“Frankly, Scarlet, I don't give a damn.”
Why it's great
It borrows a famous screen line to turn a death threat into total indifference.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
Frankly, I don't care what they write about me.
00:00 / 02:58
00:00 / 02:58
Wadsworth Counts the Last Bullet, Explained
Clue · 1985
Chapter 17 of 17 · 2'58"
A would-be blackmailer is told the gun is empty — then made to follow the math. "There are no more bullets left in that gun," comes the taunt, followed by a shot-by-shot tally that leaves exactly one round, and a threat about who will get it.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:32–1:01
The Bullet-Counting Scene
29s - 1:58–2:25
❝ Monologue · 7 lines the killer's route
The whole route lands in one breath, quickening toward the cellar.
27s - 2:27–2:55
The Killer's Fatal Mistake
27s
Wadsworth Counts the Last Bullet, explained
What happens
Miss Scarlet tries to keep blackmailing the group, demanding government information instead of money. Wadsworth stops her by revealing the gun is empty, walking through each shot to show only one bullet remains — and that it is meant for her. When she pleads not to be hated for trying to shoot him, he answers with a famously cold line.
What's really going on
The finale is a countdown disguised as a party trick. Wadsworth defeats the blackmail by arithmetic, reciting every shot fired that night until the tally leaves one bullet — and lets the threat hang. The guests' earlier lines about money run dry ('I have no more money'), which is why the demand shifts to 'government information.' Then comes the punchline: asked not to be hated, Wadsworth answers, 'Frankly, Scarlet, I don't give a damn,' and the blackmailer's leverage is gone on the spot. The verbal reconstruction that follows — the rope, the lead pipe, the singing telegram — turns the whole evening into evidence, and the monkey's brains detail is the clue that finally names the killer.
Key lines & what they mean
- “Frankly, Scarlet, I don't give a damn.”
- A cold refusal to care, echoing a famous movie line, aimed at the blackmailer's plea not to be hated.
- “There are no more bullets left in that gun.”
- The claim that disarms the blackmailer: the weapon she is using to threaten the room is empty.
- “You were the person who was missing when the cook and Mr. Boddy were murdered, and the cook used to be your cook.”
- The deduction that convicts the killer: absence plus the link to the cook, not a confession.
- “and monkey's brains, though popular in Cantonese cuisine, are not often to be found in Washington, D.C.”
- The clue that gives the killer away: the dish served at dinner shouldn't have been possible in Washington.
Theme
- Power — The scene is a contest of leverage: blackmail, a countdown of bullets, and a refusal that strips the blackmailer of control.
- Justice — The reconstruction turns the night's confusion into a case, ending with the killer identified by a single overlooked detail.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level2/7
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“There are no more bullets left in that gun.”
Why it's great
He never grabs the gun; stating a fact strips the threat of all its power.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
There are no more tickets left for tonight.
“You were the person who was missing when the cook and Mr. Boddy were murdered, and the cook used to be your cook.”
Why it's great
One sentence joins the missing person to an old link, landing motive and timing together.
Register
Formal
Use it yourself
You were the person who was missing when the keys disappeared.
“and monkey's brains, though popular in Cantonese cuisine, are not often to be found in Washington, D.C.”
Why it's great
A line about an odd dish turns the killer's taste into evidence, and the joke is the clue.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
Durian is popular in the south, though not often found on this menu.
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ the killer's route
In the dark, the murderer ran across the hall to the study, picked up the rope and the lead pipe, ran to the billiard room, strangled Yvette. Ran to the library, hit the cop on the head with the lead pipe. Then, coming out of the library, the doorbell rang. It was a singing telegram. The murderer picked up the gun where Yvette dropped it, ran to the door, opened it, recognized the girl from her photograph, shot her, and then ran back to the cellar.
The whole route lands in one breath, quickening toward the cellar.
Takeaways
What you walk away with- Counting shots is a quiet way to disarm a threat.
- One famous borrowed line can end an argument.
- The smallest dinner detail can convict a killer.
- Indifference is the sharpest reply to a threat.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWho killed Mr. Boddy and the others?
The reconstruction points to the guest who was missing when both murders happened, whose earlier cook turns out to be the same cook from this house.
How does Wadsworth know the gun is empty?
He counts every shot fired that night — at Mr. Boddy, the chandelier, the lounge door and the singing telegram — and works out that only one bullet remains.
Why is one bullet left in the gun?
Wadsworth uses the single round as a threat, telling the blackmailer to guess who it is for, which is enough to end her attempt at blackmail.
What is the killer's fatal mistake?
The dinner menu. Wadsworth notes that the dish served — monkey's brains — was one of the killer's favourite recipes, which links the killer to the cook.