Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983): Season 1, Episode 1 - An Affair with a Married Woman - full transcript
Sidney Rosenblum, a Russian born Jew, is recruited by the British espionage service and on his first assignment comes up with intelligence on the Russian oil fields but also sensitive information on their heretofore unknown Persian installations. He is detained in a provincial town by a zealous police inspector but sees a chance to escape. Rosenblum fakes a romantic liaison with the beautiful wife of an aged cleric caught in a dysfunctional marriage. Rosenblum's superiors are distressed with his less than gallant tactics and Margaret Thomas, the young wife in question feels humiliated at having been used. However, Rosenblum has a score to settle. An operative of Zaharov, an influential arms dealer working for the Turks among others, murders Rosenblum's London girlfriend in his zeal to obtain the invaluable documents from her.
[theme music]
[train rumbles]
[people shout]
[gunshots]
[train toots]
[gunshots and people shouting]
[train hisses]
[footsteps approach]
- Professor Rosenblum.
Welcome to Baku.
I'm Sergeant Kott of
the frontier police.
And I've been asked to
escort you to your quarters.
- We are not in Baku.
- A little disturbances.
- What is it this time?
- The Tartars are
massacring the Armenians.
You, too, sir,
- Why do we have to get out?
- Because I say so.
[bells ding]
[horse whinnies]
- Is that man telling the truth?
- Maybe, but there's
more to it than that.
It never pays to argue
with these chaps.
- Careful, you fool.
- Is he always like this?
- Of course.
- I'd calm him
down if I were you
or he'll get us
all into trouble.
[pottery rattles]
[upbeat music]
Perhaps if you tell me what
it is you are looking for,
I could be of some assistance.
- I won't know 'til I find it.
I'm sure there's nothing there.
- So I can go?
- No.
I have instructions
to detain you.
- From whom?
- Saint Petersburg.
- Please inform
the science faculty
of the University of Odessa
that I have been arrested
and that I expect them
to take immediate steps
to secure my release.
- Of course, I am sure
it is all an error.
On the other hand, if it is not,
it would be in your
best interest to
make a statement now.
It might save a certain amount
of unpleasantness later on
when I may be called
upon to interrogate you.
[footsteps approach]
You'll be put up in the hotel.
It's just across the road
and is slightly more
comfortable than the jail.
Naturally, there will be a
guard at your bedroom door
and one will accompany
you wherever you go.
And please do not try to escape.
There are tigers in the
hills and they eat people.
These,
these have all been
eaten by tigers.
When they saw they
were on the frontier,
people imagine
they can just jump
on a horse and ride across.
But I can assure you, professor,
that if the tigers
don't get them, I do.
[baby cries]
[exotic music]
[camel grunts]
Enjoy your stay.
[man sings]
- I found this in my
husband's luggage.
- Ah, yes, you see--
- There's no need to explain it.
In fact, I'd rather
not know about it.
I don't think my
husband would approve.
[paper rustles]
- The purpose of this lecture
is to bring to your attention
the importance of oil as
the prime source of energy
in the coming decades.
We in the Royal Navy
are especially concerned
that this message is understood
in the corridors of power.
As a nation, we are too easily
influenced by the coal lobby.
Yet, if we are to
survive as a great power,
we must have weapons which
are as fast, as deadly,
as the other great powers.
This means oil fired turbines.
On the face of it, a
minor technical change.
But in reality, it calls
for a massive change
in the nation's priorities.
And in its relationship
with other countries.
The question is not can we
afford to reequip our navy
with oil fired warships,
but where is the oil coming
from which they will burn?
[pan bangs]
[footsteps approach]
[mysterious music]
- Good evening, your worship.
- Good evening.
- [Waiter] You can have
a choice of meat or fish.
- What kind of meat?
- It's kabob.
- What kind of kabob?
- Meat.
- Ah.
And a bottle of
wine, if you will.
- We have barrels of it.
Good evening, your worship.
- No.
- In your honor, I've
written out the menu.
[bottles clatter]
- No.
[donkey brays]
[footsteps approach]
[chickens cluck]
- I hope everything
is to your liking.
- When can we leave, captain?
- Unfortunately, the
Uzbekis have risen up
and are murdering foreigners.
Oh, believe me, sir, it
would be most inadvisable
for you to travel
for a few days yet.
- I believe we are being
kept here for some purpose.
- Well, that is possible.
God works in mysterious ways.
- Goat's cheese from Persia.
The sturgeon we
caught last Sunday.
And the lemon is
from my uncle's farm.
- I trust your quarters
are comfortable, professor.
- Is the guard really necessary?
- He has instructions to
search your room every hour.
The frontier is less than
a day's ride from here.
People have been tempted
to escape before now.
Are you a gambling
man, professor?
Good, good.
Then perhaps you may
care to join me later on
in a game of chess.
- Waiter.
We'll eat in our room.
Come, madam.
- Would you play trik trak?
Good.
Good.
[orchestral music]
[laughs]
[dice rattle]
- Come to bed.
- They saw my shoulder.
- You will not wear
that gown in the future.
Do you understand?
It's not appropriate.
[dice rattle]
[footsteps approach]
- Admiral Fisher?
- Oh, yes, Pomeroy.
- I wonder if you have a moment.
- Enterprise, you say?
- No, sir.
Industry.
- Oh, yes.
Well, excuse me.
- We've had a communication
from Rosenblum.
- Rosenblum?
- The man we sent to Odessa.
- Ah, yes.
- I don't know if we
can trust the source.
She's a [speaks
foreign language].
- Keeps women, does he?
- No.
I gather they keep him.
- Oh.
- Ah, sir, I don't think
you've met Fothergill.
- No.
- This is Admiral Fisher.
- How do you do, sir?
- And this is Mrs. McConnell.
She's a friend of Rosenblum's.
- He's been writing to you.
- Yes, sir, every week.
- Every week, eh?
My darling Rose, events
here have taken a turn
for the worse with the
arrival of some gentlemen
from Petersburg who show great
curiosity about my work here.
I may have to leave
hurriedly, so please tell
dear Fothergill that
when I go I shall take
all the relevant stuff with me.
Hope to see you
sometime in June.
'Til then, don't worry.
Yours ever, Sidney.
June.
We can't wait that long.
[carriage rattles]
Not a word to us, but a
dozen letters to a whore.
What kind of chap is he?
[people chatter]
[donkey brays]
[man sings]
[rooster crows]
- Attention!
Ready.
Take aim.
Fire.
[guns bang]
[chickens cluck]
- This is a barbaric country.
- Come on.
[woman cries]
Move, woman, move.
[gun fires]
- My husband has found
at temple in the hills,
and the inspector has no
objection to his going there
as long as I remain here.
- As a hostage?
- Odd that it's us they suspect
when it's you they
should be looking to.
- Oh, don't worry, they
have me in their sights.
[door bangs]
[chickens cluck]
- Come inside, madam.
- When I have finished.
[door bangs]
I suppose I had better go.
- Love, honor, and obey.
- Honor and obey.
- Is there any word from Odessa?
- Yes.
They want you
returned under escort.
Why are you so
important to them?
What have you got that
they want so badly?
- The whole thing is a
mistake which I will resolve
as soon as I get back.
[footsteps approach]
So, when is the next train?
- Oh, in one hour.
Unfortunately, I cannot spare
any men to accompany you.
So, you will have to wait
here until such time as I can.
- The cable says he
first available train.
- What can I do?
Next week you
shall go to Odessa.
[dramatic music]
[horse snorts]
[door rattles]
[rooster crows]
- You need some fresh air.
- I need a drink.
- Prospect from the
beach is very attractive.
If you face away from the town.
- He'll find out.
- Not unless you tell him.
Why did you marry him?
- I was nursing him.
And he was already
making demands on me,
so I thought why not.
He has money, a
position in life.
But he won't live forever.
- There appears to be a
miscalculation somewhere.
- I misjudged myself.
I thought I was stronger.
I thought I could cope, but I
hadn't quite counted on being
a servant and a
whore 24 hours a day.
I wish I were dead.
I'd literally walk
out into that water
if it wasn't so filthy.
- That is the oil
- What's the difference?
- It's what makes
the world go round.
- I thought that of love.
[gun fires]
- He says we've gone far enough.
- Yes, I think we have.
[footsteps approach]
[dishes clatter]
- Profound apologies,
your worship,
but no milk again.
- What is it this time?
- We're expecting an earthquake.
Consequently, the
goat's milk goes sour.
- First it was the Uzbekis,
now it's an earthquake.
- Yes, your honor.
[dogs bark]
Oh God, for what we
are about to receive,
make us truly thankful.
Eat.
- I'm not hungry.
- Eat.
[building rattles]
[animals squawk]
[people yell]
[footsteps approach]
- Are you all right?
- Yes, I'm fine.
- How's the reverend?
- Slept right through it.
[laughs]
Good night.
[door bangs]
[goats bleat]
[footsteps approach]
[rooster crows]
- Unfortunately, the railway
line to Odessa is out.
So you will have to
stay a few days longer.
- Well, at least the
yogurt will be fresh.
- All my specimens are broken,
smashed by your
confounded earthquake.
- An impatient man.
Not like me.
- Could you assist me?
To get away?
- How?
- By coming to my room tonight.
I want you to stay 'til dawn.
- Mr. Rosenblum, you've
taken leave of your senses.
- While you are there, the
guard is unlikely to enter.
It will be long past
breakfast before they realize
that I am gone.
- I cannot compromise
myself like that.
- Without such a ruse,
I have little chance
of reaching a port of air.
with a telegraph, they can
send a message to intercept me.
- So you will be safe,
leaving me at the mercy
of both my husband
and the captain?
- The fact is you
are a British subject
and I am a British agent.
And I have to get those
papers back to England.
- Even if I were to go
through with your plan,
the consequences
would be unthinkable.
I will be locked up,
humiliated, abused.
And on being released
by the captain,
taken home in disgrace
by my husband,
sermonized at every station.
And, finally, when
we did reach London,
divorced, thrown out
onto the streets.
- When you reach London, I
will be there to meet you.
- Mr. Rosenblum, I know you
are in a terrible situation,
but even so, you should
resist making rash promises.
- I will be there.
[dramatic music]
- I am sorry, I cannot help you.
You must have realized spying
is a desperate business.
Well, so I may tell
you, is marriage.
I have embarked on an enterprise
twice as hazardous as yours
and it takes me all my
wit just to survive.
Even if I were to try,
the guards would see me.
- It is important
that they should.
- And what if Reverend
Thomas would awake?
- Double his laudanum.
That's what he
takes, doesn't he?
Well, I understand
your position.
I hope you will accept my
apologies for the indelicacy
of my proposal.
- No.
I'm sure your motives
were most honorable.
- You are to return
with me, madam.
As for you, sir.
You stand rebuked, sir.
I am a man of God, sir.
If I were not, I would
not be so [mumbles].
[carriage rattles]
Margaret.
- What tonight?
- Proverbs.
31:10.
- Who can find a virtuous woman?
For her price is above rubies.
- You know who Prometheus
was, professor?
- Yes, a figure from
Greek mythology.
- Correct.
He stole the secret
of fire from the gods,
and he was caught red-handed.
[laughs]
Do you know what
they did to him?
They chained him to a rock,
and a tiger came and
tore out his stomach.
- An eagle.
[dice rattle]
- I received another
telegraph from Odessa today.
It would appear that
they gods are angry.
Someone has stolen
some secret information
about our oil surveys
which must not fall
into foreign hands.
So it would appear
that my theory
about Prometheus was
correct, professor.
- Prometheus was a very
influential man, you know.
He had lots of powerful friends.
- Nevertheless, he
ended up chained
to a mountain in the Caucasus.
I can't help thinking that
that is what is going to
happen to you, professor.
I think maybe tomorrow, I
move you into the lock-up.
I am sure I can find
out in a couple of hours
whether or not you
are this Prometheus
that these cables refer to.
[door bangs]
[door creaks]
[papers rustle]
- Good night, captain.
[footsteps depart]
[door creaks]
[doors bang]
You gave him his laudanum?
- Most of the bottle.
- Good.
- I thought I was going
to die coming up here.
- It was brave of you.
- Are you leaving straightaway?
- I have to wait for
the lights to go out.
Listen to me,
whatever you do,
you must not say
that you came her
to aid my escape.
You were simple passionately
in love with me.
And this is something that
they can understand, passion.
You understand that?
- Yes.
- You must be particularly
firm with your husband.
Just say you were overcome
with some sort of madness.
You understand that?
- Yes, passion.
- [Sidney] Yes.
- Madness.
- That's right.
- Did you mean it?
- What?
- You said you'd be
there when I got home.
- Yes.
[dramatic music]
- Please stay for
just a few minutes.
- You'll regret this.
- Tomorrow maybe.
I've wanted you ever since I
first say you on the train.
[horses clop]
[people chatter]
- Gentlemen, please.
My husband is not well.
[people chatter]
I'll answer your
questions later.
[door bangs]
[suitcases clatter]
Take the keys to
the cellar winery,
and bring up a bottle of gin.
- Cabbie?
[carriage rattles]
White Hall, Top End.
- [Cabbie] All right, governor.
- [Man] Where is Rosenblum?
- He had to go underground.
- The Russians are angry.
There's been a stream of
protests from St. Petersburg.
And the czar has made strong
representations to the King.
- Well, that is to be expected.
Rosenblum killed a
policeman on his way out.
- Whatever the reason, it took
us a great deal of persuasion
to secure Mrs. Thomas's release.
- Well, sir, all I can say is
that he did bring our
vital information.
- I don't think you understand.
Your agent Rosenblum has brought
the entire Foreign Service
into disrepute.
First of all, he
blaggers this woman.
Then he compromises he.
Finally, he cuts and runs,
leaving her to face the music.
- Well, he was under
some pressure, sir.
- How man missions
has he done for you?
- This is his first.
- I suggest you
convene a meeting
of the metropolitan newspapers
and repudiate the notion
that Rosenblum is in any
way connected with us.
- Yes, sir.
What about Mrs. Thomas?
- Make sure she
makes a statement
at the same time
as you make yours.
- Is that all, sir?
- I should stick to
employing gentlemen
in the future, Cummings.
And preferable
English gentlemen.
- Sidney.
[Sidney grunts]
Oh, I missed you.
I was so lonely.
- You were lonely?
I bet you were very
much in demand.
- Oh, very, very, very.
Wait.
I'll show you.
[lively music]
♪ Daddy wouldn't
buy me a bow-wow ♪
♪ Bow-wow
♪ Daddy wouldn't
buy me a bow-wow ♪
♪ Bow-wow
♪ I've got a little cat
♪ And I'm very fond of that
♪ But I'd rather
have a bow-wow-wow ♪
♪ Daddy wouldn't
buy me a bow-wow ♪
♪ Bow-Wow
♪ Daddy wouldn't
buy me a bow-wow ♪
♪ Bow-Wow
♪ I've got a little cat
♪ And I'm very fond of that
♪ But I'd rather
have a bow-wow-wow ♪
[laughs]
- Why didn't you
put it in a bank?
- It didn't seem quite right.
They're a bit like churches.
I get embarrassed every
time I get near one.
[rain dribbles]
[thunder rolls]
- The purpose of
this meeting tonight
is to correct any
misapprehensions
concerning events
that took place
in the Russian town
of Baku last year.
[footsteps approach]
- Fothergill, my dear fellow.
- Dear god, Rosenblum.
- What's the matter, old man?
You look as if
you've seen a ghost.
Well, I must say, I thought
you'd be delighted to see me.
Did you get the report?
- Yes, and we're most grateful.
It's a fantastic coup.
Fisher's still reading
around the war room.
- Now I am here to state
quite categorically,
and I have been authorized
by the Secretary of State
to do so, that whoever
this man Rosenblum was,
he was not and never
has been involved
in espionage on our behalf.
- Look here, old boy.
I'm afraid you
can't go out there.
- Mrs. Thomas out there?
- Yes, she's up there.
- I must say hello.
- I don't think you
quite understand.
What you did in Baku has
scandalized the nation.
Sidney, they'll vent you.
Bastard.
[audience applauds]
- Spying is an odious business.
It is an enterprise
in which we engage
with the greatest reluctance.
All the more so then, that
when the necessity arises,
we entrust our missions to men
with some degree of gallantry,
as well as patriotism.
Such men would never put
a lady's honor at risk,
even if their own
life was at stake.
Now, I would like to introduce
you to Mrs. Margaret Thomas.
Mrs. Thomas has come
along at her own request
to dispel some of the
rumors which have persisted
in many of our newspapers
since she and her
husband returned home.
And she will answer
any questions
you may wish to put to her.
Mrs. Thomas.
[audience applauds]
- Rosenblum's here.
- What?
- In the audience.
- I want to thank Mr. Pomeroy
and members of the
British government
for having worked so hard to
get my husband and me released
from Baku prison.
I would also like to apologize
on behalf of my husband.
He cannot be here tonight.
He's still confined to bed
as a result of our ordeal.
It is because of the
concern shown to our case
by the government
that I consented to be
on the platform here tonight.
As I have already
stated to the press,
I helped Mr. Rosenblum
quite freely,
believing him when he
said he was a member
of the British Secret Service.
And I consented to his stratagem
in order to save his life.
Much has been said
of a love affair
between myself
and Mr. Rosenblum.
There was no love affair.
- May I have the first
question, please?
If you and this man
Rosenblum were not lovers,
what were your
feelings towards him?
- My feelings were inspired
by misplaced patriotism.
- Why did you help his escape?
- He told me he had to
get back to England.
- Why did you believe him?
What proof did he offer?
- It never occurred
to me not to.
- How long did you
spend in prison?
- A long time.
- 19 weeks.
- If you and Rosenblum
were not lovers,
why did the Russians
way you were?
- They were angry
that he had escaped.
I suppose they wanted
to cause mischief.
- Mrs. Thomas, this
man, whoever he was,
caused you a great
deal of hardship.
If he were here tonight, what
would you have to say to him?
- I would express to
him my anger and disgust
and loathing at the way he
used both me and my husband.
- How is the old boy?
- Ladies and gentlemen,
Mrs. Thomas has been
through a very trying time.
I don't think we
should press her
to recount her experiences
so soon after the event.
- And I would ask him
why he betrayed him.
Why he had to kill that officer
knowing we would have to pay?
- Ladies and gentlemen, Mrs.
Thomas is clearly overwrought.
And I don't think we
can prevail upon her
to answer any more
questions tonight.
The meeting is therefore closed.
[people chatter]
- What on earth possessed
you to let him in?
- How could I have stopped him?
- Closed, gentlemen, closed.
[people chatter]
- I'm sorry about this, ma'am.
- About what?
You told me you had no
knowledge of this man,
yet here he is in the
middle of the hall
and you know him well.
- There's a cab at the door.
I'll have Fothergill see to her.
- Leave me here.
I want to speak to him.
- Fothergill will be downstairs.
[footsteps depart]
I simply cannot believe
the man would be possessed
of such indiscretion.
Apparently he has his way
with the lady in Baku,
vanishes into thin
air, and then reappears
just when and where his
presences is least welcome.
Quite apart from his own folly,
the whole name of
the service at risk.
- Exactly.
Supposing she had
identified him,
where would we had been?
- Exactly.
- Well, she didn't, did she?
[dramatic music]
[footsteps depart]
- In answer to your question,
my husband has had a stroke.
- I'm sorry to hear that.
- Since you were
the cause of it.
Why did you come here tonight?
- I wanted to thank you.
- You could have chosen
a less public occasion.
You used me in Baku.
You manipulated me in
the most cynical manner.
You have no idea what they
did to me after you left.
- I had to get out.
I had to use whatever
method I could to get out.
- Have you any idea
what we've been through
during the past six months?
- Stop thinking of yourself
as an injured party.
There's only one who suffered,
and that is your husband.
And he should look upon
it as a visitation.
He who taketh a young bride
findeth himself in trouble.
Isn't that what the Bible says?
And besides, there's
nothing like a grievance
to sharpen an old man's wits
and make him cling to life.
- He is still my husband.
I am still married to him.
- And I sincerely hope so.
He's a wealthy man and
halfway to the grave.
Seldom have I met a woman in
more fortunate circumstances.
Young, beautiful,
and about to come
into a lot of money.
- No.
[footsteps approach]
[rain patters]
He's despicable.
[dramatic music]
[carriage rattles]
[papers rustle]
[bell rings]
[door bangs]
- Yes, Mr. Zaharov?
- What do we know of the
man who wrote this report?
- Very little.
- Find out more about him.
He interests me.
- The matter is
already in hands, sir.
- Good.
Return this to the King
with the following note.
Your Majesty,
thank you for letting
me read this report.
The information it contains
regarding the Russian oil fields
is interesting,
both for what it says
and for what it does not say.
Your obedient servant.
[people chatter]
[woman weeps]
- It's Mrs. McConnell.
Mrs. McConnell.
- Yes, sir?
- My friend, Mrs. McConnell?
- Is dead, sir.
Murdered.
[footsteps approach]
- You said you were
a friend of hers?
- Yes.
- You mean a client?
- No, I was her friend.
[items clatter]
- This is what we
found Mr. Zaharov.
Letters, bill, checkbook,
and those photographs.
- Is that all?
- Must have another
place somewhere.
- Rowhedge, did
anything untoward happen
at the apartment?
- No, sir.
But your nails are broken,
and your face is scratched.
- There was some opposition.
- You may go.
[footsteps depart]
- It was a mistake to send him.
- Yes, sir.
- I was particularly
interested in a report
of 20 or so pages, similar to
the one I had from the King.
- It wasn't hers, though.
- Find a way to
return these trinkets.
- Is that all?
- No.
Make some discreet inquiries
as to what happened
at her apartment.
- Yes, sir.
- If Rowhedge has
overstepped the mark,
I wish to be
informed immediately.
- Yes, sir.
- There is one other thing.
I shall be dining
at the Cafe Royale
with my Lady Gregory.
She usually orders some
kind of custard for dessert.
Please see that the chef
puts that in the cup.
But make sure he
washes it first.
I don't want to spend
the night ministering
to a lady with
ptomaine poisoning.
- Yes, Mr. Zaharov.
[carriage clatters]
[footsteps approach]
[mysterious music]
[door bangs]
[items clatter]
[Sidney cries]
[carriage rattles]
- [Cabbie] Thanks
very much then.
[mysterious music]
[bell rings]
- I've had the lock changed.
- So I noticed, Mrs. A.
- I am sorry about
Mrs. McConnell.
- You spent your
life slandering her.
- Yes, but now that she's dead.
- You feel sorry for her.
Well, I doubt when you're dead
she'll feel sorry for you.
[footsteps depart]
[case rattles]
[wardrobe clatters]
[spoon rattles]
[somber music]
- Damn it all, Sidney.
- She was killed because
of her connection with me.
Now nobody knew of my
connection with her
except for you.
Whoever found that address,
got it from this office.
- Are you suggesting that I--
- No.
No.
But I want to see that
wooden legged bastard.
[door bangs]
- Sidney.
[door bangs]
- What do you want?
- I want to know what's
going on, Cummings.
- Mr. Rosenblum,
I send you to Russia to
obtain us some oil surveys.
You return with a report the
size of a three volume novel.
You implicate us in a scandal,
the consequences of which
are still not clear.
Not only that, but I
arrange a meeting to deny
that we are connected with you,
you turn up and
wreck the occasion.
Now one of your girls
has been butchered,
and Scotland Yard is
pounding at our doors
wanting to question you.
And you ask me what is going on?
I should like to ask
you what is going on.
- You met Rose, didn't you?
- Briefly.
The white slave trade is
not my cup of tea, old boy.
- She was a good woman.
- Her death had
nothing to do with us.
Under the circumstances,
I would advise you
to forget the matter.
- How would you describe
my circumstances?
- My dear sir,
you are wanted for
murder in Odessa,
while in London one of your
ladies has been murdered
by an over-zealous client.
- That is how you see it?
- I am not in favor
of the evidence,
but that is the only
plausible explanation.
Unless, of course, you
can supply another one.
- Her rooms were
searched because of me.
The only people who
knew I used that place
were you and Fothergill.
- If her rooms were searched,
what were they looking for?
- There was another report.
The surveys the Russians
have carried out
in the Persian Basin.
- Persian Basin?
Are you telling me that the
Russians have been drilling
for oil in the Persian Basin?
- Under the noses of the Turks.
And what is more,
they have found it.
- Why the hell didn't
you tell us this before?
- Because it's worth
a damn sight more
than you're prepared
to pay for it.
That is why the Russians
were so concerned
about my escape.
And that is why the
Thomas's were so abused.
They want the reports back.
- And you are prepared
to deliver them
if the price is
right, is that it?
- That is not my intention.
- Where is the missing chapter?
- I notice that while the
gun is made in England,
the trigger mechanism
comes from Texas.
- I am a professional, old boy.
Although you may not think so.
Where is it?
- In a safe place.
- And when are we
going to see it?
- When you tell me
who murdered Rose.
- Those surveys were part
of the mission, Sidney.
And it's wrong of
you to withhold them.
- Who has access
to my files here?
- The only person who
has access to your file
apart from ourselves and Fisher
is the King.
- Now I'm not going to beat
about the bush, Rosenblum.
I will give you 24
hours to return to me
the missing chapter.
Otherwise, I will
make it so hot for you
that you will not longer
wish to live in this country.
Furthermore, I will not
hesitate to expose your family
back in Russia.
The fact that they have
sired a British agent
will not go down well
with the Okhrana.
So in your circumstances,
you would do well
not to play the
Billy goat with me.
[papers rustle]
- The man is a genius.
- He's an unscrupulous bastard.
- How in hell's name
he got all of these
I should never know.
He's the chap we
need at Port Arthur.
- He's a pimp and a murderer.
- You agreed to send
someone to Manchuria.
Someone who could be
trusted to get at the root
of what's going on out there.
- He's not the right
kind of material.
He's not a gentleman.
He's probably a socialist.
He's certainly a Jew.
- He's the man we
need at Port Arthur.
On the basis of this, we're
going to have to redraw
the map of the Middle East.
[somber music]
[door rattles]
- Mr. Rosenblum, sir.
- Of course.
You found your way here
without difficulty.
- Your name was on a wreath.
- I thought that
would interest you.
- You knew Rose?
- When she was about 16.
- She never spoke of you.
- Which only goes to show
she was indiscreet only
when she wanted to be.
Sit down, Mr. Rosenblum.
Sigmund Rosenblum.
Born Odessa, 1874.
A bastard and a Jew.
You were brought up
by a Russian family
as one of their own.
In 1889, you attend
the university.
The following year,
you disappeared,
leaving a note saying that
your body was to be found
under the ice in Odessa harbor.
What a convenient sort of
chap you are, Rosenblum.
Officially, you don't exist,
exactly what Cummings has
been looking for for years.
You spent the last seven
years in South America
where you were
recruited by Fothergill
for the British Secret Service.
On your first mission, you
compiled an exhaustive report
of the Russian oil industry.
And, in addition, gave details
of secret Russian drilling
in the Persian Basin.
You gave it to Cummings.
Cummings gave it
to Admiral Fisher.
Fisher gave it to the King.
And the King gave it to me.
You say in here that
you foresee a time
when there will be two
major spheres of influence
in the Middle East,
Britain and Russia.
And you conclude by saying
that there is no one
who could prevent the
possibility of some sort
of deal between the two.
But there is, Mr. Rosenblum.
There is me.
- You?
- The Turkish empire, Mr.
Rosenblum, is ripe for change.
Someone is going to have
to drag it struggling
and screaming into
the 20th century.
- And you think you can do it?
- There is a part of me
that longs for the Sultanate,
where I can deal directly
with the affairs of a state
without having to manipulate
through the vanities
of other men.
Now then, Mr. Rosenblum,
are you going to
stay with the British
or are you going to throw
in your lot with me?
[suspenseful music]
What is it you are
after, Mr. Rosenblum?
Were the humiliations
of your early years such
that you with the approbation
of your fellow men?
Or are you like the rest
of the sons of Odessa,
interested only in
vengeance and power?
- I'm interested in
who murdered Rose.
- Good night, Mr. Rosenblum.
[gate creaks]
[footsteps depart]
- [Sidney] I found
out who it was.
- Who what was?
- Who broke into
Rose's apartment.
It was one of Zaharov's men.
- [Man] Zaharov?
- He's had his eye
on me for some time.
Since I came back, he tells me.
Who exactly is he?
- Some say he's an
Armenian rug dealer
who's landed a
lucky job as vicars,
but he's actually one of the
most powerful men in Europe.
- Guns?
- Guns, submarines, chemicals.
He runs his own spy
service, you know.
It is reputed to be efficient,
if a little heavy handed.
I hope you're not
going to get involved
with some kind of vendetta.
After all, the poor girl is dead
and nothing you can do
will bring her back.
- She used to sleep with
him when she was young.
- I thought you were a man
of the world, old chap.
- What an extraordinary
expression,
a man of the world.
[speaks foreign language]
- All right.
I stand corrected.
- Could you get me a list
of Zaharov's agents
in this country?
- Some of them are
in very high places.
- A complete list.
[horse clops]
- Thank you very much, sir.
[horse clops]
[bell rings]
[footsteps approach]
[dramatic music]
- He's going to divorce me.
- [Sidney] On what grounds?
- My lack of patriotism, really.
He sees my behavior as being
essentially un-English.
There's a struggle
going on in his mind
between divorce and
just disinheriting me.
As a priest, he's loathe
to dissolve the marriage,
and he knows I'd challenge
any changes in his will.
He lies there wondering if
there's enough life after death
to contest him out of.
- Well, he should know.
- He's eaten up with hatred.
I feed off his
and hate him back.
- He will die soon.
They want me to
go to Port Arthur.
- Where is that?
- The other side of the world.
- I'll come with you.
[dramatic music]
[paper rustles]
- [Sidney Voiceover]
My dear Zaharov,
by process of elimination,
I have been forced
to the conclusion
that the intruder
who made his way into number
six Clanricarde Gardens
was a gentleman of your employ.
I should be grateful
if you could provide me
with his name and address
so that I might duly
call on him and inquire
by what authority he
found it necessary
to molest and murder my
friend and companion,
Mrs. Rose McConnell.
Should a misplaced sense of
loyalty forbid you to do this,
I shall begin the
elimination of your agents
within this country for
which purpose a list
has been prepared
by a mutual friend.
Your obedient servant,
Sidney Rosenblum.
[dramatic music]
[horses clop]
- [Cabbie] Thank
you very much, sir.
[door rattles]
- What do you want?
- Mr. Zaharov's compliments.
He would like to see you.
- Really?
And why didn't he just send you?
- He thought perhaps you
might not wan to come.
[carriage approaches]
- [Cabbie] Thank you, sir.
[carriage departs]
[door creaks]
[footsteps approach]
- It is an unfortunate
but inescapable fact
that the best kept secrets
are those kept by the dead,
don't you agree, Mr. Rosenblum?
Please, help yourself.
I hope the hawk is cold enough.
You know, your letter hurt me.
Had it been a polite request,
I would have obliged.
But there was an
element of violence
about it that disturbed me.
Do you really think
you could eliminate
all my agents in this country?
- No, but I would have left
a few holes in Debrett's.
- This deep enough, Mr. Zaharov?
- Take the corners
down a trifle.
- Yes, sir.
- Grant, Gransom,
Marquiste, Cherkov.
You don't own this place.
- I lease it.
- By the year or by the body?
- The gallows humor is
the hallmark of the Jew.
- I just find it odd that
a man who is in a position
to buy respectability
can be so miserly
that he prefers to rent it.
- I find the disposal
of corpses difficult
at the best of times.
However, such is the
logic of the English
that the last place they
would look for a corpse
is in a graveyard.
And the last place
in a graveyard,
the tomb of a noble family.
So,
here we are.
- [Rowhedge] I'm
finished, Mr. Zaharov.
- Thank you, Rowhedge.
Would you put the coffin in?
How do you find all this?
- Bizarre.
I would like to know
what happened to Rose.
- It was an
unfortunate accident.
I sent along a man I
thought I could trust
to search the place.
Rose returned unexpectedly
and he became over-excited.
I read the coroner's report,
but I would prefer to call
it death by misadventure.
- [Rowhedge] I've
finished, Mr. Zaharov.
- Now, Mr. Rosenblum, here's
a chance to test your nerve.
Would you be so good as
to put down the glass?
[suspenseful music]
And move over into that corner.
And in the interest of decency,
would you face the wall?
- [Rowhedge] Want to let
me do it, Mr. Zaharov?
[gun fires]
[body thuds]
[footsteps approach]
- There now, you
have your revenge.
Now we can do business.
- Cold blooded business?
- I believe it
was Wilde who said
anyone who calls a spade a spade
should be made to use one.
The fact is Rose recognized him.
- Yes, I supposed she would.
[horse approaches]
- [Cabbie] Thank you, sir.
[bell rings]
[door bangs]
[glasses clank]
- He's dead.
[cork pops]
[laughs]
[glasses clink]
[dramatic music]
[boat whistles]
[people chatter]
- My dear chap,
I just wanted to say good luck.
It's not going to
be easy out there.
They crucify spies, I gather.
It's not at all like Europe.
- Sidney, come.
- Oh, my dear.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
- They're particularly nasty
to white women, I'm told.
- She'll be all right.
- And now that you're married,
I suppose that
you'll be giving up
your other hobby.
- When Margaret comes
into her fortune.
- And I'm not sure
about this name Reilly.
- I think it's fine.
- It's Irish.
- Exactly.
See the Irish are welcome in
every country in the world
except this one.
- And I had just got
used to Rosenblum.
- You'd never get
used to Rosenblum.
- No, perhaps not.
Well, here's to Port Arthur
and your marriage.
- Thank you.
[people cheer]
[theme music]
[train rumbles]
[people shout]
[gunshots]
[train toots]
[gunshots and people shouting]
[train hisses]
[footsteps approach]
- Professor Rosenblum.
Welcome to Baku.
I'm Sergeant Kott of
the frontier police.
And I've been asked to
escort you to your quarters.
- We are not in Baku.
- A little disturbances.
- What is it this time?
- The Tartars are
massacring the Armenians.
You, too, sir,
- Why do we have to get out?
- Because I say so.
[bells ding]
[horse whinnies]
- Is that man telling the truth?
- Maybe, but there's
more to it than that.
It never pays to argue
with these chaps.
- Careful, you fool.
- Is he always like this?
- Of course.
- I'd calm him
down if I were you
or he'll get us
all into trouble.
[pottery rattles]
[upbeat music]
Perhaps if you tell me what
it is you are looking for,
I could be of some assistance.
- I won't know 'til I find it.
I'm sure there's nothing there.
- So I can go?
- No.
I have instructions
to detain you.
- From whom?
- Saint Petersburg.
- Please inform
the science faculty
of the University of Odessa
that I have been arrested
and that I expect them
to take immediate steps
to secure my release.
- Of course, I am sure
it is all an error.
On the other hand, if it is not,
it would be in your
best interest to
make a statement now.
It might save a certain amount
of unpleasantness later on
when I may be called
upon to interrogate you.
[footsteps approach]
You'll be put up in the hotel.
It's just across the road
and is slightly more
comfortable than the jail.
Naturally, there will be a
guard at your bedroom door
and one will accompany
you wherever you go.
And please do not try to escape.
There are tigers in the
hills and they eat people.
These,
these have all been
eaten by tigers.
When they saw they
were on the frontier,
people imagine
they can just jump
on a horse and ride across.
But I can assure you, professor,
that if the tigers
don't get them, I do.
[baby cries]
[exotic music]
[camel grunts]
Enjoy your stay.
[man sings]
- I found this in my
husband's luggage.
- Ah, yes, you see--
- There's no need to explain it.
In fact, I'd rather
not know about it.
I don't think my
husband would approve.
[paper rustles]
- The purpose of this lecture
is to bring to your attention
the importance of oil as
the prime source of energy
in the coming decades.
We in the Royal Navy
are especially concerned
that this message is understood
in the corridors of power.
As a nation, we are too easily
influenced by the coal lobby.
Yet, if we are to
survive as a great power,
we must have weapons which
are as fast, as deadly,
as the other great powers.
This means oil fired turbines.
On the face of it, a
minor technical change.
But in reality, it calls
for a massive change
in the nation's priorities.
And in its relationship
with other countries.
The question is not can we
afford to reequip our navy
with oil fired warships,
but where is the oil coming
from which they will burn?
[pan bangs]
[footsteps approach]
[mysterious music]
- Good evening, your worship.
- Good evening.
- [Waiter] You can have
a choice of meat or fish.
- What kind of meat?
- It's kabob.
- What kind of kabob?
- Meat.
- Ah.
And a bottle of
wine, if you will.
- We have barrels of it.
Good evening, your worship.
- No.
- In your honor, I've
written out the menu.
[bottles clatter]
- No.
[donkey brays]
[footsteps approach]
[chickens cluck]
- I hope everything
is to your liking.
- When can we leave, captain?
- Unfortunately, the
Uzbekis have risen up
and are murdering foreigners.
Oh, believe me, sir, it
would be most inadvisable
for you to travel
for a few days yet.
- I believe we are being
kept here for some purpose.
- Well, that is possible.
God works in mysterious ways.
- Goat's cheese from Persia.
The sturgeon we
caught last Sunday.
And the lemon is
from my uncle's farm.
- I trust your quarters
are comfortable, professor.
- Is the guard really necessary?
- He has instructions to
search your room every hour.
The frontier is less than
a day's ride from here.
People have been tempted
to escape before now.
Are you a gambling
man, professor?
Good, good.
Then perhaps you may
care to join me later on
in a game of chess.
- Waiter.
We'll eat in our room.
Come, madam.
- Would you play trik trak?
Good.
Good.
[orchestral music]
[laughs]
[dice rattle]
- Come to bed.
- They saw my shoulder.
- You will not wear
that gown in the future.
Do you understand?
It's not appropriate.
[dice rattle]
[footsteps approach]
- Admiral Fisher?
- Oh, yes, Pomeroy.
- I wonder if you have a moment.
- Enterprise, you say?
- No, sir.
Industry.
- Oh, yes.
Well, excuse me.
- We've had a communication
from Rosenblum.
- Rosenblum?
- The man we sent to Odessa.
- Ah, yes.
- I don't know if we
can trust the source.
She's a [speaks
foreign language].
- Keeps women, does he?
- No.
I gather they keep him.
- Oh.
- Ah, sir, I don't think
you've met Fothergill.
- No.
- This is Admiral Fisher.
- How do you do, sir?
- And this is Mrs. McConnell.
She's a friend of Rosenblum's.
- He's been writing to you.
- Yes, sir, every week.
- Every week, eh?
My darling Rose, events
here have taken a turn
for the worse with the
arrival of some gentlemen
from Petersburg who show great
curiosity about my work here.
I may have to leave
hurriedly, so please tell
dear Fothergill that
when I go I shall take
all the relevant stuff with me.
Hope to see you
sometime in June.
'Til then, don't worry.
Yours ever, Sidney.
June.
We can't wait that long.
[carriage rattles]
Not a word to us, but a
dozen letters to a whore.
What kind of chap is he?
[people chatter]
[donkey brays]
[man sings]
[rooster crows]
- Attention!
Ready.
Take aim.
Fire.
[guns bang]
[chickens cluck]
- This is a barbaric country.
- Come on.
[woman cries]
Move, woman, move.
[gun fires]
- My husband has found
at temple in the hills,
and the inspector has no
objection to his going there
as long as I remain here.
- As a hostage?
- Odd that it's us they suspect
when it's you they
should be looking to.
- Oh, don't worry, they
have me in their sights.
[door bangs]
[chickens cluck]
- Come inside, madam.
- When I have finished.
[door bangs]
I suppose I had better go.
- Love, honor, and obey.
- Honor and obey.
- Is there any word from Odessa?
- Yes.
They want you
returned under escort.
Why are you so
important to them?
What have you got that
they want so badly?
- The whole thing is a
mistake which I will resolve
as soon as I get back.
[footsteps approach]
So, when is the next train?
- Oh, in one hour.
Unfortunately, I cannot spare
any men to accompany you.
So, you will have to wait
here until such time as I can.
- The cable says he
first available train.
- What can I do?
Next week you
shall go to Odessa.
[dramatic music]
[horse snorts]
[door rattles]
[rooster crows]
- You need some fresh air.
- I need a drink.
- Prospect from the
beach is very attractive.
If you face away from the town.
- He'll find out.
- Not unless you tell him.
Why did you marry him?
- I was nursing him.
And he was already
making demands on me,
so I thought why not.
He has money, a
position in life.
But he won't live forever.
- There appears to be a
miscalculation somewhere.
- I misjudged myself.
I thought I was stronger.
I thought I could cope, but I
hadn't quite counted on being
a servant and a
whore 24 hours a day.
I wish I were dead.
I'd literally walk
out into that water
if it wasn't so filthy.
- That is the oil
- What's the difference?
- It's what makes
the world go round.
- I thought that of love.
[gun fires]
- He says we've gone far enough.
- Yes, I think we have.
[footsteps approach]
[dishes clatter]
- Profound apologies,
your worship,
but no milk again.
- What is it this time?
- We're expecting an earthquake.
Consequently, the
goat's milk goes sour.
- First it was the Uzbekis,
now it's an earthquake.
- Yes, your honor.
[dogs bark]
Oh God, for what we
are about to receive,
make us truly thankful.
Eat.
- I'm not hungry.
- Eat.
[building rattles]
[animals squawk]
[people yell]
[footsteps approach]
- Are you all right?
- Yes, I'm fine.
- How's the reverend?
- Slept right through it.
[laughs]
Good night.
[door bangs]
[goats bleat]
[footsteps approach]
[rooster crows]
- Unfortunately, the railway
line to Odessa is out.
So you will have to
stay a few days longer.
- Well, at least the
yogurt will be fresh.
- All my specimens are broken,
smashed by your
confounded earthquake.
- An impatient man.
Not like me.
- Could you assist me?
To get away?
- How?
- By coming to my room tonight.
I want you to stay 'til dawn.
- Mr. Rosenblum, you've
taken leave of your senses.
- While you are there, the
guard is unlikely to enter.
It will be long past
breakfast before they realize
that I am gone.
- I cannot compromise
myself like that.
- Without such a ruse,
I have little chance
of reaching a port of air.
with a telegraph, they can
send a message to intercept me.
- So you will be safe,
leaving me at the mercy
of both my husband
and the captain?
- The fact is you
are a British subject
and I am a British agent.
And I have to get those
papers back to England.
- Even if I were to go
through with your plan,
the consequences
would be unthinkable.
I will be locked up,
humiliated, abused.
And on being released
by the captain,
taken home in disgrace
by my husband,
sermonized at every station.
And, finally, when
we did reach London,
divorced, thrown out
onto the streets.
- When you reach London, I
will be there to meet you.
- Mr. Rosenblum, I know you
are in a terrible situation,
but even so, you should
resist making rash promises.
- I will be there.
[dramatic music]
- I am sorry, I cannot help you.
You must have realized spying
is a desperate business.
Well, so I may tell
you, is marriage.
I have embarked on an enterprise
twice as hazardous as yours
and it takes me all my
wit just to survive.
Even if I were to try,
the guards would see me.
- It is important
that they should.
- And what if Reverend
Thomas would awake?
- Double his laudanum.
That's what he
takes, doesn't he?
Well, I understand
your position.
I hope you will accept my
apologies for the indelicacy
of my proposal.
- No.
I'm sure your motives
were most honorable.
- You are to return
with me, madam.
As for you, sir.
You stand rebuked, sir.
I am a man of God, sir.
If I were not, I would
not be so [mumbles].
[carriage rattles]
Margaret.
- What tonight?
- Proverbs.
31:10.
- Who can find a virtuous woman?
For her price is above rubies.
- You know who Prometheus
was, professor?
- Yes, a figure from
Greek mythology.
- Correct.
He stole the secret
of fire from the gods,
and he was caught red-handed.
[laughs]
Do you know what
they did to him?
They chained him to a rock,
and a tiger came and
tore out his stomach.
- An eagle.
[dice rattle]
- I received another
telegraph from Odessa today.
It would appear that
they gods are angry.
Someone has stolen
some secret information
about our oil surveys
which must not fall
into foreign hands.
So it would appear
that my theory
about Prometheus was
correct, professor.
- Prometheus was a very
influential man, you know.
He had lots of powerful friends.
- Nevertheless, he
ended up chained
to a mountain in the Caucasus.
I can't help thinking that
that is what is going to
happen to you, professor.
I think maybe tomorrow, I
move you into the lock-up.
I am sure I can find
out in a couple of hours
whether or not you
are this Prometheus
that these cables refer to.
[door bangs]
[door creaks]
[papers rustle]
- Good night, captain.
[footsteps depart]
[door creaks]
[doors bang]
You gave him his laudanum?
- Most of the bottle.
- Good.
- I thought I was going
to die coming up here.
- It was brave of you.
- Are you leaving straightaway?
- I have to wait for
the lights to go out.
Listen to me,
whatever you do,
you must not say
that you came her
to aid my escape.
You were simple passionately
in love with me.
And this is something that
they can understand, passion.
You understand that?
- Yes.
- You must be particularly
firm with your husband.
Just say you were overcome
with some sort of madness.
You understand that?
- Yes, passion.
- [Sidney] Yes.
- Madness.
- That's right.
- Did you mean it?
- What?
- You said you'd be
there when I got home.
- Yes.
[dramatic music]
- Please stay for
just a few minutes.
- You'll regret this.
- Tomorrow maybe.
I've wanted you ever since I
first say you on the train.
[horses clop]
[people chatter]
- Gentlemen, please.
My husband is not well.
[people chatter]
I'll answer your
questions later.
[door bangs]
[suitcases clatter]
Take the keys to
the cellar winery,
and bring up a bottle of gin.
- Cabbie?
[carriage rattles]
White Hall, Top End.
- [Cabbie] All right, governor.
- [Man] Where is Rosenblum?
- He had to go underground.
- The Russians are angry.
There's been a stream of
protests from St. Petersburg.
And the czar has made strong
representations to the King.
- Well, that is to be expected.
Rosenblum killed a
policeman on his way out.
- Whatever the reason, it took
us a great deal of persuasion
to secure Mrs. Thomas's release.
- Well, sir, all I can say is
that he did bring our
vital information.
- I don't think you understand.
Your agent Rosenblum has brought
the entire Foreign Service
into disrepute.
First of all, he
blaggers this woman.
Then he compromises he.
Finally, he cuts and runs,
leaving her to face the music.
- Well, he was under
some pressure, sir.
- How man missions
has he done for you?
- This is his first.
- I suggest you
convene a meeting
of the metropolitan newspapers
and repudiate the notion
that Rosenblum is in any
way connected with us.
- Yes, sir.
What about Mrs. Thomas?
- Make sure she
makes a statement
at the same time
as you make yours.
- Is that all, sir?
- I should stick to
employing gentlemen
in the future, Cummings.
And preferable
English gentlemen.
- Sidney.
[Sidney grunts]
Oh, I missed you.
I was so lonely.
- You were lonely?
I bet you were very
much in demand.
- Oh, very, very, very.
Wait.
I'll show you.
[lively music]
♪ Daddy wouldn't
buy me a bow-wow ♪
♪ Bow-wow
♪ Daddy wouldn't
buy me a bow-wow ♪
♪ Bow-wow
♪ I've got a little cat
♪ And I'm very fond of that
♪ But I'd rather
have a bow-wow-wow ♪
♪ Daddy wouldn't
buy me a bow-wow ♪
♪ Bow-Wow
♪ Daddy wouldn't
buy me a bow-wow ♪
♪ Bow-Wow
♪ I've got a little cat
♪ And I'm very fond of that
♪ But I'd rather
have a bow-wow-wow ♪
[laughs]
- Why didn't you
put it in a bank?
- It didn't seem quite right.
They're a bit like churches.
I get embarrassed every
time I get near one.
[rain dribbles]
[thunder rolls]
- The purpose of
this meeting tonight
is to correct any
misapprehensions
concerning events
that took place
in the Russian town
of Baku last year.
[footsteps approach]
- Fothergill, my dear fellow.
- Dear god, Rosenblum.
- What's the matter, old man?
You look as if
you've seen a ghost.
Well, I must say, I thought
you'd be delighted to see me.
Did you get the report?
- Yes, and we're most grateful.
It's a fantastic coup.
Fisher's still reading
around the war room.
- Now I am here to state
quite categorically,
and I have been authorized
by the Secretary of State
to do so, that whoever
this man Rosenblum was,
he was not and never
has been involved
in espionage on our behalf.
- Look here, old boy.
I'm afraid you
can't go out there.
- Mrs. Thomas out there?
- Yes, she's up there.
- I must say hello.
- I don't think you
quite understand.
What you did in Baku has
scandalized the nation.
Sidney, they'll vent you.
Bastard.
[audience applauds]
- Spying is an odious business.
It is an enterprise
in which we engage
with the greatest reluctance.
All the more so then, that
when the necessity arises,
we entrust our missions to men
with some degree of gallantry,
as well as patriotism.
Such men would never put
a lady's honor at risk,
even if their own
life was at stake.
Now, I would like to introduce
you to Mrs. Margaret Thomas.
Mrs. Thomas has come
along at her own request
to dispel some of the
rumors which have persisted
in many of our newspapers
since she and her
husband returned home.
And she will answer
any questions
you may wish to put to her.
Mrs. Thomas.
[audience applauds]
- Rosenblum's here.
- What?
- In the audience.
- I want to thank Mr. Pomeroy
and members of the
British government
for having worked so hard to
get my husband and me released
from Baku prison.
I would also like to apologize
on behalf of my husband.
He cannot be here tonight.
He's still confined to bed
as a result of our ordeal.
It is because of the
concern shown to our case
by the government
that I consented to be
on the platform here tonight.
As I have already
stated to the press,
I helped Mr. Rosenblum
quite freely,
believing him when he
said he was a member
of the British Secret Service.
And I consented to his stratagem
in order to save his life.
Much has been said
of a love affair
between myself
and Mr. Rosenblum.
There was no love affair.
- May I have the first
question, please?
If you and this man
Rosenblum were not lovers,
what were your
feelings towards him?
- My feelings were inspired
by misplaced patriotism.
- Why did you help his escape?
- He told me he had to
get back to England.
- Why did you believe him?
What proof did he offer?
- It never occurred
to me not to.
- How long did you
spend in prison?
- A long time.
- 19 weeks.
- If you and Rosenblum
were not lovers,
why did the Russians
way you were?
- They were angry
that he had escaped.
I suppose they wanted
to cause mischief.
- Mrs. Thomas, this
man, whoever he was,
caused you a great
deal of hardship.
If he were here tonight, what
would you have to say to him?
- I would express to
him my anger and disgust
and loathing at the way he
used both me and my husband.
- How is the old boy?
- Ladies and gentlemen,
Mrs. Thomas has been
through a very trying time.
I don't think we
should press her
to recount her experiences
so soon after the event.
- And I would ask him
why he betrayed him.
Why he had to kill that officer
knowing we would have to pay?
- Ladies and gentlemen, Mrs.
Thomas is clearly overwrought.
And I don't think we
can prevail upon her
to answer any more
questions tonight.
The meeting is therefore closed.
[people chatter]
- What on earth possessed
you to let him in?
- How could I have stopped him?
- Closed, gentlemen, closed.
[people chatter]
- I'm sorry about this, ma'am.
- About what?
You told me you had no
knowledge of this man,
yet here he is in the
middle of the hall
and you know him well.
- There's a cab at the door.
I'll have Fothergill see to her.
- Leave me here.
I want to speak to him.
- Fothergill will be downstairs.
[footsteps depart]
I simply cannot believe
the man would be possessed
of such indiscretion.
Apparently he has his way
with the lady in Baku,
vanishes into thin
air, and then reappears
just when and where his
presences is least welcome.
Quite apart from his own folly,
the whole name of
the service at risk.
- Exactly.
Supposing she had
identified him,
where would we had been?
- Exactly.
- Well, she didn't, did she?
[dramatic music]
[footsteps depart]
- In answer to your question,
my husband has had a stroke.
- I'm sorry to hear that.
- Since you were
the cause of it.
Why did you come here tonight?
- I wanted to thank you.
- You could have chosen
a less public occasion.
You used me in Baku.
You manipulated me in
the most cynical manner.
You have no idea what they
did to me after you left.
- I had to get out.
I had to use whatever
method I could to get out.
- Have you any idea
what we've been through
during the past six months?
- Stop thinking of yourself
as an injured party.
There's only one who suffered,
and that is your husband.
And he should look upon
it as a visitation.
He who taketh a young bride
findeth himself in trouble.
Isn't that what the Bible says?
And besides, there's
nothing like a grievance
to sharpen an old man's wits
and make him cling to life.
- He is still my husband.
I am still married to him.
- And I sincerely hope so.
He's a wealthy man and
halfway to the grave.
Seldom have I met a woman in
more fortunate circumstances.
Young, beautiful,
and about to come
into a lot of money.
- No.
[footsteps approach]
[rain patters]
He's despicable.
[dramatic music]
[carriage rattles]
[papers rustle]
[bell rings]
[door bangs]
- Yes, Mr. Zaharov?
- What do we know of the
man who wrote this report?
- Very little.
- Find out more about him.
He interests me.
- The matter is
already in hands, sir.
- Good.
Return this to the King
with the following note.
Your Majesty,
thank you for letting
me read this report.
The information it contains
regarding the Russian oil fields
is interesting,
both for what it says
and for what it does not say.
Your obedient servant.
[people chatter]
[woman weeps]
- It's Mrs. McConnell.
Mrs. McConnell.
- Yes, sir?
- My friend, Mrs. McConnell?
- Is dead, sir.
Murdered.
[footsteps approach]
- You said you were
a friend of hers?
- Yes.
- You mean a client?
- No, I was her friend.
[items clatter]
- This is what we
found Mr. Zaharov.
Letters, bill, checkbook,
and those photographs.
- Is that all?
- Must have another
place somewhere.
- Rowhedge, did
anything untoward happen
at the apartment?
- No, sir.
But your nails are broken,
and your face is scratched.
- There was some opposition.
- You may go.
[footsteps depart]
- It was a mistake to send him.
- Yes, sir.
- I was particularly
interested in a report
of 20 or so pages, similar to
the one I had from the King.
- It wasn't hers, though.
- Find a way to
return these trinkets.
- Is that all?
- No.
Make some discreet inquiries
as to what happened
at her apartment.
- Yes, sir.
- If Rowhedge has
overstepped the mark,
I wish to be
informed immediately.
- Yes, sir.
- There is one other thing.
I shall be dining
at the Cafe Royale
with my Lady Gregory.
She usually orders some
kind of custard for dessert.
Please see that the chef
puts that in the cup.
But make sure he
washes it first.
I don't want to spend
the night ministering
to a lady with
ptomaine poisoning.
- Yes, Mr. Zaharov.
[carriage clatters]
[footsteps approach]
[mysterious music]
[door bangs]
[items clatter]
[Sidney cries]
[carriage rattles]
- [Cabbie] Thanks
very much then.
[mysterious music]
[bell rings]
- I've had the lock changed.
- So I noticed, Mrs. A.
- I am sorry about
Mrs. McConnell.
- You spent your
life slandering her.
- Yes, but now that she's dead.
- You feel sorry for her.
Well, I doubt when you're dead
she'll feel sorry for you.
[footsteps depart]
[case rattles]
[wardrobe clatters]
[spoon rattles]
[somber music]
- Damn it all, Sidney.
- She was killed because
of her connection with me.
Now nobody knew of my
connection with her
except for you.
Whoever found that address,
got it from this office.
- Are you suggesting that I--
- No.
No.
But I want to see that
wooden legged bastard.
[door bangs]
- Sidney.
[door bangs]
- What do you want?
- I want to know what's
going on, Cummings.
- Mr. Rosenblum,
I send you to Russia to
obtain us some oil surveys.
You return with a report the
size of a three volume novel.
You implicate us in a scandal,
the consequences of which
are still not clear.
Not only that, but I
arrange a meeting to deny
that we are connected with you,
you turn up and
wreck the occasion.
Now one of your girls
has been butchered,
and Scotland Yard is
pounding at our doors
wanting to question you.
And you ask me what is going on?
I should like to ask
you what is going on.
- You met Rose, didn't you?
- Briefly.
The white slave trade is
not my cup of tea, old boy.
- She was a good woman.
- Her death had
nothing to do with us.
Under the circumstances,
I would advise you
to forget the matter.
- How would you describe
my circumstances?
- My dear sir,
you are wanted for
murder in Odessa,
while in London one of your
ladies has been murdered
by an over-zealous client.
- That is how you see it?
- I am not in favor
of the evidence,
but that is the only
plausible explanation.
Unless, of course, you
can supply another one.
- Her rooms were
searched because of me.
The only people who
knew I used that place
were you and Fothergill.
- If her rooms were searched,
what were they looking for?
- There was another report.
The surveys the Russians
have carried out
in the Persian Basin.
- Persian Basin?
Are you telling me that the
Russians have been drilling
for oil in the Persian Basin?
- Under the noses of the Turks.
And what is more,
they have found it.
- Why the hell didn't
you tell us this before?
- Because it's worth
a damn sight more
than you're prepared
to pay for it.
That is why the Russians
were so concerned
about my escape.
And that is why the
Thomas's were so abused.
They want the reports back.
- And you are prepared
to deliver them
if the price is
right, is that it?
- That is not my intention.
- Where is the missing chapter?
- I notice that while the
gun is made in England,
the trigger mechanism
comes from Texas.
- I am a professional, old boy.
Although you may not think so.
Where is it?
- In a safe place.
- And when are we
going to see it?
- When you tell me
who murdered Rose.
- Those surveys were part
of the mission, Sidney.
And it's wrong of
you to withhold them.
- Who has access
to my files here?
- The only person who
has access to your file
apart from ourselves and Fisher
is the King.
- Now I'm not going to beat
about the bush, Rosenblum.
I will give you 24
hours to return to me
the missing chapter.
Otherwise, I will
make it so hot for you
that you will not longer
wish to live in this country.
Furthermore, I will not
hesitate to expose your family
back in Russia.
The fact that they have
sired a British agent
will not go down well
with the Okhrana.
So in your circumstances,
you would do well
not to play the
Billy goat with me.
[papers rustle]
- The man is a genius.
- He's an unscrupulous bastard.
- How in hell's name
he got all of these
I should never know.
He's the chap we
need at Port Arthur.
- He's a pimp and a murderer.
- You agreed to send
someone to Manchuria.
Someone who could be
trusted to get at the root
of what's going on out there.
- He's not the right
kind of material.
He's not a gentleman.
He's probably a socialist.
He's certainly a Jew.
- He's the man we
need at Port Arthur.
On the basis of this, we're
going to have to redraw
the map of the Middle East.
[somber music]
[door rattles]
- Mr. Rosenblum, sir.
- Of course.
You found your way here
without difficulty.
- Your name was on a wreath.
- I thought that
would interest you.
- You knew Rose?
- When she was about 16.
- She never spoke of you.
- Which only goes to show
she was indiscreet only
when she wanted to be.
Sit down, Mr. Rosenblum.
Sigmund Rosenblum.
Born Odessa, 1874.
A bastard and a Jew.
You were brought up
by a Russian family
as one of their own.
In 1889, you attend
the university.
The following year,
you disappeared,
leaving a note saying that
your body was to be found
under the ice in Odessa harbor.
What a convenient sort of
chap you are, Rosenblum.
Officially, you don't exist,
exactly what Cummings has
been looking for for years.
You spent the last seven
years in South America
where you were
recruited by Fothergill
for the British Secret Service.
On your first mission, you
compiled an exhaustive report
of the Russian oil industry.
And, in addition, gave details
of secret Russian drilling
in the Persian Basin.
You gave it to Cummings.
Cummings gave it
to Admiral Fisher.
Fisher gave it to the King.
And the King gave it to me.
You say in here that
you foresee a time
when there will be two
major spheres of influence
in the Middle East,
Britain and Russia.
And you conclude by saying
that there is no one
who could prevent the
possibility of some sort
of deal between the two.
But there is, Mr. Rosenblum.
There is me.
- You?
- The Turkish empire, Mr.
Rosenblum, is ripe for change.
Someone is going to have
to drag it struggling
and screaming into
the 20th century.
- And you think you can do it?
- There is a part of me
that longs for the Sultanate,
where I can deal directly
with the affairs of a state
without having to manipulate
through the vanities
of other men.
Now then, Mr. Rosenblum,
are you going to
stay with the British
or are you going to throw
in your lot with me?
[suspenseful music]
What is it you are
after, Mr. Rosenblum?
Were the humiliations
of your early years such
that you with the approbation
of your fellow men?
Or are you like the rest
of the sons of Odessa,
interested only in
vengeance and power?
- I'm interested in
who murdered Rose.
- Good night, Mr. Rosenblum.
[gate creaks]
[footsteps depart]
- [Sidney] I found
out who it was.
- Who what was?
- Who broke into
Rose's apartment.
It was one of Zaharov's men.
- [Man] Zaharov?
- He's had his eye
on me for some time.
Since I came back, he tells me.
Who exactly is he?
- Some say he's an
Armenian rug dealer
who's landed a
lucky job as vicars,
but he's actually one of the
most powerful men in Europe.
- Guns?
- Guns, submarines, chemicals.
He runs his own spy
service, you know.
It is reputed to be efficient,
if a little heavy handed.
I hope you're not
going to get involved
with some kind of vendetta.
After all, the poor girl is dead
and nothing you can do
will bring her back.
- She used to sleep with
him when she was young.
- I thought you were a man
of the world, old chap.
- What an extraordinary
expression,
a man of the world.
[speaks foreign language]
- All right.
I stand corrected.
- Could you get me a list
of Zaharov's agents
in this country?
- Some of them are
in very high places.
- A complete list.
[horse clops]
- Thank you very much, sir.
[horse clops]
[bell rings]
[footsteps approach]
[dramatic music]
- He's going to divorce me.
- [Sidney] On what grounds?
- My lack of patriotism, really.
He sees my behavior as being
essentially un-English.
There's a struggle
going on in his mind
between divorce and
just disinheriting me.
As a priest, he's loathe
to dissolve the marriage,
and he knows I'd challenge
any changes in his will.
He lies there wondering if
there's enough life after death
to contest him out of.
- Well, he should know.
- He's eaten up with hatred.
I feed off his
and hate him back.
- He will die soon.
They want me to
go to Port Arthur.
- Where is that?
- The other side of the world.
- I'll come with you.
[dramatic music]
[paper rustles]
- [Sidney Voiceover]
My dear Zaharov,
by process of elimination,
I have been forced
to the conclusion
that the intruder
who made his way into number
six Clanricarde Gardens
was a gentleman of your employ.
I should be grateful
if you could provide me
with his name and address
so that I might duly
call on him and inquire
by what authority he
found it necessary
to molest and murder my
friend and companion,
Mrs. Rose McConnell.
Should a misplaced sense of
loyalty forbid you to do this,
I shall begin the
elimination of your agents
within this country for
which purpose a list
has been prepared
by a mutual friend.
Your obedient servant,
Sidney Rosenblum.
[dramatic music]
[horses clop]
- [Cabbie] Thank
you very much, sir.
[door rattles]
- What do you want?
- Mr. Zaharov's compliments.
He would like to see you.
- Really?
And why didn't he just send you?
- He thought perhaps you
might not wan to come.
[carriage approaches]
- [Cabbie] Thank you, sir.
[carriage departs]
[door creaks]
[footsteps approach]
- It is an unfortunate
but inescapable fact
that the best kept secrets
are those kept by the dead,
don't you agree, Mr. Rosenblum?
Please, help yourself.
I hope the hawk is cold enough.
You know, your letter hurt me.
Had it been a polite request,
I would have obliged.
But there was an
element of violence
about it that disturbed me.
Do you really think
you could eliminate
all my agents in this country?
- No, but I would have left
a few holes in Debrett's.
- This deep enough, Mr. Zaharov?
- Take the corners
down a trifle.
- Yes, sir.
- Grant, Gransom,
Marquiste, Cherkov.
You don't own this place.
- I lease it.
- By the year or by the body?
- The gallows humor is
the hallmark of the Jew.
- I just find it odd that
a man who is in a position
to buy respectability
can be so miserly
that he prefers to rent it.
- I find the disposal
of corpses difficult
at the best of times.
However, such is the
logic of the English
that the last place they
would look for a corpse
is in a graveyard.
And the last place
in a graveyard,
the tomb of a noble family.
So,
here we are.
- [Rowhedge] I'm
finished, Mr. Zaharov.
- Thank you, Rowhedge.
Would you put the coffin in?
How do you find all this?
- Bizarre.
I would like to know
what happened to Rose.
- It was an
unfortunate accident.
I sent along a man I
thought I could trust
to search the place.
Rose returned unexpectedly
and he became over-excited.
I read the coroner's report,
but I would prefer to call
it death by misadventure.
- [Rowhedge] I've
finished, Mr. Zaharov.
- Now, Mr. Rosenblum, here's
a chance to test your nerve.
Would you be so good as
to put down the glass?
[suspenseful music]
And move over into that corner.
And in the interest of decency,
would you face the wall?
- [Rowhedge] Want to let
me do it, Mr. Zaharov?
[gun fires]
[body thuds]
[footsteps approach]
- There now, you
have your revenge.
Now we can do business.
- Cold blooded business?
- I believe it
was Wilde who said
anyone who calls a spade a spade
should be made to use one.
The fact is Rose recognized him.
- Yes, I supposed she would.
[horse approaches]
- [Cabbie] Thank you, sir.
[bell rings]
[door bangs]
[glasses clank]
- He's dead.
[cork pops]
[laughs]
[glasses clink]
[dramatic music]
[boat whistles]
[people chatter]
- My dear chap,
I just wanted to say good luck.
It's not going to
be easy out there.
They crucify spies, I gather.
It's not at all like Europe.
- Sidney, come.
- Oh, my dear.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
- They're particularly nasty
to white women, I'm told.
- She'll be all right.
- And now that you're married,
I suppose that
you'll be giving up
your other hobby.
- When Margaret comes
into her fortune.
- And I'm not sure
about this name Reilly.
- I think it's fine.
- It's Irish.
- Exactly.
See the Irish are welcome in
every country in the world
except this one.
- And I had just got
used to Rosenblum.
- You'd never get
used to Rosenblum.
- No, perhaps not.
Well, here's to Port Arthur
and your marriage.
- Thank you.
[people cheer]
[theme music]