Synopsis

Dark clouds are gathering over The Arches, the stately mansion of brash, larger-than-life shoe millionaire, Titus Platt. His peevish son Malcolm is hard up for money after living large and his ex-fiancée, the French night club singer Colette LaMarre, arrives bringing news that makes matters worse for him - she is with child, and the thought of having to tell his overbearing father fills him with dread.

Malcolm's ditzy sister Penny is about to marry Thomas Tottering, the upstart vice president of Platt Shoes Limited. Meanwhile Mr Platt's personal secretary, Hedda Noble, and the stern housekeeper Miss Grimlish disagree about the future prospects of Livia, the maid, of whom, Miss Grimlish is mysteriously protective.

When the notorious gentleman thief The Black Fox forcefully announces his intention to steal Platt's precious golden Etruscan dagger, Platt calls the police. Livia spills the beans to the rest of the staff that The Black Fox is on his way. Mistakenly, but understandably, all fear for their lives and, except for Livia, resign immediately. The chauffeur leaves too, and is replaced, perhaps rather too swiftly, by the intrepid Dick Drake.

Soon Inspector Bullock arrives to thwart The Fox's plans. During a thunderstorm in the night, Titus Platt is found murdered leaving a dying clue in the form of two chess pieces. The investigation comes to a head when a second Inspector Bullock turns up, bound and gagged, accusing the first of being a fraud. It appears that virtually everyone: Malcolm, Penny, Thomas, Livia, Miss Grimlish and even the new chauffeur, had a motive to kill Platt. False identities abound and, during the reading of Titus' will, some rather murky secrets of the past are revealed. Before dawn, another murder is committed and The Etruscan dagger disappears twice.

Duration

Characters

(5m, 5f)

•   Thomas Tottering - the son-in-law to be, engaged to Penny
•   Colette LaMarre - a French songstress. (Must be able to sing unaccompanied)
•   Titus Platt - the shoe magnate. (Doubles with Bullock 2)
•   Hedda Noble - the personal secretary.
•   Dick Drake - the chauffeur, speaks initially with a lower class accent, but is really Chief Inspector Swift.
•   Inspector Bullock 1 - 50’s, an officer of the law.
•   Inspector Bullock 2 - Purports to be another officer of the law, but is really The Black Fox. (Doubles with Titus Platt)
•   Malcolm Platt - the wayward son
•   Livia - the maid
•   Miss Grimlish - the housekeeper
•   Penny Platt - the dutiful daughter