Crook’s Tour (1940) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The German spies mistook Charters and Caldicott for courier spies because La Palermo accidentally delivered a secret note hidden on a record to them at the Baghdad nightclub. The spies had been expecting to receive the record themselves, and when the British duo ordered the same record, La Palermo assumed they were the intended recipients, giving them the crucial note by mistake.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, the sheikh in Saudi Arabia warned them about spies targeting his oilfields, foreshadowing the espionage danger they would encounter.

• mistaken identity
• spies
• La Palermo
• secret note
• Baghdad nightclub

The record contained hidden German intelligence instructions. The note with secret spy codes was cleverly concealed on the record itself, making it appear to be a普通 music purchase while actually transporting crucial intelligence information between German agents.

Foreshadowing: The sheikh's warning about espionage at his oilfields hints at the intelligence operations happening throughout the region.

• secret message
• German intelligence
• hidden note
• spy code
• record

La Palermo was revealed to be working as a double agent or on the British side by the film's climax. She arranged for blank bullets to be loaded into the firing squad's guns, allowing her, Charters, and Caldicott to escape execution at the Hungarian castle.

Foreshadowing: La Palermo's earlier attempts to retrieve the record suggest she was trying to control the situation rather than simply steal from the British travelers.

• La Palermo
• double agent
• firing squad
• escape
• blanks

The English contact in Budapest was supposed to recognize a spy code involving cricket. When he said he "does not play cricket," he revealed that he was unaware of the spy code, meaning he couldn't properly decode the message on the record or understand the significance of what Charters and Caldicott had been carrying.

Foreshadowing: The importance of the record was established from the moment La Palermo delivered it in Baghdad, making the contact's ignorance a critical plot point.

• cricket code
• spy contact
• Budapest
• misunderstanding
• secret message

The spies set up a deadly trap in Charters and Caldicott's Istanbul hotel room, creating a large hole in the bathroom floor that dropped directly into the Bosporus River below. During the confusion, Charters mistakenly slapped Caldicott on the back, causing him to fall through the hole into the water below, which led to their hurried escape from Istanbul.

Foreshadowing: La Palermo's appearance at the false hotel signaled that danger was imminent, warning of the assassination attempt.

• Istanbul
• booby trap
• Bosporus
• spies
• assassination attempt

Charters and Caldicott were captured at the hilltop castle in Hungary while attempting to confront La Palermo and recover the evidence. The American spies, who were the actual German agents, had them arrested and sentenced to execution by firing squad for espionage.

Foreshadowing: The trail leading to the castle was established when the duo tracked La Palermo to the Budapest nightclub and learned she was hiding at the hilltop location.

• Hungary
• castle
• captured
• firing squad
• spies
• execution

La Palermo intervened at the last moment and arranged for the firing squad's guns to be loaded with blank ammunition. When the soldiers fired, the blanks allowed all three to survive the execution attempt and make their daring escape from the castle.

Foreshadowing: La Palermo's previous break-in to retrieve the record in Budapest hinted at her true intentions to help rather than harm them.

• blank bullets
• escape
• castle
• La Palermo
• firing squad

The song "Gypsy Lover" was performed by La Palermo at the Budapest nightclub where Charters and Caldicott tracked her down. This performance provided the crucial lead that allowed them to locate her and retrieve the record containing the hidden intelligence.

Foreshadowing: La Palermo's cryptic movements throughout the film consistently pointed toward her involvement with the spy network.

• Gypsy Lover
• Budapest
• nightclub
• La Palermo
• performance

La Palermo broke into Caldicott's hotel room in Budapest attempting to retrieve the stolen record containing the hidden German intelligence. She was searching for the record to either protect it or use it for her own purposes within the spy network.

Foreshadowing: The record's importance was established from the moment it was delivered in Baghdad, making it a sought-after item throughout the story.

• La Palermo
• Budapest
• record
• break-in
• search

The American spies (the real German agents) were last seen performing at the Budapest nightclub before Charters and Caldicott escaped with La Palermo. The film concludes with the trio successfully fleeing Hungary and returning to London, with the spies' ultimate fate left ambiguous but their plans clearly thwarted.

Foreshadowing: The duo passing the record to their contact and La Palermo's switch to helping them signaled the turning point against the spies.

• American spies
• German agents
• Budapest
• escaped
• nightclub