(Barking)
- (Whip cracking) - (Neighing)
(Neighing)
- (SIow drumbeat) - (Meowing)
(Bell tolling)
Agh!
(Grunting)
(Watson) 'When I returned to Baker Street
'from a short holiday in the spring of 1891,
'I had seen little of Holmes for some time.
'I saw in the papers that he had been engaged by the French government
'upon a matter of supreme importance
'but I could hardly foresee that it would have so violent a consequence.
'It lies with me now to tell for the first time
'what took place between Mr Sherlock Holmes
'and Professor Moriarty
'in that fateful year.'
Ah, Mrs Hudson. Has Mr Holmes returned?
Oh, he has indeed! He came in early, must have been before seven.
"Morning, Mrs Hudson. Have you anything nice for my breakfast?"
As if he hadn't been away for four months!
You could have knocked me down with a feather.
- He's gone out again? - Yes.
He had his breakfast and he went out again just after his visitor left.
- Visitor? - Mm.
An elderly gentleman.
They had words.
I didn't like the look of him. Not at all, I didn't.
He had a face like... like the wrath of God.
- Or should I say the devil? - Indeed?
Oh, er, should we open a bottle of the best claret
to celebrate Mr Holmes's return?
- Why not? - Very good.
Thank you, Mrs Hudson.
'I learned later that Holmes had survived
'three attempts on his life that very day.
'But as I waited for him to reappear,
'Baker Street looked to me as safe and secure as ever.'
(Knocking)
Holmes...
(Whispering) Wait. Wait.
- What is it? - (Sighing) Air guns.
A rather special air gun, in fact.
Watson, would you have any objection to drawing the blinds? Casually.
As if you are alone in this room.
I think you know me well enough
to understand that I am by no means a nervous man.
But it is stupidity rather than courage
to refuse to recognise danger when it is close upon you.
God damn!
Watson, might I have a match?
- Holmes, you're hurt. - Scratches. Nothing to signify.
You don't look well, Holmes.
I have... been using myself rather too freely.
I have been somewhat pressed of late.
How pressed?
Well, as I am unable to leave until after dark
and then most likely by the way that I came,
we do have some time on our hands.
Also, I owe you an explanation
for my unceremonious departure the last time that we met.
- I'll take some notes, if I may. - Oh, by all means.
This case... This case.
It is unique... in the annals of crime.
You will recall that it was a cold morning
early in the year when I last left Baker Street.
(Children shouting)
'I had no idea where I was going or who my client was.
'I knew it was important and abroad.
'My destination was the museum in the Louvre in Paris.
'And my client none less than the French government.'
Surely this Palais du Louvre is near to the very heart of France.
It was here that the great Roi Soleil held court.
And here that Napoleon Bonaparte
was married to the Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria.
Indeed, it is a history lesson in stone.
(Second man) And now this gallery contains our finest paintings.
Gentlemen, shall we come to the point?
I presume the Mona Lisa has been stolen.
- Qui le lui a dit? - Je n'ai absolument rien dit.
When I see two hooks and the place where the Mona Lisa used to hang...
And then there's talk of scandal...
Now I begin to understand the delicacy of the matter.
'The Louvre is closed on Mondays for maintenance.
'The Mona Lisa not hanging in her usual place
'was put down to the fact that she was in the photographic studio.
'It was only later in the day that a workman found the frame
'in a little storeroom under the Salon Carré.'
We put the glass over it
because we feared an acid attack, as in Florence.
- How very fortunate. - Pardon?
Two good thumb prints.
Many artists come here to make copies of the paintings.
- This one seems well done. - Yes.
That artist is particularly clever and makes a good living from copying.
- I should like to meet him sometime. - (Bell tolling)
To make a bad copy is very easy.
But a good one, it takes years of practice.
For instance, da Vinci.
He used Italian poplar wood to paint on.
It is very difficult to find.
To mix the original colour, nearly impossible.
His sfumatura, the smooth, blended tones,
is very subtle and his brushwork is left-handed.
The crackleur, this fine network of cracks. La.
Ah. That is the most difficult to achieve of all.
And you can achieve it. How?
That is my secret.
It seems to me that this is something near to a legitimate forgery.
No, because the copies must never be the same size as the original.
Who would buy one as the original
when the real Mona Lisa is in the Louvre?
But if by chance the Mona Lisa is no longer in the Louvre?
Oh, but of course you are joking, Monsieur.
'The French police are well ahead of the British
'when it comes to fingerprints.
'The great Bertillon himself was kind enough
'to refer to my pamphlet on the subject as his bible.
'As I suspected, our man had been involved in petty crime in the past.
'A Spaniard named Mendoza.'
There. There is your thief.
Hm. Not a pleasant specimen.
Mr Holmes, France owes you a great debt.
We have not got the man.
And, more important, the painting.
- He must be arrested! - He may have sold it!
No, it is my belief that the painting is still in Mendoza's keeping.
He is only a pawn in a much bigger game.
This robbery has been carefully planned by a master criminal.
But what criminal would want to own the Mona Lisa?
That is madness - he can't sell it.
I believe the master criminal is not interested in the original.
If he can pass off the forgeries as originals, for the same price.
Gentlemen, we must alarm Mendoza.
Get him on the move, so he leads us to the centre of the web.
But how?
First, we must announce that the painting has been stolen.
But that would create a scandal. Myself and the director...
Minister, if I may explain.
It will be announced
that, owing to the brilliant efforts of yourself and the director,
that the criminal is about to be arrested.
(Bells pealing)
- Mr Holmes, we must arrest him now! - No.
- Now! - (Whistle)
(Woman screaming)
(Watson) 'Holmes, I understand that the recovery of the original
'would make it impossible for the thieves to sell any copies.
'But did you have any clue
'to the identity of the mastermind behind the scheme?
(Holmes) 'I was satisfied
'that I had recognised one of Professor Moriarty's agents.
'Moriarty? '
Notice the subtle modelling of the features.
Beautiful hands.
The mood.
That smile.
As Walter Pater described her,
the head upon which all the ends of world are come
and the eyelids are a little weary.
No one else has ever had the genius to paint it,
except da Vinci.
Well, if you look at the paintwork, sir...
Leonardo's signature writ large.
The brushwork, mano sinistra,
the bloom, the sfumato technique.
Will you excuse me?
I would say, without hesitation,
that the general opinion of the art world
is that this is the greatest portrait ever painted.
I very much regret to have to tell you, sir,
that this painting is no longer for sale.
I don't understand, Professor. I mean... the price, maybe?
Well, now look, I'll reconsider.
I'll give you a cool four million. How's that?
I'm sorry, Mr Morgan.
The painting is no longer for sale.
Huh? Hey!
What are you guys up to?
Take your hands off me!
Thanks for nothing!
You are despicable, you plums. Go get lost!
That wretched Holmes has recovered the original.
These are worthless!
Destroy them. Burn them!
Do it yourself. Let no one else see you.
Yes, Professor Moriarty.
I must congratulate you, Holmes.
Such an honour and so well deserved.
The case practically solved itself.
I... I hear you had a visitor this morning.
Ow!
'I had not been back in Baker Street more than half an hour when... '
(Mrs Hudson) But you cannot go up there, sir!
(Footsteps)
You have... less frontal development than I should have expected.
It's a dangerous habit to finger loaded firearms
in the pocket of one's dressing gown.
(Clicking)
You evidently don't know me.
On the contrary. I think it's fairly evident that I do.
I can spare you five minutes. If you have anything to say.
All that I have to say has already crossed your mind.
My answer has already crossed yours.
- You stand fast. - Absolutely.
You frustrated me in the affair of the French gold.
Ah. So it was you behind the Red-Headed League.
A very ingenious and well contrived idea.
High praise... from you.
You crossed my path first on the 4th of January.
In February, I was seriously inconvenienced by you.
In March, I was absolutely hampered in my plans.
And now, with this last business in France,
you have placed me in such a position
that I am in positive danger of losing my liberty.
The situation is becoming an impossible one.
Have you any suggestion to make?
You must drop it, Mr Holmes.
You really must, you know.
And what if I refuse?
I'm sure a man of your intelligence
will see that there can be but one outcome to this affair.
It is necessary that you should withdraw.
You have worked things so that we have only one resource left.
It has been an intellectual treat
to see the way you grappled with this matter.
But I say, unaffectedly, that it would be a grief to me
to be forced to take an extreme measure.
- (Chuckles) - Oh, you smile, sir.
But it really would, I do assure you.
Danger is part of my trade.
This is not danger. It is inevitable destruction.
You stand in the way of a mighty organisation,
the full extent of which even you, with all your cleverness,
have been unable to realise.
You must stand clear, Mr Holmes, or be trodden underfoot.
I'm afraid that in the pleasure of this conversation
I am neglecting business of importance which awaits me elsewhere.
Well, well.
It seems a pity.
But I've done what I could.
This is a duel between you and me, Mr Holmes.
You hope to place me in the dock.
You hope to beat me.
If you are clever enough to bring destruction on me,
rest assured I shall do as much... for you.
You have... paid me several compliments, Mr Moriarty.
Let me pay you one in return
when I say that if I were assured of the former eventuality,
I would, in the interests of the public,
cheerfully accept the latter.
I can promise you the one
but not the other!
(Coach driving off)
He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson.
For years, I have endeavoured
to break through the veil which shrouded him.
And at last... I've seized a thread.
And followed it... to Moriarty himself.
And now I'm ready to close on him.
If he doesn't close upon you first.
On Monday next...
matters will be ripe.
The professor and the principal members of his gang
will be in the hands of the police.
Then will come the greatest criminal trial of the century.
The clearing-up of over forty mysteries and the rope for all of them.
I cannot do better than to get away for the few remaining days.
It would give me pleasure if you came onto the Continent with me.
The Continent? I'd be delighted. But where?
Anywhere. It's all the same to me.
But won't we have to dispose of Professor Moriarty first?
It seems to me that we're under siege in this very room.
That reminds me, I must be on my way.
Won't you stay the night?
No, it's too dangerous for you if I stay here.
I will find lodgings with my brother Mycroft.
- We start tomorrow morning. - Tomorrow morning?
Oh, yes, it is most necessary.
Here are your instructions. I beg of you to follow them to the letter.
You are now playing a double-handed game with me,
against the most powerful syndicate of criminals in Europe.
'You will dispatch your luggage by trusty messenger,
'unaddressed, to Victoria Station tonight.
'In the morning, you will send Mrs Hudson for a hansom cab,
'desiring her not to take the first or second which may present itself.
'You will drive to the Strand end of Lowther Mews,
'handing the address to the cab man,
'with a request that he will not throw it away.'
'Have your fare ready and the instant that your cab stops,
'move speedily through the mews
'and time yourself to reach the other end at exactly a quarter past nine,
'where you will find a small brougham waiting close to the kerb,
'driven by a fellow with a heavy, black coat,
'tipped at the collar with red.
'Step in, and you will reach Victoria in time for the Continental express.'
(Engines hissing and clanking)
Excuse me, sir, I wonder if you speak Italian?
No. Where's the gentleman who reserved this compartment.
No sign of him, sir. If you're travelling, get aboard.
(Whistle)
My dear Watson, you haven't even condescended to say good morning.
(Sighs) Good heavens, Holmes. How you startled me.
Hm. It is still necessary to take every precaution.
(Whistle)
(Engine chugging)
We cut it rather fine, Watson.
This express runs in connection with the boat.
So I think we've shaken off Moriarty.
- Hm... - Well, what will he do, then?
What I should do.
- Engage a special train. - But he'll arrive too late.
You'll observe that this train stops at Canterbury and again at the boat.
Moriarty will catch us there.
Anybody would think that we were the criminals.
Let's arrest him as soon as he arrives.
That would ruin everything.
We should catch the big fish but the smaller would dart out of the net.
An arrest is inadmissible.
Well, what then?
We shall get out at Canterbury.
- (Whistle) - But, Holmes, our luggage!
We must give Moriarty something to follow.
- What will we do? - We shall go across country.
- Here we are, Holmes. - Bradshaw seldom lets you down.
From Ashford Junction we can take the one o'clock slow train to Hastings.
Then onto the dear old London-Brighton and south coast line.
Bexhill to Lewes non-stop.
Then onto Newhaven, evening boat to Dieppe.
- We've got time for an early lunch. - (Whistle)
So soon.
(Tooting)
There are limits, you see, to even our friend's intelligence.
And now, Watson, we shall treat ourselves to a couple of carpet bags.
Encourage the manufacturers of the countries to which we travel
and make our way at leisure into Switzerland
via Brussels, Luxembourg and Basle.
'It fell out as Sherlock Holmes had predicted.
'We stayed two nights in Brussels,
'then began to make our leisurely way southeast.
'For a charming week we progressed towards the Alps.'
What do you think?
A common enough occurrence in the mountains.
(Wind whistling)
(Cowbells tinkling)
- Ah, danke, Fräulein. - Ah.
Nothing like drinking the wine where it's grown.
Mm!
"All gang safely secured. Only Moriarty escaped the net."
Signed Mycroft.
He's given them the slip.
I think it would be better if you were to return to England, Watson.
Why?
You will find me a very dangerous companion now.
Moriarty will devote all his energies
into taking his revenge upon me.
- If I have a companion... - Would you be rid of me?
No. Except for the reasons I've given.
We've been in tight places before together.
Never as tight as this one.
I'm not leaving you, Holmes. Not unless you order me to go.
(Watson) 'I'd never been to Switzerland before,
'but the landscape reminded me
'of the Northwest Frontier provinces of India.
'But, in spite of the lovely scenery all round us,
'it was clear that never, for one instant,
'did Sherlock Holmes forget the shadow that lay across him.'
(Horse neighing)
'I could tell by his sharp scrutiny of every face
'that he was well convinced that go where we would,
'we would not be clear of the danger that was dogging our footsteps.'
(Gunshot)
What was that?
- See anything? - No. Nothing.
It's time we were on our way.
Hans, we're on our way.
(Wind whistling)
'At last we reached the heart of Bernese Oberland
'and the village of Meiringen, where we put up at the Englischer Hof,
'then kept by Peter Steiler the elder.'
(Church bells pealing, cow bells tinkling)
- Ah. Herr Steiler? - Ah, Doctor Watson, Mr Holmes.
I'll take your case.
(Rushing water)
The walk over the hills to Rosenlaui is very beautiful.
You can stay the night there and come back the next day.
But you must not, on any account,
miss the falls of Reichenbach.
Only a small detour. Ah. There it is.
- Gute Reise. - Danke schön.
(Watson) 'It is indeed a fearful place.
'The torrent, swollen by the melting glacier,
'plunges into a tremendous abyss,
'from which the spray rose up like the smoke from a burning house.'
Herr Doctor Watson!
- Herr Doctor Watson. - Yes?
Herr Steiler told me to give you this. It is very urgent.
An Englishwoman was taken to the hotel after we left.
On her way to Lucerne. She's had a haemorrhage.
- Tuberculose. - Ah, no doubt.
It appears she's dying. "An English doctor would be a great consolation."
- I'm afraid I must go back. - Of course.
Steiler suggests that this lad shows you the way to Rosenlaui.
- I'll join you there later. - A good plan.
(Distant bells peal)
Hey!
- I trust she's no worse? - Bitte?
You didn't write this?
There is no sick Englishwoman at the hotel?
No.
But it has the hotel mark.
Of course! There was a tall, old Englishman who came here
after you had gone. He said...
(Distant rushing water)
(Breathing heavily)
'It was the sight of the alpenstock that turned me... cold and sick.
'He had not gone to Rosenlaui.
'I stood for a minute or two to collect myself
'for I was... dazed with the horror of the thing.
'And then I began to think of Holmes's own methods.
'And to try to practise them.'
Holmes!
(Echoing)
(Watson) 'My dear Watson,
'I write these few lines through the courtesy of Mr Moriarty,
'who awaits my convenience
'for the final discussion of those questions which lie between us.
'I am pleased to think
'that I shall be able to free society from further effects of his presence.
'Though I fear that it is at a cost which will give pain to my friends
'and especially, my dear Watson...
'to you.'
(Holmes) 'As you know, my career had, in any case, reached a crisis.
'No possible conclusion to it could be more congenial to me than this.
'Indeed, if I may make a full confession to you,
'I was convinced that the letter from Meiringen was a hoax.
'I made every disposition of my property before leaving England
'and handed it to my brother Mycroft.
'Goodbye. And good luck.
'And believe me to be, my dear fellow,
'very sincerely yours, Sherlock Holmes.'
(Watson) 'In this situation, I had little doubt
'that a personal contest between the two men
'ended as it could hardly fail to end.'
(Shrieking)
Oh...
(Screaming)
It's...
with a heavy heart that I take up my pen
to write these, the last words in which I shall ever record
the singular gifts
by which my friend, Mr Sherlock Holmes, was distinguished.
I shall ever regard him
as the best and the wisest man I have ever known.