'Endeavour' Season 5, Episode 2 Recap: Cartouche

Morse faces off with horror and ancient Egyptian curses when Hollywood comes to Oxford in this week's Endeavour.

DeByrn: "For some of us, it’s horror season all year round."

This week's episode opens at the late night double feature picture show at movie palace The Roxy. The former DS Ronald Beavis, of a neighboring district, dies at home in bed after seeing Emil Valdemar (guest star Donald Sumpter) in The Pharaoh's Curse. There are no signs of violence, but the toxicology report turns out to reveal it's nux-vomica, aka strychnine, apparently ingested via the orange squash he drank at the theater. The assistant manager Kenneth Bullings and the Usherette don't remember him. But Morse's investigation uncovers that the theater is struggling, like many movie palaces in the late 60s. The usherette, Betty Perske, admits she heard the manager, Mr. De Vere, and the projectionist (also named Bullings, the Assistant Manager's grandfather) argue over how much longer the place will last. Only The Roxy's organist, Leslie Garnier, is at least willing to admit he recognizes the guy. Not only did he run into him in the bar while the movie was playing, but then he saw Beavis talking to someone on the fire escape while he went out on break up on the rooftop.