I'll meet you here.

Well, Mr Neale, you do get about.

I was just thinking the same.

Aren't you afraid of the police?

When they're nearby, yes.

It'd be a shame if they
found you there.

The building has
a bad enough reputation.

Won't you come in?

- Going to hold a séance here?
- No.

The last one was quite enough
for a while, thanks to you.

- You don't trust me?
- No. Where's Miss Penteel?

Shopping.
It's just as well.

You frightened her
to death once already.

Won't you sit down?

- Whisky and soda?
- Thank you.

What did you have against Mr Cost?

I didn't kill him, and you know it.

You're most attractive
when you're lying.

I'd even enjoy hearing you say
you were interested in me.

I am.

How did you know about me...
that microphone or whatever it was?

I always try to frighten people
the first time they come to a séance.

They love it. I never thought
it would make you start shooting.

How did you know about me?

Your trial testimony
was in all the papers.

My assistants keep
an excellent file on people.

They couldn't have looked me up
as quickly as all that.

You'd be surprised.

You surprise me continually.

Did it ever occur to you
that some women like affection

even better than conversation?

So do some men, if they're sure they're
not gonna be shot any moment.

Take the bullets out of it if you want to.

I only carry it for protection.

- You don't miss much.
- I seem to be missing a lot today.

You're a strange person.

I tell you all my trade secrets,
and still you don't trust me.

Why did you say you told
fortunes at Lembridge?

Why? Because I did.
I was there.

You weren't the one who told mine.

That female battleship
with the moons and stars?

That's the one.

Oh, she was some Lembridge woman.

She wanted to keep the booth open
after I left and practise her palmistry.

She did, and I got the cake.

I suppose you don't know
about that either.

Of course.
But how did you get it?

- What was in it?
- I don't know.

Was there supposed to be
something in it? That's the truth.

The lady in the cake booth asked me
to let her gentleman friend win it.

If someone came to me and said,

"don't bother about the past;
tell me the future,"

I was to give him
the correct weight.

- Did you say that?
- Something like it.

Oh, well that explains it.
Now are you happy?

I've got exactly nowhere.

Neither have I.

- Come in, Martha.
- Police! Help!

- Murder! Police! Police!
- She would.

- I'll keep the gun.
- To remember me by?

- You might need it.
- You should know.

Won't I see you again?

Yes.

Oh, there you are.
I was worried about you last night.

- That was a pasting.
- I know. I got caught in it.

- What's this? A housecleaning?
- It's going to be.

We've been patriotically slaving
for three years to help a spy ring.

- What? Oh, nonsense.
- Here. Look at these.

"Adamson."
Never heard of him. "Aiken."

Both recommended by Dr Forrester.

- "Alpock."
- Dr Forrester.

- "Cost."
- Newby, Penteel, all those at the séance.

All recommended by Dr Forrester!

And he works for the
Ministry of Home Security.

- How did these get in our files?
- I don't know.

Get Mrs Merrick in here.

- Yes?
- Do you know how these cards got here?

Mr Aiken. Oh, yes.
I remember filing him.

His name struck me as so odd.

This is one of the batches
you mailed me.

I mailed you?

Yes, from Kent, while you were
on your holidays last year.

- I've never seen them before.
- Oh, but I'm sure, Miss Hilfe.

They're just as you always send them
from meetings and such.

I, er, I may be wrong.
Thank you, Mrs Merrick.

Oh, not at all.

They even know
how we mail our cards.

They're Nazis, Willi. I know it.
The same as they were in Austria.

It's the way
they work all around you,

knowing about everybody, everything.
Where to find you.

- That night they hunted us!
- Carla!

Not the old fear again.
We aren't there now.

- But they're here in London.
- You're imagining too much.

Something's going on, but you can't
charge people with being Nazis

just because they belong to a charity.
Especially an advisor to the Ministry.

The police would laugh at us.

That is what I told Stephen
at first.

- Stephen?
- Mr Neale.

He's the one that thought of
searching the cards, and he was right.

- I'm going to show them to him.
- Wait a minute.

- How did you get in touch with him?
- He telephoned for you.

He's safe now. I took him to
the bookshop where I hid Maria.

- I wish you hadn't done that.
- Why not? You're helping him.

Yes, I know, but I'd rather
you didn't get mixed up with him.

But why, Willi?
You don't think he killed that man Cost?

I didn't... then.
I've checked up on him.

He was sentenced for murder
two years ago.

He told me.

But it wasn't murder.
Even the court called it a mercy killing.

- And you still want to help him?
- Yes.

You're not falling in love
with him, by any chance?

Yes, very much.

I can go to the
Ministry of Home Security.

At least try to tell them.

They'd suspect you
before anyone else.

It's your organisation. You're aliens.
You can't take that chance.

We took longer chances
than this in Austria.

- You're not afraid?
- Yes.

Good. So am I.

When I left Lembridge,
I told Dr Morton

I was coming to London
to spend a quiet life.

It's been like riding
down the side of a whirlpool.

From what you say about the Ministry,

Willi and I are only a half turn behind you.

We'll get out of it all right,

even if I have to drown
some of these 'Free Mothers' first.

- You wouldn't object?
- No.

Someday when I get back
to that quiet life,

I want to ask you if you'd
be interested in it too.

Willi asked me if I was
falling in love with you.

And?

I said, "yes."

Newland's Bookshop.
Oh, Dr Forrester!

A pleasure to hear from you, sir.
I found a set for you.

Oxford Medicine by Christian.

Nineteen volumes.
Is that correct?

Tonight? I don't know.
You're quite far out.

Oh, here?
Just a moment.

Regal... Court.

Flat... 29.

Has the porter a key?

Right. I'll have it there
before blackout time.

Miss Hilfe, did you hear that?

Yes!

Nineteen volumes. Are you two
going out to get some dinner tonight?

- We'll drop them off for you.
- Would you? Thank you very much.

A book is all right
for mental stimulation,

but if there's anything I loathe,

it's struggling about the streets
with great quantities of print.

You spoke of the porter.
Won't the Doctor be there?

No, he's out at his nursing home.

Has a collection of maniacs
he psychoanalyses.

It's Regal Court, Flat 29.
The porter will let you in.

Put them anywhere,
and, please, don't forget my valise.

- Leather's hard to get.
- All right.

Thank heaven
for youth and strength.

Twenty-nine? Yes, sir.
Mr Travers left orders to let you in.

Travers? But these are
for Dr Forrester.

You must be wrong, sir.
We haven't any Dr Forrester.

But 29 is right,
and Mr Travers is expecting books.

We have had some
incorrect names, sir,

where a gentleman
has a hideout from his wife.

But those gentlemen were not
spending their time with books.

- There you are, sir.
- Thank you.

Not at all, sir.

Travers, eh?

He needs a few books.

Nobody lives here.

No cigarettes, no personal
belongings, nothing.

The line's dead.

We'll save Mr Newland's leather
and get out of this place.

Awake, eh?

You've been hard to find, Mr Neale.

Who was the girl?

- What girl?
- That went into the flat with you.

- I was alone.
- You were when we found you.

The porter saw her go in.

That's very interesting.

A mysterious girl.
I don't see her, and you don't,

but the porter does.

Did you kill her too?

You're much better
at that occupation,

with your bombs in suitcases.

Oh, now it's my bomb, eh?

Or one of your Nazi friends.

Nazis, bombs. They shouldn't have
let you out of that asylum, Mr Neale.

- We ought to have a record of all this.
- I've said all I have to say.

You'll say quite a bit more
before you leave here.

- And just where am I?
- Scotland Yard.

Where did you think?

Inspector?

Stephen Neale,
questioning by Inspector Prentice.

File number: 2H-LJ-14.
Charge: murder.

I didn't kill him!

- Who didn't you kill?
- Cost, at Mrs Bellane's place.

We haven't heard about that one.

But the police were there,
where we had the séance.

There's been no
such murder reported.

A friend of mine saw them.

- They questioned him.
- What friend?

You wouldn't know him.

They must have posed as police too.

- Who?
- The people at the séance.

The ones who tried to kill me.

They're enemy agents. Mrs Bellane,
Dr Forrester, the psychiatrist.

Forrester?
Not the advisor to the Ministry?

Yes! He telephoned Newland at his
bookshop to kill me with that bomb!

Have the doctor give him a sedative.
I'll talk to him later.

Wait. You asked for the truth.
You listen to it.

I have all their names.
Look at the cards in my coat.

There weren't any cards in your coat.
Spies, séances.

You've been very careful
not to mention George Rennit.

Rennit?

When you're ready to tell me
what you did to him, let me know.

I didn't do anything to him.

No, I didn't think so.
Of course, you didn't.

He left his office with you,
wasn't seen again alive.

His body was found near
Battersea Bridge. He was bludgeoned.

You are charged with
his deliberate murder.

I don't know what happened to him.

I didn't even know he'd disappeared
until I got back to his office.

Well, that's better.
You were with him then.

Yes, I retained him to find out
why they tried to kill me.

They were after something
hidden in a cake that I won.

- Cake?
- I know I sound insane.

You are, without doubt.

Inspector, wait, please.

I know my record.

You can send me back to the
asylum on any charge.

I don't care what you do with me.

But you can't take it
on yourself to say

that German agents
aren't working here in London.

You saw that bombed apartment.
I tell you, they did it.

I ask you for one
fair chance to prove it.

Name it.

It's a long chance, but
it's the only one I have.

There's a bomb crater
at Black Moor factory near Lembridge.

I want to search around it
to see if there's any trace

of what was in that cake.

There was a cake.

Where was he standing?

Here, by the corner.

- Here.
- Cover every bit of ground.

Here is a coat.

Or what's left of it.

- The blind man's?
- Yes.

It's the piece from that gun.

- Rather convenient for you to find it.
- At least I was here.

It might be your gun
that you used on him.

There's nothing about spies on it.

- Inspector, is this anything?
- The cake box!

Or part of it.

- Where was it?
- The edge of the crater.

A bird was pecking away at it.

Where'd he find it?

It must be here somewhere!
If we could sift this dirt!

Drive over to the factory.
Get some screens and shovels.

Yes, sir.

He was ruddy well scattered about.

That does it, sir.

Satisfied?

- Pack up.
- Very good, sir.

I never used to like birds.

What is it?

Drawings or something.
We'll ask the Ministry.

Watkins, turn it off.

I don't know how they could
have been photographed.

I assume full responsibility.

They've only been
out of the vault twice:

for the Saturday conference,
and yesterday.

They would have killed more than
one man to recover these, Mr Neale.

They're the new embarkation plans
on our Channel minefields.

- We've been a great help.
- Mr Neale can identify some of them, sir.

With your permission,
I'll get along with arresting them.

- They might still have prints.
- I doubt it.

Or they wouldn't have gone to
such lengths to recover the negative.

I don't think we can take it for granted
that the charts are safe.

I don't either, sir.

I think someone came here and
photographed them again yesterday.

You said they were
out of the vault again?

Yes.

- This Dr Forrester?
- He hasn't been here for two weeks.

He's done splendid work
for the Ministry, Inspector.

Hard to believe that he's involved.

Perhaps not, sir. Were any of
his friends here both days?

Not that I know of.

That tailor he recommended
was here again yesterday.

- Measured Parkins for a suit.
- Mr Travers?

- May I speak, sir?
- Surely.

Someone named Travers
leased that apartment

where Inspector Prentice found me.

- Could you tell me his firm, sir?
- Travers & Brathwaite.

May I use your phone?
Thank you, sir.

Would you get me
Travers & Brathwaite, tailors?

Are you there?
This is Mr Pauling.

Would it be possible to be
measured for a suit this afternoon?

Five-thirty? I'll be there.
Thank you.

With your permission, sir.

Mrs Bellane, 209 Campden Lane.

Miss Penteel, Old Art Centre.

She keeps yelping for the police
every time she sees me.

Newland, Newland's Bookshop.
That's all.

- Bring them in.
- Yes, sir.

- Why are you protecting that girl?
- There wasn't any girl.

And that friend you mentioned?

I've told you everything I know
that can be of help.

My friends have nothing to do with it.
I don't want them involved.

That's a fair answer.

Follow me in five minutes.

- Good afternoon.
- Oh, good afternoon.

What can we do for you, sir?

- I'd like to see Mr Travers, please.
- Certainly, sir.

Won't you please take a chair?

I'll tell him you're waiting, sir.

The gentleman over there, sir.

One moment, Mr Pauling.

- Good tweeds here, Travers.
- Thank you, sir.

- Good afternoon, Mr Travers.
- Good afternoon.

You wish to see me, sir?

There's no one I'd rather see.

Oh, I don't understand.
Excuse me one moment.

Hello? Mr Macklin?

This is Travers & Brathwaite.

Your suit was dispatched
an hour ago, sir.

I trust in time for your journey?

Thank you very much, sir.

I felt very satisfied myself
at the last fitting.

Oh, yes, sir. I think when you've worn it
once, you'll find the shoulders will settle.

No, sir, I find we'll not
be able to repeat the trousers.

Oh, it isn't
a matter of coupons, sir.

The manufacturers
have no more of the pattern.

Personally, I have no hope, sir.

- No hope at all.
- Gentlemen...

- What is it?
- Prentice!

He's Cost, the one at the séance.

Excuse me.

- It's Travers.
- That's Travers, huh?

- Travers!
- What happened?

Hello?

Hello?

Is anyone there?

- Oh.
- Oh.

- Why didn't you deliver Mr Macklin's suit?
- I did, guvnor, just before I came here.

You must have gone
to the wrong address.

No, sir, 46 Prince Consort Mansions,
like it had on the box.

Well, that's all right, then.

- Mr Travers was quite put out.
- Oh.

Neale! Why, Carla said...

Come in here, man.
We thought you'd been killed.

Not quite.

Carla took me back to that
apartment. You disappeared.

- What happened?
- Is she here?

Yes! Carla!

Finally saved up enough coupons
to buy a decent suit.

Carla!

Yes?

He isn't a ghost.
You'd better tell her.

- Why did you come here?
- Why not?

The man saved your life.
Aren't you going to thank him?

He'll kill you, Stephen!

He's the one who tried
to kill us with that bomb.

He gives the orders,
not Dr Forrester.

Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk.
There wasn't much else to do.

You were both finding out too much,
and you wouldn't stop.

It was too good a charity to lose.

And you'd kill
your sister to save it?

You killed your wife.

People do such things
under the strain of necessity.

We've always been very close.

I was really happy
when I found her alive.

Put your hat and coat on.
We are leaving.

Vorwarts!

The trouble with me is
I like people too much.

I liked you at first.

That's why I tried to
frighten you out of London.

I was quite happy
letting you hit me on the jaw.

I'm fond of that memory myself.

But you are
a persistent man, Neale.

If I had known that you were going
to keep on messing about,

you would have never left
Mrs Bellane's alive.

Are you ready, Carla?

Yes.

It's a pity, Neale.
You could have led a very peaceful life.

The films are sewed up
in that suit, aren't they?

Oh, yes. Cost said
the shoulders would settle.

Killing me won't get you out of
England, Hilfe. You're through.

Give me the gun, Carla.

Give me the coat.

You wouldn't shoot
your brother, Carla.

Come.

They're on the stairs!

Can you make it?

- Yes.
- Come on!

Turn out the lights down there!

- Are they coming?
- I don't know.

Give me the other magazine
out of the coat.

I've always dreamed
of having a church wedding.

We'll have music, flowers
and a big cake.

Cake!

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