''The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery'' is a 1950 British

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Paul L. Stein Paul Ludwig Stein (4 February 1892 – 2 May 1951) was an Austrian-born film director with 67 films to his credit. Stein began his career in Berlin in 1918 and worked exclusively in the German silent film industry until 1926, when he first w ...

and starring

Robert Beatty Robert Rutherford Beatty (19 October 1909 – 3 March 1992) was a Canadian actor who worked in film, television and radio for most of his career and was especially known in the UK. Early years Beatty was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, O ...

Rona Anderson Rona Anderson (3 August 1926 – 23 July 2013) was a Scottish stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in TV series and on the stage and films throughout the 1950s. She appeared in the films '' Scrooge'' and '' The Prime of Miss Jean Br ...

, and Clifford Evans. The film is a strange hybrid: with the Twenty Questions sections being a true studio recording with the normal panellists and presenters. This is then threaded into the plot as the clues which are guessed trigger a series of murder, each in turn linked to the clue.

Plot

The story begins with a long queue of adults waiting to enter the Paris cinema. The narrator explains the cinema does not show movies: it is a BBC studio used for radio recordings and broadcasts. Inside the '' Twenty Questions'' panel show is being recorded in front of the audience, and is broadcast live. The first item to be guessed is "pig ears" and this raises no issues. However, the second item to be guessed is Rikitikitavi (the short story by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

. We see the panel correctly reach the correct answer on the final attempt. Meanwhile, a wife finds her husband, Frederick Tavey, but known as Ricky Tavey, dead. He is found hanged and it is unclear if he has committed suicide. Various press pick up the odd coincidence. Central to the storyline are rival reporters Bob and Mary, who try to unravel the mystery, while starting a romance. Next we see Twenty Questions trying to guess the

Hanging Judge "Hanging judge" is a colloquial phrase for a judge who has gained notoriety for handing down punishment by sentencing convicted persons to death by hanging, or otherwise imposing unusually harsh sentences. Hanging judges are officers of the court ...

. This results in a judge being murdered. There appears a slight link between the murders, over and above the Twenty Questions issue. Both victims are linked to colonial India. The judge has an Indian manservant, Mohammed Ali, who becomes the prime suspect. Whilst Mary investigates the judge's home, a fire starts and she is locked in a room and almost killed. Potential evidence is destroyed in the fire. We return to Twenty Questions for their final 60 second "quickie". The word is

charlatan A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through false pretenses, pretense or deception. Synonyms for ''charlatan ...

and is again correctly guessed. A note has been left with the panel which appears to be another warning. They conclude the clue links to "Rosemary is for Remembrance" (a line from Shakespeare) from this they deduce it points to memory, and by sonance to Emery. In Emery's house, Ali arrives at the French doors and Emery lets him in. They have a heated discussion in Hindustani. Later Emery is strangled thuggee style by a man whose face is not seen. The panellists next discuss a written clue in private: the two words seem to be "

woodcock The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus ''Scolopax''. The genus name is Latin for a snipe or woodcock, and until around 1800 was used to refer to a variety of waders. The English name ...

" and "gin". These seem to link to a general who has served in India and police are sent to protect him as he plays golf. Meanwhile Harmon goes to Mary and tells her the clue means her, not the general, linking to her surname: Game. She initially laughs. Bob tries to phone her but she is not allowed to answer. Harmon explains his links to India and his worship of

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...

. He pulls out a rope to strangle her, just as Bob arrives. He jumps out of the window rather than be arrested. We end in the Twenty Questions studio with Bob and Mary holding hands in the audience.

Cast

A number of people play themselves as members of the ''Twenty Questions'' panel

References

External links

* 1950 films 1950 crime films Films directed by Paul L. Stein Films shot at Southall Studios British crime films British black-and-white films Films with screenplays by Patrick Kirwan Films about murder 1950s English-language films 1950s British films {{1950s-crime-film-stub