In the opening scene, Artemus identifies prussic acid in Tokay. Prussic acid is better known now as cyanide (actually hydrogen cyanide, HCN); Tokay is a variety of sweet wine from Hungary, ideally suited to masking the distinctive bitterness of cyanide.
Prussic acid, HCN, hydrogen cyanide, is noted for its bitter almond smell, although about 1 in 5 folks can not percieve it. It is also noted for its boiling point of 78° F. which makes it tricky to store. KCN, potassium cyanide, is stable up to 3000° F, and readily dissolves in water making it the prefered poison.
Mel Prestidge played the character Lt. Danny Quon on the earlier Robert Conrad series Hawaiian Eye (1959).
The Hawaiian monarchy began in 1819 When Kamehameha I became king of all the islands - previously, rule of the islands had been divided among several kings. At the beginning of the presidency of Ulysses Grant, the king of Hawaii was Kamehameha V, who ruled from 30 November 1863 to 11 December 1872. He died childless and was succeeded by William Charles Lunalilo, who was elected by the Hawaiian legislature and ruled as Lunalilo I. He also died childless, and his elected successor was Kalakaua, born David La'amea Kamanakapu'u Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalakaua (referred to here as "King Kalakua") and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch. He was the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii, ruling from 12 February 1874 until his death on 20 January 1891. (Therefore this episode takes place between 12 February 1874 and 4 March 1877.) Hawaii's next and final monarch was Kalakaua's sister Queen Liliuokalani who reigned until the kingdom was abolished in 1893. (The Hawaiian Republic lasted 1893-1898 before the islands were annexed as United States territory.) Kalakaua was well-traveled, making a trip completely around the world in 1881, becoming the first reigning monarch of any nation to do so.
When Jim is under the pendulum, bound with straps, the blade is over his neck but when he turns over the blade is over his hands even tho he can't move up or the bell would ring He Really both can't turn over and slide further up.
Update: The pendulum is actually swinging in a plane closer to the base of West's sternum, so it would be possible for him (assuming his arms are flexible enough) to move his hands to a point where the pendulum would cut the ropes. The real issue is how he was able to rotate under the straps. If he were strapped down properly, he would not have been able to roll over the way he did.