the 100 greatest love stories of all time
LEARN MORE
The American Film Institute proudly curates lists to celebrate excellence in the art of the moving image. They reflect the collective opinion of a wide range of scholars, artists and experts who champion the power of the art form. We believe their greatest impact is to inspire personal, passionate discussions about what makes a great film and why. We encourage you to join in the conversation as we continue to pursue the revolutionary power of visual storytelling to share diverse perspectives, inspire empathy and drive culture forward.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
Directors: Michael Curtiz
Producer: Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis
Writer: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch
Editor: Owen Marks
Cinematographer: Arthur Edeson
Genre: Romance
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Composer: Max Steiner
During World War II, Casablanca, Morocco is a waiting point for throngs of desperate refugees fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe. Exit visas, which are necessary to leave the country, are at a premium, so when two German couriers carrying letters of transit signed by General DeGaulle are murdered and the letters stolen, German Major Strasser and Louis Renault, the prefecture of police, are eager to find the documents. Strasser is particularly concerned that the letters not be sold to Victor Lazlo, the well-known Czech resistance leader, who is rumored to be on his way to Casablanca. That night, Renault and Strasser search for the killer at Rick's Café Americain, a popular nightclub run by the mysterious American expatriate Richard Blaine. Earlier, Ugarte, a shady dealer in exit visas, had asked Rick to hold the stolen letters temporarily, explaining that he has a buyer for them and with the money from their sale, he plans to leave Casablanca. Although Rick fought on the side of the loyalists in Spain, he has grown cynical, and when Renault advises him not to interfere with Ugarte's arrest, Rick replies "I stick my neck out for nobody." He makes a bet with Renault, however, that Lazlo will manage to leave Casablanca despite German efforts to stop him. After Ugarte is arrested, Lazlo and his companion, Ilsa Lund, arrive at Rick's. Ilsa recognizes Sam, the piano player, and while Lazlo makes covert contact with the underground, Ilsa insists that Sam play the song "As Time Goes By." Reluctantly, Sam agrees, and a furious Rick, who had ordered him never to play the song again, emerges from his office to stop him. Rick is taken aback when he sees Ilsa, whom he knew in Paris. Later, after the café is closed, Rick remembers his love affair with Ilsa: After a brief happy time together, the Nazis invade Paris and, worried that Rick will be in danger because of his record, Ilsa advises him to leave the city. He refuses to go without her, and she agrees to meet him at the train station. Instead of coming, though, she sends him a farewell note, and Sam and Rick leave just ahead of the Nazis. Rick's thoughts return to the present with Ilsa's arrival at the café. She tries to explain her actions, but when a drunken Rick accuses her of being a tramp, she walks out. The following day, Lazlo and Ilsa meet with Renault and, there they learn that Ugarte has been killed while in police custody. After Rick helps a young Romanian couple win enough money at roulette to allow them to leave the country, Lazlo, suspecting that Rick has the letters, asks to buy them. Rick refuses and, when Lazlo asks his reasons, suggests that he ask Ilsa. Angered when Rick allows his orchestra to accompany a rousing rendition of "La Marseillaise," Strasser orders the closing of the Café. That night, while Lazlo attends an underground meeting, Ilsa meets Rick and explains that she stayed behind in Paris because, on the day Rick left Paris she had learned that Lazlo, her husband, whom she had married in secret and thought dead, was alive. Now realizing that they still love each other, Ilsa tells Rick that he must made decisions for both of them. Meanwhile, the police break up the underground meeting, and Lazlo takes refuge at Rick's. Before he is arrested, he begs Rick to use the letters to take Ilsa away from Casablanca. The next day, Rick sells the café to his competitor Ferare, the owner of the Blue Parrot, and tricks Renault into releasing Lazlo from prison. They head for the airport, but Renault has managed to alert Strasser, who hurries after them. At the airport, Rick tells Ilsa, who thought that she would be staying with him, that she is to leave with Lazlo because she gives meaning to his work. He then tells Lazlo that he and Ilsa loved each other in Paris, and that she pretended she was still in love with him in order to get the letters. Lazlo, who understands what really happened, welcomes Rick back to the fight before he and Ilsa board the plane. Strasser arrives just as the airplane is about to take off and when he tries to delay the flight, Rick shoots him. Renault then quickly telephones the police, but instead of turning in Rick, he advises them to "round up the usual suspects," and the two men leave Casablanca for the Free French garrison at Brassaville. It is, Rick says, "the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Cast: Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil, Vivien Leigh
Directors: Victor Fleming, Sam Wood, George Cukor, Chester Franklin, James Fitzpatrick
Producer: David O. Selznick
Writer: Sidney Howard, Barbara Keon, Lydia Schiller, Connie Earl
Cinematographer: Ernest Haller, Lee Garmes
Genre: Romance
Production Company: Selznick International Pictures, Inc.
Composer: Max Steiner
In 1861, Scarlett O'Hara, the headstrong sixteen-year-old daughter of wealthy Georgia plantation-owner Gerald O'Hara, is sick of hearing talk about going to war with the North. She much prefers to have beaux like Brent and Stuart Tarleton talk about the next day's barbecue at Twelve Oaks, the neighboring Wilkes plantation. When the twins reveal the “secret” that Ashley Wilkes is planning to marry his cousin Melanie Hamilton from Atlanta, Scarlett refuses to believe it because she is in love with Ashley herself. Her father later confirms the news when he returns home to Tara, the O'Hara plantation, and advises Scarlett to forget about the serious-minded Ashley, because “like should marry like.” At the barbeque, Scarlett acts coquettish with all of the young men, hoping to make Ashley jealous, then, during an afternoon rest, sneaks into the library to see him. He says that he will marry Melanie because they are alike, but leads Scarlett to believe that he loves her instead of Melanie. When he leaves, Scarlett angrily throws a vase and is startled to discover Rhett Butler, a notorious rogue from Charleston, who has been lying unnoticed on a couch the entire time. She is angry at his seeming indifference to the seriousness of her feelings for Ashley and annoyed by his frank appreciation of her physical beauty. Later, when news arrives that war has broken out between the North and the South, Scarlett is stunned to see Ashley kiss Melanie goodbye as he leaves to enlist, and in a daze accepts the impulsive proposal of Melanie's brother Charles.
Just after Ashley and Melanie marry, Scarlett and Charles marry as well, delighting Melanie, who tells Scarlett that now they will truly be sisters. Some time later, Scarlett receives word that Charles has died of the measles, and she is forced to don widow's black clothing and refrain from going to the parties she loves. Her understanding mother Ellen decides to let her go to Atlanta to stay with Melanie and her Aunt Pittypat, hoping that Scarlett will feel less restless there. At an Atlanta fundraising bazaar, Scarlett is so bored watching other girls dance, that when Rhett bids for her in a dance auction, she enthusiastically leads the Virginia Reel with him, oblivious to the outrage of the shocked local matrons. Rhett, who has become a successful blockade runner, continues to see Scarlett over the next few months and brings her presents from his European trips. As the war rages, Melanie and Scarlett receive word that Ashley will be returning home on a Christmas leave. Atlanta is now suffering the privation of a long siege, but the women manage to give Ashley a small Christmas feast. Before he returns to the front, Ashley tells Scarlett that the South is losing the war and asks her to stay by the pregnant Melanie.
Melanie goes into labor as Atlantans leave the city before Northern troops arrive. When Aunt Pitty leaves for Charleston, Scarlett desperately wants to go with her, but remembers her promise to Ashley, and remains with Melanie. Because Melanie's labor is difficult and the doctor is too busy attending wounded soldiers to come to her aid, Scarlett must attend her alone. After the baby is born, Scarlett sends her maid Prissy for Rhett, who reluctantly arrives with a frightened horse and a wagon. Though he thinks that Scarlett is crazy when she insists upon returning to Tara, he risks his life to drive the women and the infant through the now-burning city. Outside Atlanta, as Rhett and Scarlett see the decimated Southern army in retreat, he feels ashamed and resolves to join them for their last stand. Scarlett is furious with him, even after he admits that he loves her and gives her a passionate kiss before leaving. When the women finally arrive at Tara, the plantation is a shambles and the house has been looted. Scarlett's mother Ellen has just died of typhoid and her father's mind is gone. Desperate for something to eat, Scarlett first tries drinking whiskey, then goes into the fields. After choking on a radish, she vows that if she lives through this she will never go hungry again. [An Intermission divides the story at this point.]
Soon Scarlett bullies her sisters and the remaining house slaves into working in the fields. After she kills a Yankee scavenger and, with Melanie's help, hides the body, the contents of his wallet provide them with some money for food. When the war ends, Ashley returns and Scarlett goes to him for advice when Pork, one of the former slaves who has remained with the family, tells her that $300 in taxes are owed on Tara. Ashley offers no solution to her problem, but admits once again that he loves her, even though he will never leave Melanie. More determined than ever to obtain the money after Jonas Wilkerson, a ruthless Yankee who was once Tara's overseer, says that he is going to buy Tara when it is auctioned off for taxes, Scarlett decides to ask Rhett for the money. With no proper clothes to wear, Scarlett and her old governess, Mammy, use material from Tara's velvet drapes for a new dress. In Atlanta, they discover that Rhett has been imprisoned by the Yankees, but has charmed his way into their good graces. Scarlett tries to pretend that everything is fine at Tara, but Rhett soon sees her roughened hands and realizes what her situation is. Because he is under arrest and his money is all in an English bank, Rhett cannot help Scarlett, so she leaves, infuriated. That same day, she runs into Frank Kennedy, her sister Suellen's beau, and sees that he has become a successful merchant. Scarlett tricks Frank into marrying her by telling him that Suellen loves someone else, and is thus able to use his money to save Tara. Scarlett then moves to Atlanta to work at Frank's shop and to make his fledgling lumber business a success. She also uses an unwitting Melanie to help make Ashley come to work at the lumber mill. One day, Scarlett is attacked by scavengers while driving her carriage near a shanty town, but is saved by Big Sam, a former Tara slave. Scarlett is not physically harmed, but that night Frank, Ashley and some of the other men band together to “clear out” the shanty. While Scarlett, Melanie and the other women wait at Melanie's house, Rhett arrives to warn them that the Yankees are planning an ambush. Melanie tells him where the men have gone, and some time later, he prevents their arrest by pretending to the Yankees that they have all been drinking with him at the notorious Belle Watling's bordello. Ashley is wounded, but Frank has died on the raid.
A few weeks later, Scarlett, who is drinking heavily, is visited by Rhett, who proposes to her and offers to give her everything she wants. Though she says that she does not love him, she agrees to marry him, and on their expensive honeymoon, he vows to spoil her to stop her nightmares of the war. A year later, Scarlett gives birth to a daughter, whom Melanie nicknames “Bonnie Blue.” Though Rhett has never cared about Atlanta society, he now wants to ensure Bonnie's future. He begins to acquire respectability, and within a few years his charitable contributions and sincere devotion to Bonnie impresses even the hardest of Atlanta's matrons. Meanwhile, Scarlett still longs for Ashley and has told Rhett that she no longer wants him to share her bedroom. One day, Ashley's sister India and some other women see Scarlett and Ashley in an embrace. Though nothing improper happened, Scarlett is afraid to attend Melanie's birthday party for Ashley that night. A furious Rhett forces her to attend, though, then leaves. Melanie's open affection to her makes Scarlett ashamed, and when she returns home she sneaks into the dining room to drink. There she finds Rhett drunk and a violent quarrel erupts. After Scarlett calls Rhett a drunken fool, he grabs her and carries her upstairs, angrily telling her that this night there will not be “three in a bed.” The next morning, Scarlett is happy, but when Rhett scoffs that his behavior was merely an indiscretion, her happiness turns to anger. Rhett then leaves for an extended trip to England and takes Bonnie with him.
Some months later, because Bonnie is homesick, Rhett returns to Atlanta and discovers that Scarlett is pregnant. She is happy to see Rhett, but his smirk of indifference and accusation about Ashley enrages her so that she starts to strike him and falls down the stairs. She loses the baby, and although she calls to him during her delirium, Rhett does not know and thinks that she hates him. After she recovers, he suggests that the anger and hatred stop for Bonnie's sake, and Scarlett agrees, but as they are talking, the headstrong Bonnie tries to make her pony take a jump and she falls and breaks her neck. Both are shattered by Bonnie's death, especially Rhett, who refuses to let her be buried because Bonnie was afraid of the dark. Only Melanie, to whom Rhett has always felt a closeness, convinces him to let the child go. After her talk with Rhett, Melanie, who has become pregnant despite the danger to her health, collapses and suffers a miscarriage. On her deathbed, Melanie asks Scarlett to take care of Ashley, but when Scarlett sees how much the distraught Ashley loves Melanie, she finally realizes how wrong she has been for years and knows that it is Rhett she truly loves. She rushes back home and tries to prevent him from leaving her, but he will not stay because it is too late for them. Scarlett tearfully asks him what she will do and as he leaves he answers, “Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.” Through her sobs, Scarlett begins to think of Tara, from which she has always gained strength, and determines that she will return there and will think of a way to get Rhett back. She resolves to think about it tomorrow for, “after all, tomorrow is another day.”
Production Company: Beta Productions, The Mirisch Company, Inc., Seven Arts Productions, Inc., B & P Enterprises, Inc.
Composer: Leonard Bernstein
In the slums of the upper West Side of Manhattan, New York, a gang of Polish-American teenagers called the Jets compete with a rival gang of recently immigrated Puerto Ricans, the Sharks, to “own” the neighborhood streets. The tension between them is marked by their bullying and tormenting of one another, and when a series of incidents erupts into a fistfight on a playground, two policemen, the bigoted Lt. Schrank and Officer Krupke, arrive in time to break it up. Afterward, Riff, the leader of the Jets, suggests to his companions that they settle their differences with the Sharks once and for all by challenging them to a “rumble,” which is their term for a street fight. Although Riff warns that the Sharks may choose to fight with zip guns or knives rather than fists, the Jets are enthusiastic about his idea. For support, Riff meets with Tony, a former member of the Jets who is like a brother and who now works in a candy store owned by good-hearted Doc. Riff asks Tony to attend a dance at the gym, an area considered neutral territory where Riff can present the challenge to Bernardo, the Shark’s leader. Tony, who has lost interest in promoting violence, reluctantly agrees to accompany him out of friendship. When Tony confides that he has been having premonitions that something special is about to happen to him, Riff suggests that it may be waiting for him at the dance. Meanwhile, Bernardo’s younger sister Maria and his girl friend, Anita, both of whom work at a bridal shop, are finishing a dress for Maria to wear to the dance, which will be her first since immigrating to America a month earlier. Although Bernardo has hopes of her marrying his comrade Chino, Maria tells Anita that she does not have special feelings for her brother’s friend. That evening, at the gym where the dance is held, Bernardo is introducing Maria to other Puerto Ricans, when several members of the Jets arrive. Both gangs are poised to fight, when Glad Hand, the social worker, and Krupke intervene. The dancing continues and soon becomes a competition between the rival gangs and their women, who refuse to intermingle. From opposite sides of the dance floor, Tony and Maria spot each other and, entranced, move toward each other and begin to dance. Seeing them together, Bernardo protectively pulls Maria away, telling her that Tony is only interested in sexual favors, and orders Chino to take her home. Before Bernardo leaves, he and Riff agree to meet later at Doc’s for a “war council,” where they will determine the time and place of the rumble. At his family’s apartment, Bernardo lectures Maria about the dangers in America, but Anita half-jokingly scolds him, saying that in their new country, women are free to see whom they wish. Anita and Bernardo meet with their friends on the rooftop, where they engage in a lively discussion about the pros and cons of living in America. Although the women tease the men that life in America is better than in their home country, the men complain that it is only better if you are white. Meanwhile, Tony walks the streets in a daze, bewitched by the thought of Maria. She is in her room, preparing for bed, when she hears Tony calling out her name from the alley below and climbs through the window to the fire escape to be with him. Believing that Maria is the fulfillment of his premonition, Tony is eager to acknowledge publicly his love for her, but Maria is aware that their families will not approve. After admitting their love for each other and marveling at how their lives have changed in one evening, they part, agreeing to meet the next day at the bridal shop after closing time. At Doc’s shop, the Jets are restlessly waiting for the Sharks to arrive, when the police drive up. Although Krupke is suspicious that the gang is up to mischief, he is called away and the boys then make fun of him, as well as social workers, judges, psychiatrists and all those who have failed to alleviate the poverty and violence in which they have been reared. When the Sharks arrive, the two gangs decide the time and location of the fight, but as they discuss weapons, Tony, who has by then returned to help close the shop for the evening, convinces them to have a “fair fight,” using nothing but fists. Schrank enters, prompting the two gangs to pretend to get along, and demands to know what they are planning. When no one will talk to him, he harasses the Puerto Ricans, ordering them out, and then tells the Jets that he wants his beat clear of the immigrants as much as they do. When the Jets still refuse to confide in him, he tauntingly refers to their family members as drug addicts and prostitutes. After everyone leaves the shop, Doc expresses his dismay at Schrank’s behavior, but Tony, who is buoyed by love, believes that everything will be all right. The next day, Maria’s co-workers notice her happiness and she admits that she feels “pretty.” Anita is still at the shop when Tony arrives, but grudgingly allows them time together. Although Tony has no plans to attend the fight, Maria urges him to go and stop it from happening. Then, they playfully pretend to have a wedding, with store mannequins in attendance. Later, in the evening, the Jets and the Sharks prepare for the rumble, while Anita prepares for a romantic interlude with Bernardo when he returns. While helping Doc, Tony can think of nothing but Maria, who is at home, waiting impatiently for the end of the evening, when she and Tony can be together. At the appointed place, the Sharks and the Jets meet, and the best fighter from each gang, Bernardo and Ice, respectively, prepare to fight as the others look on. When Tony arrives, his efforts to stop the fight inadvertently escalate the battle into a knife fight between Riff and Bernardo. When Bernardo unexpectedly kills Riff, Tony, in a fit of passion, takes the dead Riff’s knife and stabs Bernardo. Although Tony is immediately overcome with shame for killing Maria’s brother, the other gang members join the fight, but all flee when they hear the sound of a police siren. Waiting on the rooftop for Tony, Maria is surprised when Chino arrives to tell her that Tony killed Bernardo. Praying that he is lying, Maria runs to her room and finds Tony, who confesses. Although she wants to hate him, she finds she cannot and says that the problem is not with either of them, but everything around them. Together, they envision a place where they can go that is free of prejudices. Outside, the police cruise the streets, but the gang members evade them. The Jets meet, stunned, because they never expected anyone would be killed. When their anxiety leads to internal bickering, Ice, who is now their leader, tells them to be “cool.” When they learn from an eavesdropping tomboy, Anybodys, that Chino is carrying a gun and bent on revenge against Tony, they organize to protect him. Anita, who discovers that Maria has been with Tony, is offended that she would remain faithful to a boy who would kill her brother, but is soon won over by Maria’s love for Tony and warns her about Chino’s mission. Although Maria and Tony had planned to rendezvous at Doc’s and leave town together, when Schrank detains Maria to question her about Bernardo’s death, Anita agrees to tell Tony that she will soon be with him. However, when Anita enters the candy store, the Jets, suspicious of her motives, prevent her from finding Tony, then attempt to rape her. Doc enters in time to stop them, but, in anger, Anita says that Chino, jealous of Maria’s love for Tony, shot her dead. When Doc informs Tony, who is hiding in the cellar, of Maria’s presumed death, Tony goes out to the street, yelling for Chino to kill him, too. When he arrives at the playground, Tony sees Maria, alive, and runs toward her, but Chino steps out of the shadows and shoots him. Tony falls into Maria’s arms and as he dies, he and Maria talk about the place of which they had dreamed. Members of both gangs are gathering, and as they edge toward each other menacingly, Maria steps between them and takes the gun from Chino. Threatening both gangs with the gun, she accuses all of them of killing Tony, Riff and Bernardo. When Schrank and Krupke arrive, Maria kisses Tony and after she says “Te adoro, Anton,” members of the two gangs, united at least for a while, help to carry Tony’s body away.
Writer: Ian McLellan Hunter, John Dighton, Dalton Trumbo, Ian McLellan Hunter, Dalton Trumbo
Editor: Robert Swink
Cinematographer: Frank F. Planer, Henri Alekan
Genre: Romantic comedy
Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp.
Composer: Georges Auric
While in Rome, Italy, during a multi-city goodwill tour, Princess Anne, the youthful heir to a European crown, impresses the guests of an embassy ball with her charm and poise. Later, as she is preparing for bed, Anne, feeling overwhelmed by her tedious, endless schedule, starts to scream uncontrollably at her efficient secretary, Countess Vereberg. To calm her, Anne's doctor injects her with a sedative, but before the drug takes effect, Anne sneaks out of the palatial embassy and hides in the back of a truck. Anne jumps out when the truck reaches a lively part of town, but is already starting to yawn from the sedative. Soon after, American reporter Joe Bradley spots her prostrate on some stairs and hears her mumbling in English. Joe is unaware of her identity and assumes she is drunk, but reluctantly drags her into a cab. When Joe asks the increasingly groggy Anne for an address, she insists that she lives in the Colosseum. Not knowing what else to do, Joe takes Anne to his tiny apartment. There, while trying to undress herself so that she can don Joe's pajamas, Anne admits that she has never been alone with a man and begins to recite poetry. Frustrated, Joe goes out for coffee after instructing her to sleep on his couch. When he returns, however, he finds her curled up in his bed and rolls her onto the couch. The next day, Joe, who was scheduled to interview the princess that morning, wakes up late and rushes out, leaving behind the still sleeping Anne. At his newspaper office, Joe, unaware that the princess' activities for the day have been cancelled, lies to Hennessy, his editor, that he conducted the interview. When Hennessy shows him a newspaper report about the princess' sudden "illness," Joe stares at the accompanying photograph and realizes that the princess is the woman on his couch. Seeing his opportunity, the perpetually broke Joe gets Hennessy to agree to pay him $5,000 if he produces an exclusive, revealing interview with the princess, complete with photographs. Back at Joe's apartment, Anne finally wakes up and introduces herself as Anya. After drawing Anne a bath, Joe slips out and telephones his photographer friend, Irving Radovich, telling him only that he needs him for an important story. Now bathed and dressed, a grateful Anne borrows 1,000 lire, or $1.50, from Joe and leaves on foot. Joe follows her, watching with amusement as she buys a pair of shoes from a street vendor. Anne then enters a barbershop and insists that the barber, Mario Delani, cut her long hair into a stylish bob. Mario is taken with the transformed Anne and invites her to a barge dance that night. With her last bit of money, Anne buys a gelato and at the Trevi fountain, is joined by Joe, who pretends he has run into her. Anne, in turn, claims she is a runaway schoolgirl and admits that her only desire is to spend the day having fun. Anxious to please, Joe takes her to a nearby cafe, where she meets Irving, who, unaware of Joe's scheme, almost reveals Joe's identity. After Joe fills him in, Irving, using a miniature camera hidden inside a cigarette lighter, snaps pictures of Anne smoking her first cigarette. The three then go sightseeing, and Anne, whom Irving nicknames "Smitty" after she states that her last name is Smith, jumps on a motorscooter Joe has rented and takes a wild ride around the plaza. The ride gets them arrested, but when Joe claims that he and Anne were on their way to get married, the police let them go. Anne and Joe test their truthfulness at the ancient sculpture Bocca della Verità, or Mouth of Truth, and then visit a wall on which passersby post their hopes and wishes. Having made her wish, Anne asks to be taken to the barge dance near the Castel Saint Angelo and there enjoys a romantic dance with Joe. When Mario shows up and cuts in, Joe and Irving become excited imagining the publicity potential of the headline "The Princess and the Barber." Just then, secret service agents from Anne's homeland grab her and start to drag her away. Anne screams for Joe, who races to the rescue and instigates a brawl. Anne gleefully joins in the fracas and jumps in the Tiber River with Joe to escape capture. After swimming to safety, Joe and Anne embrace and kiss, then return to Joe's apartment. There, Anne hears a radio report about the distress her "illness" is causing her people and sadly tells Joe she must leave. Stopping near the embassy, Joe and Anne share a final, passionate kiss before Anne runs off into the night. In the embassy, Anne's advisors scold her for neglecting her duty, but Anne silences them by stating that duty was the only reason she came back. The next day, Hennessy drops by Joe's apartment, anxious to collect his story, and is dismayed when Joe insists he does not have one. Irving then shows up with the photographs he took of Anne, but Joe refuses to use them. Later, Anne appears at the previously scheduled press conference and is pleasantly surprised to see Joe and Irving there. After Joe lets her know through his public comments that her secrets are safe with him, Anne deviates from protocol and shakes hands with the reporters. Irving then gives her the photos he took, and with tears in her eyes, she tells Joe how much she has enjoyed meeting him. Heartbroken, Joe watches Anne retreat with her advisors and walks out of the embassy alone.
Writer: Delmer Daves, Leo McCarey, Donald Ogden Stewart
Editor: James B. Clark
Cinematographer: Milton Krasner
Genre: Melodrama
Production Company: Jerry Wald Productions, Inc.
Composer: Hugo Friedhofer
Notorious playboy Nickie Ferrante makes worldwide headlines when he becomes engaged to Lois Clark, one of the richest heiresses in America. While sailing from France to New York to meet his intended, Nickie is intrigued when he sees fellow passenger Terry McKay carrying his misplaced cigarette case. After Terry returns the case, Nickie tries to flatter her, prompting her to comment sarcastically on his reputation. When Nickie follows Terry to her room, she points to the photograph of Kenneth, her fiancé, nestled on her nightstand, and although Terry steadfastly resists Nickie's charm, she accepts his dinner invitation. Over dinner, the tart-tongued Terry banters with Nickie. The next day, as each receives a message from his or her sweetheart, Terry tells Nickie that she worked as a nightclub singer until meeting the wealthy Kenneth, who has been schooling her on how to be the perfect cultured wife. Concerned that their fellow passengers may gossip about their budding friendship, Terry insists that she and Nickie go their separate ways. That night, when they are seated back to back at different dining tables, the room breaks out into laughter at their charade. During a chance meeting in the swimming pool the next morning, Nickie invites Terry to meet his grandmother when the ship docks at Madeira. Terry is certain that he is taking her to visit another one of his conquests until she meets the gracious aging woman who inhabits the serene villa on the hill. There, Terry and Nickie kneel in the chapel together, and Nickie is profoundly moved when Terry solemnly bows her head in prayer. Afterward, during a tête-à-tête with Nickie's grandmother, Terry learns that Nickie is a talented artist, but that his restlessness has prevented him from developing his ability. Grandmother then confides that she hopes Terry may provide the anchor to Nickie's rootlessness. Later, as Grandmother plays a tune on the piano, Terry accompanies her in song. Their idyll ends when the ship's horn summons them back, and after Grandmother tearfully bids Nickie goodbye, she promises to send Terry her beautiful white lace shawl one day. That night aboard the ship, Terry thanks Nickie for a memorable day, and after they kiss, Nickie comments that they have changed course. On the evening before docking in New York, Terry confesses that she no longer loves Kenneth. Realizing that they have both finally found happiness, Nickie proposes and asks Terry to wait for him six months so that he can prove himself worthy of supporting her. Terry promises to give him her answer in the morning. The next day, as they sail into the New York harbor, Terry makes a date to meet Nickie in six months, on July 1, at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and Nickie suggests that they reunite at the Empire State Building, the nearest thing to heaven in New York. When the ship docks, Nickie and Terry half-heartedly greet their intendeds, and as Kenneth hugs Terry with his back to Nickie, Nickie pauses and tenderly places a kiss on Terry's hand. At Lois's estate, Nickie is about to break his engagement when a television reporter arrives to interview the couple whose "romance has captured the imagination of the whole world." Kenneth and Terry watch the interview, and when Terry reacts emotionally to Nickie's statement that he plans to marry in six months, Kenneth realizes that she has fallen in love with him. Three months of hard work later, Nickie takes a series of paintings to Courbet, the art dealer. Although Courbet advises Nickie to trade on his notoriety, Nickie insists on painting under a pseudonym. Terry, meanwhile, has resumed her singing career in Boston. Desperate for money, Nickie takes a job as a billboard painter until he finally sells his first canvas. At the end of six months, Terry flies to New York. In anticipation of her wedding, she stops at her favorite dress shop to buy an "irresistible" frock. When the clerk notifies Kenneth that Terry is there, he hurries to meet her. Protesting that she is late, Terry rushes out the door. After hailing a cab to the Empire State Building, Terry jumps out at her destination and with her eyes focused skyward, she is struck by an oncoming car. High atop the Empire State Building, meanwhile, Nickie anxiously awaits Terry's arrival, impervious to the ambulance sirens below. As midnight approaches, a torrential rainstorm breaks over the city and Nickie, despondent, ends his vigil. Meanwhile, in a nearby hospital, an incoherent Terry calls for Nickie, and her doctor informs Kenneth that she may never walk again. Stubbornly refusing to contact Nickie until she is able to walk, the convalescing Terry takes a job teaching music to orphaned children. Upon his grandmother's death, Nickie makes a final pilgrimage to her villa and wistfully recalls the blissful night he spent there with Terry. At Christmastime, Nickie returns to New York for a showing of his work, and is invited by Lois to attend the theater. After the performance, Nickie is stunned to see Terry seated on the aisle with Kenneth. On Christmas Eve, Nickie, unaware of Terry's condition, appears at her door and finds her reclining on the couch. After bitterly reproaching her for failing to keep their rendezvous, Nickie presents her with his grandmother's shawl. As Terry drapes the shawl across her shoulders, Nickie sardonically remarks that he once painted her wearing that shawl. He continues that Courbet told him that a young, crippled woman admired the painting with such fervor that he instructed the art dealer to give it to her. Finally comprehending that Terry was that woman, Nickie flings open her bedroom door and, seeing the painting, is confronted with the painful truth of her condition. After he tearfully embraces her, Terry declares that if he can paint, she can walk.
Cast: Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Bradford Dillman
Directors: Sydney Pollack
Producer: Ray Stark
Writer: Arthur Laurents
Editor: John F. Burnett
Cinematographer: Harry Stradling, Jr.
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Rastar Productions, Inc.
Composer: Marvin Hamlisch
One night during World War II, Jewish radio show director Katie Morosky recognizes the handsome naval officer asleep at a Manhattan bar as Hubbell Gardiner, with whom she attended college in the mid-1930s. Touching his face, Katie remembers their first attraction: A determined political activist and president of the Young Communist League, Katie gives a moving speech at a peace rally, but the rally turns sour when several students mock her sincerity with a sign reading “Any Peace but Katie’s Piece.” Angered and unable to formulate a humorous retort, Katie calls the onlookers fascists. Weeks later, Katie is surprised when her literature professor chooses to read the short story of star athlete Hubbell instead of her own. Although Katie had dismissed Hubbell as a spoiled, white Anglo-Saxon protestant, she is so discouraged by his writing talent that she throws her own story away, while secretly pining for him. Weeks later, Katie spots Hubbell at an outdoor café and crosses the street to avoid him, but affable Hubbell insists that the “puritan” celebrate the sale of his story with a beer. Unable to make small talk, Katie asks Hubbell who he really is under the nonchalant reserve. Despite their differences, Katie toasts to Hubbell’s yet-to-be-written first novel. Later in the year, Katie is working at the school dance with fellow activist Frankie McVeigh when Hubbell leaves his girl friend Carol Ann to dance a slow song with Katie, their first and only romantic encounter before graduating in 1937. Back in the present, Hubbell is startled to see Katie and, in his drunkenness, follows her home, where he collapses. Hoping for a romantic turn of events, Katie undresses and climbs into bed with Hubbell, who has sex with her without really being conscious of the act, then leaves abruptly the next morning. A week later, Hubbell, unable to find a hotel room, accepts Katie’s offer to stay at her apartment, where she reveals she has a copy of his first novel. Although embarrassed at its lack of success, Hubbell is eager to hear Katie’s opinion. Katie suggests that while the writing is good, his characters are too distant and, remembering a line from his college short story, asks Hubbell if life continues to be as easy as “ice cream” for him. Charmed by her frankness, Hubbell kisses Katie and a romantic love affair ensues. The couple is at ease alone, but at a party hosted by Hubbell’s college friend J. J., Katie is aggravated by the uptown crowd’s vacuous humor and jealous of Carol Ann, who is now J. J.’s girl friend. Months later, Hubbell shows the first eight chapters of his novel to Katie, who is overjoyed by his work. Knowing that Katie has little respect for Hollywood, Hubbell tells Carol Ann his plan to sell the book’s movie rights, knowing that she will respond with enthusiasm. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt suddenly dies in 1945, Katie, an ardent fan of his liberal policies, is overwrought with grief and seeks solace with Hubbell. Taking her to J. J.’s, Hubbell is humiliated when Katie refuses to tolerate the crowd’s insulting jokes about Eleanor Roosevelt. After vehemently castigating the crowd, Katie storms out, despite Hubbell’s decision to remain. She apologizes to Hubbell later for her tantrum and jokes that she will become more tolerant after taking classes in protestant cooking, but Hubbell decides they cannot reconcile their differences and leaves her. Days later, when a sleepless Katie begs Hubbell speak with her as a friend, he goes to her apartment and gives her sleeping pills and alcohol. Katie then forces Hubbell to admit that she is not the right “style” for him nor does she belong to his class. Enticed by Katie’s ferocious drive for both of them to achieve their best, Hubbell reunites with her. The couple marries and moves to Hollywood to make a film adaptation of Hubbell’s novel, financed in part by J. J., who is the film’s producer. While Katie works as a script reader and maintains their home, Hubbell and J. J. secure well-known director George Bissinger to make the picture. Hubbell and Katie easily fit into the social scene, including parties at Bissinger’s mansion attended by J. J., Carol Ann, George’s wife Vicki, agent Rhea Edwards and Paula Reisner, a political émigré who is disturbed by the growing anti-Communist sentiment in Hollywood. Tensions are rising in the film community as more people testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, which are heard on regular radio broadcasts. Hubbell selfishly resists taking a stand on the issue for fear that any political alliance will hurt his career, while Katie grows more upset by the discrimination. When the now pregnant Katie and others discover a government surveillance microphone hidden in Bissinger’s home, she quickly organizes a group to go to Washington D.C. to challenge the committee on the basis of First Amendment rights. Unable to convince his wife to remain in Hollywood, Hubbell accompanies her to Washington D.C. Outside the hearings, Katie loudly defends the Hollywood Ten, ten Hollywood writers and directors who, after refusing to name friends as Communist sympathizers, were blacklisted from work. When someone in the crowd calls her a “commie bitch,” Hubbell starts a fistfight, prompting the surrounding police to usher them away from the throngs of reporters and protestors. Once alone, Hubbell vehemently argues that Katie’s protests are pointless. Days later, desperate to keep some control of his novel, Hubbell agrees to make any cuts Bissinger requires to the screenplay. Defeated by his own compromise and feeling ostracized by his wife’s actions, Hubbell has an affair with Carol Ann, who is leaving J. J. and returning to New York. After a screening of the latest cut of Hubbell’s film, Katie confronts Hubbell about compromising the novel’s integrity and his affair with Carol Ann. Hubbell can only reply that their problems are deeper than the affair. Although J. J. suggests that, unlike the loss of Carol Ann, losing Katie would be something of consequence, Hubbell is unmoved. Returning home one evening, Hubbell claims that he had no ambition to finish his first novel or write another, and tells Katie that those were her dreams, not his. Finally realizing their differences are irreconcilable, Katie asks that Hubbell to remain with her only until the baby is born. Years later in Manhattan, the now remarried Katie is protesting the nuclear bomb, when she sees Hubbell with his new, ashe blonde wife. After cordial introductions are made, Katie learns that Hubbell is now an uninspired television writer. Katie invites Hubbell to her home to meet her new husband and see their daughter Rachel, but, knowing that a reunion is impossible, they sadly embrace and depart.
Cast: Geraldine Chaplin, Julie Christie, Tom Courtenay
Directors: David Lean
Producer: Carlo Ponti, Arvid L. Griffen
Writer: Robert Bolt
Editor: Norman Savage
Cinematographer: Freddie Young
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Carlo Ponti Productions
Former Bolshevik Police Commissar Yevgraf Zhivago, now a general in charge of a huge Soviet dam, has traced a young girl whom he believes to be the daughter of his half brother, Yuri, and the beautiful Lara. ... The orphaned Yuri goes to live in Moscow with the family of aristocrat Alexander Gromeko. He becomes a doctor and later marries Gromeko's daughter, Tonya. Yuri meets Lara, the daughter of dressmaker Amelia, when he helps save her life after a suicide attempt prompted by her seduction by Komarovsky, Amelia's lover. Yuri and Lara meet again at a party, where Lara vengefully shoots and wounds Komarovsky. She is taken from the party by a young political idealist, Pasha, whom she soon marries. When the Great War breaks out in 1914, Yuri goes to the front to aid the soldiers, and again encounters Lara, who has become a nurse. They fall in love, but though she has been deserted by Pasha, their relationship remains platonic. When Yuri returns to Moscow, he finds the city changed by the revolution. The Gromeko home has been taken over; the government looks with disfavor on Yuri's poetry; and he and his family, cold and starving, travel by train to their country estate in the Urals. At a library in nearby Yuriatin, Yuri again meets Lara, who is in the town to see Pasha, now known as the bandit general Strelnikov. At her apartment, Yuri and Lara make love, and their affair continues for some months. With Tonya pregnant, however, Yuri sees Lara for what he says will be the last time. On his way back to the estate, he is conscripted by the Red Army. In northern Russia, Yuri deserts the army and makes his way hundreds of miles to Yuriatin. He finds that his family has been deported to France, and he goes to Lara's apartment. Yuri and Lara are soon met by Komarovsky, who tells them that they are in danger, Yuri for his poetry and his family's associations with partisan groups in Paris, and Lara because of her associations both with Yuri and her husband. Yuri and Lara move to the estate, where they stay until they can no longer hide. (There Yuri writes a series of poems dedicated to Lara.) About to flee, Yuri changes his mind at the last moment and decides to stay in his homeland. Many years later, Yuri is helped by Yevgraf to find a job. As he travels to work on a streetcar, he sees Lara. He desperately makes his way through the crowded vehicle until he, too, is on the street, but when he tries to call to her, he collapses. Eventually, Lara is arrested, and she spends her last years in a labor camp. ... The young girl has only vague recollections of her past, and the photographs of Lara and Yuri in the latter's book of verse mean nothing to her. She leaves with her boyfriend, and, looking at her from afar, Yevgraf is certain of her identity.
Writer: Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra
Editor: William Hornbeck
Cinematographer: Joseph Walker, Joseph Biroc, Victor Milner
Genre: Comedy-drama, Fantasy
Production Company: Liberty Films, Inc.
On Christmas Eve, 1945, prayers are heard in heaven for George Bailey of Bedford Falls, New York. To help George, Clarence Oddbody, an angel who has not yet earned his wings, is being sent to earth to keep the despairing George from killing himself on this crucial night. To prepare him for his task, Clarence is shown George's life: As a child, George stops his younger brother Harry from drowning in an icy pond, then catches a bad cold and loses his hearing in one ear. Weeks later, George goes back to work at his after school job in Mr. Gower's drugstore and prevents Gower, who has gotten drunk after learning that his son has died of influenza, from accidentally dispensing arsenic-filled capsules to a sick child. George promises the remorseful Gower never to tell anyone about the incident and he never does. In 1928, as a grown young man, George, who has always dreamed of travel to exotic places, is about to leave on a world tour with money he has saved since high school. That night, at his younger brother Harry's high school graduation party, he becomes attracted to Mary Hatch, a girl who has secretly loved him since childhood. After a Charleston contest that results in an unscheduled splash into the school's swimming pool, they discuss their different ideas for the future until George's Uncle Billy comes for him with the news that his father has had a stroke. After Mr. Bailey's death, George's trip is canceled, but he still plans to leave for college until he learns that the board of directors of his father's financially tenuous building and loan society will not keep it open unless George manages it. Fearing that Mr. Potter, the town's richest and meanest man, will then have financial control of the town, George agrees to stay. Four years later, when Harry returns from college, financed by his brother, George again looks forward to leaving the stifling atmosphere of Bedford Falls and letting Harry run the business. However, when he learns that Harry has just married Ruth Dakin, whose father has offered Harry a good job, he again sacrifices his future to ensure Harry's. That night, George wanders over to Mary's house. Though he is adamant that he never intends to marry, he realizes that he loves her. Soon they are married, but as they leave for their honeymoon, a run on the bank convinces George to check on the building and loan. Because the bank has called in their loan, they have no money, only the honeymoon cash that Mary offers. Through George's persuasive words, most of the anxious customers settle for a minimum of cash, and they end the day with two dollars left. That night, Ernie the cab driver and Bert the cop show George his new "home," an abandoned mansion that Mary had wished for the night of the graduation dance. As the years pass, George continues to help the people of Bedford Falls avoid Potter's financial stranglehold as Mary rears their four children. On the day before Christmas, after the end of World War II, the 4-F George elatedly shows his friends news articles about Harry, who became a Medal-of-Honor-winning flier, while Uncle Billy makes an $8,000 deposit at the bank. Distracted by an exchange with Potter, Billy accidentally puts his deposit envelope inside Potter's newspaper, and Potter does not give it back when he finds it. Later, after Billy reveals the loss to George, they vainly search, while a bank examiner waits. Now on the verge of hysteria over the possibility of bankruptcy and a prison term for embezzlement, George goes home, angry and sullen. He yells at everyone except their youngest child Zuzu, who has caught a cold on the way home from school. He screams at Zuzu's teacher on the telephone, then leaves after a confrontation with Mary. He desperately goes to Potter to borrow the money against the building and loan, or even his life insurance, but Potter dismisses him, taunting him that he is worth more dead than alive. At a tavern run by his friend, Mr. Martini, George is socked by Mr. Welch, the teacher's husband. Now on the verge of suicide, George is about to jump off a bridge when Clarence comes to earth and intervenes by jumping in himself. George saves him, and as they dry out in the tollhouse, Clarence tells George that he is his guardian angel. George is unbelieving, but when he says he wishes that he had never been born, Clarence grants his wish. Revisiting Martini's and other places in town, George is not recognized by anyone and discovers that everything has changed. Harry drowned and Gower went to jail for poisoning the sick child. The town was renamed Pottersville and is full of vice and poverty. When George finally makes Clarence show him Mary, he discovers that she is a lonely, unmarried librarian. Finally, unable to face what might have been, George begs to live again and discovers that his wish is granted when Bert finds him back at the bridge. At home, an elated George is soon greeted by Mary, who has brought their friends and relatives, all of whom have contributed money to help him out. Harry arrives and offers a toast to his "big brother George, the richest man in town." As a bell on the Christmas tree rings, Zuzu says that every time a bell rings an angel receives his wings, and George knows that this time it was Clarence.
Harvard University student and hockey player Oliver Barrett IV visits the Radcliffe College library and meets music major Jenny Cavilleri, who works there to help pay tuition. Despite the fact that he is from a distinguished, wealthy Boston, Massachusetts, family and she is the daughter of a poor Italian baker from Rhode Island, they are attracted to each other. After several months together, Jenny tells Oliver that she has received a scholarship to study music in Paris, France; instead of pursuing her studies, however, she accepts Oliver's proposal of marriage. Although they receive her father's blessings, Oliver's father threatens to disinherit him. Nevertheless, the young couple is married in a simple ceremony. After graduation, Oliver applies for a grant to law school, but the dean refuses to accept his financial separation from his father as evidence of his need for the money. To meet the costs of school and rent, they move into a poor section of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Jenny goes to work as a schoolteacher. When Oliver finally completes law school, they move to New York City, where he enters a prestigious law firm, and they happily plan a family. One day, Oliver is called into the office of Jenny's doctor, who tells him that Jenny is dying. Shocked and heartbroken, Oliver tries to hide the truth until he finds that Jenny already knows. The couple faces the inevitable prospect of death. Because he needs a great deal of money for medical expenses, Oliver visits his father and borrows $5,000, although he does not explain the reason for the loan or apologize for not communicating with him. Soon, Jenny is in the hospital, and dies in Oliver's arms. As Oliver leaves, his father arrives to console him, but Oliver rejects the reconciliation, walks to Central Park, and there recalls his brief life with Jenny.
Cast: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee
Directors: Charles Chaplin
Writer: Charles Chaplin
Editor: Charles Chaplin
Cinematographer: Rollie Totheroh, Gordon Pollock, Mark Marklatt
Genre: Comedy-drama
Production Company: Charles Chaplin Productions
Composer: Charles Chaplin
At an outdoor dedication ceremony, a tramp is discovered sleeping in the arms of a statue as it is being unveiled before a crowd. He is chased into the city, where he meets a beautiful, blind flower girl, and buys a flower with his last coin. That night, he stops a drunken man from drowning himself. Gratefully, the man invites him to his mansion, which is presided over by a snobby butler named James and they begin to drink. The millionaire and the tramp continue their revels at a nightclub. Early the next morning, when they return home, the millionaire drunkenly offers the tramp money and the use of his Rolls Royce. The tramp uses his windfalls to help the flower girl. Because she cannot see his shabby clothes, the girl thinks her benefactor is a wealthy young man. Determined to help her, the tramp returns to the mansion, but the millionaire has sobered up and does not recognize him, so the tramp takes a job cleaning streets and gives the girl and her grandmother what money he can. By accident the tramp finds out they are behind in their rent and that there is a doctor in Vienna who can cure blindness by an expensive operation. Needing money in a hurry to help his friends, the tramp agrees to participate in a crooked boxing match for a cut of the winning purse, but his crooked partner is replaced by a legitmate fighter, who knocks him cold. Out on the streets, the tramp runs into the millionaire, who is back from Europe. Drunk again, he gladly gives the tramp $1,000 for the operation, but two crooks see the transaction and rob them. The tramp calls the police, but by the time they arrive, the crooks have vanished and the police arrest the tramp. He runs away and manages to give the money to the girl before he is taken off to jail. The girl gets her operation and opens up a successful flower shop, imagining her benefactor in every rich young man who comes into the shop. When the tramp gets out of jail, he wanders into the shop by accident. Naturally, she does not recognize him, and laughingly offers him a flower and a coin. He refuses the money, but when she presses it into his hand, she recognizes him by the feel of his skin and is moved.
Editor: Ralph Rosenblum , A.C.E., Wendy Greene Bricmont
Cinematographer: Gordon Willis , A.S.C.
Genre: Romantic comedy
Production Company: United Artists Corp.
Raised in Brooklyn, New York, Alvy Singer grows up to become a well-known comedian. As an adult, he encounters relationship problems with his girl friend, Annie Hall, when she starts to withdraw her affection. Annie claims she is only going through a phase and reminds him of how he used to be “hot” for Allison, but then his ardor cooled off. Alvy recalls meeting Allison, an ex-girl friend, at a 1956 benefit performance for Adlai Stevenson’s presidential campaign. By 1964, Alvy has lost interest in the relationship. While making love to Allison, he obsesses over conflicting evidence related to the John F. Kennedy assassination, and Allison accuses him of using his fixation to avoid intimacy with her. Alvy reflects that there is some truth in what Allison says—that, like the old Groucho Marx joke, he really does not want to be in any club that would have him as a member. In a happier moment in their relationship, Alvy and Annie Hall vacation at the seashore, and delight in each other’s company as they attempt to cook live lobsters for dinner. Alvy asks Annie if he is her first love. She says no, and reminisces about old boyfriends. When Alvy suggests that Annie is lucky he came along, she responds, “Well, la-dee-dah." Alvy is unimpressed with her choice of words, and Annie suggests that he prefers intellectual women because he married two of them. However, Alvy’s memories of his earlier marriages are not particularly happy. He recalls meeting Annie in 1975, on a tennis date with his friend, Rob, and Rob’s girl friend, Janet. Annie, a sometime actress from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, offers Alvy a ride home and invites him up to her apartment for a drink. She makes him uncomfortable when she observes that he is what her “Grammy” Hall would call a “real Jew,” and goes on to explain that her grandmother hates Jews. As they engage in a pretentious conversation about Annie’s photography, they are both distracted by their own insecure inner monologues. Annie reveals that she is auditioning to sing at a local nightclub on Saturday night. Alvy tells Annie he would love to hear her sing and she overcomes her shyness by allowing him to attend. At the nightclub, the audience is restless. Afterward, Annie is embarrassed, believing that the crowd hated her. Alvy assures her that she has a good voice and the audience loved her. He proposes that they kiss before dinner, to get over the awkwardness of a first kiss. The cultural divide between them is revealed at a delicatessen when he orders corned beef on rye, and she orders pastrami on white bread. They make love that night, and afterward Annie smokes marijuana. Soon she moves in with Alvy, although he believes she should maintain a separate apartment. Later, at the beach house, Annie wants to smoke a joint before making love, and suggests that Alvy might not need a psychiatrist if he resorted to marijuana. Upset that Annie needs to get high in order to make love, he takes the joint away. As he starts to kiss her, Annie’s bored spirit separates from her body and searches for her sketchpad so she can draw while her dispirited body has sex with Alvy. When she argues that she needs marijuana to feel comfortable, he again tells her that it upsets him. As a comedian, he is not interested in getting laughs from people who are high, because they are always laughing anyway. Early in his own career, Alvy was reluctant to perform and wrote material for other comics, but now he has overcome his fears and is successful. One night, he performs at the University of Wisconsin and Annie is impressed with his reception by the students. She tells him she is beginning to understand some of the cultural references in his act. Alvy and Annie go to Chippewa Falls to spend Easter with her family. The anti-Semitic Grammy Hall cannot help but see Alvy as an orthodox Hasidic Jew—with spring curls, a beard, and a black suit and hat. Alvy makes a mental comparison between the Hall family’s dinner table etiquette and that of his own raucous New York Jewish family. Later, Annie’s brother, Duane Hall, invites Alvy into his room and confesses that when he is driving at night he sometimes has the urge to drive head-on into oncoming cars. Later, Duane drives Alvy and Annie to the airport, and Alvy is petrified with anxiety. Back in New York, Annie accuses Alvy of following her. He denies the charge and says that he was spying on her and saw her kissing David, her Russian literature professor. Later, Annie enters into psychoanalysis, and notes that Alvy’s last name is “Singer” and that she wants to be a singer. She accuses Alvy of not wanting to be in a committed relationship because he does not think she is smart enough. He counters that encouraging her to take adult education courses is a way to broaden her horizons. He then contradicts himself by saying that such classes are empty and shallow. After Alvy and Annie have broken up, he muses that he has always been attracted to the wrong kind of women. His friend, Rob, introduces him to Pam, a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine. Although they have little in common, they end up having sex and Pam describes the experience as Kafkaesque. During their post-coital conversation, Annie calls Alvy for help, and he rushes over to her apartment. Arring there at 3:00 a.m., he discovers the crisis is merely that there are two spiders in her bathroom. After Alvy kills the spiders, Annie tells him she misses him and asks him to stay. She inquires if someone was in his room when she called, but he denies it. Later, in bed, Annie suggests that she and Alvy never break up again, and they are reunited. After singing again at the nightclub, Annie is approached by record producer Tony Lacey, who invites her and Alvy to his room at the Hotel Pierre. At Alvy’s insistence, Annie turns down the invitation. Instead, he takes her to watch the somber documentary The Sorrow and the Pity, about French anti-Semitism during World War II. With their respective analysts, Annie and Alvy come to similar but different conclusions. She views a day they spent in Brooklyn as the last time they had fun together. He feels that they never have any laughs anymore. Asked how often they have sex, Alvy says, “Hardly ever—three times a week,” while Annie responds, “Constantly! Three times a week.” At a get-together with friends, Annie and Alvy are offered cocaine. Annie urges Alvy to try it, and mentions that they will soon be going to California. Alvy dips the tip of his finger in the white powder, puts it to his nose, then sneezes into the container, sending the drug up in a puff around the room. In California to present an award, Alvy becomes offended when Rob instructs an editor to add fake laughs to the latest episode of his hit comedy series. Alvy is suddenly taken ill and is unable to appear on the awards show. Rob takes him and Annie to Tony Lacey’s Christmas party, and Tony suggests to Annie that they record an album in about six weeks. Flying back to New York, Annie realizes that she liked California, and Alvy that he enjoyed flirting with other women. Each fears breaking up for fear of hurting the other, but ultimately they decide to separate. Later, leaving a movie theater alone, Alvy mentions to himself that he misses Annie, and a passing couple stops to tell him that she is living in California with Tony Lacey. Another stranger asks why he doesn’t go out with other women. Attempting to prepare lobsters at the beach house with another woman, things are not the same as with Annie, and the magic is gone. Alvy calls Annie on the phone, saying that he wants her to come back. In desperation, he travels to Los Angeles and calls her from the airport. They agree to meet at a Sunset Strip health food café, where Alvy asks Annie to marry him and she refuses. Being a New Yorker, Alvy is unused to driving. Leaving the restaurant in his rented car, he smashes into several other cars and ends up in jail. Back in New York, Alvy watches a rehearsal of his new play. Two actors recite dialogue from his last meeting with Annie, but art does not imitate life: the girl in the play agrees to return to New York with the protagonist. In the rehearsal hall, Alvy turns to the audience and says he wanted to have his first play turn out perfectly, the way life seldom does. He mentions running into Annie again, after she returned to New York and moved in with another man. He saw her coming out of a screening of The Sorrow and the Pity and considered it a personal triumph. Sometime later, they had lunch and talked about old times and then parted. He is reminded of an old joke about a guy who goes to a psychiatrist complaining that his brother thinks he is a chicken. The doctor asks, “Why don’t you turn him in?” and the man replies, “Because we need the eggs.” Alvy recognizes that relationships are difficult, but we keep putting ourselves into them “because we need the eggs.”
Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway
Directors: George Cukor
Producer: Jack L. Warner
Writer: Alan Jay Lerner
Editor: William Ziegler
Cinematographer: Harry Stradling
Genre: Musical comedy
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Phonetics professor Henry Higgins gets involved in an altercation with Cockney flowergirl Eliza Doolittle as he is taking notes on her accent outside of London's Covent Garden in 1912. Colonel Pickering, another language enthusiast, quiets the argument, and Higgins boasts to him that after training Eliza for 3 months he could pass her off as a duchess. The next day Eliza arrives at Higgins' house, prepared to pay for diction lessons so that she may realize her dream of obtaining a position in a shop. With Pickering's help, Higgins begins a complete transformation of Eliza. Her first public appearance at the Ascot horseraces is a dubious success. A few months later, Eliza is a greater success at the season's biggest social event. After the affair, Higgins and Pickering congratulate each other on Eliza's transformation, completely ignoring her and her part in the process. She leaves Higgins' house in anger. Finding her father preparing to marry, Eliza seeks refuge with Higgins' mother. She is paid court by Freddie Eynsford-Hill, a young admirer. Higgins finds Eliza at his mother's, but they quarrel and he returns home. Sitting alone in his study, Higgins realizes that he cannot be happy without Eliza. As he sits listening to recordings of her voice made during her diction lessons, Eliza quietly enters the room through the door behind him.
Cast: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer
Directors: Sydney Pollack
Producer: Sydney Pollack, Kim Jorgensen
Writer: Kurt Luedtke
Editor: Fredric Steinkamp, William Steinkamp, Pembroke Herring, Sheldon Kahn
Cinematographer: David Watkin
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance
Production Company: Universal Pictures , Mirage Enterprises
Composer: John Barry
In 1913 Kenya, East Africa, a Danish aristocrat named Karen Christenze Dinesen travels cross-country by train to Nairobi, where she will be married to Baron Bror Blixen, a nobleman who lost his family fortune and is seeking adventure in the British colony. Although Karen was recently betrothed to Bror’s twin brother, he broke off the engagement, and she convinced Bror to enter into a marriage of convenience, in which she will invest her dowry as venture capital for a dairy farm. Fearing spinsterhood and domestic servitude, Karen hopes the enterprise will secure her independence. On the way to Nairobi, Karen’s train is briefly delayed by a mysterious game hunter, Denys George Finch Hatton. He loads elephant tusks into the cargo car, and asks her to deliver them to his associate, Berkeley Cole. Arriving at her destination, Karen is met by an African manservant, Farah Aden, who takes her to the Muthaiga Club, a British establishment that prohibits women. After a brief, informal wedding to Bror outside, Karen’s curiosity leads her to a club apartment filled with books. Her trespassing is interrupted by the kindly Berkeley Cole, who has retrieved the tusks and reveals that the residence belongs to Denys. Karen insists on leaving the resort before making a second encounter with the enigmatic sportsman, and travels through the night to her new home on a remote farm. There, she is distressed to learn that Bror has used her money to purchase a coffee plantation instead of a dairy ranch, and is further perturbed when her husband leaves for an extended hunting trip with no plans to return. Mourning her abandonment, Karen gets to work planting coffee beans, and hires local Kikuyu tribesmen for labor. One day, Karen sets out alone on a hunting safari and is cornered by a lioness, but Denys comes to her rescue, and she invites him back to the farm with his travelling companion, Berkeley. At dinner, Denys asks Karen to tell them a story and is mesmerized by her imagination. Karen, who declines to be identified as a writer and refers to herself as a “mental traveler,” is delighted by her newfound company, and is reluctant to bid them farewell. As Denys leaves, he gives Karen a pen and urges her to become an author. Alone again, Karen loses patience with Bror’s truancy and heads out in search of her wayward husband. When she orders him to come home, their bond becomes more intimate, and they make love. However, their budding domesticity is interrupted by the start of WWI, and Bror leaves again to fight on the African front. In time, Karen receives a request for supplies and sets out on a safari to deliver the goods, ignoring warnings from friends and tribesmen. Karen crosses paths with Denys on her treacherous journey, and he gives her a compass. She arrives at Bror’s camp disheveled but victorious, and the troops are stunned by her bravery. Bror admits his disinterest in the farm, but Karen has fallen in love, and wants to enjoy their romance. Returning home alone, Karen learns she has contracted syphilis from Bror’s rampant infidelities, and is forced to go back to Denmark for arsenic treatment. She survives, although she loses her ability to have children. Back in Nairobi, Karen oversees the thriving coffee plantation and establishes a school for the Kikuyu children, defying protests from Chief Kinanjui and British colonists. At a New Year’s Eve celebration, Karen is reunited with Denys. He argues against assimilating Kikuyu youths, noting that their indigenous culture must be preserved, but kisses Karen at the stroke of midnight. Meanwhile, Bror makes love to a mistress in his car. When Karen discovers the transgression, she orders her husband to leave. She continues to manage the plantation single-handedly, but her enterprise suffers with the falling prices of coffee beans. One day, Karen receives an unexpected visit from Denys, who invites her to join him on a safari. During their adventure, they camp in the wilderness and share stories of their past lives. Karen reveals that her father committed suicide when she was ten years old, and Denys washes her tangled hair. On a hunt, the two are charged by a pair of lions and narrowly survive. As their friendship evolves, Karen warns Denys that she had syphilis and is infertile, but he is undeterred, and they make love. Still, Denys is not interested in domestic life, and when the safari is over, he leaves Karen at the farm. Berkeley warns her to be wary of Denys, and suggests she divorce Bror to establish herself as an independent woman. Karen declines, musing that she must keep her marriage because she will never be able to hold on to Denys. In time, Denys returns for a passionate reunion, and shares news that Berkeley is dying from malaria. His friend has maintained a secret romance with a Somali woman for years, and the newly divulged affair has sparked controversy among expatriates. With new appreciation for committed relationships, Denys establishes a home base at Karen’s farm. The couple creates an unconventional union, in which Denys leaves for weeks at a time, and Karen stays home to write. One day, Denys returns in a biplane and takes Karen for an exhilarating flight above the African landscape. Although Karen flourishes in love, her crops wane, and she is forced to secure a risky loan. The bank threatens to take over her land, and evict the Kikuyu natives. Sometime later, Bror asks Karen for a divorce so he can marry another woman. Karen appeals to Denys for a marriage proposal, but he declines, declaring his dedication to personal freedom. When he considers taking a female friend on a safari, Karen asks him to move out. While Karen’s crops improve, her plantation is destroyed in a fire, and she decides to leave Africa. At a garden party, she approaches British governor Sir Joseph Byrne on bended knees, begging him to grant land rights to the Kikuyu, and his wife promises to oblige. As Karen walks away, Denys offers to lend support, but she refuses. He later visits the farm, and admits he no longer wants to be alone. Although Karen remains firm in her decision to leave, she accepts his invitation to fly her to Mombasa, where she will meet her boat for Denmark. Before his return, however, Denys is killed in a plane crash, and Karen delivers an impassioned eulogy at his hillside funeral. Moving out of Africa through Nairobi, Karen is given a hero’s welcome at the Muthaiga Club, where she was once shunned for being a woman. She bids farewell to her devoted manservant, Farah Aden, and gives him Denys’s compass. Making one last attempt to overcome distinctions of class, race, and gender, Karen asks Farah to refrain from referring to her as “msabu,” the deferential term for “mistress.” The African tribesman utters her name. Back in Denmark, Karen remembers her adventures and is heartened to learn that Denys’s grave is frequented by lions.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley
Directors: John Huston
Producer: S. P. Eagle
Writer: Peter Viertel, John Collier
Editor: Ralph Kemplen
Cinematographer: Jack Cardiff
Genre: Romance
Production Company: Horizon Enterprises, Inc., Romulus Films, Ltd.
Composer: Allan Gray
In September 1914 in the German East African village of Kungdu, British Reverend Samuel Sayer and his spinster sister Rose lead prayers at the makeshift First Methodist Church. The natives struggle to follow the English psalm, but race outside when they hear Canadian Charlie Allnut's ancient launch the African Queen chug into the village, laden with mail and goods. Though conscious of his lower social standing, Charlie lunches with the Sayers, who delicately ignore his rumbling stomach. Before leaving, he informs them about the encroaching war in Europe, and although the Sayers are frightened, they refuse to desert the village. Only hours later, however, German troops invade Kungdu, imprison the natives and burn down the huts. By the time the smoke clears, Samuel has begun to lose his mind from shock and grief. He soon collapses, unintentionally wounding Rose by raving that their attraction to missionary work grew out of a lack of more attractive social options. When Charlie returns to the destroyed village the next day, he finds Samuel dead, and helps Rose bury him. She then accepts Charlie's offer to hide from the Germans on his boat. Once they are on the river, Charlie explains that the Germans have positioned a heavily armed steamer, the Louisa, at the mouth of Lake Tanganyika to block British troops. Rose immediately forms a plan to attack the Louisa by crafting torpedoes out of explosives and an oxygen tank, strapping them to the African Queen and ramming into the steamer. Charlie tries desperately to dissuade her, describing the German fort and impassable rapids they will have to face along the way, but Rose's determination eventually shames him into agreeing to the plan. After they set sail, he teaches Rose how to read the river, and they negotiate how to bathe in private. That night, a pouring rain forces Charlie to seek shelter under Rose's tarpaulin, and after at first banishing him, Rose softens and allows him to sleep near her. They reach the first set of rapids the next afternoon, and Charlie's hopes that the death-defying experience will frighten Rose are dashed after she proclaims it the most stimulating physical experience she has ever had. At night, a frustrated Charlie taps into his gin reserves and later rants drunkenly that he will not sail any farther, calling Rose a "skinny old maid." He awakes the next morning to find her pouring each of his gin bottles into the ocean. Hours later, he begs her to speak to him, and she finally reveals that it is his refusal to sail which has infuriated her. Charlie yells but then quickly backs down, agreeing to accompany her while doubting their chances for success. Their first obstacle is the German fort, where the soldiers open fire on the African Queen. The engine is hit, but Charlie repairs it and they sail on. Immediately afterward, they reach another set of rapids. Rose struggles to steer while Charlie races to keep the engine stoked, and although they are badly pummeled, they miraculously reach calm waters. Thrilled, Charlie and Rose fall into an embrace which quickly becomes romantic. Later, as they declare their love, they finally learn each other's first name. They then sail peacefully past exotic flora and fauna until they hit a waterfall, which damages the rudder. Although Charlie despairs, Rose devises a plan to weld a new rudder, and days later, the boat is fixed. Just miles down the river, however, they are attacked by a horde of mosquitoes, which terrifies Rose and forces them to stay in open water. Within days, they become lost in the stagnant shallows. Thick reeds bog down the boat, forcing Charlie to pull it through the water. When he finally boards again, exhausted, he finds leeches covering his body, and even though he is shaking with revulsion, he must return to the water to keep the boat moving. Hours later, they reach land, where Charlie feverishly tells Rose they may not make it but that he loves her. They both collapse into sleep, and during the night, a fresh rain sweeps the launch downstream onto Lake Tanganyika. They awaken to find the Louisa only miles away, and retreat into the reeds to hide. By the next day, they have discerned the ship's sailing pattern and Charlie makes the torpedoes. They set out on their attack that night, but a sudden storm capsizes the launch and Rose and Charlie are separated in the dark. Charlie is imprisoned by the Germans and, not wanting to live without Rose, accepts his sentence of hanging. Just then, however, Rose is brought in, and when she hears that Charlie is to be killed, proudly admits their whole scheme to the soldiers. Before they are hanged, Charlie requests that the captain marry them, and just as the service ends, the African Queen surfaces, hits the Louisa and explodes. Floating together in the water, the newlyweds see the boat's nameplate, realize that their plan has succeeded after all, and happily swim toward the shore.
In the mid-19th century, on the barren moors in Yorkshire, England, stands Wuthering Heights, an old house in which the dour Heathcliff and his servants live. One night, during a snowstorm, Heathcliff is visited by a young man named Lockwood, who is to be Heathcliff's new neighbor. Lockwood asks for a cup of tea and a guide to take him to his place at The Grange, but Heathcliff refuses to give him an escort and reluctantly allows him to stay the night. Late that night, Lockwood's fitful sleep is disrupted by a noisy window shutter, and as he closes it, he hears a voice scream the name "Cathy" and feels an icy hand touch his. When Lockwood relates the disturbance to his host, Heathcliff rushes outside, into the blizzard, calling Catherine's name. Perplexed by the bizarre occurrence and Heathcliff's strange behavior, Lockwood asks Ellen Dean, the housekeeper, to tell him about Catherine. Ellen relates the story, which began forty years previously, when Wuthering Heights was owned by Cathy's family, the Earnshaws: One day, upon his return from a trip to Liverpool, Cathy's father introduces his children to an orphaned gypsy child whom he has brought to live with them. While Cathy becomes friendly with the boy, whom her father names Heathcliff, her brother Hindley is contemptuous of his presence and throws a stone at him. After vowing to take revenge on Hindley in the future, Heathcliff joins Cathy on a trip to Peniston Crag, a remote location where they pretend to be the king and queen of their make-believe castle. Following the death of Mr. Earnshaw, Hindley assumes control of Wuthering Heights and forces Heathcliff to become his stableboy. Years pass, and Heathcliff continues to labor under the cruel treatment of Hindley, who is now drinking heavily and gambling. Heathcliff finds comfort and protection in his friendship with the sympathetic Ellen and in his love for Cathy, who meets him secretly at Peniston Crag. While returning home from one of their afternoons at the crag, Heathcliff and Cathy stop to peek into an elegant ball taking place at the nearby Linton mansion. They are soon caught, however, by the Lintons' guard dogs, which attack and injure Cathy. Cathy receives kind attention from the Lintons, but when they mistreat Heathcliff, she advises him to leave and come back for her when he has attained wealth. Time passes, and Cathy, who has been recuperating at the Linton estate, is now the sweetheart of the young Edgar Linton, heir to the family fortune. When Cathy and Edgar visit Wuthering Heights, they are surprised by the presence of Heathcliff, who tells Cathy that his love for her is too strong to permit him to go away. Because Edgar looks down on Heathcliff, Cathy yells at Edgar to leave the house. One night, Cathy tells Ellen that Edgar has proposed to her, and when Heathcliff overhears her say that because Heathcliff has sunk so low, marrying him would demean her, he runs off and does not hear her tell Ellen that she truly loves him and feels that she is Heathcliff. Realizing that Heathcliff heard only the insult, Cathy runs after him. After searching for Heathcliff throughout the night, Cathy collapses on the moors and is found the next day by Edgar, who takes her to his estate, where she recovers from pneumonia. After regaining her health, Cathy marries Edgar and befriends his lonely sister Isabella. Several years pass, and Heathcliff, who disappeared on the night she became ill, returns to England after making a fortune abroad and secretly buys Wuthering Heights by paying Hindley's gambling and drinking debts. Appearing before Cathy as the rich and distinguished gentleman that she wanted him to be, Heathcliff seeks Cathy's love, but she spurns him. Heathcliff takes revenge on Cathy by marrying Isabella and treating her badly. Months later, Cathy becomes gravely ill and, on her deathbed, summons Isabella to her side. Isabella refuses to go, but when Heathcliff learns of her illness he rushes to her side, which makes Isabella realize that her husband is still in love with Cathy. At Linton, while Edgar is out gathering heather for her, Cathy confesses her love for Heathcliff and after they kiss, he carries her to the window for one last look at the moors. While Cathy dies in his arms, Heathcliff prays that her spirit will visit him and not let him live in peace until they are reunited. As Ellen concludes her story of Cathy and Heathcliff's ill-fated love, Dr. Kenneth enters the house and tells her that he saw Heathcliff on the moors with a woman, but when he approached them, found only Heathcliff's dead body. In the distance, Heathcliff's and Cathy's spirits ascend the Peniston Crag.
Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds
Directors: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen
Producer: Arthur Freed
Writer: Adolph Green, Betty Comden
Editor: Adrienne Fazan
Cinematographer: Harold Rosson
Genre: Musical comedy
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Composer: Lennie Hayton
In 1927, fans gather at Hollywood's Chinese Theatre for the premiere of Monumental Picture's latest romantic epic, The Royal Rascal, starring the popular silent screen couple Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont. Don tells radio commentator Dora Bailey that his motto has always been "dignity" and relates the idyllic story of his childhood and rise to fame, all of which is complete fabrication. The audience applauds enthusiastically at the end of the swashbuckling film and asks for speeches from its stars, whom they think are a couple off-screen as well as on, but Don, who loathes his screechy-voiced co-star, insists that Lina merely smile. Assisted by studio boss R. F. Simpson, Don slips away from the cloying Lina and drives with his best friend, studio pianist Cosmo Brown, to the premiere party. On Hollywood Blvd., Cosmo's car breaks down, and Don is surrounded by fans. To escape the screaming mob, who have torn his tuxedo, Don jumps onto a passing car driven by Kathy Selden. She is frightened at first, but when a policeman tells Kathy who Don is, she offers him a ride to his house in Beverly Hills. Although Kathy says that she is a stage actress, who has seen only one of Don's films, she is actually a chorus girl at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub. After dropping Don off to change his clothes, Kathy drives to the party at R. F.'s house, where she will be performing. Don arrives at the party in time to see a short talking picture. Most of the guests are unimpressed by the new phenomenon, even when R. F. says that the Warner brothers are about to release a feature-length talking picture. When the entertainment starts, Don is surprised, but happy to see a scantily clad Kathy jump out of a cake, and tries to talk with her, but she thinks that he only wants to ridicule her. Just as a jealous Lina takes Don's arm, Kathy throws a cake at him, but misses, and hits Lina instead. Kathy quickly runs away, and Don cannot find her. Some weeks later, Warner Bros.' The Jazz Singer is a box office smash and audiences are clamoring for more talking pictures. As Don and Lina start their next film, The Dueling Cavalier, Cosmo makes a crack about all of their films being alike, and Don is stung, thinking that Kathy was right about words being necessary for real acting. Lina continues to complain about Kathy, whom she had fired, which makes Don dislike Lina even more, as he has not seen Kathy since the party. During a break in filming, R. F. announces that they are shutting down production and will resume in a few weeks as a talking picture. Cosmo happily anticipates unemployment, but R. F. makes him head of the new studio music department. Some time later, when a musical number is being filmed for another picture, Cosmo sees Kathy in the chorus. When Don shows up just as R. F. is about to offer Kathy another part, she confesses what happened at the party, but Don tells R. F. that it was not her fault and R. F. agrees. Later, when Kathy and Don are talking, he tells her that his "romance" with Lina is completely fabricated by fan magazines and Kathy confesses that she has seen all of his pictures. Don has difficulty revealing his feelings to Kathy until he takes her to a romantic setting on a sound stage. Soon preparations for The Dueling Cavalier begin with diction lessions for Lina and Don. Although Don is fine, Lina's voice shows little improvement. When filming resumes, director Roscoe Dexter becomes increasingly frustrated by Lina's voice and inability to speak into the microphone, but the picture is completed. When it is previewed on a rainy night in Hollywood, the audience laughs at Lina's voice, howls at synchronization problems, and leaves the theater saying it was the worst film ever made. Later that night, Cosmo and Kathy try to console Don, who thinks his career is over until Cosmo comes up with the idea to turn the film into a musical comedy and have Kathy dub Lina's voice. Don worries that this plan is not good for Kathy, but she convinces him by saying it will be for just one picture. The next day, R. F. loves the idea and they all conspire to keep Lina from finding out. To enhance the picture, they add a modern section in which Don can sing and dance the story of a Broadway hoofer. After the picture is finished, Don tells Kathy that he wants to tell the world how much he loves her, but as they kiss, Lina interrupts them and flies into a rage. She then starts her own publicity campaign proclaiming herself Monumental's new singing star. R. F. is angry, but Lina shows him her contract and he reluctantly agrees that she controls her own publicity. Lina then threatens to ruin the studio unless Kathy continues to dub her singing and speaking voice, but do nothing else. At the picture's premiere, the audience loves "Lina's" voice. Feeling triumphant, Lina boasts that Kathy will keep singing for her, and Don is furious. When the audience clamors for a song from Lina, Don hatches the idea of having Kathy stand behind a curtain and sing into a microphone as Lina pantomines the words. While Lina silently mouths "Singin' in the Rain," Don, R. F. and Cosmo pull the curtain and the audience laughs hysterically when they realize that Kathy is actually singing. Lina does not know what is happening until Cosmo takes the microphone from Kathy and starts singing himself. Lina runs off screaming, and an embarrassed Kathy starts to leave the theater, until Don tells the audience that she is the real star of the film and has her join him in a song. Finally, a billboard proclaims that Don and Kathy are co-stars of the new Monumental film Singin' in the Rain.
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., Star Partners, Ltd.
Italian-American widow Loretta Castorini walks to her bookkeeping jobs in New York City. That evening, at Grand Ticino restaurant, businessman Johnny Cammareri nervously proposes to the thirty-seven-year-old Loretta, who insists he bend on one knee and present her with his pinky ring. However, she warns that her previous marriage was cursed with bad luck because there was no proper ceremony. Loretta then drives Johnny to the airport, where he is leaving to visit his dying mother in Sicily, Italy. While Loretta insists on setting a wedding date, Johnny is unsure when he will return, but they agree to wed in exactly one month. Before getting on his plane, Johnny gives Loretta the business card of his estranged brother, Ronny Cammareri, whom he wants to invite to the wedding. Returning to her family home in Brooklyn with a bottle of champagne, Loretta tells her father, Cosmo, about the engagement, but he warns that Loretta is unlucky in love. Although she insists her luck will change if she has a proper ceremony, Cosmo is suspicious of Johnny and refuses to support the marriage. When Cosmo awakens his wife, Rose, to tell her the news, she is relieved to learn that Loretta does not truly love her future husband. The following day, Cosmo’s aged father walks his five dogs to a local cemetery and regales his comrades with family woes, since Cosmo still refuses to pay for the wedding. One friend chimes in that there will be a full moon that evening, and the elder Castorini declares that the lunar event will provoke romance. In the morning, Johnny telephones Loretta from his mother’s deathbed in Sicily and reminds her to find Ronny. However, Loretta is more concerned about Johnny’s failure to announce the marriage to his mother. Still, she telephones Ronny at the family business, the Cammareri Bros. Bakery, but is unable elicit his sympathy. She walks to the bakery and finds Ronny in the cellar, stoking the oven fires. Seething with rage, Ronny reports that his brother, Johnny, robbed him of his life and reveals his prosthetic left hand. Five years ago, Ronny was also engaged, but Johnny distracted him with a bread order, and Ronny accidentally ran his hand through a slicer. In turn, his fiancée left him for another man. Although Loretta points out that Johnny was not at fault, Ronny fumes that his brother should not be entitled to the same joy of marriage that he was denied. However, he agrees to talk to Loretta in his apartment above the bakery. There, Loretta cooks him a steak and reveals that her deceased husband was hit by a bus. Loretta argues that Ronny is not a victim, but rather a wolf that felt trapped by his pending marriage five years ago; he mangled his hand intentionally, just as a wolf would chew off its own foot, to break free from a snare. Ronny counters that Loretta is losing her head by marrying Johnny out of convenience instead of love. He knocks over the kitchen table, kisses Loretta passionately, and carries her to his bed to make love. Meanwhile, Loretta’s philandering father, Cosmo, presents his mistress, Mona, with a gold bracelet. Sometime later, at the Castorini home, Loretta’s uncle, Raymond Cappomaggi, reminisces about a moonlight courtship he witnessed years ago, between Cosmo and his sister, Rose. However, Cosmo dismisses the conversation, and Rose senses her husband’s infidelity. In the morning, Loretta awakens in Ronny’s bed but insists on going through with her marriage to Johnny. When Ronny declares his love, she slaps his face, ordering him to “snap out of it.” Ronny promises to stay away from Loretta on condition she join him at the Metropolitan opera that evening. After confessing her sins in church, Loretta sees her mother praying. Rose reveals her belief that Cosmo is having an affair. On her way home, Loretta stops at a salon to have her grey hair dyed and her face made up. She then purchases an evening gown and red stiletto-heeled shoes. That night, at Lincoln Center, Loretta and Ronny watch La Bohème while Rose dines alone at Grand Ticino restaurant. There, a regular customer named Perry is humiliated when his date throws her drink in his face. Rose sparks a conversation with Perry, invites him to join her table, and declares that men chase women because they fear death. As Perry walks Rose home arm in arm, they run into Cosmo’s father, who does not acknowledge his daughter-in-law but assumes she is having an affair. Although Perry propositions Rose, she remains loyal to Cosmo. Back at the Met, Loretta catches her father with his mistress, Mona. Cosmo is equally distressed to see his daughter with a man other than her fiancé. After the opera, Ronny walks Loretta home and reflects that she is unwittingly attracted to his wolf-like qualities; a safe marriage to Johnny will kill her bold spirit. Realizing that Ronny has led her back to his apartment, Loretta insists on staying true to Johnny because the wedding will reverse her bad luck. In response, Ronny declares that love is not an ideal of perfection, but rather a purveyor of pain, heartbreak, and ruin. Unable to restrain her passion, Loretta reaches out for Ronny’s prosthetic hand. Meanwhile, Johnny returns to New York City and takes a taxicab to Loretta’s home. Discovering Loretta missing, Johnny tells Rose that his mother miraculously recovered. Rose is still pondering her husband’s affair and asks Johnny why men chase women? In response, he refers to the Bible; ever since God took a rib from Adam to create Eve, men have felt a void near their hearts, and long to recover the loss. When Rose demands to know why men need more than one woman, Johnny confirms her belief that men fear death. The next morning, Loretta saunters home to receive the alarming news of Johnny’s return. Ronny arrives at the Castorini brownstone unexpectedly, and insists on meeting Loretta’s family as they convene at the breakfast table for oatmeal. When Rose asks Cosmo to stop seeing his mistress, he hits the table in anger, but agrees. Soon after, Johnny comes to the house and is shocked to see his brother; he assumes Ronny is there to “make peace.” Johnny announces that his mother revived as soon as she learned about the pending marriage, but now he cannot go through with the wedding because he is suspicious that the ceremony will provoke his mother’s death. Loretta is furious about the broken promise and grudgingly returns Johnny’s pinky ring. Just then, Ronny proposes to Loretta. She demands the ring back from Johnny, and declares her love for Ronny. Champagne glasses are filled for a toast to “the family.”
Cast: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes
Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Alec Coppel, Samuel Taylor
Editor: George Tomasini
Cinematographer: Robert Burks
Genre: Romance
Production Company: Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp.
Composer: Bernard Herrmann
San Francisco police detective John “Scottie” Ferguson is forced to retire after he is involved in a rooftop chase and his acrophobia and accompanying vertigo leads to the death of a fellow officer. Although Scottie hopes to overcome his phobia, his longtime friend, Midge Wood, an artist who is in love with him, cautions him that only a severe emotional shock might snap him out of it. One day, Scottie tells Midge that he has been contacted by Gavin Elster, an old college friend. Scottie meets with Elster at his office near the waterfront, where Elster oversees a shipbuilding business. Elster informs Scottie that he is worried about his young, blonde wife Madeleine, whose rich family built the business that Elster runs. Scottie is baffled by Elster’s claims that Madeleine has been having blackouts and seems to be possessed by someone from the past. Although Scottie is reluctant to become involved, Elster convinces him that he needs a friend to observe Madeleine before he commits her to a mental institution. That night, Scottie goes to Ernie’s, a popular restaurant, so that he can see Madeleine for the first time as she dines with her husband. Scottie is awed by Madeleine’s beauty and the next morning, follows her as she leaves home and goes to a flower shop to buy a nosegay. Seeming to be in a trance, Madeleine then goes to the cemetery of the old Mission Dolores and stands before a grave. After Madeleine departs, Scottie reads the gravestone, which belongs to Carlotta Valdes, who died in 1857 at the age of 26, the same age as Madeleine. Scottie then follows Madeleine to the Palace of the Legion of Honor art gallery and watches as she sits motionless in front of a portrait of a young woman. Scottie is stunned to see that the nosegay Madeleine carries is an exact duplicate of the one in the portrait, and that she even wears the same hairstyle as the painting’s subject. Upon learning that the painting is called “Portrait of Carlotta,” Scottie follows Madeleine as she drives to the McKittrick Hotel, where she enters a room on the second floor. The landlady, who knows Madeleine as Carlotta Valdes, tells Scottie that “Carlotta” comes to the hotel for a few hours several times a week. When Scottie searches the room, however, Madeleine has disappeared. Scottie then goes to Midge’s and when he asks about sources of information about old San Francisco, she takes him to see bookstore owner Pop Leibel. Pop relates that Carlotta was a young beauty, reared in an old mission and romanced by a rich, older man who built a mansion for her. After their child was born, however, the man took the child and deserted Carlotta, who went mad and committed suicide. Scottie is intrigued when Pop states that Carlotta’s mansion eventually became the McKittrick Hotel. The next day, Scottie tells Elster of his findings, and Elster confesses that he knew about Carlotta but did not tell Scottie in order not to prejudice him. Elster reveals that Carlotta was Madeleine’s great-grandmother, but when Scottie declares that it would be natural for Madeleine to become obsessed with her ancestor, Elster asserts that while Madeleine’s mother told him the truth, she never told Madeleine for fear of upsetting her with the knowledge of insanity in their family. Elster insists that Madeleine, who owns several pieces of Carlotta’s jewelry, including the distinctive necklace she wore while sitting for her portrait, has become possessed by Carlotta. Later, Scottie again follows Madeleine, with whom he has become obsessed, as she goes to the museum and then to Fort Point underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. When Madeleine suddenly throws herself into the water, Scottie jumps in and rescues her. Scottie takes the unconscious Madeleine to his apartment to recover and when she awakens, she claims to have no memory of the incident, although she does recall being at Fort Point. When Scottie then asks her if she has ever been to the art gallery containing Carlotta’s portrait, she states that she has not, confirming Elster’s assertion that she does not remember her wanderings to places connected to Carlotta. Their conversation is interrupted by a phone call from Elster, and while Scottie updates him on Madeleine’s condition, Madeleine departs. The following day, Scottie is tailing Madeleine when she comes to his apartment to leave him a note. Scottie suggests that they take a drive, and they go to a Sequoia forest, where they discuss the ephemeral nature of time and memory. As Scottie presses her about why she jumped into the bay, and about “where” and “when” she currently is, Madeleine relates that she feels like she is walking down a long corridor, covered with mirrored fragments that reflect a life not her own, yet familiar. When Scottie continues to question her, Madeleine reveals her fear that she is insane and will die soon. Scottie embraces her and assures her that he will never let her go, and their relationship is sealed with a passionate kiss. Sometime later, Madeleine awakens Scottie late one night, telling him that she had a recurring nightmare about an old Spanish church. Scottie recognizes her description of the area as nearby San Juan Bautista, an old, Spanish mission that has been preserved as it was one hundred years ago, but Madeleine insists that she has never been there. That afternoon, Scottie takes her there to reassure her that it is a real place and that she has nothing to fear from it. In the livery stable, Madeleine describes having lived at the mission, as if recalling Carlotta’s memories of her youth, and Scottie tries to reason with her, showing her things that she might have once seen and become confused about. After sharing another passionate kiss with Scottie, Madeleine runs off, crying that although she loves him, there is something she must do, and that it is too late for them. Scottie follows her as she races up into the church’s bell tower, but as he climbs the stairs, begins to suffer from vertigo. Madeleine reaches the top of the tower before Scottie, and as he looks through a window, sees her fall to the roof of the church below. Devastated, Scottie leaves the scene. Soon after, at the coroner’s inquest, Madeleine’s death is ruled a suicide, although the official lambasts Scottie’s lack of action. Elster consoles Scottie, asserting that it was his fault for getting Scottie involved, and tells him that he is moving to Europe. After having a terrifying nightmare about Madeleine’s death, Scottie suffers a nervous breakdown and is institutionalized for a year. Upon his release, Scottie sees women resembling Madeleine everywhere he goes until one day, he sees a redheaded woman who looks so strongly like Madeleine that he follows her to her room in a cheap hotel. There, the woman, whose name is Judy Barton, believes that Scottie is trying to pick her up, but when he confesses that she reminds him of someone he once loved, she softens and agrees to dine with him that evening. After Scottie departs, however, Judy begins to pack, then writes a letter to Scottie, confessing that Elster concocted a scheme to kill his wife and make Scottie a dupe to cover his crime. As Judy writes, she recalls how Elster transformed her, his mistress, into a sophisticated double of the real Madeleine, then employed Scottie to follow her, and as they hoped, Scottie fell in love with her. Judy had not planned on reciprocating his love, however, and was distressed upon having to betray him by running to the bell tower, from which Elster threw the already dead body of his wife. Deciding that she wants to make Scottie love her as herself, not as Madeleine, Judy destroys the letter. After dinner, Scottie begs to spend more time with her and Judy consents, although as the days pass, she is unnerved by his attempts to transform her into Madeleine by buying her similar clothes and having her hair dyed platinum blonde. Desperate to regain his affection, however, Judy goes along with his efforts until she looks just as she did when she was impersonating Madeleine. His dream of resurrecting Madeleine achieved, Scottie kisses Judy deeply, recalling the last time that he kissed Madeleine before her death. As they prepare to go out, however, Judy unthinkingly dons Carlotta’s necklace, and Scottie deduces Elster’s scheme, and Judy’s part in it. Scottie drives the nervous Judy to San Juan Bautista and there forces her to climb the bell tower, stating that this is his “second chance.” As they climb, Scottie realizes that he no longer suffers from vertigo, and Judy confesses to her part in the crime, revealing that Elster discarded her after his wife’s death. Alternately calling her Madeleine and Judy, Scottie tells her how much he loved her, and Judy responds that they can begin again, with her transformation back into Madeleine as proof of her love for him. Just then, a nun comes into the tower and her footsteps frighten Judy, who steps back and fall to her death on the roof below. Shattered, Scottie looks down at her body.
With the help of their friend, Carl Bruner, young couple Sam Wheat and Molly Jensen renovate a New York City loft and move in together. Late one night, Sam says that he fears something bad will happen, since his life is going too well. When she cannot sleep, Molly goes to her potter’s wheel and makes a vase. Sam joins her, placing his hands on the clay, and they make love. Soon after, at the financial firm where they both work, Sam confides to Carl that there is too much money in some of his accounts. Carl offers to investigate, but Sam says that he has changed his pass code for security reasons and will handle the problem himself. After seeing a performance of Macbeth, Molly and Sam walk home. Molly comments that she always tells Sam she loves him, while he merely responds, “Ditto,” and asks him to declare his love for her more often. Their conversation is interrupted when a mugger steps out of the shadows and holds Sam at gunpoint. Sam speaks calmly to the man, who becomes aggressive. The men tussle and the mugger’s gun goes off, killing Sam. As Molly cradles his head and calls for help, Sam’s ghost watches from afar, then follows Molly to the hospital, where the ghost of an older man greets him. Sam attends his own funeral, where Molly cries and grasps Carl’s hand. The ghost of a woman waves to Sam before stepping through a gravestone. At home, Sam watches over Molly, who talks to her dead boyfriend, telling him she went to the dry cleaner’s that day and broke down in tears when the shop owner asked about him. The cat hisses at Sam when he gets too near, and Molly stops short, sensing his presence. Later, Sam observes as Carl and Molly go through boxes of Sam’s personal items. Molly sets aside various items to keep, including Sam’s address book. Carl encourages her to go for a walk with him, but Sam has a hard time passing through the door to follow them. Just then, the mugger who killed Sam breaks into the apartment. Sam watches as the man searches for something specific, to no avail. Molly returns home, and the mugger escapes. Sam follows him onto the subway, where he encounters a belligerent ghost. The ghost attacks Sam and smashes a window in the process. Sam trails the mugger to his apartment and discovers the man’s name is Willie Lopez. He overhears Lopez make a call, informing someone that he was not able to steal whatever he was after but plans to go back for it. Stunned by the realization that his murder was part of a larger scheme, Sam wanders onto the street. He hears music and enters an open door to a waiting room. A woman named Rosa Santiago is called inside a parlor and Sam follows her. There, Oda Mae Brown, a con artist posing as a psychic medium, pretends to connect with Rosa’s dead husband. Watching in disbelief, Sam voices his disapproval. Oda Mae hears Sam’s voice and panics, as she has never actually communed with the dead. Oda Mae tells Sam to leave her alone, but he refuses. At night, he keeps her awake by singing non-stop until she finally agrees to help him. The next day, they go to Sam and Molly’s apartment downtown. Although Molly initially rejects Oda Mae’s claims, she invites her in after Oda Mae reveals personal information only Sam could know. Relaying a message from Sam, Oda Mae warns Molly that she is in danger. She gives her Willie Lopez’s name and address and explains that Sam’s murder was a setup. That evening, Molly shares the information with Carl, who discourages her from going to the police and offers to check out Willie Lopez himself. Sam follows Carl to Lopez’s apartment and discovers that Carl and Lopez are in cahoots. Carl, who is laundering $4 million in drug money using Sam’s clients’ accounts, needs Sam’s new pass code, which he believes he will find in Sam’s address book. If he does not gain access to the accounts, Carl will lose the $80,000 he stood to make and might be killed. Carl vows to steal the address book himself. Outside, Sam tries to punch Carl, but his hands float through Carl’s body. Molly goes to the police station, where a sergeant pulls up the file of Oda Mae Brown, who has a long history of fraud. Meanwhile, Carl breaks into the apartment and retrieves Sam’s address book. He finds the pass code and goes to the office. Sam observes as Carl successfully transfers the $4 million into one account, under the alias “Rita Miller,” with orders to transfer the money again, the following day, into an offshore account in Nassau. Carl returns to Sam and Molly’s apartment and tries to seduce her by sharing his grief over Sam’s death. Molly laments that she feels alone, and Carl kisses her. Outraged, Sam jumps on Carl, and in doing so, miraculously knocks over a framed photograph of Molly and Sam. Molly jumps up and tells Carl he must leave. Returning to the subway, Sam finds the ghost who attacked him and enlists his help. The subway ghost, who smashed a window while attacking Sam, teaches Sam how to manipulate objects with his mind. Sam returns to Oda Mae’s parlor and finds it teeming with new clients and the ghosts of their loved ones, all of whom Oda Mae can now hear. One of the ghosts jumps into her body and takes it over for a brief moment before she casts him out. Oda Mae complains to Sam that she does not want this newfound power. She orders everyone out of the parlor just as Lopez arrives to kill her. Oda Mae escapes, and Sam follows. He tells her he has a plan to get them out of danger, but he needs her help. At Sam’s behest, Oda Mae dresses up and forges a fake identification card for “Rita Miller.” She goes to a bank and sits down with Sam’s old colleague, Lyle Ferguson. As Sam whispers personal information about Ferguson into her ear, Oda Mae nervously tells the banker that she knows him and announces she is there to close her account. Despite her strange behavior, Ferguson closes the account and gives her a cashier’s check for $4 million. Molly arrives at the bank and recognizes Oda Mae from across the room. With the check in hand, Oda Mae hurries out of the building. Molly asks Lyle Ferguson about Oda Mae, but he claims her name is Rita Miller. On the street, Oda Mae rejoices at her newfound wealth, but Sam insists she get rid of the money or the criminals will trace it to her. With great reluctance, Oda Mae signs over the check to a homeless shelter. Meanwhile, Carl tries to transfer the laundered money, but panics when he finds the account closed. Sam shows up at the office and taunts Carl by moving objects across the room and typing “murderer” on his computer screen. That evening, Carl goes to Molly’s apartment in a state of distress and asks about Sam’s ghost. Molly mentions seeing Oda Mae at the bank, and tells Carl that her real name is Rita Miller. Carl leaves abruptly and heads uptown. Sam goes to Oda Mae’s apartment to warn her that she is in danger, and she hides in a neighbor’s apartment. When Carl and Lopez come searching for her, Sam scares Lopez by moving objects around Oda Mae’s apartment and writing “boo” on a foggy mirror. Lopez runs outside and is hit by a car. Sam watches as Lopez’s ghost is dragged underground by shadowy, black demons. Sam takes Oda Mae back to Molly’s apartment, where Oda Mae tells Molly to call the police. Sam expresses his desire to touch Molly once more, and Oda Mae allows him to inhabit her body. Sam and Molly share a dance, but Sam is knocked out of Oda Mae’s body when Carl breaks in and chases the women to an empty apartment. There, Sam uses his telekinetic powers to fight Carl, who tries to escape through a window but is impaled by a shard of broken glass. Carl’s ghost sees Sam just before the shadowy demons come to collect him. Sam finds Oda Mae and Molly, and asks if they are okay. However, before Oda Mae can respond, Molly answers. A heavenly light shines down and Sam’s ghost becomes visible to the women. Sam tells Oda Mae he will miss her. He kisses Molly goodbye and tells her he loves her, to which she responds, “Ditto.”
In 1941 on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, Pvt. Robert E. Lee "Prew" Prewitt arrives at Schofield Barracks, to which he has voluntarily transferred after quitting the Bugle Corp upon being replaced as First Bugler. Prew reunites with his good friend, Pvt. Angelo Maggio, before meeting with G Company commander and Regimental boxing head, Capt. Dana Holmes. Holmes, aware of Prew's success as an Army boxer, pressures him to join the company boxing club, but Prew steadfastly refuses. Later, Holmes's adjutant, Sgt. Milton Warden, cautions Prew against opposing Holmes, but Prew stubbornly declines to box. Later, Warden sees Holmes's attractive wife Karen visiting the post and learns of her "reputation" from another non-commissioned officer. Upon discovering that Prew refuses to box, the other soldiers in the boxing club harass him relentlessly with Holmes's approval. Maggio protests, only to be disciplined as well. One afternoon, Warden visits Holmes's cottage on a pretext of Army business, knowing that Holmes is out. Karen initially rebuffs Warden's romantic overtures, but soon gives in to his directness. On pay day, Maggio and Prew visit the New Congress Club, where Prew meets a club hostess, Lorene. A drunken Maggio riles "Fatso" Judson, sergeant of the stockade, but Prew prevents a fight between them. Prew later confides in Lorene that he refuses to box because he once blinded a friend while sparring. Meanwhile Warden, who has met Karen for a romantic late afternoon swim in the ocean, angers her by callously condemning her immoral behaviour. Hurt, she reveals that she discovered Holmes's infideltiy soon after their marriage and because of his drunken negligence she miscarried their child and was left incapable of bearing more children. Shocked, Warden apologizes. As the weeks pass, Prew's continued refusal to fight infuriates Holmes, who would like to court-martial him, but Warden convinces him to apply "the treatment," grueling physical punishment in the guise of extra duty. Prew endures the treatment without protest, assuring Maggio he will never give in. One evening at Choy's bar, after Prew surprises the men by demonstrating his skill with the bugle, Warden breaks up another tense confrontation between Maggio and Fatso. Despite Lorene's bewilderment over Prew's tolerance of the treatment, they continue to see each other. She soon confesses that her real name is Alma and gives him the key to her cottage. Soon after, Maggio, angered at being assigned guard duty, goes AWOL and, after being arrested by MPs, is court-martialed and sentenced to six months in the stockade. Meanwhile, Karen encourages Warden to apply for promotion, explaining that as an officer, Warden could be shipped stateside where they could marry after she divorces Holmes. Uneasy, Warden tentatively agrees. Prew proposes to Alma, but she scoffs at him for being an Army "thirty-year-man" and declares her determination to marry well to achieve the social acceptability she craves back in the States. Prew then discovers that Maggio has been placed in solitary confinement as punishment for several escape attempts and has received severe beatings from Fatso. Later, acting on orders from Holmes, Sgt. Ike Galovitch, head of the boxing team, forces Prew into fighting one afternoon, quickly drawing a crowd who cheer Prew on. That night as Prew and Warden sit drunkenly on a camp road, Maggio, severely battered, stumbles out of the woods. Collapsing into Prew's arms, he describes Fatso's brutal abuse and dies, content to have escaped the stockade. On his next free day, Prew searches town for Fatso and knifes him to death in an alley behind Choy's. Seriously wounded, Prew staggers to Alma's for help and remains there for several days. Hearing of Fatso's murder, Warden carries Prew on the active list as long as possible. The camp commander, Gen. Slater, who has investigated the fight between Prew and Galovitch, accuses Holmes of applying illegal measures against a soldier and informs him he must either resign or be court-martialed. Holmes then resigns in disgrace. Karen later tells Warden that Holmes has asked her to return stateside with him and inquires about Warden's commission. When Warden admits he has not submitted the request because he cannot accept being an officer, Karen sadly breaks off their relationship and returns to her husband. The next morning, the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. Prew, still weak, hears of the attack over the radio, and is determined to return to Schofield despite Alma's hysterical protests. Under the cover of night, Prew attempts to slip back into camp, but is shot by a guard. A few days later, sailing on one of the first evacuation ships, Karen meets Alma, who tells her that her fiancé was a pilot, who died bravely during the attack.
Producer: Arnon Milchan, Steven Reuther, Laura Ziskin
Writer: J. F. Lawton
Editor: Priscilla Nedd, Raja Gosnell
Cinematographer: Charles Minsky
Genre: Romantic comedy
Production Company: Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV
Composer: James Newton Howard
At a party in Beverly Hills, California, Edward Lewis speaks to his exasperated girl friend, Jessica, over the phone. Jessica accuses Edward of wanting her at his beck and call, breaks off the relationship, and promises to move out of his New York City apartment. Unfazed, Edward finds his lawyer, Philip Stuckey, and demands the keys to his new sports car. Driving aimlessly around town, Edward ends up in a seedy section of Hollywood, where his car stalls. A young prostitute named Vivian Ward approaches and demands ten dollars when Edward asks for directions. He hands her a twenty-dollar bill, and she slips into the passenger seat, offering to guide him to Beverly Hills herself. Vivian chats with him, sharing her knowledge of sports cars, prompting an amused Edward to allow her to drive. They arrive at his posh hotel, the Regent Beverly Wilshire, and Vivian waits at the bus stop for a ride back to Hollywood. Finding himself drawn to her, Edward asks how much Vivian charges. She lies, claiming she earns $100 per hour, and he agrees to the fee. As she accompanies him to his penthouse suite, Vivian turns heads in her blonde wig and revealing mini-dress. Hoping to expedite their transaction, she asks for payment in advance and produces an array of colored condoms. A bottle of champagne arrives and Edward, who does not drink, pours Vivian a glass. She assures him she requires no seduction, but Edward does not want to be rushed and offers her $300 for the night. When she retreats to the bathroom, Edward suspects Vivian of doing drugs but finds her in the midst of flossing her teeth. He says people rarely surprise him, and Vivian remarks that he is lucky. Edward makes business calls late into the night, as Vivian watches old reruns on television. He finally moves to the couch next to her, and she begins to undress. She asks what he wants and tells him she does everything but kiss on the mouth. The next morning, Vivian finds Edward making business calls at the dining room table. Having removed her wig, she points to her long, red hair, and Edward compliments it. Over breakfast, she asks what he does, and he explains that he buys companies in financial distress, then breaks them up and sells their parts for a profit. She asks to take a bath before she leaves, and Edward receives a phone call from Philip Stuckey, who informs him that James Morse, owner of Morse Industries, and his grandson, David Morse, want to meet him for dinner that evening. Edward, who intends to buy Morse Industries for $1 billion, agrees to go. Stuckey suggests he bring a date, offering to set him up with someone, but Edward replies that he already has a date. He walks in on Vivian, who is singing in the bathtub, and proposes that she spend the week with him. She negotiates a fee of $3,000. Edward gives her money to buy more conservative clothes and leaves for work. Vivian rushes to call her roommate, Kit De Luca, to share the good news. At work, Edward learns that Morse Industries has just received a $350 million contract to build U.S. Navy destroyers. Hoping to stall the contract, he instructs Philip Stuckey to contact a U.S. Senator on the Appropriations Committee. Vivian goes shopping at an upscale clothing store on Rodeo Drive, but is thrown out by snobby sales clerks. She retreats to the Regent Beverly Wilshire, where hotel manager, Barnard Thompson, stops her from getting on the elevator. In his office, Barnard emphasizes that the Regent Beverly Wilshire is not the kind of place a girl like Vivian frequents, but he is willing to overlook her presence if she claims to be Edward’s niece and dresses in more acceptable attire. Vivian complains about the treatment she received at the Rodeo Drive store, and Barnard calls in a favor from Bridget, a department store clerk who treats Vivian with respect as she picks out a cocktail dress for that evening. Although Barnard gives Vivian a tutorial on fine dining, and Edward deems her “stunning” in her cocktail dress, Vivian is skittish at the business dinner. Unable to maneuver her escargot tongs, she accidentally flings a snail across the room. Meanwhile, James Morse and his grandson, David, are offended by Edward’s plans to break up their company and leave before the main course. Back at the hotel, Vivian shares her opinion that James Morse is a good man and suspects Edward agrees. Frustrated, Edward goes downstairs while Vivian watches an old movie on television. She eventually goes in search of Edward and finds him playing piano in the hotel’s empty ballroom. Edward places Vivian on top of the piano and tries to kiss her on the mouth, but she evades his kisses as they begin to make love. In the morning, Edward gives Vivian his credit card to buy more clothes, but she shares her experience with the snobby sales clerks the day before. He accompanies her to a different store and informs the manager they plan to spend an “obscene” amount of money there. Vivian delights in the shopping spree. Later, she stops by the store that rejected her, holds up her shopping bags, and assures the sales clerks they lost out on a huge commission. At his office, Philip Stuckey informs Edward that James Morse has secured a bank loan to keep his company afloat, providing further leverage for the acquisition. However, Edward is lost in thought, and talks about how he liked to build things as a child. The next day, Edward takes Vivian to a polo match, where he introduces her to several acquaintances, including Philip Stuckey. David Morse, who plays for the Los Angeles polo team, recognizes Vivian from dinner and chats with her during a break, as Stuckey eyes them suspiciously. Stuckey tells Edward he does not trust Vivian, but Edward reveals that she is a prostitute, not a spy. Finding Vivian alone, Stuckey wants to hire her services once Edward leaves town. She is offended that Edward revealed her true occupation, and argues with him when they return to the hotel. She threatens to leave, but Edward apologizes for behaving cruelly, and claims he was not prepared to answer questions about their relationship. Later, in bed, Vivian admits she always fell in love with “bums” and followed one to Los Angeles. Finding herself alone and without friends, she took low-paying jobs that did not pay the rent until she met Kit, a prostitute who mentored her and gave her a place to stay. Edward believes Vivian is bright and has great potential, but she tells him she always had an easier time believing negative comments. The next night, Edward takes Vivian on her first plane ride when they fly to San Francisco, via private jet, to attend the opera. She convinces Edward to take the next day off, and to Stuckey’s surprise, Edward does not show up for work. Instead, he goes on a picnic and rides horses with Vivian. At night, she dresses for bed in a flowing nightgown, and finds Edward asleep. Breaking her rule, she kisses him on the mouth, and he wakes up. They make love, and as they snuggle afterward, she tells him she loves him as he pretends to sleep. In the morning, Edward points out that tonight will be their last night together. He tells Vivian he has arranged for an apartment for her, and wants to visit her whenever he is in town. He says the arrangement will get her off the streets, but Vivian admits she wants more. She tells Edward that her mother used to lock her in the attic whenever she misbehaved, and she would fantasize that she was a princess who was rescued by a white knight. Edward laments that he is incapable of giving her more, and leaves for a meeting with James Morse, who is now ready to accept his offer. At the meeting, however, Edward enrages Stuckey when he reveals his new plan to partner with Morse and save his company. That afternoon, Stuckey comes to Edward’s hotel room, but Vivian answers the door and tells him Edward is not there. Stuckey forces himself on Vivian, slapping her and pinning her down. Edward arrives, wrestles Stuckey off of her, and throws him out. Vivian announces she is leaving that afternoon. On her way out, she finds Barnard Thompson, the hotel manager, and he arranges for a limousine to drive her home. The next day, Vivian packs her things to move to San Francisco and bids goodbye to Kit. Just before she leaves, she hears a car horn and sees Edward riding up in the same limousine that drove her home. Despite his fear of heights, Edward climbs the fire escape to Vivian’s apartment and asks her what happens after the white knight rescues the princess. She replies that the princess rescues him right back, and they kiss.
Ethel Thayer and her retired English professor husband, Norman Thayer, Jr., arrive at their New England summer cottage, nestled in the woods next to a lake called Golden Pond. While Norman is a curmudgeon and exaggerates his senility, Ethel has a youthful spirit and is delighted by their holiday. She scolds Norman for his obsession with death. As the couple paddles in a canoe on the lake, Ethel spots two loons and interprets their call as a welcome, but Norman feigns disinterest. Sometime later, Norman grudgingly agrees to pick wild strawberries for Ethel; however, he becomes disoriented in the woods and returns home empty-handed. Meanwhile, postman Charlie Martin delivers the couple’s mail by motorboat, and Ethel insists he stay for coffee. Ethel reads a letter from her divorced daughter, Chelsea Thayer Wayne, announcing that she and her dentist boyfriend, Bill Ray, will be visiting the cottage to celebrate Norman’s eightieth birthday on their way to Europe. Norman is indifferent and preoccupies himself with the newspaper. When Charlie leaves, Norman admits fear that he is losing his wits, but Ethel consoles her husband, saying he is her “knight is shining armor.” Sometime later, on the evening of Norman’s birthday, Chelsea arrives. She refers to her father formally, by his first name, and Norman criticizes his thin daughter for being overweight. The Thayers are surprised that Chelsea is accompanied by thirteen-year-old Billy Ray, the surly son of Bill. Chelsea is shocked to see how much her father has aged. When Chelsea ducks out of the house to avoid her father, Bill remains with the old man and tries to be cordial. Speaking peevishly with his daughter’s suitor, Norman responds sarcastically when Bill asks for permission to sleep in the same room with Chelsea, but Bill refuses to be intimidated. Meanwhile, Ethel and Chelsea swim naked in the lake, laughing about old times. As Bill joins Chelsea outside, Ethel returns to the cottage and asks Norman to do a favor for his daughter; Chelsea has asked them to look after Billy while she and Bill travel in Europe. Sometime later, Chelsea laments her difficult relationship with Norman, and Ethel observes that her daughter has a chip on her shoulder. She warns that life passes too quickly to harbor bad feelings. In time, Chelsea and Bill leave for Europe. Billy is hostile to being left behind, but Norman wins the boy over. He takes Billy on fishing excursions and teaches him to perform a back flip dive off the dock. As days pass, Norman takes Billy fishing at a secret inlet on Golden Pond called Purgatory Cove and tells the boy about his nemesis, a large trout named “Walter” that has eluded him for years. Ethel surprises the men by tracking them down to deliver lunch. As she boats away, Norman is delighted to reel in an enormous rainbow trout, but insists it is not Walter. However, Norman’s spirits darken that evening when he nearly burns down the cottage after leaving the fireplace unattended. He blames Billy for the incident, and the boy’s feelings are hurt, but Ethel reminds Billy that Norman means well, despite his cantankerous demeanor. The following day, Billy is thrilled to motorboat across the Golden Pond on his own. Back at the cottage, Norman astonishes Ethel by stealing a kiss. In the evening, Norman and Billy fish for Walter and the boy helps his elderly friend navigate through a bed of rocks into Purgatory Cove. When they reach their destination and cast lines, Norman accidentally calls the boy “Chelsea,” and Billy admits he is going to miss Norman’s company. Just then, Billy hooks a large fish, but when Norman nets the catch they realize it is a dead loon. When Billy asks if Norman is afraid of dying, the old man dismisses him and insists they boat home. With Billy at the helm, Norman directs the boy through the rocks, but suddenly orders him to reverse. Panicked, Billy mistakenly gears the boat forward at full speed and Norman is thrown from the vessel as it collides with a nearby boulder. With his head bloodied, Norman comes to the surface and calls for Chelsea. Billy jumps into the water to save the old man and the two cling to a rock. Meanwhile, Ethel drives to the home of Charlie, the mailman, terrified by Norman and Billy’s disappearance. Charlie motorboats to Purgatory Cove, but insists no one would be crazy enough to navigate through the rocks. Knowing her husband’s stubbornness, Ethel forces Charlie to proceed into the cove as she scans the lake with a flashlight. Calling Norman’s name, Ethel sees the two and dives into the water to save them. One week later, back at the cottage, Norman and Billy pretend to immerse themselves in a jigsaw puzzle while Ethel goes to search the woods for mushrooms. When they sneak away to fish, Ethel calls them “juvenile delinquents” and they promise to stay close to home. While they fish in a rowboat, Chelsea returns home and startles her mother, who sings aloud while picking flowers. Ethel tells her daughter about Billy’s close relationship with Norman and their boating accident. Announcing her new marriage to Bill, Chelsea explains that the doctor returned to California for work. She is jealous of Billy’s connection to Norman and complains that her father is a “selfish son-of-a-bitch,” but Ethel hits her across the face. Meanwhile, Billy hooks a large fish, and Norman declares they have finally caught the “son-of-a-bitch,” Walter. Back on shore, Ethel encourages Chelsea to make amends with her father. As Norman and Billy pull toward the dock, Chelsea greets Billy and he announces their victory over Walter. However, Norman let the fish go. Billy rushes inside the cottage to share the news with Ethel, and Chelsea asks her father if they can be friends. Despite Norman’s petulance, he is happy to hear about his daughter’s new marriage. When he announces with pride that Billy has mastered the back flip, Chelsea concedes that she was always “too fat” to successfully follow her father’s instructions. Although Norman protests, Chelsea swims to the dock and makes the dive as Norman cheers his daughter’s courage. Sometime later, Chelsea and Billy pack their rental car to leave Golden Pond. Norman gives Billy a fishing rod, then places a second-place medal that he won at Princeton University around Chelsea’s neck. She calls him “dad” for the first time and they embrace. Later still, Norman and Ethel close the house for the winter and Norman suffers heart pains. Ethel gives her husband medication and attempts to phone the operator, but is unable to get through. Ethel fears Norman is dying, but he insists he feels better. As she helps him to his feet, Norman spots two loons on Golden Pond and declares that the birds have come to say goodbye.
Dowdy, thirtyish Charlotte Vale lives with her dictatorial, aristocratic mother in a Boston mansion. Fearing that Charlotte is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, her sister-in-law Lisa brings psychiatrist Dr. Jaquith to the Vale home to examine her unobtrusively. Jaquith's observations and conversation with Charlotte convince him that she is, in fact, very ill, and he recommends that she visit his sanitarium, Cascade. Away from her domineering mother, Charlotte recovers quickly, but does not feel ready to return home and accepts Lisa's proposal of a long cruise as an alternative. On board the ship, a newly chic Charlotte is introduced to Jerry Durrance, who is also traveling alone. The two spend a day sight-seeing together, during which time the married Jerry asks Charlotte to help him choose gifts for his two daughters. Charlotte is touched when Jerry thanks her with a small bottle of perfume. Subsequently, Charlotte tells Jerry about her family and her breakdown and learns from his good friends, Deb and Frank McIntyre, that Jerry is unhappily married but will never leave his family. After the ship docks in Rio de Janeiro, Jerry and Charlotte become stranded on Sugarloaf Mountain and spend the night together. Having missed her boat, Charlotte stays with Jerry in Rio for five days before flying to Buenos Aires to rejoin the cruise. Although they have fallen in love, they promise not to see each other again. Back in Boston, Charlotte's family is stunned by her transformation. Her mother, however, is determined to regain control over her daughter. Charlotte's resolve to remain independent is strengthened by the timely arrival of some camellias. Although there is no card, Charlotte knows the flowers are from Jerry because he had called her by the nickname "Camille," and, reminded of his love, she is able to forge a new relationship with her mother. Charlotte eventually becomes engaged to eligible widower Elliot Livingston. One night, at a party, Charlotte encounters Jerry, who is now working as an architect, a profession he had renounced years before in deference to his wife's wishes. His youngest daughter Tina is now seeing Dr. Jaquith for her own emotional problems. Charlotte asks Jerry not to blame himself for their affair as she gained much from knowing that he loved her. This chance encounter forces Charlotte to realize that she does not love Elliot passionately, and they break their engagement, so angering Mrs. Vale that during an argument with Charlotte, she has a heart attack and dies. Guilty and distraught, Charlotte returns to Cascade, where she meets Tina. Seeing herself in the girl, Charlotte takes charge of her, with Jaquith's tentative approval. When Tina improves enough, Charlotte takes her home to Boston. Later, Jerry and Jaquith visit the Vale home, and Jerry is delighted by the change in Tina. Charlotte warns him, however, that she is only able to keep Tina with her on condition that she and Jerry end their affair. Jerry believes that he is responsible for her decision not to marry Elliot, but Charlotte reassures him otherwise, saying that Tina is his gift to her and her way of being close to him. Jerry then asks if Charlotte is happy and she responds, "Oh Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon; we have the stars."
Cinematographer: Eddie Linden, Vernon Walker , J. O. Taylor
Genre: Adventure, Horror
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Composer: Max Steiner
Because he refuses to disclose any information concerning the exotic location of his upcoming movie project, Carl Denham, a renowned adventure filmmaker, is forced to search the streets of New York to find a lead actress. At a fruit stand, he stumbles onto the beautiful but broke Ann Darrow as she is about to steal an apple for her dinner. Anxious for work, Ann eagerly accepts Denham's part and agrees without question to make the long sea voyage the next morning. During the trip, Denham, who has refused to disclose his final destination even to the captain, Englehorn, makes screen tests of Ann, coaching her on how to scream and look terrified for the camera. At the same time, the mysogynistic first mate, Jack Driscoll, chides Ann for being a woman on a man's ship, but soon falls in love with her. As the boat enters tropical waters, Denham finally shows Englehorn a map detailing their exact destination--a tiny island dominated by a peak called Skull Mountain. When the boat reaches the island, Ann, Denham and the crew go ashore and discover natives engaged in a frenetic religious ceremony that features men dressed in gorilla skins and a young woman tied to an altar. While Englehorn attempts to make friends so that the camera-wielding Denham can shoot the scene, the native chief eyes the blonde Ann and states cryptically that she would make a good bride for “Kong.” Nervous about the chief's interest in Ann, whose presence on the island Jack has vehemently protested, Denham orders his group back to the boat. That night, Ann is kidnapped from the ship by natives and tied to stakes outside the huge village walls. At the sounding of a gong, King Kong, a gorilla-like ape of enormous proportions, emerges from the primeval jungle and grabs Ann, carrying her away like a tiny doll in his huge hand. In close pursuit of the ape are Denham, Jack and a handful of the ship's men. They follow a trail of broken branches left by Kong and soon stumble on a dinosaur, a horny-tailed stegosaurus, which they kill with gas bombs. They then construct a raft and cross a river, where they are attacked by a brontosaurus. After the group loses several men to the brontosaurus, the survivors scramble to the river's shore and are spotted by Kong. Kong kills several more men by tossing them off a giant log into a treacherous chasm and attempts to kill Jack, who is hiding in a protected alcove. When he hears Ann, whom he has left in the nook of a dead tree, screaming, however, Kong abandons Jack and rushes to her rescue. While Kong saves Ann from the jaws of an allosaurus Jack and Denham, the last two crew survivors, reunite. Denham decides to return to shore for help and wait for Jack to signal when he has rescued Ann. Jack follows Kong and Ann into a cliffside cave and there Kong kills a giant snake. He then gently tickles Ann and plucks off and sniffs her outer clothes. When the hidden Jack inadvertently makes a noise, the ape goes to investigate, leaving Ann unprotected. A pteradodon swoops down and almost flies off with Ann, but Kong once again comes to her rescue. Distracted by the flying reptile, Kong fails to see Jack and Ann escaping down the cliffside via a ropelike vine until they are out of arm's reach. Although Kong snaps the vine in his attempt to retrieve Ann, the couple fall unharmed into the river and make a dash for the ship, closely pursued by Kong. When they finally reach the shore, Ann and Jack are met by Denham and the crew, but must still face Kong, who is rampaging through the village, killing its inhabitants in his search for Ann. To stop Kong, Denham hurls a gas bomb into his face and knocks him out. Seeing Kong unconscious, Denham decides to carry him on an enormous raft back to New York, where he knows the ape will make him a fortune. In the city, a heavily chained Kong, billed as the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” is a sellout attraction at a fashionable theater. When photographers' flashbulbs start popping in Ann's face, however, Kong believes she is in danger and breaks free in a protective frenzy. Ann flees with Jack, but Kong storms the nearby streets, destroying an elevated passenger-filled train and tossing a woman he momentarily mistakes for Ann to her death. Finally Kong spots Ann in a hotel room and, as a helpless Jack watches, snatches her once again. Then, as though still in the jungle, he scales the Empire State Building with Ann in his hand. At Denham's urging, the city authorities call in airplanes armed with machine guns to stop the ape, and after Kong is shot repeatedly by the gunners, he drops Ann gently on the rooftop and falls over the skyscraper's edge to his death. Upon viewing his conquered prize, Denham retorts to another onlooker that Kong was not downed by airplanes, but “twas Beauty that killed Beast.”
Production Company: Castle Rock Entertainment, Nelson Entertainment
In 1977, University of Chicago students Sally Albright and Harry Burns arrange to share a ride to New York City, where Sally plans to study journalism and Harry will attend law school. While Sally waits impatiently in her car, Harry and his girl friend, Amanda Reese, engage in a prolonged goodbye kiss. Harry finally gets into Sally’s car and begins to snack on grapes. He mistakenly assumes the window is rolled down, spits out a grape seed, and it hits the glass. Disgusted, Sally refuses his offer of a grape, explaining that she does not eat between meals. As they get to know each other, Harry reveals his dark outlook on life, and they disagree over the ending of the film Casablanca. Sally insists that Ingrid Bergman’s character made the right choice by leaving Casablanca at the end of the movie, asserting that all women prefer stability over romance. The two stop for dinner, and Harry is amused by Sally’s picky way of ordering food. He compliments her on her good looks, but she takes offense, reminding him that he is dating her friend, Amanda. Returning to the car, Sally suggests that she and Harry become friends. However, Harry does not believe men and women can be friends, as “the sex part always gets in the way.” Sally laments that Harry was the only person she would have known in New York, and shakes his hand when they part ways in the city. Five years later, Sally kisses her boyfriend, Joe, at the airport. Harry interrupts, recognizing Joe from law school, but he cannot place Sally. She and Harry board the same flight, and he finagles the seat beside her after finally remembering her from the University of Chicago. Harry guesses that Sally and her boyfriend, Joe, are at an early stage in their relationship, and claims he would never take a girl friend to the airport to avoid setting a precedent. Sally is surprised to hear that Harry is engaged to a lawyer named Helen Hillson, with whom he claims to be madly in love. When they land, Harry invites Sally to dinner, but she reminds him of his theory that men and women cannot be friends. Harry argues that a friendship would work since they are both involved with other people, but contradicts himself by predicting their significant others would become jealous. The two part ways. Five years later, Sally meets her friends Marie and Alice for lunch and announces that she and Joe have broken up. The women are impressed by how well Sally is handling the heartbreak, but when Marie suggests setting her up on a date, Sally refuses. Elsewhere, at a football stadium, Harry tells his friend, Jess, that his wife, Helen, just left him for another man. Harry runs into Sally at a bookstore, and the two commiserate over their breakups. Sally asks him to dinner, and he asks, “Are we becoming friends now?” Soon, Harry and Sally’s friendship blossoms, and they begin to rely on each other for emotional support. When discussing their dating lives, Harry reveals that he sleeps with women even if he dislikes them, and Sally is appalled. At a batting cage, Harry’s friend, Jess, asks if he is attracted to Sally and likes to spend time with her, and Harry says yes. Jess does not understand why Harry refuses to become romantically involved with Sally, but Harry claims the friendship is helping his personal growth. At a delicatessen, Sally criticizes Harry’s casual approach to sex. He responds that the women he sleeps with have a good time, implying that they achieve orgasms when they are with him. Sally counters that women fake orgasms all the time, and when he does not believe her, she pretends to have one at the table. Moaning, shouting, and pounding on the tabletop, Sally draws everyone’s attention and prompts an older female patron to order whatever Sally is having. On New Year’s Eve, Harry and Sally go to a party, and Harry vows that if they are still single next year, he will be her date again. At midnight, they watch other couples kiss and give each other an awkward peck on the lips. Later, Harry and Sally set each other up with Marie and Jess on a double blind date. However, Marie prefers Jess over Harry, and vice versa, and the two hop into a cab together after dinner, leaving Harry and Sally alone. Four months later, while shopping for a housewarming gift for Marie and Jess, Harry and Sally run into Harry’s ex-wife, Helen. Upset by the encounter, Harry takes out his anger on Marie and Jess as they bicker over a coffee table in their new apartment. Sally leads Harry outside and discourages him from expressing every emotion he feels whenever he feels it. Harry accuses Sally of burying her emotions and reminds her that she has not slept with anyone since her ex-boyfriend, Joe. Hurt by the accusations, Sally tells Harry he sleeps with too many women, and he quickly apologizes, offering her a hug. Sometime later, Sally calls Harry in tears, relaying the news that Joe is getting married. Harry rushes over to Sally’s apartment. She cries on his shoulder, and he gives her a friendly kiss. She kisses him back, and the two make love. Afterward, Sally nuzzles Harry, while he lies nervously in her bed. In the morning, she wakes up to find him getting dressed. Before hurrying out, Harry asks Sally to dinner that night. The two spend the day fretting over what happened, and Sally announces at dinner that they made a mistake sleeping together. Harry is relieved. Later, Harry tells Jess that he and Sally must have passed a point in their relationship when it became too late to have sex. Weeks pass, and Harry and Sally are reunited at Marie and Jess’s wedding. Harry attempts to apologize, telling Sally he did not plan to make love to her when he went to her apartment, but he did not know how else to comfort her. She shouts at him for suggesting that he took pity on her and slaps him. Over Christmas, Sally ignores Harry’s phone calls. One day, he sings a song on her answering machine and she picks up. Harry apologizes, but Sally refuses to be his “consolation prize” when he asks her to be his date for New Year’s Eve. Sally goes to the New Year’s Eve party with Marie and Jess, but she cannot face the idea of being alone at midnight and decides to leave the party early. Meanwhile, Harry walks around the city, ruminating over his relationship with Sally. He runs to the party and finds Sally on her way out. Harry tells Sally he loves her, but she assumes he is only saying it because he is lonely. Harry lists off the personality traits that have endeared him to Sally and tells her that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. Sally shouts that she hates Harry, then kisses him. Sometime later, Harry and Sally discuss their wedding, which took place three months later, and recall the coconut wedding cake served with chocolate sauce on the side, per Sally’s instructions.
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn
Directors: Preston Sturges
Producer: William LeBaron, Paul Jones
Writer: Preston Sturges
Editor: Stuart Gilmore
Cinematographer: Victor Milner
Genre: Screwball comedy
Production Company: Paramount Pictures, Inc.
Composer: Leo Shuken
After Charles Poncefort Pike, an ophiologist and heir to the Pike's Pale Ale fortune, leaves a zoological expedition in the South American jungle, he boards an ocean liner headed for the East Coast. Although the eligible bachelor only has eyes for his book on snakes and is oblivious to all the young female passengers, Jean Harrington succeeds in getting his attention by tripping him as he leaves the dining room. Jean, a con artist and cardsharp who works with her father, ensnares Charlie with her feminine wiles, and despite the warnings of Charlie's suspicious guardian, Muggsy, Charlie falls in love with Jean. Much to her own surprise, Jean also falls in love with Charlie, and informs her father that she intends to go straight. "Colonel" Harrington does not share her good intentions, however, and despite Jean's intervention in his card game that night, Harrington wins $32,000 from the luckless Charlie. Harrington pretends to rip the check up to impress Jean, but Charlie breaks off his engagement to Jean when he learns that she and her father are well-documented con artists. Hurt, Jean's tender thoughts of love turn to calculating thoughts of revenge, and is happy when Harrington produces the check intact. The ship docks, and some time later, the Harringtons encounter their friend Pearly at an East Coast horse race. Pearly, also a con artist, is posing as Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith while living in the Pike hometown of Bridgefield, Connecticut. Still bent on revenge, Jean arranges to pose as Pearly's niece, Lady Eve Sidwich of England. The Pikes throw a lavish introduction party for Lady Eve, at which a clumsy Charlie is astonished by her resemblance to Jean. Although Muggsy insists that Lady Eve and Jean are the same person, Charlie, using backward logic, thinks the resemblance is too close and that consequently, they must be different women. He soon falls deeply in love with Lady Eve. Jean and Charlie become engaged, much to the Pikes's delight, and she continues her pose through their wedding. She finally exacts her revenge on their wedding night by relating a fictional history of love affairs to her stunned husband. Mortified by his new wife's apparently sordid past, Charlie immediately gets off their honeymoon train in his pajamas and later sues for divorce. Now remorseful, Jean realizes that she is still in love with Charlie and insists on settling without renumeration if Charlie will only speak with her, but he refuses. Out of desperation, Jean books passage on the same ocean liner on which Charlie is traveling and again trips him to get his attention. Charlie is thrilled to see Jean, still unaware that she is also Lady Eve, and when he tries to explain that he is married, she assures him that she, too, is married. Muggsy, reacting to the reunion, mutters "Positively the same dame."
Cast: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker
Directors: Robert Wise
Producer: Robert Wise
Writer: Ernest Lehman
Editor: William Reynolds, Larry Allen
Cinematographer: Ted McCord
Genre: Drama, Musical
Production Company: Argyle Enterprises, Inc., Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
The antics of tomboyish Maria, a novice at the abbey in Salzburg, concern the Mother Abbess, who is unsure of Maria's intensions. Encouraging the girl to test her feelings, the Mother Abbess sends Maria to be the governess for the seven children of the widower Baron Georg von Trapp, a retired naval officer. The children are at first hostile to Maria, but she soon wins them over. The baron, who is a strict disciplinarian, leaves to visit his love interest, Baroness Elsa Schraeder. While he is gone, Maria allows the children greater freedom, and teaches them to sing. The youths become so excited when the baron returns that they fall out of a rowboat in the lake. The accident precipitates an argument between Maria and the baron, and he orders her to leave; but when he goes into the house and finds the children entertaining his friend Max Detweiler and the baroness with a song, he asks Maria to stay. Max later suggests that they enter the Salzburg Festival as a singing group, but the baron refuses. Maria becomes aware that she is falling in love with the baron and returns to the abbey. The children follow and try to persuade her to return; when the Mother Abbess learns of their visit, she sends Maria back to the Trapp home. Maria again decides to leave when she hears that the baron plans to marry the baroness. However, the baroness soon realizes her suitor is in love with Maria, and releases him. Maria weds the baron, and while they are away on their honeymoon, the Nazis take over Austria. Taking advantage of the baron's absence, Max enters the children in the Salzburg Festival. When the baron returns with his new bride, Maria, he forbids the children to appear at the festival, and learns that the Nazis, to whom he is violently opposed, have ordered him to take command of a ship. The Trapps plan an escape, but are stopped by Stormtroopers. Max convinces the Nazis that the family is on its way to the Salzburg Festival, and that he plans to leave for his ship immediately after the performance. The Trapps win first place at the show and, using their exit song to escape, take refuge in the town abbey. The Nazis learn their whereabouts and surround the building, but the family escapes through a secret tunnel to the nearby mountains.
Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
Directors: Ernst Lubitsch
Producer: Ernst Lubitsch
Writer: Samson Raphaelson
Editor: Gene Ruggiero
Cinematographer: William Daniels
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Composer: Werner R. Heymann
At the Budapest shop Matuschek and Company, work Pepi Katona, the snippy errand boy, Pirovitch, the mild-mannered clerk, Alfred Kralik, the bashful yet lovestruck head clerk, the duplicitious Ferencz Vadas, and clerks Ilona and Flora. Each morning, the six line up in front of the shop to await the arrival of their boss, Hugo Matuschek, and while waiting one day, Alfred confides to his friend Pirovitch that he has answered a blind personal ad in the newspaper and has entered into a romance through the post. That morning, Klara Novak enters the shop, looking for a job, and although Alfred turns her down, Matuschek decides to hire the girl when she talks a customer into buying a cigarette box that plays "Otchi Tchorniye," an item which Matuschek loves, but Alfred hates. At work, Klara and Alfred argue incessently, never suspecting that they are carrying on a tender romance through the mail, as Klara is Alfred's secret correspondent. Through their anonymously signed letters, the lovers agree to meet for the first time at a cafe, but that night, Matuschek, thinking that Alfred is the man a private detective agency reports is having an affair with his wife, fires the clerk. Later, when the detective that Matuschek has hired informs him that his wife is actually having an affair with Vadas, he despairs and tries to end his life, but is saved by Pepi. Meanwhile, Alfred arrives at his rendezvous and is astonished to discover that his secret love is Klara. He approaches her as a co-worker and does not divulge his secret identity, and when she berates him, he leaves. Later that night, Alfred is summoned to the hospital bed of the ailing Matuschek who appoints him store manager and begs him for forgiveness. After firing Vadas, Alfred rallies the store employees, and on Christmas Eve, Matuschek returns to a happy reunion of his employee family in the shop. Once everyone else has departed, Klara confides to Alfred that she finds him attractive, and he finally reveals himself as her secret lover.
In Seattle, Washington, Zack Mayo finds his father, Byron Mayo, in bed with a prostitute. Remembering his youth, Zack recalls meeting Byron in the Philippine Islands, where his father was stationed with the United States Navy. Zack’s mother had recently committed suicide and the boy blamed his father for deserting them. Although Byron was an alcoholic philanderer, who wanted to avoid his parental responsibilities, Zack protested going home and raised himself in a community of prostitutes and thieves. Now grown up, Zack announces to his father that he is joining the Navy to become a pilot. Despite Byron’s objections, Zack drives his motorcycle to the Port Rainier Naval Air Station and joins a group of new recruits. Drill instructor Sergeant Emil Foley warns the men and women that they must devote six years of their lives to the Navy and reprimands enlistee Sid Worley for failing to refer to him as “Sir.” When Zack snickers at Foley’s sexually suggestive language, Foley yells at him for looking him in the eye. Foley cautions the recruits that he will use any means necessary to weed out those who are unworthy of being pilots. Meanwhile, at a nearby paper factory, employees Paula Pokrifki and Lynette Pomeroy finish their work and head to the base to look for mates. With shaved heads and new uniforms, the recruits file into their rooms, then follow Foley’s command to line up outside. When a young woman named Casey Seeger laughs at Sid and Zack’s comments about people who feign pregnancy as an excuse to get married, Foley punishes them with fifty push-ups. Paula and Lynette walk past and tell Zack and Sid that they’ll see them in a month’s time when they are on “liberty.” During training, Foley pushes the endurance of his class and complains they are the worst he has ever seen. Back in the dormitory, Zack’s roommate, Perryman, warns that Zack’s covert operation, polishing boots and belt buckles for cash, will get the whole unit expelled. While Zack excels at physical training, he struggles with his academic studies and when Sid discovers Zack buying polished boots and buckles from a middleman, the friends agree that Sid will help Zack pass Aerodynamics in return for free goods. Later, at a dance, Zack and Sid reunite with Paula and Lynette. While Sid and Lynette discover they both have brothers who died in the Vietnam War, Paula encourages Zack to fulfill his dream of becoming a pilot and they kiss. Sometime later, the ladies meet Zack and Sid at a bar, but the men are hassled by locals and Zack breaks a man’s nose. After driving to the Tides Inn motel, Zack regrets the fight and rejects Paula’s attempt to console him, but, after Zack apologizes, the couple spends the night together. Back at the base, trainee Topper Daniels panics in a plane crash simulator and Foley dives into the water to save him. After Topper willingly drops out of the class, Foley inspects the dorm room to discover the stashed inventory from Zack’s covert business. When Zack refuses to withdraw from training, Foley vows to break the young man’s will by subjecting him to a weekend of abuse. As Zack works out in a pool of mud, Foley tells the young man that his childhood experiences have guided his life on a course of failure. At the end of the weekend, Zack remains resolute. Although Foley decides to expel him anyway, Zack cries that he has nowhere to go and Foley agrees to give him another chance. Back at the Tides Inn, Zack and Paula make love. Zack reveals that his mother overdosed, but when he claims to be unaffected by her suicide, Paula does not believe him. Later, on a ferryboat, Lynette admits to Paula that she has considered getting pregnant to trap Sid into a marriage. After an uncomfortable dinner with Paula’s family, Zack tells her that he will move to a base in Penascola, Florida, after graduation in three weeks. When Zack says he has no interest in marriage and family, Paula shows him a picture of her “real father,” a Naval officer candidate who left her mother. The next weekend, as Zack is dismissed on “liberty,” Paula calls him from the factory, but he refuses to answer. Although Paula is determined to go after Zack, her mother, Esther, stops her, warning that Paula might resort to dishonesty to “trap” him. After dinner with Sid’s parents, a Naval captain and his wife, Zack learns that his friend is planning to marry Susan, a girl who was engaged to his brother before he died in Vietnam. When Sid admits he has a date with Lynette that evening, Zack suggests that his friend “break it off clean” with Lynette the way he did with Paula. At a bar, Zack sees Paula flirting with a flight instructor and although he apologizes, she leaves with her date. Meanwhile, at the Tides Inn, Sid asks Lynette about her late period and she swears that, if pregnant, she would take responsibility for it herself. Back at the base, Sid tells Zack that Lynette’s pregnancy is confirmed by a doctor and she refuses to get an abortion because she is Catholic. When Sid says he will marry her out of duty, Zack suggests that his friend takes too much responsibility for others, including the death of his brother. Later, during a training exercise in an oxygen decompression chamber, Sid panics and refuses to put his mask on. Zack comes to his rescue, but Foley is not impressed and Sid is expelled. When Zack swears at Foley, claiming that Sid is the best candidate in the class, Sid admits that he voluntarily dropped out and says he was only in training because of his brother. Sid takes a cab to Lynette’s house after spending his life savings on a wedding ring, but when she learns he is no longer an officer candidate, she says she is not pregnant. Although Sid still wants to get married, Lynette refuses, explaining that she only wants to marry an officer so she can live overseas. Meanwhile, Zack picks up Paula to look for his friend and she takes him to see Lynette, who tells them she rejected Sid. Checking into the Tides Inn motel, Sid swallows the engagement ring with a bottle of alcohol, and, soon after, Zack and Paula discover his dead body hanging in the shower stall. Outside, Paula consoles Zack and reminds him that he is not responsible for the deaths of his mother and Sid. Although Zack tries to brush her off, Paula argues that she is not like Lynette. When she declares her love for him, Zack runs away, claiming that he does not want to be loved. At the base, Zack requests to see Foley privately, and when Foley refuses, Zack threatens to quit. Challenging Zack to a fight, Foley is surprised by Zack’s skills, but he overcomes Zack by kicking him in the groin. As Zack lies on the ground, Foley permits him to drop out of training. However, at the candidate’s graduation ceremony, Zack takes a pledge of allegiance with his class and, upon Foley’s order, they toss their hats in celebration. When Foley personally congratulates his graduates with their first official salutes, Zack tells the drill instructor that he would not have made it through without him. As Zack drives away, he sees Foley initiating a new class using the same orders he heard on his first day. In his officer’s uniform, Zack strides through the paper factory to collect Paula and, as he carries her away, her fellow workers, including Esther and Lynette, applaud.
Already late for his hometown wedding, featured troupe dancer and professional gambler John "Lucky" Garnett is delayed further when his fellow dancers, who want to keep him single and in show business, convince him that the cuffless trousers of his morning suit are out of style and need tailoring. By the time Lucky arrives at his fiancée Margaret Watson's home, her infuriated father, Judge Watson, has called off the wedding. Once calm, Watson tells Lucky that, if he wants a second chance with Margaret, he must earn at least $25,000 in New York City. Determined to make good, Lucky accepts Watson's challenge and with his friend, magician Everett "Pop" Cardetti, and his lucky quarter, hops a train to the city. Shortly after they arrive, Lucky, broke but still in his wedding clothes, asks a pretty stranger, Penelope "Penny" Carrol, for change for his lucky quarter so that Pop can buy a pack of vending machine cigarettes. When the machine gives them a flood of unexpected change, Lucky chases after Penny to ask for his quarter back, but she mistakes his eagerness for mashing and refuses his request. After Pop pickpockets the quarter from Penny's purse, Penny accuses Lucky of theft and calls a policeman. To Penny's dismay, the policeman sides with the well-dressed Lucky, and Penny leaves in a huff for her job as an instructor at the Gordon Dancing Academy. Lucky follows Penny into the Academy and poses as an ardent but awkward pupil. Frustrated by Lucky's seemingly hopeless dancing, a still angry Penny insults him in front of Gordon, the Academy's fussy owner, and is fired. To save Penny's job, Lucky insists on demonstrating for Gordon what he has just learned from Penny and executes a complex routine with her. Impressed by the duet, Gordon arranges for Penny and Lucky to audition at the Silver Sandal nightclub but stipulates that Lucky wear a tuxedo in the act. Still broke, Lucky and Pop check into the same hotel as Penny and her older single friend, Mabel Anderson, and try to win a tuxedo from a drunk gambler on the night of the audition. When Penny discovers a half-dressed Lucky playing piquet in his room, she storms away in another huff. A week later, Lucky, who with Pop's help has won hundreds of dollars gambling and has arranged for another audition, finally convinces Penny of his sincerity. However, at the club audition, bandleader Ricardo "Ricky" Romero, who is in love with Penny, jealousy refuses to play for the couple. Lucky then learns that Ricky's contract has been won by Raymond, a casino owner, and with Pop's sleight-of-hand help, wins Ricky's contract for himself. Against his wishes, Ricky plays for Penny and Lucky's triumphant audition, but the dancers' budding romance is stifled when Lucky suddenly remembers his pledge to Margaret. Although he has vowed to stop gambling and has insisted on a modest salary in order to avoid earning the now dreaded $25,000, Lucky instructs Pop to keep him away from the tempting Penny. When Pop reveals to a perplexed Penny the reason behind Lucky's aloofness, Penny again snubs her partner and, in spite of her love for him, returns to Ricky. After Lucky and Penny's grand performance at the Silver Sandal's re-opening, Lucky is surprised by the appearance of Margaret and then is confronted by Raymond, who accuses Pop of cheating him out of Ricky's contract. Raymond demands that the game be re-played with his pack of marked cards, and wins back the contract, after which Penny tells Lucky that she and Ricky are engaged. Thoroughly depressed, Lucky prepares to tell Margaret that he no longer loves her, but she surprises him by revealing that she, too, has fallen in love with someone else. Minutes before Penny is to marry Ricky, Madge tells her about Lucky's broken engagement, while Lucky and Pop conspire to thwart the wedding using the cuffed trouser hoax. In the end, Penny calls off the wedding and reunites with Lucky.
Production Company: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
In 1862, Anna Leonowens, a young, widowed English schoolteacher, arrives in Bangkok, Thailand, with her son Louis, having accepted a job teaching English to the children of the King of Siam. Greeted by the king's stern prime minister, the Kralahome, and his half-naked minions, Anna puffs up her courage. After the Kralahome informs her that she is to live in the palace rather than being granted her own home as previously promised, the plucky Anna charges into King Mongkut's chambers just as the graceful Tuptim is being presented as a gift from the Prince of Burma. When the king refuses her an audience, Anna unceremoniously charges forward. Although entrenched in tradition, the imperious king sincerely desires to usher his country into the modern era of scientific enlightenment, and so decrees that Anna should also teach his bevy of wives. Charmed by Mongkut's myriad children, Anna agrees to stay even though the king refuses her request of a house. Curious about this Western woman, the king's wives, led by Lady Thiang, the Number One wife who learned English from the missionaries, address Anna as "Sir," because her knowledge of science places her above the status of a "lowly woman." When the wives deride Tuptim because she longs to be with her lover, Lun Tha, rather than the king, Ann fondly recalls her beloved late husband. To spite the king, Anna teaches her pupils songs and proverbs about houses and honor. When Anna introduces a new map of the world challenging the supremacy of Siam, the children rebel until the king appears and admonishes them to take advantage of their education. Later, Prince Chulalongkorn, the heir to the throne, impugns Anna when she criticizes slavery, an institution that is embraced by his country. Late one night, the king summons Anna to take his dictation of a letter to President Lincoln. Mongkut, reclining, proclaims that no subject's head may be higher than his, and so orders Anna to lower hers. As Anna sweeps out of the palace, she comes upon Lun Tha, pining for Tuptim. Touched, Anna arranges a meeting between the lovers, and Lun Tha promises he will return one day to free Tuptim. Troubled by reports of English imperialism, the king becomes incensed when Anna's pupils persist in singing "Home Sweet Home." When the king asserts that Anna is his servant, she resigns and runs out of the room in tears. Afterward, Lady Thiang pleads with Anna to help guide Mongkut, who is apprehensive over rumors that the British regard him as a barbarian and hence intend to overthrow his kingdom and turn Siam into a protectorate. Swallowing her pride, Anna goes to the king and offers her help. Upon discovering that the British ambassador, accompanied by his aide, Edward Ramsay, is coming to Siam, Anna, an old sweetheart of Ramsay, suggests staging a sophisticated banquet in honor of their guests. In gratitude, the king finally promises her a home of her own. At the banquet, Tuptim narrates The Small House of Uncle Thomas , a play about an innocent girl, the victim of the evils of slavery. After the play comes to an end, Tuptim condemns slavery and is about to plead for her own freedom when the king snaps his fingers and the room breaks into applause. By the time the audience calls for the play's author, Tuptim has disappeared. After the British leave that evening, the king gives Anna one of his rings in appreciation of her efforts. When she challenges his right to keep a harem, he retorts that while women must remain faithful, men are entitled to a plentitude of wives. Anna replies that in reality, one man can love only one woman, and then recalls her first dance and invites the king to dance with her. They swirl around the room, but their mood of merriment is shattered by the news that Tuptim has been found running away with Lun Tha. For her dishonor, the king orders Tuptim beaten, and Anna charges that he never loved anyone and never will. Taking the whip into his own hands, the king is about to strike Tuptim when he crumples and runs from the room. When the Kralahome then accuses Anna of destroying the king, she announces that she will leave on the next boat and hands him the ring to return to Mongkut. Several weeks pass, and on the night that Louis and Anna are to sail, Lady Thiang appears with news that the king is dying, having shut himself away, refusing to eat or sleep since the banquet. After the prince states he does not want to be king and begs for Anna's help, Lady Thiang hands her a letter written by the king. When Anna reads the letter, which voices the king's deep gratitude and respect, she breaks into tears and hurries to visit him on his deathbed. As the king hands her the ring once more, his children beg Anna not to leave them in darkness, and when the ship's horn sounds, Anna sends Louis to tell the captain to return their luggage. Passing his title to the prince, Mongkut asks Chulalongkorn what his first act as king will be. After issuing a proclamation against bowing to the king, Chulalongkorn declares that his subjects should look upon each other with a kindness of spirit. Satisfied that he is leaving his kingdom in capable hands, the king quietly dies.
When Judith Traherne, a gay, irrepressible member of the Long Island horsey set begins to suffer from chronic headaches, her family physician, Dr. Parsons, insists that she see Dr. Frederick Steele, a brilliant young brain surgeon. Judith arrives at Steele's office on the day that he is to retire from surgery because of the death of one of his patients, but, intrigued by Judith's symptoms and charmed by her spirit, he postpones his retirement and takes her case. After performing delicate brain surgery on Judith, Steele discovers that her tumor is malignant and that she has only ten months to live. Her doctors decide to hide the grim truth from Judith, but Steele is unable to coneal the facts from her best friend, Ann King. After her recovery from surgery, Judith and Steele fall in love and plan to be married. While packing for their move to Vermont, Judith accidentally comes across her case history file and learns of her hopeless prognosis. Angered at Steele and Ann's betrayal, Judith spurns Steele and begins a frivolous pursuit of pleasure, hiding her heartbreak with deceitful gaiety. When Steele admonishes her to find peace so that she can meet death beautifully and finely, however, Judith realizes that she must extract from life a full measure of happiness in the few brief months she has left with the man she loves. She and Steele are married and decide to carry on as if an entire life stretched ahead of them, ignoring the shadow of death that is ever present. Then, one morning, death comes to Judith and she faces it with courage and dignity, thus winning a victory over the forces of darkness.
Cast: Greta Garbo, Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore
Directors: George Cukor
Writer: Zoë Akins, Frances Marion, James Hilton
Editor: Margaret Booth
Cinematographer: William Daniels, Karl Freund
Genre: Melodrama, Romance
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Composer: Herbert Stothart
In mid-nineteenth century Paris, beautiful courtesan Marguerite Gautier, is known by all as "the lady of the camellias" because of her preference for the flowers. Marguerite's friends know her as a woman whose heart is bigger than her pocketbook. Though she is given money and jewels by her many admirers, her extravagance and generosity have kept her in debt. Marguerite's friend, Prudence Duvernoy, tells her to find a rich man who can take care of her debts and one night, arranges for her to meet the wealthy Baron de Varville. While Prudence leaves their theater box to find de Varville, handsome young Armand Duval, who has been in love with Marguerite and secretly followed her for weeks, goes to her. Because they have never met, she thinks that he is the baron and is immediately attracted to him. When she is introduced to the real Baron de Varville by Prudence, Marguerite is disappointed, but realizes that she must leave with him. Six months later, Marguerite has become de Varville's mistress and has indulged herself extravagantly with his money. When he goes on a business trip to Russia, her frail health will not allow her to accompany him, so she stays home. At a coach auction, she sees Armand again and is told by her maid, Nanine, that he came to inquire about Marguerite's health every day during her illness. Later, Marguerite invites him to a party at her home, and when she becomes ill, he carries her into her bedroom and tells her that he is deeply in love with her and wants to take care of her. She feels that he does not belong with people such as her friends and asks him to leave, but gives him her key and asks him to return later. Before Armand can return, however, the baron returns to see Marguerite one more time. Marguerite then has the door bolted, and Armand is unable to open the door. Despondent, Armand then goes to see his family and asks for money to travel. Monsieur Duval, a kind and loving father, agrees to give his son the money he wants, and Armand then writes a bitter note to Marguerite telling her that he is going away to forget her. After receiving the note, Marguerite goes to Armand's apartment. Seeing her, he again expresses his love and begs her to go to the country with him to regain her health. Marguerite accepts and leaves with him, telling no one where she is going. During the summer, they fall more deeply in love and are very happy until she learns that the adjoining property is the estate of the baron. After selling some jewelry to pay for the wedding of a young friend and give her a dowry, Marguerite and Armand dream of their own wedding, but Marguerite realizes that she will never have that happiness. Near the end of the summer, Armand writes to his father for money from his inheritance. When Monsieur Duval receives the letter, he becomes concerned and tries to find out what has happened. After learning about Marguerite, he goes to the country house and meets her one afternoon while Armand is out. Monsieur Duval soon realizes that Marguerite truly loves Armand, but convinces her that the relationship will only bring his son disgrace and unhappiness. When Armand comes back that evening, Marguerite is wearing a gown and tells him that she is going to go back to the baron, then leaves the cottage. The baron takes Marguerite back, but now on his own, less loving and generous terms. Back in Paris, she resumes the old life, but its rigors ruin her health. Soon she is so deeply in debt and ill that there is no hope for her recovery. With Nanine's help she writes to Armand, but before she can finish the letter, he comes to her. Seeing how ill she is, he promises to take her back to the country to regain her strength. She dies in his arms, knowing that she is as happy as she will ever be.
Production Company: Walt Disney Pictures , Silver Screen Partners IV
Once upon a time, a spoiled young prince turned away an old beggar woman when she offered him a rose in exchange for shelter. The woman warned him not to be deceived by appearances, then transformed into a beautiful enchantress. The prince apologized, but it was too late. The enchantress turned him into a beast, and put a spell on his castle and its inhabitants. She gave him the rose and told him it would wilt by his twenty-first birthday. If he did not fall in love with someone, and win her love in return, by that time, the spell would never lift and he would remain a beast forever. Sometime later, in rural France, a bookworm named Belle dreams of finding adventure outside her small town. She is seen as a misfit, as is her inventor father, Maurice. However, because she is the prettiest girl in town, she is pursued by a handsome, brutish man named Gaston, who intends to marry her. One day, Gaston follows Belle home from the library, and suggests they go to the tavern to view his hunting trophies, but she rejects the offer. Belle finds her father, Maurice, working on his latest invention, an automated wood-cutter he plans to unveil at a fair the next day. Belle’s father leaves for the fair that evening, but gets lost in a forest. He and his horse, Philippe, are chased by wolves to the gates of a dark castle. He wanders inside and is startled by Lumiere, a talking candlestick who invites Maurice to warm himself by the fire. Maurice soon discovers a host of household objects that talk, including a clock named Cogsworth, a teapot named Mrs. Potts, and her son, Chip, a teacup. Although they are very welcoming, the servants cower at the sight of their master, the Beast, a hulking monster who reprimands Maurice for trespassing and takes him captive. The next day, Gaston surprises Belle with a marriage proposal, but she turns him down. Maurice’s horse returns home alone, and Belle panics. She instructs Philippe to take her to her father, and they ride back to the Beast’s castle. There, Belle is frightened by the Beast, but offers to take her father’s place as his prisoner. The Beast complies, and throws Maurice out. Belle weeps over her father’s abrupt departure. The Beast tries to control his temper as he shows Belle to her quarters. He invites her to explore the castle but forbids her from going to the west wing. That evening, Belle is supposed to join the Beast for dinner, but she refuses. In turn, he forbids Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts from serving her dinner. Meanwhile, Maurice goes to the tavern and announces his daughter has been taken prisoner by a beast. Gaston and the other patrons ridicule him and ignore his pleas for help. In his quarters, the Beast regards the magical rose, which has begun to wilt. He looks into his magic mirror and asks it to show him Belle. In the mirror’s reflection, he sees Belle saying she wants nothing to do with him. Although Belle is his only hope for breaking the spell, he worries she could never fall in love with a Beast. Late at night, a hungry Belle wanders into the kitchen, and although the Beast instructed them not to, the servants treat her to an elaborate meal. Afterward, Belle sneaks into the west wing. In the Beast’s quarters, she sees a torn portrait of a handsome young man and discovers the magical rose. The Beast appears and flies into a rage. He immediately regrets losing his temper, but Belle has already fled the castle. She rides Philippe into the forest, but they are cornered by wolves. The Beast appears and fends them off, but is wounded in the fight and loses consciousness. Back at the castle, Belle tends to his wounds. They argue over his temper, but Belle eventually thanks the Beast for saving her life. Gaston bribes Monsieur D’Arque, owner of an insane asylum, to commit Maurice, and release him only if Belle agrees to marry Gaston. In the meantime, the Beast begins to fall in love with Belle. As a romantic gesture, Lumiere suggests he take her to the castle library. There, Belle admires the collection of books, and the Beast tells her the library is hers. When they dine together, Belle is appalled, then amused, by Beast’s lack of table manners. They play outside in the snow, and she realizes she is growing fond of him. He plans a romantic evening, and the two dress up and dance together in the ballroom while the servants look on, hopeful that Belle and the Beast will fall in love and break the spell. Later that night, the Beast asks Belle if she is happy. She tells him yes, except she wishes she could see her father again. He grants her wish by offering her the magic mirror. Belle sees Maurice in the mirror’s reflection, alone in the woods and looking unwell. She frets over his safety, and the Beast tells her she is free to go. He gives her the magic mirror so she will always have a way to remember him. After Belle leaves the castle, Cogsworth asks why the Beast let her go. He explains that he had no choice because he loves her. Belle finds Maurice and takes him home. There, she discovers Chip, the teacup, among her things. Outside, Gaston arrives with Monsieur D’Arque and an angry mob. When D’Arque throws Maurice into his carriage, Gaston offers to have him released in exchange for Belle’s hand in marriage. Belle defends her father’s sanity, but the townspeople insist he is crazy for claiming she was held captive by a Beast. Using the magic mirror, Belle proves the Beast exists. Gaston senses that she cares for him, and incites the angry mob to storm the castle. Belle and Maurice are locked in the basement of their home, but Chip frees them with the help of Maurice’s wood-cutter. Gaston and his cohorts attack the castle, and the household items fight back. Heartbroken and resigned to failure, the Beast does nothing when Gaston forces him onto a ledge. Just then, Belle arrives, giving Beast the inspiration to fight for his life. He overpowers Gaston, but takes pity on the brute when he begs for mercy and lets him go. Belle summons the Beast to a balcony, but just as she grabs his hand, Gaston stabs him in the back. Gaston falls to his death, and Belle embraces the Beast as he loses consciousness. Believing he is dead, she cries and says she loves him. At that moment, the magical rose loses its last petal, and the Beast is transformed back into a handsome prince. The castle is returned to its former glory, and the servants become human again. Maurice joins them in celebration as they watch Belle and the prince dance in the ballroom.
Cast: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan
Directors: Vincente Minnelli, Charles Walters
Producer: Arthur Freed
Writer: Alan Jay Lerner
Editor: Adrienne Fazan
Cinematographer: Joseph Ruttenberg
Genre: Musical, Romantic comedy
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp., Arthur Freed Productions, Inc.
Composer: Frederick Loewe
In 1900 Paris, Honoré Lachaille, elderly connoisseur of beauty and fashion, strolls through the Bois de Bologne, appreciating the splendor of youth personified by spirited school girl Gigi Alvarez. Later, Honoré meets his elegant nephew Gaston, the wealthy heir to a sugar empire, who declares his weariness at being the center of Paris society. To Honoré’s surprise, Gaston admits the only place that he can relax is at the modest flat of Honoré ‘s former paramour, Mme. Alvarez, Gigi’s grandmother and guardian. Meanwhile, at her weekly etiquette lessons with her regal great-aunt Alicia, Gigi struggles to stifle her natural buoyancy while learning about the intricacies of dining. When Gigi laments that she is never allowed to accept invitations and has no friends, Alicia explains that she is not to mingle with ordinary people who live ordinary lives. Gigi concedes she is aware that the women in her family are unusual in that they never marry, but remains puzzled by it. Alicia then advises Gigi of the importance of recognizing expensive jewelry and cautions her never to accept second-rate baubles or men. After showing Gigi how to distinguish fine cigars, Alicia reminds her niece that everything she is learning has a purpose and admonishes her to remember that love is an art. Confused about what eating, jewelry and tobacco have to do with art, Gigi heads home and runs into Gaston, who has been visiting Mme. Alvarez. Delighted by Gigi’s guileless nature, Gaston invites her for a glasé at the skating rink, where his current lover, Liane d’Exelmans, is taking skating lessons. Gigi startles Gaston when she declares that she finds Liane common and coarse. That evening while dining with Liane and Honoré at Maxim’s restaurant, Gaston realizes that despite Liane’s effusive attentions, her thoughts are elsewhere. The next morning Gaston tells Honoré that he is deeply insulted to have learned from private detectives that Liane is secretly seeing her skating instructor. When Gaston hints that he will end his relationship with Liane through a note, Honoré insists that the break-up must be in keeping with Gaston’s stylish reputation. Taking Gaston’s brand new automobile, the two men follow Liane to Honfleur where Gaston pays the skating instructor to leave Liane, then rebukes her in a restaurant and declares their association over. Honoré then encourages Gaston to attend all of the upcoming fashionable parties in order to show that the break-up has had no effect on him. Gigi and her grandmother follow Gaston’s subsequent revelries through the society newspaper columns and several weeks pass before he visits them again. Arriving one evening bearing chocolates and champagne, Gaston reveals that he will soon be going to Trouville-by-the-Sea. After Mme. Alvarez convinces Gaston to pass up a party with two hundred guests at the Eiffel Tower, Gigi offers to play cards with him and bets that if Gaston loses he must take her and her grandmother to Trouville. When Gigi wins the game, Gaston gallantly agrees to fulfill his part of the wager, despite Mme. Alvarez’s protests, and admits that he has more fun with Gigi than anyone else. At Trouville, Gaston accompanies the exuberant Gigi on the beach, playing tennis and riding burros. Honoré, who has also come to the seaside, is startled to find Mme. Alvarez and the two reminisce about their romantic past. Upon returning to Paris, Mme. Alvarez is summoned by Alicia, who scolds her for accepting Gaston’s invitation to Trouville when Gigi has not been properly prepared. Aghast at the suggestion that Gigi is old enough to be groomed for a romantic alliance with Gaston, Mme. Alvarez nevertheless reluctantly accepts her sister’s advice. While Gaston is away resting in Monte Carlo, Gigi visits Alicia’s daily, but her great-aunt is discouraged that Gigi remains too immature to appreciate her lessons. Although Gigi is ill at ease in the flattering gowns purchased for her by Alicia, when Gaston returns she tries one on for him. Gaston is so outraged by Gigi’s unexpected grown-up transformation that he storms out of the flat, only to return moments later to ask Gigi to tea at the swank Reservoir club. Mme. Alvarez forbids it, and in private tells Gaston that if Gigi is to be seen in society spots with him, they must have a formal understanding. Infuriated by the idea, Gaston departs, angrily walking the streets berating Gigi as a mere child until he realizes that she is indeed becoming a young lady. Gaston returns to the Alvarez flat and presents an offer to Mme. Alvarez, who in turn seeks approval from Alicia. After Alicia consents to the terms for Gaston to formally take up with Gigi, the women agree that for the time being Gigi will not be told of the arrangement. Later, Gaston drops by the flat with flowers for Gigi and an invitation to dinner. When Gaston attempts to explain the change in their relationship to Gigi, he is stunned when she flatly refuses him. Gigi reveals that she understands that she is now to be Gaston’s lover and she is also aware that when he becomes tired of her she will be expected to go on to another man. Gigi concludes that it is not in her nature to live this way. Shocked at her frankness, Gaston is embarrassed, but Gigi points out that he was not embarrassed to make the arrangements for her to become his mistress with Mme. Alvarez. Gigi then confesses her wish that she and Gaston could go on as they have in the past, but Gaston declares they cannot because he loves her. Stunned, Gigi berates him for wanting her as a mistress if he truly cares for her and flees to her room. Confused and angry, Gaston scolds Mme. Alvarez for bringing Gigi up improperly and departs. While Gaston meets with Honoré to complain about the situation, Mme. Alvarez telephones Alicia with the news. Horrified, Alicia leaves her apartment for the first time in years to come to her sister’s flat. The women are surprised when Gaston arrives, having received a note from Gigi. To Alicia’s relief, Gigi tells Gaston that she would rather be unhappy with him than without him and agrees to the arrangement. Although unsure about the undertaking, Gigi, beautifully dressed, accompanies Gaston to join the society crowd at Maxim’s. Using all of Alicia’s tips, Gigi plays the perfect companion, which unsettles Gaston, who nevertheless presents her with a beautiful emerald bracelet. When Honoré congratulates Gaston for finding so young a companion who will keep him happy for many months, Gaston abruptly takes Gigi home without a word. Gaston then walks the streets of Paris in a state on confusion until he comes to a sudden realization and, returning to the flat, asks Mme. Alvarez for the honor of Gigi’s hand in marriage.
Writer: Claudine West, George Froeschel , Arthur Wimperis
Editor: Harold F. Kress
Cinematographer: Joseph Ruttenberg
Genre: Romance
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Composer: Herbert Stothart
On 11 Nov 1918, "Smith," an amnesiac, shell-shocked officer, who has lived in a county asylum in Melbridge, England for many months, wanders into town for the first time, attracted by the sounds of celebration at the end of World War I. In a tobacconist's shop, Smith's hesitating speech alerts the owner that he is from the asylum, but a kindly entertainer, known as Paula Ridgeway, whispers that he should leave, then takes him to a local pub. Paula invites him to her show and gently draws him out. Because "Smithy," as Paula calls him, has come down with the influenza, she and her friend, barkeep "Biffer," take him in and nurse him back to health. Smithy thrives under Paula's care and she obtains a job for him with her troupe. When an asylum caretaker reveals that they are still looking for a missing inmate, though, Paula runs away with Smithy and takes him to a small town in Devon. They stay at a local inn, and soon she gets a job as a typist, while a thriving Smithy begins to write. When he sells his first article to the Liverpool Mercury , Smithy tells Paula that he loves her and proposes. After their marriage they move into a small cottage, and in November 1920, Paula gives birth to a baby boy. A few days later, Smithy receives a telegram from the Mercury asking him to come to Liverpoool to discuss a permanent position on the paper. Because Paula is still recovering from a difficult birth, he reluctantly travels alone, planning to return the following night. After checking into his hotel, Smithy walks toward the Mercury office but is hit by a car and knocked unconscious. When he comes to, he has no memory of the past three years and recalls only his life as aristocrat Charles Rainier. Although confused, Charles returns home, where he finds that his father has died and his siblings are anticipating their inheritance. He also meets Kitty, the teenaged daughter of his sister's new husband. By 1932, Charles has become known as "the industrial prince of England" for vastly increasing his family's fortunes, but is haunted by the missing past that is tied to a latchkey he found in his vest pocket after the accident. He has been loyally served for two years by his private secretary, Margaret Hanson, whom Charles does not recognize as Paula. One day, while dining with Kitty in a London restaurant, Charles hears the voice of Melbridge psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Benet and is briefly reminded of something in his past, but, as always, the memory passes before he can capture it. That same day, Charles tells Kitty, who has always loved him, that he returns her feelings and later announces to Margaret that he is going to marry Kitty. Margaret, whose son died in infancy, struggles to maintain her composure and that night begs Benet, who has become a good friend, to let her tell Charles everything. Benet makes her realize that Charles has to find memories of "Smithy" on his own. On the day that Kitty and Charles are selecting music for their wedding, one melody inexplicably reminds him of his past and he momentarily looks at Kitty as if she were a stranger. Seeing her cry brings him back to the present, but she tells him that they cannot go through with the wedding because he can never return feelings for her that belong to someone from his past. After Charles goes to Liverpool for clues to his past, Margaret follows him to say that the Liberal party has requested that he stand for election to a newly vacated seat in Parliament. While in Liverpool, Margaret tries gently to lead him to clues about his lost life, but even finding "Smithy's" suitcase does not jar his memory. Charles is soon elected to Parliament and confesses to Margaret that from time to time he has had the feeling that he knew her in the past. He then proposes that they marry in a kind of "merger" in which she would help him in his political life and says that he can offer only sincere friendship. She discusses the proposal with Benet, who loves Magaret himself, and disregards his admonition that she will be hurt. After Margaret and Charles marry, she becomes his greatest asset and dearest friend. Charles is soon knighted and on their third anniversary Charles gives her an expensive necklace. Despite Charles' affection and friendship, Margaret yearns for the love she shared with Smithy and decides that she needs to go away for a few weeks. As Charles uneasily sees her off on the train, he receives word that there is labor unrest in his cableworks in Melbridge. He soon settles the dispute, and as he goes through the town, he surprises his assistant, Harrison, by going right to the tobacconist's shop, even though he had just said that he had never been in Melbridge before. The next day, Margaret, who had been staying at the old Devon inn, learns from the proprietress that a man has just been by asking for the former owner and inquiring about a nearby cottage. Margaret then rushes to her old home. At the cottage, Charles's memories begin to flood back as his latchkey opens the front door. When Margaret arrives and calls him "Smithy," he finally recognizes that Margaret is Paula and the two happily embrace.
Editor: Conrad Buff, James Cameron, Richard A. Harris
Cinematographer: Russell Carpenter
Genre: Drama, Romance
Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Lightstorm Entertainment
Composer: James Horner
In 1996, a diving team led by Brock Lovett explores the sunken R.M.S. Titanic in search of treasure, specifically a large blue diamond known as the “Heart of the Ocean.” They discover a nude drawing made during the Titanic’s voyage, in which the subject, Rose DeWitt Bukater, wears the Heart of the Ocean around her neck. The woman, now Rose Dawson Calvert, is brought to the research vessel to talk with Lovett. She recalls the beginning of the Titanic’s voyage, in April 1912: in Southampton, England, seventeen-year-old Rose boards the ship with her mother, Ruth, and her fiancé, Cal Hockley. Rose despises Hockley but has resigned to marry him to restore her family’s finances and social status. Nevertheless, she contemplates suicide by throwing herself off the ship. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson, a poor young artist, has boarded the Titanic via a third-class ticket won in a poker game. Dawson happens upon Rose and dissuades her from killing herself. Hockley reacts jealously when he discovers the two together, but Rose insists that Jack saved her from an accidental fall over the side of the ship. Hockley invites the young man to join them at dinner in the first-class dining saloon. Rose continues to enjoy Jack’s company and sneaks away with him after the meal. Although she initially rejects his romantic advances, after spending more time with him, she agrees to pose for a nude sketch. In her room, she sits for him wearing only her Heart of the Ocean necklace—a gift from Cal. Afteward, they elude Cal’s bodyguard, Mr. Lovejoy, by sneaking into the cargo hold, where they have sex inside a motorcar. When they return to an upper deck, Rose and Jack witness the Titanic crash into an iceberg. A mounting hysteria ensues as officers of the ship confront the likelihood that the vessel will sink. In the meantime, Hockley finds the nude sketch of Rose. At his behest, Lovejoy plants the Heart of the Ocean necklace inside Jack’s pocket, and Jack is arrested for theft. As the ship begins to sink, passengers frantically board lifeboats. Rose separates from her mother and Hockley, and rushes to free Jack from the master-at-arms’s office. Soon after, Jack and Hockley urge Rose to take an available seat on a lifeboat, but she cannot bear to leave Jack. An angry Hockley seizes Mr. Lovejoy’s handgun and chases Rose and Jack into the first-class dining saloon, partially underwater. He shoots at them but misses. To save himself, he picks up a lost child and uses him to gain access to a lifeboat. Jack and Rose remain on the ship after all the lifeboats have been filled. Abandoned passengers fall or jump to their deaths as the ship’s stern rises. When the vessel breaks into two, Jack and Rose are plunged into the ocean. He helps her climb onto a floating piece of wood but refuses to join her lest it sink. As he succumbs to hypothermia, Jack soothes Rose with a vision of her promising future. Only Rose survives the ordeal. She is brought aboard the rescue ship, R.M.S. Carpathia, where she narrowly avoids Hockley. Arriving in New York City, Rose registers her name as Rose Dawson, and begins her new life. Back in the present, elderly Rose recalls that Hockley ultimately killed himself after the stock market crash of 1929. Impacted by her story, Lovett changes his mind and abandons his search for the Heart of the Ocean. Secretly, Rose still has the diamond in her possession, after Hockley unwittingly returned it to her while the Titanic was sinking. She goes alone to drop the diamond into the ocean, just above the wreck. Later, in a dream, she and Jack are reunited on the Titanic as it was before it sank, surrounded by other passengers who applaud when they kiss.
Cast: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly
Directors: Frank Capra
Producer: Harry Cohn
Writer: Robert Riskin
Editor: Gene Havlick
Cinematographer: Joseph Walker
Genre: Screwball comedy
Production Company: Columbia Pictures Corp.
Composer: Louis Silvers
Spoiled heiress Ellie Andrews escapes from her millionaire father Alexander's yacht when he kidnaps her after she elopes with and marries King Westley, a playboy aviator whom Andrews thinks is a fortune hunter. She boards a bus headed for New York and meets Peter Warne, a reporter who has just been fired. Despite their dislike for each other, Peter attempts to catch the thief who steals Ellie's suitcase, but he fails. At their next stop, Ellie misses the bus after going to a nearby hotel to freshen up, and when she returns, discovers that Peter has waited for her, both to return the ticket she left behind and to show her a newspaper article revealing her identity, which she was trying to conceal. After another quarrel, they meet on the next bus, which is forced to stop due to a washed-out bridge. Peter and Ellie spend the night in an auto lodge where they pretend they are married and rent one cabin to save money. Peter informs her that he will help her reach Westley only if she will give him her exclusive story, which he needs to redeem himself, and that if she does not cooperate, he will call her father. She reluctantly accepts his terms while he strings a rope between their beds and hangs up a blanket, which he dubs "The Walls of Jericho." The next morning, they are preparing to leave when they hear her father's detectives approaching. They put on an excellent act of being married, and their fighting convinces the detectives to leave, after which Peter and Ellie board the bus. Meanwhile, Andrews has offered a $10,000 reward for information concerning his daughter. Oscar Shapeley, an obnoxious fellow passenger on the bus, reads about the reward and offers to split it with Peter, but then threatens to go to Ellie's father himself. Peter then convinces Shapeley that he is a gangster who has kidnapped Ellie, and the terrified man flees. Still worried that Shapeley will go to the authorities, Peter and Ellie leave the bus. They try to hitchhike the next morning, and after Peter's technique meets with no success, Ellie quickly stops a car by showing off her legs. Peter sulks as they drive, but his petulance turns to anger when the driver steals his suitcase, rousing Peter to chase the car, tie the driver to a tree and then return for Ellie. Back in New York, Andrews resigns himself to accept Westley to get Ellie back, and they issue a press release. Ellie sees the newspaper article with Westley's pleas for her return, but she hides it from Peter. She insists that they check into another auto lodge for the night, even though they are only three hours away from New York. That night, Ellie confesses her love for Peter, begging him to take her with him, but he rejects her. Later, seeing that Ellie is asleep, Peter rushes to New York, writes his story and sells it to his editor, Joe Gordon, so that he will have enough money to begin a life with Ellie. In his absence, however, the owners of the auto lodge throw Ellie out when she can explain neither Peter's absence nor give them money for the room. Ellie then telephones her father and gives herself up because she thinks Peter has deserted her. As her car goes toward New York, Peter passes it, going in the opposite direction, but Ellie does not see him. On the day of Ellie and Westley's formal wedding, Andrews confronts Ellie, and she confesses that although she loves Peter, she will go through with the wedding because Peter despises her. Her father inadvertently shows her a letter he received from Peter about a financial matter, which both of the Andrews mistakenly assume refers to the reward. Andrews summons Peter to the house, and when he arrives, he presents Andrews with an itemized bill for $39.60, the amount he spent during the trip. He refuses any reward, which impresses Andrews, and Andrews makes Peter admit that he loves Ellie as well. Moments later, as Andrews walks Ellie down the aisle, he tells her of his meeting with Peter and that her car is waiting by the gate if she changes her mind. She does, and runs off again, but this time much to the pleasure of her father. Andrews pays Westley $100,000 for not contesting the annulment of his and Ellie's marriage, then notifies Peter and Ellie that they may marry. The newlyweds go to another auto lodge, where they ask the owners for a rope, a blanket and a trumpet. That night, the trumpet sounds as The Walls of Jerico tumble down.
American Jerry Mulligan, a former G.I. and fledgling painter who stayed in Paris after World War II, loves his life as a struggling artist on the Left Bank. He is friendly with his neighbors, especially the local children and cynical American Adam Cook, a concert pianist living on a succession of fellowships. One day, when Jerry is particularly low on money, he goes to Montmarte and sets up an impromptu exhibit of some of his work, hoping to sell something to a tourist. He has little success until Milo Roberts, an American heiress living in Paris, admires his paintings and buys two. Because she does not have enough cash with her, she invites Jerry to her hotel to get the money. Jerry shows little enthusiasm for her chauffeur-driven car and expensive hotel room but accepts an invitation to a party she is giving that night. When he returns, the provocatively dressed Milo reveals that the party is only for herself and Jerry. Thinking that she wants a gigolo, Jerry is insulted and wants to return the money for his paintings, but she convinces him that she is a patron of the arts and only wants to help him. With his pride intact, Jerry agrees to take her to dinner, but only if they go to a café he can afford. She suggests a jazz club in Montmarte, where they talk about their lives and his paintings. While Milo dances with Tommy Baldwin, a friend she runs into at the club, Jerry, who is attracted to a pretty girl he has spotted at the next table, overhears her name, Lise Bourvier, and calls to her, pretending to know her. After whisking the annoyed Lise onto the dance floor, Jerry gets her phone number from one of her companions. Observing this, Milo is hurt and lashes out at Jerry while they drive back to her hotel. He responds by getting out of her car and determining he wants nothing to do with her. The next morning, Jerry telephones Lise at the perfumery where she works and asks her out. She brusquely turns him down and tells him not to call again. A few moments later, Milo shows up at the Flodair, Jerry’s neighborhood café, and apologizes for her outburst the previous night. Again insisting that she is only interested in promoting his work, she invites him to lunch to meet a well-known art dealer she knows. Jerry agrees to meet her later, then goes to the perfumery to see Lise. When he charms a middle-aged American customer into selecting a perfume, Lise is amused and agrees to meet Jerry at 9:00 o’clock that night at a café near the Seine. Unknown to Jerry, Lise is loved by popular music hall entertainer Henri Baurel, a close friend of Adam and the man who became her guardian when her parents were killed during the war. Henri is debuting a new number that night and wants Lise to be in the audience. Although Lise is torn, she meets Jerry that evening, and as they walk along the Seine, the couple begins to fall in love. When Lise suddenly realizes that it is 11:00, she rushes off after agreeing to meet Jerry again on Saturday. At the theater, Henri does not realize that Lise missed the number and introduces her to American impresario John MacDowd, who wants Henri to tour America. Assuming that Lise loves him as much as he loves her, Henri suggests that they get married and go together to America. The next day, when Milo calls for Jerry, he dismisses Adam’s suggestion that he is becoming a kept man. Later, when Milo takes Jerry to a studio she has rented for him and informs him that she has arranged for an exhibition, he is angry but agrees to work hard if she promises to let him pay her back for everything. For the next few weeks, Jerry paints constantly, highlighting the people and sights of Paris, often using Lise as his model. One day, while Lise and Jerry are riding in a taxi, they talk about how little they know about each other’s lives and realize that they have both been evasive. Later, at the Flodair, Jerry tells Adam about Lise, and when he mentions her name, Adam chokes on his coffee, knowing that she is the young woman whom Henri loves. When Henri arrives, he and Jerry talk about being in love while Adam nervously tries to change the subject and hopes the men will not mention the names of their respective loves. Henri convinces Jerry that he must tell his girl friend how much he loves her, so when Jerry later meets Lise, he reveals his feelings. Although she feels the same, Lise confesses that she is marrying Henri because he loves her and she owes him her life. Hurt, Jerry then says that he has been seeing a woman he does not want to lose. After they part, Jerry rushes to Milo’s apartment, passionately kisses her for the first time and asks her to the art student’s costume ball that night. At the raucous ball, Jerry dances with Milo, pretending that he is happy, but after they run into Henri and Lise, Jerry admits to Milo that he is in love with Lise. Milo then leaves, after which Jerry walks out onto the balcony, where he is joined by Lise. She says that she and Henri are marrying the next day, but before returning to the party admits that it is painful to be near Jerry and not hold him close. Unknown to Lise and Jerry, Henri has been smoking a cigarette nearby and has overheard everything. Without saying a word to Lise, he drives her from the party while a despondent Jerry fantasizes about Lise and imagines himself dancing with her throughout Paris. A short time later, he is startled to hear the horn of a car and looks down to see Lise being brought back in Henri’s car. While Jerry runs down the Montmarte steps, Lise rushes up to meet him. The lovers embrace and walk down the steps hand-in-hand.
Writer: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, Walter Reisch
Editor: Gene Ruggiero
Cinematographer: William Daniels
Genre: Comedy-drama
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Composer: Werner R. Heymann
Comrades Iranoff, Buljanoff and Kopalski are sent to Paris to raise money for the Russian government by selling the confiscated jewels of the Grand Duchess Swana. Hoping to enjoy their one trip to Paris, the comrades decide to stay at a luxurious hotel instead of a cheap one until the sale is completed. When one of the hotel's waiters, the impoverished Russian count, Alexis Rakonin, overhears the comrades talking about the jewels, he immediately goes to Swana, who is now residing in Paris. Swana's lover, Count Leon d'Algout, helps her by showing the three comrades how good life in Paris can be, while simultaneously obtaining an injunction against the sale of the jewels until the French courts can determine who is the rightful owner. Because they have botched their assignment, the comrades are joined in Paris by "Envoy Extraordinary" Nina "Ninotchka" Ivanovna Yakushova, an attractive but stern woman who thinks only of Russia and duty. She chastizes the comrades for their frivolous excesses, which have included the frequent summoning of three attractive cigarette girls to their suite, and determines to complete the sale as soon as possible. Using her spare time to investigate the architectural and engineering wonders of Paris, Ninotchka accidentally meets Leon on the way to the Eiffel Tower. Neither knows the other's identity, and he flirts with her, while she determines to study him as an interesting example of decaying Western society. At his apartment, Leon's kiss elicits a clinical request from Ninotchka for another, but when they realize each other's true identity, she leaves. Leon is still interested in Ninotchka, for himself as well as Swana, and the next day follows her to a small cafe where he attempts to soften her seriousness by making her laugh at some silly jokes. Though other patrons find the jokes amusing, Ninotchka remains impassive until he gives up and, in agitated frustration, accidentally slips off his chair and falls to the floor. His loss of dignity elicits uncontrollable laughter from Ninotchka, who becomes a changed woman. Now loosened, Ninotchka buys a silly hat, which she had formerly looked upon disdainfully in the hotel lobby, and dresses stylishly to return to Leon's apartment. A short time later, he takes her out for a glamourous evening in a Parisian nightclub, which ends when a drunken Ninotchka tries to get the powder room attendants to strike, and an equally drunk Leon has to retrieve her. When they return to the hotel, Ninotchka opens the safe with the jewels and tries them on for Leon before she falls asleep. The next morning, Swana awakens her and tells her that she now has the jewels that Rakonin stole from the safe, which Ninotchka had left unlocked the night before. Swana promises to return the jewels, but only if Ninotchka returns to Russia without seeing Leon again. Though she loves Leon, Ninotchka agrees to Swana's terms because it is her duty, and leaves Paris without saying goodbye. When he learns what has happened, he tries desperately to obtain a visa to go to Russia, but fails, and even his love letters are of little solace because they arrive with the contents completely censored by the government. Ninotchka and Leon are reunited, however, when she is sent to Istanbul to sort out another botched job by Iranov, Buljanoff and Kopalski. Leon is waiting for her in the comrades' suite and convinces her not to return to Russia.
In turn-of-the-century New York, Fanny Brice, a young Jew from the Lower East Side, dreams of becoming a Broadway star, despite her unglamorous appearance. When she loses her chorus line job at Keeney's Oriental Palace, Fanny lies to enter a roller skating number and, slipping and sliding, is a comedy hit. After the performance, suave gambler Nick Arnstein visits Fanny backstage and helps get her a raise. Soon Fanny's comedy routines come to the attention of Florenz Ziegfeld, and she is hired for his Follies at the New Amsterdam Theatre. On opening night, she turns the show's lavish wedding finale into a comedy by appearing as a pregnant bride. Ziegfeld's anger is placated by Fanny's success, however, and he keeps the routine and yields to her demand that she choose her own material. Also at the theater that night is Nick Arnstein, who accompanies her to a party at her mother, Rose's, beer hall and then leaves for Kentucky. One year later, while Fanny is in Baltimore on tour, she again encounters Nick. During their whirlwind affair, Nick loses a fortune on a racehorse he owns and decides to recoup his losses by gambling on an ocean liner crossing the Atlantic. As Fanny prepares to board a train for Chicago, she receives roses and a note from Nick. After phoning her resignation from the Follies to Ziegfeld, she catches a train to New York and boards a tugboat to take her to Nick's Europe-bound ship. After her marriage to Nick, the two move into a lavish manor, and Fanny gives birth to a daughter. Sometime later, while Fanny is in rehearsal for a new show, Nick loses his money again and is forced to sell the house. Feeling overpowered by his wife's success, he moves back to New York City and spends more and more time gambling. As his debts mount, Fanny tries to help, but Nick bitterly rejects her offer and becomes involved in a phony bond deal. When he is exposed, he gives himself up and is sent to jail. Over a year later, he comes to Fanny's dressing room before her performance and tells her goodbye.
Cast: Greta Garbo, Fredric March, Freddie Bartholomew
Directors: Clarence Brown
Producer: David O. Selznick, William Wright
Writer: Clemence Dane, Salka Viertel
Editor: Robert J. Kern
Cinematographer: William Daniels
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Composer: Herbert Stothart
In Moscow, during the late 19th century, Anna Arkadyevna Karénina, the wife of distinguished statesman Alexei Alexandrovitch Karenin, arrives from St. Petersburg by train. Stiva, Anna's brother, greets Anna at the train station, where he introduces her to his friend, Count Vronsky, a young officer of the guards. Although he is aware that Anna is married and has a child, Vronsky immediately falls in love with her. Before leaving the station, Anna and Stiva witness the accidental death of a railroad inspector when he is swept underneath the wheels of a moving train, a tragedy that Anna calls "an evil omen." Soon after arriving at her brother's house, Anna makes peace between Stiva and his wife Dolly, who was angry with him for being a philanderer. Then, Kitty, Dolly's sister, confides in Anna that she is secretly in love with Vronsky and that she has become disenchanted with her sweetheart, Konstantin Dimetrievitch Levin. Later, at a ball, Kitty despairs when Levin proposes to her and she is asked to dance the mazurka by undesireable men. When Anna leaves Moscow for St. Petersburg, she soon discovers that the smitten Vronsky has followed her. Despite her attempts to dissuade him from making entreaties for her affections, Vronsky persists in courting Anna and disembarks with her in St. Petersburg. Anna is met at the St. Petersburg train station by Karenin, and because Vronsky is at her side, she is forced to introduce him to her husband. Anna adores her young son Sergei and asks about his well-being. Later, when Vronsky visits Anna and she tells him that she loves him, Lidia, a friend of Karenin, informs Karenin of his wife's affair. Karenin, who is mostly concerned about the effect that the publicity of Anna's affair will have on his career and his son, angrily accuses Anna of destroying their family. In response, Anna accuses Karenin of being concerned only with appearances and not loving her. News of Anna's affair soon reaches Vronsky's superior in command, who urges him to end the affair at once or face dismissal from the army. When Vronsky returns to Anna's, he forces her to choose between him and Karenin, but she finds the decision too difficult to make. Later, at a horse race in which Karenin's horse is racing against Vronsky's horse, Vronsky takes a fall and Karenin prevents Anna from rushing to his side. When they return home, Anna tells Karenin that she loves Vronsky. Karenin then informs Anna that he will not give her a divorce and orders her to remain his wife or face banishment and humiliation. Following Kitty's marriage to Levin, Anna and Vronsky elope to Venice, although Anna says that they will be "punished for being so happy." Meanwhile, back in St. Petersburg, Karenin tells Sergei that his mother is dead. When Vronsky and Anna return to Russia, Vronsky learns that his regiment is preparing to fight in the Serbo-Turkish war, and he eagerly rejoins the regiment. Karenin denies Anna's request to visit Sergei on his birthday, but she goes anyway. When Karenin finds Anna in the house, he orders her to leave. Anna returns to St. Petersburg only to learn that Vronsky has left to fight in the war. Anna desperately tries to see Vronsky one last time before he goes into battle and follows him to Moscow. In Moscow, Anna visits Dolly, Kitty, Levin and their new baby. Afterward, Anna rushes to the train station to see Vronsky off, but as she approaches his car, she realizes he is bidding farewell to his mother and a young woman whom she does not know. Despondent, Anna ends her life by throwing herself under a moving train.
Cinematographer: Sam Leavitt, Winton Hoch, Harry Stradling
Genre: Melodrama, Musical
Production Company: Transcona Enterprises
Composer: Ray Heindorf
In Los Angeles, at a benefit show for the Motion Picture Relief Fund at the Shrine Auditorium, prominent but fading movie star Norman Maine arrives drunk and out of control. To save his studio from embarrassment, Oliver Niles, the studio head, tells his publicity director, Matt Libby, to keep Norman away from the stage. Using the pretense of publicity photographs and interviews, Libby lures Norman into the pressroom. However, Norman soon guesses Libby’s ruse, knocks Libby into a mirror, smashing it to pieces, then heads toward the stage, pushing through performers awaiting their cue. Onstage, the Glenn Williams Orchestra is performing, and when the band’s vocalist, Esther Blodgett, sees Norman coming, she links arms and struts with him, incorporating him into the act, thus preventing him from disrupting their performance. As he bows and exits, the audience cheers, believing the star’s appearance was planned. Afterward, backstage, Esther is preparing to depart, when Norman takes her lipstick and draws a heart on the wall with their initials inside to mark the time she “saved” him from disgracing himself. He invites her to supper, but she must leave with pianist Danny McGuire for another job at the Ambassador Hotel’s Cocoanut Grove. Later, after sobering up, Norman goes to the Grove and learns from the headwaiter that the band, after finishing their performance, went to the Downbeat Club on Sunset Blvd. Norman proceeds there and hears Esther sing. Impressed with her talent, he drives her home and urges her not to settle for little dreams. Telling her she is good enough to be in motion pictures, he offers to introduce her to Oliver. Early the next morning, influenced by Norman, Esther quits the band, which goes to San Francisco without her. Norman intends to follow up on his promise but, at six a.m., the studio car comes to take him away to his next movie assignment, which is shooting on location at sea for several weeks. Unable to reach Esther himself, he tries to get in touch with her through crew members, but no one takes his request seriously, and he cannot remember her address. When she does not hear from Norman, Esther assumes he was just flirting with her. To make ends meet, she sings for a commercial, but then must support herself by working at a drive-in restaurant. After shooting on Norman’s film is complete, he searches for her, but by then she has moved to a cheaper rooming house. Eventually, after recognizing her voice on the commercial, he tracks her down and arranges for her screen test at the studio. The studio personnel make her over with a blonde wig and nose prosthetic, but Norman comes to the rescue and has her change back to her normal appearance. After completing a bit role, she receives her first paycheck and learns that the studio has given her a screen name, Vicki Lester. Oliver shows no interest in Esther, believing that she is simply a passing romantic fancy of Norman’s, until Norman arranges for him to overhear her singing. Then she is given a role in a musical and, with Norman’s guidance, overcomes her nervousness to become an overnight success. Norman then tries to back out of a relationship with her, claiming, “I destroy everything I touch,” but Esther tells him that she loves him. Norman proposes to Esther during a recording session, unaware that a nearby microphone is picking up and recording everything they say. At first Esther refuses, claiming that Norman is too irresponsible and drinks too much, but after listening to the playback, she accepts, prompting everyone in the studio to cheer. When news of the engagement reaches the studio, Libby warns Oliver of trouble, but Oliver feels that marriage is just what Norman needs to overcome his problems. Libby plans a highly-publicized nuptial event, but Esther and Norman sneak off for a quiet marriage ceremony by a small-town justice of the peace, with Danny and two prisoners in attendance. Libby, resenting the years he has covered up for Norman, is infuriated. After returning from their honeymoon, Norman and Esther throw a party at their new Malibu beach house, during which Oliver tells Norman that the New York studio heads have ordered his contract to be dropped. Pleased with this turn of events, Libby sends out press releases stating that Norman asked to be released from his contract. While Esther’s career continues to rise, Norman spends his days at home, hoping to resume his career. However, when a deliveryman calls him “Mr. Lester,” he realizes that his career is dead and he returns to drinking. At the next Academy Awards ceremony, Esther is named Best Actress. As she gives her acceptance speech, Norman drunkenly climbs onstage and makes his own speech, begging for a job. Gesturing wildly, he accidentally hits Esther in the face. While Norman spends time in a sanitarium to dry out, Oliver tells the depressed Esther that he will give Norman another chance. He offers Norman a part in a film, but Norman declines it, realizing that it is not a lead role. After his release from the sanitarium, Norman plans to remain sober. At the Santa Anita racetrack, where he drinks ginger ale instead of his usual liquor, he encounters Libby, who tries to humiliate him. Norman overlooks Libby’s malicious taunting, until the publicity man accuses him of living off Esther’s income. Norman then hits Libby, who strikes back, knocking Norman to the floor. Hearing the crowd gossip that he is “drunk again,” Norman orders a double scotch. After not hearing from Norman for four days, Esther becomes worried. When she gets a call informing her that Norman has been arrested for drunkenness, she and Oliver proceed to the court, where the judge sentences Norman to ninety days in jail. Pleading for the judge to suspend the sentence, Esther promises to be responsible for Norman, and the judge relents. At home the next day, while Norman is sleeping, the crying Esther tells Oliver that she has decided to quit filmmaking. She wants to take Norman away for a new start, so that he can get back his health, and later, his career. Although Oliver regrets that Esther is sacrificing her career, he agrees to release her from her studio obligations, but warns her that Norman’s talents are gone, ruined by twenty years of alcoholism. Having awakened, Norman overhears them through an open window. Later, pretending to be in a good mood, Norman tells Esther that he is going out for a swim and asks her to sing to him. As she sings, he swims toward the sunset, allowing himself to drown. Later, Libby reports Norman’s “accidental” death to the newspapers. After the funeral, a gawking crowd encircles Esther as she leaves the church, causing her to break down. Secluding herself at the beach home, she refuses to answer phone calls. Danny, who is now her studio accompanist, arrives to pick her up for a Shrine Auditorium benefit concert she promised to attend before Norman’s death. When she refuses to go, Danny tells her she is wasting what Norman gave her and what he died to keep from destroying. His accusation succeeds in getting her to leave the house. Backstage at the auditorium, she sees the heart Norman drew on the wall. When she is asked by the emcee to say a few words, she proclaims, “Hello everybody. This is Mrs. Norman Maine.”
Cast: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart
Directors: George Cukor
Producer: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Writer: Donald Ogden Stewart
Editor: Frank Sullivan
Cinematographer: Joseph Ruttenberg
Genre: Romantic comedy, Screwball comedy
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Composer: Franz Waxman
The wealth and position of the socially prominent Lord family of Philadelphia has made Tracy, the eldest daughter, into an imperious and haughty shrew. Tracy's attitude causes a marital rift with her childhood sweetheart, sportsman and recovering alcoholic C. K. Dexter Haven, leading to a divorce. Two years later, Tracy is poised to wed the pompous and politically ambitious self-made man George Kittredge when Dexter returns from an extended absence accompanied by scandal sheet reporters Macaulay "Mike" Connor and Elizabeth Imbrie. Because Sidney Kidd, the powerful publisher of the scandal magazine Spy , has embarassing information on Tracy's father Seth's affair with a dancer, Dexter agrees to allow Mike and Liz access to Tracy's wedding in exchange for not printing the story on Seth. Although Dexter introduces Mike and Liz as old friends of Tracy's brother Junius, who is living in South America, Tracy realizes that Mike and Liz are reporters. She allows them to stay, however, and puts on an exaggerated performance of a society girl for them when Dexter tells her about Kidd. Tracy is angry at Dexter for coming back after two years, but her mother Margaret and sister Dinah are delighted at his presence, complicating Tracy's attempts to have a dignified wedding. Because Tracy is angry at her father for his affair and doesn't expect him at the wedding, she pretends that her uncle Willie is her father, hoping to make Mike and Liz think that everyone is happy. Though she at first has nothing but contempt for Mike, she gradually comes to admire him when she finds a book of poetry he has written at the local public library. Mike, too, comes to admire Tracy, whom he realizes is more than just a superficial society girl. Liz, who thinks that Tracy and Dexter are still in love, begins to get jealous when she realizes that Mike is starting to fall for Tracy. When Seth unexpectedly returns home and Margaret is happy to see him, Tracy chastises them. Seth then lectures her about her heartlessness, as does Dexter, who gives her a model of the yacht they used for their honeymoon, The True Love , as a wedding present. Confused and hurt over things that Seth and Dexter have said to her, Tracy becomes very drunk at her engagement party and starts kissing Mike after a middle-of-the-night swim at home. The next morning, a very hung over Tracy doesn't seem to remember what happened the night before, but as Dinah and the others start to remind her, she becomes even more confused. When Dexter and Kittredge arrive and Kittridge's pompous reaction to Tracy's seeming indiscretion the night before is revealed, Tracy realizes that she doesn't love him, and Kittridge leaves. The guests have gathered for the wedding, however, and the entire family is waiting for Tracy to do something. As the orchestra plays the strings of the wedding march, Dexter advises Tracy on what to say to the guests and, as he feeds her the lines, she tells them that they were cheated out of seeing her marry Dexter the first time, but they will be able to see her marry him this time. Now realizing that Dexter is proposing, Tracy happily accompanies him down the aisle. Harmony seems to be restored in the Lord household until a flashbulb pops and the bride and groom are surprised by a photographer and Kidd places their picture in the next issue of Spy .
Producer: Gary Foster, Lynda Obst, Patrick Crowley
Writer: Nora Ephron, David S. Ward, Jeff Arch, Jeff Arch
Editor: Robert Reitano
Cinematographer: Sven Nykvist
Genre: Romantic comedy
Production Company: TriStar Pictures
Recent widower Sam Baldwin decides he and his eight-year-old son, Jonah, need a change. They uproot from Chicago, Illinois, to a floating home on Lake Union in Seattle, Washington. On Christmas Eve, Jonah calls into the “You and Your Emotions” radio show hosted by Dr. Marcia Fieldstone, and tells her his Christmas wish: a new wife for his grieving father. Fieldstone urges the boy to put Sam on the phone. Meanwhile, in Baltimore, Maryland, Annie Reed listens to the show on her way to visit her fiancé Walter’s family, and is brought to tears when Sam reveals the deep love he had for his wife, and the magic he felt when first holding her hand. Learning that Sam suffers from insomnia, Fieldstone refers to him as “Sleepless in Seattle.” After the holiday, Annie returns to work at the Baltimore Sun. At a staff meeting, her co-worker, Becky, mentions that 2,000 women called in to Dr. Fieldstone’s radio show to get “Sleepless in Seattle’s” number. Annie admits she was also swept up by Sam’s story, and Becky suggests she write about it. On New Year’s Eve, Annie celebrates with Walter, who suggests a Valentine’s Day trip to New York City. Meanwhile, in Seattle, Sam puts Jonah to bed, then daydreams a conversation with his late wife, Maggie. He returns to work on a house he is designing, and is embarrassed to learn that his client, Claire, heard him on the “You and Your Emotions” show. Soon, Sam receives letters from many interested women, sent to him via Dr. Marcia Fieldstone. Jonah excitedly reads the letters, but Sam prefers to meet a woman on his own terms. In Baltimore, Annie barges in on her brother, Dennis, at his office, and admits to having fantasies about a stranger in Seattle. She is relieved when Dennis debunks the idea of fate, and confesses that he too had “cold feet” before his wedding. Later, Annie and Becky watch the 1957 film, An Affair to Remember, in which two lovers agree to meet at the top of the Empire State Building. Becky looks on as Annie writes a letter to Sam, then crumples it up and tosses it. Unable to shake her obsession, she hires a private detective to perform a background check and snap Sam’s photograph. Jonah receives Annie’s letter in the mail. Convinced she is the right woman for his father, he reads the letter aloud, noting that Annie’s favorite baseball player, Brooks Robinson, is also Sam’s favorite. Sam argues that Baltimore is too far away, and leaves for a dinner date with an interior designer named Victoria. Jonah interrupts the date by calling Sam to tell him that Annie wants to meet at the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day. Sam reprimands his son for interrupting him, and hangs up. Later, Sam introduces Victoria to Jonah, who vehemently dislikes her. The boy spies them kissing and calls into the “You and Your Emotions” show in a panic. Becky calls to alert Annie that Jonah is back on the show, rousing both Annie and Walter from a deep sleep. Annie sneaks downstairs and turns on the radio. Later, Jonah shares Annie’s letter with his girl friend, Jessica, who agrees that Annie is the perfect match for Sam. She encourages Jonah to write back, and they draft a letter together. Meanwhile, Annie tells Becky she wants to write a story about Sam, and Becky authorizes her to travel to Seattle for “research.” When Annie gets off the airplane, she happens to pass Sam and Jonah, who are at the airport to drop off Victoria. Sam notices Annie and stares at her as she passes. She arrives at Sam’s house just as he and Jonah paddle off in a boat. Annie follows them to a beach, but cannot muster the courage to approach them. The next day, she finds them at a marina, but stops short when she sees Sam and Jonah embracing Sam’s visiting sister, Suzy. Mistaking Suzy for Victoria, Annie is crestfallen. Sam notices her in the middle of the road and says “Hello.” Annie responds, but is nearly hit by a car. Back in Baltimore, she tells Becky about the encounter, telling her, “All I could say was ‘hello.’” Becky recalls the heroine in An Affair to Remember saying the same line, and tells Annie it must be a sign. Annie receives Jonah’s letter, in which the boy, posing as his father, agrees to meet her in New York. Becky confesses to sending Annie’s crumpled-up letter. However, having seen Sam embracing another woman, Annie no longer wants to pursue him. When Sam continues to refuse to go to New York, Jonah decides to go on his own. He enlists the help of Jessica, whose parents own a travel agency. She books him on a flight and they pool their money for taxi fare. Having recommitted herself to the idea of marrying Walter, Annie goes to meet him in New York. While registering for wedding gifts, Walter gives Annie his mother’s engagement ring. It is just what she would have picked, and she praises Walter’s predictability. On Valentine’s Day morning, Sam packs for a weekend getaway with Victoria. The babysitter arrives, but Jonah is nowhere to be found. Sam goes to Jessica’s house, and Jessica informs him that Jonah is on a flight to New York. The panicked Sam rushes to the airport and gets on the next flight to New York. That evening, Annie goes for drinks with Walter. Noticing the Empire State Building in clear view, she returns his mother’s ring, and tells him about Sam. Walter remains even-keeled and tells Annie that he never wants to be “settled for.” The Empire State Building windows light up red, forming a heart, and Annie decides it is a sign. She hails a taxi to the Empire State Building, where Jonah has spent the day looking for her, but gets caught in traffic. Sam finally catches up to Jonah on the observation deck, and is relieved to find him unharmed. Minutes later, Annie coaxes a security guard to let her up to the observation deck after closing, but finds it empty. She notices Jonah’s abandoned backpack, and rifles through it just as Sam and Jonah come back for it. Annie and Sam lock eyes. She introduces herself, and he takes her hand. Admiring each other in silence, Annie and Sam board the elevator with the contented Jonah. Finally, Annie tells Sam it is nice to meet him.
After a series of daring, nighttime jewel thefts creates panic among the Riviera's wealthy elite, American-born John Robie, a reformed burglar who used to be known as "The Cat," becomes the police's only suspect. When police detectives come to question him at his hilltop villa near Cannes, John cleverly eludes them. John then races to see his old friend, Bertani, a restaurateur with whom he fought in the French Resistance and whose employees are all ex-convicts like John. Although Bertani is sympathetic to John's plight, the other restaurant workers treat him hostily, fearing that his apparent transgression will cast suspicion on them. Feeling that his only recourse is to catch the thief himself, John asks Bertani for information about his rich customers. Instead, Bertani offers to put John in contact with a man who two days before asked for the same information. As John is leaving the restaurant, he is spotted by the still-pursuing police detectives. Foussard, one of Bertani's workers, helps John flee and delivers him to his teenage daughter Danielle, who takes John out in a motor boat. The flirtatious Danielle then drops John off at the Carlton Hotel beach, where unknown to him, he is observed by a beautiful woman. At the hotel, John receives a phone call from Bertani, instructing him to meet the man, H. H. Hughson, at the flower market in Nice. There, John explains his situation to Hughson, an English insurance investigator from Lloyds of London, a company that has been hard hit by the recent thefts. Though a bit wary, Hughson agrees to supply John with a list of the thief's probable targets. John then is chased by detectives through the flower market, but again avoids capture. The next day, at John's villa, Hughson hands John his list of clients and admits he is dining with two of them, American tourists Mrs. Jessie Stevens and her grown daughter Frances, who are staying at the Carlton. Posing as an Oregon lumber magnate named Conrad Burns, John connives to meet Jessie and Francie, the woman from the beach, while they are gambling in a casino. Although he shows no particular interest in Francie, the widowed Jessie, impressed by his manliness, encourages him to pursue her spoiled, refined daughter. At first, Francie acts indifferent to John, then surprises him with a seductive goodnight kiss. Despite increased security at the hotel, another jewel theft occurs that night. The next morning, John, who has checked into the hotel, receives a note warning him that his life is in danger, and as he is sunbathing on the beach with Francie, Danielle walks by. John follows her into the water, and they swim out to a platform, where Danielle informs John that Bertani's ex-convicts have been threatening to kill him. Later, Francie drives John to inspect one of the villas on Hughson's list, which he claims he is interested in renting. While inspecting the layout of the expansive Silvers villa, John accuses Francie of being insecure about men. Unfazed by John's criticisms, Francie insists that they picnic together, but while driving, John realizes they are being followed by the detectives. Stepping on the gas of her sporty convertible, Francie engages the policemen in a wild chase on the steep, winding Riviera roads and finally loses them. Later, as they picnic, Francie reveals that she knows John's real identity and begs him to make her his accomplice. John maintains his pose, however, but agrees to meet her later in her hotel room. Francie, who normally shuns jewelry, greets John wearing an extravagant diamond necklace and tries to taunt him with it. After John points out that the gems are fake, he and Francie kiss, growing increasingly passionate as a fireworks display lights up the night sky. The next day, however, Francie storms into John's room, demanding he return her mother's jewelry, which was stolen during the night. Although John admits he is The Cat, he protests his innocence and slips out to the roof when Francie summons the police. John, who has received yet another warning note, then meets with Hughson and asks him to bring the police to the Silvers villa after midnight, as he expects the burglar to be there. While waiting on the villa grounds, John is grabbed by two attackers. In the ensuing struggle, John causes one of the attackers to plunge off a bridge into shallow water. The police identify the dead man, Foussard, as The Cat and clear John of suspicion. John, however, tells the police that Foussard, who had a peg leg, could not be the burglar and arranges with an apologetic Francie to attend an upcoming costume ball at the Sanford estate. Wearing an exotic costume complete with black mask, John accompanies the Stevenses, who are dressed in Louis XIV-era gowns. During the ball, which is being monitored by costumed policemen and catered by Bertani, John excuses himself, then apparently returns and dances with Francie late into the night. Hughson actually has replaced John, who is waiting on the roof for The Cat. Finally, John spots the burglar and gives chase. John soon nabs the masked thief, who turns out to be Danielle. While trying to escape John's grasp, Danielle slips off the roof, but catches the gutter before falling. John grabs her hand and threatens to let go unless she tells the police down below that she and her father were working with Bertani. After Danielle confesses and is rescued, Francie finds John at his villa and forces him to admit with a kiss that he needs her after all. The triumphant Francie then states that "Mother will love it here."
Production Company: NBI Productions, Newton Productions
In a small Kansas town during the late 1920s, two high school students, Wilma Dean Loomis and Bud Stamper, fall in love. Frightened by their physical desires but unwilling to have a sexual relationship, their time together is filled with confusion and frustration. Furthermore, their well-intentioned parents are of little help. Wilma's mother is a domineering woman who boasts of her aversion to men and warns her daughter that nice girls do not have sexual feelings. Bud's father, Ace, is an arrogant self-made millionaire who advises his son to forget marriage until he graduates from Yale University. Unable to consummate their love, either sexually or through marriage, the youngsters end their relationship. For Bud, it means both physical and emotional collapse, and, after a bout with pneumonia, he takes up with Juanita, the most permissive girl in school. Following an attempted suicide, Wilma suffers a mental breakdown and is sent away for psychiatric care. As the years pass, additional tragedy strikes Bud. His promiscuous sister, Ginny, dies in an automobile accident; and his father, whose oil holdings were wiped out by the 1929 stock market crash, commits suicide. Bud leaves Yale after failing almost all his courses and marries a poor Italian waitress, Angelina. When Wilma is released from the sanitarium, fellow patient Johnny Masterson proposes to her and offers her the chance for a new life. Before she can accept, however, Wilma feels that she must see Bud once more. She visits him at his little farm, and they realize that they are almost strangers and that the past must be buried.
While hitchhiking to San Diego, drifter Frank Chambers stops at the sleepy Twin Oaks diner, located on a rural road near Los Angeles. Frank accepts a job from Nick Smith, the middle-aged, alcoholic owner of the diner, and is immediately intrigued by Nick's young wife Cora. A furtive romance soon develops between Frank and Cora, and when Nick takes a trip to Los Angeles one day, they decide to elope. The two only travel a short distance, however, as Cora loses hope and decides to return to Twin Oaks. Frank agrees to return with her, and they hurry back to the diner to get there before Nick finds the farewell note that Cora left behind. Determined to continue her romance with Frank and make a better life for herself, Cora convinces Frank that the only way for them to achieve happiness is to kill Nick and collect his insurance money. While Frank stands guard outside the diner, Cora prepares to kill Nick by knocking him unconscious and make his death appear to be a bathtub accident. The plan goes awry, however, when a cat trips the power lines just as Cora strikes Nick, plunging the diner into darkness and preventing Cora from completing the plan. Fearing that a police officer who stopped by the diner moments before the "accident" may become suspicious, Cora and Frank call an ambulance and rush Nick to a hospital. When Nick regains consciousness, he remembers nothing of the "accident," then tells Cora and Frank that he plans to sell the diner and take Cora with him to live at his sister's home in Santa Barbara. Although Cora protests, Nick firmly tells her that she must care for his semi-invalid sister. Desperate that the move will result in a complete life of drudgery, Cora enlists Frank to devise another plan to kill Nick. After getting Nick drunk, Frank and Cora stage an automobile accident at Malibu Lake, unaware that District Attorney Kyle Sackett has been following them. Though Sackett arrives on the scene too late to save Nick, he is certain that Cora and Frank are the killers. Without enough concrete evidence to convict Frank and Cora, Sackett tries to pit the two against each other, and tricks Frank into signing an official complaint against Cora, alleging that she tried to kill both him and Nick. Sackett's strategy nearly succeeds when Cora incriminates herself and agrees to sign a full confession. The confession, however, is recorded by Ezra Liam Kennedy, a private detective posing as an official from Sackett's office. Kennedy is in the employ of Cora's attorney, Arthur Keats, who prevents the confession from being read to the court. Keats persuades Cora to settle for a manslaughter charge, and she is later released on probation. Several weeks pass, and Cora and Frank still do not trust each other, but decide to marry, in order to run the diner together and not appear to be living indecently. One day, Cora leaves Twin Oaks to visit her ailing mother in Iowa. During her week-long absence, Frank has an affair with Madge Gorland, a woman he meets at a train station. Soon after Cora returns, she and Frank are visited by Kennedy, who is no longer employed by Keats and who demands $15,000 in exchange for Cora's signed confession. Cora and Frank manage to overpower Kennedy and destroy the confession. Afterward, Cora tells Frank that she has discovered his affair with Madge, and that she is pregnant. Cora then asks him take her to the beach for a swim in the moonlight and plans to swim far out into the ocean with Frank, then tell him that he can turn back without her. When Cora is finally too exhausted to continue swimming, she tells Frank what she is doing and his reaction makes them both realize that they love and and trust each other once again. After Frank helps Cora back to shore, the now happy couple drive toward the diner, but Frank loses control of the car and the vehicle careens off the road. Although Frank escapes unhurt, Cora is killed. Frank is then convicted of Cora's murder, and just before his scheduled execution, Sackett comes to see him. When Frank tells him that he didn't kill Cora and hopes that at the last second she did not think that he did, Sackett reveals that a note left by Cora, which was recently found in the back of the diner's cash register, not only revealed her love for Frank, but inadvertently divulged details of Nick's murder. Realizing that his situation is like that of someone who only receives the mail after the postman rings the doorbell twice, Frank contently heads toward his exection.
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush
Directors: John Madden
Producer: David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, Harvey Weinstein, Edward Zwick, Marc Norman
Writer: Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard
Editor: David Gamble
Cinematographer: Richard Greatrex
Genre: Comedy-drama
Production Company: Miramax Films , Universal Pictures , Bedford Falls Company
Composer: Stephen Warbeck
In 1593, young playwright and actor Will Shakespeare embarks on his latest play, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter, to be performed at the Rose Theatre in London, England. In the throes of writer’s block, he pursues an affair with Rosaline, the mistress of Richard Burbage, owner of the Curtain Theatre. Shakespeare also endeavors to have Burbage buy his play from the Rose’s failing owner, Philip Henslowe. Shakespeare’s romantic hopes are dashed when he learns Rosaline is having an affair with Edmund Tilney, who oversees the theater world as Master of the Revels. Meanwhile, Philip Henslowe pushes forward with auditions for Shakespeare’s unfinished play despite a mounting debt to moneylender Fennyman. The auditions attract the wealthy Viola de Lesseps, who wants so badly to act that she disguises herself as a man, “Thomas Kent,” to qualify for the male-only cast. Shakespeare is deeply impressed by “Thomas’s” performance of a monologue from his The Two Gentlemen of Verona. However, Viola flees the moment he questions her, lest the playwright discover her true identity. He follows her home, leaves a note to request her presence at rehearsals, then sneaks into a ball being held there. Shakespeare dances with Viola, unaware that she is “Thomas Kent,” but her betrothed, Lord Wessex, forces him to leave. Shakespeare deceives the angry Wessex by identifying himself as Christopher Marlowe, a rival playwright. With Wessex gone, Shakespeare sneaks into the garden and beckons Viola. The two confess their attraction to each other but Viola’s nurse intervenes. The newfound infatuation inspires Shakespeare to write. He alters his current play, which becomes Romeo and Juliet. “Thomas Kent” is cast as “Romeo,” and Henslowe pacifies Fennyman with a small role as the “Apothecary.” Shakespeare uncovers Viola’s ruse, and the two conduct a secret affair while she stays on in the play. One day, under the guise of a female relative, Shakespeare accompanies Viola to a court hearing, in which she and Wessex seek approval for their marriage. The disguised Shakespeare challenges Wessex to a bet of £50 that a stage play can capture the essence of true love, and Queen Elizabeth I agrees to judge the play and declare a winner. Elsewhere, Richard Burbage learns that Shakespeare seduced Rosaline and also cheated him out of money. He goes to the Rose Theatre and incites a brawl. Burbage is defeated, and afterward, a victorious, drunken Henslowe reveals to the disguised Viola that Shakespeare is married but estranged from his wife. Shakespeare gets news that playwright Christopher Marlowe was murdered, and worries that Wessex is to blame. Viola briefly thinks that Shakespeare was killed, but they reunite at a church service. She admits her love for Shakespeare but cannot break her obligation to Wessex. Nevertheless, the two make love again, only to be spied on by a young boy who informs Edmund Tilney. In turn, the Master of the Revels has the Rose Theatre shut down for using a woman actor. Viola is publicly outed and must leave the production. Burbage saves the show by moving it to the Curtain Theatre, and a despondent Shakespeare replaces Viola as “Romeo.” On the day Viola is married to Wessex, she sneaks away to view a performance. Coincidentally, the pubescent young boy playing “Juliet” is fired for suddenly sounding too manly, and Henslowe enlists Viola to replace him. She and Shakespeare wow the crowd with their electric performances. Recognizing Viola, Tilney threatens to arrest the company for indecency, but Queen Elizabeth I, who has camouflaged herself within the audience, stops him. Keeping up the ruse that Viola is “Thomas Kent,” she tells Kent to retrieve Viola, as she has orders to travel to the colony of Virginia with her new husband. She also declares that Shakespeare has won the £50 bet, and has the money delivered to him with a note demanding a more upbeat play next time. As Viola and Shakespeare part ways, he vows to write a character for her in his next play, The Twelfth Night.
Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Charlie Ruggles
Directors: Howard Hawks
Writer: Dudley Nichols, Hagar Wilde
Editor: George Hively
Cinematographer: Russell Metty
Genre: Screwball comedy
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Composer: Roy Webb
On the eve of his wedding, Dr. David Huxley, a dedicated paleontologist at the Stuyvesant Museum of Natural History, is sent by his fiancée and assistant, Alice Swallow, to play golf with Alexander Peabody, the lawyer for Mrs. Carleton Random, a potential million-dollar donor to the museum. At the golf course, flighty heiress Susan Vance plays David's ball instead of her own and then, mistaking his car for hers, drives off with him clinging to his runningboard. That night while hunting for Peabody at an exclusive restaurant, David again encounters Susan, who causes him to slip on his top hat, embarrass himself in front of psychologist Dr. Fritz Lehman, tear his jacket and split the back of her gown. The next morning, Susan telephones David, who is preparing to meet Alice with his new possession, a rare brontasaurus fossil, and begs him to help her with her new possession, "Baby," a tamed leopard that her brother has shipped to her from Brazil. David, however, refuses to get involved with Baby until he hears Susan's phony cries of distress over the telephone. After rushing to her apartment, David finds Susan unmaimed, and Baby yearning to hear his favorite record, "I Can't Give You Anything But Love." Disgusted by Susan's antics, David marches out of the apartment, but is followed down the street by both Susan and an unleashed Baby. Thus cornered, David finally agrees to help Susan take Baby to her aunt Elizabeth's home in Connecticut, but admonishes her that he has to return to the city to marry Alice by nightfall. While driving on the road to Aunt Elizabeth's, a distracted Susan rams into a truck carrying a load of fowl, and its cargo spills out and is devoured by Baby. Later, while David is buying raw meat for Baby in a small town store, Susan is forced to steal a stranger's car whose back seat the leopard has suddenly occupied. Finally arriving in Connecticut, David, who has donned Susan's dressing gown because Susan has sent his feather-encrusted clothes to the cleaners, runs into the befuddled, suspicious Aunt Elizabeth, whose married name is Mrs. Carleton Random. Because David has asked her not to reveal his full name to Elizabeth, Susan tells her aunt that David's last name is "Bone" and that he is a big game hunter who has suffered a nervous breakdown. At the same time, Elizabeth's dog George steals David's bone and buries it on the vast estate. While David frantically follows George around the wooded estate in an attempt to discover the whereabouts of his fossil, Susan confesses to Elizabeth that she is in love with David and plans to marry him. Unwilling to leave Elizabeth's without his fossil, David joins Susan, Elizabeth and Major Horace Applegate, a true big game hunter, for dinner. While David carefully watches George from the table, Mr. Gogarty, a heavy-drinking family servant, accidentally releases Baby from his makeshift cage in the garage. Alerted by Gogarty's screams, Susan orders David to telephone the local zoo, but then tells him to cancel his request for help after she learns that her brother intended Baby as a gift for Elizabeth. On the estate grounds, Susan and David search for Baby, harmonizing "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" as a lure, but mistake a caged, vicious circus leopard, which is being trucked to Bridgeport, for their tame animal. After Susan surreptitiously releases the other leopard from the stalled truck, it escapes into the woods and ends up on the roof of Dr. Lehman's house, where she and David attempt to coax it down. Lehman comes to his front door and, seeing only Susan, drags her into his house, convinced that she is deranged. Constable Slocum then arrives on the scene, spots David slinking around the house and arrests him for voyeurism. At the jail, Slocum refuses to believe Susan's and David's stories and arrests both Elizabeth and Applegate when they come to bail out Susan because he is sure they are only impersonating his wealthy constituents. Unable to persuade the dim-witted Slocum of her true dilemma, Susan changes her tactics and pretends to be "Swinging Door Susie," a gangster's moll. Eventually, Peabody shows up to verify everyone's identity, and after Baby and George stroll into the station, Susan, who has snuck out of a window, unwittingly captures the circus leopard. A few weeks later, Susan finds David, who has been jilted by Alice, working on his brontasaurus reconstruction at the museum. After presenting him with his bone, which George finally had returned, Susan informs David that she is donating a million dollars that Elizabeth has given to her to the museum. Then while perched on a tall ladder that scales the dinosaur, she extracts a confession of love from David. Although the excited Susan causes the one-of-a-kind reconstruction to collapse in a heap, David laughs at his misfortune and embraces his bride-to-be.
Cast: Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Katharine Ross
Directors: Mike Nichols
Producer: Lawrence Turman
Writer: Calder Willingham, Buck Henry
Editor: Sam O'Steen
Cinematographer: Robert Surtees
Genre: Comedy-drama
Production Company: Lawrence Turman, Inc.
Benjamin Braddock, filled with doubts about his future, returns to his Los Angeles home after graduating from an Eastern college. His parents soon have a party so they can boast of their son's academic achievements and his bright prospects in business. Mrs. Robinson, one of the guests, persuades Ben to drive her home and there tries to seduce him, but her overtures are interrupted by the sound of her husband's car in the driveway. Blatant in her seductive maneuvers, she soon has the nervous and inexperienced Ben meeting her regularly at the Taft Hotel. As the summer passes, Benjamin becomes increasingly bored and listless; he frequently stays out overnight and returns home to loll around the pool. When his worried parents try to interest him in Elaine, Mrs. Robinson's daughter, Ben agrees to date her to avoid having the entire Robinson family invited to dinner. At first Benjamin is rude to Elaine and takes her to a striptease club, but realizing how cruel he has been, he apologizes and the two begin dating. Outraged, Mrs. Robinson demands that Ben stop seeing her daughter; instead he blurts out the truth to a shocked Elaine, who returns to college in Berkeley. Although Ben follows her and tries to persuade her to marry him, Elaine's parents intervene and encourage her to marry Carl Smith, a student whom she has been dating. Ben returns to Los Angeles, but when Mrs. Robinson refuses to divulge any information about the wedding, he races back to Berkeley and learns that the ceremony will take place in Santa Barbara. Arriving at the church as the final vows are being spoken, he screams Elaine's name over the heads of the startled guests. Elaine sees her parents' anger toward Ben, and realizing what their influence has done, she fights off her mother and Carl and races to Ben. After locking the congregation in the church by jamming a crucifix through the door handles, the couple leaps aboard a passing bus and rides away.
Cast: Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters
Directors: George Stevens
Producer: George Stevens
Writer: Michael Wilson, Harry Brown
Editor: William Hornbeck
Cinematographer: William C. Mellor
Genre: Mystery, Romance
Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp.
Composer: Franz Waxman
After hitchhiking from Chicago, young George Eastman arrives at the Eastman bathing suit factory and arranges to visit his uncle Charles, the company's president, at his home that evening. Charles, a tycoon who recently met his nephew for the first time, introduces George to his wife Louise, daughter Marsha and son Earl. The Eastmans gingerly question George about his widowed mother Hannah, a religious mission worker in Chicago, and George, keenly aware of his lowly social position, responds with vague politeness. After Charles insists that Earl, who has a management position at the factory, find a job for his cousin, debutante Angela Vickers enters the room, mesmerizing George with her beauty. The next day at the factory, the condescending Earl assigns George to the assembly area, where the bathing suits are put into boxes, and advises him about the strict rules against dating fellow employees. George works tirelessly and at night in his modest apartment, composes a list of suggestions for improving productivity on the assembly benches. Yearning to succeed, George drives to the Eastmans' during one of their lavish parties and sees Angela arriving, but cannot bring himself to go inside. Instead, he goes to a movie and ends up sitting next to co-worker Alice Tripp. After the movie, George and Alice walk together, and she comments that George will always be different because he is an Eastman. The uneducated George maintains that he is not special and becomes momentarily lost in thought when he notices a boy singing in a sidewalk mission group. George then asks Alice about her life, and she reveals that she came from a poor family and, ironically, never learned how to swim. Outside Alice's furnished room, George and Alice kiss and agree to see each other again. Later, at the end of another date, the couple wind up in Alice's room and spend the night together. The next morning at the factory, Charles comes through the assembly area and, seeing George, offers to promote him and invites him to another party. When Alice learns that the party coincides with George's birthday, she reminds him that she had already planned a party for him and insists that he leave the Eastmans' early. At the Eastmans', George feels out of place and seeks refuge in the deserted billiard room. While playing pool by himself, George is noticed by Angela, and the two strike up a friendly conversation. Just then, Charles bursts in and insists that George call his mother about his promotion. Though embarrassed, George complies, while Angela hangs on his arm, teasing him. George and Angela spend a few romantic hours dancing, and when George finally shows up at Alice's, she is angry and informs him that she is pregnant. Though stunned, George reassures her, but later accepts Angela's invitation to a party at her parents' house. There, George and Angela confess their love, and George frets that Angela will be leaving soon to spend the summer at her parents' lakeside home. After Angela assures him that they can still see each other, they kiss with deep passion. Later, Alice goes to see Dr. Wyeland about her pregnancy, but he insists that he will help her only if she intends to have the baby. Although Alice tells George that he must now marry her, George protests and asks for time. Alice agrees to wait until the first week in September, when George will be taking his vacation. Sometime later, Angela drops by George's apartment to tell him that her parents have invited him to visit at the lake during his vacation. George calls Alice and begs for another week, stating that he will be with his uncle at the lake and might get a bonus. Reluctantly Alice complies, and George begins a carefree holiday with Angela. At secluded Loon Lake, Angela brings up the subject of marriage and piques George's interest when she tells him about a couple who drowned there the summer before. Alice, meanwhile, waits for mail from George, but instead sees a newspaper photograph of him with Angela. Back at the lake, during a Hawaiian-themed dinner, George receives a phone call from Alice, demanding that he come for her at the bus station. George lies to Angela that his mother is ill, and at the station, Alice threatens to expose George unless he marries her immediately. George gives in, and the next day, he and Alice go to the county courthouse to wed, but discover that it is closed because it is Labor Day. Seeing an opportunity, George suggests that they picnic at Loon Lake and spend the night at the lodge. Before reaching the lodge, George then pretends to have run out of gas and rents a boat under an assumed name. George rows Alice to the far side of the lake and, after night falls, listens with growing agitation as she chatters about how happy they are going to be. Sensing George's displeasure, Alice abruptly asks him if he wished she were dead, and George fights to maintain his composure. When Alice suddenly rises to come to him, causing the boat to sway, George tries to stop her, but the boat capsizes. George and Alice both go under, but only George makes it to the shore. Stumbling in the dark, George walks into a Boy Scout camp before locating his car and driving off. The next day, George returns to the Vickers', while at the courthouse, District Attorney R. Frank Marlowe is notified about Alice's death. After questioning the boatkeeper and the Boy Scout who saw George, Marlowe concludes that only Alice drowned. Detectives then interrogate Alice's landlady, who repeats gossip that Alice was involved with George. George, meanwhile, has a frank conversation about his background with Angela's father Anthony and impresses him with his honesty. Although Angela is unaware of the murder investigation, George senses the police will soon be closing in on him and asks Angela to believe in him, no matter what she may hear. After she swears her undying love, George says goodbye and is arrested by Marlowe. Determined to keep his daughter's name out of the trial, Anthony puts up the money for George's defense. Angela follows the proceedings while in school, but remains dazed by the desperate turn of events. During the trial, several witnesses implicate George, and Marlowe accuses George of bashing in Alice's head before throwing her overboard. On the stand, George admits that he had planned to kill Alice, but changed his mind before the boat accidentally capsized. Despite his candid testimony, George is convicted and sentenced to die. In prison, George is counseled by both his mother and a minister to look into his heart to determine whether he did everything he could to save Alice. Haunted by a vision of Angela, George confesses that he is unsure. Just before his execution, Angela visits George and quietly declares she still loves him. Accepting his fate, George then is led to his death.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden
Directors: Billy Wilder
Producer: Billy Wilder
Writer: Billy Wilder, Samuel Taylor, Ernest Lehman
Editor: Arthur Schmidt
Cinematographer: Charles Lang Jr.
Genre: Romantic comedy
Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp.
One evening, during an annual party at Oliver Larrabee’s Long Island estate, chauffeur’s daughter Sabrina Fairchild sits in a tree, spying lovingly on David, Oliver’s ne’er-do-well son. After observing the thrice-divorced David and a giggling debutante dancing and flirting in the indoor tennis court, Sabrina runs, crying, to the rooms she shares with her widowed English father Thomas. Thomas gently scolds Sabrina for “reaching for the moon” and reminds her that, the next day, she is going to cooking school in Paris, far away from David. Later, in her bedroom, Sabrina ponders her situation, then writes her father a suicide note, shuts herself in the garage and starts the engines of all eight cars. As Sabrina begins to succumb to the fumes, Linus Larrabee, David’s middle-aged, conservative brother, hears the rumbling of the engines and opens the garage to investigate. Unaware of her intentions, Linus saves Sabrina and carries her back to her room. Sometime later, in Paris, Sabrina, still lovesick over David, stumbles through her cooking classes. Deducing the cause of Sabrina’s distracted behavior, an elderly baron who is enrolled in the school takes charge of her, transforming her into a sophisticated woman. On Long Island, meanwhile, David, who continues to aggravate Linus with his irresponsible attitudes toward the family business, storms into Linus’ New York office, angry over a newspaper item announcing his engagement to socialite Elizabeth Tyson. Linus admits that he planted the item, as he wants David to marry Elizabeth, because her father owns sugar factories in Puerto Rico, and Larrabee Industries needs sugar to manufacture a new type of plastic. After Linus convinces David that the financial merger hinges on the marital “merger,” David, who has been dating Elizabeth, agrees to the engagement. Later, Sabrina, having completed her two-year cooking course, returns to America. With a new hairdo, sleek Paris clothes and fluffy dog named David, Sabrina waits for her father at the Long Island train depot and is pleasantly surprised when David drives up and offers her a ride. Not recognizing Sabrina, David flirts with her and drives her all the way home before realizing who she is. Though stunned, David asks her out that night, then remembers that his family is hosting a party to which Elizabeth has been invited. Sabrina, who is aware of David’s engagement, insists on attending, confidently telling her father later that the moon is now “reaching for her.” At the party, David slips away from an unsuspecting Elizabeth to dance with Sabrina, who is dressed in a dazzling Paris gown. David instructs Sabrina to wait for him in the tennis court, but before he can leave with his bottle of champagne and glasses, he is waylaid by Linus and Oliver. After the eccentric Oliver lectures David about dallying with the servants, Linus forces David, who has the champagne glasses tucked in his back pockets, to sit down. David’s rear end is impaled with broken glass, and while he writhes in pain, Linus meets Sabrina at the tennis court. When Sabrina admits that she is in love with David, Linus claims to endorse the romance and dances with her. The next day, after presenting David with a plastic hammock with a hole cut out for his rear end, Linus announces he is taking Sabrina sailing. David thanks Linus for “taking care of” Sabrina and remains oblivious to his scheming, even after Elizabeth shows up to nurse him. While pondering whether to go sailing in his Yale University beanie and sweater, Linus informs his father that he is wooing Sabrina in order to distract her from David and thereby protect the merger. On the boat, Linus talks about his two long-lost loves, claiming that he almost committed suicide over one, and Sabrina suggests that he go to Paris to forget his troubles. The next day, while driving Linus to town, Thomas overhears Linus making arrangements for a date with Sabrina and asks him to be “gentle” with his daughter. Linus assures the class-conscious Thomas that he is sending Sabrina back to Paris, first-class, but when Sabrina arrives at his office, Linus tells her that he is sailing to Paris. At dinner, Sabrina speaks glowingly about Paris and advises Linus not to bring his umbrella, as it will make him look like a tourist. On the drive home, Sabrina sings the romantic French song “La vie en rose,” and Linus hints that he is falling in love with her. Later, Sabrina, her feelings about the brothers now confused, tells David that she does not want to see Linus anymore, but the almost recuperated David insists that she be nice to Linus, their only “ally.” The next day, at Linus’ office, Elizabeth goes over her wedding plans with Linus, and Linus presents Mr. Tyson with his merger contract. Afterward, Linus explains to Oliver that he is going to buy two boat tickets to Paris and will trick Sabrina into thinking he is on board until she is safely away from New York. Linus also reveals he is paying Sabrina’s living expenses in Paris, as well as giving her father some Larrabee stock. Later, Sabrina, who has a dinner date with Linus, telephones him from the office lobby and tells him she cannot see him. Linus persuades Sabrina to come up to his office and asks her to cook an omelette. Thoroughly confused, Sabrina starts to cry until she notices two boat tickets to Paris on Linus’ desk and deduces that one is meant for her. Chagrined by Sabrina’s joy, Linus confesses his deception, and heartbroken, Sabrina takes her ticket and leaves. The next morning, before a board meeting, David confronts Linus in his office, slugging him after revealing that Sabrina broke off with him. David then declares he is going to Paris, even though he knows that Linus is in love with Sabrina. During the board meeting, Linus announces that the merger is off as David is on his way to Paris with Sabrina, but before Elizabeth, her father and the board can register their shock, David storms in and goads Linus into hitting him and admitting that he loves Sabrina. After David tells him that a tugboat is waiting to take him to Sabrina’s ocean liner, Linus races to the docks. Once on board the liner, Linus discards his umbrella and reunites with a surprised Sabrina.
Cast: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Edward Herrmann
Directors: Warren Beatty
Producer: Warren Beatty, Simon Relph, Dede Allen
Writer: Warren Beatty, Trevor Griffiths
Editor: Dede Allen, Craig McKay
Cinematographer: Vittorio Storaro
Genre: Biography, Drama, Epic, Romance
Production Company: Paramount Pictures , J. R. S. Productions
In 1915 Portland, Oregon, aspiring journalist Louise Bryant Trullinger attends a meeting at the Liberal Club and is intrigued when the guest of honor, noted progressive writer John “Jack” Reed, states that the current war in Europe is only about “profits.” While Jack is in town to promote his magazine, The Masses, Louise convinces the handsome journalist to grant her an interview. Attracted to the earnest young woman, Jack forgets the time as he discusses his anti-war position all night. When they encounter each other later at a dinner party, Jack is surprised to learn that the seemingly independent Louise is married to a dentist. Once they are alone again, Louise propositions Jack, and the two sleep together. He invites her to return with him to New York City, describing the trip as an opportunity to have freedom and to be around other writers. Although concerned about being perceived as a “mistress” or “girl friend,” Louise abandons her husband and arrives at Jack’s apartment in Greenwich Village. There, she meets his circle of friends, artists, and fellow radicals, including Emma Goldman, Max Eastman, and the playwright Eugene O’Neill. However, Louise struggles to find her place among the intellectual conversations. She is disheartened as Jack frequently leaves to report on workers’ rights around the country, and is annoyed by his friends who come and go from the apartment as they please. While Jack accuses Louise of not writing “serious” articles, he faces criticism from an editor for reporting “red” communist propaganda. In an effort to pursue their interests with less distraction, the couple escapes the city for a seaside cottage in Provincetown, Massachusetts. There, they hang out with bohemian friends and stage experimental plays written by O’Neill. When Jack leaves to report on the Democratic National Convention, Louise has an affair with the attentive playwright. The night Jack returns, he sees Louise and O’Neill kissing, but says nothing. Instead, he asks Louise, by now divorced from Trullinger, to marry him. In 1916, the newlyweds move to a house in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. While Jack is away, the heartbroken O’Neill stops by to give Louise a love poem, but she dismisses the chance to resume their affair and hides the poem inside the book, Leaves of Grass. As Jack continues to campaign against U.S. involvement in the war, he experiences kidney problems and is advised to rest. At home one night, he finds O’Neill’s love poem and suggests to Louise that he has also been unfaithful. In the middle of their heated quarrel, she packs a suitcase and walks out. Determined to free herself from Jack’s shadow, she accepts an assignment from Bell Syndicate in 1917 and writes about the war from Paris, France, while Jack undergoes surgery to remove his damaged kidney. In her correspondence, Louise describes her job in France as “exhilarating.” However, Jack later learns from editor Pete Van Wherry that Louise was fired for not submitting substantial stories. He travels to France and invites her to join him in Petrograd, Russia, to report on a potential workers’ revolution by the Bolsheviks. Louise agrees as long as she can have her own byline and be known as “Miss Bryant.” Arriving at the Russian front by train, he and Louise observe weary soldiers abandoning the fight to join the Bolsheviks. Acquaintance Alex Gomberg arranges for the couple to stay at a vacant apartment in Petrograd and acts as translator while guiding them to rallies in the streets, where they also witness long lines for food. Jack and Louise obtain interviews with the country’s influential political figures, such as Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and Alexander Kerensky. Although the two cover the imminent insurrection together and edit each other’s articles, Louise is still reluctant to resume their relationship as husband and wife, and insists Jack sleep on the couch. At a factory one night, a large gathering of workers debate whether to strike, and one of the men persuades Jack to address the crowd. When he declares through an interpreter that American workers will follow their example, the Russians cheer and sing their revolutionary anthem, “The Internationale.” Inspired by the moment, Louise cries as Jack finds her in the crowd. The lovers reconcile and march with the Bolsheviks in their moment of triumph. In 1918, the Reeds return to Croton-on-Hudson and are determined to stay together as they write and campaign for the American worker. Louise lectures about the Russian Revolution, amid an atmosphere of mistrust about the movement in America, while Jack writes his eyewitness account, Ten Days That Shook the World, which becomes a huge success. However, they are both under surveillance by the U.S. government as communist sympathizers. When the left wing of the American Socialist Party is expelled from the organization’s convention in 1919, two rival communist factions emerge, one led by Louis Fraina and a smaller one led by Jack, called the Communist Labor Party of America (CLP). To obtain recognition from the Communist International (Comitern), the CLP elects to send Jack to Moscow, Russia, as their delegate. The development upsets Louise. Unlike her idealistic husband, she is skeptical about the possibility of a workers’ revolution in America and reminds Jack he can accomplish more as a writer than a politician. He promises to return by Christmas, but Louise refuses to join him. After Jack leaves, government agents notify Louise of a warrant for his arrest on sedition charges. Meanwhile, Jack must illegally enter Bolshevik “red” Russia, which is surrounded by counter-revolutionary forces, known as the White Army. In Moscow, he fails to obtain the endorsement of the Comitern executive committee, which believes the two communist factions in America should merge. Instead of helping Jack return to the U.S., committee head, Grigory Zinoviev, asks him to work for Russia’s Propaganda Bureau, calling him an important “engineer” in the international revolution. Jack, however, is anxious to see Louise and tries to escape the country on his own. While traveling on a railroad handcar, he is apprehended by White Army soldiers and imprisoned in Finland. When Louise learns of her husband’s predicament, she appeals to the U.S. State Department, but they are indifferent. Beside the fact that Jack left without a proper passport and visa, America is an ally of the White Army against the Bolsheviks. Through the help of Eugene O’Neill, Louise travels as a stowaway on a freighter to Norway, followed by an arduous trek through the snow toward Finland. Jack’s health deteriorates in jail as he develops scurvy, and Finnish authorities destroy telegrams from Louise notifying him she is on her way. After the Bolsheviks negotiate a prisoner exchange, Jack is released and taken back to Petrograd. Unaware of Louise’s travels, he sends numerous telegrams to her in New York and is confused by her lack of response. Emma Goldman, who is also an exile in Petrograd, comments that Louise was never a revolutionary and advises Jack to give her the chance to lead another life. When Louise finally arrives at the remote Finnish prison, she is speechless to learn her husband has been released. Meanwhile, Jack resumes his work with the revolution, and participates in a Comitern Congress, as a member of the American delegation. Emma declares that the Bolshevik movement that originally inspired them is dying and being replaced by Soviet bureaucracy, but Jack still has faith in the workers’ cause. He agrees to join Zinoviev at a Congress for the people of the Middle East, in Baku, Azerbaijan, risking a journey through hostile territory. Meanwhile, in Petrograd, Emma is shocked when she encounters Louise, who has managed to cross into Russia, and apologizes for being wrong about her commitment. During the Congress, Jack appears unwell in the chaotic atmosphere of Baku, and counter-revolutionaries ambush the Comitern train on the way back to Petrograd. Unaware if Jack has survived, Louise waits at the station when the train arrives and scans the departing passengers for her husband. After observing a dead body on a stretcher, she looks up and sees a weary Jack. As they embrace, he pleads with her not to leave him. In failing health, Jack is hospitalized in Russia and Louise rarely leaves his bedside. When she returns to his room after refilling a water bottle, she cannot hold back tears upon realizing he has died.
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe
Directors: Anthony Minghella
Producer: Saul Zaentz
Writer: Anthony Minghella
Editor: Walter Murch
Cinematographer: John Seale
Genre: Drama, Romance
Production Company: Tiger Moth Productions
Composer: Gabriel Yared
In World War II Italy, a French-Canadian nurse named Hana is transferred to an Italian monastery, where she tends to a dying man suffering from critical burns. Though he has forgotten his name, the man, who speaks English, possesses The Histories of Herodotus, a bound book in which he has kept notes and mementos throughout his life. Another patient, a Canadian intelligence officer named David Caravaggio, arrives at the monastery and begins to talk with the English-speaking man, who slowly reveals his past to Caravaggio, Hana, and Kip, a Sikh soldier for the British Army, there to locate and defuse unexploded bombs. The patient recalls that he was sent on an expedition to the Sahara Desert in the late 1930s. In his recollections, he is revealed to be Count László de Almásy, a Hungarian cartographer working for the Royal Geographical Society: While traveling through Egypt and Libya with his British friend, Peter Madox, Almásy meets and falls in love with Katharine Clifton, a married Englishwoman whose husband, Geoffrey, lends his airplane to Almásy’s mapping expedition. The group locates an ancient collection of cave paintings known as the Cave of Swimmers. Katharine paints the site, and gives two of her watercolor renditions to Almásy, who pastes them into his Herodotus book. In Cairo, Egypt, Katharine and Almásy begin a love affair. To preserve her marriage, Katharine soon ends it. Back in the present, Hana and Kip get to know each other and fall in love. When Kip is called to another post, the new lovers promise to meet again. Almásy remembers that Geoffrey Clifton attempted to kill himself and Almásy by purposely crashing his airplane: Geoffrey misses Almásy on the ground, but kills himself and injures Katharine, his passenger. Almásy takes her to the Cave of Swimmers to safely recuperate. Along the way, he notices a silver thimble that he gave her as a present, which she is wearing as a necklace. She confesses her continued love for Almásy. He leaves her in the cave and begins a days-long trek through the desert in search of help. He is briefly detained by British soldiers, who suspect him of being a German spy, but escapes to the Kufra Oasis, where Peter Madox has left his Tiger Moth biplane. Almásy flies the Tiger Moth back to the Cave of Swimmers, where he finds Katharine dead. Grief-stricken, he loads her body onto the plane. As he attempts to fly to safety, the Tiger Moth is shot down by the German army. Almásy is saved by Bedouins, and ultimately transferred to Italy, where he came to be under Hana’s care. Having told his full story, Almásy convinces Hana to give him a lethal dose of morphine. She obeys his wishes, and as he dies, the nurse reads aloud from a page she found tucked in his Herodotus book. It is a love letter from Katharine, written during her final days in the Cave of Swimmers. As Hana and Caravaggio finally leave the monastery, she takes Almásy’s book with her.
In their 12th year of marriage Joanna and Mark Wallace are en route to the French Riviera for a business and social meeting with Mark's benefactor, architect Maurice Dalbret. Joanna and Mark had met years before on such a trip: Mark was then a fledgling architect hitchhiking through Europe, and Joanna was a music student on tour with a group of American schoolgirls. Their first encounter blossomed into romance, and by the time they reached the Côte d'Azur they knew they were in love and ready for marriage. Soon afterward they returned to Europe, but their motor trip was spoiled by their companions, the snobbish Cathy and Howard Manchester and their obnoxious daughter Ruth. Having learned their lesson, Joanna and Mark took their next vacation alone. Then, while Joanna was pregnant, Mark made a business trip by himself and experienced his first marital infidelity. Success came fairly easy for Mark, but his affluence and sense of self-importance alienated Joanna; and eventually she drifted into an indiscreet affair of her own. Driven to the brink of divorce, they are now forced to evaluate themselves and their marriage. Mutually willing to concede that they have changed but have grown maturely dependent upon each other, they are able to save their marriage.
Among the socially prominent citizens of San Francisco are Matt Drayton, the publisher of a liberal newspaper, and his wife, Christina, the owner of a fashionable art gallery. One day their daughter, Joey, returns from a vacation in Hawaii with John Prentice, a black physician whom she has known for only ten days but intends to marry. Because John must leave the next day for Switzerland on behalf of the World Health Organization, Joey is determined that their wedding take place immediately, and she asks for her parents' permission. Furthermore, John secretly confides to the Draytons that he will not marry Joey without their consent. Suddenly confronted with a test of their longtime liberal beliefs, Matt and Christina find themselves unable to reach a decision. Less involved observers, however, quickly voice their opinions: Christina's business associate, Hilary St. George, is quick to reveal her bigotry; an old family friend, Monsignor Ryan, is confident that the couple will be able to overcome their obstacles; and the Draytons' shocked black maid, Tillie, berates John for his impertinence. Though Christina yields to her daughter's wishes, Matt remains undecided. The dilemma is compounded when Joey persuades John's parents to fly up from Los Angeles. Upon their arrival, Mrs. Prentice sides with Christina; but her husband is dubious about the situation and argues with his son. Mrs. Prentice appeals to Matt, recalling the days when they stood on the threshold of a youthful marriage. Realizing that the decision rests with the children, he finally offers Joey and John his blessing; moved by the wisdom of Matt's words, Mr. Prentice also relents.
Early on a September morning, drifter Hal Carter rides a freight train into a small Kansas town seeking his old college friend, wealthy Alan Benson. Wandering toward town, Hal stops in front of elderly Helen Potts' house and asks if he might do any odd jobs for her, but Helen declines, explaining that it is Labor Day and everyone is preparing for the annual town picnic. Charmed by Hal's direct sincerity, Helen nevertheless allows him to clean her lawn and prepares him lunch. Hal then asks Helen about the Bensons, and she reveals that Alan is dating her neighbor, the beautiful Madge Owens, who lives with her mother Flo and younger sister Millie. Next door, meanwhile, Millie and Madge quibble about boys while spinster schoolteacher Rosemary Sydney, who boards with the Owens, dismisses the romantic prospect of the picnic. Later that morning, Hal arrives at the Bensons' affluent home to reunite with a delighted Alan, and the young men reminisce about college. At the Owens' home, Flo fits Madge with a striking new dress for the picnic, and inquires about the seriousness of Madge's relationship with Alan. While Millie laments that she is always overlooked because of Madge's good looks, Madge envies Millie her college scholarship and intellect. When Alan drives Hal to the family business, Hal confides his determination to find success and Alan agrees to give him an entry-level job at the company. Alan then invites Hal to join him and the Owenses for a swimming date and the picnic. After the swim, Alan confidently predicts that Madge will be crowned the seasonal Queen of Neewollah, "Halloween" spelled backwards. Later, at the Owens' house, Rosemary bitterly speculates that her beau, mild businessman Howard Bevans, will arrive for the picnic drunk. Flo is disappointed when Madge decides to wear a less fancy dress to the picnic, but pleased that Alan is nevertheless attentive to her daughter. While Hal drives Millie to the picnic in one of Alan's cars, Flo rides with Madge and Alan. Worried that Hal might be a bad influence, Flo questions Alan about him and learns that Hal grew up poor and won a sports scholarship to college, but nevertheless flunked out. On their way to the picnic, Rosemary initially resists Howard's offer of a sip of whiskey, but then gives in. During the festive afternoon, Hal joins Millie in several contests, and after the group eats, Alan grows annoyed with Hal's good-natured tall-tales while noticing, along with Flo, Hal and Madge's mutual attraction. As the sun sets, Howard and Rosemary continue to drink and Rosemary grows increasingly restless. The Owenses and their friends then excitedly gather on the pier to hear the announcement for the "Neewalloh" queen and are pleased when Madge is presented on as the winner. Dancing begins and a drunken Rosemary attempts to make Howard dance with her. When he refuses, Rosemary forces Millie to dance with her, and Hal playfully dances with Howard, which enrages Rosemary. Hal then dances with Millie until Madge spots them. When Madge and Hal begin a sensuous dance together, Helen watches admiringly, but Flo is alarmed. Also disturbed by the couple's intimacy, Rosemary lashes out at Hal and drunkenly breaks up their dance, embarrassing Hal by tearing his shirt when he attempts to pull away from her. When Millie declares she is feeling ill, Flo blames Hal for getting her drunk. Alan arrives and viewing the spectacle, accuses Hal of being a fake and a bum. Distraught, Hal rushes away and is followed by Madge. Howard apologizes to the group for providing the whiskey, while in the parking lot, Madge apologizes to Hal for Alan, but Hal angrily tells her that he is leaving town on the next freight train. When Madge tries to convince Hal to remain, he calls himself a bum and admits he went to reform school and lost countless unsuccessful jobs. Madge nevertheless praises Hal, admiring his confidence and carefree nature. When Hal reveals that his parents rejected him, Madge kisses him and confides her fear of being cared for only because of her looks. Hal misses the next freight train and stays with Madge. Howard, meanwhile, drives a dejected Rosemary home, and she pleads with him to marry her, explaining that her life is utterly empty. When he refuses and asks for things to remain the same between them, Rosemary declares they cannot see each other again unless he intends to marry her. Hal escorts Madge home early in the morning, concerned about her and whether he should remain in town and work for the Bensons. Later, when Hal returns the car to the Bensons, he discovers that Alan has reported the car stolen and summoned the police. When Alan demands that the police arrest Hal, Hal insists that Alan admit he leant him the car and that his anger is really jealousy over Madge. Alan strikes Hal, who knocks him and the policemen down before fleeing in Alan's car. Hal abandons the car, evades the police and rushes to Howard's for help. The next morning, when Howard comes to the Owenses to reiterate that he will not wed Rosemary, she misunderstands and enthusiastically tells everyone that they are marrying. Flo informs Madge that Alan has telephoned, while Howard secretly tells her that Hal is waiting to see her outside. Madge meets Hal in the yard where he reveals that although he must leave town, he loves her and wants her to come to Tulsa with him. Panicked, Flo intervenes and begs Madge to stay and marry Alan, but Hal pleads with Madge to do what she wants. Confused, Madge does not respond and, while rushing away to catch a passing freight train, Hal continues beseeching Madge to join him. Later, in their bedroom, Millie confronts Madge, encouraging her sister to be smart and to go with Hal. When Madge comes downstairs with her suitcase packed, Flo becomes hysterical, but Madge remains determined. Helen comforts Flo as Madge catches the Tulsa-bound bus.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan, Lauren Bacall
Directors: Howard Hawks
Producer: Jack L. Warner
Writer: Jules Furthman, William Faulkner
Editor: Christian Nyby
Cinematographer: Sid Hickox
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Composer: Leo F. Forbstein
In Fort de France, Martinique, in the summer of 1940, shortly after the fall of France to the Germans, an American named Johnson hires professional fisherman Harry Morgan to take him fishing on Morgan's boat. Johnson complains about the cost of the expedition and the onboard presence of Eddie, a drunk, and Horatio, a native. Refusing to listen to Harry's instructions, Johnson loses a rod and reel belonging to Harry. Fed up with Johnson, Harry cancels the rest of the trip and insists that Johnson pay him for the lost equipment as well as his fees for the past week. Johnson promises to pay what he owes after the banks open the next morning. Back in Fort de France, bartender Gerard, commonly known as Frenchy, asks Harry to rent him his boat for one night to transport some members of the resistance underground, but Harry refuses to become involved in Frenchy's political activities. Later, in the hotel bar, Harry sees attractive young Marie Browning pick Johnson's pocket, and when she leaves the bar, he follows her and demands that she return the wallet. Harry checks the wallet and is surprised to see that it contains enough money in traveler's cheques to pay his fees and that Johnson's plane leaves early the next morning before the banks open. After Marie, whom Harry has dubbed Slim, returns the wallet to the indignant Johnson, Harry insists that he sign some of the cheques, but before Johnson can complete this task, he is killed by gunshots from the street directed at Frenchy's allies. The police detain some of the customers, including Frenchy, Marie and Harry, for questioning. Later that night, Marie tells Harry that she is tired of her footloose life and would like to settle down. In order to earn enough money to put himself back in business and help Marie, Harry agrees to pick up Frenchy's friends. Before he leaves, he buys Marie a ticket on the plane leaving that afternoon for the United States. After picking up Helene and Paul De Bursac, Harry is spotted by a patrol boat, and Paul is wounded before they escape. Harry is surprised to find that Marie stayed in Martinique to be with him. At Frenchy's request, Harry removes the bullet from De Bursac's shoulder and learns that the De Bursacs have been assigned to help a man escape from Devil's Island. De Bursac asks for Harry's assistance, but Harry turns him down. Later, the police, who recognized Harry's boat the previous night, reveal that they have Eddie in custody and will coerce him to tell the truth about the boat's cargo. At gunpoint, Harry forces the police to arrange for Eddie's release and sign harbor passes, so that he can take the De Bursacs to Devil's Island. After Eddie returns, he, Harry and Marie leave Martinique for a more committed life together.
Cast: Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal
Directors: Blake Edwards
Producer: Martin Jurow, Richard Shepherd
Writer: George Axelrod
Editor: Howard Smith
Cinematographer: Franz F. Planer
Genre: Comedy-drama
Production Company: Jurow--Shepherd Productions
Composer: Henry Mancini
Holly Golightly lives in a brownstone on Manhattan's swank East Side. Totally madcap, she has a partially furnished apartment, owns a cat with no name, gets rid of the "mean reds" by visiting Tiffany's, and is forever misplacing her door key, much to the dismay of her upstairs neighbor Mr. Yunioshi, a Japanese photographer. Holly makes her living in two ways: she receive $50 from her gentlemen escorts whenever she needs powder room money, and she is paid $100 for each weekly trip she makes to Sing Sing, where she visits Sally Tomato, an ex-mobster. One day Paul Varjak, a young writer who is supported by an older woman nicknamed "2-E," comes into Holly's life. Following one of Holly's wild cocktail parties, Paul unexpectedly meets Doc Golightly, a gentle Texan whom Holly married when she was only fifteen years old. Holly explains to Paul that the marriage was annulled long ago, and he helps her send the heartbroken Doc away. After a day on the town together, Paul realizes that he is in love with Holly and proposes to her; but she is determined to marry José, a South American millionaire. However, when it is publicly revealed that Holly has been innocently carrying narcotics ring information from Sally Tomato to his New York lawyer, Mr. O'Shaunessy, the stuffy José abandons her. Furious at everything and everyone, Holly throws Cat into the rain and decides to leave town, but Paul lectures her and then goes out to find Cat. Holly realizes how much she is giving up and races through the wet streets to a happy reunion with Paul and Cat.
Cast: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray
Directors: Billy Wilder
Producer: Billy Wilder
Writer: Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond
Editor: Daniel Mandell
Cinematographer: Joseph LaShelle
Genre: Comedy-drama
Production Company: The Mirisch Company, Inc.
Composer: Adolph Deutsch
In New York in November 1959, C. C. “Buddy” Baxter toils in anonymity in the vast, impersonal offices of Consolidated Life Insurance. At his small apartment, however, Buddy has attracted the attention of several Consolidated executives who “borrow” the space for their extramarital trysts. Buddy, continually assured that he will gain a speedy promotion in thanks for his extra apartment key, endures repeated indignities and spends many of his nights walking the streets, looking up longingly at his own window. In addition, the constant flow of women to the apartment earns Buddy the antipathy of his neighbors, including kindly Dr. Dreyfuss and his wife Mildred, who assume that he is a callous playboy. In reality, Buddy lives a quiet, lonely life, and one night when Consolidated manager Joe Dobisch insists on using the apartment, Buddy contracts a cold while sitting outside in the rain waiting to be allowed back in. In the morning, Buddy works up the nerve to talk to elevator girl Fran Kubelik, who has a reputation among the executives as being hard to get. After spending the afternoon juggling apartment “appointments” so he can rest alone that evening, Buddy is called to the office of personnel manager J. D. “Jeff” Sheldrake, who confronts him about his popularity with the various executives. Although Buddy is worried he will be fired, in reality the married Sheldrake is attempting to intimidate him into lending him the apartment key, and despite his cold, Buddy is buoyed by Sheldrake’s promise of an executive position. Unaware that Sheldrake’s current girl friend is Fran, Buddy asks her to a play that evening. Because Fran is planning to break up with Sheldrake, she tells Buddy she will join him after meeting her “date” briefly. Fran later meets Sheldrake at a bar and tells him it is too painful for her to date a married man, but he convinces her that he is just about to ask his wife for a divorce. While Buddy waits at the theater, Sheldrake takes Fran back to Buddy’s apartment. Soon after, Buddy receives his promised promotion and proudly marches away from the 17th floor’s endless rows of underlings into a private office on the 19th floor. Dobisch and the other executives, frustrated that they have not been allowed to use the apartment lately, threaten Buddy’s new job but he remains securely in Sheldrake’s good graces, still unaware that Sheldrake’s constant dates at the apartment are with Fran. At Christmas, the 19th floor hosts a party at which most of the company’s employees carouse and imbibe. Buddy is thrilled to see Fran but does not realize that Sheldrake’s secretary, Miss Olsen, has just informed Fran that Sheldrake routinely seduces all the women in the office, using the same speech to make each conquest. Dazed, Fran barely listens to Buddy’s conversation, and when she pulls out her compact, he recognizes it as the one Sheldrake’s “girl friend” once left at the apartment. Upon learning that Sheldrake plans another tryst that evening, a distraught Buddy retreats to a nearby bar, becoming ill-humoredly drunk with melancholy stranger Margie MacDougall. Meanwhile, Fran meets Sheldrake at the apartment and, receiving his Christmas gift of a $100 bill, becomes despondent. After Sheldrake leaves, Fran swallows Buddy’s bottle of sleeping pills and passes out on his bed. When Buddy returns with Margie, he finds Fran and, throwing Margie out, rushes to Dr. Dreyfuss to ask for help. Dreyfuss, assuming that Buddy has mistreated Fran and driven her to suicide, excoriates Buddy while ministering to Fran. Under his care, she survives, and they return her to bed. Although Dreyfuss wants to report the situation, Buddy talks him out of it, after which Dreyfuss urges him to be “a mensch ,” the Yiddish word for a good human being. The next morning, as Sheldrake is celebrating Christmas with his family, Buddy calls to inform him of Fran’s condition, and Fran awakens in time to hear Sheldrake refuse to talk to her. When she tries to leave, Buddy detains her, both for her safety and to keep her near him as long as possible. Mildred agrees to prepare breakfast for Fran, and delivers soup along with a lecture to Fran to forget Buddy and marry a nice boy. Buddy plays cards with Fran until she falls asleep, assuring her that this Christmas is vastly preferable to his typical lonely holidays. Soon, Consolidated executive Al Kirkeby arrives with his girl friend, Sylvia, but upon spotting Fran in the bed, congratulates Buddy and leaves. When Fran wakes and wonders who would mind if she died, Buddy confesses that he would mind very much, and Fran questions why she never falls in love with “nice guys like you.” The next morning, Sheldrake fires Miss Olsen, who after eavesdropping on his brief phone conversation with Fran, arranges to meet Sheldrake’s wife to inform her about her husband’s infidelities. Back at the apartment, Buddy attempts to prepare a nice meal for Fran using a tennis racket as a spaghetti strainer. During a discussion of their romantic misfortunes, Buddy admits that he once bought a revolver and accidentally shot himself in the knee while contemplating suicide. Just as they are ready to eat, Fran’s brother-in-law, Karl Matuschka, comes over, tipped off by the disgruntled Dobisch and Kirkeby. At the same time, Dreyfuss visits, and when he inadvertently reveals to Karl that Fran overdosed, Buddy takes the blame to save Fran’s reputation, earning himself a black eye from Karl and a grateful kiss on the forehead from Fran. In the morning, he prepares to inform Sheldrake that he will “take Fran off his hands,” but Sheldrake announces that his wife has kicked him out so he plans, after an interlude to enjoy his bachelorhood, to reunite with Fran. Buddy’s depression is only slightly mollified by the news that he has been promoted to Sheldrake’s assistant, with a 24th floor office and key to the executive washroom. On New Year’s Eve, however, when Sheldrake asks for the apartment key to rendezvous with Fran, Buddy refuses and quits, informing Sheldrake that he has decided to become a mensch . That night at Buddy's apartment, while he packs his belongings, including the revolver, Fran attends a party with Sheldrake and learns that Buddy quit rather than allow him to take Fran to his apartment. Finally realizing that Buddy loves her more than Sheldrake does, she slips out of the party and races to Buddy’s apartment. On the stairs, she hears a loud crack, and fearing that Buddy has shot himself, pounds on his door, only to discover that he has merely popped open a bottle of champagne. As Fran settles down to deal a game of cards, Buddy proclaims his love to her, and cheerfully, she tells him to “shut up and deal.”
Cast: George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston
Directors: F. W. Murnau
Writer: Carl Mayer
Editor: Katherine Hilliker, H. H. Caldwell
Cinematographer: Charles Rosher, Karl Struss
Genre: Melodrama
Production Company: Fox Film Corp.
The Woman, an alluring temptress from the city, decides to extend her holiday in the bucolic countryside after enticing the Man, a married farmer, into having an affair. One night, the Woman, dressed in high-heeled shoes and a slinky dress and smoking a cigarette, saunters past the Man’s window and signals him to meet her. The Man, restless and guilt-ridden, sneaks out of the house, leaving his guileless, loyal wife behind with their baby. As the Wife sobs alone at home, the Man trudges through the marsh to meet the Woman. While the Man and the Woman make passionate love in the moonlight, the Wife tearfully comforts her baby. After asking if he really loves her, the Woman urges the Man to sell his farm and come with her to the city. When she suggests that he drown his wife and make it look like an accident, he becomes outraged and tries to strangle her. His assault culminates in an erotic embrace, after which the Woman entices him with images of the dazzling, vital city. Walking further into the marsh, the Woman gathers some bulrushes and tells the Man to use them to keep afloat after capsizing his boat. Returning home with an armload of bulrushes, the man hides them in the barn and climbs into bed and falls into a fitful sleep. In his dreams, he is haunted by images of a murky, menacing body of water. His wife tenderly covers him up with a blanket, and the next morning, he wakens with a start, imagining that the bulrushes have been discovered. While his wife feeds the chickens, he fantasizes that the Woman is caressing him. He then approaches his wife, takes her hand and proposes they go on an outing in his rowboat. As she happily changes her clothes and tells the maid that she and her husband are taking a trip across the water, her husband envisions pushing her overboard. While he lumbers down to the water, the bulrushes concealed under his arm, she bounds onto the boat after entrusting their baby to the maid's care. As they commence their journey, the husband grimly rows while glaring at his wife. When he stands up and looms threateningly over her, she cowers in fear. The sound of a bell interrupts his train of thought, and, after throwing his arms across his face, he sits down and begins to paddle again. Once they reach the other side of the water, the wife jumps out of the boat and races up the embankment with her husband in pursuit. When she trips, he catches up to her and beseeches her not to fear him. Pulling away from him, she boards a street car and he follows, and, as the trolley takes them into the city with its bustling crowds, he tries to reassure her. Upon reaching the city, the Wife, still shaken, runs into the street and is nearly hit by an oncoming car. After rescuing her from the onrushing traffic, the Man takes her to a café and contritely offers her a plate of cakes. She gingerly takes a piece, then begins to sob uncontrollably. He escorts her out of the café and buys her a bouquet of flowers. As they pause on the sidewalk, they see a bride and groom ascend the stairs to a church and follow them inside. When the minister admonishes the groom to protect his bride from all harm, the Man becomes overwhelmed with emotion and, as he wordlessly repeats the wedding vows, his wife comforts him. As the church bells peal, they exit the church, walking arm in arm. While embracing in the middle of a busy city street, their imaginations transport them back to the idyllic countryside. As the Wife clutches her flowers as if they were a bridal bouquet, they pass the window of a photography studio that is filled with photos of loving, married couples. After the Man gets a shave and haircut, they return to the studio where the photographer snaps their picture as they steal a kiss. Meanwhile, in the country, the Woman, plotting to sell the Man’s land, circles real estate advertisements in the newspaper. From the studio, the Man and the Wife proceed to a carnival where the Man plays one of the park’s games while the Wife longingly eyes couples dancing. Later, after sharing a dance and a drink, they leave the park, and as they depart, fireworks explode in the sky overhead. After sweeping his wife up into his arms, the Man puts her onboard the trolley and they return to their boat. As they glide across the moonlit water, she falls asleep and he tenderly draws her shawl over her. A sudden storm shatters their calm, awakening the Wife. While the Man struggles to steady the boat, a bolt of lightning illuminates the sky, awakening their baby at home. Retrieving the bulrushes he has hidden in the boat’s hull, the Man ties them around his wife to keep her afloat. The boat then capsizes, sending them spilling into the water. Once the storm subsides, the Man swims to shore to discover that his wife is missing. Awakened by the sound of the villagers scrambling to search for the Wife, the Woman follows them and perches above the shoreline to observe the rescue effort. When the Man sees some scattered bulrushes drift ashore, he becomes convinced that his wife has drowned. Inconsolable, he returns home, kneels beside his wife’s empty bed and buries his face in the covers. At that moment, the Woman comes to the house to claim the Man as hers. In a rage, he chases her into the road, and as he begins to strangle her, word comes that his wife has been found. After releasing the Woman, the Man runs to his wife’s bedside. As the sun rises, the Woman leaves the village for good while the Wife awakens and kisses the Man.
Cast: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Esther Minciotti
Directors: Delbert Mann
Producer: Harold Hecht, Burt Lancaster
Writer: Paddy Chayefsky
Editor: Alan Crosland Jr.
Cinematographer: Joseph LaShelle
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Hecht-Lancaster Productions
Composer: Roy Webb
One Saturday, Marty Piletti, a stocky, homely thirty-four-year-old Bronx butcher, dismisses the questions of his nosy customers, who want to know when he will get married now that the last of his younger siblings has wed. After work, Marty goes to Michael's restaurant, where he "hangs out" with his best friend Angie. With nothing to do that night, Angie urges Marty to call Mary Feeney, a girl they met a month before, but he refuses, saying that he is tired of looking for a girl. At his home, which Marty shares with his Italian-born mother Teresa, Marty's cousin Tommy and his wife Virginia complain that Tommy's mother Catherine is not getting along with Virginia, and ask Teresa if Catherine, her sister, can move in with her. Marty and Teresa agree, and Marty makes an appointment to talk with Tommy, an accountant, about the feasibility of buying his boss's butcher shop. Marty then calls Mary and asks her out, but she harshly rejects him. Later, during dinner, Teresa suggests that Marty go to the Stardust Ballroom, which, she has learned from Tommy, is "loaded with tomatoes." Although Marty laughs at first, he gets angry when she nags him and cries out that he does not have what women want. When she warns that he will die without a son, he yells that he is a fat, ugly man and does not want to get hurt anymore. Marty resigns himself to going, however, and at the ballroom, a man offers him five dollars to take home a blind date whom the man thinks is unattractive and boring. The chivalrous Marty, stating that the man should not treat a woman like that, demurs. The man finds someone else to accept, but the woman, Clara Snyder, a twenty-nine-year-old high school chemistry teacher from Brooklyn, announces that she will go home alone. She then walks out to the fire escape and when Marty kindly asks her to dance, she cries on his shoulder. While the couple dances, Marty assures her that she is not the "dog" she thinks she is and confesses that he has also suffered from rejection. As Marty and Clara walk from the dance hall, he surprises himself by talking excitedly about his life. He explains that because of the burdens of supporting his family, he could not attend college, but is buoyed by Clara’s declaration that being a butcher is not a bad job, and that if he wants to buy the butcher shop, he should. Clara then reveals that she has a chance to take an advanced position outside the city, and Marty advises her not to be afraid to leave her father and mother. Meanwhile, Teresa is visiting Catherine, who tells her how awful it is being an old widow, with no husband to cook and clean for, and ungrateful children who do not want her. Catherine warns Teresa, who is also a widow, that she will be in a similar position if Marty marries, and Teresa begins to reconsider her constant pressuring of her son. Marty takes Clara to his house, but sensing that she is nervous, offers to take her home. While helping her on with her coat, Marty impulsively tries to kiss her, but Clara pulls away. After Marty mournfully declares that he only wanted a kiss, the shy Clara confesses that she did not know how to handle the situation. As Marty sulks, Clara says she would like to see him again, calling him the kindest man she has met. They make plans to see a movie the next night, and when he also intimates that he wants to have a future with her, by asking her for a New Year's Eve date, they hug and kiss. Just then, Teresa returns and explains her sister's situation to Clara. Clara upsets Teresa when she asserts that she does not think it is good for parents to live with their married children and that they should not depend on their children for their happiness. While Marty is walking Clara to the bus, he runs into Angie, who, because he is angry that Marty left the ballroom without him, barely acknowledges Clara. After saying goodnight at Clara's door, Marty is exuberant. The next morning, Tommy and Virginia, arguing bitterly over his mother, arrive at Marty's with Catherine. Marty tries to ask Tommy about buying the store, but a distraught Tommy questions why Marty, a single man, would want to saddle himself with a mortgage and responsibilities. In the kitchen, Catherine tells Teresa that college girls such as Clara are "one step up from the street" and warns that Marty will soon suggest they move to an apartment, where Teresa will be just an old lady sleeping on a couch in her daughter-in-law's apartment. Just then, Marty comes in and, noticing some fallen plaster, casually suggests they sell the house. Just before Mass, a now-worried Teresa tells Marty not to bring Clara to the house again, saying there are plenty of nice Italian girls in the neighborhood. Later, at Michael's, Marty is disturbed to learn that Angie has been describing Clara as a “dog.” After his buddies, who quote novelist Mickey Spillane and gaze at girlie magazines, inform him that it is bad for his reputation to go out with "dogs," Marty gives in to peer pressure and does not phone Clara, despite his earlier anticipation of seeing her again. As he and his friends face another tedious night at Michael's, however, Marty explodes, calling them miserable, lonely and stupid. Marty then announces that if he continues to have good times with Clara, he will beg her to marry him. He then goes to call Clara, and when Angie follows, he asks his pal when he is going to get married.
Cast: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard
Directors: Arthur Penn
Producer: Warren Beatty
Writer: David Newman, Robert Benton
Editor: Dede Allen
Cinematographer: Burnett Guffey
Genre: Biography, Drama
Production Company: Tatira-Hiller Productions
Composer: Charles Strouse
During the Depression in the early 1930s, Bonnie Parker meets Clyde Barrow when he tries to steal her mother's car. Intrigued by his brazen manner and bored with her job as a waitress, she decides to become his partner in crime. Together they stage a series of amateur holdups that provide them with excitement but little monetary reward. Eventually they take on C. W. Moss, a dimwitted garage mechanic, who serves as their getaway driver. Finally they are joined by Clyde's brother Buck, recently released from prison, and his wife, Blanche, a whining preacher's daughter. As they add bank robbery and murder to their list of crimes, the quintet quickly becomes the object of statewide manhunts. While holed up in a rented apartment in Joplin, Missouri, they make the first of their incredible escapes from the police. Fascinated by the legendary reputation growing around them, they brag about their exploits, take pictures of each other, and, on one occasion, force a Texas Ranger to pose with them. Through it all a love relationship develops between Bonnie and Clyde that endures despite Clyde's impotence. After a visit with Bonnie's mother, the gang is surrounded in Dexter, Iowa. Buck dies with half of his face shot away, Blanche is blinded and captured, and Bonnie is wounded in the shoulder. The three survivors find a temporary hideout with C. W.'s father in a Louisiana town, and there Bonnie and Clyde finally consummate their love. Bonnie recovers from her wounds, and they plan to move on again; but C. W.'s father, hoping to lighten his son's punishment, has cooperated with the police in setting a trap. In May of 1934, Bonnie and Clyde ride into a police ambush and die as their bodies are riddled with a thousand rounds of ammunition.
While attempting to begin a new novel, forty-two-year-old Isaac, a successful television comedy writer, struggles to describe his main character’s view of Manhattan and its inhabitants. At Elaine’s restaurant, Isaac has dinner with his seventeen-year-old girlfriend, Tracy, and his friends, the married couple, Yale and Emily. The four discuss luck, art, courage, and, after Tracy leaves for the restroom, the remaining three discuss her age. Isaac tells his friends that his ex-wife, Jill, who left him for a woman, is writing a book about the breakup of their marriage. This troubles Isaac, because the work will reveal personal details about him and their relationship. Leaving early because Tracy has a high school exam the next morning, the group walks along the sidewalk. As Emily and Tracy follow a few steps behind Yale and Isaac, Yale reveals to Isaac that he is having an affair. One day, Isaac confronts Jill and begs her not to publish the book and expresses concern about their son, Willy, who is now being raised by Jill and her girlfriend. At his apartment in the evening, Isaac and Tracy discuss her past relationships and she tells Isaac that she is in love with him. He is less committal and suggests that she not be so quick to jump to that conclusion. She questions his feelings for her but he in turn argues that at her age she should not be limited to just him. At an art exhibit, Isaac and Tracy encounter Yale and his mistress, Mary. The four talk about art and philosophy, about which Isaac and Mary, a writer, disagree vehemently. Afterwards, Tracy and Isaac are shopping and he, still angry, complains about Mary. At the television studio where he works, Isaac becomes frustrated with the results of his material and quits his job. Meeting with Yale afterward, Isaac worries about his newfound unemployment and his financial burdens, which include alimony, child support, and costly rent. Talk also turns to the book Isaac is working on. In the evening, at a Museum of Modern Art fundraiser, Isaac runs into Mary. They talk briefly with some of her friends and then the two leave together. While walking, they talk about Isaac quitting his job, his writing, her friends, and her past marriage. After picking up Mary’s dog, the two take it for a walk, eventually sitting on a bench together watching the sun come up over the Queensboro Bridge. That morning, Isaac phones Yale and tells him about his evening with Mary and attempts to discern how committed Yale is to her, without admitting that he has become interested in her. Later, Yale and Mary talk about their affair and what direction it is heading. Isaac picks up his son from Jill’s house and again pleads with her to not publish the book. She reminds him of his past erratic behavior, including the time he tried to run over her new lover. A day or so later, Mary calls Yale to see if he wants to go out. When he declines, she calls Isaac. They decide to meet, and as they walk together a violent thunderstorm breaks out, causing them to seek shelter in a planetarium. As they walk through the darkness, their relationship develops and Mary confides her frustration with Yale, who is not ready to break up with Emily. Later at dinner, Tracy tells Isaac about an opportunity she has to study acting in London. Although she is reluctant to leave him, he encourages her, saying how good it would be for her. At Bloomingdales one day, Mary and Yale converse about her growing anxiety over their affair. Tracy helps Isaac move to a cheaper apartment. On his first night there, they are in bed together, and Isaac complains about the intrusive sounds in the new building, and is similarly bothered by the brown water from the tap. Meanwhile, Tracy relates her concerns about their future together, but he remains noncommittal, claiming he wants the best for her. Mary and Yale agree that they have to stop seeing each other, and Yale tells Isaac that he should pursue Mary. Isaac is flattered by the suggestion, but also hesitant. When Isaac and Mary decide to see a movie, they argue again. Back at her home, Isaac tries to kiss Mary, but she resists and instead they discuss their budding relationship. Mary and Isaac spend a day together, visiting a museum and having dinner, eventually spending the night with each other. During a later afternoon, Isaac meets Tracy outside her school, where she gives him a harmonica as a gift. Isaac again talks about Tracy’s age and questions her understanding of love. He says they should not see each other any longer and that he has fallen in love with someone else. Tracy is quite upset, realizing that his earlier expressions of concern for her were really masking his ambivalence. However, Isaac feels the decision should have been expected. In the country together, Mary and Isaac talk about the positive path their relationship is taking, Mary going so far as to say that she could imagine having kids with Isaac. Sometime later, Yale invites Isaac and Mary to spend an evening with him and Emily. The result is an awkward evening for the four of them. While shopping one day, Isaac and Mary run into Jeremiah, her previous romantic partner. Based on Mary’s description of him as a great lover, Jeremiah is physically not what Isaac imagined. One night together, Isaac tells Mary she is wasting her talent writing novelizations of movies. Their talk is interrupted by a phone call from Yale, who wants to meet Mary. She refuses, but tells Isaac the call was from someone offering free dance lessons. Later, Isaac tells Emily that publishers have responded favorably to the first four chapters of his book. While shopping in the country, Isaac and Mary, and Yale and Emily notice and purchase a copy of Jill’s book. Yale reads aloud from it to everyone’s amusement, except, of course, Isaac, who is offended by what he hears. Back in the city, Isaac confronts Jill, who reveals to him that there has already been interest in making the book into a movie. Isaac arrives home to tell Mary about the encounter, but she tells him that she is still in love with Yale, that she has been seeing him again, and that he is actually moving out so that they can be together. Isaac is shocked and promptly rushes to meet Yale at the university where he teaches. Isaac angrily chides his friend and questions his actions. Days later, Emily tells Isaac that she knew about the affair and, unaware of Yale and Mary’s previous attachment, says she thinks their breakup was due to Isaac introducing Mary to Yale. Isaac tells Emily that he misses Tracy, noting the pleasant times they spent together. At home alone, Isaac records ideas for a book. In doing so, he contemplates what makes life worthwhile and this line of thought eventually causes him to think about Tracy. He plays briefly on the harmonica then tries to call her. Abruptly, he races out the door and runs several blocks and catches Tracy just before she leaves for London. Isaac tells her about his feelings. He says he made a mistake and does not want her to go and that he loves her. However, it is too late, as her arrangements have already been made. She reassures him that she will only be gone for six months, and then they can be together, concluding that he just needs to have a little faith in people.
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., Charles K. Feldman Group Productions
Composer: Alex North
Blanche DuBois arrives in New Orleans by train, and follows a sailor's directions to take a streetcar named "Desire" to her sister Stella Kowalski's apartment at Elysian Fields in the French Quarter. Blanche, an aging Southern belle, is horrified by the dilapidated building in which her sister lives with her husband Stanley, but is delighted to reunite with Stella, whom she feels abandoned her after their father's death. Blanche explains that she was given a leave of absence from her teaching job because she had become a little "lunatic," and now makes herself at home in the cramped apartment, which affords little privacy. Blanche is immediately offended by Stanley's coarse manners, and he is infuriated when he learns that Blanche has lost the family home at Belle Reve. Stanley rants about the "Napoleonic code," which he claims decrees that what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband. Unimpressed by Blanche's genteel manners, Stanley reveals that his wife is pregnant, and at his insistence, Blanche reluctantly digs out the papers which document the many unpaid loans written against the Belle Reve estate. That night, Stanley's poker game runs late, and when Stella and Blanche return from an outing together, Blanche meets Stanley's best friend Mitch, a bachelor who looks after his sick mother. Blanche turns on the radio and dances by herself, but Stanley is distracted by the music and flies into a drunken rage, during which he beats Stella. Stella and her terrified sister run up to their neighbor Eunice's apartment, but later, when Stanley calls up to her in remorse, Stella is drawn back to her husband and makes up with him. Blanche, horrified by Stanley's brutality, lingers in the street with Mitch. The next day, Stanley overhears Blanche encourage Stella to leave Stanley, whom she calls an "animal" and "subhuman," but she is unable to shake Stella's devotion to her husband. Stanley reveals that he has heard some unsavory gossip about Blanche, and his apparent secret knowledge unnerves her. That night, Blanche and Mitch go out on a date, and she resists his amorous advances by telling him that she is old-fashioned. After avoiding Mitch's questions about her age, she reveals that she drove her first young husband to suicide by mercilessly demeaning him because their marriage was not consummated. She then accepts Mitch's kiss. Five months later, when Mitch reveals his plans to marry Blanche, he and Stanley fight after Stanley tells him about her sordid past. Stanley then tells Stella that he has learned that Blanche was fired for seducing a seventeen-year-old student, and that she has a notorious reputation. Mitch stands up Blanche on her birthday and refuses to take her calls. When Stanley tells Blanche that she has overstayed her welcome, she insults him by calling him a "Polack." Stanley defends his Polish heritage, and then gives her a birthday gift of a one-way bus ticket home. Blanche then becomes hysterical and shuts herself in the bathroom. Stella and Stanley start to fight, but she goes into labor and Stanley takes her to the hospital. Later, Mitch comes to see Blanche, who is hearing music in her head, and calls her a hypocrite. Blanche truly loves Mitch, but admits that she has had "many meetings with men." Mitch forces a kiss on Blanche, but breaks their engagement and is run out of the apartment by her. She then dresses up as if she were attending a ball, and when Stanley returns home, claims that Mitch has apologized and that she has received an invitation to a cruise. Stanley accuses Blanche of lying and assaults her. When Stella returns home with her baby, she finds that Blanche has gone insane and now lives under the delusion that she is going on a Caribbean cruise. Stella has reluctantly arranged for her sister to be sent to a sanatorium, but when the doctor and matron arrive, Blanche goes completely berserk. Mitch attacks Stanley, who vows that he never touched Blanche. Blanche finally calms down, and is touched by the doctor's gentlemanly manner, telling him that she has "always depended on the kindness of strangers." After they leave, Stella rebuffs Stanley and runs to Eunice's apartment with her baby, vowing never to return.
Cast: Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Madeline Kahn
Directors: Peter Bogdanovich
Producer: Peter Bogdanovich
Writer: Buck Henry, David Newman, Robert Benton, Peter Bogdanovich
Editor: Verna Fields
Cinematographer: Laszlo Kovacs
Genre: Screwball comedy
Production Company: Warner Bros., Inc., Saticoy Productions
At the San Francisco airport baggage claim, mysterious Mr. Smith retrieves his plaid overnight case containing secret documents and proceeds to the Bristol Hotel, stalked by the furtive Mr. Jones. Also traveling from the airport to the Bristol is absent-minded Howard Bannister, a music professor from Ames, Iowa who is attending a musicology convention and carrying a plaid case similar to Smith’s, although Howard's case contains pre-Paleozoic igneous rocks crucial to his research project. With Howard is his domineering fiancée, Eunice Burns, who manages his life but, concerned about “propriety,” plans to check into a separate hotel room. During their cab ride to the hotel, their cab and several cars almost hit Judy Maxwell, a starving college student carrying a plaid case, who is following a pizza delivery man. Also checking in at the hotel is wealthy Mrs. Van Hoskins, whose plaid case filled with jewelry is coveted by two thieves, the hotel clerk, Fritz, and house detective, Harry. Sent by Eunice to the drugstore to buy some aspirin, Howard is distracted by a souvenir rock when Judy, chomping on a carrot stolen from the tray of a passing waiter, approaches him and flirtatiously asks, “What’s up, Doc?” As she talks knowingly about geology, Howard tries to escape from her advances, but knocks over a display and when Judy tries to grab his jacket, it accidentally rips. When Eunice arrives, Judy upsets her by mischievously pretending to be Howard’s castoff paramour. Later, Judy goes to room 1717, planning to stay without paying, but, seeing Jones inside, instead enters 1716, which is open. Finding Howard’s jacket there, she mends it, stashes her overnight case in his room and sees an invitation to a banquet. In the hallway, Jones spots Mrs. Van Hoskins' case, which he presumes is Smith’s, and later breaks into her room and takes her case. In room 1714, Eunice prompts Howard on how to present himself to Frederick Larrabee, the philanthropist offering a twenty thousand dollar research grant. As Eunice is not ready, Howard proceeds to the banquet alone, fumbles his introduction to Larrabee and meets his rival for the grant, the arrogant Hugh Simon. Sitting at Howard’s table is Judy, who, posing as Eunice, is bewitching Larrabee and other musicologists with her wit, sex appeal and extensive knowledge. She manipulates the conversation to allow tongue-tied Howard to explain his theory that early man played crude melodies on rocks and elaborate his research, which involves the testing of rocks for inherent tonal qualities. Upstairs, Jones finds he cannot leave without being seen and Smith, thinking Jones is still after the documents, breaks into Mrs. Van Hoskins' room and hides his suitcase there. Afterward, Harry breaks into her room to steal her jewels and unwittingly takes Smith's case. Harry then hides in Eunice’s room and stashes the case under her bed, unaware that Howard’s case is there as well. Downstairs, the desk attendant refuses to let the distressed Eunice join the banquet because her name tag, which has been stolen by Judy, is missing. Although Howard repeatedly denies that Judy is his fiancée, Larrabee says her presence has increased his chance of winning. When Eunice forces her way into the ballroom, begging hysterically that Howard identify her, he claims not to know her, but is ashamed afterward. Fritz goes to Eunice’s room and, unaware that there are two suitcases, grabs one, but then must slip it into Mrs. Van Hoskins' room to avoid being seen with it. After the banquet, Howard finds that Eunice left what she thinks is his suitcase outside his door. Inside his room is Judy, taking a bubble bath. When Eunice demands to come in, Howard convinces Judy, wrapped in a towel, to wait on the window ledge. Meanwhile, Harry enters Mrs. Van Hoskins' room and steals the case, but Smith presumes Jones has taken it when he sees his nemesis exiting through the hall window and walking along the ledge. As Eunice and Howard quarrel, Judy stumbles over the ledge, to which she hangs by her fingertips, and Howard accidentally causes a fire. Startled by Judy, Jones crashes through the window into Howard’s room. Fritz and the firemen arrive, alerted by the smoke. During the pandemonium, no one notices Smith take Judy’s case from Howard’s room. The next morning, Howard is evicted, but the elevator takes him up instead of down, letting him off at a restaurant under renovation. Playing a piano, he awakens Judy, who is sleeping under a tarp. She sings, advancing seductively, until they fall off the bench. Half-heartedly evading her overtures, Howard asks about her wide knowledge. Judy says her father, determined to educate her, sent her to several universities, where she excelled in a variety of majors but was expelled from every one for the catastrophes she caused. Judy then gives Howard a letter from Larrabee, which states that he won the grant. Despite his attraction to Judy, Howard invites Eunice to the reception in his honor at Larrabee’s mansion, where he promises to introduce her as his true fiancée. As she is not dressed, Eunice says she will meet him there. Smith sees Howard carrying a case similar to his and, looking inside the one he possesses, finds Judy’s clothes. Determined to switch bags, he follows Howard. In the lobby, Judy overhears Fritz tell Harry to deliver the jewels to a certain address and calls Eunice’s room and, pretending to be Larrabee’s secretary, directs her to the address she overheard. Fritz and Jones see Judy, Howard and Smith depart, all bearing plaid cases, and follow, leaving the lobby just before Mrs. Van Hoskins enters and announces that she has been robbed. Shortly afterward, Eunice is dropped off by her cabbie at an isolated building in a bad part of town and finds a gang of men beating Harry for delivering Howard’s rocks instead of jewels. At Larrabee’s art-filled mansion, when asked to demonstrate his rocks, Howard finds jewels in his case and documents in Judy’s. Smith then enters, carrying a suitcase and demanding the documents, and Jones, carrying a gun, does the same. Abruptly, the gang enters with Howard’s case and Eunice, demanding the jewels. A fight ensues, during which Howard and Judy grab all four cases and steal a delivery boy’s bicycle. As they pedal up and down the hills of San Francisco, they are chased by Smith, Jones, Fritz and the gang, all of whom are driving cars. In the gangsters’ car, the terrified Eunice introduces herself to her fellow captive, Larrabee. Judy and Howard take refuge in a Chinese parade and then a costume shop. They steal a car from a newly married couple exiting a church and race to Sausalito in hopes of catching the ferry before it departs. Just as they arrive, the ferry is pulling out of the dock, and when Judy depresses the gas peddle to catch it, their car falls into the bay, as do those of their pursuers, and all are arrested by the police. Everyone is taken to a courtroom, presided over by a cranky, hypochondriac judge eager to charge them with everything he can. At the judge’s questioning, Jones explains that he is a government agent pursuing Smith, who stole secret documents, and Howard confuses the judge with his muddled explanation. When the judge orders the person who is hiding under a blanket to come forth, Judy uncovers herself, and says, “Hello Daddy!,” revealing that she is his daughter. After all the suitcases are returned to their owners, Howard, stripped of the grant, goes alone to the airport, where Judy approaches him. Fearing more trouble, he rebuffs her. Before catching her plane, Mrs. Van Hoskins says that from the $20,000 reward she offered for the return of her jewels, she has paid the cost of the damages they caused. Larrabee and Eunice, who bonded during their ordeal, come to see Howard off, along with Simon, the new grant recipient. Encouraged by Judy, Simon talks about his research project, which she and Larrabee realize has been plagiarized from a little-known scholar’s work, prompting Larrabee to award the grant back to Howard. On board, Howard discovers that Judy is traveling to Iowa to study musicology. He admits he loves her and apologizes for rejecting her, but she says, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” As they kiss, a cartoon being shown to the passengers ends with Porky Pig announcing, “that’s all, folks.”
Producer: Mildred Lewis, Colin Higgins, Charles B. Mulvehill
Writer: Colin Higgins
Editor: William A. Sawyer, Edward Warschilka
Cinematographer: John Alonzo
Genre: Romantic comedy, Satire
Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp., Mildred Lewis & Colin Higgins Productions, Inc.
After another in a series of mock suicides staged by 20-year-old Harold Chasen fails to gain the attention he craves from his wealthy, socialite mother, the sullen young man stages a bloody scene in her bathroom, finally driving her to send him to a psychiatrist. During a therapy session, Harold explains that he finds "fun" in attending funerals. Soon after, Harold buys a hearse and goes to a funeral for a stranger, where he spots another casual observer, the 79-year-old Maude. At home that night, Mrs. Chasen, outraged by Harold's "amateur theatrics," sends him to his uncle, Gen. Victor Ball, a one-armed veteran who urges him to join the military and then salutes a portrait of his hero, Nathan Hale, using his mechanically rigged sleeve. Days later, after Harold fails to shake his imperturbable mother by floating face down in her lap pool, Mrs. Chasen announces that Harold must assume "adult responsibilities" by marrying and arranges for a series of dates. During a funeral for another stranger, Maude offers Harold licorice and then suggests that the deceased, who was 80, died at the perfect age. As the mourners exit the church, the affable Maude introduces herself, tells Harold they will be "great friends" and then steals the minister's car. Later, while Mrs. Chasen recites the dating service survey question "Do you have ups and downs without obvious reason?" Harold fakes shooting himself in the head. At the end of the next funeral Harold attends, Maude steals his hearse for a joy ride, then turns the wheel over to him after he informs her that it is his vehicle. Harold then drives Maude to her home, a converted railroad car full of art and memorabilia. Later, at the psychiatrist's office, Harold admits that he might have one friend, Maude. During his first date with Candy Gulf at the Chasen home, Harold pretends to set himself on fire within sight of young woman, who flees the house in terror. On his next visit to Maude, he finds his friend modeling in the nude for ice sculptor Glaucus. After he agrees with her that the nudity is permissible, Maude shows Harold her paintings, sculpture and “olfactory machine,” demonstrating it with a scent called "Snow on 42nd Street." Entranced by Maude's creativity and her insistence on experiencing something new each day, Harold shares with her his favorite activities: watching building demolitions and picnicking at a metal junkyard. Later, at a nursery, Maude explains that she likes to watch things grow and picks a tall solitary sunflower as her favorite flower. After Harold, in turn, chooses a ground cover daisy, saying that all daisies are alike, Maude notes observable differences between them. She advises him that all humans are special; the problem lies in the fact that they allow themselves to be treated all the same. On another outing, Maude, in her zeal, drives over a curb to show Harold a tree being suffocated by the city's smog. When the car is ticketed by police officers, Harold and Maude steal a different vehicle and race through a stop sign, defying the awe-struck police. Later at her home, Maude reminisces metaphorically about her past as a political protestor and explains that now she attempts more idiosyncratic strategies toward change. After playing a song on her player piano for him, Maude gives Harold a banjo. Harold returns home to find his mother has replaced his hearse with a new Jaguar sports car, which he quickly transforms into a mini-hearse with the help of a blowtorch. Days later, when Harold and Maude rush through a tollbooth while delivering the smog-ridden tree to its new home, a motorcycle officer pulls them over. Maude speeds off during the officer's interrogation and drives around in circles until the motorcycle breaks down. Later, when the same officer pulls them over again and reads a list of offenses, Maude and Harold steal his motorcycle. The officer aims his gun at them, but finds his efforts foiled by his unloaded gun. After sharing a hashish pipe at Maude's home, Harold admits that he has not lived, but does enjoy dying and recounts his first "death:" After a school physics lab experiment blows a hole in floor, police mistakenly report to Mrs. Chasen that her son has died in the explosion. Seeing his mother faint and relishing her attention, Harold decides to continue dying. Maude enthusiastically coaches Harold to live in the present and begins to waltz with him. Days later, during a date with Edith Phern, Harold, who has placed a fake plastic arm in the sleeve of his jacket, takes out a meat cleaver and chops off his hand arm, sending Edith fleeing from the room. Learning that his determined mother plans to induct him into the military, Harold and Maude scheme to foil her. Asking Victor to take a walk, Harold endures a minutely detailed account of his uncle's war adventures during another military pep talk. Harold then excitedly enumerates ways to kill and finally reveals a shrunken head, asking if Victor keeps souvenirs. When Maude suddenly appears carrying a peace sign and grabs the head, Harold pretends to start a brawl with her and pushes the elderly woman down a hole in the stone landing. A shocked Victor is convinced Harold killed the protestor and stops talking about the young man's induction. At the close of the day, Harold tells Maude she is beautiful and holds her hand, revealing a number tattoo indicating that she is a Holocaust survivor. During a date with actress Sunshine Doré, Harold performs a mock hara-kiri, but instead of being shocked, the actress recites the suicide scene from "Romeo and Juliet," pretends to stab herself and falls to Harold's side. That night, as Harold gives Maude a gift with the inscription "Harold loves Maude," she throws it in the sea, explaining with a smile that she will always know where it is. After spending the night with Maude, an ebullient Harold announces to his mother that he is marrying her and shows Mrs. Chasen Maude's picture. Horrified by their age difference, Mrs. Chasen sends Harold to see Victor and the psychiatrist, who caution him against the marriage. Finally, Harold is sent to a priest, who suggests that the idea of Harold "commingling" his "firm" body with the elderly woman is perverse. On Maude's 80th birthday, Harold fills her room with paper sunflowers and plans to propose to her, but Maude announces that she has taken enough sleeping tablets to kill her by midnight and wishes him farewell. Harold screams in outrage and calls for an ambulance. On the way to the hospital, as he professes his love to her, Maude looks on approvingly and suggests that Harold "go love some more." A grief-stricken Harold races from the hospital after Maude dies. When his car careens over an ocean cliff, Harold, standing high above on the cliff's edge, plucks at his banjo and skips to the music, celebrating life as Maude would have wanted.
At the turn of the nineteenth century in England, John Dashwood is set to inherit the residence of his father, who, before dying, instructs his son to look after Mrs. Dashwood (John’s stepmother) and his three younger half-sisters: Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret. John and his wife, Fanny, move into the Dashwood home. At Fanny’s urging, and against his father’s wishes, John refuses to support them, leaving the women in search of a new home. Elinor and Marianne are old enough to marry, so when Elinor strikes up a friendship with Fanny’s brother, Edward Ferrars, Mrs. Dashwood hopes the two will become engaged. However, snobbish Fanny warns that her brother will lose his inheritance if he marries someone of Elinor’s reduced station. The displaced Dashwood women go to live at Barton Park, an estate owned by Mrs. Dashwood’s cousin, Sir John Middleton. There, they meet middle-aged Colonel Brandon, who develops a romantic interest in Marianne. The girl is looking for something more exciting, however, and finds it in John Willoughby, who breaks her heart when he flees to London. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer, in-laws of Sir John Middleton, visit Barton Park with a young woman named Lucy Steele. Lucy informs Elinor that she and Edward Ferrars are secretly engaged to be married. Meanwhile, on a trip to London, Marianne discovers that John Willoughby has become engaged to a wealthy woman named Miss Grey. Elinor learns from Col. Brandon that Willoughby’s indiscretions with another young woman caused him to lose his inheritance; therefore, he has chosen to marry for money. Lucy Steele goes to stay with John and Fanny Dashwood, but Fanny ejects her from the house when she hears about her and Edward’s secret engagement. Edward sticks by his plan to marry Lucy, even though his mother threatens to transfer his inheritance to his brother, Robert. Col. Brandon rewards Edward’s honorable choice by giving him the parish on his estate. Meanwhile, on her way back from London, Marianne takes ill. Col. Brandon comes to her aid, which sparks romance between the two. News travels that Lucy Steele is now Mrs. Ferrar; however, the Dashwoods are shocked to discover that Lucy married not Edward but Robert. Edward and Elinor reunite and are soon married. Likewise, Marianne marries Col. Brandon, and the Dashwood women’s livelihoods are once again secure.
Cast: Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Lowell Sherman
Writer: Anthony Paul Kelly
Editor: James Smith, Rose Smith
Genre: Melodrama
Production Company: D. W. Griffith, Inc.
Faced with financial difficulties, innocent country girl Anna Moore goes to visit her rich Boston relatives, the Tremonts, to seek aid. There she becomes the victim of a false marriage to playboy Lennox Sanderson. Deserted by the man she thought was her husband, Anna is left penniless and alone to face the birth of her nameless child. After her mother's death, Anna takes refuge in a rooming house in Belden where her baby dies. Turned out by an unsympathetic landlady, the brokenhearted mother finds employment at the farm of Squire Bartlett, a stern but just man, who believes in a strict accounting for sin. The squire's son David falls in love with Anna, and she is about to accept her new found happiness when Sanderson appears and the squire learns that Anna had lived with him in sin. He turns the girl from the house in a blinding snow storm, and hysterical, she stumbles onto the frozen river where she faints. Her rescue by David from the drifting ice and certain death brings about their union after the squire and his wife learn Anna's true story.
Producer: Michael Rachmil, Daniel Melnick, Steve Martin
Writer: Steve Martin
Editor: John Scott
Cinematographer: Ian Baker
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Production Company: Indieprod, LA Films
Composer: Bruce Smeaton
In the Pacific Northwest ski resort town of Nelson, fire chief C. D. “Charlie” Bales is self-conscious about his extra-large nose. C. D. is well liked in the community, but residents know not to comment on his nose as he has gotten into fights with people who insult his nose. One summer night, C. D. meets astrophysics student Roxanne Kowalski, who has just moved to town for the summer. Roxanne comes to the fire station naked because she has locked herself out of her house. C. D. goes to her house, climbs to the roof, lets himself in through an open window and unlocks the front door for her. The two chat over wine and cheese and by evening’s end, C. D. is smitten with her. The next day Roxanne visits with her friend, restaurant owner Dixie, explaining that she just broke up with her boyfriend and wants to meet a man with “half a brain.” A few minutes later Chris McConnell, a handsome but slow-witted new fireman in town, comes into the restaurant with fellow fireman Chuck. They notice Roxanne and Chuck flirts with her, but she rejects him. Chuck encourages McConnell to go talk to her, but instead, he rushes out and throws up. Dixie volunteers C. D. to help Roxanne carry a large, heavy telescope to the roof of her house. Roxanne tells C. D. she thinks she has discovered a new comet, which if her calculations are correct, will appear in a few weeks. Later, as Roxanne eats lunch in a delicatessen, McConnell comes in. The two make eye contact, but he gets nervous and rushes to the bathroom and climbs out the window. That night, while Roxanne, Dixie, and C. D. are eating at a popular restaurant, an intoxicated man insults C. D., calling him “Big Nose.” C. D. challenges the man to come up with a more thoughtful insult than “Big Nose.” When the man cannot, C. D. offers twenty clever insults about his nose, delivering them like a comedy act, causing the entire restaurant to laugh. Roxanne is impressed. The next day, Dixie encourages C. D. to ask Roxanne out, saying it is obvious that he likes her. When C. D. is reluctant, Dixie suggests getting plastic surgery on his nose might improve his self-confidence. C. D. says he is scared of the idea of plastic surgery because he is allergic to anesthesia. A woman who was at the restaurant the night before tells C. D. she thinks Roxanne is falling in love with him. Later, when C. D. shrugs off someone insulting his nose, a fireman asks why he has suddenly developed a sense of humor about his nose. C. D. replies, “Because yesterday she didn’t, but today she does.” C. D. runs into Roxanne on the street and the two go on an impromptu hike in the mountains. Roxanne reports she has met someone she likes, but he seems shy. C. D. thinks she is talking about him and suggests she make the first move. However, he is disappointed to learn Roxanne is talking about Chris McConnell and wants C. D. to encourage McConnell to ask her out. When C. D. tells McConnell that Roxanne likes him, he is initially excited, then becomes nervous because he does not know what to say to her. C. D. suggests he write her a letter, but when McConnell’s attempt at writing proves clunky, C. D. writes the letter for him instead. A few days later when Dixie and C. D. go to Roxanne’s to observe the stars through her telescope, C. D. is moved when Roxanne casually quotes from the letter she believes Chris McConnell wrote to her. She says she cannot understand how he could write such a beautiful letter, but will not talk to her. Roxanne asks C. D. to encourage McConnell to ask her out. The fireman is excited to hear that Roxanne wants to go out with him, but then has a panic attack. C. D. offers to give him some lines to say to her, but McConnell is too nervous to remember them. That night when McConnell goes to Roxanne’s, he wears a hunter’s cap to cover the earpiece he is wearing. C. D. is in a nearby van watching with binoculars and reciting lines into a microphone. Unfortunately, the police scanner is on in the van and soon McConnell is repeating police calls, so he takes the hat and earpiece off. Roxanne is confused and asks him to talk to her like he did in his letter. When he cannot put any words together, she is insulted and goes inside. C. D. has McConnell stand in the front yard and say beautiful things to Roxanne while he stands out of sight, feeding him the words. However, McConnell is too nervous to recite the words well, so C. D. stands behind a bush and begins speaking directly to Roxanne. Since she cannot see him in the darkness, Roxanne believes it is Chris McConnell who is talking to her and quickly surrenders to the eloquence of the romantic words and invites Chris inside. McConnell compliments C. D., saying, “We were great,” but C. D. is angry that McConnell is the one having sex with Roxanne instead of him. The next day, Roxanne stops by the fire station announcing she is going to Arizona for a week because they have found her comet. For the next week, C. D. writes Roxanne three letters a day, each one touching her heart more than the last. Meanwhile, Dixie, who is unaware of what C. D. has been doing for McConnell, encourages C. D. to tell Roxanne how he feels about her. She finds a letter C. D. is writing to Roxanne and takes it. Meanwhile, Chris McConnell stops by a bar for a beer and has no difficulty chatting with Sandy, the waitress. She flirts heavily with him, but he seems unaware of it. When Roxanne returns, she tells McConnell she came back early because of the letters he sent. He is unaware that C. D. wrote letters in his name and panics when Roxanne pushes to know more about things he revealed in the letters. He rushes out of the house and runs into Sandy who is packing her car to move to Lake Tahoe, California, to take a job as a waitress in a casino. He decides to go with her and writes a goodbye letter to Roxanne. Later, Dixie slides the letter C. D. was writing under Roxanne’s door, with a note explaining that C. D. wrote it. The next day, Roxanne confronts C. D. about the letters. He confesses that it is true, but Roxanne punches him, angry that he played with her emotions. C. D. is angry that she had sex with McConnell on their first night, but Roxanne replies that it was C.D. who seduced her. He points out that he was not the one in bed with her and accuses her of wanting someone who is both intelligent and physically beautiful. C. D. storms out. Later, C. D.’s extra strong sense of smell detects a fire before it can spread to the entire town. Once the fire is out, C. D. sits on the roof of his house, sulking about Roxanne. She comes to the yard and begins reciting some of the things he wrote in the letters. Roxanne says his words made her feel romantic, intelligent and feminine. C.D. forgives her and the two kiss as a comet flies across the sky.
Production Company: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Composer: Bernard Herrmann
In London at the turn of the century, young widow Lucy Muir tells her late husband's mother Angelica and overbearing sister Eva that she wants to move out of the family home and pursue a life of her own. Together with her daughter Anna and housekeeper, Martha Huggins, Lucy departs for Whitecliff-by-the-Sea. There Lucy calls on Coombe, an estate agent, who reluctantly shows her Gull Cottage, a striking house that is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of its former owner, a sea captain named Daniel Gregg. Lucy insists on renting Gull Cottage, and during her first night in the house, as a fierce storm rages, she speaks to the ghost in the darkness. When it gruffly replies, Lucy lights a candle and gazes in amazement at the handsome captain. Gregg dismisses Coombe's claim that he committed suicide, explaining that he had accidentally kicked the gas heater on while sleeping. Impressed by Lucy's love for the house, Gregg decides to let her stay, and agrees to confine himself to the master bedroom where Anna will not see him. One day, Lucy's in-laws pay an unexpected visit to report that the gold mine that has been providing her modest income has stopped paying dividends, and insist that she return to London with them. Unheard by Eva and Angelica, Gregg tells Lucy that he wants her to stay, and she sweetly bids her relations to "shove off." Gregg then proposes that they repair her finances by collaborating on a book about his life on the sea. In the following weeks, Gregg dictates his "unvarnished" memoirs to Lucy, and the bond between them deepens, leaving her increasingly confused. When the book, Blood and Swash , is finished, Lucy takes the manuscript to the office of publishers Tacket and Sproule, where she attracts the attention of debonair author Miles Fairley. Miles arranges for Lucy to meet Sproule, who reads the bawdy tale in one sitting and happily agrees to publish it. After leaving the office, Lucy shares a cab with the roguish Miles, who tells her that he writes children's books under the pseudonym "Uncle Neddy." One afternoon, Lucy encounters Miles painting near the beach at Whitecliff, and he proclaims his love for her. They begin courting, and although both Gregg and Martha express disdain for Miles, Lucy decides to marry him. Gregg sadly accepts her decision, and after telling the sleeping Lucy that when she wakes, she will believe that their entire relationship has been a dream, he departs. One day, Lucy goes into town to collect a royalty check and impulsively decides to visit Miles. When she arrives at his house, however, she is greeted by Miles's wife, who gently tells her that this sort of thing has happened before. Years pass, and the now grown Anna returns from the university with her beau Bill, a naval officer, and tells her mother they will soon be engaged. Lucy is stunned when Anna tells her she used to talk with Gregg's ghost when she was a child, and admits that she too encountered him in her "dreams." Many years later, the elderly Lucy reads Martha a letter from Anna saying that her daughter, Little Lucy, is engaged to an airplane captain. After Martha leaves the room, Lucy dies. At that moment, Gregg appears and reaches out to Lucy, and her ghost--which resembles Lucy as a beautiful young woman--rises from the old woman's body. Arm in arm, the two spirits leave Gull Cottage and disappear into the fog.
As New York Chronicle sports columnist Sam Craig listens to the radio quiz program Information, Please , he is disgusted to hear nationally-known political columnist and Chronicle colleague Tess Harding miss a question about baseball and suggest that the sport be abolished for the duration of the war. Sam then writes a column lambasting her, and when Tess retaliates in kind, their editor, Clayton, orders them to meet in his office and stop their intramural squabbling. Sam is immediately impressed when he catches the attractive Tess adjusting her stockings, and she is equally attracted to him. Sam invites her to a Yankees game, and by the ninth inning, novice Tess has caught onto baseball and has made friends with some of the unruly fans, thus impressing Sam even more. Tess invites Sam over to her apartment that night, but he is chagrined to find out that she is having a party with dozens of her international friends. Despite constant interruptions due to Tess's busy life and the disdain of Tess's male secretary, Gerald Howe, Sam and Tess fall in love and decide to marry. Sam wants a traditional wedding with his mother present, but to accomodate Tess's hectic schedule, she and Gerald determine that the wedding must take place almost immediately and be held in South Carolina. Tess's diplomat father, William J. Harding, and her aunt, feminist Ellen Whitcomb, are only able to stay ten minutes and Tess is called away for an important call just after the wedding, leaving Sam a bit bewildered. The wedding night is equally frenetic; just as they are about to go to bed, missing Yugoslavian political refugee Dr. Lubbeck shows up and summons a group of his fellow countrymen. In retaliation, Sam calls his buddies over for a party and the apartment is in chaos until Flo Peters, the wife of Sam's bartender friend "Pinkie" learns that it is their wedding night and spreads the word to the others. Several months later, Sam and Tess are still very much in love, but are frequently separated due to Tess's political life and Sam's coverage of sporting events. One night, after Sam, who has been bristling over Tess's neglect, arrives home from a business trip, Tess is very solicitous, thus arousing Sam's suspicions. When she suggests that they have a child, he is ecstatic, thinking that she is pregnant, but instead she reveals that she has adopted a young Greek war refugee named Chris because she is chairwoman of a refugee committee. Though Sam likes the boy, he is angry and criticizes her for not giving even "ten percent" of her heart to matters at home. Their argument is interrupted by the news that she has just been named "America's Outstanding Woman of the Year." On the night of the banquet, Sam realizes that Chris is very lonesome for other children, and when Tess off-handedly tells Sam that the child will be alone during the banquet, they have a bitter argument and Sam stays home. After she leaves, Sam takes Chris to the Greek Children's home, where the boy is happily reunited with his friends. Following the banquet, Tess waits at the apartment with reporters who are anxious to photograph them together. She is stunned when she finds that his things are gone and deduces that he has taken Chris back to the home. She goes to retrieve him, but when she realizes that the boy does not want to be with her, she leaves. The next day, at the office, Tess gets a telegram from Ellen inviting her and Sam to Connecticut. She asks Sam to accompany her, but he refuses, and she realizes that he wants to end their "perfect marriage," which he says is neither. In Connecticut, Tess learns that Ellen and the long-widowed William are marrying, after years of silently loving each other. Tess makes an excuse about Sam's absence and is hurt when Ellen tells her how lucky she is to have Sam while she is still young because success not shared is empty. After the wedding, Tess drives back to New York to the apartment Sam has rented for himself. While he is sleeping, she decides to prove her mettle as a housewife and cook his breakfast, using recipes in a cookbook from Sam's mother. When he awakens, he silently watches as everything goes wrong for Tess, and when he finally speaks, a conciliatory Tess says that she wants to start over as a traditional wife. He is angered at her new "act," but she returns to the kitchen, determined to show him she can be domestic, until the coffeepot and waffle iron both overflow and she breaks down. Sam then embraces her and says he doesn't want to change her, he merely wants their marriage to come first and suggests that instead of being Tess Harding or Mrs. Sam Craig, she be Tess Harding Craig. She thinks that is a wonderful idea, and when Gerald arrives to take her to launch a battleship, Sam instead launches him, with Tess's approval.
Cast: Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Michael J. Fox
Directors: Rob Reiner
Producer: Rob Reiner
Writer: Aaron Sorkin
Editor: Robert Leighton
Cinematographer: John Seale
Genre: Romantic comedy
Production Company: Castle Rock Entertainment
Composer: Marc Shaiman
U.S. President Andrew Shepherd wants to pass a crime control bill through Congress in advance of his re-election campaign. Although he lacks support from Republicans, and many of his fellow Democrats find the bill too moderate, Shepherd decides to announce it as a key part of his agenda in his upcoming State of the Union address. Meanwhile, a group called the Global Defense Council hires lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade to garner support for an environmental bill that will reduce carbon dioxide emissions. President Shepherd stumbles upon a meeting in which Sydney Wade is criticizing him, and, despite their differences, the two are drawn to each other. Shepherd, a widower and single father to twelve-year-old Lucy, invites Sydney to be his date to a state dinner with the President of France. He continues to court her and they fall in love. Senator Bob Rumson, a Republican who plans to run against Shepherd in the next election, denounces the relationship and Sydney’s past exploits as a political activist. Shepherd ignores Rumson’s attacks on his and Sydney’s characters, and refuses to acknowledge that Sydney could hurt his chances for re-election. Shepherd ultimately rejects Sydney’s environmental bill in order to procure the votes he needs for his crime bill. She loses her job and breaks up with him, admonishing his actions and warning that he has lost her vote. That night, Shepherd talks with his friend and Chief of Staff, A. J. MacInerney. He questions his own character, but MacInerney insists that, instead of lacking character, the president has shown political savvy in his quest to help the country. The following morning, hours before he is set to deliver the State of the Union, Shepherd gives an impromptu speech to the press, in which he vows to send the environmental bill to Congress with even stricter regulations. He announces the abandonment of his crime bill, as it is too weak on firearm control to address the country’s gun violence problems. He promises to write a new one that will better protect the American people. Afterward, he is about to go to Sydney’s house when she appears in the Oval Office. The two are reunited, and, after he buys her flowers, they go together to the House of Representatives for his State of the Union address.
Cast: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald
Directors: John Ford
Producer: Merian C. Cooper, John Ford
Writer: Frank S. Nugent
Editor: Jack Murray
Cinematographer: Winton C. Hoch
Genre: Romantic comedy
Production Company: Argosy Pictures Corp.
Composer: Victor Young
After fatally knocking out his opponent in the boxing ring, Irish-American boxer Sean Thornton returns to the place of his birth, Innisfree, Ireland. Seeking a life of quiet and rest, Sean plans to buy "White O'Mornin," his family's old cottage, and keep his boxing identity of "Trooper Thorn" a secret. En route to Innisfree, Sean catches sight of Mary Kate Danaher and is captivated by her beauty. In Innisfree, Sean's meeting with the wealthy widow Tillane, who owns White O'Mornin, is interrupted by the arrival of Mary Kate's brother "Red" Will Danaher, an ill-mannered bully who wants to buy the property himself. Although Will, a neighbor of Tillane's, claims to have been the first to place a bid on the land, the widow sells the property to Sean after Will's presumptuousness annoys her. Later, at the Innisfree pub, Sean's American ways are met with general disapproval, but the parish priest, Father Peter Lonergan, the Anglican Reverend Cyril Playfair and matchmaker Michaeleen Flynn welcome him home. As one of the few Protestants in a community of Roman Catholics, Playfair identifies with Sean's difference from the locals and forms a special bond with him. Their friendship is further cemented when Playfair, a boxing enthusiast, recognizes Sean as Trooper Thorn, but agrees to keep his secret. On his first visit to White O'Mornin, Sean is surprised to find Mary Kate, who has been cleaning the cottage. As the silent Mary Kate tries to flee into the windy night, Sean grabs and passionately kisses her. She returns his feelings, but quickly leaves because Irish custom demands a proper courtship. Although he does not understand the custom, Sean allows Michaeleen to become his matchmaker and Mary Kate happily agrees to a courtship. Because Will is still bitter over the property, he refuses to give his permission, making both Sean and Mary Kate miserable, as she will not breach custom by going against her brother's wishes. Some time later, on the day of the Innisfree horse race, some of the locals decide to help the unhappy couple by tricking Will into giving his blessing to their courtship. They "secretly" tell Will that the widow Tillane, whom he has long admired, would gladly marry him but is reluctant because she does not want to come into a house in which another woman is living. Will soon relents and a courtship between Sean and Mary Kate begins. Although a long courtship is traditional, Sean and Mary Kate's passion, and the fact that they are no longer young, shorten the time and they are soon married. At their wedding reception, after a drunken Will shows the guests the £230 in gold coins that are part of Mary Kate's dowry, he boasts of his own impending nuptials to the widow Tillane, but she is so insulted by his brash proposal that she leaves. Enraged at the trick that has been played on him, Will throws a punch at Sean, who falls to the ground and, in a daze, momentarily recalls the tragic moment when he killed his boxing opponent. Because he has resolved never again to fight, Sean grabs Mary Kate's hand and leaves, refusing to allow her to pick up the coins that have fallen to the floor. They spend their wedding night at Sean's cottage, but Mary Kate remains so concerned about her lost money and furniture that they argue and Sean spends the night alone in a sleeping bag. The next morning, some of their friends arrive with her things, but say that Will still refuses to relinquish the money. Sean and Mary Kate still do not understand each other's ways, but in a moment of truce, decide to go to town together. After Sean refuses to ask Will for the money, Mary Kate goes to Father Lonergan and Sean goes to Playfair. Although Sean feels that Mary Kate is only interested in the money, reminding him that greed led him to be such a fierce boxer, Playfair makes him realize that in Ireland it is the custom that is important and subtly convinces Sean to fight Will to show his mettle. That night, Mary Kate and Sean tenderly reunite at the cottage and consummate their marriage. The next morning, however, when Sean awakens, Michaeleen is waiting outside the cottage to tell him that Mary Kate has left for the Dublin train. Enraged, Sean rides his horse to the station. Now resolved that he must show her and everyone that he follows the Irish ways, he summarily grabs Mary Kate off the train and drags her to the Danaher farm, followed by a rapidly swelling crowd, shouting their approval. When they arrive at the farm, Sean throws Mary Kate towards Will and demands the dowery. Cornered, Will gives Sean the money, after which a happy Mary Kate assists Sean in burning it. Now proud of Sean, Mary Kate goes to their cottage, leaving Sean and Will to resolve their animosity in a fight. As the brawling ensues, the entire village watches and wagers among themselves. Soon even neighboring villages enter into the spirit of the contest, taking sides and cheering the men on. The fight lasts so long that Will and Sean must take a break at the local pub, after which they fight again and finally stop when both are too exhausted to continue. After the fight, Sean and Will get drunk together and become friends and Mary Kate welcomes them at the cottage. The next day, as Michaeleen takes the happy Will and Tillane on a courtship outing, the entire village, including Father Lonergan, gather to cheer a visiting Anglican bishop, hoping to impress him with the size of Playfair's congregation.
Production Company: Columbia Pictures Corp. of California, Ltd.
Composer: Ben Oakland
Sophisticated New Yorkers Jerry and Lucy Warriner both have cause to suspect the other of having an affair, so they decide to divorce. Although Lucy wins custody of their dog, "Mr. Smith," the lack of a suitable male escort keeps her at home every night. Happily, Lucy's Aunt Patsy meets their neighbor, Oklahoma oil man Daniel Leeson, who is presentable and eligible, and introduces him to Lucy. While they are all getting acquainted, Jerry arrives for his custody visit with Mr. Smith, and his rowdy antics with the dog drive the others out of the apartment. By the end of the evening, Lucy and Daniel are infatuated. During the next few months, Jerry does everything he can to break up their engagement, but when Daniel's mother, who is adamantly against the engagement, spreads gossip about Lucy, Jerry leaps to her defense. Finally, because of a comedy of errors, Lucy and Daniel do separate, but in the meantime, Jerry has gotten involved with madcap heiress Barbara Vance. On the night before the final divorce decree, Lucy, posing as Jerry's sister, visits the Vance home, pretends to get drunk, parodies the ridiculous cabarat act of one of Jerry's former girlfriends, and behaves so obnoxiously that Jerry is forced to drive her home. Determined not to lose Jerry, Lucy tricks him up to Patsy's cabin, where they are reconciled just before the clock strikes midnight.
Production Company: Jerome Hellman Enterprises Inc., Jayne Productions Inc.
At a Southern California Marine base hospital, disabled Vietnam veterans play pool and consider justifications for their sacrifice to the war. Elsewhere on base, Capt. Bob Hyde jogs and eagerly trains for his deployment the following day. Bob’s wife, Sally, is afraid of Bob’s departure but proud of his military service. Before dawn, Sally delivers Bob to the base and gives him a gold ring as a parting gift; he promises to never take it off. As Bob leaves, he introduces Sally to another enlistee, Sgt. Dink Mobley, and his free-spirited girl friend, Viola “Vi” Munson. When Sally asks Vi to join her for a drink, Vi invites the captain’s wife to her attic apartment. There, Sally explains that she must move from the officers’ quarters, now that Bob has shipped out, and Vi talks about her brother, Bill, who came home from Vietnam to be hospitalized for mental illness. Vi works at the base’s Veteran’s Administration (VA) hospital to be close to Bill. Sometime later, paraplegic veteran Luke Martin uses a pair of canes to propel himself through the hospital on a gurney. He complains to a male nurse nicknamed “Pee Wee” that his catheter bag needs changing. Meanwhile, Sally arrives at the hospital to apply as a volunteer. She and Luke accidentally collide and Luke’s catheter bag drops, squirting urine on Sally. Overcome with rage, Luke pummels his cane against nearby trays and wails about the mistreatment of patients. He is restrained and carted away. Sally later moves to a beachside house next door to Vi’s apartment, despite Bob’s insistence that she live with his mother during his absence. Unpacking boxes, Sally shows Vi her high school yearbook and points out a picture of Luke, who was captain of the football team. Back at the VA, Luke stages a hunger strike, protesting his restraints. Sally arrives for her first day of work and checks on Luke, who remembers her as a cheerleader and asks her to remove his shackles. She reluctantly complies, but her efforts are thwarted by Pee Wee and a female nurse, who order Sally to leave before dislodging Luke, themselves. Later, Sally’s car breaks down and she buys a Porsche Speedster. She writes a letter to Bob, telling him that she is a volunteer, despite his wishes that she remain out of work, but she refrains from mentioning the beach house and sports car. Back at the hospital, Luke criticizes Sally for being a socialite and warns her that Bob will come home in a body bag. Sally takes her patients’ stories of mistreatment to a committee of high-ranking Marine wives, asking them to publish an article in the base newsletter, but the ladies refuse. When she reports back to her patients with indignation, Luke says, “You are beautiful when you are excited.” Sometime later, Sally changes her conservative hairstyle and Luke is transferred to a wheelchair, allowing him to become more mobile. She invites him to dinner. At a Veteran’s Day celebration, Sally and Luke join Vi and her brother, Bill, who breaks down sobbing while playing guitar. Luke, also in tears, embraces his fellow soldier. Afterward, Sally escorts Luke to her house and he confesses his attraction to her. Although Sally is reticent about being unfaithful to Bob, she accepts a ride on Luke’s lap when they return to the hospital, and responds tentatively to his farewell kiss. The following day, Sally receives a telegram announcing that Bob and Dink are scheduled for leave in Hong Kong. She invites Vi to come along, but the young woman refuses to leave her brother. Outside, Luke joyously tells Sally that he is being discharged from the hospital in several days, but his mood shifts when he learns about Sally’s reunification with Bob. In Hong Kong, Bob is angered by news that Sally is working and Dink is upset by Vi’s absence. Following Sally’s advice, Dink decides to marry Vi and gives Sally a letter with his proposal. In their hotel room, Bob expresses his disillusion with the war, confessing that his soldiers wanted to decapitate their victims for sport. However, he snubs Sally’s attempts at consolation. Meanwhile, back in California, Vi’s brother Bill emotionally unravels in the hospital and commits suicide by injecting his arm with an empty syringe. Sally comes home that day to find Vi grieving for her brother. In the evening, the two women go to a club and Vi decides to accept Dink’s proposal, but flirts with intoxicated would-be suitors. They escort the ladies to a hotel room, where Vi performs a strip tease before breaking down in tears. Elsewhere, Luke loads his customized Mustang with chains, drives to a Marine recruit depot, and shackles himself to the gates in an act of civil disobedience. As Sally leads Vi through the hotel lobby, the friends see a television news broadcast of Luke, who tells reporters that he wants to prevent others from killing themselves in Vietnam to commemorate Bill’s suicide. Sally bails Luke out of jail and expresses her desire to make love, but the couple is unwittingly followed to Luke’s apartment by men who are conducting surveillance. That night, Sally experiences an orgasm for the first time. In the coming days, Sally and Luke become inseparable, unaware that they are being watched. One day, Luke picks Sally up from work with an opened letter from Bob, who has been shot in the leg and is coming home. Sally and Luke make love one last time and vow to remain friends. At the base airfield, Sally reunites with Bob, who is displeased by her transformation but delighted by the sports car. The couple returns to the beach house and Bob reports that he accidentally shot himself in the leg, but Vi suggests that his actions were intentional. Angry, Bob leaves Sally to drink with fellow Marines. Sometime later, Bob is summoned to Marine intelligence headquarters by the FBI and learns of his wife’s affair. Bob goes to Luke’s apartment to tell him about the surveillance and claims that Sally has also been informed. However, Luke phones Sally to discover that Bob has not mentioned the news to her and he becomes concerned about Bob’s mental state. Bob returns home with a loaded bayonet rifle and Sally admits to the affair, but she argues that she still loves Bob and wants to work on their relationship. Bob is further incensed when Luke arrives at the beach house expressing compassion, and he holds his wife and her lover at gunpoint. Luke explains that Sally always defended her marriage, and she wants to help her husband recover from the ravages of war. As Bob lets down his guard and Sally consoles him, Luke unloads bullets from the bayonet and leaves. Sometime later, Bob receives medals for his supposed heroism, but feels undeserving. Meanwhile, Luke gives a speech to high school boys considering enlistment and tells them they have a choice to save their own lives. Back at home, Sally leaves Bob to go to the grocery store. Alone and despondent, Bob walks to the beach, removes his clothes, including his ring, and jogs into the waves.
In New Orleans, in 1850, Julie Marsden, a strong-willed Southern belle, is engaged to marry Preston Dillard, a prominent New Orleans banker with an equally strong mind. Their struggle for supremacy in the relationship comes to a head the night of a traditional ball to which unmarried women are expected to wear white, but Julie defiantly insists on wearing red. Pres is shocked, but ultimately agrees to escort her. At the ball, Julie begins to regret her decision, but Pres forces her to dance, and afterward ends their engagement. In disbelief, Julie waits for Pres to apologize, but he stands his ground, leaving for the North on business. When he returns, she humbles herself in front of him, begging for forgiveness, but it is too late. Pres has married a Yankee, Amy Bradford, and asks Julie to accept his wife without bitterness. The growing threat of yellow fever in New Orleans has forced Julie and her Aunt Belle to move to their country plantation. There they entertain the Dillards, Pres's younger brother Ted, and one of Julie's persistent suitors, the rebellious Buck Cantrell. At dinner, Pres and Buck argue politics, but Pres is called to town and it is Ted who finishes the argument in a duel with Buck. Buck is killed, and Pres is struck down with fever. Julie sneaks through the fever line with the help of her servant, Gros Bat. In town, Dr. Livingstone tells Julie that Pres must go to the leper colony for quarantine. Amy, accompanied by Ted and Aunt Belle, follows Julie, and as Pres's wife, she insists on attending to him. In a final confrontation, Julie convinces Amy that her ignorance of Southern ways means certain death for them both. Amy acquiesces, and Julie rides into the night at Pres's side.
At an oasis in the Sahara Desert, Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan presides over a marriage market, at which weathly tribesmen purchase brides, and ensures that his friend Yousaef is reunited with his sweetheart Zilah. Ahmed and his men then take some of the women to be sold in Biskra. Biskra, a large town where old traditions co-exist with the ways of foreign tourists, is the current home of the high-spirited Lady Diana Mayo. Despite the protests of her brother, Sir Aubrey, Diana is leaving the following morning on a tour of the Sahara, accompanied only by an Arab guide, Mustapha Ali, and his men. Diana is fascinated by the arrival of Ahmed and questions a gendarme, who tells her that the sheik will be hosting an entertainment at the casino, during which men will be able to gamble for the brides. Diana also learns that only Arabs are allowed entrance, and that the Paris-educated sheik is a rich tribal prince whose word is law in Biskra. Intrigued, Diana buys a dancing girl’s costume, then sits with the other women in the casino. When it is Diana’s turn to be displayed, she balks, and Ahmed deduces that she is not an Arab. After a bemused Ahmed escorts her out, Mustapha reveals that he is taking Diana into the desert, and Ahmed smiles. Soon after Diana begins her journey, Ahmed and his men ambush her. Upon being taken to Ahmed’s tent, Diana asks him why he has kidnapped her, and he replies, “Are you not woman enough to know?” After Diana rejects the sheik’s attempts to seduce her, he instructs his French valet, Gaston, and Zilah to attend her. Seeing Diana’s distress at her captivity, Ahmed keeps his distance, but insists that she wear traditional Arab garb instead of her western clothing. After a week of “sullen obedience,” Diana learns that Ahmed is to be visited by his friend, famed French novelist Dr. Raoul de St. Hubert. Diana is horrified that someone from “her” world will see her as a captive and assume that she has become Ahmed’s concubine. Seeing her concern, Ahmed orders Gaston to return Diana’s clothes to her, but when he kisses her, she still reacts coldly. Upset that his attentions repulse her, Ahmed leaves to meet Raoul. Later, while riding with Gaston, Diana broods on the upcoming encounter with Raoul, and runs away. In Biskra, Raoul reprimands Ahmed for abducting Diana, but the sheik protests that when an Arab wants a woman, he takes her. In the desert, Omair the bandit spots Diana alone and is about to seize her when Ahmed suddenly appears and saves her. Diana confesses that she ran away because of her shame over facing Raoul, and that night, Raoul discerns how uncomfortable Diana is. As the days pass, Raoul and Diana become friends, much to the dismay of Ahmed, who mistakenly assumes that Raoul is falling in love with her. One afternoon, as Raoul talks with Diana, news arrives that he is needed to tend to an injured man. Raoul notes Diana’s fear that Ahmed has been hurt, and her relief that is it someone else instead. Ahmed also sees her concern and is gratified. Meanwhile, in Omair’s stronghold, the bandit orders his spies to bring him news of Ahmed’s “white woman.” At the oasis, Ahmed returns Diana’s pistol to her when she promises not to run away, and she goes riding with Gaston. After Diana leaves, Raoul rebukes his friend for his treatment of her and begs him to return her to Biskra. Ahmed protests, then realizes that he has been in the wrong. Overcome with remorse, Ahmed tells Raoul to escort Diana to Biskra, then rides off alone. Meanwhile, Diana has been captured by Omair’s men, and Gaston has been wounded. When Ahmed rides through the desert, he finds the words, “Ahmed, I love you,” which Diana had scribbled into the sand before her capture. Ahmed is thrilled until he finds Gaston and learns what has occurred. Ahmed takes Gaston to Raoul, then assembles his men and rides for Omair’s fortress. As Omair is attempting to assault Diana, Ahmed and his men gain entry into the fort and battle their way to Omair’s inner sanctum, where Ahmed strangles his foe. Ahmed is wounded during the battle, and Diana anxiously accompanies him to the oasis. As Diana and Raoul watch over the unconscious Ahmed, Raoul reveals that Ahmed is the orphaned son of an English father and a Spanish mother. As a child, Ahmed was adopted by the former sheik, and was reared as an Arab. Diana then prays to God to take her instead of her beloved, and her tender words wake Ahmed. Overjoyed, the lovers embrace.
Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings
Directors: Herbert Ross
Producer: Ray Stark
Writer: Neil Simon
Editor: John F. Burnett
Cinematographer: David M. Walsh
Genre: Romantic comedy
In New York City, former chorus girl Paula McFadden and her precocious ten-year-old daughter, Lucy, arrive home to discover a note from Paula’s boyfriend, Tony, who explains that he has left them to accept an acting role in a film production abroad. Devastated and penniless, Paula returns to dancing but finds she can no longer keep up. She soon learns that Tony sublet their apartment to his friend, fledgling actor Elliot Garfield, who arrives late one night from Chicago, Illinois, to claim his rental. Although Paula turns Elliot away, he calls from a pay phone outside to beg for compassion and she agrees share the apartment for three months, since Elliot has already paid the rent and she cannot afford the cost alone. Paula shows Elliot to Lucy’s bedroom and attempts to impose house rules, but Elliot argues that she must respect his odd habits, including morning meditation, late-night guitar playing and sleeping in the nude. The following morning, Paula and Lucy are awakened by Elliot’s meditative chants. When Paula complains, Elliot reports that he is preparing for his new role in an off-Broadway production of William Shakepeare’s Richard III and Paula protests that she will fail her audition due to sleep deprivation. That day, Paula is passed up for younger women at her dance try-out while Elliot conflicts with his theater director, who wants “Richard” to be portrayed as a homosexual. Paula is displeased when Elliot later brings his female co-star home to rehearse and Lucy suggests her mother is envious. One day, on a grocery excursion, Paula is robbed. Elliot’s failed attempt at regaining her stolen purse, which contains the last of her savings, provokes Paula’s antagonism, but Elliot charms Lucy at dinner. Despite Paula’s hostility, Elliot lends her money for Lucy’s care. Sometime later, Elliot begrudgingly prepares for his role as an effeminate “Richard” but fears that the play will mark the end of his budding career. Paula announces she has found work and returns Elliot’s cash. When she reports that Lucy is ill, Elliot soothes the girl with his guitar. Upon the premiere of Richard III, Elliot returns home intoxicated and shattered by terrible reviews, but Paula consoles him. The next morning, Elliot is relieved to learn the show is cancelled. Despite his lack of income, Paula asks Elliot to remain in the apartment so he can watch Lucy while she works as an emcee at an automobile show that evening. Paula is surprised and flustered when Elliot and Lucy arrive at the convention. She stumbles over her lines, provoking Elliot to feel better about his failed rendition of Richard III, and he compliments her. Leaving Lucy with her mother, Elliot announces that he is on his way to a new job, but declines to mention that it is at a strip club. There, Elliot is injured by a drunk patron but the audience gives Elliot a standing ovation, mistaking the fistfight for scripted entertainment. Returning home, Elliot attempts to seduce Paula and she scolds him, claiming she does not want to be happy. They make a date for the following evening and Paula races home from the convention to find that Elliot has decorated the roof of their building. As he tells her about his new job with an improvisation group, they take shelter from the rain, kiss and make love. In the morning, Lucy is displeased by the new arrangement. Both mother and daughter fear their hearts will be broken again, but Elliot pleads his sincerity. Later that day, Elliot picks Lucy up from school in a chartered horse-drawn carriage and secures the girl’s approval. Over time, Elliot achieves success in his improvisation troupe. Paula renovates the apartment with their new income and Elliot proposes marriage. However, a film director recruits Elliot for a movie in Seattle, Washington, and he jumps at the opportunity, leaving Paula to worry if he will leave her as Tony did. Elliot promises Paula that he will be back after the four-week shoot and she reflects that she is stronger because of their relationship. Elliot leaves, but he calls Paula later that night from the pay phone outside their apartment, announcing that he purchased plane tickets for two. Seeing Elliot’s gesture as a confirmation of his commitment, Paula decides to stay home with Lucy. Elliot asks Paula to have his guitar restrung while he is away, she hangs up the phone with joy, knowing he would not have left the instrument behind if he intended to leave permanently. Despite the pouring rain, Paula climbs onto the fire escape, clutching the guitar, and declares her love for Elliot, who is standing in the street below. She blows him goodbye kisses as he drives away in a taxicab.
Writer: Earl W. Wallace, William Kelley, William Kelley, Pamela Wallace, Earl W. Wallace
Editor: Thom Noble
Cinematographer: John Seale
Genre: Drama, Romance
Production Company: Paramount Pictures
Composer: Maurice Jarre
In 1984 Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a young Amish widow named Rachel Lapp attends her husband Jacob’s funeral with her son, Samuel, and father-in-law, Eli Lapp, by her side. Soon after, Rachel and Samuel take a train to Baltimore, Maryland, to visit Rachel’s sister. Daniel Hochleitner, a single man from Rachel’s community, sees them off, and waits expectantly for her return. While they transfer trains in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Samuel looks wide-eyed around the terminal. Rachel stands outside as her young son uses the public restroom. While in the stall, Samuel witnesses two men enter and kill another man by slitting his throat. Afterward, one of the attackers checks the stalls, and Samuel crawls underneath to escape unseen. Detective John Book arrives to investigate the murder and questions Samuel. John tells the boy that the man killed was a policeman, and asks for Samuel’s help to identify the killers. Samuel says he saw only one of the killers and points to John’s African-American partner, Sergeant Hilton Carter, implying that the man was black. With a suspect in mind, John drives Rachel and Samuel to a bar and leaves them outside, ignoring Rachel’s protests. Moments later, he drags a man out and presses his face against the glass for Samuel to identify, but he is not the killer. Rachel demands they be let go, wanting no part of the “English” world, but John orders them not to leave town, as Samuel is a material witness to a homicide. Fearing they will flee, John takes them to stay with his sister, Elaine, for the night. The next day, John brings them to the police station to look at a line-up of men, but Samuel does not see the murderer. He shows Samuel a book of police photos at his desk, and while he takes a telephone call, Samuel wanders around the office. The boy stops and stares when he sees a picture of Narcotics Officer McFee in a trophy case. John notices Samuel’s reaction and follows the boy, who points at the photograph. In the busy office, John silently lowers Samuel’s hand and nods that he understands Samuel is identifying the killer. Later, John goes to the home of Chief Paul Schaeffer, and tells him that McFee is one of the killers. He tells Schaeffer that $22 million worth of confiscated drugs went missing, implying a motive for McFee’s involvement in the murder of a fellow officer. McFee is on vacation so they cannot question him, but Schaeffer tells John not to reveal his knowledge to anyone else. Later, in a parking garage, McFee approaches John and the men engage in a shootout. After McFee flees, John realizes he has been wounded. However, he races to his sister’s home and borrows her car to take Rachel and Samuel to a safe location. He telephones his partner, Carter, and tells him to destroy the paperwork related to their investigation, and that he is going into hiding for a few days. He warns Carter that Schaeffer is involved and to be careful. Carter destroys the files containing Rachel and Samuel’s information. Later, Schaeffer and McFee visit Elaine to learn John’s whereabouts, but she reveals nothing. Meanwhile, John drives Rachel and Samuel back to their farm in rural Pennsylvania. He turns down Rachel’s offer to stay for coffee, but as John drives away, his untreated wound causes him to crash into a birdhouse. Rachel rushes to help him and asks why he did not go to the hospital. John warns that the hospital would have reported his gunshot would to police, which would have led the killers to them. Rachel’s father-in-law, Eli, loads John onto a wagon and takes him into their home. A local man with medical knowledge is brought in to examine John. The man sees that the bullet exited his body but warns of a potentially life-threatening infection. Rachel tells Eli that if John’s whereabouts are discovered Samuel’s life will be in danger. Eli consents to keep him there and hides John’s automobile in the barn. Rachel nurses John as he suffers a high fever and goes in and out of consciousness. Meanwhile, Schaeffer telephones Lancaster police to try to locate Rachel Lapp, but the officer tells him there are over 14,000 families named Lapp in the Amish community. John awakens to a group of elders standing over him and learns he has been sleeping for two days. Sometime later, Samuel finds John’s gun in a dresser drawer, and John yells at him not to touch it, explaining the dangers of a loaded gun. John removes the bullets then lets Samuel hold the firearm. Rachel enters the room and reprimands John, demanding he respect their Amish beliefs while in their home. He apologizes and gives Rachel the gun to store in a safe place. Eli explains to his grandson that guns are meant to take lives, and tells the boy that only God should have that power. As he recovers, Rachel gives John her husband’s clothes to wear so he does not stand out in their community. John goes into town with Eli to make a telephone call to his partner. Carter warns that police are searching for him. Later, Samuel shows John around the farm, and Eli asks for his help, waking him at 4:30 in the morning to milk the cows. Daniel Hochleitner comes to court Rachel, and introduces himself to John. Later, John uses Eli’s woodworking tools to repair the birdhouse, and Rachel is impressed at his carpentry skills. She invites him to help at a neighbors’ barn-raising. At night, John works to repair the battery in his automobile, and Rachel assists him. When John gets the car radio working, he asks Rachel to dance with him. As they laugh and dance in the barn, feelings develop between them. Eli enters and reprimands Rachel, but she proclaims that she has “committed no sin.” Eli warns that her behavior could cause her to be shunned by the community. Elsewhere, Chief Schaeffer questions Carter about John’s whereabouts. In time, the Amish community gathers for the barn-raising, and John works alongside the men. During lunch, Rachel shows favoritism by serving John first, and Daniel is displeased. A woman warns Rachel that people are talking about her and the “Englishman.” That night, John watches through an opened door as Rachel washes herself. She boldly turns to face him exposing her bare breasts. The next day, John tells her that if they had made love he would have to stay or she would have to leave. John returns to town to telephone Carter and learns his partner was killed in the line of duty. John calls Schaeffer and threatens him. While riding home in Eli’s carriage, the locals harass the Amish. Eli warns John not to respond, but John confronts them and beats them. His actions cause a stir in town and word spreads to local police. At the farm, John puts up the repaired birdhouse, and Rachel realizes he is planning to leave the following morning. She removes her bonnet and runs outside to meet him. They lock eyes before kissing passionately. In the morning, Schaeffer, McFee, and Officer Fergie arrive with shotguns and burst into the farm home. When Eli Lapp shouts a warning to John, McFee hits him in the face. John and Samuel hide in the barn, and John instructs the boy to run to the neighbor’s house. John struggles to get his automobile started as the men search for him. Fergie shoots at John, and hearing the gunfire, Rachel becomes hysterical with worry over her son. John lures Fergie to a corn silo, and buries him alive in an avalanche of grain. Meanwhile, Samuel returns to the house and shows himself to Rachel and Eli, but remains hidden from Schaeffer. As Schaeffer orders Rachel and Eli out of the house, Eli motions to Samuel to ring the bell and sound a warning to the community. John digs in the corn for Fergie’s shotgun, and shoots McFee as he approaches. Samuel rings the bell, and Schaeffer sends Eli to stop him. Holding a gun to Rachel’s head, Schaeffer confronts John, who screams for Rachel’s release and surrenders his gun. The neighbors run to the farm in response to the bell, and Schaeffer forces John outside to join them. John exclaims that Schaeffer cannot kill them all then takes the shotgun from Schaeffer’s hands. Schaeffer falls to the ground, and local police arrive to arrest him. John puts on his “English” clothes and bids farewell to Samuel. He and Rachel lock eyes but neither says a word to each other. She watches as he slowly walks away.
Cast: Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, Adolphe Menjou
Directors: Josef von Sternberg
Writer: Jules Furthman
Editor: Sam Winston
Cinematographer: Lee Garmes
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Paramount Publix Corp.
Tom Brown, a devil-may-care American Legionnaire and ruthless in his treatment of women, is singled out for attention by cabaret singer Amy Jolly despite the clamor of other suitors, among them debonair man-of-the-world Kennington. Surreptitiously she arranges a rendezvous with Tom in her apartment, where he finds her embittered with life and scornful of men, though hypnotically attractive. He leaves abruptly and goes into the street to meet an officer's wife, but Amy, intrigued by him, follows and interrupts their interview; the woman urges the street beggars to attack Amy, but Tom defends her, and he is arrested and assigned to a dangerous mission. Learning that Kennington has offered her wealth and happiness, Tom elects to remain at a desert outpost after accomplishing his mission. Amy hears that he is wounded and goes to the post, accompanied by Kennington; realizing their love, Kennington offers to aid Tom in deserting the Legion. Tom, however, tells Amy that if she loves him, she must be prepared to be a good soldier; as he marches with his column into the desert, Amy joins the ragged wives and sweethearts who follow in the trail of the departing soldiers.
Cast: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
Directors: Billy Wilder
Producer: B. G. DeSylva, Joseph Sistrom
Writer: Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler
Editor: Doane Harrison
Cinematographer: John Seitz
Genre: Film noir
Production Company: Paramount Pictures, Inc.
Composer: Miklos Rozsa
On a dark Los Angeles night in July 1938, insurance agent Walter Neff is bleeding from a gunshot wound and slips into his office at the Pacific All Risk Insurance Co. Walter records his murder confession on the dictaphone, addressing his boss and friend, Barton Keyes, a meticulous and intuitive claims agent. Walter thinks back to May when it all started: Walter visits an expensive Spanish-style house in Los Feliz to follow-up an automobile insurance renewal for Mr. Dietrichson. He is immediately attracted to Dietrichson's wife Phyllis, who first appears clad only in a towel. Walter flirts with Phyllis, whose interest is piqued, nevertheless, she rebuffs him and the next day changes his appointment to meet with her husband. When Walter arrives that day, he and Phyllis are alone and she inquires about getting an accident policy for her husband without his knowledge. Upset by her implications, Walter leaves, but his expectation that he has not seen the last of Phyllis is fulfilled when she appears at his apartment. Walter soon gives in to his longing and kisses Phyllis, after which she reveals that she has been abused and neglected by her husband. Phyllis admits to having fantasies of killing Dietrichson, but his life insurance beneficiary is his mature daughter Lola, who hates her. Walter is repulsed by, and at the same time, strangely drawn to Phyllis's fantasy, and his thoughts linger on how to accomplish an undetectable crime. Agreeing to help Phyllis kill her husband, Walter meets with Dietrichson and, in Lola's presence, tries to sell him accident insurance. Dietrichson refuses the accident insurance, but enrolls for auto insurance, and is unaware that Walter has given him an accident insurance form to sign as well. Walter secretly advises Phyllis to book a train for Dietrichson's business trip, as a double indemnity clause in the policy will award her double the stated $50,000 if Dietrichson dies from an unlikely cause, such as a train accident. Phyllis and Walter begin to meet surreptitiously every morning in a local market. Dietrichson breaks his leg just after the accident policy comes through, and the lovers are delayed in carrying out their plan. In mid-June, as Keyes offers to hire Walter as his assistant, Phyllis telephones and informs Walter that Dietrichson is leaving that night on the train. Walter turns down Keyes' offer and after leaving the office, calculates his every move to avoid future suspicion, then hides in the Dietrichsons' car. After Phyllis uses a pre-arranged signal, Walter sits up from the back seat and strangles Dietrichson to death. Dressed as Dietrichson, Walter then boards the train and heads for the observation car. Walter is dismayed to find another passenger, Jackson, sitting on the deck, but when he leaves to get Walter a cigar, Walter jumps off the back of the train. After leaving Dietrichson's body on the tracks, Phyllis and Walter leave together in her car. The police declare Dietrichson's death accidental, but Norton, the president of All Risk, is reluctant to pay out the $100,000 and meets with Phyllis. Phyllis pretends to be bereaved and is genuinely shocked at Norton's suggestion of suicide. After she leaves, Walter is delighted when Keyes assures Norton that he will have to pay out the claim. At his apartment later that night, Walter is surprised by a visit from Keyes, who has developed indigestion due to an incongruity in the case: Dietrichson never filed a claim for his broken leg, even though he had just purchased accident insurance, in addition to which, the train was going so slowly that suicide is unlikely. Keyes concludes that Dietrichson was ignorant of the policy, and he is suspicious of Phyllis. A nervous Walter rushes Keyes out, as Phyllis hides behind the door to escape notice. The next day, Lola confides in Walter that she suspects that Phyllis, who was her mother's nurse, killed her mother six years earlier and now has done the same to her father. In order to distract Lola, Walter spends the next few days with her, and learns that she has broken up with her college drop-out boyfriend, Nino Zachette. During this time, Keyes becomes convinced that Dietrichson was murdered, and sends for Jackson. Jackson confirms that the man on the train does not match photographs of Dietrichson, and Keyes subsequently has Phyllis followed by detectives. Walter urges Phyllis not to sue for the claim, which is now being withheld, as Keyes will oppose it, but she is determined to get the money, and insists that the murder was all his doing. Walter is now suspicious of Phyllis, as Lola has told him that Nino is seeing her stepmother, and Walter thinks about killing her. Phyllis files suit for the insurance money, and Keyes tells Walter that her partner-in-crime has shown himself. Worried that Keyes is on to him, Walter listens to Keyes's dictaphone and hears that Keyes suspects that Nino is Phyllis' partner-in-crime, after which he arranges to meet with Phyllis late that night. Unknown to Walter, Phyllis has prepared for his visit by hiding a gun under a seat cushion. Walter confronts Phyllis and tells her that he knows she has used him and that he intends to frame Nino for the murder. Phyllis then shoots Walter, but is unable to kill him. Admitting that she has never loved him, Phyllis now embraces him, and Walter shoots her twice, killing her. As he leaves the house, Nino walks up, and Walter urges him to go to Lola, who truly loves him. By 4:30 a.m., Walter finishes his confession as Keyes makes his presence known, having been called by the janitor who noticed Walter trailing blood. Walter walks out, intending to escape to the border, but collapses before he gets to the elevator. Keyes, disappointed, nevertheless reveals his affection for Walter, and Walter reciprocates, as Keyes lights Walter's final cigarette.
Cast: William Holden, Jennifer Jones, Torin Thatcher
Directors: Henry King
Producer: Buddy Adler
Writer: John Patrick
Editor: William Reynolds
Cinematographer: Leon Shamroy
Genre: Romance
Production Company: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Composer: Alfred Newman
In 1949, in the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong, Eurasian doctor Han Suyin is summoned to the hospital emergency ward to tend to a young Chinese girl. Suyin’s friend, British doctor John Keith, places the dedicated Suyin in charge of the refugee, and soon after, invites her to attend a cocktail party with him. At the party, Suyin explains to Adeline Palmer-Jones, the snobbish wife of one of the hospital directors, that her mother was English and her father Chinese, and that she considers herself Chinese, even though she studied medicine in England. While discussing her intention to return to China to help her people, Suyin captures the attention of American newspaper correspondent Mark Elliott, who later asks her out. Intrigued but uncertain, Suyin tells Mark that he may call her, and later, as John drives her home, he informs her that Mark is married. Suyin shrugs off John’s concern by speculating that Mark will not call her, but when she returns to her room, the phone is already ringing. Suyin agrees to dine with Mark, and as they talk, Mark learns that Suyin, who is surprisingly superstitious, is the widow of a murdered Chinese Nationalist general. Days later, Suyin tends to the little girl, who has been named Oh-No, and engages in a political debate with Chinese doctor Sen, who believes that the Communist takeover in China has benefited the people, even though Hong Kong is flooded with refugees fleeing the new government. Later, after speaking with Mark, who is going to Singapore on an assignment, Suyin goes into town, where she meets Suzanne, a childhood Eurasian friend. When Suzanne tells Suyin that she now passes for English and is having an affair with an important, married Englishman, Suyin scolds Suzanne for denying who she truly is. Later, John again warns Suyin to be discreet in her relationship with Mark, whose wife lives in Singapore. The next day, when Mark comes to find Suyin at the hospital, he is met by Adeline, who pointedly asks him about his wife in front of Suyin. Mark and Suyin then go to a beach, and there, Mark tells Suyin that he and his wife have been separated and have not spoken for six years. When Mark attempts to express his feelings for her, Suyin gently quiets him, stating that she does not want to complicate her life. The couple then visits Suyin’s friends, Robert and Nora Hung, and spends a pleasant evening with them. When they return to the beach, Suyin can no longer contain her growing attraction to Mark and tells him that the Eastern and Western sides of her nature are debating what she should do. The next day, they meet on a hillside near the hospital, and Suyin is happy to see a butterfly land on Mark’s shoulder, which she regards as a good omen. Later, Suyin tells Mark that she has received an urgent summons from Third Uncle, the head of her family, to return to Chungking. Mark does not want her to go, but Suyin asserts that she needs time alone, to adjust to the possibly sordid implications of their relationship. Infuriated, Mark replies that she is too sensitive, and that he loves her. Suyin claims that love does not justify everything, and the angry Mark retorts that she does not need to run away to rid her conscience of him. On the airplane to Chungking, Suyin meets Suzanne and is surprised to learn that her paramour is Palmer-Jones. After being greeted by her family, Suyin learns that her sister Suchen has brought disgrace on the family by seeking refuge with a foreigner because she fears that the Communists will kill her. Suyin visits the girl, who states that Suyin has nothing to fear because she can return to Hong Kong. Suyin allays Suchen's fears by promising to obtain a passport for her. That night, Suyin is summoned to the main room, where the family has gathered to greet the just-arrived Mark. Mark explains to Suyin that he could not let her go, and wants to obtain a divorce in order to marry her. Surrendering to her love for Mark, Suyin states that she will always do what he wants, then receives permission from Third Uncle to marry Mark. While Mark goes to Singapore to confront his wife, Suyin busies herself with work and tending to Oh-No, and relaxes with Nora, Suzanne and her American friend, Ann Richards, who all caution her about the difficulities she will experience if she marries Mark. Suyin is too happy to take them seriously, although when Mark returns to Hong Kong, he sadly tells her that his wife will not grant him a divorce. Suyin assures Mark that nothing is different between them, and says she will live with the hope that his wife will change her mind. Later, the couple meets on their hilltop, and Mark asks Suyin to join him in Macao, to which he must go for a story. Suyin agrees, but as she is leaving, Adeline warns her that Palmer-Jones does not approve of her relationship with Mark. In Macao, Suyin and Mark are thrilled to be alone together, and Mark quotes Francis Thompson’s poem about love being a “many-splendored thing.” Their joy is cut short, however, when Mark receives orders to cover the just-erupted war between North and South Korea. Back at the hospital, Suyin learns that while she was away, there was an explosion in the harbor, and that she has been dismissed for being absent. Sen tells Suyin that she was fired because she is Eurasian, but Suyin refuses to listen to his entreaties to return to China. Suyin then meets Mark on their hillside one last time, and when Mark urges her not to be sad, Suyin bravely hides her tears until Mark leaves. Suyin and Oh-No, who has been released to her care, move in with Nora while Suyin looks for a job. Suyin’s only happines comes from Mark’s frequent letters, which she treasures. In Korea, Mark is typing a letter to Suyin when a butterfly lands on his typewriter, and he smiles, remembering her belief in omens. Later, in Hong Kong, Suyin is writing a good-luck prayer in Chinese, hoping that it will help Mark, when Oh-No accidentally spills her red ink. At the same time that the ink is spilled, a bomb drops on Mark’s camp in Korea and he is killed. Shortly after, Suyin learns of Mark’s death, and in horror and disbelief, runs out of Nora’s house. She climbs up to their hillside and sobs in grief while remembering Mark’s words about her ability to help others. Recalling one of Mark’s letters, which promised, “We have not missed, you and I, we have not missed that many-splendored thing,” Suyin dries her tears and begins to walk down the hill.
After her Nazi father is convicted of treason by a Miami, Florida jury, German-born Alicia Huberman tries to forget her pain by throwing a loud party and flirting with uninvited guest T. R. Devlin. Late that evening, an intoxicated Alicia takes Devlin on a drive and is stopped for speeding by a motorcycle officer. When Devlin flashes his official credentials, however, the officer allows Alicia to go without a ticket. Alicia, who has been hounded by reporters and police, is infuriated at Devlin and denounces him as a double-crossing "cop." Although Devlin disapproves of Alicia's self-destructive, promiscuous life style, he is confident of her patriotic feelings toward America, having heard secretly recorded comments she has made, and offers her a job infiltrating a Nazi industrial combine in Brazil. The embittered Alicia at first rejects Devlin's offer, but eventually agrees to accompany him to Rio de Janeiro. While waiting for her assignment, Alicia enjoys a romantic, carefree week in Rio and proudly tells Devlin she is a changed woman. Devlin is skeptical about her reformation, but nonetheless finds himself falling in love with her. The couple's newfound bliss is shortlived, however, as Devlin's boss, Paul Prescott, informs him that Alicia's assignment is to woo her former suitor, German-born Alexander Sebastian, and determine what his war machine combine is manufacturing. Although Alicia is conflicted, Devlin refuses to tell her what to do, and believing that he doesn't truly love her, she accepts the assignment. Devlin, in turn, views Alicia's acceptance as proof of her fickleness. As pre-arranged, Alicia encounters Alex while riding in a park and encourages him to pursue her. At a dinner party at Alex's home, Alicia notices one of the guests, Emil Hupka, gesture nervously at a wine bottle sitting on a mantle. Later, Alex and his other male guests discuss Hupka's improper dinner behavior and agree that he must be eliminated, a job the sinister Eric Mathis eagerly assumes. Soon after, Alicia reports to Devlin, who is posing as a public relations representative, at a Rio racetrack and tells him with sarcasm that the lovestruck Alex is her new "playmate." Devlin reacts to the remark with disgust, but easily plays the part of Alicia's rejected lover in front of Alex. When a jealous Alex then questions Alicia about Devlin, she reassures him that the handsome American "means nothing" to her. A short time later, Alicia pays an unexpected call on Prescott and Devlin and informs them that Alex has proposed to her. Although stunned by the news, Devlin once again refuses to interfere, and a heartbroken Alicia agrees to the marriage. After a brief honeymoon, the newlyweds return to Alex's house, where his domineering mother Anna views her new daughter-in-law with jealous disdain. Alicia immediately inspects the layout of the house and learns from butler Joseph that only Alex has the key to the house's large wine cellar. Some days later, Devlin instructs Alicia to throw a party and secure the key long enough for him to investigate the wine cellar. Before the party, Alicia sneaks the wine cellar key off Alex's key ring and later passes it to Devlin. Alicia then slips away from Alex's watchful eye and accompanies Devlin to the cellar, where they discover that one of the bottles contains not wine, but a mineral substance. When Devlin accidentally drops the bottle, Alicia quickly drains a similar bottle and helps him pour the spilled contents into it. As they are leaving the cellar, Alex approaches with Joseph, and Devlin kisses Alicia to distract him. Although Alex falls for the ruse at first, he soon notices that his cellar key is missing. Early the next morning, after he finds the key back on his ring and discovers that the bottle has been tampered with, he deduces Alicia's true mission and informs his mother. The quick thinking Anna declares that to keep Alex's slip from their ruthless group, they must slowly poison Alicia. Over the next few weeks, Alicia grows sicker from Anna's poison, which is placed in Alicia's coffee. At their next meeting, Prescott informs Alicia that the mineral substance is uranium and asks her to find out where the group is mining it. He also tells Alicia that Devlin has requested a transfer, a fact Devlin denies when he next meets with her. Instead, Devlin questions Alicia about her obvious illness and believes her when she claims she has a hangover. Later, however, when she fails to show up for their next meeting, Devlin realizes that Alicia was really ill. Alicia, in turn, deduces what Alex and Anna are doing to her, as well as the location of the mine, but is now too weak to escape. With Prescott's backing, Devlin goes to Alex's house to rescue Alicia, confident that the Nazi will not try to stop him in front of the group. Although sedated, Alicia is overjoyed to see Devlin, and they confess their love for each other. As Devlin carries Alicia to his car, a helpless Alex announces to his suspicious comrades that he is taking Alicia to the hospital. When Devlin calmly refuses to allow Alex in the car, however, the Nazi's blunder is revealed, and his fate, sealed.
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin
Directors: Philip Kaufman
Producer: Saul Zaentz, Bertil Ohlsson
Writer: Jean-Claude Carrière, Philip Kaufman
Editor: B. J. Sears, Vivien Hilgrove Gilliam, Stephen A. Rotter
Cinematographer: Sven Nykvist, Hiro Narita
Genre: Drama, Romance
Production Company: Saul Zaentz Company
Composer: Leos Janacek
In 1968 Prague, Czechoslovakia, Tomas is a young brain surgeon and womanizer who views the political tensions under his country’s Soviet-influenced Communist government with amused detachment. After travelling to a spa town to perform a surgery, he attempts to seduce a charming waitress named Tereza but stops short when he learns that she lives with her mother. Although he says he might come back, Tereza does not believe him. Soon after, Tereza surprises Tomas by showing up at his apartment. He invites her in and instructs her to take off her clothes, a command he uses with all of his lovers. Tereza sneezes, saying she caught a cold on the train, and Tomas offers to examine her. While she initially resists his attempts to undress her, Tereza eventually succumbs to his seduction and kisses him. After they make love, Tomas wakes to find a sleeping Tereza clutching his hand. He receives a job offer in Geneva, Switzerland, that the chief surgeon at his hospital urges him to take, warning that a Soviet invasion is imminent. However, Tomas does not feel the need to leave. Allowing Tereza to stay at his apartment, Tomas continues his other dalliances, including an ongoing affair with Sabina, an artist whose defining detail, according to Tomas, is the black derby hat she inherited from her grandfather. After sleeping together one day, Tomas asks Sabina to help Tereza, who is an amateur photographer. Later, he introduces the two women at Sabina’s apartment, where Tereza takes notice of the derby hat. Back at Tomas’s apartment, Tereza wakes from a nightmare in which Tomas forced her to watch him make love to Sabina. After she recounts the dream, Tomas soothes her back to sleep. Tereza continues to take photographs on the streets of Prague, and her work is published in a magazine. She celebrates with Tomas, Sabine, and Tomas’s co-workers at a dancehall. Noticing a group of Communist government officials, Tomas calls them scoundrels. At the officials’ urging, the band plays a Communist anthem, prompting young dancers to boo and clear the floor. The chief surgeon and a young doctor, Jiri, discuss the atrocities committed by their government during its Stalinist period. Tomas suggests they did not know what they were doing and likens them to “King Oedipus,” who tore his eyes out once he realized he had killed his father and was sleeping with his own mother. The chief surgeon suggests Tomas write about the theory, but the younger doctor claims he does not care enough about politics. As Tereza dances with Jiri, Tomas becomes jealous. Back at their apartment, he admits he thought about Jiri being her lover, and Tereza is thrilled to have made him jealous. She tackles Tomas and asks him to marry her. Soon after, the couple weds in a small ceremony, with one of Tomas’s patients, Pavel, and Pavel’s pet pig acting as witnesses. Afterward, at a bar, a young woman sells puppies and Tereza insists they take one. Although it is a female, Tomas names the dog “Karenin” after “Anna Karenina’s” husband, since Tereza was reading Anna Karenina when they first met. As the chief surgeon suggested, Tomas writes an article comparing the Communist government to Oedipus and his friend agrees to publish it. One day, while swimming laps, Tereza has a vision of Tomas leering at naked women. He comes home late that night, and she begs him to involve her in his affairs. Tomas denies his infidelity but she says he cannot hide it. As she leaves the apartment in tears, he follows her and they both stop at the sight of Soviet tanks moving down the street. The next day, Tereza takes pictures of protestors who have swarmed the tanks. Passing by on her way to Switzerland, Sabina warns Tereza and Tomas to be careful. Tereza continues to take photographs as shots are fired at protestors. She gives a Dutch tourist her film, urging him to publish the photographs back in the Netherlands. Tomas tries to catch up with Tereza as a soldier points a gun at her and she points her camera back at him. Later, Tereza’s remaining photographs are seized and she is questioned in court. In Geneva, Switzerland, Sabina begins an affair with a married professor named Franz, whose political idealism clashes with her indifference. Sometime later, Tomas accepts the job in Geneva and moves there with Tereza and Karenin. Tereza tries to submit photographs of the recent Soviet invasion to a newspaper, but they reject them, claiming the story is old. Tomas rekindles his affair with Sabina, who tells him about Franz, saying she adores him although he dislikes her derby hat. When Tereza gets a call from one of the newspaper editors who believes she has a talent for nude photography, she seeks out Sabina as a model. At Sabina’s apartment, Tereza snaps numerous nude photographs of Tomas’s lover, then Sabina turns the camera around on her, commanding her to undress. As the women frolic around the apartment, Franz interrupts. Tereza runs to get dressed, and Franz informs Sabina that he has left his wife. She cries and embraces him. He promises to return the next day with the rest of his things and leaves. In the morning, however, Franz finds that Sabina has emptied the apartment and vanished. Tomas meets Sabina for a rendezvous at her hotel room. Later, Tereza tells him that life is too heavy for her, while it is light for him. She insists she has been weighing him down and says she is weak and will therefore return to Czechoslovakia, the country of the weak. On the train back to Prague, Tereza’s passport and camera are seized. Following her into the country, Tomas gives up his passport as well, and the couple reunites at their old apartment. Tomas returns to his former job, but the chief surgeon alerts him that he must sign a retraction, claiming he no longer believes what he wrote in his article about Oedipus and the Czech government. Soon after, a representative of the ministry of the interior comes to interview Tomas and produces another declaration for him to sign. Instead of acquiescing, Tomas quits and takes a job as a window washer. Working at a restaurant, Tereza meets an attractive engineer, who gives her his address as he leaves. After Tomas comes home smelling like another woman, Tereza goes to the engineer’s apartment but feels uncomfortable as he undresses her. She suspects someone is watching, but he denies it. After having sex with him, Tereza discusses the experience with another customer of hers, a former ambassador, who warns that the engineer may have been a government spy who filmed the interaction to blackmail her. Tomas finds Tereza crying by a river. She says she wants to leave, but he reminds her their passports are gone. The couple goes to a small village where Pavel, Tomas’s former patient, runs a farm. Living with Pavel, they embrace the country life and Karenin befriends Pavel’s pig. One day, they notice Karenin limping and soon discover the dog has cancer. Tormented by the news, Tereza suggests her love for Karenin is superior to her love for Tomas because she is not jealous of the animal. Tomas decides to end the dog’s pain, and on his way to retrieve a syringe, he discovers some of the nude photographs that Tereza took of Sabina. Before Tomas administers the injection, Tereza exclaims that Karenin is smiling. One day, Pavel’s nephew dislocates his shoulder and Tomas comes to his rescue. The patient ogles Tereza and says her beauty makes him want to dance. Tereza encourages everyone to go dancing, so they drive to a hotel, taking the pig with them. Since he is driving, Tomas rejects Pavel’s offer of a drink, but Pavel encourages him and Tereza to stay the night at the hotel. Sometime later, Sabina paints at a country home while a couple of American patrons observe her. She receives a letter from Pavel, stating that Tereza and Tomas have died in a car accident. On the night before their death, Teresa and Tomas flirt as they head upstairs to their hotel room. In the morning, as they drive home in the rain, Tereza kisses Tomas and asks him what he is thinking. He replies that he is thinking how happy he is.
Producer: Andrew Scheinman, Rob Reiner, Norman Lear
Writer: William Goldman
Editor: Robert Leighton
Cinematographer: Adrian Biddle, Ray Andrew
Genre: Adventure, Comedy-drama, Romance
Production Company: Act III Communications
Composer: Mark Knopfler
A man visits his sick grandson with a book, The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern. After the boy begrudgingly agrees to the bedtime story, the grandfather begins reading. First introduced in the book is Buttercup, a girl who lives on a farm in Florin. She loves to boss around the farmhand, Westley, who answers every order with, “As you wish.” They fall in love. At hearing this, the boy worries that this is going to be a “kissing book.” Westley has no money to support Buttercup, so he leaves to seek his fortune. Buttercup is heartbroken to hear that Westley has been captured and murdered by the Dread Pirates. Five years later, Prince Humperdinck of Florin announces his engagement to Buttercup. They are to marry in a month. However, Buttercup is kidnapped by three men, Vizzini, the giant Fezzik and Inigo Montoya. Vizzini, the leader of the group, plans to kill Buttercup and frame Florin's enemy, the country of Guilder, for her murder in hopes of starting a war. The kidnappers set sail, but spot another boat following them. Reaching land, Vizzini and Fezzik go ahead with Buttercup while Montoya is left to deal with the man from the other boat, who is dressed in black and wears a mask. Montoya asks if the Man in Black has six fingers on his right hand. He does not. The kidnapper explains that a six-fingered man killed his father, and he has trained for twenty years to become skilled enough to defeat him. Should he ever find the six-fingered man, he plans to say “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!” before exacting his revenge. In the ensuing duel the Man in Black knocks Inigo out. Later, the Man in Black runs into Fezzik, who proposes hand-to-hand combat; but in the ensuing struggle Fezzik becomes exhausted and passes out. The Man in Black reaches Vizzini and Buttercup and suggests a battle of wits, which ends in Vizzini's death. Buttercup identifies the Man in Black as the Dread Pirate Roberts who killed her love, Westley. He replies that she should be thankful Westley died before he found out how unfaithful she could be. As Humperdinck and his men close in on them. Buttercup tells the Man in Black he can die for all she cares and pushes him down a steep hill. Rolling down the grassy incline he yells, "As you wish!” and Buttercup realizes the man in Black is actually Westley, and she rolls down the hill after him. Humperdinck thinks the two are headed into the Fire Swamp. Westley asks Buttercup why she did not wait for him, as not even death can stop true love. They kiss. At this point, the boy interrupts the story again, complaining about the second "kissing part." He tells his grandfather to skip ahead to the Fire Swamp. In the Fire Swamp, Westley tells Buttercup that the original Dread Pirate Roberts retired fifteen years ago and his name and ship were passed down through several men before Westley took on the role--but he can now give it up since he has found Buttercup. The pair survives the Fire Swamp only to be met by Humperdinck and his men. Buttercup offers to go peacefully with the prince if he promises to return Westley to his ship unharmed. Humperdinck agrees, but then instructs Count Rugen to instead take Westley to the Pit of Despair. After Buttercup leaves with the prince, Westley notices there are six fingers on Rugen’s right hand. In the Pit of Despair, an albino tells Westley he is to be tortured by “the machine.” It is ten days before the wedding, and Buttercup tells Humperdinck she cannot marry him and would sooner kill herself than live without Westley. Humperdinck offers to find Westley for her but asks that she marry him if Westley does not want her. In the forest with Rugen, Humperdinck reveals that he hired Vizzini to kill Buttercup on their engagement day and now looks forward to killing her on their wedding night! He wants to start a war with Guilder. The count opens a secret door in a tree that leads to the Pit. As the Albino prepares Westley for torture, Rugen explains “the machine,” his hydro-powered invention, takes years off a person's life. He demonstrates by sucking one year from Westley's life. Humperdinck instructs one of his men to empty the Thieves' Forest on the day of the wedding for fear that killers from Guilder are hiding there. Inigo is drunk inside the Thieves' Forest and refuses to move. Fezzik arrives. He nurses Inigo back to sobriety and tells him about Vizzini's death and Count Rugen, the six-fingered man. Inigo decides he needs the Man in Black to help him reach the count. Buttercup figures out that Humperdinck made no efforts to find Westley, but is confident Westley will come anyway. She calls Humperdinck a coward. Angered by this, Humperdinck goes down to the Pit and turns the machine on, pushing the setting up to 50. Westley screams so loud the whole kingdom can hear it. Inigo and Fezzik head in the direction of the scream. They find Westley, but think he is dead. At this very moment, the boy interrupts his grandfather and demands to know who kills Humperdinck. The grandfather tells him no one does. The boy is upset, but does not want his grandfather to stop reading. Inigo and Fezzik bring Westley to Miracle Max, who concocts a "miracle pill" for the aged Westley. Inigo and Fezzik approach the castle carrying Westley. They administer the pill to him. He immediately gains consciousness, but lacks the strength to move. Inigo explains that Buttercup is to be married in less than half an hour, and Westley formulates a plan. While the wedding takes place inside the castle, Fezzik poses at the gate as the Dread Pirate Roberts, scaring off the guards. Humperdinck rushes the ceremony, urging the bishop to simply pronounce him and Buttercup married. The bishop obeys and Buttercup is escorted to the honeymoon suite. Inigo, Fezzik, and Westley meet Rugen and the castle guards. Inigo chases after the count, and repeats, "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die," as he and Rugen fence. Finally, Inigo kills the count, while in the honeymoon suite, Buttercup prepares to kill herself. Still unable to move, Westley calls to her from his bed just before she commits the tragic act. Buttercup runs to him, and he explains that she is not married because she did not say 'I do.' Humperdinck enters and challenges Westley to a duel. Westley explains that he plans not to kill Humperdinck, but to thoroughly maim him so that he will live in "freakish misery." Humperdinck thinks it is a bluff, but when Westley slowly stands and points his sword at him, Humperdinck is convinced of Westley's intentions and obeys when told to drop his sword and sit in a chair so Buttercup can tie him up. Inigo arrives and offers to kill Humperdinck, but Westley wants him to live a long, lonely life as a coward. Fezzik calls for Inigo from outside. He has found four white horses in the prince's stables. Before they mount, Westley offers Inigo a job as the next Dread Pirate Roberts. The four ride off. The grandfather stops reading, dismissing the rest of the story as more kissing stuff. The boy says he wants to hear it. Westley and Buttercup's kiss is described as surpassing any other kiss in passion and purity. "The end." The boy asks his grandfather to read the book to him again tomorrow. "As you wish," his grandfather replies.
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal
Directors: Mike Nichols
Producer: Ernest Lehman
Writer: Ernest Lehman
Editor: Sam O'Steen
Cinematographer: Haskell Wexler, Harry Stradling
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Chenault Productions, Inc., Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
At two a.m. on the campus of a New England college, a middle-aged professor of history and his wife return home from a party. Their life together, after twenty years of marriage, is dominated by violent arguments tempered by occasional moments of tenderness. George, the husband, is a victim of lost idealism--a fact that his wife, Martha, eagerly points out by constantly comparing him to her father, the president of the college. Martha conceals her own vulnerability and frustration behind a show of loud vulgarity. She has created an imaginary son, and George has indulged her in the pretense, partially for his own sake as well. Earlier in the evening, Martha invited a faculty couple, Nick and Honey, to drop by for a drink; as soon as they arrive, Martha begins making flagrant advances toward the younger man. Honey, embarrassed by Martha's behavior and unaccustomed to so much liquor, becomes ill. Intoxicated, Nick confides to George that he married Honey because she falsely told him that she was pregnant. The long night of drinking and quarreling wears on, and Martha eventually lures the opportunistic and drunken Nick to her bedroom upstairs, while George watches their shadows from the yard below. When he learns that Martha has told Honey about their son, George brutally destroys his wife's fantasy by announcing that the son is dead. He then reduces her to hysteria by conducting a mock funeral service in Latin. With the coming of dawn, the guests depart. Physically and emotionally exhausted, George and Martha share a moment of silence.
In the Iowa farmhouse where they grew up, adult siblings Michael and Carolyn work to settle the estate of their recently deceased mother, Francesca Johnson. They are surprised to find her written request to be cremated, with instructions to scatter her ashes off the local Roseman Covered Bridge. Michael refuses to obey the request against previous plans to bury Francesca in the graveyard plot beside their father’s. Carolyn urges him to keep an open mind as they sort through their mother’s belongings. They discover letters, photographs, and diaries which tell of a great, short-lived love affair between Francesca and Robert Kincaid: Roughly forty years earlier, in 1965, Kincaid stops by the Johnson farmhouse to ask for directions to covered bridges in the area, which he has been sent to photograph for National Geographic magazine. Francesca, who hails from Italy, is home alone, as her American husband has taken their two children to the Illinois State Fair. Francesca and Kincaid quickly develop a bond that leads to a passionate sexual affair. Although she considers running away with her new lover, Francesca makes a last-minute decision to stay in consideration of her children and marriage. Kincaid is creatively inspired by their four-day encounter, and afterward, the two maintain a correspondence through letters. Back in present day, Michael and Carolyn are moved by Francesca’s story, especially since they have been struggling in their own marriages. With newfound appreciation for their mother, they follow her request and throw her ashes from the covered bridge.
Cast: Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Melanie Griffith
Directors: Mike Nichols
Producer: Douglas Wick, Robert Greenhut, Laurence Mark
Writer: Kevin Wade
Editor: Sam O'Steen
Cinematographer: Michael Ballhaus
Genre: Romantic comedy
Production Company: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Composer: Carly Simon
In New York City, secretary Tess McGill takes the Staten Island Ferry on her way to work at Petty Marsh, a Wall Street financial firm. During the ferry ride, Tess’s friend Cyn presents her with a cupcake for her thirtieth birthday and asks about her plans. In addition to work, Tess says she has a speech class and an emerging markets seminar. She guesses correctly that a surprise birthday party has been arranged for her and agrees to be home by 7:15 p.m. At her desk, Tess changes out of the tennis shoes she wears for commuting and into high heels. She becomes despondent when she learns she has been rejected, yet again, by the company’s “entrée program,” but David Lutz, her superior, suggests she meet with his friend, Bob Speck, who works in the company’s arbitrage department. Tess agrees to the meeting, but when Speck picks her up in a limousine and snorts cocaine in the backseat, Tess realizes he intends to have a sexual tryst and nothing more. Back at Petty Marsh, she complains to the personnel director, Ruth, who discourages Tess’s ambition but offers her one last chance in the mergers and acquisitions department. Tess meets her new boss, Katharine Parker, and is surprised to find that Parker is a few months younger than her. As she goes over some ground rules, Parker tells Tess to dress impeccably and suggests she wear less jewelry. Parker claims she is open to new ideas, so Tess comes to her one morning with a proposal for one of their clients, Trask Industries. Although Trask has been attempting to acquire television stations, Tess suggests they should look into radio networks instead. She explains that owning radio stations would protect the company from being acquired by a foreign competitor because the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) forbids foreign ownership of U.S. radio entities. Parker likes the idea, and Tess suggests it might help her get into the entrée program if Parker supports it. When Parker agrees, Tess excitedly relays the news to her live-in boyfriend, Mick Dugan. The next day, Parker prepares to leave for a ski trip in the Alps and tells Tess she is expecting a marriage proposal from her boyfriend on the trip. Tess asks what she will do if he does not propose, but Parker argues that she makes things happen in her life and recommends that Tess do the same. Before she leaves, Parker informs Tess that Trask Industries did not respond well to her radio idea. Soon after, Parker breaks her leg on the ski slopes. She calls Tess from the hospital and asks her to take care of her house plants and mail for the next few weeks while she recuperates. Tess goes to the apartment and finds Parker’s tape recorder on her desk. Using the recorded messages to practice her speech, Tess discovers a dictated letter Parker planned to send to Jack Trainer at a company called Dewey Stone about the Trask radio acquisition. Although she has not sent the letter yet, Parker is planning to implement Tess’s idea without her knowledge. Dejected, Tess returns home to find Mick in bed with another woman. After sleeping at Parker’s apartment, Tess calls Jack Trainer and pretends to be an executive so that she can propose her idea for Trask Industries herself. Once the meeting is set up, Tess asks Cyn to cut her hair shorter and dons one of Parker’s expensive cocktail dresses for a Dewey Stone company party, where Tess hopes to have a casual run-in with Jack before their meeting. However, when Jack flirts with her at the bar and Tess asks where she can find “Jack Trainer,” he does not reveal his identity and says that “Jack” already left. Jack encourages her to have a drink with him, and Tess becomes inebriated after one shot of tequila because she took an antihistamine before the party. Seeing her colleagues from Petty Marsh, Tess flees and Jack follows her into a taxicab. She is too drunk to recall Parker’s address, so he takes her back to his apartment. Tess awakes in Jack’s bed the next morning and sneaks out. Later that day, she goes to her meeting at Dewey Stone and becomes flustered when she recognizes Jack from the night before. Tess proposes her idea for Trask, but Jack’s colleague, John Romano, rejects it. That afternoon, Tess tells Cyn that she botched her proposal, but Jack shows up to Petty Marsh, saying he wants to work together and has already found the ideal acquisition target – the family-owned Metro Radio Network. He asks her out to dinner, but Tess says she does not want to get romantically involved as long as they are working together. At Cyn’s engagement party, Mick attempts to make up with Tess and proposes to her in front of their friends. Tess responds with “Maybe,” prompting Mick to storm out and break up with her. The next day, Cyn comes to Tess’s office, begging her to give Mick another chance. Distracted, Tess wonders aloud if she could meet Oren Trask, the head of Trask Industries, by attending his daughter’s wedding, uninvited. They are interrupted by a call from Katharine Parker, who announces plans to return in a week. Later, Tess tells Jack she is going to meet with Oren Trask, but when he accompanies her, he discovers her scheme to infiltrate his daughter’s wedding reception. On the dance floor, Jack helps Tess approach Trask, switching dance partners with him. Tess introduces herself as a Petty Marsh associate and pitches her idea for a radio acquisition, and Trask agrees to meet with her the following week. The morning of their meeting at Trask’s office, Tess and Jack learn that another company has made an offer to buy Metro Radio Network. However, Tess argues that Metro is a family-oriented company and says its owner, Mr. Armbrister, would rather sell to Trask. She promises Armbrister will meet with him in person the next day. Back at his apartment, Jack and Tess and make love. Afterward, she starts to reveal her real job, but a phone call interrupts. Jack admits the call was from a girl friend with whom he plans to break up. When he mentions that the woman recently broke her leg on a ski trip, Tess realizes the girl friend is her boss, Katharine Parker, and rushes out. The next day, Parker returns home and instructs Tess to perform the menial tasks of carrying her luggage and picking up her prescriptions. When Jack comes to the apartment, Tess hides and overhears as he attempts to break up with Parker. Tess accidentally leaves her notebook on the bed, and Parker reads it after she leaves, discovering Jack’s phone number and notes about her next meeting with Trask. Livid, Parker barges into the meeting just after Armbrister accepts Trask’s offer of $68.5 million for his company. Identifying Tess as her assistant, Parker claims Tess stole her idea and feigns a fainting spell. Tess apologizes to everyone and leaves. The next week, Tess goes to Petty Marsh to pack up her desk. On the way out, she sees Jack and Parker enter the lobby with Trask. When Jack refuses to board the elevator with Parker and Trask unless Tess comes along, Trask is persuaded to join Jack and Tess in another elevator. Tess shows Trask her old files with the newspaper clippings that inspired her idea. When they arrive outside Parker’s office, Trask asks Parker how she came up with the idea, and Parker becomes flustered and says she cannot recall. Trask announces that he plans to have Parker fired and asks Tess to work for him. The next morning, Jack helps Tess get ready for her first day of work for Trask and presents her with a monogrammed lunch box. Tess finds her desk outside an office and sits down. However, her assistant, Alice Baxter, informs Tess that the office is hers. Thrilled, Tess calls Cyn from her new office to share the good news.
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Sammy Davis, Jr., Pearl Bailey
Directors: Otto Preminger
Producer: Samuel Goldwyn
Writer: N. Richard Nash
Editor: Daniel Mandell
Cinematographer: Leon Shamroy
Genre: Musical
Production Company: Samuel Goldwyn Productions, Inc.
At Catfish Row, the courtyard home to a southern, African-American fishing community, the men shoot dice one evening while the women gossip about the wanton Bess, who for five years has lived with Crown, a local bully. The women declare that Porgy, a cripple who gets around on a cart pulled by a goat, is "soft on Bess," but Porgy denies this and laments that the life of a cripple is meant to be lonesome. When Crown and Bess come to the courtyard and Crown joins the dice game, Sportin' Life, a slick drug pusher, sells Crown some "happy dust," or cocaine, against Bess's wishes, and Crown snorts it. When Robbins, one of the dice players, wins his point, a fight ensues in which Crown kills Robbins with a blow. Bess sends Crown away to protect him from the police, then asks Sportin' Life for some happy dust. Sportin' Life suggests that they leave for New York together, but Bess turns him down in disgust. When the police arrive, Bess tries to take refuge with her neighbors, but they all turn her away. Desperate, Bess knocks at Porgy's door, he agrees to let her stay. Serena, the God-fearing woman who was married to Robbins, tries to collect money from the community to pay for her husband's burial, and although she refuses Bess's contribution, Porgy encourages the neighbors to be generous and Bess collects their offerings. When a white detective accuses old "honey man" Peter of the murder and threatens him, Peter reveals that he saw Crown kill Robbins. Peter is then locked up as a material witness until Crown is caught. The detective warns Serena that if Robbins is not buried by the next day, the board of health will turn his body over to medical students. After Serena pleads with the undertaker to accept the fifteen dollars she has collected and let her pay the rest when she earns it, and he agrees to bury the body. Bess continues to live with Porgy, and the neighbors soon notice that he is happier. One day, lawyer Frazier comes to give Bess a divorce from Crown so she can marry Porgy, for which Porgy pays him a dollar, but when Frazier learns that Bess never married Crown, he demands an extra half-dollar. When they balk, Frazier accuses them of living in sin, and Porgy reluctantly pays the amount. On the day of a church picnic, Sportin' Life again tempts Bess to go to New York and offers her happy dust, but Porgy threatens to break his neck unless he leaves Bess alone. Porgy then tells Bess that she is now his woman and she agrees to stay with him. After the picnic, Crown, who is hiding in the woods, confronts Bess when she is alone. She struggles to resist him, but when Crown kisses her, she embraces him and lets him carry her off. Bess returns to Catfish Row two days later and remains in a state of delirium for more than a week as Porgy tends to her. Peter, who has been released from jail, recommends that Porgy take Bess to the county hospital, but he refuses and instead asks Serena to pray for Bess. After reciting a prayer, Serena states that Bess will be well when the church bell strikes six times. The next morning, when the bell chimes, Bess comes out of her delirium and calls for Porgy. Realizing she betrayed him with Crown, Bess cries but Porgy forgives her. Although Bess confesses that she loses control when Crown touches her, she tells Porgy she loves him and asks him not to let Crown seduce her. He assures her that he will protect her from Crown and that she has a man now. When a hurricane hits after some of the men have gone out in their fishing boats, the people congregate at Serena's home, where Clara, a new mother, worries about her husband Jake. Crown also comes to the house where he taunts Porgy about his relationship with Bess, then laughs at those who are afraid of the storm. Anxious, Clara gives her baby to Bess and runs out in search of Jake, after which Crown also leaves, saying that he will be back for Bess. Following the storm, the community mourns for the lost men and Clara. When Serena tries to get Bess to give up Clara's baby, saying it needs a proper Christian raising, Porgy implores Serena to let Bess keep the child, and Serena relents. Later, Crown sneaks into the courtyard and goes to Porgy's window, and when Porgy awakens, they fight. When Crown draws his knife, Porgy throws him down, killing him. As the people repair their buildings from the storm damage, the detective returns with a coroner to find a witness to Crown's killing. Suspecting that Serena killed Crown for revenge, the detective questions her, but she has an alibi. The detective then orders Porgy to come to the jail to identify the body. Porgy refuses, not wanting to look at Crown, and Sportin' Life says that if Porgy looks at Crown's face, the dead man's wounds will begin to bleed, proving that Porgy killed him. The detective then carries Porgy into the police wagon as he screams that he will not look at Crown's face. Sportin' Life finds Bess crying and tells her that Porgy will "give himself away" and end up dying in jail. He offers her some happy dust, and after she accepts, Sportin' Life's talk of New York and living in a mansion appeals to her in her drugged state. Sometime later, the police bring Porgy back to the courtyard. He tells his friends that the wounds did not bleed when he looked at them and brings gifts he bought with money he won from shooting craps in jail. When he asks for Bess, however, the people scatter. He then sees Serena with Clara's baby and demands to know where Bess is. Porgy finally learns that Bess went to New York with Sportin' Life after he convinced her that Porgy would never return from jail. Stating that he cannot go on without Bess, Porgy starts off for New York in his goat cart, cheered on by his friends.
Producer: Linda Gottlieb, Mitchell Cannold, Steven Reuther
Writer: Eleanor Bergstein
Editor: Peter C. Frank
Cinematographer: Jeff Jur
Genre: Drama, Romance
Production Company: Vestron Pictures , Great American Films Limited Partnership, Dancing Productions
Composer: John Morris
In the summer of 1963, seventeen-year-old Frances “Baby” Houseman vacations with her family at Kellerman’s Mountain House in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. The younger of two daughters, Baby is revered by her wealthy parents for her aspirations to attend college and join the Peace Corps. Within the first few days, she grows bored by the resort’s family-oriented activities and sneaks into a secret staff party, where the guests participate in provocative “dirty” dancing. As she timidly watches from the sidelines, womanizing dance instructor Johnny Castle pulls her onto the dance floor for a brief lesson. One night, Baby learns that Johnny’s longtime dance partner, Penny Johnson, has been impregnated by a smarmy hotel waiter named Robbie Gould. When Robbie refuses to help pay for an abortion, Baby asks to borrow money from her father, Dr. Jake Houseman. After reluctantly accepting the cash, Penny is forced to schedule the procedure on the same date as her upcoming show with Johnny at the Sheldrake, a neighboring hotel. Johnny worries they will lose the job, so Baby volunteers to fill in as Penny’s replacement. Although Johnny is reluctant to teach her, Baby is a dedicated student and gradually becomes more confident of her abilities. The night of the performance, she anxiously blunders several moves, but Johnny is impressed by her hard work. Back at Kellerman’s, Penny suffers complications from her botched abortion, and Baby runs to her father for help. Although he treats Penny, Dr. Houseman is disappointed in Baby for lying to him and forbids her to associate with Johnny, whom he mistakenly believes to be responsible for Penny’s pregnancy. Once Dr. Houseman leaves, Baby sneaks back to Johnny’s bungalow and apologizes for her father’s prejudice. Coming from a working-class background, Johnny admits he has always had a low opinion of himself, but Baby insists he has inspired her to be a better person. After sharing a passionate dance, she and Johnny make love. The next morning, Dr. Houseman announces the family will be leaving early, but grudgingly changes his mind when Baby’s older sister, Lisa, protests. Ignoring her father’s warning, Baby continues her affair with Johnny. As the end of the season approaches, hotel management goads Johnny into changing the final dance routine for the closing night variety show while rudely ignoring all his suggestions. When Baby urges him to stand up for himself, Johnny angrily reminds her that she still keeps their relationship a secret from her family. Due to his deepening affection for Baby, however, Johnny refuses to continue providing sexual favors for Vivian Pressman, one of the resort’s regular visitors. Early one morning, Vivian sees Baby leaving Johnny’s bungalow. Jealous, she accuses Johnny of stealing from her husband and several of the other guests. To provide a legitimate alibi, Baby is forced to reveal that she spent the night in Johnny’s cabin, once again upsetting her father. Despite her good intentions, however, Johnny is fired for consorting with Baby, and he leaves the resort. During the closing night show, Baby watches listlessly as Lisa sings a cheerless pageant number with members of the staff. Suddenly, Johnny interrupts the concert and pulls Baby onstage to perform the final dance of the season. They reprise the sensual mambo routine they danced at the Sheldrake, and successfully execute a difficult lift. Afterward, Dr. Houseman learns the truth about Penny’s pregnancy and admits he misjudged Johnny. Baby and Johnny passionately embrace as the other guests join them on the dance floor.
Cast: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna
Directors: Lawrence Kasdan, Bruce Humphrey
Producer: Fred T. Gallo
Writer: Lawrence Kasdan
Editor: Carol Littleton
Cinematographer: Richard H. Kline
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Production Company: The Ladd Company
Composer: John Barry
During a Florida heat wave, lawyer Ned Racine watches from his window as a building burns in the distance, then returns to bed with his lover. The next day in court, the Judge orders Ned to make a deal with Assistant Prosecutor Peter Lowenstein since Ned presented such a bad defense for his client. That night, Ned wanders the boardwalk and stops at a bandstand. Intrigued by a beautiful woman leaving the show, he follows her and tries to engage her in conversation. Matty Walker is married and not looking for company, but Ned jokes that she should have said, “happily married.” Ned learns that Matty lives in Pine Haven with her husband, who only comes home on weekends. When Matty spills liquid on her blouse, Ned goes to get a wet cloth, but returns to find her gone. Later, Ned finds Matty alone at Pine Haven Tavern. They talk about the heat and she offers to show Ned her wind chimes, but she does not want anyone to suspect an affair, so they leave separately. At Matty’s home, it is the maid’s night off, so they are alone as Matty shows Ned the chimes, and points out the gazebo and boathouse. Asking Ned to leave, Matty kisses him goodnight and closes the door, but Ned turns back, breaks through the door, and they make love in the hallway. They continue to see each other, although Matty insists no one else can know. Later, at lunch with Lowenstein and local police officer Oscar Grace, Ned is teased that he has never before been silent about his conquests. When Matty’s husband, Edmund, leaves at the end of the weekend, Ned returns to the mansion and rushes up to “Matty” in the gazebo; however, the woman is not Matty, but a close look-alike. Matty comes outside to join them and introduces her friend, Mary Ann, to Ned. Matty hands an envelope to Mary Ann and the woman leaves. Later, Matty talks about her husband’s will and Ned learns that, among Edmund’s businesses, he owns shore-front properties, including a place called The Breakers. As Matty expresses fear of her husband and wishes him dead, Ned suggests that she leave Edmund, but Matty confesses that she signed a pre-nuptial agreement and that will not get her much money in a divorce. That weekend, Edmund brings home his niece, Heather Kraft, who will be visiting for the week. Matty tells Ned to stay away, but he surprises her late one night after Heather has gone to sleep. As they make love on the porch, Heather comes outside, sees them and runs back into the house. However, Heather does not say anything about the event and leaves with her mother, Roz, on Thursday as planned. At a local restaurant, Ned runs into Edmund and Matty, who introduces the two men, pretending not to know Ned’s first name. Edmund insists that Ned join them, and, when Matty excuses herself, Edmund admits that if Matty was adulterous, he would kill the lover with his bare hands. The next day, Matty sneaks into Ned’s office and admits that she loves him. Ned plans to kill Edmund so Matty will inherit half of his estate. Matty complains that Heather will also inherit half of Edmund’s estate, but that Roz will certainly take her daughter’s money. Matty suggests that Ned covertly rewrite Edmund’s will. Ned refuses because it would look suspicious, and Matty agrees. Sometime later, Ned meets with a former client, Teddy Lewis, who gives Ned a bomb. The next day, Ned drives to Miami and meets a client regarding a real estate deal, but leaves his car in the city and drives back to Pine Haven in a rental car. Hearing an intruder downstairs, Edmund grabs a gun and investigates. Matty yells a warning, and Ned attacks. The men struggle until Ned bashes Edmund’s head with a board. Ned wraps the body in plastic and drives Edmund’s car to The Breakers. There, Ned dumps the body inside, and sets the bomb. Just before it explodes, Matty picks up Ned and they escape. Days later, Ned gets a call from Miles Hardin, Edmund’s lawyer, who says that Matty submitted a new will written by Ned, but there is a problem. Ned meets with Hardin, Matty, Roz, Heather and Lowenstein, who is handling the inquiry into Edmund’s death. Ned pretends that he re-wrote the will with Mary Ann, who is currently out of town, as a witness. Although the will is almost identical to the original document, Hardin points to an error that Ned made in the bequest to Heather. The error renders the will invalid and the entire inheritance is therefore bequeathed to Matty. Hardin also discovered that Ned ran into serious trouble when he made a similar error in the past. When Ned and Matty leave, Matty asks to see him that night. Meanwhile, Lowenstein and Oscar want to know how Ned got involved with Matty, but Ned insists that he updated the will before she showed any interest in dating him. Later, Matty reveals that she learned how to invalidate the will from a lawyer friend, but she never would have done it if she had known about Ned’s previous error. At the police station, Oscar questions Ned and discloses that Edmund’s glasses were not found at the scene, concluding that Edmund was murdered elsewhere and moved. Roz and Heather arrive to make a statement about the man Heather saw with Matty before the murder, but Ned deliberately greets them and Heather does not recognize him. Ned tells Matty about the glasses, and she supposes that the maid has them. Later, Lowenstein warns Ned that Oscar has come to suspect him, and cautions Ned that someone is setting him up. Ned learns from another lawyer that Matty was aware that Ned had previously written an invalid will, and Teddy informs him that Matty asked him for an additional bomb, which he instructed her to rig to a door. Soon, Matty calls Ned from Miami, reporting that she received Edmund’s money and sent it somewhere safe. Confessing that she paid off the maid to leave Edmund’s glasses in the boathouse, Matty asks Ned to retrieve them, but when Ned sees the boathouse door is rigged, he realizes Matty wants to kill him. Ned gets Edmund’s gun and waits for her at the gazebo while Oscar heads for the mansion to arrest Ned. When Matty arrives, she is surprised that Ned has a gun, and he claims there were no glasses in the boathouse. Oscar arrives as Matty heads to the boathouse to find the glasses. Ned drops the gun and runs after Matty, but the boathouse explodes. In jail, Ned realizes that Matty is still alive and that Mary Ann’s body was in the boathouse as a decoy. Dental records identified the body as Matty, but Ned theorizes that the woman he knew as Mary Ann was blackmailing Matty for stealing her identity, and Matty rigged the boathouse explosion to kill both Ned and Mary Ann. Later, Ned gets a copy of Matty’s high school yearbook and learns his theory was correct; the yearbook picture of Matty is the girl he knew as Mary Ann. The photograph of her classmate, Mary Ann Simpson, depicts the woman Ned knew as Matty. As Ned sits in his prison cell, “Matty” relaxes on an exotic beach.
Directors: Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson
Writer: Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Ralph Wright, Don Da Gradi
Editor: Don Halliday
Genre: Children's works, Romantic comedy
Production Company: Walt Disney Productions
Composer: Oliver Wallace
In an American city during the early 1900s, Jim Dear presents his new wife Darling with a cocker spaniel puppy in a hatbox. They name her “Lady” and furnish her with a bed in the spare room, but as soon as they retire to their bedroom, the lonely puppy cries. Despite Jim Dear’s scolding and the huge staircase that she must surmount, Lady is determined to join them upstairs, and is soon allowed in their bed “just for tonight.” Six months later, Lady is still allowed in the bed, and enjoys her pampered lifestyle with her beloved owners. One day, she is given a license and collar, and rushes to display her new finery to her neighborhood friends, Scottish terrier Jock and elderly hound Trusty. Both admire her “badge of respectability,” and consider her life complete. Meanwhile, nearby a mongrel dog named Tramp enjoys a life of unfettered ease, disturbed only by the dogcatchers who impound all dogs without licenses. One day, when Tramp discovers his friends Peg, a Pekingese, and bulldog Bull in the dog wagon, he releases them and evades the dogcatcher by fleeing into Lady’s upper-class neighborhood. There, Jock and Trusty are consoling Lady, who is convinced her owners no longer love her. After she describes their symptoms, which include knitting booties and acting skittishly, the older dogs realize that Darling is expecting and try to explain “the birds and the bees” to Lady. Just then, Tramp joins them and angers Lady by declaring that her humans will have only enough room in their hearts for the baby. Months pass, during which Lady’s household readies for the baby, which arrives in April. Lady wonders what could be so special about the little boy until she sees him, after which she adores him as much as his parents do. The newly expanded family lives peacefully until one day Jim Dear and Darling decide to go away for the weekend and leave Aunt Sarah to baby-sit. Aunt Sarah, who has two wily Siamese cats, Si and Am, despises dogs and considers Lady a danger to the baby. After Si and Am wreak havoc in the living room, Lady tries to maintain order but receives only a scolding from Aunt Sarah. The next day, when Aunt Sarah brings Lady to a pet store and fits her with a muzzle, Lady recoils and races out of the shop. The muzzle and its attached leash attract the attention of three mean dogs, who chase her into an alleyway. There, Tramp spots the commotion and bravely rushes to Lady’s defense. After chasing off the dogs, Tramp brings Lady to the zoo, which does not allow dogs, in order to find someone to remove the muzzle. At the gate, he cleverly creates a hubbub that allows them to slip inside unnoticed. They soon find a beaver, and when he declares himself too busy moving logs to help, Tramp declares the muzzle a “log puller” and convinces the beaver to bite it off of Lady’s snout. Dubbing Lady “Pidge,” Tramp shows her the city, singing the praises of his “footloose and collar free” lifestyle. He brings her to Joe’s restaurant, where Joe, recognizing Lady’s pedigree, prepares a romantic meal of spaghetti and meatballs. While enjoying their dinner, Lady and Tramp unintentionally begin eating opposite ends of the same piece of pasta, realizing only after their lips meet in an impromptu kiss. Later, they walk through the park in the moonlight and sleep in the open air. In the morning, Lady wants to rush home, but Tramp urges her to see the world with him. When Lady reluctantly insists that she must watch the baby, Tramp leads her home, but along the way convinces her to stop to chase some chickens. As a result, they are shot at by a farmer and, upon escaping into the street, Lady is captured by the dogcatchers. She is brought to the pound, where the other inmates admire her license, calling it “a passage to freedom.” They are planning a prison break, hoping to avoid the fate of Nutsy, who is being put to sleep. Later, as the dogs discuss Tramp’s womanizing, Peg states that if he were tamed by a woman, he would instantly become vulnerable to the dogcatcher. Aunt Sarah soon brings Lady home but ties her up in the doghouse outside. The next day, Tramp shows up just as Jock and Trusty are each proposing to Lady in order to furnish her with a kinder family. Lady turns her back on Tramp, more angry about his long list of girl friends than about her time in the pound. As Tramp retreats, Lady spots a rat scurrying through the yard and tries to attack it. Aunt Sarah hears her barking and opens the nursery window, inadvertently letting the rat inside. Tramp returns to help, rushing into the nursery, where he topples the cradle while killing the rat behind the window drape. Lady manages to break free and rushes upstairs to check on the baby, who is unharmed. Aunt Sarah, however, rushes in and disturbs the baby, then blames his crying on the dogs. She locks up Lady and calls the dogcatcher to impound Tramp. Just as Tramp is loaded into the wagon, Jim Dear and Darling return and free Lady, who shows them the body of the rat. Realizing that Tramp was protecting the baby, they take Lady in the car and follow the dogcatchers. At the same time, Jock and Trusty comprehend that they have misjudged Tramp and set off to stop the wagon, and even though Trusty long ago lost his sense of smell, he regains it now. He heroically tracks the wagon and knocks it over just as Lady arrives, but her joy in rescuing Tramp is tempered by seeing Trusty pinned under the wagon’s wheel. Months later, Lady and Tramp are not only married but the proud parents of four puppies. They, along with Jim Dear and Darling and the baby, are thrilled to receive a visit from Jock and Trusty, who is now sporting a leg cast.
Production Company: Nancy Enterprises, Hal Wallis Productions , Paramount Pictures Corp.
Composer: Neal Hefti
After spending their entire 6-day honeymoon in a suite at New York's Plaza Hotel, Corie and Paul Bratter move into their Greenwich Village apartment. For the optimistic Corie, the whole adventure of making a home is pure enchantment; but Paul, a conservative lawyer, is dismayed by the inconvenience and general drabness. Their upstairs neighbor, Victor Velasco, is a self-admitted rake accustomed to using their bedroom window to reach his own quarters because he has been evicted by the landlord. Corie is fascinated by Victor's continental manner, and she decides that he would be the perfect companion for her widowed mother. When they all go to an Albanian restaurant on Staten Island, Corie's mother, Mrs. Banks, drinks and eats everything that is bad for her ulcer, falls down a flight of stairs, and ends up spending the night at Victor's. The evening also precipitates a quarrel between Corie and Paul, and Corie demands a divorce. Paul goes on a binge, gives his topcoat to a tramp in Washington Square, and starts running barefoot in the 30-degree weather to Central Park. After a talk with her mother, who admits to a pleasant but harmless evening with Victor, Corie realizes that marriage should be more than a lark. Repentant, she goes to find Paul and bring him home; but, drunkenly determined to live up to Corie's idea of fun, he crawls out on the roof through their skylight and teeters on the ledge. Corie climbs after him and assures him that she does not want him to change. A crowd of sidewalk spectators, including Mrs. Banks and Victor, break into spontaneous applause as the newlyweds reconcile.
Cast: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing
Directors: Randal Kleiser
Producer: Robert Stigwood, Allan Carr
Writer: Bronté Woodard, Allan Carr
Editor: John F. Burnett
Cinematographer: Bill Butler
Genre: Musical comedy
Production Company: Allan Carr Enterprises, Inc., Stigwood Group, Ltd.
Composer: Charles Fox
As teenagers Danny and Sandy frolic on the beach, Sandy laments that they may not see each other again when the summer holiday ends and she returns to Australia, but Danny insists that their romance is just beginning. Sometime later, on the first day back to class at Rydell High School, Danny brags about his beach lover to his friends in the “T-Bird” gang of boys, also known as “greasers.” However, Danny is unaware that Sandy has not gone back to Australia, after all, and he does not see her as she arrives for her first day of class at Rydell. Meanwhile, a group of tough girls called the “Pink Ladies” rejoice at their newfound authority as high school seniors. At lunch, Sandy’s friend, Frenchy, introduces Sandy to the Pink Ladies: Rizzo, Jan, and Marty. Sandy describes her virtuous summer romance to the girls while Danny, on the other side of campus, recounts his lusty conquest to the greasers. When Sandy reveals the name of her suitor, the girls giggle and Rizzo, who once dated Danny, declares that Sandy may discover her “Prince Charming” where she least expects him. Later, at a pep rally for Rydell’s failing football team, Sandy performs with the cheerleading squad and flirts with football player Tom Chisum. Meanwhile, T-Bird greasers Doody, Sonny, and Putzie inspect a jalopy that the gang’s leader, Kenickie, purchased with earnings from his summer job. Kenickie insists that with a little work, the car will be a perfect place to seduce young women. The Pink Ladies plot a surprise reunion between Sandy and Danny, then lead their Australian friend to Kenickie’s car. Although the couple is initially delighted to reconnect, Danny realizes that his friends disapprove of his chivalrous banter and assumes a disaffected tone to shrug her off. Confused and hurt, Sandy calls Danny a “fake” and runs away in tears. Frenchy consoles Sandy by inviting her to a Pink Lady slumber party. There, Sandy tries in vain to smoke cigarettes, drink wine, and have her ears pierced to fit in with the girls, but the girls mock Sandy’s prudery. Frenchy announces that she is dropping out of Rydell to attend beauty school. When the T-Birds arrive in search of Sandy, Rizzo climbs out the window and seduces Kenickie. Frustrated by breaking with Sandy, Danny storms away as Kenickie and Rizzo drive off in the jalopy. Back at the slumber party, Sandy mourns the loss of Danny and reflects that she is “hopelessly devoted” to him. Meanwhile, at a lovers’ lookout, Kenickie realizes the condom he bought in 7th grade is broken and Rizzo, in the heat of passion, decides to make love anyway. The couple is interrupted by Leo, the leader of the Scorpions, a rival gang, and his girl friend, Cha Cha, who back into the jalopy and leave another dent. Back at Rydell, the T-Birds convene at shop class with Kenickie’s car and Danny tells his friends how they can transform the vehicle into “greased lightning.” Sometime later at Frosty Palace, a local diner, Danny is upset at seeing Sandy sharing an ice cream sundae with Tom Chisum, the football player. When Sandy goes to the jukebox, Danny apologizes for his behavior and makes fun of Tom, but Sandy accuses him of jealousy and criticizes his poor athleticism. Back at Rydell, Danny seeks physical education from Coach Calhoun, but the boy is unable to conform to game rules and, as a last resort, Calhoun puts Danny on the track team. Sometime later, Sandy sees Danny trip over a track hurdle and consoles him; the couple rekindles their romance and plan to go to the upcoming dance contest. On a date at Frosty Palace, Danny is eager to conceal their relationship but the T-Birds and Pink Ladies congregate at their table. As Rizzo and Kenickie fight, the diner closes and the friends disperse. Lingering behind, Frenchy confesses to Vi, the waitress, that she dropped out of beauty school. She fantasizes about a teen angel, who encourages her to go back to Rydell. Later, at school, Rizzo makes Kenickie jealous by seducing his rival, Leo, and then arriving at the nationally televised dance contest as Leo’s date. In response, Kenickie partners with Leo’s girl friend and Danny’s former lover, Cha Cha. After Principal McGee and Coach Calhoun explain the rules of the contest, National Bandstand host Vince Fontaine launches the dance-off and begins eliminating contestants. With Sandy and Danny in the lead, Cha Cha breaks into their routine. Sandy runs away in tears as Danny and Cha Cha are declared champions and sway to “Blue Moon.” Sandy and Danny later reunite at a drive-in movie theater, even though she is still upset about Cha Cha. Her mood improves when Danny gives her a ring to symbolize his loyalty. Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Rizzo tells Pink Lady Marty that she might be pregnant and the rumor spreads throughout the drive-in. Kenickie assumes he is responsible, so he offers to help Rizzo, but she claims the baby belongs to another boy and Kenickie is hurt by her infidelity. In Danny’s car, Sandy is dismayed by his attempts to kiss her and runs away after tossing his ring into the car. Danny laments their split and hopes they will one day stay together forever. Sometime later, shop class teacher Mrs. Murdock admires Kenickie’s refurbished car and wishes the T-Bird boys well in their race against Leo and the Scorpions at Thunder Road. In a dry concrete riverbed, Leo announces that the winner of the race will be awarded ownership of their rival’s vehicle. When Kenickie is momentarily knocked unconscious by the car door, Danny takes over as driver. Sandy watches from afar as Danny wins the race and is celebrated as a hero. She wishes to fit into Danny’s crowd and asks Frenchy to help her transform her uptight image. At a carnival on the last day of school, Rizzo tells Kenickie that she is not pregnant after all, and they make up. Danny arrives in a letterman sweater that he earned on the track team, hoping his new look will impress Sandy. He tells the T-Birds that he will stop at nothing to win Sandy back. Just then, Sandy shows up in a skin tight, black ensemble. Electrified by Sandy’s new appearance, Danny peels off his sweater and falls at her feet, where she stamps out her cigarette and warns him that he “better shape up.” The T-Birds and Pink Ladies worry they might not remain friends after graduation, but Danny insists they will always be together.
Cast: Charles Laughton, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Thomas Mitchell
Directors: William Dieterle
Producer: Pandro S. Berman
Writer: Sonya Levien, Bruno Frank
Editor: William Hamilton, Robert Wise
Cinematographer: Joseph H. August
Genre: Drama
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Ignorance, cruelty and superstition pervade France of the fifteenth century. Frollo, the King's high justice, exploits these evils, persecuting the gypsies and opposing any mode of progress. When the lovely gypsy dancer Esmeralda is threatened by the King's men, she seeks refuge in a church, Notre Dame, where she meets the grotesque hunchback Quasimodo. Frollo, who is Quasimodo's guardian, orders the hunchback to take the girl captive, and Esmeralda, terrified, escapes to the underworld of Clopin and his beggars. There, she saves the life of the poet Gringoire by consenting to take him as her husband, although she truly loves the soldier Phoebus. Frollo lusts after Esmeralda, however, and, unable to tolerate her love for Phoebus, kills his rival. Esmeralda is arrested for the crime, and Frollo, claiming that the girl had bewitched him with the power of Satan, demands her life. As Esmeralda is marched to die on the gallows, Quasimodo leaps from the building above and carries her to the sanctuary of the church. Not to be denied Esmeralda's life, Frollo incites the nobles to deny sanctuary, and the beggars, concerned for the girl's safety, storm the church. Amid the chaos, Frollo enters the church. Justice is finally served as Quasimodo hurls Frollo to his death from the bell tower.
Production Company: Universal-International Pictures Co., Inc., Arwin Productions, Inc.
Composer: Frank De Vol
In New York City, interior decorator Jan Morrow shares a party phone line with songwriter Brad Allen, who continually ties up the line singing the same love song, “Inspiration,” to his many girl friends. When Jan’s complaints yield only disdain from Brad, she reports to the phone company that Brad is a sex maniac, prompting the manager to launch an investigation. The researcher, however, is a single female who is so immediately entranced by the handsome womanizer that she waives the complaint. Meanwhile, Jan refuses a gift of a convertible automobile from her wealthy client and would-be suitor, Jonathan Forbes. The next morning, Brad calls Jan and insinuates that it is her inactive sex life that causes her to hound him, after which she icily suggests a time-share arrangement under which they each use the phone for half of every hour. Alma, Jan’s drunkard maid, has been listening in, and now confirms Brad’s view that Jan needs a more active sex life. Jan, however, considers all her paramours lacking, including Jonathan. When he later proposes, she explains that he fails to make her “hit the moon” with passion. A frustrated Jonathan grumbles about Jan to Brad, who is an old friend and the writer whom Jonathan has hired to write a musical play. When Brad, who has never seen his party-line partner, recognizes her name, he is fascinated by Jonathan’s description of her many assets. Although he scoffs at Jonathan’s advice to curtail his playboy lifestyle in favor of marriage, Brad later calls Jan to apologize for his earlier behavior, growing even more intrigued when she remains impervious to his charms. That night, Jan attends a party hosted by her rich client, Mrs. Walters, whose college-age son Tony offers to drive Jan home. Once on the road, Tony attacks Jan with youthful fervor, forcing her to agree to accompany him to a club, where, unknown to her, she sits next to Brad and his date, Maria. After overhearing Jan’s name, Brad notes her lovely figure and schemes to seduce her, and knowing that she would never speak to him, devises a new identity: Rex Stetson, chivalrous Texas rancher. “Rex” soon enchants Jan, who is instantly attracted to the tall, apparently guileless country man. While she muses on his trustworthy appeal, he silently deduces that it will take him only five dates to sleep with her. Later that night, Brad hatches a plan to further endear Rex to Jan by calling and pretending to be first Rex and then Brad, interrupting to warn Jan that he has heard Rex on the line and considers him a rake. Jan sneers at Brad’s assumption but the next night, when Rex brings her to his hotel room, she is on guard. He merely retrieves his coat, however, causing her to beg his forgiveness for her untoward suspicions. They then take a hansom cab though the park, during which Brad’s handling of the horses delights Jan but horrifies the driver. At dinner, Brad spots Jonathan near the entrance and deters him from coming over to their table by tricking him into thinking he has an unattractive date. Brad and Jan spend the next few days together, enjoying each other so much that she agrees to break a date with Jonathan for him. Jonathan guesses correctly that Jan is in love with someone else, and although he wishes her luck, he hires a private investigator to look into his competition. Later, Brad avoids running into Jan in Jonathan’s hallway by stepping into an obstetrician’s office, where he startles Nurse Resnick and Dr. Maxwell by asking for an examination. Soon after, Jonathan’s investigator provides photos of “Rex” that compel Jonathan to confront Brad. He tails Brad and Jan to a club, where he clandestinely warns Brad to leave Jan and spend the next weeks secluded in Jonathan’s Connecticut home. Brad appears to be remorseful and conpliant but secretly asks Jan to accompany him to the country, where the couple enjoys a romantic rendezvous by the fire. Jan is eager to make love with Rex, but at one point discovers some sheet music and, upon playing it, recognizes the song as “Inspiration.” Realizing his ruse has been uncovered, Brad tries to proclaim his love to Jan, but just then Jonathan arrives and Jan flees with him to the city. Despite Jonathan’s desire to woo Jan, her constant sobbing on the ride home unnerves him. They stop at a diner, and after he slaps her to help her gain her composure, the appalled patrons assume he is a cad and knock him out. Three days later, a distraught Brad begs Jonathan to help him win back Jan, but when she visits Jonathan’s office and spots Brad, she dashes away. He follows her into the ladies’ room, managing once again to arouse the interest of Dr. Maxwell, who hopes Brad may prove to be the world's first pregnant man. Desperate, Brad turns to Alma, who calls herself “a devoted listener” to his phone calls and accepts his offer to go to a bar and discuss his situation with Jan. The next morning, a brutally hungover Brad recalls Alma’s advice to hire Jan to decorate his apartment, and schemes with Jan’s boss to manipulate her into accepting the job. Jan spends the next few days converting the apartment into a nauseating bachelor pad, complete with animal prints, hanging beads and a harem decor. When Brad sees it, he is infuriated and storms into Jan’s apartment, dragging her from her bed in her pajamas and carrying her to his apartment. Brad's brash behavior inspires Jan’s elevator operator to flirt with Alma. At Brad’s apartment, he launches into an angry tirade, of which Jan registers only that he wants to marry her. When he tries to stomp out, she flicks one of the switches she has installed, which locks the door from the inside. Finally understanding that she loves him, Brad sweeps Jan into his arms. Three months later, Brad returns to Jonathan’s building to announce Jan’s pregnancy, but is stopped by Nurse Resnick and Dr. Maxwell, who by intrigued at the scientific implications of Brad’s declaration that he is having a baby.
Cast: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Renée Zellweger
Directors: Cameron Crowe
Producer: James L. Brooks, Cameron Crowe, Richard Sakai, Laurence Mark
Writer: Cameron Crowe
Editor: Joe Hutshing
Cinematographer: Janusz Kaminski
Genre: Comedy-drama, Romance
Production Company: TriStar Pictures
Composer: Nancy Wilson
In Southern California, thirty-five-year-old Jerry Maguire experiences a moral crisis over the greed and dishonesty that drive his industry, sports management. He writes a lengthy mission statement, charting out a new path for himself and other agents at his firm, Sports Management International (SMI). The manifesto goes over poorly, and Jerry learns of his firing from Bob Sugar, his protégé at the firm. When they hear that Jerry is leaving SMI, all but one of his clients choose to stay at the firm. Jerry retains only Rod Tidwell, a wide receiver for the National Football League’s (NFL) Arizona Cardinals, who is looking for a new $10-million contract. On his way out of the office, Jerry announces to the SMI staff that he will launch his own firm and invites others to join him. An idealistic assistant named Dorothy Boyd takes him up on the offer. Jerry tries to win back his most high-profile client, quarterback Frank “Cush” Cushman, by visiting the young player at home. Although Cushman initially agrees to go with Jerry, he is swayed by his father to sign with Bob Sugar, instead. With his personal life also in upheaval, Jerry ends his engagement to Avery Bishop. He begins spending time outside work with Dorothy, a single mother, and her son Ray, and the two begin a romantic relationship. As Jerry struggles to establish his new business, Dorothy considers a more secure job offer that would move her to San Diego, California. Jerry urges her to stay with him and spontaneously proposes marriage. The two are wed in Dorothy’s backyard. Jerry devotes himself to landing Rod Tidwell a better contract. Tensions rise between the two as Rod demands more effort from Jerry in his deal-making, and Jerry accuses Rod of playing without heart. Jerry and Dorothy fail to connect in their new marriage, and she suggests that they separate. Jerry travels to Arizona for a pivotal “Monday Night Football” game that stands to advance the Cardinals to the NFL playoffs. Rod is injured after making the game-winning touchdown. As he lies unconscious, Jerry rushes onto the field, phoning Rod’s wife, Marcee, in the process. The crowd rejoices when Rod finally regains consciousness and picks himself up without the help of a trainer. Other athletes look on admiringly as Rod and Jerry embrace after the game; their close personal relationship proves that Jerry has become the kind of agent described in his mission statement. Jerry returns home to Dorothy and wins her back with a speech, which he ends by saying, “You complete me.” With his marriage saved, he goes on to broker an $11.2-million renewal contract between Rod and the Arizona Cardinals, which Rod learns about during a live television interview. Afterward, Jerry notices Ray’s natural ability to throw a baseball and is excited by the young boy’s potential.
1. Casablanca (1942)
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
Directors: Michael Curtiz
Producer: Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis
Writer: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch
Editor: Owen Marks
Cinematographer: Arthur Edeson
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
2. Gone with the Wind (1939)
Cast: Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil, Vivien Leigh
Directors: Victor Fleming, Sam Wood, George Cukor, Chester Franklin, James Fitzpatrick
Producer: David O. Selznick
Writer: Sidney Howard, Barbara Keon, Lydia Schiller, Connie Earl
Cinematographer: Ernest Haller, Lee Garmes
Production Company: Selznick International Pictures, Inc.
3. West Side Story (1961)
Cast: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn
Directors: Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins
Producer: Robert Wise
Writer: Ernest Lehman
Editor: Thomas Stanford
Cinematographer: Daniel L. Fapp
Production Company: Beta Productions, The Mirisch Company, Inc., Seven Arts Productions, Inc., B & P Enterprises, Inc.
4. Roman Holiday (1953)
Cast: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert
Directors: William Wyler
Producer: William Wyler
Writer: Ian McLellan Hunter, John Dighton, Dalton Trumbo, Ian McLellan Hunter, Dalton Trumbo
Editor: Robert Swink
Cinematographer: Frank F. Planer, Henri Alekan
Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp.
5. An Affair to Remember (1957)
Cast: Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Richard Denning
Directors: Leo McCarey
Producer: Jerry Wald
Writer: Delmer Daves, Leo McCarey, Donald Ogden Stewart
Editor: James B. Clark
Cinematographer: Milton Krasner
Production Company: Jerry Wald Productions, Inc.
6. The Way We Were (1973)
Cast: Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Bradford Dillman
Directors: Sydney Pollack
Producer: Ray Stark
Writer: Arthur Laurents
Editor: John F. Burnett
Cinematographer: Harry Stradling, Jr.
Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Rastar Productions, Inc.
7. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Cast: Geraldine Chaplin, Julie Christie, Tom Courtenay
Directors: David Lean
Producer: Carlo Ponti, Arvid L. Griffen
Writer: Robert Bolt
Editor: Norman Savage
Cinematographer: Freddie Young
Production Company: Carlo Ponti Productions
8. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Cast: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
Directors: Frank Capra
Producer: Frank Capra
Writer: Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra
Editor: William Hornbeck
Cinematographer: Joseph Walker, Joseph Biroc, Victor Milner
Production Company: Liberty Films, Inc.
9. Love Story (1970)
Cast: Ali MacGraw, Ryan O'Neal, John Marley
Directors: Arthur Hiller
Producer: Howard G. Minsky, David Golden
Writer: Erich Segal
Editor: Robert C. Jones
Cinematographer: Dick Kratina
Production Company: Love Story Co.
10. City Lights (1931)
Cast: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee
Directors: Charles Chaplin
Writer: Charles Chaplin
Editor: Charles Chaplin
Cinematographer: Rollie Totheroh, Gordon Pollock, Mark Marklatt
Production Company: Charles Chaplin Productions
11. Annie Hall (1977)
Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts
Directors: Woody Allen
Producer: Charles H. Joffe, Robert Greenhut
Writer: Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman
Editor: Ralph Rosenblum , A.C.E., Wendy Greene Bricmont
Cinematographer: Gordon Willis , A.S.C.
Production Company: United Artists Corp.
12. My Fair Lady (1964)
Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway
Directors: George Cukor
Producer: Jack L. Warner
Writer: Alan Jay Lerner
Editor: William Ziegler
Cinematographer: Harry Stradling
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
13. Out of Africa (1985)
Cast: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer
Directors: Sydney Pollack
Producer: Sydney Pollack, Kim Jorgensen
Writer: Kurt Luedtke
Editor: Fredric Steinkamp, William Steinkamp, Pembroke Herring, Sheldon Kahn
Cinematographer: David Watkin
Production Company: Universal Pictures , Mirage Enterprises
14. The African Queen (1951)
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley
Directors: John Huston
Producer: S. P. Eagle
Writer: Peter Viertel, John Collier
Editor: Ralph Kemplen
Cinematographer: Jack Cardiff
Production Company: Horizon Enterprises, Inc., Romulus Films, Ltd.
15. Wuthering Heights (1939)
Cast: Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven
Directors: William Wyler
Producer: Samuel Goldwyn
Writer: Charles MacArthur, Ben Hecht
Editor: Daniel Mandell
Cinematographer: Gregg Toland
Production Company: Samuel Goldwyn, Inc.
16. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds
Directors: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen
Producer: Arthur Freed
Writer: Adolph Green, Betty Comden
Editor: Adrienne Fazan
Cinematographer: Harold Rosson
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
17. Moonstruck (1987)
Cast: Cher, Nicolas Cage, Vincent Gardenia
Directors: Norman Jewison
Producer: Patrick Palmer, Norman Jewison
Writer: John Patrick Shanley
Editor: Lou Lombardo
Cinematographer: David Watkin
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., Star Partners, Ltd.
18. Vertigo (1958)
Cast: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes
Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Alec Coppel, Samuel Taylor
Editor: George Tomasini
Cinematographer: Robert Burks
Production Company: Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp.
