SYNOPSIS

Guest Stars:  Jerry Doyle, Philippe Lambert
Screenplay by  Paul Pender
Edited by  Yvann Thibaudeau
Directed by Ian Sharp

Location of Aurora: Parked in Paris

Prologue: On a dark night in Paris, a young sculptor returns to his apartment with a bucket of clay. His landlady send him away until he pays her the rent he owes. After he leaves, the landlady chases her cat down the street.  Suddenly she is attacked and falls to the ground, with clay coming out of her mouth. 

Rebecca, Phileas, and Passepartout are in Paris for Jules' birthday celebration. As Jules prepares his apartment for the party, Phileas takes Sir Hugo Bezel, Paris' most famous architect, on the Aurora for an aerial view of the city. They are joined by Rebecca who is on crutches. Hugo complains about the dirt and squalor of the city that he loves. When he comments that future generations will be shocked at the state in which the city dwellers live, Phileas and Rebecca comment that he sounds like their friend Jules Verne and suggest that Hugo come to the birthday party that night to meet him.

Jules and his friend Felix Nadar are discussing some of Jules' drawings of buildings of the future, as well as the attraction of Jules' neighbor, the beautiful Angelique. When they join their other artist friends at a café the talk turns to that of the monster that is rumored to be stalking the streets. They tease the sculptor Claude Duval, whose landlady was killed in the prologue, when they see clay on Duval's hands.  Duval is angered and leaves abruptly.

At the party that night in Jules' flat, Rebecca gives Jules a pair of binoculars. She gathers that he is interested in the view of a neighboring apartment and gets Jules to talk about his beautiful neighbor Angelique. Sir Hugo Bezel arrives and Phileas introduces him to Jules. Jules and the famous architect discuss ideas for city buildings of the future and the inherent engineering. Suddenly, there is a scream from outside and everyone rushes out to see what is happening, leaving Rebecca alone at the top of the stairs. When she turns towards a noise she hears, Rebecca sees a strange clay-like creature in the window, and she stumbles fall down the stairs.

A doctor is called to examine Rebecca and finds that she has fractured her leg. He says that if she expects to walk again, she must be completely immobile. Although Rebecca wants to stay in Paris to solve the monster mystery, she does not want to spend her time confined to Jules' flat but she has no choice. Phileas says he will lend Rebecca Passepartout, while Phileas and Jules fend for themselves on the Aurora. As Jules' landlady stops by, the landlady confesses that she might be responsible for the monster that is terrorizing the city. She explains that several months ago, she and other property owners in the area were approached by a Monsieur Barbileau to sell their properties. The price offered, she said, was too low, but she was frightened of Barbileau when she turned him down. She remembered stories her mother had told her in Prague of the Golem, a monster supposedly created by a Czech rabbi out of clay and waterto protect the people of Prague, and she used the words her mother had said had summoned the creature in Prague.

The next day on the Aurora, Passepartout and Jules are analyzing two samples of clay, one from the murder scene and one from the ledge outside Jules' apartment. Both samples seem to be the same type of clay, both with an unusually high iron content. While they are discussing their findings, Phileas enters and complains about his unironed trousers and Jules' coffee.  Passepartout rushes out without doing anything to help Phileas, explaining that he must get back to Rebecca to give her the news. Jules tells Phileas not to worry about coffee because Sir Hugo has invited them both to lunch.

Back at Jules' apartment, Rebecca is busy rolling around the place in a wheelchair and looking out the window onto the street below. She tells Passepartout that she wants him to find out all there is to know about the Golem. 

Jules and Phileas join Hugo for lunch at a restaurant. Jules shows Hugo his sketch book, which interests the architect. When Hugo asks to borrow the book, Jules explains that he can't let it go because he can't create without the book. Hugo shows some eccentricities, like having his servant Ambrose taste his food for him to check for poison. When Hugo explains his visions of Paris in the future, with great public buildings but nothing created for the ordinary people whom he disdains, Jules disagrees. He says he has no interest in working with Hugo if the man excludes ordinary people from his city plans.

Meanwhile, Rebecca is going stir crazy. She is busy sweeping the floor when Felix arrives with his camera equipment. He explains he's been evicted and needs to leave his gear in Jules' flat. Rebecca takes the opportunity to interrogate him on his whereabouts the night before when the Golem made his appearance, but Felix gives no clear answer. When he joins his friends at the café, Felix and Claude Duval get into a fight over Angelique. Jules tries to stop the fight and then tries to follow Duval who heads for Angeliques's apartment. Rebecca witnesses this through the window. Although the curtains are drawn, she sees someone being attacked in the flat.. Then she sees Jules open the curtains and bend over the body of Duval. The police arrive shortly thereafter and arrest Jules. As he is being led away, Angelique reveals that she is also a sculptor and that Claude Duval wasn't a lover but a model.

Phileas visits Jules at the jail and assures his friend that he knows he's innocent. Then Phileas joins Rebecca in the flat, seemingly idle as he enjoys a cop of Passepartout coffee while Rebecca complains that he isn't doing anything. After several complaints from Rebecca, and several moments of admiring Jules' view of Angelique and her apartment, Phileas finally saunters out to prove Juels' innocence.  Once again, Passepartout is dispatched by Rebecca to do some investigating.

Phileas approaches Felix and Jules' other friends at the café to find out their whereabouts the night before, with no success. Meanwhile, Rebecca has begun to use a sling shot on the pigeons outside her window while keeping watch over the street below. When she eventually falls asleep, a silent thief enters and steals Jules' notebook. 

Phileas visits Jules again in the prison, this time bringing  food and books. Jules tells him that the clay is the key to the Golem and  Phileas decides they need to know where this special clay comes from. He says he will question the beautiful Angelique. When Phileas walks to the young woman's apartment, Rebecca watches from the window. He brings the woman wine and flowers and questions her on who supplied the special clay she uses. He learns that Duval received it form a wealthy private student of his and gave Angelique clay from that supply. 

Meanwhile, someone with clout orders that Jules be released from jail, although he must still stand trial. While Jules walks back through the dark streets, he is knocked unconscious and dragged into the sewers. He is brought to an underground room where Hugo Bezel works. Hugo takes the watch from Jules' pocket just before the younger man regains consciousness. When Jules is awake, Hugo explains that he needs Jules and his ideas, because his own ideas have stopped flowing. Hugo leaves alone in the room, guarded by another servant. Jules is able to surprise his guard, though, and escape, but not before he finds a breathing mask and buckets of clay in the underground room.

Rebecca is still observing the activity in Angelique's apartment and sees her cousin kiss the young woman, and then let Angelique help him off with his jacket. At this point, she angrily puts down the gun in favor of the binoculars but finds that Phileas draws the curtains closed. Suddenly clay drips on the binoculars and the Golem appears at the window. The monster grabs Rebecca just as Phileas is opening the blinds again. Phileas rushes across the street and enters the room just as Rebecca is thrown out onto the roof. Phileas picks up Rebecca's discarded gun and shoots the monster, whose fall out the window pushes Rebecca to the edge and over. Phileas quickly pulls Rebecca to safety before he goes to the street below.

Jules finds Sir Hugo in the street and accuses him of trying to frame him for another murder. Phileas arrives and backs up Jules. He asks Hugo why he's done the things he's done.  Hugo says that after all the good he's done for the city, like getting rid of disease ridden slums, he has the right to play God. Phileas demands to see the Golem's face. Hugo pulls off the mud and the breathing mask to reveal the manservant who tasted his food. Hugo says the man is not useful to him anymore. The man revives enough to grab Hugo and to try to murder him. When Jules would intervene and shoot the Golem, Phileas stops him to let the monster's justice be done. In the final scene, Passepartout is asleep over the giant books in which he could find nothing.

top of page

TeaserSynopsis, Gallery 1, Gallery 2, Gallery 3, Gallery 4

Home, Introduction, EpisodesCatacombs, Chats, News, Links