Madoes, 55 High St, Long Crendon, Bucks, UK – Why Didn’t They Ask Evans (1980) - Movie Locations on Waymarking.com

Bobby Jones sees a man that has fallen over a cliff while playing golf. The man dies in Bobby’s arms, but not before he says “Why didn’t they ask Evans?” The man has a picture of a beautiful woman in his wallet, the only clue to his identity. A man, introducing himself as Roger Bassington – Ffrench, arrives and agrees to stay with the man whilst the police arrive, allowing Bobby to play the organ at evensong.

The dead man is identified as Alex Pritchard by his sister Amelia Cayman. Mrs Cayman asks if Pritchard had any last words, to which Bobby says he did not. Remembering later that the were last words, he writes to the Caymans informing them.

Bobby is about to start work in his friend, Badger Beadon’s, garage when he receives a job offer in Buenos Aries. He declines the job and is later poisoned by a drugged bottle of beer. The police are baffled, but Bobby’s friend Lady Frances “Frankie” Derwent thinks it was a targeted murder attempt. The mystery further deepens when Bobby sees the photo that was supposed to be in Pritchard’s pocket in the local newspaper. It is not the photo Bobby saw in Pritchard’s pocket. The only person that could have affected a swap was Bassington Ffrench.

Bobby and Frankie stage a fake car accident at Merroway Court, Bassington Ffrench’s brother Henry’s house. This gets Frankie into the house. Frankie shows Pritchard’s photo to Sylvia, Henry’s wife. She identifies Pritchard as Alan Carstairs, a big game hunter and friend of John Savage, a millionaire who committed suicide after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Frankie also gets to meet Dr Nicholson and his wife Moira, neighbours of Henry. Nicholson is decidely creepy and runs a mental hospital nearby. Frankie gets Bobby to investigate the Nicholsons. Bobby breaks into the grounds and meets the girl that was in Carstair’s photo. She fears for her life.

Bobby and Frankie later meet the girl at the local pub. She introduces herself as Moira Nicholson. She explains that she fears Dr Nicholson is trying to kill her because he found out that she used to be friendly with Carstairs. She suggests that Frankie asks Roger directly about the photo. Later Frankie does just that and Roger explains he swapped the photo to protect Moira at the inquest.

Frankie decides to follow up the death of John Savage. Frankie’s family solicitor was also Savage. Savage had been staying with a Mr & Mrs Templeton when he was diagnosed with cancer. His will left seven hundred thousand pounds to the Templetons, who have since gone abroad. Carstairs had been suspicious of the will.

In the meanwhile Bobby is kidnapped. Frankie is lured to a house by a false note purporting to be from Bobby. Both Frankie and Bobby find themselves tied up. The house was the Templeton’s old house and their kidnapper is Roger. They manage to free themselves and call the police. Roger escapes, but Bobby finds Moira in one of the rooms drugged.

Bobby and Frankie go to interview the witnesses to the will, the cook and the gardener of Mrs Templeton. The gardener is dead, but the cook is still alive. They then realise that the maid, Gladys Evans, had not been asked to witness the will. The reasoning being that Roger had impersonated Savage and Gladys would have recognised that it was not Savage, whereas the cook and gardener would not. It comes as a further surprise that Gladys Evans now works for Bobby’s father, which would account for the attempted murder of Bobby.

Frankie and Bobby return home to find Moira. Over coffee she explains that she needs protection from Roger. Frankie is not deceived and confronts Moira with the fact that she has tried to poison the coffee. Moira pulls a gun, but is overpowered.

Movie or TV Show: Why Didn't They Ask Evans Year Released or First Aired: 1,980.00 IMDB Link: [Web Link]

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.