- 18 hours ago
First broadcast 6th/11th April 1978.
A reporter is asked to look into the mysterious death of a nun who died in a locked room at a convent.
Maria Aitken - Jemima Shore
Renée Asherson - Mother Ancilla
Brenda Bruce - Sister Elizabeth
David Burke - Tom Amyas, MP
James Laurenson - Alexander Skarbek
Doran Godwin - Sister Lucy
Margaret D'Arcy - Sister Clare
Kate Binchy - Sister Edward
Linda Slater - Dodo
Sarah Webb - Margaret
Michèle Winstanley - Blanche (as Michele Winstanley)
Patsy Kensit - Tessa
Catrina Hylton - Mandy
Mary Healey - Beatrice O'Dowd
James Appleby - Joe
Sylvia Coleridge - Sister Boniface
A reporter is asked to look into the mysterious death of a nun who died in a locked room at a convent.
Maria Aitken - Jemima Shore
Renée Asherson - Mother Ancilla
Brenda Bruce - Sister Elizabeth
David Burke - Tom Amyas, MP
James Laurenson - Alexander Skarbek
Doran Godwin - Sister Lucy
Margaret D'Arcy - Sister Clare
Kate Binchy - Sister Edward
Linda Slater - Dodo
Sarah Webb - Margaret
Michèle Winstanley - Blanche (as Michele Winstanley)
Patsy Kensit - Tessa
Catrina Hylton - Mandy
Mary Healey - Beatrice O'Dowd
James Appleby - Joe
Sylvia Coleridge - Sister Boniface
Category
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TVTranscript
00:00:15Sister!
00:00:18Sister Miriam!
00:00:20Sister!
00:00:25Don't you hear me?
00:00:29Please!
00:00:30Please!
00:00:32Answer!
00:00:33Sister Miriam!
00:00:47Sister Miriam!
00:00:50Please answer!
00:00:57Please answer!
00:01:00Please answer!
00:01:01Sister Miriam!
00:01:05Let's know.
00:01:08It's over.
00:01:11I'll have your hands.
00:01:13Your name isbron.
00:01:18I will have my hands.
00:01:20I'll have my hands.
00:01:37Good Lord.
00:01:45Rosabel, how awful, oh hell, oh hell, hello, hello, hello, it's you, oh hell, what,
00:02:08no, not you, darling, what's going on, I'm just a bit flustered, that's all, you flustered,
00:02:14you're cruel and lucid from the moment you'd raise your head from the pillow, I'll say what
00:02:18you say, no, I am, it's just that this morning, look, I'm still at the house, all night sitting,
00:02:24are you free for lunch, oh, well, I'm at the studio, I'm recording this afternoon, darling,
00:02:28oh, hell, yes, actually, I've just had rather a shock, well, look, what about tonight, dinner,
00:02:33oh, well, can, can you come here, yes, oh, that's wonderful, darling, my old friend Rosabel,
00:02:38see you then, can't waste time, love, got a committee meeting in an hour,
00:02:48what else? hold the hammering, please, yeah, all right, I'm supposing I run both questions
00:02:54into one, something like, are you going to lay down these rules, Sir William, and will
00:02:59the students accept them, okay, well, if Vera Cotman explodes, fine, it's what we want,
00:03:08stand by, studio, we're going to run over the shots again,
00:03:39sister Edward, yes, mother, will you carry sister Miriam's books to the library, please,
00:03:45and ring for sister Clare, I thought this cell had been cleared, yes, mother,
00:04:03oh, could you pick up the lefts, please, Tom?
00:04:13oh, poor bills, are you checking up on me? good lord, no, well, I'm rather disappointed,
00:04:21thought you might be jealous, here's a good one, wonder of the tower of ivory, really?
00:04:29a lot of shopping, Jen, it's my trousseau, for our holiday,
00:04:37are we getting married? no, I'll pretend we are, oh, sorry, darling, don't be sorry,
00:04:44you can't help your wife, or can you, hey, how is she? oh, same as usual, jangling nerves
00:04:53all over the place, had an interesting letter, hmm, how come you're not going home to her this evening?
00:05:01she gone to her mother's, a change, the doc said, who's it from? sorry, got caught up in it,
00:05:10is it important? no, I don't think so, it's from mother Anne Cilla,
00:05:15tower of ivory, isn't that the place? none found dead, I told you, blessed Eleanor's,
00:05:23want a drink? yes please, terrible 24 hours,
00:05:30talking that motion out, terrible.
00:05:42who's Anne Cilla? reverend mother. oh is she the top dog? could say that.
00:05:50does she want you to put the convent in your program? no.
00:05:58starved herself to death, didn't she, that nun? sister Miriam.
00:06:03quite medieval, eh? who knows what goes on around those convent bars.
00:06:07don't be ridiculous, there aren't any bars. what? it's a school.
00:06:13I went there myself. must have told you surely, I was there just after the war.
00:06:18you're not a catholic? no. can't imagine you in a convent. well I was.
00:06:28on the nuts again. sorry, forgot to buy any steak.
00:06:35I knew the nun. well the starved one. she was a friend.
00:06:41friend? what's wrong with that? well it's hard to imagine you friends with a nun. she wasn't a
00:06:47nun then, she was a school girl like me. not like you. well she was rich but... she became a
00:06:53nun.
00:06:53and I became your mistress. and made me very happy.
00:07:00no don't care for nuns. can't tell one from another like a lot of black crows.
00:07:05extraordinary prejudice from tom amnius, well-known hero of liberal causes.
00:07:09sorry. some deep-rooted anti-papers prejudice in me somewhere.
00:07:14inquisition and all that. you know damn well at the first hint of any catholics being persecuted here.
00:07:19there is the thought. well there you are you see. be wearing your banner. save the nuns and all that.
00:07:27what are you thinking? about my first day at the convent.
00:07:31i was walking up the drive and the leaves were falling. do you know i actually saw a nun stoop
00:07:37and pick them up? keeping the place tidy. exactly. you're joking. no i'm not. good lord i was.
00:07:45i told you queer things went on behind those bars.
00:07:48mother ancillor wants me to go down there. she wants to discuss a certain delicate matter.
00:07:53can i make time in a busy life to go down as soon as possible?
00:07:56can you? would it be for long?
00:08:00i see you rather fancy the idea. well it might be interesting. see the old place again.
00:08:07we know of the centuries-long tradition of perverse practices and the cruelty of the church of rome
00:08:12lord. but the fact that you knew that this member of your community was incarcerated in that medieval
00:08:18tower starving to death. yes starving to death. the fact that you visited the tower on more than one
00:08:25occasion and received no answer to your knocking yet persisted in your silence telling no one.
00:08:57yes i couldn't see that. and over there.
00:09:16come along. come along. come along.
00:09:49come along. into line. into line. just now we have a nature walk on our hands.
00:09:55do you remember keith's poem? season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. we hope to bring it to life. come along
00:10:02girls.
00:10:07come along. come along. come along.
00:10:23um miss shaw? yes. we've been sent to meet you miss shaw. well how kind. we'll show you where to
00:10:29park. well hop in then. thank you.
00:10:54jemima my child.
00:11:00how well you look. such a long long time. yes. you never married my child? no.
00:11:08too much involved in your work? yes. yeah of course we understand a life of devotion. oh well i wouldn't...
00:11:14in which the ideal of home and family are sacrificed. we too have made that sacrifice in honor of the
00:11:19blessed lord.
00:11:20it can be very hard. it can be very hard. sometimes too hard.
00:11:29perhaps i wondered so much about her vacation.
00:11:38my child. we don't have much time. well i'm not too busy now.
00:11:43not ill are you mother. shhh. now i'll begin with... yes with sister miriam.
00:11:56rosabelle powerstock. as you knew her. yes. you see her health declined. i didn't know.
00:12:05a sort of nervous breakdown. she had difficulty in eating. we did our best for her. sent her to rest
00:12:11at
00:12:11her sister condom by the sea. it helped a little. she was able to resume light duties. but this
00:12:17difficulty in eating. she told me of strange visions. well of course if she wasn't eating.
00:12:22she said god told her he wanted her to die. to go to him. that it was his will she
00:12:28should not feed
00:12:28the flesh. oh really. i told her it was god's will she should be a good nun and eat her
00:12:33supper.
00:12:34but she hid her food. got thinner. we called the doctor. then one day she disappeared leaving a note
00:12:42saying she had lost her vacation. that she was going to stay with relatives in london. that she must
00:12:49find herself. find herself. find herself. she always used to say that when we were here.
00:12:55of course she didn't go to london. you know what happened. she locked herself in blessed eleanor's
00:13:00tower. the key broke. there was a nun knew she was there. sister edward. she never told. it seems
00:13:08incredible. sister edward is young in religion. and she believed sister miriam when she told her she must
00:13:14undergo a period of trial and purgation. so that's what she thought she was doing in the tower. well
00:13:21of course the coroner suggested. oh so unfair and so unfortunate. our reputation around here is very low
00:13:29now. some hurting remarks are made. her nuns hate to go shopping alone. jemima my child. why did she die?
00:13:40why did sister miriam die?
00:13:53jemima will understand what is going on here. jemima knows. but i thought her farewell note. i mean you
00:14:01said... this is another one. dated the day of her death. it was found in her missile. the old latin
00:14:09missile she used as a child. yes i remember it. why should she mention me? i mean it's 15 years
00:14:20at least since we met. we had lunch together on oxford street somewhere. she paid. i remember
00:14:26she had a five pound note. i'd never seen one before. she was a great heiress. all the power stock
00:14:31money for generations back came to her. there was land in dorset or somewhere. and great london
00:14:36properties administered by trusts now. the powers estate. oh powers house. powers square and all that.
00:14:43yes. it was on your program. i had no idea. i didn't realize she had any connection with the
00:14:49powers estate. it would have been a terrific addition to my program. i mean a nun and all that.
00:14:57sorry. the tip the scale that program. how could it? there. lunch.
00:15:05tipped the scale. her death you mean. my child. we'll talk later. i've arranged for you to lunch with the
00:15:12children. they're all great fans of yours. oh but...
00:15:27tessa. come along. come along.
00:15:53you've never met a celebrity before miss sean. oh i didn't find that. well you're on television aren't you?
00:15:59did that make me a celebrity? i should have thought so. we always watch your program. oh yes. and we
00:16:05approve. good.
00:16:07especially that one on the powers estate. because of sister miriam. really? there was a man on it. mr scarbeck.
00:16:15oh yes. he was marvelous. his idea of everyone having their own bit of land. we thought that was a
00:16:21really good idea. didn't sister miriam thought so too? did she? she did. and now you're actually here.
00:16:27sitting at our table. this is an awful pudding. well i think it's delicious. would you like if i can
00:16:33help you?
00:16:34yes i would. it's my favorite.
00:16:38it was sister miriam's favorite pudding too. before she went off her food of course.
00:16:45poor sister miriam.
00:16:51sister miriam was very disturbed. a very disturbed person indeed. but how did my program? i mean you said
00:16:59it tipped the scales. i don't understand. sister miriam thought a great deal of you. after all these
00:17:05years? oh yes. she followed your career with love and interest. why should this particular program?
00:17:12it is not your program exactly dear jemima but that dreadful fanatical mr scarbeck. he influenced her.
00:17:19it was after his appearance on that program she began to get these strange ideas. she wanted to take
00:17:26our land away from us and give it to the poor. like the centurion who gave all he had? not
00:17:32at all like that.
00:17:34you mean she owned blessed eleanors? her father willed it to her as part of the power's estate.
00:17:40but surely you knew. she must have written to you. no. she never wrote to me.
00:17:47as i understand it alex the council's high-rise flats are now recognized as a grave mistake.
00:17:53oh indeed yes jemima they are a grave mistake. well one would have thought.
00:17:56a very grave mistake and past projects which i represent has come together. which you control surely.
00:18:01no nobody controls it. no our aim is a type of worker's commune applied to housing. municipal
00:18:07planning would then have to take heed of what people want rather than what they the council
00:18:10think people should have. people are not units. if you had full administrative control of the powers
00:18:15estate this would mean community development here in london and elsewhere. absolutely yes we've got
00:18:20it all done on the drawing border with the help of experts of course. experts who are more expert
00:18:24than the present planners. powers projects has a better alternative for the powers estates than does
00:18:29the council. no what we propose is to to allocate land in in small plots to tenants so that each
00:18:34tenant would have his or her own piece of land to develop for food growth. wouldn't the plots be too
00:18:39small? this is a very overcry. each tenant would raise the crop his land was most suited for or which
00:18:43he preferred and would exchange any surplus with his neighbors. would this work? we would see that it
00:18:48worked. who is we? the committee. past projects committee. and the dwellings? dwellings? the dwellings you
00:18:55propose erecting should you be in control of the powers? simple unpretentious. no we have plans for
00:18:59two-roomed houses that would be decorated. oh two rooms? really? the farm laborers of the last
00:19:05century existed very happily. this is the 20th century mr scarborough. they had their piece of
00:19:10land. they had their pig. they had some. the council have plans for family accommodation anything between
00:19:15three and six room. the council has no vision. what people want is land.
00:19:27you're damn late my love. i was at the studio. i thought you finished that program. i was watching
00:19:33a playback. the uh powers man thing. oh that. oh i saw scarbeck again. jemima your program put me nicely
00:19:41on the media map. i've got my own slot for this lot now. new thoughts for old. sounds exciting.
00:19:46i'll watch it. i should like you to. it starts going out about christmas. see you.
00:19:53gallant as ever. time's getting on mr scarborough. thank you beatrice. that man gets everywhere.
00:20:01an insidious bastard. he's clever. yeah ruthless. right track. when it suits him. he's an extremist.
00:20:09he thinks anything is justified if it advances powers projects. oh i don't know. oh come on.
00:20:14look at the way he cheated the council over the wentworth land. and he damningly did the same
00:20:18thing with powers estate. you certainly impressed sister miriam. you're pathetic nun. miriam star
00:20:25of the sea. now don't get all mystical darling. that's what she said she'd call herself if ever
00:20:29she became a nun. oh romantic rubbish. well it was years ago. we were both young idealistic. shutting
00:20:35herself off from the world has very little to do with idealism. i call it escapism. she had lovely
00:20:42hair. thick and brown and unruly. oh thank god. cut not shaved. oh thank heaven for small mercies.
00:20:51as a tower points to heaven social man build his life in the direction of god.
00:20:57but even the highest tower can never touch the sky. what's that?
00:21:03rosabelle and i used to say that together. bless her denner wrote it. it's from her treasury. look
00:21:07darling could we get away from all this mumbo jumbo and talk about my battered wives committee. i'm
00:21:13sorry it's just that i haven't thought about rosabelle for years. well she wrote to scarbeck.
00:21:19good lord. she offered him the convent lamps. she owned them? well she was left them by her father.
00:21:26well she must have been crazy to enter into any negotiations with that fanatic scarbeck.
00:21:32he hasn't got them has he? no but apparently she willed them to the convent. that's quite
00:21:35usual for a nun. she didn't alter that but she was torn between her loyalty to the convent and her
00:21:42desire to give all to the poor. you see it is ridiculous that an individual should be in a position
00:21:47to own so much land. it should be held confidently. well it was. i mean in a way the nuns
00:21:50had worked
00:21:51that land honorably and well for generations. all rose's father wanted to do was secure them
00:21:56so they could go on doing so. and she saw that wretched program of mine. darling could we get
00:22:01down to some real business? drink up your tea and concentrate your mind on my committee.
00:22:11something very fishy about that nun's death though. sister miriam i mean. do you think so?
00:22:17hell. now you got me caught up in this mad world of a nun. now the position at the moment
00:22:25is that
00:22:26there are 30 women camping out. child i'm so glad you have come again. oh well it has felt uneasy
00:22:40perhaps.
00:22:41yes yes jemima you feel it too. something is wrong here. i don't know about that. i just mean i'm
00:22:51concerned for you.
00:22:53i can't quite explain. there is something my child. not just the death of sister miriam or the reports in
00:22:59the press.
00:23:00no something almost more disturbing.
00:23:06jemima i want you to find out what is going on here amongst us.
00:23:12well how can i? don't say no immediately.
00:23:15well how can i intrude? i mean where would i start? i have prayed long and earnestly about this.
00:23:21stay among us for a while. can you?
00:23:25well i do have a holiday coming up. until your holiday.
00:23:32well. my bell. sister claire will bring you coffee.
00:23:46miss shaw.
00:23:51miss shaw. i'm sister edward. sister edward. i must talk to you. well talk away.
00:24:01my bell. they won't let me talk to you. sister do calm down. she killed her. she wanted her dead.
00:24:11so
00:24:11she killed her. who? mother ancillor of course. mother ancillor killed sister miriam.
00:24:25oh. sorry. sorry. i heard my bell. yes. but that's no excuse for not looking. will you go?
00:24:33good morning miss shaw.
00:24:40are you all right? oh yes thank you. a slight headache.
00:24:47oh i'm sorry. perhaps the coffee will help. black or white will it be? um black please.
00:24:54yes black will do for a start. sugar? two. will i get you an aspirin? oh no. not as bad
00:25:02as that. i
00:25:03always say keep clear of the drugs if you possibly can. now sister lucy our infirmarian. lucy it was
00:25:09sister boniface when i was here. oh she's still here. she's very old now of course. sister lucy came to
00:25:14help. she's very modern and believes in drugs. but now well i'm not so sure myself. still we tried to
00:25:21move with the times. and she did bring her car with her. a great help to us all is that
00:25:26car. a car? is
00:25:27it a mini? that's what it is. i think i saw her the day i first came. she's quite a
00:25:32driver. there now.
00:25:34thank you. there's some say coffee is a drug. it's a very nice one sister. beautiful embroidery. the
00:25:41sisters take a pride in their work for the glory of our lord. who did this? well now
00:25:51that's either sister boniface before she got arthritis. she used to embroider at night if
00:25:55someone was ill or or sister edward. sister boniface taught sister edward. i'd say it was sister edwards.
00:26:04it's a long time since sister bonnie did any and that's quite new. sister edward. i i met her just
00:26:10now.
00:26:11did you now? so did i. nearly knocked me over. impetuous behavior. ah she's very highly strung. and asthmatic.
00:26:20she was here as a child. sister boniface sat up with her a lot you know. and taught her embroidery.
00:26:25ah yes. highly strung you said. oh very monsieur and impressionable. mother and sylla has to be very
00:26:32firm with her. try a biscuit monsieur. we make them ourselves for the glory of our lord. thank you.
00:26:41was sister edward close to sister miriam. oh not close me sure. nuns are never close to anyone.
00:26:49except our lord.
00:26:52mother and sylla just left me. and then out of the blue there's sister edward. she's a funny little
00:26:58shrimp of a thing. and she suddenly blurted out that that poor old mother and sylla had bumped off
00:27:04sister miriam. that's right. really? well how did you know? i didn't. i was just making conversation.
00:27:13well it's exactly what she did say only not in so many words. good lord it's all true then. what?
00:27:18well
00:27:18behind those common bars lurk suppressed monsters. eking out their frustrated lives and taking revenge
00:27:24on their weaker brethren. stop it tom. oh sorry. you must admit though. a host of celibate women
00:27:33cooped up together like that. could ferment from time to time like yeast. exactly. i know and no
00:27:40doubt in the middle ages sister edward would have had visions. whereas now she merely accuses her
00:27:44superior of murder. she probably watches too many films on the tally. have they got tally? yes gift of
00:27:52an old girl. you don't think it's true do you? no i'm sure it's not true. upsetting though.
00:28:03i suppose it gives me an inkling of their problems in the order of the tower of ivan. inkling? i
00:28:08should
00:28:08think it lays it all bare in one fell swoop. you simplify everything. you see everything in black
00:28:13and white. oh come on i cannot take seriously the problems of a few privileged individuals. privileged?
00:28:17well aren't they? they've rejected privilege. they have withdrawn from the problems of life.
00:28:22and i certainly can't take them seriously when they start accusing each other of murder. i know.
00:28:25well then stop. getting all worked up about it. they have chosen their way of life. let them sort it
00:28:34out.
00:28:37i feel as if the long fingers of the past had reached out and grasped me. would you like that?
00:28:43no.
00:28:44i feel sorry for mother ancillor. this is a splendid goulash. curry. well same sort of thing isn't it?
00:28:52it probably is when i make it. no seriously. it's very good. it's for the glory of our lord.
00:29:03well are you gonna go back then? i hope i made it clear to mother ancillor that jemima shaw
00:29:08investigator exists for the greater glory of television and nothing else. what about me?
00:29:15oh. pretty though. pity? well i must admit to an unhealthy interest in the goings-on behind those
00:29:23high walls. my darling. i can't undertake a special mission to st elena's just to satisfy
00:29:28your unhealthy interest. any other interest of course. besides there's our holiday.
00:29:38i guess a holiday. i've looked forward to that holiday for six months and nothing but nothing is
00:29:45going to spoil it. i can't make it. what did you say? a holiday. i can't make it. is it
00:29:59your wife?
00:30:01you really ought to take her proper- look it is not my wife this time. oh. it's the welfare
00:30:05now group.
00:30:07the thing is that- can't you get out of it? i don't want to get out of it. oh
00:30:12that's honest.
00:30:12well i'm always honest. yes you are. look. there are to be urgent consultations before the autumn
00:30:18session and there's every likelihood that they'll turn out unsatisfactory. they always are. oh look
00:30:23jemima. why don't they? well all the more reason why i can't go sloping off to yugoslavia just like
00:30:29that. sloping? well it might look like that. we've talked about this holiday for two years. well nobody
00:30:36knows that do they? oh look sweetheart i'm just as disappointed as you are but there's to be a rally
00:30:46in the square and i have to be there. i have to be. i am the best speaker that they
00:30:50have got.
00:30:51now you know that. don't get like my wife darling. oh well.
00:31:02oh well i understand.
00:31:05you're a public figure. i share you with the world as well as your wife.
00:31:25the spirit that bows itself and in doing so finds true happiness.
00:31:31what's that? something mother ancillor once said to me. oh
00:31:35the long fingers of the past. oh god yes. self-abnegation. unless i find the way of total
00:31:43abnegation i shall not find myself. did she say that too? no. saint john of the cross.
00:31:50i guess i found it. self-abnegation? in my relationship with you. oh ridiculous.
00:31:57well perhaps i like it. i should hope not.
00:32:03what's more goulash? you said it was curry. now i found the way of total abnegation. it's goulash.
00:32:27oh my god.
00:32:50sorry about your holiday dear jemima of course. but selfishly i was so
00:32:54very pleased and relieved. time you see is is so short. i do wish you wouldn't say that. my child.
00:33:02our doctor has warned me that i must take things easier. or i will not live to see next spring.
00:33:09like simeon i would make haste to be gone. if i could only leave the community as it should be.
00:33:14not divided. frightened. how can i go when they are so troubled? well perhaps this is just a
00:33:20child. you are the only one i know who can help us. oh you've lived among us. you know many
00:33:26of us.
00:33:27you may not have been drawn to our religion but you understand.
00:33:34i hope so. i'll do my best. i wonder do you think we might hint to anybody who's curious that
00:33:42i'm
00:33:42contemplating doing a television program on women in religious orders. yes. in so many changes. in fact
00:33:50i wouldn't mind really doing. you were such a clever child jemima. a wonderful gift from our lord.
00:33:57and you use it well. but the spirit my child. there is the spirit too. don't forget it.
00:34:10you do enjoy your food here. don't you miss shaw? yes i do. it's simple and wholesome and very tasty.
00:34:16what's this good in your day? i mean when you were people here? no i don't think it was. must
00:34:21have been
00:34:21pretty horrible in a while. you were here with my aunt you know. what was her name? theodora sheathen. oh
00:34:29really? dora?
00:34:30i could after her. oh you're theodora too. she held me in my baptism. why she didn't protest another
00:34:37child being lumbered with a name like theodora. i shall never know. where is she now? she was sister
00:34:44theodora. oh really? sister theodora of the angels. murdered in africa. so that's two of you dead violently.
00:34:53do you know miss shaw? i like to go on television. do you have to pass an exam?
00:35:03well now i hope you'll be comfortable. oh i'm sure i shall. and sleep well. thank you.
00:35:11the treasury of our blessed eleanor. i remember. good night now. good night sister.
00:35:27and then our blessed founders called for her royal robes. the robes of a queen of england and a
00:35:33princess of france. and they wondered that she who had given up the riches of the world so willingly
00:35:39should call for them in the hour of her death. if i were to become a nun i should take
00:35:45the name of
00:35:45miriam. sister miriam. why have a miriam rosa? it's a ghastly name. i like it. sister miriam. star of the
00:35:58sea.
00:35:58one of the titles of our lady. our lady. star of the sea. pray for us. pray for us.
00:36:24so
00:36:33so
00:36:34so
00:36:34so
00:37:54Who's that?
00:37:56I'm Sister Agnes.
00:37:58I was here nearly.
00:37:59Yes but who's that?
00:38:00That other person that rushed past me.
00:38:02Who was it?
00:38:03There's no one else here I'm sure.
00:38:05Who put out my candle?
00:38:07The chapel is empty.
00:38:19See?
00:38:22Quite empty.
00:38:26I'm sorry to have disturbed you.
00:38:28I've been on duty in the big dormitory
00:38:29and I came down to say my night prayers.
00:38:31Down the main stairs?
00:38:33It's quicker than going back into the nun's wing
00:38:35and all the way down by our own staircase.
00:38:38I'm making a novena to the sacred heart of Jesus.
00:38:43I'm sorry I disturbed you sister.
00:38:47I'll leave you to your prayers and your peace.
00:38:58Let me put the stair light on for you.
00:39:03No wonder you were frightened.
00:39:05We nuns get used to the darkness of the chapel.
00:39:07Good night Miss Shaw.
00:39:08Good night.
00:39:50Sister Agnes couldn't possibly be telling the truth.
00:39:54There's no way she could have come out of that dormitory
00:39:57past my door and down the visitor's stairs
00:39:59to reach that pew
00:40:00and be calmly kneeling there when I arrived.
00:40:03No possible way.
00:40:05There wasn't enough time.
00:40:08That prowler had come from the nun's wing.
00:40:10I heard the swing doors.
00:40:12Definitely I heard the swing doors.
00:40:14I know someone was behind me
00:40:16when I stood at the door of that chapel.
00:40:18I know there was.
00:40:19They rustled like a nun.
00:40:22And whoever it was
00:40:23blew out my candle and made across the chapel.
00:40:27Of course.
00:40:29That alcove.
00:40:30At the bottom of the stairs.
00:40:32Someone could easily hide there.
00:40:34Could easily shrink back inside and not be seen.
00:40:37Someone who knew they were being followed.
00:40:39I wouldn't notice in that gloom.
00:40:42And Sister Agnes must have seen whoever it was standing behind me.
00:40:46She must have done.
00:40:47Just for a moment before the candle went out.
00:40:50So why didn't she say?
00:40:53It all points to the fact that she knew someone was prowling
00:40:56and she didn't want me to know.
00:41:26I enjoy you.
00:41:26please do
00:41:30little bird told me you were going on holiday
00:41:33things do get about
00:41:34was it nice?
00:41:36it was cancelled
00:41:37oh shame
00:41:40you haven't been around I was here all last week
00:41:43and no Jemima
00:41:44don't tell me you miss me
00:41:46of course
00:41:46I'm flattered
00:41:47thank you
00:41:49might well inquire
00:41:51where I've been
00:41:52visiting the haunts of my childhood
00:41:56how nostalgic
00:41:58memories flooding in
00:41:59all that
00:42:01yes
00:42:02what's your old home?
00:42:03school
00:42:05a convent wasn't it?
00:42:07I believe you mentioned that we were having tea
00:42:08in this very place after our program
00:42:10oh yes I did
00:42:11and you remembered
00:42:12of course
00:42:14so what are you doing here
00:42:15today when you should be on holiday
00:42:17new program?
00:42:18no just some trouble with the last of the series
00:42:20to cut or not to cut
00:42:23oh I must rush
00:42:24are you going into town?
00:42:25yes
00:42:25may I beg a lift?
00:42:27I've got to go into Piccadilly
00:42:28but my secretary really should stay in the office
00:42:30of course
00:42:30I'll just tell her
00:42:45she must have been pretty once
00:42:47sister Agnes
00:42:49she moves very gracefully
00:42:51it's impossible to turn her age
00:42:54it's a costume of corset
00:42:56it's a wimple isn't it?
00:42:57yes
00:42:58I should think she's in her thirties
00:43:02it's a bit unnatural that kind of life
00:43:04don't you think?
00:43:05I suppose it is
00:43:06keeping lonely trysts in chapels
00:43:09goodness when I was her age
00:43:10I was
00:43:13meeting your married boss
00:43:16you know an awful lot about me
00:43:18if I'm to be any use at all mother
00:43:20I must know everything possible
00:43:21about the community
00:43:22of course
00:43:23I mean I know about the older nuns of course
00:43:24because they were here when I was a child
00:43:26but the younger ones
00:43:27don't they feel restless?
00:43:29restless?
00:43:30let's not shut off
00:43:31women's lives have changed so much outside
00:43:34I mean someone like sister Agnes for example
00:43:36how must she feel?
00:43:37ah you've noticed the resemblance?
00:43:39resemblance?
00:43:40to sister Miriam
00:43:41they were first cousins
00:43:42really?
00:43:43sister Agnes is much younger of course
00:43:45I thought I sensed something familiar
00:43:48mother
00:43:48am I free to wander as I please
00:43:50while I'm here
00:43:51I mean to ask what questions I want
00:43:52on the pretext of my programme
00:43:54a good plan my dear
00:43:55you might start this evening
00:43:56it's the feast of St. Elena
00:43:57on a holiday
00:43:58there will be solemn benediction in the chapel
00:44:01perhaps you would like to attend?
00:44:03yes
00:44:04afterwards there is a film for the children
00:44:06the sound of music
00:44:07such a lovely uplifting film
00:44:09but any member of the community
00:44:11will be free for a chat
00:44:12well I wonder might I start with
00:44:14Sister Edward?
00:44:15Sister Edward?
00:44:17well no
00:44:18perhaps Sister Agnes
00:44:20yes may I start with Sister Agnes?
00:44:28Well done
00:44:31the singing of the record
00:44:37hallelujah
00:44:39the hall is yours
00:44:43now yeah
00:44:46in sorrow now
00:44:56Alleluia, please hear us, make believe the world shall come.
00:45:29So, do you think these are difficult times for women in religion?
00:45:32The life of women in religion has never been easy, monsieur.
00:45:36No, but your contemporaries outside...
00:45:38One does not give oneself to God expecting an easy time.
00:45:41But surely you're...
00:45:43No, I don't think these times are especially difficult.
00:45:47Well, that's about all.
00:45:50I was most kind of you to help.
00:45:52The Reverend Mother asked me to help you.
00:45:54A television programme, she said.
00:45:56Yes, perhaps.
00:45:58I have enjoyed those of yours I was able to watch.
00:46:04Is this Edward better now?
00:46:05She seemed in great distress in the chapel.
00:46:08She's been well looked after.
00:46:13I knew your cousin, Sister Miriam.
00:46:18Miss Shaw?
00:46:19Yes?
00:46:21You will discover nothing to your advantage here.
00:46:24Nothing.
00:46:26What do you mean?
00:46:27Why don't you go home?
00:46:29While you can.
00:46:37Sister?
00:46:42Where are you?
00:46:46I'll come home.
00:46:47New line.
00:46:47I'm never about to go home.
00:46:49Sister?
00:46:49Can you go home?
00:46:50Sister?
00:46:50Sister.
00:46:51Sister.
00:46:52Sister?
00:46:52Sister?
00:46:54Sister?
00:46:55I'm sorry, I've never been there.
00:47:17who's there? sister Bonnie first. yes sister Bonnie it's me Jemima. I was told you
00:47:26were staying with us but what are you doing in this part of the convent and at
00:47:30this hour? is that sister Edward? she sounds dreadful. yes she's resting a little
00:47:34better now. I wonder could I see her for a moment? it is usual to ask our Reverend
00:47:39mother's permission. oh I do. sister Edward is hardly well enough to talk to you
00:47:43tonight. you will have to wait until the morning Jemima. we have to safeguard her
00:47:48health. no. yes of course. good night.
00:48:18good morning. everybody seems strangely subdued this morning. is it just the after-effects of the holiday?
00:48:25no Miss Shaw. sister Edward was found dead. in her bed. dead? quite dead. and it's the feast of all
00:48:34souls today.
00:48:35will you have fish or just toast and shaw?
00:48:48I'm so sorry. come in dear Jemima. doctor? this is Jemima Shaw. doctor Mayhew Jemima.
00:48:59now take care mother. try to see that she rests as much as possible sister. I don't watch
00:49:07much television but I enjoy your program. Jemima you know sister Boniface? yes. have you met sister Lucy?
00:49:14no I haven't. she was a nurse before she discovered her vacation.
00:49:25sister Edward was little and delicate. there was no need for her to die. her
00:49:31time had come. no need at all for her to die like that. her medicines were all within
00:49:36her reach. there was no need. she must not have had the strength to reach out for her
00:49:41pills. who was no one with her? no one. I was with her for a time as you know and
00:49:47then the Reverend mother Ancilla visited her. she was the last person to see
00:49:51sister ever alive. the failures had passed the Reverend mother said. and when she
00:49:56left sister Edward was sleeping and breathing peacefully. but then why? heart failure.
00:50:02but oh dear. in that cell all alone no one heard her call. she may not at all. the
00:50:08wall so thick. but it's like the tower. there is nothing in sister Edward's death
00:50:15which resembles that of sister Miriam. only the walls being so thick and nobody hearing her call.
00:50:19but if she did. sister Edward died from natural causes.
00:50:24Dr. May used to sign the death certificate. natural causes Jemima. an attack of asthma. then heart failure as she
00:50:34struggled for breath.
00:50:35but if no one was with her. dear. if no one was with her how do you know what happened?
00:50:39she just had you all about her asthma. she'd been here in the school since she was six years old.
00:50:46the attacks were sharp while they lasted. and her heart was never very strong.
00:50:52you weren't there.
00:50:53when is the night I've sat with her to my mother coughing her little heart out and soothed her and
00:51:01said my rosary.
00:51:02hmm. she liked the click of the beads she said.
00:51:07we used to joke together about it.
00:51:10sister Bonnie's rosary. the patent cure for asthma.
00:51:15I trained in one of our best teaching hospitals miss Shaw.
00:51:18I have nursed asthmatics and dr. Mayhew. dr. Mayhew was always prescribing these stimulants for sister Edward.
00:51:25I questioned the wisdom of it.
00:51:27dr. Mayhew believed in the therapeutic powers of these things miss Shaw.
00:51:31he said that with all these aids there was no reason why sister Edward should not lead a perfectly normal
00:51:37life.
00:51:38that is in so far as a nun's life is normal.
00:51:41what is a nun's life to do with it eh?
00:51:43you have asthma or you don't have asthma.
00:51:46modern stimulants are dangerous.
00:51:49they're not to be despised sister Bonnie.
00:51:51and sister Lucy is a trained nurse.
00:51:53they put a strain on the heart centre for blood pressure.
00:52:06oh sorry Miss Shaw.
00:52:08sorry Miss Shaw.
00:52:10do be careful Tessa.
00:52:11there's no need to put past like that.
00:52:21revolting those false followers.
00:52:23well I suppose we all went through it.
00:52:25delicious soup isn't it?
00:52:29did anyone see the black nun last night?
00:52:32aren't all nuns black.
00:52:34I'm talking about the black nun.
00:52:37an apparition.
00:52:37oh.
00:52:38did you never see it when you were here at school?
00:52:40never.
00:52:41wait a minute I do remember something baby.
00:52:45wasn't it supposed to haunt the chapel?
00:52:47it does haunt the chapel.
00:52:48and the town.
00:52:50and the convent itself.
00:52:51really?
00:52:52yes sister Miriam saw it once.
00:52:55sister Miriam?
00:52:56she told her she saw it.
00:52:57when she was a girl in school.
00:52:59well she never told me.
00:53:00perhaps it only bobbed up after dark.
00:53:02I was a day girl.
00:53:04what about the black nun?
00:53:06well it appears just before.
00:53:09or just after the death of a nun.
00:53:11very spooky.
00:53:12since all the nuns wear black.
00:53:14how do you know there's a stranger in your midst?
00:53:16if you see one you don't recognize.
00:53:17maybe you think she's a knots.
00:53:20or a trans person in other convent.
00:53:22then the next day you hear one of the nuns is died.
00:53:25and you don't see the stranger again.
00:53:27so the black nun is a portent of death.
00:53:30oh dear.
00:53:32you don't believe so.
00:53:34well it's the 20th century.
00:53:36some of us saw the black nun.
00:53:38three nights after sister Miriam ran away.
00:53:40and that turned out to be the night she died in the town.
00:53:43we're on our way to the chapel.
00:53:45we're by the chapel.
00:53:45to make an avena to our lady.
00:53:47we were going along the corridor.
00:53:49and this nun passed.
00:53:50we didn't recognize her.
00:53:51we didn't think about it.
00:53:53until we discovered.
00:53:54that was the night sister Miriam must have died.
00:53:58yes.
00:53:59that was the actual night she gave up the ghost in the tower.
00:54:07yes.
00:54:32are you ready for the next courses show?
00:54:39yes.
00:54:52yes.
00:54:54well none of that delightful story appears in the treasury of the blessed eleanor.
00:54:58which i've got in my bedroom.
00:54:59well of course it does not.
00:55:01the blessed eleanor died that night.
00:55:03sister Miriam told us.
00:55:04she used to tell us ghost stories after much.
00:55:07she hadn't changed much that night.
00:55:09what do you mean?
00:55:10she was always fond of imparting ghoulish information.
00:55:12she used to tell me ghost stories.
00:55:14better mention the black nun.
00:55:16perhaps she thought you'd laugh.
00:55:18oh she'd have been right.
00:55:21oh.
00:55:22someone did see the black nun last night.
00:55:23oh.
00:55:24who?
00:55:24tessa justin.
00:55:26the one who hit you with her plait.
00:55:27you didn't tell us.
00:55:28i haven't had a chance.
00:55:29you all would talk so much.
00:55:31well how do you know?
00:55:32i was on prefect duty in the big dormitory.
00:55:34and she came running into sister agnes.
00:55:37tessa.
00:55:38can you come here for a moment please?
00:55:40only for a moment.
00:55:41you're so mean to me.
00:55:43i didn't mean to hit my plait miss Shaw.
00:55:46honestly i didn't mean.
00:55:46shut up tessa.
00:55:48did you see the black nun last night?
00:55:50did you?
00:55:53where did you see this nun?
00:55:55i forgot you.
00:55:56she was on the toilet.
00:55:57she entrapped me the nun.
00:56:00i shrieked.
00:56:01she was shrieking when she came to sister agnes.
00:56:03yes i was loudly.
00:56:04why did the nun frighten you?
00:56:06i didn't know her.
00:56:07does that make her frighten you?
00:56:09she was very big.
00:56:11what did sister agnes do?
00:56:12she's straightened my head when i was in bed.
00:56:14she's got nice cool hands.
00:56:16can i go?
00:56:28smells good.
00:56:29i hope you enjoy it.
00:56:31sure i shall.
00:56:32your coffee's the best i've ever had.
00:56:35those children do chatter so miss Shaw.
00:56:37they hardly let you eat your dinner.
00:56:39i hope they don't tire you too much.
00:56:41goodness no makes a pleasant change.
00:56:44are you putting them in your television program?
00:56:46no i don't think so.
00:56:47they're a bit young for that.
00:56:49they've been telling me ghost stories.
00:56:50oh really?
00:56:51about the black nun.
00:56:56black nun?
00:56:58the portent of death.
00:57:00oh foolish.
00:57:01foolish.
00:57:16if you don't believe in the black nun.
00:57:19come to the tower one night and see for yourself.
00:57:23tomorrow night for example.
00:57:24tomorrow night for example.
00:57:26oh really?
00:57:41Let's go.
00:58:21Let's go.
00:58:27Sister Elizabeth.
00:58:31Oh how splendid to see you.
00:58:33How fortunate to find you like this.
00:58:35I've been so longing for a chat with you.
00:58:38How are you enjoying your little break?
00:58:39Far from the madding crowd.
00:58:40It's good to see you, friends.
00:58:42Are you well?
00:58:43Very well.
00:58:44I have a pupil in the third form with a real literary gift.
00:58:47Aren't I lucky?
00:58:49I'm out just now to breathe the lovely fresh air
00:58:52and clear my mind after fifth form English.
00:58:55A battle?
00:58:56No.
00:58:57No.
00:58:57A challenge.
00:58:59Trying to open reluctant minds to the beauty of language.
00:59:03Oh, you were such a pleasure to teach, dear Jemima.
00:59:06You found such joy in Wordsworth.
00:59:09Do you remember how we spoke his words together?
00:59:12His great and wonderful prelude, hmm?
00:59:14Yes, indeed I do.
00:59:16Ye presences of nature in the sky or on the earth.
00:59:21Ye visions of the hills and souls of lonely places.
00:59:25Oh, Jemima.
00:59:26What a poet.
00:59:27I thank our blessed Lord
00:59:30that he made him write the prelude at such length.
00:59:33Such glorious length.
00:59:37Tell me,
00:59:38have you read James Joyce lately?
00:59:41No, not lately.
00:59:42Oh, pity.
00:59:44Nobody here reads him.
00:59:45And I'm halfway through Ulysses for the third time.
00:59:49Do you remember the affinities between the moon
00:59:52and woman?
00:59:54Her nocturnal predominance.
00:59:57Her satelitic dependence.
01:00:00Her luminary reflection.
01:00:04Her constancy under all her phases.
01:00:08How does it go on?
01:00:10Her power to enamor.
01:00:12To mortify.
01:00:15Mortify.
01:00:16Think of that, Jemima.
01:00:18To invest with beauty
01:00:20the terribility of her isolated,
01:00:24dominant, implacable,
01:00:25resplendent propinquity.
01:00:29Ah, ha, ha.
01:00:31Great words.
01:00:33Great words he's written.
01:00:35Falling from his pen
01:00:37in their correct and appointed places.
01:00:41Perhaps a little
01:00:43too diffuse at times.
01:00:46A sense of words
01:00:47for the sake of words, do you think?
01:00:50What was it he said
01:00:51about the scrotum?
01:00:52Something about the sea, I believe.
01:00:55Ah, yes.
01:00:55You're right.
01:00:57The imagery is so clear.
01:00:59Do you think so?
01:01:01Oh, I do.
01:01:02Don't you?
01:01:03Uh-uh.
01:01:06Mm-hmm.
01:01:08Mm-hmm.
01:01:09Mm-hmm.
01:01:10Mm-hmm.
01:01:12Mm-hmm.
01:01:12Mm-hmm.
01:01:13Mm-hmm.
01:01:13Mm-hmm.
01:01:14Mm-hmm.
01:01:14Mm-hmm.
01:01:15Mm-hmm.
01:01:15Mm-hmm.
01:01:16Mm-hmm.
01:01:16Mm-hmm.
01:01:17Mm-hmm.
01:01:17Mm-hmm.
01:01:19Mm-hmm.
01:01:20Mm-hmm.
01:01:21Mm-hmm.
01:01:21Mm-hmm.
01:01:22Mm-hmm.
01:01:22Mm-hmm.
01:01:23Mm-hmm.
01:01:24Mm-hmm.
01:01:26Mm-hmm.
01:02:05She was a friend.
01:02:07I remember.
01:02:11I can't accept it.
01:02:14I can't accept that this has anything to do with Rosa.
01:02:18I don't believe that Rosa's here.
01:02:22Mother Church would agree with you.
01:02:24She's not here.
01:02:26Only her tormented earthly body lies here.
01:02:29May God have mercy on her soul.
01:02:34May God have mercy on her soul.
01:02:36Will you come with me inside the tower?
01:02:39No.
01:02:40Mother Ancilla gave me the key.
01:02:42I want to exorcise that tower.
01:02:45Lay a ghost.
01:02:47I understand my dear child.
01:02:50It's a beauteous evening.
01:02:53Calm and free.
01:02:54The holy time is quiet as a nun.
01:02:59Breathless with adoration.
01:03:11The tower of destruction.
01:03:13The tower of destruction.
01:03:16There's nothing distressing here, Jemima.
01:03:19The community came and attended to it after it happened.
01:03:28No body's been here since.
01:03:35Is there a light?
01:03:36No.
01:03:39Must be ghastly here at night.
01:03:41No body comes here at night.
01:03:44Rosa came.
01:03:48We should have brought a torch.
01:03:59Remind me, what is it?
01:04:01It's just rather a surprise.
01:04:13No one comes here, you said.
01:04:15Oh, the children, of course.
01:04:18Yes, the children.
01:04:18An innocent sense of humour.
01:04:20Mother Ancilla keeps the keys.
01:04:23Yes, a sort of religious scarecrow.
01:04:29No shoes or stockings.
01:04:32Oh, it's just a silly practical joke.
01:04:34Children have a macabre sense of humour.
01:04:37Curious smell.
01:04:44Hardly children.
01:04:47Workman, I expect.
01:04:48Workman?
01:04:49Yes, they came to repair the stonework.
01:04:51When?
01:04:52Oh, some time ago.
01:05:34Can I give you a lift?
01:05:35Oh, no, thank you.
01:05:37I shall be all right.
01:05:41Doesn't sound too good.
01:05:43Well, not to worry.
01:05:44I was only going to the village.
01:05:45It's not important.
01:05:46Well, I'm going there.
01:05:47Jump in.
01:05:48No, really.
01:05:49How to get a prescription.
01:05:50Come on, jump in.
01:05:51We'll save petrol anyway.
01:05:53Well, it's very kind of you.
01:06:15I've never known it do that before.
01:06:17The damp, Miss Shaw.
01:06:18I've never known it.
01:06:19Now, Jesse, it never fails me.
01:06:20Jesse?
01:06:21Never fails.
01:06:35Don't worry, Miss Shaw.
01:06:37I know Jesse like the back of my hand.
01:06:39But do you know the hill?
01:06:41I know, go home.
01:06:53Do you do this often?
01:06:55Two or three times a week.
01:06:56My God, and you're still alive.
01:07:21Are you all right, Miss Shaw?
01:07:24Perfectly, thank you.
01:07:26She was mine once, in the world.
01:07:28My diary to the convent, all I was able to bring them.
01:07:32Oh, and your skill.
01:07:33Oh, thank you, Miss Shaw.
01:07:35I love driving.
01:07:36I meant nursing.
01:07:38Now, how long will you need for your shopping?
01:07:40Oh, no time at all.
01:07:41I just want to get a torch.
01:07:43A torch?
01:07:44Ah, yes, a torch.
01:07:45Well, you'll find that at the little supermarket on the square.
01:07:48I shall be at the chemist.
01:08:01If you don't believe in the black nuns...
01:08:16If you don't believe in the black nuns...
01:08:35Or there's no luck in the写 gibi.
01:08:35If you don't believe in the black nuns...
01:08:40or if it's lazy.
01:08:40I will marry him.
01:08:42I will marry him, Miss到底.
01:10:05Is there anyone there?
01:10:15Father!
01:10:16Father!
01:10:31Father!
01:10:44Father!
01:10:45Father!
01:11:06Father!
01:11:09Father!
01:11:11Father!
01:11:12Father!
01:11:14Father!
01:11:15Father!
01:11:16Father!
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