See How They Run is a American mystery comedy film directed by Tom George and written by Mark Chappell.
Synopsis[]
Set in 1950s London where desperate Hollywood producer sets out to turn popular West End play into a film. When members of the production are murdered, world-weary Inspector Stoppard and overzealous rookie Constable Stalker find themselves in the midst of a puzzling whodunit within London's glamorous Theatreland and sordid underground.
Plot[]
London West End, 1953 – Hotshot American director Leo Kopernick narrates the introduction. A play based on Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” is continuing a historic run, celebrating 100 performances and featuring renowned actor Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim in major roles. Kopernick has shown up in the hopes of convincing the show’s producer John Woolf, to allow him to direct the film adaptation. Kopernick butts heads with Attenborough and the play’s writer, Mervyn Cocker-Norris, going as far as getting into a fight with Attenborough and crashing into a cake.
Kopernick goes to the bathroom to wash himself off. He sees a suspicious shadowy figure by the window, but it is just a mannequin. Then an actual man whacks Kopernick across the face with a ski. The assailant attempts to strangle Kopernick, but he breaks himself free and tries to run, only to open a door and find a brick wall behind it. The assailant then grabs a sewing machine and bludgeons Kopernick in the head, killing him.
Constable Stalker awaits the arrival of Inspector Stoppard as they gather everyone in the theater as suspects, including the theater owner Petula Spencer and Woolf’s wife Edana Romney. Stalker is a rookie with hopes of acing her sergeant exam and tries to make a good impression on Stoppard. They find Kopernick’s body left on the couch onstage. The two inspect the crime scene and try to find motives and suspects. Most of the people in the room took issue with Kopernick, and Stoppard informs them all that there may be another killing among them, so he opts for the theater to be closed until the murder is solved.
Commissioner Harrold Scott berates Stoppard for drawing negative attention to the murder and the department after closing the theater. He orders Stoppard to take Stalker on the case to “show her the ropes” of the job. Stoppard and Stalker go to the hotel where Kopernick was staying and speak to a bellhop who overheard him arguing with Mervyn, with the latter outright saying he will kill Kopernick. The two visit Mervyn and try to understand his background with Kopernick. Flashbacks show that he disagreed with Mervyn’s vision for the play and pitched his own action-packed ending for “The Mousetrap” film adaptation, involving the lead detective’s partner being killed by the killer after taking a bullet for him. Mervyn mentions seeing a “plain woman” arriving at the hotel with Kopernick’s illegitimate son. Mervyn is also shown living with his nephew Gio, who is described as hotheaded.
At Shepperton Studios, it is shown that Woolf is engaged in an affair with his assistant, Ann Saville, which he barely attempts to hide as he tries to kiss her out in public. The duo stop in an alley as Stoppard claims he is going for a dentist appointment. Stalker spots him walking into a pub and appears disappointed with him. They then visit Woolf, who mentions how Kopernick approached him in a nightclub and became aware of his affair with Ann, and Woolf appeared worried that Kopernick might expose him. After they leave, Stoppard mentions walking into the pub, but Stalker simply tells him he can trust her with anything he needs to tell her. The two go home, where Stalker lives with her two children, and Stoppard lives with his alcohol.
The following day, Scott encounters the duo and says he is desperate for good news. They say they may have a reliable lead. The pair interview a theater usher named Dennis, who claims to have seen a figure acting suspiciously, but it doesn’t provide them with much of a lead. They then go to visit Attenborough and Sheila. She tells the duo that Kopernick offered her the lead role in the “Mousetrap” film. Stoppard and Stalker then go to visit Petula, who is watching her mother perform onstage by herself. Petula tells the two that she signed over the film rights of “Mousetrap” to Woolf, who was nearly caught in his affair by Edana. She adds that Woolf would be unable to produce the film adaptation until the show completes its production, meaning he’s stuck there.
Stoppard and Stalker go to a pub, where they talk about their personal lives. Stalker mentions her kids and how she lost her husband in the war, and Stoppard mentions how he was injured in the war and divorced his wife after she was unfaithful to him and had a child with another man. Stalker drives a drunken Stoppard home and comes across some news articles and a picture of Stoppard with his ex-wife, who fits Mervyn’s description of a “homely woman with glasses”. Stalker starts to become suspicious and begins to ask around as to the name of Stoppard’s ex-wife in connection with a book of names they found in Kopernick’s hotel room.
The duo go to a performance of “The Mousetrap” since Attenborough gave them tickets. During the scene where one character is being murdered, Stalker steps out and follows who she thinks is Stoppard. A figure comes across Mervyn and strangles him to death. Stalker chases after the figure but fails to catch him. Meanwhile, the figure whacks Stoppard over the head and knocks him out. He appears in a sort of limbo state where he finds Kopernick behind a bar, asking if anybody was sad about his demise. Stoppard doesn’t respond, which doesn’t surprise Kopernick. Stoppard approaches a door guarded by Dennis, who won’t let him through without a ticket. He peeks through the door and sees what appears to be Mervyn being stuffed by a taxidermist.
Stoppard awakens in a prison cell with Stalker and Scott. They accuse him of murder and say they have found his ex-wife Joyce, supposedly the same woman that Mervyn had seen. Stalker believes Stoppard killed Kopernick because his wife had cheated on him with Kopernick. A woman named Joyce shows up, but Stoppard says that is not HIS Joyce, so he is let go. Stalker escorts Joyce home and asks her questions about when she went to see Kopernick with their son. Joyce mentions hearing a voice with an accent like a village idiot. Meanwhile, Stoppard suspects Gio, since Mervyn had mentioned him to be a taxidermist, and he believes he had a motive to kill both Mervyn and Kopernick. Stoppard ends up finding news articles on two young brothers, one of whom died. Stoppard and Stalker individually head out to find the killer.
Petula arrives at the home of Agatha Christie along with her mother, Attenborough, Sheila, Woolf, and Ann. The stuffy butler Fellowes attempts to deny them entry despite an invitation, but another guest, Max Mallowan, allows them in. They were supposedly invited for a dinner, but they find that Agatha is supposedly tied up by the killer… Dennis. Petula’s mother recognizes him as Dennis Corrigan, whose younger brother died when they were children due to neglect. He wanted to stop the play from continuing because he thought it was an exploitation of his tragedy, so he killed Kopernick to stop the film from being made and Mervyn for writing it. Dennis kicks the rug where “Agatha” is tied up, but it is actually Edana, who reveals she already knew about her husband’s affair.
Just as Stoppard and Stalker get closer to the house, Agatha emerges with cups of tea, one of which is filled with rat poison, and attempts to give it to Dennis while Fellowes attempts to grab his rifle. It backfires, Fellowes dies from the drugged tea, and Dennis aims the gun at everyone. Stoppard shows up and has his tires shot out. He runs into the house and faces Dennis, but before Dennis fires, Stalker runs in and pushes Stoppard out of the way (like in Kopernick’s ending). She gets a nick, but Stoppard is shot. He shoots Dennis twice before Agatha kills him with a shovel to the head. Stoppard is taken to the hospital.
In the epilogue, Kopernick narrates that Stalker aced her sergeant exam, Stoppard was awarded a medal for his heroics, and Scott was given a knighthood. Stoppard and Stalker return to watch “The Mousetrap”. As Stoppard addresses the audience, Stalker asks him to be quiet because she missed the ending last time. Kopernick says that this was a real Leo Kopernick ending.
Cast[]
- Saoirse Ronan as Constable Stalker
- Sam Rockwell as Inspector Stoppard
- David Oyelowo as Mervyn Cocker-Norris
- Adrien Brody as Leo Kopernick
- Ruth Wilson as Petula Spencer
- Harris Dickinson as Dickie Attenborough
- Reece Shearsmith as John Woolf
- Pippa Bennett-Warner as Ann Saville
- Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Gio
- Shirley Henderson as the Dame
- Paul Chahidi as Fellowes
- Pearl Chunda as Shelia Sim
- Charlie Cooper as Dennis the Usher
- Sian Clifford as Edana Romsey
Videos[]
