Terror by Night
An off-screen narrator tells of the deadly curse carried by the fabulous "Star of Rhodesia" diamond. In London, Vivian Vedder (Renee Godfrey) verifies that a carpenter has completed a coffin for her…
Terror by Night
An off-screen narrator tells of the deadly curse carried by the fabulous "Star of Rhodesia" diamond. In London, Vivian Vedder (Renee Godfrey) verifies that a carpenter has completed a coffin for her recently deceased mother's body, which she is transporting to Scotland by train. She'll be taking it on the 7 PM train to Edinburgh. She boards the train that evening, as do Lady Margaret Carstairs (Mary Forbes), who owns and is transporting the famous Star of Rhodesia diamond. Star of Rhodesia, which she has owned for many years, was the object of an attempted theft when Lady Margaret wore it at a royal function. Holmes is certain the thieves will try again. Also travelling on the train are Lady Margaret's son, Roland, Sherlock Holmes, whom Roland has hired to protect the diamond, Inspector Lestrade (Dennis Hoey), who is also worried about the diamond's safety and Dr. Watson and Watson's friend Major Duncan-Bleek (Alan Mowbray). Holmes briefly examines the diamond. Carstairs brings Holmes to his compartment, where his mother is skeptical about the aid of a "policeman", but she lets Holmes examine the Star. While Holmes, Watson, Duncan-Bleek, and Lady Margaret are in the dining car, Carstairs falls onto the floor of his compartment. Lestrade hears the thud, but finds the door to the Carstairs compartment locked. Holmes arrives and has the attendant (Billy Bevan) open it. They find Carstairs dead and the box that had contained the Star empty. The body shows no wounds aside from a tiny spot of blood, but Holmes declares it's murder, since a thief arriving right after Carstairs died of natural causes is too improbable. Lestrade, Holmes, and Watson learn nothing conclusive in questioning the other passengers. Watson gets nowhere at all in his attempt with cranky William Kilbane (Frederick Worlock), a professor of mathematics. However, when he questions Alfred Shallcross (Gerald Hamer), he gets an immediate confession. At one point during the investigation, Watson believes an elderly couple is guilty of the crime but the only crime that they have committed is stealing a teapot from a hotel. While searching the train, Holmes is pushed out of the train, nearly to his death, but climbs back into the day coach and discovers a secret compartment in the coffin carrying Miss Vedder's mother. It has the remains of an elderly woman in the top part, but also a false bottom that could have hidden the murderer. He suspects that one of the people on the train is the notorious jewel thief Colonel Sebastian Moran. Upon further questioning, Miss Vedder admits that a man paid her to transport the coffin. Holmes asks if her employer was Duncan-Bleek, but she says she never saw him before. Watson is shocked that Holmes would subject his old friend to that kind of suspicion. As Watson and Duncan-Bleek join the group, Holmes reveals that he swapped the diamond with an imitation while examining it. Lestrade ostensibly takes possession of the real diamond. In the luggage compartment, Holmes and Watson find a train guard murdered with a poisoned dart. He also has a tiny spot of blood, but this time they find the tiny gelatin dart that delivered poison. Unlike the case of Carstairs, there hadn't been enough time for it to dissolve in the wound. Meanwhile, a street criminal named Sands (Skelton Knaggs) incapacitates the conductor. Sands was hidden inside the coffin, and is in cahoots with Duncan-Bleek, who is, in fact, Colonel Moran. He reports how he dealt with the guard and the attendant, and turns the diamond he stole over to the Major, who knows it's the fake planted by Holmes. Sands and Moran go to Lestrade's room, where Sands knocks Lestrade unconscious and steals the diamond from him. But Moran double-crosses Sands, shooting him dead with the same dart gun he used to kill Roland and the guard. The train makes an unexpected stop to pick up several Scottish policemen, led allegedly by Inspector McDonald. MacDonald, claiming jurisdiction because he's from the Edinburgh police, has them all move to the dining room to conduct his investigation. Holmes informs McDonald that Duncan-Bleek is really Moran, and McDonald arrests Moran and finds the diamond in his vest, but Moran seizes a policeman's gun and pulls the emergency cord to stop the train. During a scuffle in which the lights are turned off, Holmes subdues and handcuffs Moran, then secretly hides him under a table. MacDonald takes the prisoner off the train, which starts off for Edinburgh. Holmes points out to Watson that Moran lies unconscious on the floor. As he revives, he's startled not to find himself in the company of MacDonald, who was actually his accomplice. However, Holmes realized that (mainly because he knew the real MacDonald), and the man the fake police took off the train was Lestrade. Meanwhile, Lestrade has untangled himself, pulled a gun on his supposed captors, and arrested them. Moran wants to take solace in the fact that Holmes doesn't have the Star, but of course the detective has pulled yet another switch, and reveals the real diamond.
Terror by Night
Crime,Drama,Film-Noir
Film Details
An off-screen narrator tells of the deadly curse carried by the fabulous "Star of Rhodesia" diamond. In London, Vivian Vedder (Renee Godfrey) verifies that a carpenter has completed a coffin for her recently deceased mother's body, which she is transporting to Scotland by train. She'll be taking it on the 7 PM train to Edinburgh.
She boards the train that evening, as do Lady Margaret Carstairs (Mary Forbes), who owns and is transporting the famous Star of Rhodesia diamond. Star of Rhodesia, which she has owned for many years, was the object of an attempted theft when Lady Margaret wore it at a royal function. Holmes is certain the thieves will try again.
Also travelling on the train are Lady Margaret's son, Roland, Sherlock Holmes, whom Roland has hired to protect the diamond, Inspector Lestrade (Dennis Hoey), who is also worried about the diamond's safety and Dr. Watson and Watson's friend Major Duncan-Bleek (Alan Mowbray). Holmes briefly examines the diamond.
Carstairs brings Holmes to his compartment, where his mother is skeptical about the aid of a "policeman", but she lets Holmes examine the Star. While Holmes, Watson, Duncan-Bleek, and Lady Margaret are in the dining car, Carstairs falls onto the floor of his compartment. Lestrade hears the thud, but finds the door to the Carstairs compartment locked.
Holmes arrives and has the attendant (Billy Bevan) open it. They find Carstairs dead and the box that had contained the Star empty. The body shows no wounds aside from a tiny spot of blood, but Holmes declares it's murder, since a thief arriving right after Carstairs died of natural causes is too improbable.
Lestrade, Holmes, and Watson learn nothing conclusive in questioning the other passengers. Watson gets nowhere at all in his attempt with cranky William Kilbane (Frederick Worlock), a professor of mathematics. However, when he questions Alfred Shallcross (Gerald Hamer), he gets an immediate confession.
At one point during the investigation, Watson believes an elderly couple is guilty of the crime but the only crime that they have committed is stealing a teapot from a hotel. While searching the train, Holmes is pushed out of the train, nearly to his death, but climbs back into the day coach and discovers a secret compartment in the coffin carrying Miss Vedder's mother. It has the remains of an elderly woman in the top part, but also a false bottom that could have hidden the murderer.
He suspects that one of the people on the train is the notorious jewel thief Colonel Sebastian Moran. Upon further questioning, Miss Vedder admits that a man paid her to transport the coffin. Holmes asks if her employer was Duncan-Bleek, but she says she never saw him before.
Watson is shocked that Holmes would subject his old friend to that kind of suspicion. As Watson and Duncan-Bleek join the group, Holmes reveals that he swapped the diamond with an imitation while examining it. Lestrade ostensibly takes possession of the real diamond.
In the luggage compartment, Holmes and Watson find a train guard murdered with a poisoned dart. He also has a tiny spot of blood, but this time they find the tiny gelatin dart that delivered poison. Unlike the case of Carstairs, there hadn't been enough time for it to dissolve in the wound.
Meanwhile, a street criminal named Sands (Skelton Knaggs) incapacitates the conductor. Sands was hidden inside the coffin, and is in cahoots with Duncan-Bleek, who is, in fact, Colonel Moran. He reports how he dealt with the guard and the attendant, and turns the diamond he stole over to the Major, who knows it's the fake planted by Holmes.
Sands and Moran go to Lestrade's room, where Sands knocks Lestrade unconscious and steals the diamond from him. But Moran double-crosses Sands, shooting him dead with the same dart gun he used to kill Roland and the guard. The train makes an unexpected stop to pick up several Scottish policemen, led allegedly by Inspector McDonald.
MacDonald, claiming jurisdiction because he's from the Edinburgh police, has them all move to the dining room to conduct his investigation. Holmes informs McDonald that Duncan-Bleek is really Moran, and McDonald arrests Moran and finds the diamond in his vest, but Moran seizes a policeman's gun and pulls the emergency cord to stop the train. During a scuffle in which the lights are turned off, Holmes subdues and handcuffs Moran, then secretly hides him under a table.
MacDonald takes the prisoner off the train, which starts off for Edinburgh. Holmes points out to Watson that Moran lies unconscious on the floor. As he revives, he's startled not to find himself in the company of MacDonald, who was actually his accomplice.
However, Holmes realized that (mainly because he knew the real MacDonald), and the man the fake police took off the train was Lestrade. Meanwhile, Lestrade has untangled himself, pulled a gun on his supposed captors, and arrested them. Moran wants to take solace in the fact that Holmes doesn't have the Star, but of course the detective has pulled yet another switch, and reveals the real diamond..