This is a good episode about boxing, the science of blood-spatter, with a light touch on the racism of 1895. The episode opens with a boxing match between black and white pugilists. The black one, Amos Robinson, is found dead with his wife, Fannie, standing over the body with a pistol. Murdoch disputes the easy conclusion based on the way the blood is dispersed on her dress. As Murdoch digs deeper he discovers more about a corrupt boxing promoter, his bohemian wife, the questionable morals of the boxers manager, and the boxer Amos punched out when he was supposed to dive. While the episode features some light flirting between Dr. Ogden & Murdoch plus Constable Crabtree's lovable questioning/theorizing (and a blood seeking ferret) what's noticeable is talk of race. Inspector Brackenreid has to be cut off from speaking a racial slur, the boxing promoter seeks to hype a white local verse black out of towner, and Fannie thinking Murdoch has propositioned her. Race doesn't dominate the story though as Murdoch follows several twists and turns to discover the true killer and his motive.
4 Reviews
A Tangled Web of intrigue in the world of professional boxing
miles-3310814 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Amos Robinson, a professional black boxer, is found shot dead in his hotel room. It is the night of Queen Victoria's birthday, and a fireworks display is in progress. Murdoch's initial assessment is that the shooter stood within a couple of feet when the gun, apparently a Derringer pistol, found in the room, was fired. While surveying the crime scene, Murdoch is interrupted by a commotion in the corridor, as a black woman wearing bloodstained clothing is arrested by Constables, protesting her innocence. Based on what he has seen so far, Murdoch tells Crabtree he believes the woman is indeed not guilty of the shooting.
The woman is the boxer's wife, Fannie. Her experience of white policemen leads her to be defensive, but Murdoch tries to allay her fears, and tells her he believes she is innocent, and needs her help to get to the truth. Brackenreid is happy that they have caught the killer, but Murdoch explains why he believes Fannie is innocent. Just then, Ozzie Beers, Amos's manager, arrives at Police Station 4, and tells Murdoch Fannie didn't do it. Beers has been with Amos his entire 12-year career, from a boy who won his first 40 fights by knockout to a womanising, hard drinking has been who lost as many as he won. Even though Amos chased other women, Fannie has been loyal to him since they were kids together.
To test his theory, Murdoch makes Crabtree wear a dress and shoot an already-dead pig. A blood spatter pattern does indeed appear on Crabtree's dress. Brackenreid isn't convinced, and says a jury would very likely convict Fannie.
Murdoch conducts an experiment at the hotel to see if the desk clerk could have mistaken the gunshot for a firework, but the gun proves much louder, casting doubt on the clerk's account, and causing him to admit he was away from the desk for a time, which helps Murdoch to pin down when the shooting occurred. He then goes to interview the defeated boxer, Bob Sullivan, who claims that the fight had been fixed for him to win, but Amos had ignored the fix.
Murdoch next visits Jeb Cutler, whom Sullivan said had fixed the fight. Cutler admits to losing $2,000 on the fight, but he also stood to gain in the long run, as he had agreed to buy Amos from Beers. Beers admits that he had sold Amos to Cutler, but didn't tell him before the fight. Fannie is shocked to learn about Beers selling Amos, but supposes that if Amos had known, it could have given him reason not to throw the fight.
Dr Ogden confirms that Amos died from being shot through the heart, and gives Murdoch the bullet. The two of them discuss what attracts women to men, with quite a lot being conveyed by looks and pregnant pauses: something appears to be stirring between them.
Back at Police Station 4, Murdoch examines the bullet,and finds that the cartridge had been modified by removing some of the charge. The bullet would still be deadly at close range, but the sound of the shot would be very much less, so the clerk may not have heard it, even if he had been at his desk. This seems to narrow the field of suspects down to Fannie once more, yet Murdoch still doubts her guilt. Brackenreid wonders if she has turned Murdoch's head; it wouldn't be the first time a pretty woman had beguiled a detective... Murdoch sends Crabtree to the hotel to search for more evidence. He himself does more digging too.
At the hotel, a bloody footprint made by a Police-issue boot convinces Murdoch that Amos was shot in a different location from where his body was found. Crabtree obtains a ferret to trace the blood trail, to find where the shooting took place...
So, will the ferret find the murder scene? If so, will that point to the killer? Several people seem to have different motives, including revenge, greed and jealousy, but did any have enough of a motive to kill Amos? Will Murdoch discover who did it?
This episode is not just a murder mystery. It also portrays, albeit with a light touch, the realities of a society in which colour prejudice can often lead, either by accident or by design, to oppression. The mystery itself is well crafted, with the evidence being weighed methodically.
I am surprised that another reviewer rated this episode as one of the worst of all, based on perceived political correctness. Personally, I think the characterisation and performances in this episode are such as to evoke empathy for some and distaste for others. I think the plot shines through without too many unnecessary distractions, which is one of the strengths of the show's writers.
The woman is the boxer's wife, Fannie. Her experience of white policemen leads her to be defensive, but Murdoch tries to allay her fears, and tells her he believes she is innocent, and needs her help to get to the truth. Brackenreid is happy that they have caught the killer, but Murdoch explains why he believes Fannie is innocent. Just then, Ozzie Beers, Amos's manager, arrives at Police Station 4, and tells Murdoch Fannie didn't do it. Beers has been with Amos his entire 12-year career, from a boy who won his first 40 fights by knockout to a womanising, hard drinking has been who lost as many as he won. Even though Amos chased other women, Fannie has been loyal to him since they were kids together.
To test his theory, Murdoch makes Crabtree wear a dress and shoot an already-dead pig. A blood spatter pattern does indeed appear on Crabtree's dress. Brackenreid isn't convinced, and says a jury would very likely convict Fannie.
Murdoch conducts an experiment at the hotel to see if the desk clerk could have mistaken the gunshot for a firework, but the gun proves much louder, casting doubt on the clerk's account, and causing him to admit he was away from the desk for a time, which helps Murdoch to pin down when the shooting occurred. He then goes to interview the defeated boxer, Bob Sullivan, who claims that the fight had been fixed for him to win, but Amos had ignored the fix.
Murdoch next visits Jeb Cutler, whom Sullivan said had fixed the fight. Cutler admits to losing $2,000 on the fight, but he also stood to gain in the long run, as he had agreed to buy Amos from Beers. Beers admits that he had sold Amos to Cutler, but didn't tell him before the fight. Fannie is shocked to learn about Beers selling Amos, but supposes that if Amos had known, it could have given him reason not to throw the fight.
Dr Ogden confirms that Amos died from being shot through the heart, and gives Murdoch the bullet. The two of them discuss what attracts women to men, with quite a lot being conveyed by looks and pregnant pauses: something appears to be stirring between them.
Back at Police Station 4, Murdoch examines the bullet,and finds that the cartridge had been modified by removing some of the charge. The bullet would still be deadly at close range, but the sound of the shot would be very much less, so the clerk may not have heard it, even if he had been at his desk. This seems to narrow the field of suspects down to Fannie once more, yet Murdoch still doubts her guilt. Brackenreid wonders if she has turned Murdoch's head; it wouldn't be the first time a pretty woman had beguiled a detective... Murdoch sends Crabtree to the hotel to search for more evidence. He himself does more digging too.
At the hotel, a bloody footprint made by a Police-issue boot convinces Murdoch that Amos was shot in a different location from where his body was found. Crabtree obtains a ferret to trace the blood trail, to find where the shooting took place...
So, will the ferret find the murder scene? If so, will that point to the killer? Several people seem to have different motives, including revenge, greed and jealousy, but did any have enough of a motive to kill Amos? Will Murdoch discover who did it?
This episode is not just a murder mystery. It also portrays, albeit with a light touch, the realities of a society in which colour prejudice can often lead, either by accident or by design, to oppression. The mystery itself is well crafted, with the evidence being weighed methodically.
I am surprised that another reviewer rated this episode as one of the worst of all, based on perceived political correctness. Personally, I think the characterisation and performances in this episode are such as to evoke empathy for some and distaste for others. I think the plot shines through without too many unnecessary distractions, which is one of the strengths of the show's writers.
Excellent and correct for the time period!
annedoe14 November 2014
I love this episode-I love all the episodes. I think this is on my 4th favorite (the ones with 'idiot savants' are higher on my list especially "Dead-End Street") Being a daughter (and loves history in my own right) of two history teachers I believe that the way Fanny Robinson an former slave acted when Murdoch asked for her dress was correct for the time. She probably been taken advantage by white men most of her life. Its the way her brain been (for lack of a better word) "trained" to think. White man asks for dress=bed business! Besides would anyone except to be involved in a murder investigation? No not really-I think it would be interested to see a Murdoch Mystery Forensic Science Camp
Worst Episode
roastpuppy-256-7460713 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This is one of the worst episodes in the first four seasons of the show. It is such a YAWN that I almost did not purchase Season 2 on DVD after watching it. The storyline is ridiculous and I was completely turned off when Murdoch told the black woman he would need her dress and she thought he meant he was going to "take advantage" of her and she began "preparing" for the event. This scene was an unnecessary, erroneous comment on the mores of the period, detracted from the show and was a total turnoff for viewers who appreciate authenticity -- not the writer's warped ideas of "political correctness." Had the writer of this episode known anything at all about the time period he/she was writing about, this scene would have never been written. And had the producer known anything about the period, this scene would have been deleted. However, even without this offensive scene, thus far, "The Knockdown" is still the worst episode of the series.
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