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The Phantom Light
Alice has completed setting up the aerial although Tom sees everything and at one point is about to push Alice out of the window. He quickly stops when he hears Jim's signal. Jim arrives upstairs and is about to send a signal when Sam appears. Jim pulls his revolver out and points it Sam. Sam calls to Claff and then sits down while Jim explains. Jim explains to everyone that he is a naval officer and that his brother is the skipper of the Mary Fern which is sailing tonight. Jim tells Sam that it is wreckers who are responsible for the phantom light and the sinking of ships.
"Mr Higgins, I'm going to tell you the truth." says Alice "What again" he replies. "I'm a detective from Scotland yard" she replies. Sam and Jim do not believe her but they both believe her to be on their side. Unbeknown to the three, Tom is quietly listening to all this and becomes quite alarmed when he hears Jim tells Sam that he is a naval officer whose mission is to sort out the wreckers and stop the sinking of the Mary Fern. While all this is going on, a man in a suit walks quietly passed the open door way. Later Bob is grabbed from behind and falls to the ground. The night is drawing in and Bob has not come down from his watch. Claff calls up to him but there is no answer. Suddenly a shadowy figure is seen behind Claff Owen and then an hand is raised gripping a wrench. Claff is knocked down and left for dead. Sam calls to both Claff and Bob, just as a large crash is heard and the North Stack light goes out and a phantom light appears on the cliffs.
Alice helps set-up the radio and Jim Pearce sends a Morse code message to his brother who is Captain of the Mary Fern. Alice is looking out of the window when she sees the light on the cliffs. Jim tells her to go and find Sam Higgins. Before the message is complete, Tom attacks Jim and damages the equipment. Alice and Sam return to find Jim on the floor and are unable to prevent Tom from locking them all inside together.
They then realise that the light of the North Stack lighthouse is out and that a new light closer inland high up on the cliffs is now shining out to sea. The Mary Fern sees the light and believes she is further out of position than previously thought.
Jim decides that he must risk all and swim to shore to raise the alarm. He climbs out of the window assisted by Sam and Alice. He eventually makes it back to the village and raises the alarm . David and Griffith Owen take up matters and launch the lifeboat fearing that the phantom light will drive the Mary Fern onto the rocks.
Meanwhile back at the North Stack, Claff has regained consciousness and is able to open up the room in which Sam and Alice are held.
We soon learn that the Doctor is the master mind behind the Phantom Light and that he and his partners in crime are hell bent of sinking the Mary Fern in order to claim the huge insurance. The doctor and Tom are up at the top of the lighthouse waiting for the Mary Fern to crash into the rocks. Tom is impatient and wants his £50 that the doctor promised him. Alice and Sam hear all this inside the lighthouse. They quickly close the door, lock it and Sam goes to replace the lamp. The lighthouse light is still off and the Mary Fern is sailing closer to the rocks. The men from the village are also running up the rocky hills to extinguish the phantom light on the hill. The doctor now threatens to throw Bob from the top of the lighthouse if Sam does not release the lock and let him and Tom back inside. Sam stalls them whilst Alice gets the light working again. Sam opens the door and using Jim's gun he holds the doctor back but not before he is attacked by Tom. Sam is knocked down the stairs but not before Alice has fixed the light and Claff has been able to open the lighthouse doors. The North Stack light comes back on and only just in time is the Mary Fern saved from the rocks. The doctor now realises that his time is up. He cannot silence so many people and heads back outside the lighthouse. As Jim and the other village men arrive to rescue everyone, the doctor throws himself off the top of the lighthouse and onto the rocks below.
The final parting shot from Sam is "Lummy, what a night."
And so again, a great little film ends. You really cannot beat these little black and white mysteries from the 1930-1950s. Comments, thoughts, corrections etc. to the usual address. If anyone has any other ideas for a film for Little Gems, then drop me a line, I may have it on tape. The next films to be looked at are both in colour the titles of which are "The Phantom Tollbooth" and "The Amazing Mr Blunden."
| The Phantom Light | |
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| Main Page | The Story Part One | The Story Part Two |