"In a few minutes, this man is going to be murdered." "Who killed him?" "Was it his son?" "One of us?" "That's absurd." "The faithful secretary?" "I'll see you dead." "Her fiancé?" "Sure I made a run for it." "The cheating business partner?" "Well, I'm going to the bar to get a stiff drink." "The needy nephew?" "Uncle Marcus, are you telling us that you've had Lady Frawley tailed?" "The gold digger?" "That's utterly ludicrous." "It wasn't Guy Lombardo." "Match wits with Ellery Queen and see if you can guess who done it." "[Slow music playing]" "Don't worry about Ellery, Inspector." "I'm sure he's on his way." "Yeah, like I was sure that he'd made these reservations." "I had to tip the head waiter 10 bucks for this table." "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen." "Thank you very much." "Well, I see by the clock that in just two hours, or 120 little minutes, we'll be saying good-bye to old 1946 and welcoming in the bouncing baby that's 1947." "Now, for your dancing and listening pleasure, the Royal Canadians play "Everybody Loves My Baby."" "You want me to call him?" "Make you feel better." "Oh, I feel fine." "Don't you see what a wonderful time I'm having?" "Well, let me just call him." "It'll make us both feel better." "I'll be right back." "How about cutting a rug with the chief, honey?" "Oh, I'd love to." "She's a terrific little dancer, Inspector." "Yeah." "My pleasure, Mrs. Velie." "I haven't danced like this in years!" "Neither have I, dear lady." "When Henry's ship went down, I was destroyed, totally destroyed." "Ah." "A huge estate in Essex, a townhouse in London." "Oh, that sounds dreadful." "Hey, honey, how about taking a picture of the merrymakers here, huh?" "Certainly, sir." "Just the two of us." "All right." "Fine." "Would you move in there just a little bit?" "Fine." "Now, let's smile, okay?" "All right." "There we go." "Be ready in about an hour, sir." "All right, thank you." "Thank you." "Well, happy New Year, everybody." "Oh, it's so wonderful, us all being together like this." "I say out with the old and in with the new." "If I were you, Lady Frawley, I wouldn't be so eager to be rid of 1946... any of you." "Why, Mr. Halliday, whatever do you mean?" "In the first place, my dear," "I mean you can ditch the tea and crumpets." "I don't believe they sound like the Duchess of Windsor in Soho Square." "What?" "Mr. Halliday, I assure you..." "May I assure you, Lady Frawley, that I know all there is to know about you." "Apart from being the widow of Lord Henry Frawley, you spent the war as the sweetheart of Bomber Squadron "B,"" "beloved by officer and enlisted men alike." "This is absolute nonsense." "Dad, if this is some kind of joke, it's in very poor taste." "It's a joke, all right, but the joke's on you, son." "This little gold digger has her sights set on my bankroll." "Uncle Marcus, are you telling us that you've had Lady Frawley tailed?" "You've got it, Paul..." "Lady Frawley, you, my son... my not-so-faithful secretary, Emma Zelman, her furtive little fiancé, and last..." "Mr. Halliday!" "...my light-fingered new business partner, Mr. Donald Becker." "I knew there was a reason for this gathering, but it certainly was not because of your festive spirit, Marcus." "Quite right, Donald." "Think of it as your last meal, if you like... good food, good wine, good music... a perfect backdrop for my little announcement." "I've kept a careful accounting on you all." "I'm saddled with a lazy and ungrateful son, a divorced and shopworn social climber, a deceitful nephew who steals petty cash from his account... really, Paul, if you must steal, you should show some imagination... a newly acquired business partner" "busy collecting down payments on backyard swimming pools and just as busy neglecting to tell me about them, and, of course, Miss Emma Zelman, my loyal secretary for 15 years who suddenly deserts me for this over-age Caspar Milquetoast." "In response to this display of honesty and loyalty," "I have arranged with my attorney as my one and only New Year's resolution to eliminate each and every one of you from my will." "So, as my son so aptly puts it, a happy New Year to you all." "Well, I never!" "Oh, but you have, my dear... often." "Dad, that's not fair." "You're wrong, Mr. Halliday." "Oh, now, stop it, all of you." "Can't you see what he's doing?" "He wants you to beg and squirm." "He has no intention of cutting out any of us." "Don't I?" "NEPHEW:" "No, you don't, dear uncle." "For better or worse, we are all you have left in this world." "Without us, who would you torture with your petty little games?" "That's right." "I can see that none of you are poker players." "It's time you had a lesson in distinguishing between a bluff and a royal flush." "My lawyer is giving a party at his home this evening." "Unfortunately for him, he'll have to go to the office to cut you all out of my will before this year is over." "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but we're leaving." "Howard, get your coat." "Well, I'm not going to let your dreadful father spoil my New Year's Eve." "Darling, let's dance." "Yes." "Well, I'm going to the bar to get a stiff drink." "I may need quite a few this evening." "You go ahead." "I, uh, saw somebody across the room." "If I'm going to be unemployed, I'd better start scouting around." "[Telephone ringing]" "Oh, Inspector, you're just such a marvelous dancer." "Are you enjoying yourself?" "Mrs. Velie, this is fast becoming one of the most unforgettable New Year's Eves I've ever spent." "Aww!" "Isn't she something, Inspector?" "Madge is really light on her feet." "On hers, yeah." "Sir?" "Oh, I said, "Where's Ellery?"" "No answer..." "I guess he's on his way." "How many times you let the phone ring?" "Ten." "You should have made it 20." "Richard!" "Oh, hi, Commissioner." "Oh, no, no, sit down." "Evening, Sergeant." "This must be..." "Mrs. Velie." "You know the commissioner, honey." "It's a great pleasure to meet you." "Isn't this a wonderful party?" "It certainly is for me." "His Honor is coming down later, you know, and we've got some of the boys from Albany, from the governor's office." "It's the place to be, Richard." "Anybody who's anybody is here tonight." "Hey, Fred!" "How are you?" "Excuse me." "If I don't see you again, happy New Year to all of you." ""Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby."" "Huh?" "The band, Inspector... they're playing that wonderful old song." "Shall we?" "Velie, wh-why don't you and the missus take a turn on the floor?" "I'll try to call Ellery again." "Holy cow!" "What happened?" "Inspector Queen, New York City Police Department." "I want the head of security in here immediately." "Yes, sir." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Who is this, please?" "Who is this?" "Wh-Who is this?" "Look... is my mother-in-law all right?" "This is Inspector Queen, New York City Police Department." "I knew it." "Ethel!" "It's the police!" "Would you identify yourself, please?" "Joseph Kemmelman." "Listen... what happened to Mrs. Anderson?" "There's no Mrs. Anderson here." "You were being called by a Mr. Marcus Halliday." "I never heard of him." "What is your address, Mr. Kemmelman?" "346 West 77th Street." "I want you to stay there." "A prowl car will pick you up in 15 minutes." "Look... wait a minute." "This is police business, Mr. Kemmelman... 15 minutes." "Say, what's going on in...?" "Mr. Halliday." "You know him?" "Of course I know him." "He's a very wealthy man." "I'm Avery Dickson, the hotel manager, Inspector." "This is Rawson, my chief of security." "I want this floor sealed off." "I can't do that." "Mr. Dickson, we have a murder here." "If the killer gets away, it's going to be twice as bad for you and the hotel." "Now, I want the elevators closed." "I want the stairways blocked off." "I want a guard in this room..." "nobody in." "Check all the restrooms." "Rawson." "Right." "Why couldn't he have gone to the Plaza?" "Excuse me." "Listen..." "Oh, Inspector, you're just in time!" "Yes, look..." "I'm..." "I'm..." "I'm sorry, Mrs. Velie, but something's come up..." "police business." "Ohh." "I'll wait at the table." "What is it, Inspector?" "We got a murder on our hands." "Murder?" "Yeah, in the alcove by the restrooms." "A man was knifed..." "bad stab wound in the throat." "Security's got all the exits covered." "The killer can't get away." "What do you want me to do?" "Four things." "Right." "Get every available unit to this hotel." "I don't care that it is New Year's Eve." "We got a lot of brass here." "We got to catch this guy." "Right." "Two... pick up a guy named Joseph Kemmelman, 346 West 77th Street." "Bring him here immediately." "I'll explain later." "Right." "And third... get Ellery down here." "I don't care where he is, what he's doing." "Get him here." "Check." "And four?" "Take off that silly hat." "VELIE: [Knocking at the door] Maestro?" "Maestro!" "Yeah?" "[Yawning] Wait a minute." "Oh, hi, Velie." "I was getting ready to bust the door down." "Do you know what time it is?" "Uh..." "It's a quarter to 11:00." "Oh, I thought it was about 7:30 or so." "I was proofreading some pages." "I guess I fell asleep." "Never mind the pages, Maestro." "Your dad wants you down the hotel on the double." "I'll bet he does, yeah." "Forget the pages, Maestro." "There's been a murder." "A murder?" "Right in the middle of the party... some rich old geezer named Halliday." "Marcus Halliday." "That's the guy." "All right, I'll get dressed, and I'll meet you at the hotel." "Right." "That's the Hotel Astor, Maestro." "Oh, right, right, the Astor, yeah." "Broadway and 44th Street!" "I know, yes." "Right." "There's pages missing." "I know it's New Year's Eve, but I need a fingerprint man and a photographer, and I want them quick..." "Yeah, hold it." "Yeah?" "We've got everything sewed up tight?" "Nobody's been up or down the stairs or the elevator except for your people since the murder." "Restrooms?" "Empty, and the windows are sealed tight." "Even if they weren't, it's 26 stories straight down." "What about effects?" "Nothing in his pockets except some loose change, a money clip, and some cigarettes." "Harry?" "Really?" "Don't let me down now." " Inspector..." " Okay, 15 minutes." "...is it really necessary to post armed guards at my elevators?" "Yes." "McCoy?" "Yes, sir?" "Go get the doctor." "Bring him in here." "I want to talk to him." "What's going on?" "They told me outside that something had happened to Marcus." "Yeah, he was stabbed to death." "What?" "How?" "Why?" "Is your name Becker, Donald Becker?" "Yes." "Mr. Becker, my apologies." "The head waiter gave me a list of all the members of your party." "If you would, just wait in the room over there." "The others are already there." "You're not saying that someone in the Halliday group..." "I don't know what I'm saying, Mr. Dickson, at least not yet." "But it stands to reason that the people who came in with him are legitimate suspects." "For example, this is the murder weapon... a steak knife." "One of ours." "Correct." "We've checked Mr. Halliday's table." "One of the steak knives is missing." "Taxi!" "Taxi!" "Right." "Taxi?" "Taxi!" "Taxi!" "Taxi?" "[Tires screeching]" "Thanks very much." "I..." "I..." "Well, it certainly wasn't me, darling." "I was with Lewis." "We were dancing." "And with 100 witnesses to prove it, right?" "Mm-hmm." "Well, if you ask me, she was watching the door, and you stuck the knife in him." "Now, wait a minute..." "Or maybe it was the other way around." "If you ask me, our little friend from Bomber Squadron "B"" "is the one with the backbone." "Get your hands off her." "Stop it, all of you." "They'll hear us." "And where were you, Miss Goody Two-Shoes?" "We were getting my coat." "I didn't ask you, pip-squeak." "McCoy, send the print man up to this room as soon as he finishes in the phone booth." "Yes, sir." "Inspector, I don't know if this means anything." "One of my boys found it in the alcove." "Shirt stud, eh?" "Mm-hmm." "Oh, Inspector, what a dreadful night... that poor, dear, sweet old man." "I can hardly believe this terrible thing has happened." "There, there, dear." "We all know how much you loved him." "Oh." "Inspector, we all loved him." "Poor Uncle Marcus." "Who could have done this awful thing?" "How's it going, Inspector?" "Why don't we cut all the banana oil?" "I've found a waiter who will swear that the victim was about to make a phone call, disinheriting the lot of you." "Oh, now, what's this?" "Ah." "I believe this is yours, Mr. Halliday." "Oh." "It certainly does." "Thank you, Inspector." "You can save your thanks." "This stud was found in the phone alcove just a few feet from where your father was murdered." " That's impossible." " That's an important piece..." " How do you explain that?" " What's it mean?" "Now, hold on." "I never said the stud was mine." "I..." "I could have lost a stud anywhere." "Seems to be a perfect match." "Well, there must be a hundred men in there with studs exactly like these." "Wait a minute, Lewis." "I remember." "That stud was missing when we first arrived here." "I almost said something about it." "Ah, the lady comes to the rescue!" "And what's that supposed to mean?" "It's supposed to mean that you'd lie like a trooper to protect your meal ticket." "Now, hold it, everyone." "And you'd just love to see Lewis framed." "Excuse me, please." "Don't accuse me, honey." "Stop it, all of you." "Inspector, there is a very simple way to determine the truth." "Shortly before Marcus Halliday went to the phone booth," "Lewis and Lady Frawley had their photograph taken by the cigarette girl." "What?" "McCoy, get someone up here from the photo lab!" "Yes, sir." "Uh-huh, there..." "look, Inspector." "My stud was missing before my father's death." "We ought to sue you for false arrest." "No one is arrested." "Oh, don't give me that." "Come on, Daisy." "It's all right." "Oh, it's not all right." "I've been watching blokes like this operate all my life." "They don't care who they push around, as long as somebody ends up in the clink." "Well, this time, Mr. Inspector, you lose." "This photo proves that Lewis is innocent." "So, why don't you just buzz off, little man." " Come on, darling." " Yeah." "No, dear lady, it only proves he didn't lose this particular stud." "Hey!" "Is that your cab?" "What's that mean?" "Hey!" "Is that your taxicab out there?" "He's deaf, too." "Excuse me." "Yeah?" "Is that your cab parked out by the curb?" " Right." " Then you must be the cab driver." "Terrific." "You must be a detective." "Hey, Myrtle, how about that hamburger?" "Look..." "I need a ride to Times Square." "Hey, would you mind?" "My coat, huh?" "I'm sorry, buddy." "I'm off duty." "Well, I was gonna drive myself, but I mailed my keys." "I was mailing a letter at the corner mailbox, and my mind must have been confused because I put the letter in my pocket and I mailed my keys." "You know what I mean?" "No, I don't." "I have to be at the Astor." "Thanks, honey." "Look, Mac..." "I'm having my supper." "Somebody was murdered at the Astor." "Mm." "No kidding." "What are you gonna do, take pictures?" "Look... my father is an inspector of police." "He..." "Wait a minute." "How about a $2..." "How about a $3 tip?" "$3?" "Why didn't you say so?" " Let's go." " Okay." "[Music playing]" "Richard, consider my position." "People are becoming very nervous." "Try to understand mine, Commissioner." "What?" "You've got your suspects." "It must be one of them." "It probably is one of them..." "maybe not." "Until I can narrow it down, nobody leaves." "Well, I don't think you're being very polite, considering the people you've trapped up here." "But it's your case." "You handle it any way you see fit." "Here he is, Inspector..." "Joseph Kemmelman." "Oh, thank you for coming, Mr. Kemmelman." "I'm terribly confused." "What is this all about?" "Would you step over here, please?" "Do you recognize any of the occupants of this room?" "Well, it's hard to say, the way they're dressed." "Huh?" "Dressed?" "Oh, I rarely see people dressed in party clothes." "I'm an undertaker." "Well, try." "Well... n-no." "No, sir." "I'm sure." "I've never seen any of these people before in my life." "This is Ben Grauer, at 11:00, speaking to you from the marquee of the Hotel Astor, overlooking Times Square." "It' starting to fill up here, and what a crowd it is... thousands of happy faces ready to welcome in the New Year." "The weather is brisk." "There' a hint of snow in the air, but it isn't discouraging anyone..." "no, indeed." "The problems of 1946 are all but forgotten in the revelry building up right below us... a sea of faces looking up towards the Times Tower, even though midnight' still an hour away." "Traffic' beginning to slow a little, although the streets are still open..." "[Driver turns radio off]" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Excuse me, maybe you'd like to try another street." "Yeah, sure, buddy, the Saw Mill River Parkway is open." "You want to go to Albany?" "Hey, let's go, up there!" "Looks like a stalled car in the middle of that intersection." "Will you get that heap out of the way!" "Sorry, pal, it's just gonna be slow." "Oh, it's not your fault." "On the next block, maybe I'll cut over to First Avenue, get you up to 44th." "Whatever you say." "Just so you don't think I'm jacking up the meter." "Heck of a New Year's Eve for you, huh?" "Most guys on a night like this... they'd be out with some classy dame, dancing at the El Morocco." "Dame!" "What?" "Pull over." "What a second." "Pull over quick..." "that flower shop." "What are you, crazy?" "Pull over where?" "Here." "Wait right here." "I'll be right back." "Anybody home?" "Anybody home?" "Show them a five-spot!" "What are you, crazy?" "Can't you see we're closed?" "You want flowers?" "Go pick daisies in Central Park." "I just want a corsage." "Okay, but I'm warning you..." "I'm out of almost everything." "All I know is I'm laying down on the couch, and the missus... now, that's Ethel, my wife... she's fixing me an eggnog." "Just you and your wife in the apartment." "That's right." "Well, New Year's Eve is always bad for me and Ethel, Inspector." "Who wants to invite an undertaker to a party?" "Well, everybody's having a good time." "In comes me and Ethel." "They look around." ""Uh-oh, there he is..." "Joe Kemmelman," right?" "Then they start in with the jokes." ""Where'd you dig him up?"" "That kind of stuff." "So, we just stay home now." "And the phone rang around 10:15?" "Right." "So, I says, "Hello?"" "On the other end of the line, I hear this guy wheezing, wheezing." "What did he say?" "No, no, he didn't say anything." "He was just wheezing and gasping." "Well, what can you tell from gasping?" "I thought maybe it was my wife's mother." "She always calls on New Year's Eve." "So, right away I figure," ""Uh-oh, the old lady has had a heart attack or something."" "So, I send Ethel down the hall to use a neighbor's phone because I figure, you know, maybe the phone company can cut in, trace the open line." "And that's when you cut on the line at the other end." "You never heard this man's name before or had any dealings with him?" "No, I'm positive." "Inspector, two of them want to talk to you out here." "Send them in." "Inspector, I have come to the conclusion that someone around here should tell the truth." "Won't you sit down, Miss...?" "Zelman, Emma Zelman." "And this is my beau, Howard Pratt." "Yes, l-I didn't know the man." "I just met him tonight." " Inspector..." " Huh?" "The print man got the phonebook..." "some nice clear prints." "You want him to start taking prints of your suspects?" "Get him right on it." "All right, tell us about it, Miss Zelman." "You got a break." "They hauled that clunker out of the intersection." " Hotel Astor, coming up." " Now, wait just a second." "I've been waiting more than a second, Mac." "The meter's already reading $2.20." "124 West End Avenue." "Hey, come on." "I thought you were in such a hurry to go see this murder." "Look... if I don't get to 124 West End Avenue, there's liable to be two murders tonight." " You stood her up." " Afraid so." "West End Avenue, coming up." " $13 million." " You sure?" "Lewis was set to inherit the bulk of his father's estate." "The figure is correct." "As Mr. Halliday's secretary for 15 years," "I pride myself on my accuracy." "And Halliday was on his way to call his lawyer to change his will?" "Yes." "That's when I decided we were leaving." "I certainly didn't want any part of..." "Look, Inspector..." "I..." "I'm feeling kind of sick." "I think I..." "Okay if I use the men's room there?" "All right, but make it quick." "You were saying about the will?" "Mr. Halliday brought us together to repay us for our sins, real or imagined." "But what makes you so sure that it was Lewis Halliday who killed his father?" "You were all beneficiaries." "But Lewis was to inherit the bulk of the estate." "Then, of course..." "What do you think she's telling him?" "Maybe she's discussing your creative bookkeeping, Paul." "Now, don't pull that on me, Becker." "Your trouser cuffs aren't exactly clean, either, you know." "I'm not in the will." "Well, maybe not, but the old man was about to pull the plug on your swimming pool company." "What's that supposed to mean?" "!" " Well, you know exactly..." " No, I don't know what that means!" "Guys, come on!" "Hey, stop it, both of you!" "Get off of me!" "I want my attorney!" "I want my attorney, too!" "We're not gonna get anywhere fighting among ourselves." "Calm down." "Oh?" "Three days ago," "Lewis came storming out of Mr. Halliday's office almost in tears, and he screamed back..." "he screamed!" "INSPECTOR:" "Yes?" ""I'll see you dead before I let her go."" "McCoy, get Lewis Halliday in here." "McCoy?" "Where is he?" "McCoy, what in the world?" " Take it easy, Inspector." " Sorry, sir." "He was laying for me." " I didn't have a chance." " Don't be a fool, Pratt." "The elevators are sealed off." "You can't escape." "I will, with you in front of me." "I've got the cop's gun right on you, Queen, so don't do anything dumb." "Once we get outside, I'll let you go." "Until then, no false moves." "Understood?" "Okay, Inspector, open the door." "Excuse me, Inspector." "They told me..." "Good work, Velie." "All right, on your feet." " You've got some explaining to do." " What?" "Uh, who?" "Uh..." "Uh, thank you, Inspector." "Sure I made a run for it, but I didn't kill the old man." "Emma will tell you that." "We were together." "Of course, you and your beloved fiancée." " She'd say anything." " That's enough." "Now, why did you run for it, Pratt?" "You'll find out anyway, so... so what's the difference?" "I was drafted in 1918, the first war." "I was just a kid." "I couldn't take it, so... so I went over the hill, moved to New York, changed my name..." "EMMA:" "Oh, Howard!" "I never wanted you to know, sweetheart, but..." "But as soon as they took my prints, you would have found out." "Did Marcus Halliday find out?" "Is that what he threatened you with?" " No!" " Howard, it's all right." "Well, Inspector, I think that should settle it for you." "It doesn't settle anything, Lady Frawley." " Where's Ellery?" " I don't know, Inspector." "He should have been here a long time ago." "New Year's Eve." "I'll be right back." "Take your time." "It's still 1946." "Kitty?" "Kitty, it's Ellery!" "Ki..." "Ellery who?" "I guess you're wondering what I'm doing here this time of night." "Not really." "How about a little peace offering?" "Oh, Ellery, they're lovely." "They go so well with my robe." "Well, they're all the florist had left." "Okay if I came in?" "How about staying right out there, stranger?" "Do you know that it's New Year's Eve, that night when every girl in New York is out on the town but me?" "Oh, I had a date with this absolutely charming young man, a writer type..." "a bit eccentric, they said, but what do they know?" "We could still make it by midnight, Kitty." "Shall I go like this?" "No." "How long would it take you to get ready?" "Why?" "Are you on some sort of timetable?" "Well, actually, my dad wants me down there right away." " Oh, your dad." " Yeah." "Does he have the car tonight?" "No, I've..." "I have a cab downstairs." "Don't tell me, Ellery." "Let me guess." "There's been a murder, and Dad wants you to help solve it." " How did you know that?" " How?" "Oh, well, there has been a murder?" "Well, what's a little murder here or there on New Year's Eve?" "I tell you what, Ellery..." "why don't you just run along and figure out who did it, and you give me a call next year sometime, okay?" " Late next year." " Ki..." "Kitty?" "Kitty!" "I'm standing right here until you open that door!" " Ki..." " Ellery." " Yeah?" " You forgot your flowers." "Tossed you out, huh?" "Well, listen... tomorrow you'll send her a dozen pair of nylons." " She'll forget all about it." " I'm not so sure." "The Astor?" "Yeah." "The Ast..." "Hey, I got to get to the Astor!" "Well, he attacked me." "That's proof of the man's violent temper." "And you think Mr. Becker knifed Mr. Halliday?" "No doubt in my mind whatsoever." "Now, six months ago," "Becker talked my uncle into putting up $100,000 to start a swimming pool company." "Backyard pools, not just for the rich, for everyone." "Mm-hmm." "Everyone with a backyard." "Yeah." "Now, Becker's a crook." "He always has been, one shady deal after another." "Wasn't there some problem with your accounts at the office?" "Now, who told you that?" "Well, it's easy enough to verify, Mr. Quincy." "Well, verify what you want." "May I use the phone?" "I'd like to call my attorney." "In a little while." "Wait in there, please." " Any luck, Inspector?" " It's narrowing down." " To who, sir?" " Everyone in that room." "Where's Ellery?" "Crummy retreads!" "You know how many miles I got on this old girl?" "80,000 if I got one." "So, what do they do?" "They put on a set of lousy retreads." " Maybe we could change it." " Synthetic rubber." "Ugh." "If we'd had tires like that on our trucks at Normandy, the Nazis would have won the war." "You want to pull that thing to the curb, Mac?" "DRIVER:" "Hey, officer, you want to shoot this thing and put it out of its misery?" "Officer, I've got to get to the Hotel Astor." "Could you give us a lift?" "What do I look like, a limousine service?" "Well, my father's expecting me." "You see, there's been a murder." "Say, is your father Inspector Queen?" "That's right." "Yes, he is." "Got a bulletin out on you." "Hop in." " Come on." " No, no." "You go on, pal." "I got to stay here and watch the old girl." "I can't just leave her laying around here by herself." "I'll call in." "They'll get a truck." "Don't worry about it." "Hold this." "Here." " Thanks for everything." " No, it's a pleasure." " Hope you make out with that dame." " Yeah, me too." " Happy New Year to you." " Same to you!" "I don't care." "I want the medical examiner here now!" "Richard, we need to talk privately." "This is J.J. Tucker of Governor Dewey's office." " How do you do?" " So nice to meet you, Inspector." "We've got a little problem, Richard." "I hope I'm not imposing, Queen, but the wife and I are due at the Latin Quarter in a few minutes." "Thought if it was all right with you, we'd duck out quietly." "Sorry, Commissioner." "I can't allow it." "Look here, now, Richard." "Obviously Mr. Tucker had nothing to do with Halliday's death." "There's nothing obvious about it, sir." "Halliday was an important financier involved in many state projects." "You knew him, didn't you, Mr. Tucker?" "Oh, we may have met once or twice, yes." "Well, that's just my point." "He may have met once or twice with half the people in that room." "Excuse me, sir." "Richard..." "J.J. Is this close to the governor." "If we start releasing suspects because of connections, we won't have any suspects left." "I've got a murder to solve." "And I'm going to have half of Park Avenue society on my neck trying to get out of here." "Now, Richard, you wrap this case up quick." "Come 12:00 midnight, they're gonna be on my head to get out of here, and I'm going to let them go, whether you like it or not." "Yes, sir!" "It's all taken care of, J.J. Come have a drink." "Thank you." "Thank you." "[Talking indistinctly]" "[Applause]" "Well, thank you, ladies and gentlemen." "Thank you for your kind applause." "As you can see by the clock, in 15 minutes, we'll have a new year." "1946 is fast ebbing away." "And with that new year," "I hope you have happiness, prosperity, and good health." "Now the band will play, in keeping with the times," ""Just Because."" "Some pretty fancy names out there, sir." "I sure wouldn't like to be passing out any parking tickets downstairs." "Good way to lose a badge." "Yeah, yeah, tell me all about it." " Hey, hold it right there!" " Look..." "I've got to see my father." "I'm sorry." "Nobody gets up and down here." "I'm sorry." "Dad?" "Where have you been?" "Do you know what time it is?" "Look, Dad, I got to get back to Kitty and explain." "Not till you straighten this out." "Now, listen, son, son, out in that ballroom," "I've got a deputy mayor, three city councilmen, a deputy police commissioner, the governor's aide, and 350 of the City's 400." "Now, in about 10 minutes, they're all gonna start walking out on me, and there isn't a thing I can do about it short of arresting the lot of them." " Okay, Dad, what have you got?" " Sit down over here." "Now, here's the medical examiner's preliminary report." "And in there, I've got a room full of grade-A suspects." "I see." ""Single lateral puncture, severance of the larynx."" "Loosely translated, that's a stab wound to the throat that cut the vocal cords." " You mean he couldn't talk?" " Not a word." " He was gasping into the phone." " Oh, happy New Year, Velie." "We still can't figure out why he called the undertaker." "Wait a minute!" "Slow down." "Not on the knife!" "Sit down over there." "I'll fill you in." "See, this list, Sarge?" "Everybody who's out there." "Names, addresses, the works." "Let's see." "[No audible dialogue]" "EMMA:" "It's all right, Howard." "That was 28 years ago." "HOWARD:" "They never forget, Emma." "EMMA:" "I'm going to stand by you." "HOWARD:" "One mistake, and they hound you for life." "Oh, stop your whining." "If you ask me... you did it." "Why?" "I hardly knew the man." "You were the one with the motive, kiddo." "I love Lewis for himself and not for his money." "A regular Our Gal Sunday." "Keep your opinions to yourself, Paul." "Inspector, this is an outrage." "I really feel that this is a terrible thing..." "All right, now, everybody." "Quiet down, everybody!" "We'll get rid of you as soon as possible." "Please, Inspector." "It's nearly midnight." " I'd like to get back to my wife." " Yeah, sure, sure." "You must be Mr. Kemmelman." "Right." "Ethel." " Hmm?" " My wife." " She's gonna be worried." " Oh, I see." "My dad says you didn't even know Mr. Halliday or any of these people, even why he called you." " That's right." " I see." "Thank you." "And you people were all seated at the Halliday table before he was stabbed in the phone booth, is that right?" "Now, wait a minute." "Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that one of us killed him." "No, sir, it doesn't." "And your name is?" "Quincy, Paul Quincy." "Now, who are you?" " My son." " Thank you." "Ah..." " And you are?" " Don Becker." "Don Becker, Becker..." "B-e-c-k-e-r?" " Yes." " Thank you." " Ma'am?" " Emma Zelman." " Sir?" " Howard Pratt." "Howard Pratt." "Thank you." "And you must be...?" "Daisy Frawley, soon to be Mrs. Lewis Halliday." "That's right." "I'm Lewis Halliday." "Lady Frawley is my fiancée." "I see." "Hold this, will you?" "Hmm?" " Dad?" " What is it?" "I've got an idea." "Yeah." " What is it?" " Six minutes to midnight, Inspector." " How do you want me to handle it?" " Hang in there, Velie." "Tell me." "You got something?" "I think I know who killed Marcus Halliday." "Wh-what?" "You...?" " One of them?" " One of them." "And it's easy enough to prove." "Are you with me?" "You may even be way ahead of me." "Now, it's not that difficult to figure out why Halliday called Kemmelman, a man he never met, a man he never knew." "Remember, he had to have known who stabbed him." "The knife was wedged in that phone booth so he couldn't crawl out." "And he knew he couldn't talk, so, why call the police when he couldn't say anything?" "So, he did the next best thing." "Since he didn't have a pencil or a paper, he left us the only clue he could to the murderer's identity." "You got the same answer I do?" "One of us?" "That's absurd!" "I don't think so, Mr. Halliday." "Mr. Kemmelman," "I know that this has been a rotten New Year's Eve for you, being dragged down here like this." "Before the clock strikes 12:00," "I thought you might want to wish your wife a happy New Year." " Sure would." " Come on, Queen." "Get on with it." "What was her first name again?" " Ethel." " Ethel?" "Ethel Kemmelman?" "You don't know me, Mrs. Kemmelman, but there's somebody here that would like to wish you a happy New Year." "Honey?" "Yeah, it's Joe." "No, no, no, no." "I'm all right." "Well, I'm coming right back if they let me." "Sure." "Listen, I'll see you in a little while." "Happy New Year, honey." "I love you." "Happy New Year to you, too, Joe." " You can go if you want to." " Yeah." "Thanks a lot." "You bet." "Thank you." "Happy New Year." "Oh." "Thank you." "And what was that all about?" "I don't remember giving you Kemmelman's number." "I don't think we even had it ourselves." "Oh, I didn't have to have his number, Dad." "All I did was duplicate what Marcus Halliday had done earlier this evening when he was dying in the phone booth." "He wasn't able to leave any other clues, so he dialed his killer's name." " Dialed the killer's name?" " What do you mean, his killer's name?" "But how did you know what to dial?" "You never saw the murderer." "I didn't have to." "You see, it takes six digits to dial a telephone number." "That eliminates Lady Frawley, Howard Pratt, and Lewis Halliday, and that leaves us with three suspects..." "Paul Quincy, Emma Zelman, and Don Becker." "Now, if you've ever looked at the dial on a telephone, you might have noticed that there is no "Q,"" "so, he couldn't have dialed "Quincy."" "Now, Miss Zelman's name begins with a "Z,"" "but if he had started dialing "Z,"" "which is the last number on the dial, the operator would have interrupted, so it follows that he had to dial Becker, B-e-c-k-e-r." "I had to confirm the spelling of your name, Mr. Becker, to make sure that I dialed the number correctly." "B-e-c-k-e-r becomes Beekman 2537." "Yeah." " Hey!" " Velie!" "["Auld Lang Syne" plays]" "Happy New Year, Inspector!" "Oh, come on, Daisy." " Happy New Year." " Happy New Year to you." " Oh." " Happy New Year." " Happy New Year!" " Cheers." "I, uh, I was really thinking along the same lines." "I'm sure you were, Dad." "Hey, let's drink a toast to the new year." "Sure, sure." "Actually, I did think one of them was the killer, but I never would have come up with that telephone business, not in a million years." "Oh, sure you would have." "Soon or later, you'd have got it." " No, I can ... " " Here, here." "All right, you know better than I." "But that Howard Pratt..." "now, that's "Howard."" "That's six letters." "What made you think that it wasn't his number that Halliday was dialing?" "That's simple enough, Dad." ""Howard" begins with H-O." ""H-O" is the Hollis exchange in Queens County, but Kemmelman lives on West 77th Street in Manhattan." "[Cork pops]" "Oh." "There we go." "Here we go." " Got a glass?" " Yes, sir." " I'll just take a little." " Happy New Year, son." "Thank you." "Here." "Cheers, Dad." "Happy New Year to you." "Oh, yeah." "Uh..." " I got to get back to work." " Back to..." "Dad, it's only midnight." " You have to get b..." " Happy New Year." "I found these out there." "I'm sorry about what happened tonight." "Oh..." "Happy 1947, Ellery Queen." "Happy 1947, Kitty McBride."