- 3 days ago
Category
🦄
CreativityTranscript
00:00You mean everything to me.
00:03What the hell was that?!
00:05Lovelorn in London, scene 28, take three.
00:09I hope we did the right thing, letting those people into the lane.
00:13Film struck girl, Inspector.
00:15Dead.
00:16I've shut down filming for the time being.
00:18What do we know about this film mill?
00:20Stuart Howard.
00:21He and Sandra have bound their careers together.
00:24The nation's sweethearts.
00:25Then there's the Honorable Jesse McKendrick.
00:28You're the director?
00:29And the writer.
00:30What about Billy?
00:31Someone is trying to kill me.
00:36Strictly.
00:37Drop it! It's poison!
00:39Can you think of anyone who might want to kill you?
00:42Take your ruddy pick.
00:44When are we going to tell him?
00:45Not yet.
00:49It's one of the extras.
00:53It's Norena Bean.
01:02You're still rolling, Sandra?
01:04Yeah.
01:07And...
01:07Action!
01:14Oh no, God, I'm so sorry, Jesse.
01:17Um...
01:18Can I beg ten minutes?
01:19Siggy will sort me out.
01:22Cut there.
01:25Scene 49, take nine.
01:29Action.
01:32It was dead.
01:34I knew...
01:36Kill the sound, please.
01:38Can we stop the film and take a proper look?
01:40No.
01:41It would burn in the projector.
01:43I think the difference is pretty obvious.
01:45You'll see in just a moment.
01:48Here comes the post.
01:53Oh, all right, guys, I see what you mean.
01:55He's lost six inches.
01:56Just while Sandra Dayr went off for a gasper.
01:59So, between takes eight and nine, Norena Bean gets her screen break.
02:05An hour later, is that right?
02:06Well, certainly no more than two.
02:08She's on the cutting room floor.
02:09Well, the bottom of the basement steps.
02:13I know who he is.
02:15The postman.
02:17You do?
02:20He was down the lane yesterday.
02:23I see him in the yard just now.
02:25Would you be so kind?
02:29Yep.
02:33Of course, she hit that step with tremendous force.
02:37Too hard for an accident, you think?
02:39Did she fall?
02:42Or was she pushed?
02:50She was paying for about her?
02:51Probably the way.
03:01She's totally paying for it.
03:01She's really paying for it.
03:02I don't care.
03:09All right.
03:09She's not paying for her.
03:13It's worth buying.
03:13It's not buying money.
03:13You're probably paying for her.
03:13You're not paying for her.
03:14You're paying for that.
03:14She's going for it.
03:16You're paying.
03:51I think John Mills' lovely hair, in his nails, always looks so neat.
03:57Riveting stuff, this, Mrs. B.
04:00Well, Book thinks there's something here.
04:02A clue. We like those.
04:05Many names coming up a lot. Regular correspondence.
04:09Name and address supplied is a very reliable contributor.
04:15I try to give myself a mole like Margaret Lockwood, and now Mum says I look like a tart.
04:27Hang on.
04:28Um, I've seen a letter from this one before.
04:35Signed, Basilisk.
04:42If only we could step through the screen.
04:45Oh, romance of the pictures is really getting to, isn't it?
04:48It's not that.
04:50Beyond the door, behind that set, there's a flight of stairs where I think Norena Bean is already dead.
05:01Do you think this is linked to the poison girl?
05:06Special delivery.
05:08Your postman.
05:10Bart Masterson.
05:11Kurt Masterson.
05:15Normally, I do landlords.
05:19I've seen a glass pushed in a bloke's face, and I've laughed.
05:25See?
05:27Very good.
05:28Robert Newton should watch his back.
05:30But you're not auditioning now, Mr. Masterson.
05:34We're investigating the unfortunate death that took place here last night.
05:38Second one, and this production, in fact, after Miss Barbara Markham.
05:42And two looks like carelessness.
05:45Whose, though?
05:47Are you the police?
05:48Inspector Bliss is the police.
05:50Hello.
05:50I'm just helping them.
05:51With their inquiries?
05:53With the fiddly bits.
05:55Now, Kurt Masterson, not your real man?
05:58How did you know?
06:00You went home early last night, Mr. Masterson.
06:03Why?
06:03Well, I was made an offer I couldn't refuse, wasn't I?
06:06I knew the lady, Norena Bean.
06:08I read a column.
06:09I always do.
06:10She gave me a fiver, just to borrow the uniform, mine.
06:12Said she would go on for me, and no-one would clock it.
06:14Now, why would she want to pose as you?
06:18She said she was writing a story.
06:21The poisonous secret at the heart of Loveless in London.
06:24Love-lorn.
06:26Something like that.
06:27She wasn't specific.
06:29But she said she needed one last bit of proof.
06:31I didn't think nothing of it.
06:32I was barely in the shot.
06:34You sell a lot of stories to the press, do you, Mr. Masterson, about actors here?
06:39No.
06:41Well, nothing nasty.
06:43Just whether they like mink or feathers or where they drink.
06:46Or how much?
06:47All right, thank you.
06:48We'll come and get a statement from you.
06:50That's it?
06:50That's it.
06:53I was a red herring before.
06:55Once.
06:56Half a wanton had tapped his pipe and looked all beady at me.
06:58But I'd never done it.
06:59I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
07:01All right, thank you.
07:05Why was she here, though, Norena?
07:07Why didn't I get into trouble of bribing him and putting on his costume?
07:10The extra security.
07:11She can just hang around in the lane, could she?
07:13So I suppose she needed a disguise.
07:16The title of that article, though, eh?
07:18Maybe she was onto the poisoner.
07:20So she had to go.
07:23What's that?
07:24It was something I noticed.
07:26Backwards impression on Norena Bean's hand in ink.
07:30It was something she was holding.
07:32Evidently, she was sweating,
07:33whether from the exertion of going up the stairs or the heavy costume.
07:38And reversed, it reads...
07:43Ty wins.
07:45Ty...
07:45Ty wins.
07:46Ty...
07:46Ty wins.
07:47Two twins.
07:48Ty wins.
07:49Hardly.
07:50More likely the fragment of two words, wouldn't you say?
07:54I, uh, better go back to work.
07:56Work?
07:58I'm standing in for Stuart.
08:00It's not a profit trade, you know.
08:03Yeah.
08:04Like being a part-time detective.
08:10What's up with it?
08:18Hmm?
08:18Me.
08:22She's dead. You saw her.
08:25She was at the bottom of the stairs, like a broken doll.
08:29Oh, God, how awful. I mean, she was awful, but still, how awful.
08:42If it was murder, there'd be a lot of suspects.
08:47Half the British film business.
08:48All of it.
08:49It's true. Everybody hated her. You hated her.
08:56What did you do last night?
09:00I had a drink with that boy. Nice kid. Went to bed early. Did some film star duties.
09:06Oh.
09:07Yes, you know. Signing photos, answering questions from fans. What's your ideal night out? What'd you like for breakfast?
09:15Hmm.
09:17You were just shooting here?
09:19Yes. Due take after take. Simple stuff, really.
09:24What?
09:29How many stars have sat here like me?
09:34We've seen the creases grow. The hair thin. The flesh group. The chins.
09:43Ugh.
09:45I met a man once. He was an astronomer. Now he knew about the stars. The real ones, I mean.
09:54Did you know that the stars that we see in the sky aren't really there? Most of them, anyway.
10:01It takes so long for the light to reach us. But there's just echoes. Ghosts. Just a memory of what
10:13was once there.
10:14Christ, darling.
10:16But some of those stars don't go quietly. Or no, towards the end. Later in life, shall we say. They
10:23get bigger. Bigger stew. They give out more and more light and heat until nothing can eclipse them. Nothing.
10:34I don't want to go quietly. I want to burn. Light up the town like I used to explode. Boom!
10:48The chocolates were injected with one of these. So why have you got one? Well, it's hardly a secret, is
10:53it? Diabetic, aren't I? Everyone knows that.
10:57Interesting. So anyone could have gained access to this, for instance. Hmm? Well, you might have done it yourself.
11:06Why the hell would I have wanted to poison Miss Dare? Well, that's just the thing, Sonny Jim. Miss Dare
11:10wasn't the target.
11:11Then who was? Her fiancé. Yes. Puts a rather different complexion on things, doesn't it? Mr. Howard fired you, didn't
11:19he?
11:19Yeah. Yeah, but not till after the chocolates... Yeah, but he treated you badly. You were his whipping boy.
11:24You need to develop a thick skin in this business, Inspector. I've dealt with bigger egos than Stuart Howard, believe
11:30me.
11:30If I'd want it to get my own back, I'd have pissed in his tea, not poisoned his chocolates.
11:35And then there's the late Miss Noreena Bean. Yeah, well, she was a right old. Mustn't speak ill of the
11:43dead.
11:44Does she have anything on you? Like what? You can account for your movements last night, can you? Shot right
11:49through.
11:50Right. No coffee breaks? Yes, of course coffee breaks. So theoretically, you could have pushed Noreena Bean down the stairwell,
11:57couldn't you?
11:57Yeah, well, theoretically, I could have won the pools and rung up Veronica Lake for a date. But I didn't.
12:02What's this?
12:04Tomorrow's pink page. Rewrite? Mr. McKendrick's rewrite of scene 34. Just a little one.
12:13But in this business, the details matter, Inspector. You don't want actors bumping into the furniture.
12:18I'm a details man myself.
12:22Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm terrible at the pictures, me. You know, I always know who'd done it straight off.
12:29It ever takes the marrow out of Mrs. Bliss, but as I always say to her, the why is the
12:33thing.
12:33So why not take her to a western?
12:37Watch all those cowboys getting shot in the chest and falling forwards.
12:41Don't think so.
12:43You ever get home, Billy?
12:45If I try hard, Mr. Book, I can remember the daylight.
12:50Can I go now?
12:51Well, we'll need to get this tested.
12:53For insulin.
12:55For strychnine.
13:10For strychnine.
13:16Basilisk.
13:17Eh?
13:19Ring any bells?
13:22Basilisk.
13:23Nora and I have spent most of the morning dredging through your back issues.
13:26My head's swimming.
13:28And we finally found what we were looking for.
13:30A Sandra Dare fan who wrote to picture-goer a lot.
13:34This one is from two years ago.
13:35For looks, talent and sheer screen charisma, no one can compete with the divine Miss Dare.
13:42There's loads right there.
13:43In her latest picture, the 43-year-old star elevates the art of acting to great heights.
13:49But why she's wasting her time showing the screen with Stuart Howard, I will never know.
13:54A mumbling, soppy-eyed fop.
13:58Oh.
13:59And here's another a year later.
14:01The public's infatuation with Darren Howard is beyond me.
14:04Miss Dare should be striking out alone, not saddling herself with this talentless whippersnapper.
14:10Of course, there is always difficulty when one reaches for the stars.
14:14But the difficulty, as I see it, is Stuart Howard.
14:18And there's a lot more like that in the same vein.
14:21An all-signed Basilisk.
14:25I see.
14:27Well, they obviously didn't like Stu.
14:31You think they might be the one who sent the chocolates?
14:33Well, I don't know.
14:35Is it too much of a stretch to go from disliking a film star to sending them strictly?
14:46Sometimes the discussions can get very heated at the meet-ups.
14:52Meet-ups?
14:52Oh, yeah.
14:54We meet up and have chats and that.
14:56Sometimes the studio will send a star down to open a fate or something.
15:00That's how I first met Barbara.
15:02And you've never come across this Basilisk.
15:06Well, how would I know?
15:08If they never used their real name?
15:27Anything?
15:28Mr. Howard's room's as bare as George Zocco's pate.
15:32Oh.
15:33What about Miss Dair's?
15:36Same.
15:40Probably.
15:43Who's next?
15:48Soundproofed?
15:49Naturally.
15:51Now, we know your movements last night, Mr. McKenzie.
15:54I should think so.
15:55The director never has a moment to themselves.
15:57In the tea break, I went to my office.
15:59Just a minor change for tomorrow.
16:01A pink page, yes.
16:03You can check with my secretary.
16:05These stairs, where do they lead?
16:07Prop store, offices.
16:10It's a warren, this place.
16:11Film vault down there.
16:12Nice place, if you like asbestos.
16:14The treasures are pretty similar.
16:16Ha-ha.
16:16Not really.
16:17No?
16:18What then?
16:19Well, our film opens in Leicester Square,
16:23then it goes out across the country,
16:24then to the second-run houses in the flea pits,
16:26and when it's so scratched that every scene looks like
16:28it's happening in Antarctica, it comes here.
16:30Back home.
16:32And it's taken to the tank.
16:34The tank?
16:35What happens there?
16:43It's put out of its misery.
16:45It's dissolved in sodium hypochlorite.
16:48Why back here?
16:49The fumes, Mr. Book.
16:51The fumes.
16:53In goes some old tat starring a terrible provincial comic,
16:56and out comes something useful.
16:58Waterproof paint and silver halide.
17:01What an odd little cottage industry.
17:03It's valuable.
17:04More valuable than what's on the films themselves.
17:06That seems a lot of effort to go to.
17:08No, it's a simple process.
17:09A chemical solution does the work.
17:11No, I mean, make an emotion picture, you know.
17:13The stars and the lights.
17:15You know, and shooting all those scenes.
17:17And then just to melt it all down for scrap.
17:19British cinema's mainly stupid, Inspector.
17:22It's never been about anything.
17:23That needs to change.
17:25When it does, I'll make movies that won't end up here.
17:27I'll make a moment.
17:36Hey, I'll make a moment.
17:39I'll make a moment.
17:39All over one stand by.
17:44Go.
17:45What...
17:45What happened?
17:48Go, darling.
17:50I am not...
17:56mr howard mr book a moment of course for hoary old query who is what were you doing last night
18:07well after drinks with your jack i went to bed early but i couldn't get off i spent a lot
18:12of
18:12time staring at the ceiling contemplating mortality as you can imagine any witnesses
18:17sorry to sound so official of course not sandra and i are engaged don't you know i had heard
18:22something of the kind and lorena bean was she blackmailing you about prison
18:32i've been very careful incredibly i don't think she ever got a sniff of it
18:38mustache ttfn right there's been a smash and grab in crystal palace
18:43tray of missing wedding rings and a cracked skull oh very much a b-movie crime
18:49might you uh stick around here keep in mind the beautiful people
18:56they are beautiful what else are they
19:04come on sergeant let's go
19:30here's cocker
19:52Clippings, we found your trail book.
19:54Oh, excellent work.
19:56Oh, Mrs. Book, didn't expect to see you here.
19:59Mr. Howard said we should visit, and I've bought something for my husband.
20:03Lunch.
20:04Clues.
20:05Eh?
20:06Very interesting trail here.
20:08And I thought I saw something earlier, too, in the note.
20:12A repeated phrase.
20:15And these are all signed...
20:17Basilisk.
20:19What?
20:20It's a mythological creature.
20:22Could kill you just by looking at you.
20:24Rather the way Miss Dare is looking at me now.
20:26Would you excuse me?
20:28Well done, darling.
20:32Would you like a little look around, Mrs. Book?
20:35Oh, I'd be delighted.
20:40So, er, wallpaper didn't suit your story, then?
20:44Well, no.
20:45Because the hero, Tony, he desires pleasure, but he's afraid of it.
20:49He's repressed.
20:51That's Freud, you know.
20:53Hmm.
20:53So I understand.
20:54Wallpaper...
20:55It simply doesn't give us that.
20:56Wallpaper is about covering things up.
20:58I thought cakes.
21:00Cakes are the opposite of books, really.
21:03I must have missed that bit in Freud.
21:06Ah, yes.
21:07Break.
21:08Please.
21:11Skirts gathered ready for the pursuit of art?
21:15Er, yes.
21:16I suppose so.
21:17Well, before you rush off, perhaps I can check some details.
21:20Hmm.
21:21How do you help the police exactly, Mr. Book?
21:24I check details.
21:26You must be relieved to know the chocolates weren't intended for you.
21:29Hmm.
21:29Naturally.
21:30But also terribly worried for Stu.
21:32Of course.
21:33Now, I know where you were last night, Miss Dare, because I've seen the rushes.
21:37You were doing that scene where you look through the window and think about the resilience of your love.
21:42Yes.
21:43With Lorena Bean amongst the background artists.
21:46Lorena?
21:47Was she on the set?
21:49In the shot?
21:51Yes.
21:52Moments later, she was on the stairs.
21:55Yes.
21:56Yes.
21:57And then at the bottom of the stairs.
21:59Yes.
22:00Well, I know about that.
22:02Perhaps she was killed because she knew who'd sent the poisoned chocolates.
22:07Hmm.
22:08So how would you think?
22:10It's a working hypothesis.
22:13Well, wait a minute.
22:14Um...
22:15No.
22:15You don't think that I...
22:19No.
22:20I love Stuart.
22:21We're everything to each other.
22:24Everything to the box office at any rate.
22:27Oh.
22:28And someone's been telling tales.
22:29Yes.
22:31Well, if that were the case, I'd have even less motive for killing Stuart, wouldn't I?
22:35If I joined at the hip.
22:39When you finished filming, you went back to your dressing room.
22:42How much?
22:42Yes.
22:44Oh, Billy darling, you wouldn't get me a coffee, would you please?
22:48Of course, mister.
22:49A stash of milk.
22:50Me too, Billy.
22:51Good strong one.
22:52Sure thing, sir.
22:55You all work such long hours.
22:57We like to turn the sign at 5.30.
23:00Oh, my dear.
23:01Well, in the quote of quickie days, there was one picture shooting here during the day
23:04and one at night.
23:06When that door opened with a 10 o'clock turnaround.
23:09Oh, no idea.
23:10Stale beer, orange peel gas.
23:13Thank you, darling.
23:14Oh, the 1930s.
23:16Those were the days.
23:20Sugar, sir.
23:23What?
23:24Tastes horrible.
23:25It's so bitter.
23:28Would you like some milk, sir?
23:30No.
23:31Billy, get me some water.
23:34Oh, my lord.
23:37Jesse.
23:38Same symptoms.
23:42Jesse.
23:43Jesse.
23:48Eden.
23:50Can't swallow it.
23:51What are you doing, Tim?
23:53Trying to save his life, I think.
23:55But perhaps someone should call an ambulance in case I've got it wrong?
23:58Ambulance, quickly.
23:59What?
24:00What?
24:03Oh, no.
24:04Look at me.
24:05Look at me.
24:19We didn't even get to the top of the hill.
24:21See her?
24:22It's largely cosmetic.
24:24What's all that stuff around his mouth?
24:26It's largely cosmetic.
24:28Mascara.
24:29Mascara.
24:30Oh, charcoal.
24:31I believe that's what mascara is.
24:33Oh, and petroleum jelly.
24:34Bit of a risk, though, Mrs. Book.
24:36Charcoal's good for strychnine.
24:37But I'm still waiting for the report on what was in Barbara Malcolm's chocolate.
24:41It could have been anything.
24:42Mr. McKendrick twitch, though.
24:44Strychnine gives you the twitches.
24:45That's right.
24:46Great presence of mind is my wife.
24:49All my thoughts, dear Jesse.
24:52Oh, wait.
24:53My bag.
24:54I need my things.
24:55Oh, allow me.
25:02Oh, silly me.
25:11Thank you, Mrs. Book.
25:26Thank you, Mrs. Book.
Comments