FOOTSTEPS ECHO
COCKNEY: 'Ello. Like a bit of fun?
SCREAM
RUNNING FOOTSTEPS
Police! Police! 'Elp!
MURDER!!
WOMAN SINGS IN DISTANCE
# I'm not too young
I'm not too old
# Not too timid, not too bold
# Just the kind you'd like to hold
Just the kind for sport, I'm told
CROWD JOINS IN:
# Ta...ra...ra...boom-de-ay!
# Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
# Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
# Ta...ra...ra...boom-de-ay
# Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
# Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
# I...won't be bullied
Won't be bossed
# I always win, I've never lost
# So just keep your fingers crossed
# And hope you can afford the cost
# I'm game for almost anything
# That ends up with a diamond ring
# I love to have my little fling
And when I do...
# I always...sing...
ALL JOIN IN: # Ta...ra...ra...
# ..boom-de-ay
Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
# Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
# Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay!
# Ta...ra...ra...boom-de-ay
Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
# Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
# Ta...ra...ra...boom-de-ay
# Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
# Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
# Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
# Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
# Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay. #
APPLAUSE
Join me on the stage!
The old wine tastes the sweetest!
LOUD MERRIMEN
One and two, guv.
UPPER-CLASS ACCENT: What? ..Oh, yes,
of course. It's Rupert's round.
Rupert, old boy - it's one and two.
This damn whore's lifted my purse.
What you talkin' about?
Up and over with her!
No! No! No!
Let me go!
Put me down!
Put her down.
She's not a bloody money box!
Put me down! Let me down!
Give me a shilling anyway... Oh!
Give it to me! Give it to me!
Shut up!
Let me go!
Let me go! Put me down!
Let me go! Oh!
Let me down!
No-one steals in my pub...
except me.
You!
I could tell the coppers
about you and your pub -
about what's going on upstairs!
What did you say?
Nothing, Mr Steiner. I didn't
say nothing. Honest, Mr Steiner!
You keep that
big mouth of yours shut,
else I'll maybe have you carved!
'Ave me carved? Like you did poor
Emma Smith? You didn't think I knew.
Wouldn't the coppers... Oh!
You don't scare me, Steiner!
I'll have you. I'll have you!
Dick! Hey, Dick.
Take over. I'm going out.
SHE HUMS "TA-RA-RA-BOOM-DE-AY"
SHE SCREAMS
Disgusting!
HE TUTS
Mrs Hudson, where have you put my
confounded tobacco? (..Revolting!)
Try your violin case, Mr Holmes.
Thank you, Mrs Hudson.
My God!
A member of the medical profession
caught red-handed, Dr Watson? What?
Your indignation
implies familiarity.
My dear Holmes, you cannot think me
familiar with a maniac who stabs a
woman in the street in Whitechapel!
What was the name of the
prostitute? Polly Nichols. ..How
did you know she was a prostitute?
Where is my damn pipe?
You haven't seen a newspaper!
The stop press of the third edition
of the Times is printed at 3.30am.
The news must have come in
at about 3am.
In the street, her body cannot have
remained undiscovered for long,
so I deduce that
it happened about 1am.
It doesn't explain how you knew
she was a prostitute.
No respectable woman would be out
alone in Whitechapel at that hour,
so she was not respectable.
You make it seem so simple.
Holmes.
There was an identical murder
of a woman in Whitechapel
three days ago. A second murder!
That IS interesting. Why?
Because it IS the second murder.
Now, would you mind
standing up? Why?
Once the impossible is eliminated,
whatever remains, however
improbable, must be the solution.
And? Therefore,
you are sitting on my pipe. Mm?
Incredible! Elementary, my dear
Watson. And now...Whitechapel!
(Old cow!) Who's that?
It's me - Annie Chapman!
What do you want?
What do you think I want?
I live here, don't I?
Not unless you pays your rent!
I'll give it you in the morning!
Give it me now or you don't come in!
I ain't got it on me. But I'll get
it in the morning, in me new bonnet.
You always find money for bonnets
but paying your rent's
a different matter, innit?
I'll give it you in the morning!
(Old cow!)
Let me in!
You old cow!
You nearly ruined me new bonnet!
Serves you right! Shove off
out of it! Yeah, and you know
what YOU can shove!
DOG BARKS
Hello, darling.
Feeling naughty?
Move along.
Go on there, now. Go on.
Wotcher, Cathy. Any luck? No. I
dunno what's the matter with the men.
Lend us the price of a bed for the
night? I've been slung out me room.
Haven't even earned me old man's
beer money yet. He's sitting
with his tongue hanging out!
Old cow. Don't you
call me an old cow.
Hello, Chunky! Hello, Annie.
You're out late.
I've been thrown out me place. Why?
I knocked her for the rent.
You'll find somewhere.
I need some money first. 'Ere, you
don't fancy four penn'orth, do you?
Sorry. Don't fancy it tonight.
What about you? Fancy cuddling
something live for a change?
Chunky... Yes, Annie?
You can have it for nothing.
I'm feeling real lonely tonight.
No, thanks, love.
I'm too busy, honest.
Oh.
Oh, well.
Mind you don't let that knife slip!
SHE SCREAMS LOUDLY
SCREAM IS CUT SHOR
DOG BARKS
HORSE'S HOOVES
Inspector Lestrade!
I've found something!
No. Annie Chapman's purse
was found with her body.
LIQUID BUBBLES GENTLY
"Police baffled. Jack the Ripper
vanished into thin air."
The desperate authorities
will come running to Baker Street.
BELL RINGS
They're here! But not running.
The person who rang does not desire
entry. He is deliberately slow.
"He"? It might be a woman.
The British postman is not a woman.
A parcel for you, Mr Holmes.
Incredible, Holmes!
Thank you, Mrs Hudson.
Postmarked "Whitechapel".
Ah. Surgical instruments.
Who sent those? What is missing?
The large scalpel.
The postmortem knife.
There's no greater satisfaction
than to have a theory confirmed.
Do they tell you anything?
First, the obvious.
A medical man has fallen
on hard times. Is that obvious?
Instruments of one's trade are
pawned last. How do you know they
were pawned? This fleck of white.
Silver polish. No surgeon would
clean his instruments with it.
Someone else was concerned
only with appearance. This is
substantiated by these chalk marks.
This is the ticket number.
They were stolen, then pawned.
The pawnbroker would not have put
them in a window. It faces south in
a narrow street. Business is bad.
The pawnbroker is a foreigner.
I cannot see... On the contrary! You
see everything but observe nothing.
This faded when the sun
was at its height, able to shine
over the roofs opposite.
A narrow street, facing south.
Business is bad. The case
lay undisturbed. How can you
tell the pawnbroker was foreign?
The 7 is crossed, Continental-style.
The address is scrawled with
difficulty - the writing of a woman
who seldom puts pen to paper.
A woman? Undoubtedly a female hand.
Ah, but I am slow! This has more
secrets! Where are my tweezers?
The velvet on the lid
has been added recently.
The coat of arms of an elder son of
a duke. Bring Burke's Peerage. Yes.
Wait here, cabbie. Right, sir.
This way, gentlemen.
His grace will be with you
in a moment. Thank you.
To what do I owe the dubious
pleasure of this visit?
No doubt you will recognise
this coat of arms, your grace.
Where did you get this? I believe
it to have come from a Whitechapel
pawnshop. Pawnshop.
No more than I predicted for him.
For whom, sir? My elder son Michael.
Do you know his present address?
He is dead.
Oh. Of what accident?
Disobedience. From the day he left,
against my wishes, he has been dead.
You mean disowned.
Was he a doctor, your grace?
No, but that was
his ridiculous ambition.
The medical profession
is honourable.
To a certain class - not to one of
the Osborne family, a man who would
have become the 10th Duke of Shires.
- Any trade must be dishonourable.
- A TRADE, sir?!
- The servants will show you out.
Pompous ass!
Trade, indeed!
Did not Burke's Peerage say there
were two sons? Yes. Give me that.
How clumsy of me!
Allow me.
This belongs to Michael!
Where is he?
I'm afraid I don't know, Lord...
Lord Carfax. Sherlock Holmes.
My colleague, Dr Watson.
Why have you got
my brother's instruments?
They came into my possession in a
singular fashion. Your father...
My father is still very bitter.
When did you last see your brother?
Two years ago. He went to study in
Paris. These were my gift to him.
He wrote a couple of times, then...
You tried to trace him? I went to
Paris but he'd left and returned to
England. And you've heard nothing?
No. ..No.
Or seen him? Of course not.
Thank you. Good day, Lord Carfax.
Come, Watson. May I?
Good day.
Whitechapel, cabbie. Yes, sir.
Why Whitechapel?
To find the pawnshop.
The instruments were sent after
the murder of the third prostitute.
A woman wishes to interest me in
the crimes. I find that provocative.
Oi!
CHILDREN SHOUT:
Give us a penny, Mister!
COINS CLINK
Here.
A narrow street facing south.
Observe, Watson - a foreign name.
Uncanny.
BELL TINKLES
Gentlemen, can I help you?
I want information on an article
you had in your possession.
No, I don't think...
Come, Mr Beck.
Your face reacts faster
than your brain. You remember.
I would like
to know who pawned this.
Who are you, to demand information?
Sherlock Holmes.
Who pledged this case?
The pawn ticket number was 872.
Well...
The name given to me was...Osborne.
Osborne? That's the name that...
Angela Osborne.
Did the lady leave an address?
"Lady"! Two years ago. Yes.
The Montague Street Hostel. It's
a soup kitchen run by Dr Murray.
When did you sell this case?
A few days ago. Yes, yes.
It was last Saturday.
Ah - the night of the...
Of what, sir?
To whom did you sell it?
A man. I never saw him before.
Was the missing instrument here
when you sold it? I think so.
You are sure?
Of course!
I have reason to assume
a connection between this
and your local murders.
Murders? You don't think I have...?
That's slander. Talk like that
can get you sued.
No, sir. It can get YOU hanged!
Accessory before the fact.
Supplying a weapon for murder.
A very good day to you, sir.
BELL TINKLES
Holmes! Where are you rushing to? To
examine the body of Annie Chapman.
The dead girl? Why?
To confirm that the instrument used
was a surgeon's scalpel.
Give us a penny!
Lestrade! Mr Holmes -
what are you doing here?
The Inspector will help us through
officialdom. Hmm. What do you want?
To look at Miss Chapman's body.
Out of the question.
I will not argue. I hoped to help
prevent the fourth murder. Watson.
Just a moment. What makes you think
he'll do it again? I think he will,
Lestrade. I think he will.
Oh. All right.
May I?
My God! Could a human being
have done this?
You see, Watson. Hmm.
We are right in assuming
that two weapons were used?
That's correct, Mr Holmes.
A long, bayonet-type knife and a
sharper, more meticulous instrument.
A razor, or perhaps
a surgeon's scalpel?
A scalpel would be more probable.
I agree. You know my name, although
I do not believe we have met.
I heard your lecture to the Royal
Society on forensic medicine.
Brilliant. My name is Murray.
Dr Murray.
You run a soup kitchen nearby.
A hostel for the destitute. There's
plenty of them in Whitechapel.
I also overwork as a police surgeon.
Did you say a bayonet?
I think so.
Without a doubt. ..I was
a military surgeon in Afghanistan.
Oh, aye.
The idea of a bayonet appeals
to you. It narrows things down.
Soldiers have bayonets, don't they?
Plenty of soldiers come down to
Whitechapel for fun with the girls.
I would hardly refer to this as fun.
Before you arrest the entire
garrison of the Tower of London,
remember a scalpel was also used.
You can't arrest all the doctors.
Discount the military theory. Why?
The killer would be
covered in blood.
A soldier would be detected at once.
No - look for someone living alone
close to the scene of the murders,
who can either return home quickly,
or hide his outer clothes safely.
Prepare yourself for more murders.
You keep saying that!
There is no motive for the murders
so there is no reason to stop.
That is only conjecture.
All circumstantial evidence
is conjecture. It is often right.
Mr Holmes is usually right.
Someone should have sent for us.
Someone has - the woman
who sent the case.
Why isn't she in the open?
She uses a woman's art -
intrigues us to Whitechapel.
There is a small service
I would like you to do for me. Yes?
Visit Murray's hostel to see Angela
Osborne. They will say she is not
there. Say she is. Create a scene.
Create a scene? What do I do then?
Then, Watson, you leave, of course.
# Guide me, O thou great Redeemer
# Pilgrim through this barren land
# I am weak but thou art mighty
# Hold me with thy powerful hand
# Bread of heaven
# Bread of heaven
# Feed me now and evermore
# Feed me now and evermore. #
You have to sing
for your supper here.
# ..the verge of Jordan
# Bid my anxious fears subside... #
Be told, mate. If you don't sing,
they don't give you no grub.
# ..and hell's destruction
# Lead me safe on Canaan's side... #
Go on!
If you don't know the words,
make a noise.
# ..Songs of praises
# I will ever give to thee
Give to thee
# I will ever give to thee. Amen. #
You won't get no soup.
I did not come
to partake of the soup.
God has sent you down his manna!
We'll fit you in somewhere.
Will you please stop this
unwarranted interest in my diet!
I do not want any soup!
Can I help you?
Yes, I'm sure you can.
..Sorry. My name is Watson.
Dr John Watson of Baker Street.
I am looking for a woman
who is staying here.
Her name is Angela Osborne.
There's no-one of that name here.
She IS here.
I am certain of it.
You'd better speak
to my uncle. Mary!
This way.
Hello, Watson!
What are you doing here?
Come to help us? Good!
Dr Watson is looking for someone
called Angela Osborne.
I said I've never heard of her.
What makes you think she is here?
She gave this hostel as her address
in a business transaction. When?
About two years ago.
Names mean nothing here, Watson!
Girls change their names as often
as they change their clothes.
I can't help.
I'm certain she's here.
I'M certain she's not!
You saw the people outside.
I'm their only doctor.
I haven't time to answer questions
about lost women.
I know she is here.
I demand to see her!
"Demand" be damned!
Will you leave my surgery?! But...
Please, Dr Watson!
Well!
Forgive my uncle. He works even
at night. His work IS these people.
I insist on seeing Angela Osborne!
I will not be put off!
Please!
Something is very wrong! Saying
you haven't heard of Angela Osborne!
You haven't seen the last of me!
I will not rest till I have found
out what you have done to this girl!
CLATTER
(Dear, dear...)
What are you doing? I've come
to converse, not for fisticuffs!
Who the devil are you?
Sherlock Holmes. You may remember
we met yesterday.
Sherlock Holmes? Wouldn't we
be more comfortable in here?
What's all this about, Holmes?
How did you get here? I followed
this young lady. I saw no-one.
That happens when I follow people.
Why did you follow Miss Young?
She left when Angela Osborne
was mentioned, as I expected.
YOU sent Dr Watson!
You'd better tell me the whole
story. It's none of your damned
business. There's nothing to hide.
As I said, I went to Paris
and found my brother had thrown up
his studies and returned to England.
For weeks I tried to find him,
but...
Then, one night, a man came
to see me. He said that Michael
had married a prostitute.
Blackmail.
He threatened to tell the papers?
He was far cleverer than that.
He threatened to tell my father,
who had just suffered
a severe heart attack.
You've met my father. The family
name is the meaning of his life.
Surely he is a man of the world?
The OLD world. The shock
would kill him. So you paid?
Are you still? The blackmailer
came back three times.
I refused to pay until he told me
the whereabouts of my brother
and his...
That woman he married.
He said if I visited the hostel,
Michael would be waiting.
Was he waiting? No. But I met
Dr Murray, and...I met Miss Young.
I told them my story.
Michael had been helping Dr Murray.
He gave me the address of his
lodgings but I found that he'd left.
No-one has seen them since. And
your blackmailer? He bought himself
a tavern - the Angel and Crown.
Did YOU know Michael Osborne? He
left the day before I came to the
hostel. It's a wretched story.
The good thing was that Edward -
Lord Carfax - became interested
in my uncle's work.
His money has kept the hostel going.
I saw Dr Murray's fight
against the poverty and sin.
It was the least I could do.
He bought this house, to be near.
I'd be grateful if you would
mention none of this to my father.
There is one more thing.
What branch of medicine
was your brother studying?
His ambition was to be a surgeon.
PIANO AND SINGING
# ..Food is dear, rent is dear
Love is cheap for the time of year
# So grab the nearest miss
And whisper while you kiss
# In...these hard times
You've got to put up with anything
# In these hard times
You mustn't pick and choose
# If you'renice and squeeze her tight
She'll ask you round tomorrow night
# If you don't mind sitting
without a light
In these hard times
# Farmer Brown came to town
To the cattle show
# Went to wet his whistle
In the Hotel Cecil
# Lady fair saw him there
All her neck and shoulders bare
# Said Farmer Brown, "Alack!"
As he saw her dainty back
# In...these hard times
# You've got to put up with anything
You mustn't pick and choose
# This dress you wear
Leaves your neck and shoulders bare
# Lucky to be dressed up to there
In these hard times
# Mrs Green, rather mean
Went out last Saturday marketing
# And saw right in the gutter
A codfish on a shutter
# Felt its gums, poked her thumbs
All round the fish
# And said, "Oh, crumbs!
It don't look nice at all!"
# Then the coster had to bawl:
In...these hard times
# You've got to put up with anything
# In these hard times
You mustn't pick and choose
# The codfish there's a sacrifice
# And, Ma'am, would YOU look nice
# If you had been torpedoed twice?
# In these...hard...times. #
Come on, out you go.
I've had enough of you. Out!
Holmes, you delight in embarrassing
me! You invite me to dine
then bring me to a low East End pub!
You'll bring light
into their drab lives.
Welcome to the Angel
and Crown. This way.
Sit down, please. We have
always a warm welcome for guests.
So I see(!) What would you have?
Cognac.
WHISTLE
Coo-ee!
You see the interest
you're causing in the fair sex.
BLOWS RASPBERRY
Here you are, gents.
Will you join us in a drink, Mr...?
Steiner. Max Steiner. Dick - a glass.
A bad night. Everyone's
scared off the street after dark.
These ladies come in for safety?
Here is always a selection -
if you're so inclined.
A selection.
A selection? We did not
come here for this reason!
Then I can do nothing.
You can give us some information.
Information? What about? About the
disappearance of Michael Osborne.
What did you say your name was?
My name would alarm you, Mr Steiner.
You're a copper.
Consulting detective.
My friends at Scotland Yard
would be interested in you.
Watch what you say. Answer me or my
friends will put you in the dock!
Who are you? Sherlock Holmes.
Seen Lord Carfax, have you? You know
Angela Osborne well, I take it?
How did you know? You had to
have an accomplice in blackmail.
Compensation. I could have opened my
mouth and collected from the press,
or kept it
shut and collected from Lord Carfax.
I did the nobility of England
a service.
Lord Carfax compensated me for my
loss of business from the newspapers.
The governor of Brixton Prison
will not call it compensation.
Angela was on the streets when you
met her? Born to it. Loved the game.
Most of them start
because they have to. Not Angela.
Met her at the gangway when
my ship tied up. I took up with her.
And again when she returned
from Paris with Osborne? His wife!
I always said she got her face
and name from the angels
and her heart from the devil.
You don't know what happened
to her? Disappeared from the face
of the earth.
Well, gentlemen...
That's all I can tell you.
What possessed Michael Osborne
to marry such a creature?
Because she got her face
from the angels.
One of the most attractive women I
ever met was hanged for murdering
three children for insurance money.
I feel violent when I see a villain
like Steiner enjoying the rewards
of his skullduggery.
Rewards?
He ended up owning that pub.
Watson, though not luminous, you're
an excellent conductor of light.
I am?
What do you think became of
Angela Osborne? That scoundrel said
she disappeared from the earth.
And yet... And yet...
Do you think Michael Osborne
is dead? I never theorise
without evidence, Watson.
It puts the estate in a mess -
if the duke should die with no proof
the elder son was alive or dead.
Watch your back. I saw movement
in the shadow a moment ago.
RUNNING FOOTSTEPS GET FAINTER
Brisk work, Watson! Brisk work!
Upon my soul, Holmes! When you
take a guest out for the evening
you really do it!
My apologies. Next time I'll take
you to a quiet table at the Cafe
Royal. I should jolly well think so.
Nothing like a piece of cold steel,
eh, Holmes?
DRUNKEN SINGING
'Ere we are.
Here's one.
Two legs, even!
Wotcher!
Cor! Sailor's rest!
We've walked a mile for that.
Working up an appetite.
The girls are indoors.
Scared to come out!
Must've known we was in port!
Don't worry. Jack and me,
we'll look after you!
'Ere, don't fight
over it, lads!
You girls were told
to clear off the streets.
I've got to earn a living!
Clear off, lads - go on.
Miss - don't you live that way?
You coppers
are ruining everything!
Push off!
Aah!
WHISTLE BLASTS
Thanks to Jack the Ripper -
yes, thanks to this brutal killer -
the world is watching Whitechapel.
It's not the killings by a demented
hand that the world finds horrible.
It's the murder by poverty.
The murder by misery,
the murder by hunger!
SHOUTS OF AGREEMEN
In Whitechapel...
Whitechapel...
the cry of the starving,
the moan of the sick!
We've tried to get one paragraph in
the papers to expose what happens.
I've been myself to editors, hat
in hand. It's not news, they said.
Pah!
Well, now it is news!
One man has made us news!
SOME SHOUT AGREEMENT, SOME BOO
We'll have a riot. He's putting up
this murderer as a deliverer
of Whitechapel.
To seize a defenceless female,
to stifle her cries and then...
How can anyone do this?
Someone does.
Why? Why?!
A motive, sir? I'll tell you.
His motive is the punishment
of Whitechapel,
as God destroyed
Sodom and Gomorrah!
I'll have to shut him up.
No - you'll have to rescue him.
It is the social and moral crimes
that must be ended in Whitechapel,
not just the killings!
ANGRY SHOUTING
Yes! It is the dealers in vice
and the purveyors of sex
that the police must throw their
force against, not just the killer!
I tell you there can be no peace
in Whitechapel
while licensed dens
like the Angel and Crown...
BOOING INTENSIFIES
..cater to the dissolute
and the debauched!
BOOS AND ANGRY SHOUTS
WHISTLE BLASTS LOUDLY
BELL CHIMES HALF-HOUR
Prime Minister -
the Home Secretary.
How's the battle?
The Leader of the Opposition
has found the culprit. You.
Gladstone is in form.
I was afraid of that.
I could see you were in for trouble.
Not just me. He'll demand that
the Commissioner of Police resigns.
If he calls for a vote
of no confidence, he might get it.
You mean YOU might have to resign?
Not I - just some of my ministers.
Should we go down? As you please.
I'm expecting a visit
from Mr Holmes.
That charlatan! Mr Mycroft Holmes
is an valuable servant
of the Crown.
As long as he doesn't bring in his
brother Sherlock. I shall ask him to.
Why not approach him direct? Your
department has antagonised him.
HE has antagonised THEM.
He has been grossly offensive.
Mr Mycroft Holmes. Show him in.
Please try to be discreet.
It isn't going to be easy.
Mr Mycroft Holmes will wish to
take charge of the investigation.
Prime Minister.
You know the Home Secretary.
And I will soon know your successor,
unless the police do a better job.
I have confidence in them.
There are none in the Commons.
I sent for you because you have the
tidiest brain in the Civil Service.
I cannot deny it.
Knowing that you are engaged on the
most delicate negotiations about
the Peruvian copper concession...
You wish me to ask my brother
to help apprehend
the Whitechapel murderer.
- How did you know?
- The early hour of the summons
suggested a personal matter.
The Home Secretary's presence
suggested a connection
with the murders.
The fact that the Peruvian matter
has been settled for three days
made me suppose you wished
to consult my brother,
so I have arranged to meet him.
You mean you had anticipated
my request? That, Prime Minister,
is my business.
My Indian vase! Just look at it!
I wish you'd find some other way
of solving cases!
My dear Mycroft! This is
a surprise! Watson, some sherry.
I expected you to ask me about the
Manor House case. I thought you'd be
out of your depth. No, I solved it.
It was Adams, of course? Yes.
I knew that from the start.
Thank you. Mycroft, is this a
social call? Oh, yes. Purely social.
How are you? Very well.
Now the social call is over, let's
get to business. I see you have
come from the Prime Minister. Why?
You are not at your desk. You
are dressed for Buckingham Palace
but the Queen is at Balmoral.
This must be urgent.
What does the Prime Minister want?
To find the Whitechapel murderer
before he brings down the government.
But... Any government which allows
such poverty deserves riddance.
Nor will I be engaged
in political manoeuvres.
Another glass of sherry? Thank you.
QUICK FOOTSTEPS
Inspector Lestrade
must have urgent news.
He's written to us! A letter!
Try to be coherent.
Who has written? Jack the Ripper!
You're already involved!
A case of detection means more than
any politician's career. Read it.
"Dear Boss, I keep hearing
that the police have caught me.
"They won't fix me yet.
I have to laugh when they talk
about being on the right track.
"I am down on whores and
won't rest until I do get buckled.
"I love my work.
My knife is sharp. I want to get...
"to work right away. Good luck.
Yours truly, Jack the Ripper."
It was sent to the police? A news
agency. It will be in tomorrow's
papers. No - orders from up top.
Every crank in the country would
write to the papers. If it does not
appear, there will be more killings.
Why do you suppose he sent it to
the news agency? For publication.
Perhaps he's sickening
of his crimes. Is he bluffing? No.
If his motive is to create fear,
he's trying to achieve it
without further killings.
If we publish it we add to the fear.
The government wants to avoid that.
You are asking them to aid him. If
it does not appear, he will return
to the knife. They MUST publish!
Orders - it cannot be published.
Then put every man you have
on the streets of Whitechapel.
We've come to view the body
of Miss Elizabeth Stride.
With your permission. Be careful.
Her head is almost severed.
Have you found any clues yet? We've
scoured Whitechapel, but nothing.
He left no bloodstained garments?
No - if it is a he. A woman?
The constable who found the body
saw a woman... Correction.
He reported seeing a woman's shape.
What difference?
What he said is not what you said.
A woman's shape in the fog
could be a man in woman's clothes.
I hardly think it likely...
There is no pattern of behaviour
in a deranged mind.
What can you tell us, Dr Murray?
Each murder is by the same hand.
What about of the knifework? What?
Does it not show surgical skill?
Hmm...
It's the work of a doctor?
Anyone with a modicum
of medical training could do it.
A medical student, perhaps?
These murders are the work of
a madman, but with medical skills,
intelligence and education.
Intelligence? Education? This?
Yes. Take that letter. The grammar
and syntax, though concealed,
were the work of an educated man.
The writing was
deliberately scrawled. We must not
take the mask for the face.
If you're right, Mr Holmes,
it brings us back to the doctors.
Don't be too sure, Lestrade.
Oh, well, I'd better be off.
I suppose he'll arrest the entire
staff of the London Hospital.
Would YOU look for a doctor,
Dr Murray?
There is one medical student who
will soon be under suspicion. Oh?
Michael Osborne.
What's he got to do with it?
Medical student who lived locally,
had good cause to hate prostitutes,
and has vanished.
He has nothing to do with the
murders. That may have to be proved.
The newspapers will relish the heir
of the Duchy of Shires
denying he is Jack the Ripper.
Consider his family
and tell me what happened.
I have every consideration for
his family, so I must say nothing.
SCRAPING ON VIOLIN
I should have refused
the request to call in my brother.
He was already engaged,
with what result? Stalemate.
I should have realised only one
person could solve this - myself.
I should have ditched the Abyssinian
detente and the Nigerian loan. I...
Stop sawing away on that! It was a
sad day when Mother gave it to you.
A sad day for all of us!
It's his method.
Method?!
This butcher boy has us all on the
edge of a knife! This morning three
more men were attacked in the street.
Carrying bags?
Carrying Gladstone bags!
They say he's a Russian.
Rubbish...!
SCRAPE!
Military intelligence has found
no truth in the rumour.
How long has this been going on?
Hasn't spoken since yesterday.
How long does it usually last?
Sometimes days.
I'm wasting my time!
I shall never understand
why you've had that violin so long
but never learnt to play it!
Act, Sherlock, act! Go to the scene
of the crime! Use your powers!
Interview people! As Mother
used to say, stir your stumps!
Don't bother to see me out, Watson.
Remind my brother
he has never had so great a chance
to serve his country,
or seemed so unaware
of his responsibilities!
Or of the intention of the composer
when he wrote that tune!
He's quite right.
You've rejoined the human race!
I should be in Whitechapel. There
will be another murder tonight. Eh?
Come. We will scour the streets.
What for? The detail that matters.
TWO SETS OF FOOTSTEPS
This is hopeless, Holmes.
If he were ten feet away,
we wouldn't see him.
Fog to the murderer
is like jungle to the tiger.
It conceals him until he pounces.
What do we do? We must continue.
Jack the Ripper will not allow
these conditions to go unused.
He is out now, Watson.
CLOCK CHIMES
MALE AND FEMALE LAUGHTER
APPROACHING FOOTSTEPS
'Ello, love!
You look like a sport.
Do you fancy coming up?
Couple of shillings'll do it.
'Ang on a minute.
I'll throw you down the key.
Catch!
Shut the door behind you.
Can't take no chances
with Jack the Ripper about.
You know something? I ain't been out
in the dark for a month cos of him!
Come on in, then!
Come on.
'Ere.
That's a lovely coat
you've got on, innit?
Could you make that ten bob
for a special, Mister?
I do want to please you.
I haven't had a real gentleman
like you since I started.
Don't think
I've been on the game that long.
I'm proper new, I am!
SCREAMS
SCREAM
Holmes! Quickly, Watson.
Lemon Street Police Station.
Tell Inspector Lestrade
to cordon off the area.
Hello! What are you doing here?
Chasing a shadow. How long
have you been here? Since midnight.
No-one's passed through here?
Here?
Hello, Edward. Sorry I'm late.
Mr Holmes? I came to see your uncle.
Dr Murray is in the surgery. He
asked not to be disturbed. Did he?
I'll take you home.
MOANING
Just a minute.
Dr Murray?
Oh, Holmes!
I'm sorry. I had a long postmortem
on a poison case. I'm a bit tired.
What are you doing here?
Following Jack the Ripper. Here?
He eluded me in the mortuary.
The mortuary?
He could have got
into the hostel. He did.
We will wait here for the police.
What makes you think
they are coming here?
You are the police surgeon.
They will bring the body.
Another prostitute?
I would welcome the opportunity
of a little chat. What about?
About Michael Osborne. I told
you before... He wasn't wanted
under suspicion of murder before.
What do you mean? It all leads
to his knowledge of surgery.
He could not have murdered anybody!
Prove it!
Tell me about the night he
found out his wife and Max Steiner
were blackmailing his family.
You know about that?
Michael Osborne was one of the
finest young men I've ever met.
In the six months he was here,
I came to respect him
as I've respected few other men.
You've heard about his wife -
vicious, depraved creature!
He stayed with her
in spite of everything.
One night, she brought Steiner here,
to this very room.
Michael heard from his wife's mouth
their plan of blackmail. He was
to be part of it. What happened?
Michael refused to have anything
to do with it. There was a quarrel.
Steiner attacked him.
He had no chance.
The sight of her husband being
beaten wasn't enough for that woman.
She was about to throw a bottle
of acid at Michael. She didn't?
It's hard to know what happened.
Maybe Steiner flung out an arm.
But the acid...
went into her own face.
When Steiner saw the horror of it,
he rushed out to get me.
Her angel face
was a diabolical sight.
I did the best I could for her.
A week later, Steiner took her away.
I've not seen or heard of her since.
Michael Osborne got away?
Then why weren't the family,
the police informed?
He didn't die, Holmes. Not quite.
Go on. Finish your story, Dr Murray.
Come and see, Holmes.
Finish the story yourself.
You wanted Michael Osborne.
Here he is.
Whether it was Steiner's blows
to the head,
or whether his mind could suffer no
more of the world, I don't know.
This is how he's been
since that night.
How can Lord Carfax let his brother
remain here in that condition?
He doesn't know, Holmes. Nobody
could recognise that poor creature.
Why keep it to yourself? You should
inform his father! What father?
He disowned him for wanting to do
good instead of wasting his life in
the pleasures of the aristocracy!
He had a right to know. What about
Michael? He must be happier here
than in a padded cell!
No - his life is over.
Let the world leave him in peace.
That may not be possible. Why?
You can't suspect that
poor lunatic! All possibilities
have to be considered.
Dr Murray? Yes? Inspector Lestrade
sent me for you, sir.
Lestrade, my dear fellow!
Are you not well?
You'll see nothing like it
this side of hell.
What animal could have done this?
Prepare yourself for a shock,
Dr Murray.
Come, Watson.
Aren't you going to
examine the body? There is
a more important examination.
LOUD BANGING
I'm coming! Stop!
Always these drunk people!
What the hell do you want?
You're asking for trouble!
No. We're giving it!
I want to see the owner
of this doubtful establishment.
You've got a nerve, coming to
see me at this time in the morning!
The owner, not the hired help! Tell
Angela Osborne I want to see her.
You are not going upstairs.
Now there are several things
I may do, Mr Steiner! All right.
But give her a chance.
Let me warn her.
Warn her?
You can't just walk in on her.
Not the way she is.
Come up.
Please sit down, Mr Holmes.
Dr Watson.
You will forgive
the inconvenience of the hour.
Night and day are indistinguishable
here. A lamp turned down
is my morning sun.
What do you want, Holmes?
Out with it.
Excuse Mr Steiner's lack of
hospitality. We never receive guests.
Mr Steiner's hospitality is noted
for the lengths he will go to
to provide comfort for his guests.
It is profitable. I hope you won't
spoil it. It is of no interest to me.
Then why are you here? To ask the
lady what she did with the knife.
Knife? The one you removed from
the set of instruments you sent me.
You are all I expected of you.
Give it to him, Max.
It is a limited life in these rooms
and I spend hours reading your cases.
I am grateful for the excellence
of your narrative, Dr Watson.
Can you tell an admirer, Mr Holmes,
how you knew I sent the instruments?
Someone wanted to interest me
in Michael Osborne.
The writing on the label was that
of a woman with little education.
How did you know I was here?
I was told that you had been...
Mutilated.
Made odious to myself
and to the world. It was obvious
why you'd gone into hiding.
Why remove the scalpel
from the case?
- To intrigue Mr Holmes.
- We have only your word for that.
I believe the doctor thinks
I am Jack the Ripper.
Why should Angela
murder those women?
Of course, Dr Watson is observant.
I hate all women. He knows why.
They're all prettier than I am.
That's why.
The woman with the ugliest face
in the world. Want to see?
But I WAS beautiful.
Eh, Max?
Ja. You were.
You can say it, Mr Holmes,
that I hate women.
But I am not your killer.
As you can see, I am incapable
of even stepping into the street.
Why did you hate your husband
so much? Who told you that?
Dr Murray.
To him, Michael was a saint.
To me, a man who tired easily.
He seemed unbalanced.
He couldn't take the discipline
of medical study, or marriage.
He tired of me and sent me back
to work. You mean on the streets?
His father had cut him off.
I didn't earn enough. He thought up
a way to get money from his brother.
His was the blackmailing scheme?
Who else?
He sent Max to Carfax because his
father would never give him a penny.
Michael's father
knew him for what he was -
a vicious, worthless libertine.
Vicious? If you call
a man who throws acid
into his wife's face vicious,
because she can bear him no more and
is leaving him. Wasn't that vicious?
By God, Holmes,
there's a woman of great character.
I'm afraid you're not probing
deeply enough. Her scars extend
beyond the surface.
What do you mean? She may well
believe her story to be the truth.
Now let us pick up Michael Osborne.
You know where he is?
Come along, Watson.
Father, Mr Sherlock Holmes is here.
I was not aware I had
an appointment. You must
prepare yourself for a shock.
Mr Holmes has brought Michael back.
I have forbidden your brother
this house, Edward.
I have not altered that.
But... Do not argue.
Your grace. You were shown out
of my house on your last
uninvited visit, Mr Holmes.
I have come to save your family
name. Tell him to get himself
out of the mess.
I cannot do that, your grace.
He is not capable of understanding.
Of course he can understand!
Your son is a pathetic imbecile,
incapable of understanding
the smallest action.
He has suffered for his sins.
He is outside that door.
I have brought him home.
Edward. Yes, Father?
Have Michael put into his old room.
Of course.
Do it yourself. It's better.
Not the servants.
And tell him...
I shall come and see him presently.
Mr Holmes. Your grace.
How did you find him? His identity
was revealed by a doctor
in a hostel for the destitute,
his mind by a lady in a
public house, the Angel and Crown.
I am indebted to them both.
Thank you, Mr Holmes.
Holmes...
you know, don't you?
You know who Jack the Ripper is.
Who is he?
I must keep that from you a little
longer. Won't you arrest him?
Knowing is not proving.
We can't let him roam the streets.
No. We have work to do before the
final curtain can be brought down.
We have been setting the scene
for the last act of Jack the Ripper.
I wondered what we'd been doing.
DOG BARKS
- Anything?
- No, nothing.
AAHH!
Good evening, Lord Carfax.
SHO
AHHH!
AAHH!
HE SCREAMS WILDLY
MAX!
MAX!
MAX!
Angela!
AHH!
BOTH SCREAM
HE SCREAMS
How did you get out, Holmes?
I am well-known
to be indestructible.
I would not miss this excellent
partridge. How did you know...?
DOOR CLOSES
How did you know it was Carfax?
Oh, Holmes!
His medical knowledge.
When I dropped the case of
instruments in his father's house,
he picked it up. Natural politeness.
He put the instruments into the
right niches. How odd, I thought.
A layman might ponder for a moment.
Carfax did not hesitate.
But isn't it obvious Dr Murray...?
Nothing is more deceptive
than an obvious fact. The letter
was obvious AND revealing.
That harum-scarum diatribe
in red ink - revealing?
Precisely. The writer described
his murders as his work -
"I love my work".
He was obviously
a man of means who had no need
of ordinary employment.
Dr Murray, who works hard, might
have put "pastime". I ruled him out.
You make it sound simple. It was.
In the Osborne family, I found
insanity through four generations.
Carfax's reason hung on a thread.
That his brother should give the
Osborne name to a common prostitute
broke that thread.
Carfax was protecting
the family name.
He'd never seen Angela but thought
he could kill her by elimination.
He searched for her with his knife.
But Lestrade and the police...?
They do not know the identity
of Jack the Ripper.
We need not disclose it.
The Osborne family
have suffered enough.
Lestrade has three buckets of ash
but we will keep the name.
KNOCK ON DOOR
Parcel for you, Mr Holmes.
Postmarked "Nottingham".
A-ha, the game's afoot again.
This is three years old. The flat
brim with curled edges came in then.
It belongs to a man who has
suddenly gone down in the world.
He is middle-aged, goes out little,
with grizzled hair which has been
cut in the last few days. Also...
MUSIC DROWNS SPEECH
BBC 1996