STONE OF DESTINY
Log Line:
Cassandra Blackwell,
an American Medieval Historian living in London, becomes a suspect in the theft
of the Stone of Destiny and enters a world where mysticism, danger and death
follow her every move.
Genre:
Mystical
Adventure
Tone:
Female Indiana Jones
What about the movie:
The story is based
on the theft of the Stone of Destiny from under the Coronation throne in
Westminster Abbey, Christmas 1950.
Cassandra Blackwell,
an American widow and Medieval Historian living in London, is catapulted into
the search for the stone and a destiny she never imagined. The seemingly inevitable succession of
events will challenge Cass and her teenage son, Henry, endangering their very
lives. With the help of a religious
antiquities dealer, Albert Whittington and a mysterious stranger from Egypt,
El-Col-hin, Cassandra enters a world of mysticism, danger and death.
Cassandra attends a
Widows and Orphans benefit sponsored by Father Seamus. Cassandra’s husband, Colin Blackwell, a
Royal Air Force pilot has been missing since 1943 and is presumed dead. On that fateful Christmas eve, Cass
encounters a fortuneteller and learns that she, like her mythological namesake,
has always had the ability to ‘see’ future events. Before the fortuneteller can finish Cass’s reading, Albert
Whittington interrupts them. Albert
invites Cass to a New Years Eve party in Edinburgh to be held the following
week. Before Cass can give Albert an
answer, Sean Gale, a young Irishman, and Father Seamus bring Henry Blackwell
over to his mother. It seems Henry and
two other boys were siphoning gas from the Father’s car. Henry is no
stranger to trouble. He has been
reprimanded and almost dismissed from Eton, a prestigious boys school, but
Albert interceded. Henry is on academic
probation.
A light snow is
falling. Westminster Abbey is dark inside.
Four shrouded figures come out of the shadows of the church. The throne of Edward 1st looms larger than
life. The figures struggle with
something beneath the throne. They
place a heavy object on top of a coat lying on the floor. They step back and
reveal a square block of stone. We see
the figures pulling the stone on the coat up the aisle and toward a door held
open by one on the figures. Big Ben
tolls midnight.
The Investigation
The next day the
police investigate the robbery. Lt.
Bagshaw and Detective Morrow discuss the elements of the robbery and develop a
laundry list of suspects. Cassandra and
Albert are summoned to Scotland Yard for questioning. The detectives question Cass Blackwell because in the last three
months she has received permission to examine royal symbolic relics for her
thesis on Ancient Symbolic Ritual.
Albert Whittington is also questioned, as he is a dealer in antiquities
on Kensington Church Street. His specialty is unusual religious relics. The detective asks Albert what his plans are
for the next few days. Albert explains
that he and Cass are planning to attend a New Years Eve party in Edinburgh. Bagshaw agrees to let Cass and Albert go, but
he contacts Inspector Kent Mac Quire, his counterpart, in Edinburgh. As Cass and Albert leave the police station
we see Sean Gale outside watching them. Sean thinks that the acquiring the
stone of destiny for Ireland will bring him out of the shadow of his father, a
hero of the Uprising of 1916.
London
At the Blackwell
flat, Father Seamus and Sean call on Cassandra and Albert. Sean volunteers to take Henry back to Eton
so that Cassandra and Albert can go to Edinburgh. Henry doesn’t want his mother to escort him back to Eton and begs
Father Seamus to convince Cassandra to allow Sean to escort him. Father Seamus convinces Cassandra that Sean
is a fine young man but Father cuts the visit short because he feels feverish.
Voyage to Ireland
Sean convinces Henry
to go to Ireland for a ‘holiday’ instead of going back to Eton. On the ferry Henry is seasick. Once in
Ireland Sean takes Henry hostage and locks him in a subterranean cell. Believing that Cassandra knows where the
stone is, Sean sends a ransom note to her hotel in Edinburgh demanding the
Stone of Destiny in return for Henry.
As Sean writes the letter he is coughing.
Edinburgh
Cass and Albert take
the train to Edinburgh. Cassandra is unaware that Henry’s been taken
hostage. She attends the New Years Eve
ball at Edinburgh Castle with Albert Whittington. Albert plans to ask Cassandra to marry him. During the party Cassandra becomes an
unwitting accomplice to the theft of a scepter made with a crystal orb from the
castle. Caught up in the turmoil the
guards mistake Cassandra as one of the thieves. Now Cassandra is an accessory to a robbery and a prime suspect
in the case of the missing Stone of Destiny.
Inspector Mac Quire confiscates Cassandra’s belongings from the hotel in
Edinburgh. The hotel clerk gives him a letter for Cass from Sean Gale. Mac Quire reads the letter’s demand for the
Stone of Destiny as ransom. Mac Quire
sees this as Cassandra’s motive for stealing the stone and will stop at nothing
to apprehend her. Albert is a suspect
but, his mother is critically ill with influenza and he must return to London
under escort.
A Funeral in London
Albert Whittington
returns to London too late to see his mother before she dies. At her funeral, a
mysterious man dressed as a sheik, his scarred face partially covered,
approaches Albert. The man introduces
himself as El Col-hin and asks about Cassandra Blackwell. He has an important message for her. He shows a ring to Albert who is horrified at
the scarred and shriveled hand and surprised by the ring.
On the run in Scotland
While on the lamb
from the law, Cassandra is given shelter by the fortuneteller, whom she met at
the Christmas party. The fortuneteller
is actually a Druid priestess. Cass
learns about her own past life as the Lady of Glamis, who was burned at the
stake as a witch in 1537. The
fortuneteller gives Cassandra an ancient Tarot deck that once belonged to Lady
Glamis. The Druids initiate Cassandra
into their mysteries. At a Druid Candlemas ceremony, Cassandra uses the stolen
scepter to discover the location of the true stone.
The Antique Shop
in London
Lt. Bagshaw goes to
Albert’s antique shop in London where El Col-hin is visiting. El Col-hin hides in the backroom but overhears
that Henry has escaped and the detectives suspect that Henry will retrace his
steps and come back to the flat looking for his mother. El Col-hin and Albert decide that one of
them should go to the ports of Fishguard and the other to Liverpool to find
Henry before the police do. Prior to
leaving, El Col-hin takes a vial from a wooden case, carved with a Cross and a
Rose. There are seven vials containing
an elixir of life. Without the elixir
El Col-hin’s body will decompose.
After he drinks the vial he pulls back his hood to reveal a whole man,
not the shriveled shell he was.
From Ireland to
Liverpool and Glasgow
Henry escapes from
his captor Sean Gale and stows away on a merchant boat to Liverpool. The
mysterious El Col-hin befriends Henry in Liverpool. Henry is quite sea sick from his voyage back to England. The two
take a freight train to Glasgow. While
in route, Henry becomes seriously ill with influenza. The mysterious El Col-hin
takes him to the hospital in Glasgow, only to disappear before MacQuire can
arrive to question him. Through her
Tarot cards Cassandra sees her son Henry, who is desperately ill with
influenza.
Mac Quire circulates
press releases advertising for relatives of Henry Blackwell. Mac Quire places guards on Henry at the
hospital and sets a trap for Cassandra.
She goes to the hospital in Glasgow and is stopped by the mysterious El
Col hin. He tells Cassandra that her
son is very ill but it is a trap. At
that moment Cassandra realizes the identity of the mysterious stranger.
Cassandra and the El
Col hin thwart the trap set by Mac Quire and take Henry to a safe haven at
Glamis. While Henry recovers, Cassandra
and El Col-hin determine that they must
find the stolen stone and clear Cassandra’s name. Disguised as Highlanders, Cass and El Col-hin set out for
Arborath in search of the four who stole the stone.
How can the stone be
returned and Cassandra’s name cleared?
Who is the mysterious stranger?
Where will destiny
take them next?
