All Babies of Our Nations Are Alike Until Adults Change Them, Maureen Applegate All Babies Are Alike
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Seventy-year-old newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane dies in his palatial Florida home, Xanadu, after uttering the single word "Rosebud." While watching a newsreel summarizing the years during which Kane built a dying newspaper into a major empire, married and divorced twice, ran unsuccessfully for governor and saw the collapse of his newspaper empire during the Depression, an editor decides they have not captured the essence of the controversial newspaperman and assigns reporter Jerry Thompson to discover the meaning of Kane's last word.
Thompson first approaches Kane's second wife, singer Susan Alexander, in the Atlantic City nightclub where she now performs. After the drunken Susan orders Thompson to leave, the accommodating bartender reports her claim that she had never heard of Rosebud. Next, Thompson reads the unpublished memoirs of Wall Street financier Walter Parks Thatcher, Kane's guardian and trustee of the mining fortune left to Kane by his mother: Thatcher first meets young Kane in 1871 at his mother's Colorado boardinghouse. Learning that she has become wealthy from mining shares left her by a former boarder, she is determined that her son will be reared and educated in the East. As young Charlie plays outside with his sled, Mrs. Kane hands over management of the mine's returns to Thatcher, against her husband's wishes, then grants the financier guardianship over her son. Despite the boy's protests, he is sent away to live with Thatcher. When Kane turns twenty-five, he assumes control of the world's sixth largest private fortune, and while professing disinterest in most of his holdings, writes Thatcher that he intends to run The Inquirer, a small, New York newspaper acquired through a foreclosure. He moves into the paper's offices and with the help of his best friend, Jedidiah Leland, who acts as the drama critic, turns it into a lively, muckraking publication, which attacks slum landlords, swindlers and big business. In 1898, The Inquirer attempts to draw the United States into war with Spain. After the 1929 stock market crash, Kane relinquishes control of his empire to Thatcher's syndicate. Thompson finishes his reading of Thatcher's memoir without learning anything about Rosebud.
Thompson next questions Bernstein, formerly Kane's general editor and now chairman of the board. Bernstein describes the early days of Kane's tenure at The Inquirer: After Kane and Leland take over the publication in 1892, Kane prints a declaration of principles--that he will report the news honestly and will make the paper a champion of his readers' rights as citizens and as human beings. Leland senses the document's importance and keeps the handwritten declaration as a memorial. Six years later, when Kane acquires the top reporters from the rival paper, whose circulation The Inquirer has surpassed, Leland worries that Kane's approach to the news will also resemble his rival's. During this period, Kane begins to collect the European statues and furniture that will later crowd the rooms of Xanadu. On one European trip, Kane meets and becomes engaged to Emily Monroe Norton, the President's niece, whom he marries in 1900. After relating these events, Bernstein suggests that Rosebud was probably something that Kane lost, perhaps a woman.
Taking Bernstein's advice, Thompson visits Leland, a self-described "disagreeable old man," in the hospital where he is living out his old age. Leland claims Kane believed in nothing except himself, but suggests that Kane's story is about how he lost love because he had none to give: As Kane's empire expands, his marriage to Emily deteriorates. One night in 1915, Kane encounters Susan as she is leaving a pharmacy after purchasing a toothache remedy. Susan innocently offers to let Kane, who has been spattered by mud from a passing carriage, use her apartment to clean up. Kane is at ease with Susan, who has no idea of his importance, and when he learns that her mother wanted her to become an opera singer, requests that she sing for him. In 1916, Kane runs for governor against corrupt political boss Jim Gettys. After a successful campaign speech, Emily sends their son home alone and asks Kane to accompany her to Susan's boardinghouse, where they find Gettys with Susan. Gettys admits that he forced Susan to contact Emily and tells Kane that he will reveal their relationship unless he withdraws from the campaign. Despite the hurt that scandal will bring to his family and Susan, Kane refuses, convinced that he has the love of the electorate. He is mistaken, however, and loses the race. Leland accuses Kane of treating "the people" as if he owned them and asks to be transferred to The Inquirer's Chicago branch. After Emily divorces him, Kane marries Susan and in 1919, builds the Chicago Opera House for her. Susan's voice is very poor, however, and her debut is met with ridicule, except by The Inquirer critics. When Kane finds Leland slumped over his typewriter in a drunken stupor after beginning an unfavorable review of Susan's performance, he finishes the notice himself, retaining the negative viewpoint, but then fires his old friend.
Thompson now returns to Atlantic City to question Susan again. She insists that it was Kane's idea that she have an operatic career and describes their tempestuous life together: During a noisy quarrel with Susan, Kane receives a special delivery from Leland, returning the $25,000 check Kane sent after firing him and including the handwritten copy of the declaration of principles, which Kane burns. When Susan begs to quit, Kane insists that he will be humiliated if she leaves the stage, and forces her to continue singing until she attempts suicide. Later, they retire to Xanadu, where a bored Susan spends her days working jigsaw puzzles. Finally fed up with his overbearing attempts to orchestrate her life, Susan reproaches Kane for trying to buy her affections with jewels and other material things. He slaps her in anger, and she leaves him. Her story finished, Susan sends Thompson to talk to Raymond, the butler at Xanadu. Thompson confesses to Susan that he feels sorry for Kane, and Susan admits that she does, too.
At Xanadu, Raymond agrees to speak with Thompson for a price, then relates the events following Susan's departure: The furious Kane tears apart Susan's room, until he comes across a small glass snow globe with a tiny cabin inside. Kane picks it up, murmurs "Rosebud" and leaves the room, seemingly unaware of the servants who surround him. Still as ignorant of the significance of Kane's dying word as when he started, Thompson prepares to leave Xanadu with the other reporters and photographers. Passing through rooms where Kane's possessions are being inventoried and crated, Thompson is now convinced that even if he had learned the meaning of Rosebud, it would not have explained the man. Unnoticed among the boxes and crates is an old child's sled. As a workman throws the sled into a furnace, the word Rosebud, painted across the top, is consumed by the flames.
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."
In August 1945, during the lavish wedding reception of his daughter Connie, Don Vito Corleone, head of a large New York crime family and "godfather" to the Italian-American community, listens to requests for favors, honoring a long-standing Sicilian tradition that a father cannot refuse a request on his daughter's wedding day. While FBI agents jot down license plate numbers of the guests, and hundreds of celebrants dance, eat and gossip in the Corleone family's Long Beach compound, Don Vito, assisted by his foster son and consigliere, Tom Hagen, listens to a plea by the undertaker Bonasera, who seeks justice for two American boys who mercilessly beat his daughter. After mildly chastising Bonasera for refusing his friendship in the past, Don Vito agrees to help in exchange for some future service. Next, Don Vito greets the amiable baker Nazorine, who seeks help in preventing the deportation of Enzo, a young apprentice baker who wants to marry Nazorine's daughter. Outside, as the family welcomes guests such as crime boss Don Emilio Barzini and Don Vito's godson, popular singer Johnny Fontane, Michael Corleone arrives at his sister's wedding with his American girl friend, Kay Adams. Michael, college educated and a decorated soldier during World War II, relates stories about Luca Brasi, a large, violent man who is unquestioningly loyal to Don Vito, but tells her "It's my family, Kay, not me." In Don Vito's study, the final supplicant is Johnny, who cries that powerful studio head Jack Woltz refuses to give him an important part in a new war movie, even though it would be a perfect, career-saving role for him. After slapping Johnny like a child and admonishing him to be a man instead of a "Hollywood finocchio," Don Vito comforts him and promises to help. Just before his father-daughter dance with Connie, Don Vito talks with his son Santino, nicknamed Sonny, and Tom, telling them that Connie's new husband, Carlo Rizzi, may have a job, but should never be privy to the family's business. Don Vito also instructs Tom to fly to Los Angeles to speak with Woltz. At Woltz's studio, when Tom politely suggests that Johnny be cast in the war film, Woltz angrily dismisses him with curses and ethnic slurs. However, after Woltz has learned that Tom is representing the Corleone family, he invites Tom to his lavish estate and apologizes for his earlier rudeness. When the men sit down to dinner after Woltz has shown Tom his beloved race horse, Khartoum, Tom again asks for the part to be given to Johnny, prompting Woltz to erupt in a rage, shouting that Johnny "ruined" a young starlet with whom Woltz had been having an affair, thus making him appear ridiculous. One morning a short time later, Woltz discovers the severed, bloody head of Khartoum in his bed, prompting him to scream in terror. Back in New York, Don Vito is approached by Sollozzo "The Turk," a ruthless, Sicilian-born gangster who owns poppy fields in Turkey. Sollozzo, who has the backing of the rival Tattaglia family, proposes that the Corleones finance his drug operations. Although Tom and Sonny have argued that narcotics are the way of the future, and Sonny tries to say so in the meeting, Don Vito refuses to risk losing his political influence by embracing the drug traffic and declines Sollozzo's offer. Later, Don Vito privately asks Luca to let it be known to the Tattaglias that Luca might be interested in leaving the Corleones. Just before Christmas, when Luca meets with Sollozzo and one of the Tattaglias, he is caught off guard, stabbed through the hand and strangled. That same evening, Fredo, Don Vito's meek, oldest son, tells him that their driver, Paulie Gatto, has called in sick. Before entering his car, Don Vito decides to buy some fruit from a vendor and is shot several times by assailants who flee before Fredo can react. Tom is kidnapped by Sollozzo that night, and later, as Michael and Kay leave the Radio City Music Hall, Kay notices a newspaper headline announcing that Don Vito has been killed. Stunned, Michael immediately calls Sonny, who relates that their father is barely alive in the hospital and insists that Michael return to the safety of the family's Long Beach compound. Late that night, Tom is released by Sollozzo, who is infuriated that Don Vito has survived the attack, and warns Tom that he and Sonny must make the narcotics deal with him and the Tattaglias. At the compound, Sonny and Tom try to insulate Michael from their discussions about the family business, knowing that Don Vito had wanted him to have a different kind of life. While arguing over whether or not to take Sollozzo's deal, they receive a package of a dead fish, a Sicilian symbol that Luca "sleeps with the fishes." Now the hot-headed Sonny insists that there will be a war between the Corleones and the Tattaglias. Sonny tells Clemenza, one of his father's lieutenants, to buy mattresses and other supplies to house their men in a safe place during the war and instructs Clemenza to kill Paulie for his part in Don Vito's ambush. A few days later, frustrated by his enforced idleness, Michael goes into New York City to have dinner with Kay. After telling her that she should go home to New Hampshire, but not saying when they will see each other again, Michael goes to visit his father. When he finds the hospital floor deserted and Don Vito's room unguarded, Michael checks to make certain that his father is alive, then calls Sonny to relate what has happened. After moving Don Vito's bed with the help of a nurse, Michael whispers in his ear, "Pop, I'm with you now." Moments later, when the baker Enzo innocently arrives to pay his respects, Michael advises him to leave because there will be trouble, but Enzo enthusiastically offers to help. Michael and Enzo then wait on the steps of the hospital. Because of their menacing appearance, when a car stops, the thugs inside see what they think are Don Vito's guards and drive off. Just then, several police cars appear, and the abusive Capt. McCluskey starts yelling at Michael for interfering, then brutally punches him in the face before Sonny, Tom and their men arrive. The next day, Sonny argues that they must hit back at Sollozzo, even though the corrupt McCluskey is his protector. Because Sollozzo is now asking for a meeting with Michael, who is regarded as a "civilian," Michael volunteers to kill both Sollozzo and McCluskey. A bemused Sonny does not want Michael involved, and Tom argues that this is business, not personal, but Michael insists that to him it is business. When Sonny learns from a police informant that the meeting will be held at Louis, an Italian restaurant in the Bronx, Clemenza arranges for a gun to be planted in the men's room, then teaches Michael how to kill at close range. At the restaurant, Sollozzo offers a truce to Michael if the family agrees to his terms. After excusing himself to go to the men's room, Michael retrieves the gun from behind the toilet, walks to the table and shoots both McCluskey and Sollozzo in the head, then coolly walks out to a waiting car. To avoid being the victim of a revenge killing by the Tattaglias, Michael is forced to leave for Sicily for an extended period without saying goodbye to Kay. When Don Vito, who is now recuperating at home, hears that Michael killed Sollozzo and McCluskey, he weeps over Michael's involvement. While Michael is in Sicily, a wave of violence envelopes the Corleones, the Tattaglias and the other members of the five New York crime families. At the same time, Michael falls in love at first sight with a beautiful Sicilian girl, Apollonia, and soon marries her. Some time later, when a pregnant Connie hysterically calls home and tells Sonny that Carlo has beaten her, Sonny, who had previously warned Carlo never again to hit his sister, impulsively races away from the compound without waiting for his bodyguards. When he stops to pay a toll on the deserted highway, he is ambushed by several henchmen who riddle his body with bullets before speeding away. That night, after Tom reveals Sonny's death to his father, Don Vito says that the killing must now end and orders no more acts of vengeance. Later, he accompanies his son's body to Bonasera's, where he tearfully asks the undertaker to repay his debt by making Sonny presentable to his mother. Shortly thereafter, Don Tommasino, Michael's protector in Sicily, tells him of Sonny's death and says that he and Apollonia must leave for their own safety. As they are about to leave, Apollonia decides to surprise Michael by driving his car. Moments after Michael sees one of his bodyguards, Fabrizio, suspiciously run away, Apollonia dies when the car explodes. In New York, Don Vito has called a meeting of representatives of the five crime families of New York and New Jersey, asking for peace. After arguments on both sides, the families reach a peace accord and agree to enter the narcotics trade. As they are driving home from the meeting, Don Vito tells Tom he finally realized at the meeting that Barzini has always been behind the Tattaglias and was responsible for everything. Some time later, Michael goes to New Hampshire, where Kay has been teaching. Although he has been home for more than a year and not contacted her, he tells her that he loves her and asks her to marry him. She is reluctant, and does not understand why Michael now works for his father, but agrees because of her feelings for him and because he assures her that within five years, the Corleone family business will be completely legitimate. Soon Michael becomes the tacit head of the family as Don Vito semi-retires. Michael plans to sell the family's olive oil business, which had been a legitimate cover for their gambling and prostitution operations, and become the sole owner of a Las Vegas casino. He sends Carlo to Las Vegas, as well as Tom, privately telling the disappointed Tom that there will be trouble at home and Tom is not a "wartime consigliere." Weeks later, on a business trip to Las Vegas, Michael is annoyed that Fredo, who was sent to Las Vegas several years before, has let himself become subservient to Moe Greene, their partner in the casino. When Greene angrily refuses to sell his interest in the casino, Fredo sides with Greene, prompting Michael to warn him never again to side with someone outside the family. One afternoon, Don Vito warns Michael about Barzini and predicts that the person who suggests a meeting with Barzini will be a traitor setting Michael up to be killed. That same afternoon, while Don Vito plays with Anthony, Michael and Kay's three-year-old son, he has a fatal heart attack in his vegetable garden. At Don Vito's funeral, Salvatore Tessio, another Corleone family lieutenant, tells Michael that Barzini would like a meeting. Tom is surprised that Sal, rather than Clemenza, is the traitor, but Michael realizes that, for an ambitious man like Sal, it is the smart move. He then reveals that the meeting will be held after the baptism of Carlo and Connie's baby, also named Michael, for whom he has agreed to be godfather. While the baptismal ceremony takes place, Barzini, Tattaglia and several other Corleone enemies are gunned down in New York and Greene is killed in Las Vegas. At the compound, Tom confronts Sal, who says to tell Michael that it was only business, and resigns himself to his fate. That afternoon, Michael confronts Carlo, promising him leniency if he will just confess that he set Sonny up to be murdered. Though terrified, Carlo believes Michael and reveals that Barzini was behind it. Moments later, thinking that he will be driven to the airport, Carlo enters a car and is strangled from behind by Clemenza. When the Corleones are packing to move to Las Vegas, an hysterical Connie rushes into Don Vito's old study and accuses Michael of murdering Carlo. Kay tries to calm her down, but when she and Michael are alone, she asks if it is true. Michael initially erupts in anger, then says that, just this one time, Kay may ask him about his business, then answers "No," and the couple embraces. This satisfies Kay until she sees Clemenza kiss Michael's ring and address him as "Don Corleone," before his lieutenant, Neri, closes the study door.
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."
In 1916 British Intelligence supports the Arab rebellion against the Turkish-German alliance. Dryden, a civilian member of the Arab Bureau, selects Lt. T. E. Lawrence, an enigmatic twenty-nine-year-old scholar, to evaluate the Arab revolt. Enthusiastically undertaking this assignment, the officer contacts Prince Feisal, a rebel leader, and persuades Feisal to lend him a force of fifty men. With this skeleton band, accompanied by Sherif Ali ibn el Karish, Lawrence crosses the Nefud Desert. At the journey's end, however, Lawrence learns that one of his men is missing. Undeterred by Arab assertions that the missing man's death had been divinely decreed, Lawrence returns to the desert and rescues him, earning thereby Ali's friendship and the respect of his subordinates. At a well Lawrence is confronted by the sheikh Auda Abu Tayi, whom he persuades to join the assault on Aqaba, a Turkish port at the desert's edge. The Turks, surprised by the overland attack, are routed, and the victory revitalizes the Arab rebellion. Arab unity, however, is undermined by internecine warfare. When one of his troop slays one of Auda Abu Tayi's henchmen, Lawrence in expiation executes the murderer, who proves to be the Arab he had saved in the desert. Unnerved, Lawrence returns to Cairo. Delighted by Lawrence's military success, however, General Allenby provides him with arms and money for future victories. Lawrence launches a series of successful guerrilla raids, which, as reported by American journalist Jackson Bentley, establish his international reputation. While on a scouting mission with Ali, Lawrence is captured and tortured by the Turks. He returns to Cairo, where General Allenby persuades him to spearhead an attack on Damascus. After the battle, Lawrence leads his men in the massacre of the retreating Turks. Upon entering Damascus the British Army is met by victorious Arab forces. Lawrence relinquishes control of the city to an Arab Council, but soon factionalism threatens to destroy it. On May 19, 1935, Lawrence dies in a motorcycle crash in Dorset, England, and is commemorated in services at St. Paul's.
Dorothy Gale, a Kansas farm girl, lives with her Auntie Em and Uncle Henry. When Almira Gulch, who owns half the county, brings a sheriff's order to take Dorothy's little dog Toto away to have the dog destroyed, because Toto bit Miss Gulch's leg, Auntie Em and Uncle Henry refuse to go against the law, and they give the dog to Miss Gulch. However, as Miss Gulch rides away on her bicycle with Toto in her basket, the dog escapes and returns home. Realizing that Miss Gulch will come back, Dorothy runs away with Toto. They come to the wagon of the egotistical, but kindly Professor Marvel, a fortune-teller and balloonist, who tricks Dorothy into believing that her aunt has had an attack because she ran away. Dorothy rushes home greatly concerned, but a cyclone's approach causes her difficulty, and by the time she gets to the farm, Auntie Em, Uncle Henry and the three farmhands have entered the storm cellar. Inside her room, Dorothy is hit on the head by a window and knocked unconscious. When she revives, she sees through the window that the house has risen up inside the cyclone. When she sees Miss Gulch, traveling in mid-air on her bicycle, transform into a witch on a broomstick, Dorothy averts her eyes. The house comes to rest in Munchkinland, a colorful section of the Land of Oz inhabited by little people, and lands on top of the Wicked Witch of the East. Knowing that the dead witch's ruby slippers contain magic, Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, through her powers, has them placed on Dorothy's feet before the dead witch's sister, the Wicked Witch of the West, can retrieve them. The Wicked Witch vows revenge. Glinda then suggests that the wonderful Wizard of Oz can help Dorothy get back to Kansas and instructs her to take the yellow brick road to the distant Emerald City, where the Wizard resides. Along the way, Dorothy meets a friendly scarecrow who laments that he is failure because he has no brain, an emotional tin man, who longingly describes the romantic life he would lead if he only had a heart, and a seemingly ferocious lion who actually lacks courage. Dorothy suggests that they all go with her to ask the Wizard for his help. With help along the way from Glinda to battle a spell of the Wicked Witch, the four friends reach the Emerald City, where in the great hall of the Wizard, they see a terrifying apparition that identifies itself as "Oz" and lambasts Dorothy's companions for their deficiencies. When the lion faints from fright, Dorothy rebukes the Wizard for scaring him, and the Wizard agrees to grant their requests if they will first prove themselves worthy by bringing him the broomstick of the Witch of the West. As they pass through a haunted forest on their way to the witch's castle, the witch sends an army of winged monkeys, who capture Dorothy and Toto. In her castle, when the witch threatens to have Toto drowned, Dorothy offers the slippers in exchange for her dog, but the witch cannot remove them, and she remembers that the slippers will not come off as long as Dorothy is alive. As the witch ponders the proper way to kill Dorothy, Toto escapes. The dog leads Dorothy's friends to the castle, where they rescue her, but the witch's guards soon surround them. After the witch sadistically says that Dorothy will see her friends and dog die before her, she ignites the Scarecrow's arm. Dorothy tosses a bucket of water to put out the fire, and when some water splashes in the witch's face, she melts. The guards and monkeys, relieved that the witch is dead, hail Dorothy and give her the broomstick. Upon their return to Oz, the Wizard orders Dorothy and her friends to come back the next day. As they argue, Toto snoops behind a curtain and pulls it back to reveal a man manipulating levers and speaking into a microphone, who then admits to the group that he is really the "powerful" Wizard. Greatly disappointed and angry at the sham, Dorothy calls him a bad man, but he retorts that while he is a bad wizard, he is a good man. He then awards the Scarecrow a diploma, the Lion a medal and the Tin Man a testimonial, and states that where he comes from, these things are given to men who have no more brains, courage or heart than they have. Confessing that he is a balloonist and a Kansas man himself, the Wizard offers to take Dorothy back in his balloon. However, as they prepare to leave, Toto leaps from the balloon to chase a cat, and after Dorothy goes to retrieve the dog, the balloon takes off without them. Glinda then comforts Dorothy and reveals that she has always had the power to return home, but that she had to learn it for herself. Dorothy says that she has learned never to go further than her own backyard to look for her heart's desire. After Dorothy tearfully kisses and hugs her friends, Glinda tells her to click the heels of the slippers three times with her eyes closed and to think to herself, "There's no place like home." This she does, and she awakens to find Uncle Henry and Auntie Em at her bedside. Professor Marvel, having heard that Dorothy was badly injured, comes by, and she begins to tell about her journey, which Auntie Em calls a bad dream. The farmhands come in, and Dorothy remembers them as her three friends in Oz and the professor as the Wizard. When Toto climbs on the bed, Dorothy says she loves them all and that she will never leave again, and she affirms to her aunt that there is no place like home.
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.
At the request of mob boss Johnny Friendly, longshoreman Terry Malloy, a former boxer, lures fellow dock worker Joey Doyle to the roof of his tenement building, purportedly to discuss their shared hobby of pigeon racing. Believing that Friendly only intends to frighten Joey out of his threat to speak to the New York State Crime Commission, Terry is stunned to see Joey topple from the building as he and his brother, Charley "the Gent," watch from across the street. As neighbors gather around Joey's body, his distraught sister Edie accuses parish priest Father Barry of hiding behind the church and not helping the neighborhood break free from the mob's grip. Listening nearby, Terry is disturbed by Edie's indictment and later joins Charley, Friendly's lawyer and accountant, at a meeting with Friendly and his lackeys. Friendly assures Terry that Joey's death was necessary to preserve his hold on the harbor, then directs dock manager Big Mac to place Terry in the top job slot the following day. The next morning, while waiting for the day's work assignment, the dock workers offer their sympathy to Joey's father Pop, who gives Joey's jacket to Kayo Dugan. Meanwhile, Terry is approached by Crime Commission representative Eddy Glover, but refuses to discuss Joey. Edie then comes down to the docks to apologize to Father Barry, but he admits that her accusation has prompted him to become more involved in the lives of the longshoremen. As the men disperse for work, Father Barry asks some of them to meet later downstairs in the church, despite being advised that Friendly does not approve of union meetings. Later, in the warehouse, Charley asks Terry to sit in on the church meeting. When Terry hesitates, Charley dismisses his brother's fears of "stooling." Despite the sparse turnout at the meeting in the church, Father Barry adamantly declares that mob control of the docks must end and demands information about Joey's murder. Several men bristle in anger upon seeing Terry at the meeting, and Kayo tells Father Barry that no one will talk out of fear that Friendly will find out. Father Barry insists the men can fight Friendly and the mob through the courts, but the men refuse to participate. Eventually, Friendly's stooges break up the meeting by hurling stones through the church windows. After Pop and Kayo are attacked outside, Father Barry presses Kayo to take action and Kayo agrees. Terry insists on walking Edie home and, on the way, she hesitatingly tells him abut her convent upbringing and ambition to teach. At home, Pop scolds Edie for walking with Terry, whom he calls a bum, and demands that she return to college. Edie responds that she must stay to find out who killed Joey. Later that day Edie is surprised to find Terry on the roof with Joey's pigeons. Terry shows her his own prize bird, then asks her if she would like to have a beer with him. At the bar, Terry tells Edie that he and Charley were placed in an orphanage after their father died, but they eventually ran away. He took up boxing and Friendly bought a percentage of him, but his career faded. Swept up among wedding party revelers at the bar, Edie and Terry dance together until they are interrupted by Glover, who serves Terry with a subpoena to the Crime Commission hearings. Edie demands to know if Friendly arranged Joey's murder, and when Terry cautions her to stop asking questions, she accuses him of still being owned by the mobster. That evening, Friendly visits Terry, who is evasive about the church meeting, then surprised when Friendly reveals that Kayo testified before the commission. Charley criticizes Terry for seeing Edie, and Friendly orders Terry back to working in the ship hold. The next day in the hold, Terry attempts to speak with Kayo, but the older man brushes him aside, calling him one of Friendly's boys. Big Mac and one of his henchmen rig a crane to slip, and a load of boxes crashes down upon Kayo, killing him in front of Terry. Outraged, Father Barry gives an impromptu eulogy for Kayo, asserting that Kayo was killed to prevent him from testifying further. After two of Friendly's henchmen begin pelting the priest with fruit and vegetables, Pop and Edie arrive and watch as Father Barry ignores the abuse and exhorts the men to believe in themselves and reject mob control. Terry furiously knocks out one of the henchmen, angering Friendly and Charley. Later, Father Barry returns Joey's jacket to Pop and Edie. That night, after Edie gives Joey's jacket to Terry, the guilt-stricken Terry tries but is unable to tell her about his part in Joey's murder. The next morning Terry seeks out Father Barry to ask for guidance as he believes he is falling in love with Edie, but is conflicted about testifying and about going against Charley. Father Barry maintains that Terry must follow his conscience and challenges him to be honest with Edie. When Terry meets Edie on the beach later, he relates the details of the night of Joey's murder, insisting that he did not know Joey would be killed, but Edie rushes away in distress. Later while tending his pigeons on the roof, Terry is visited by Glover and implies that he might be willing to testify. Their meeting is reported to Friendly, who orders Charley to straighten Terry out. That night, Charley takes Terry on a cab drive and chides him for not telling him about the subpoena. When Terry attempts to explain his confusion, Charley brusquely threatens him with a gun. Hurt, Terry reproaches his older brother for not looking after him and allowing him to become a failure and a bum by involving him with the mob. Charley gives Terry the gun and says he will stall Friendly. Terry goes to see Edie, and breaks down her apartment door when she refuses to let him in and demands to know if she cares for him. Edie tells Terry to listen to his conscience, which angers him, but the two embrace. When Terry is summoned to the street, Edie begs him not to go, then follows him. After the couple is nearly run down by a truck, they find Charley's body hung up on a meat hook on a nearby fence. Taking down his brother's body, Terry vows revenge on Friendly, and sends Edie for Father Barry. Armed, Terry hunts for Friendly at his regular bar, but Father Barry convinces him that the best way to ruin Friendly is in court and Terry throws away the gun. The next day at the hearings, Terry testifies to Friendly's involvement in Joey's death, outraging the mobster, who shouts threats at him. Back at home, Terry is scorned by the neighbors for testifying and discovers that his pigeons have been killed by a boy he once coached. Edie attempts to comfort Terry, advising him to leave, but Terry insists that he has the right to stay in his town. The next day Terry reports to work as usual, but is ignored by the men and refused work by Big Mac. In his office at the pier, Friendly, who is about to be indicted, swears vengeance on Terry. Terry confronts Friendly on the pier, declaring he is nothing without guns, and the two fall into a brutal fistfight. While Friendly's men help to thrash Terry, the dockworkers watch impassively as Edie arrives with Father Barry. Friendly orders the longshoremen to begin unloading, but the men refuse and demand that Terry be allowed to work, hoping the shipping owners will witness their refusal to obey Friendly and realize their intention to restart a clean union. Father Barry urges on the beaten Terry, who rises and defiantly stumbles down the pier and into the warehouse.
In September 1939, at the onset of World War II, German entrepreneur and Nazi party member Oskar Schindler goes to Krakow, Poland, where tens of thousands of Polish Jews have been forced to relocate under German occupation. Schindler wants to open a ceramics factory but lacks the necessary capital. He asks Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern to help him recruit Jewish investors, who would go unnamed, as Jews are no longer allowed to own businesses. Stern rejects the idea. However, in March 1941, when Krakow Jews are forced out of their homes and into a sixteen-block walled ghetto, Stern reconsiders. He recruits investors, who initially balk at Schindler's offer to repay them in ceramic goods, but agree to invest when Schindler convinces them their money will be of no value in the ghetto. Itzhak Stern recruits Jewish workers for Schindler's factory. Because it is located outside the ghetto, the workers must be deemed "essential" and receive blue cards to allow them to come and go. Stern helps some elderly and handicapped Jews get hired by forging paperwork to prove they are essential. Schindler reprimands him for this practice, but does not fire anyone. He establishes contracts with the German army, and the business gets off to a strong start. Schindler's estranged wife, Emilie, arrives, and is not surprised when she finds her husband with another woman. Schindler brags to Emilie that he has finally achieved success, and is proud to be a war profiteer. They briefly reunite, but when Emilie offers to stay, if he promises to be faithful, Schindler sends her away. One day, he gets word that Stern has been sent to a concentration camp. He rushes to the train station, threatens the Nazi officers, and retrieves Stern, who apologizes, explaining he accidentally left home without his work card. The exasperated Schindler wonders what would have happened if he had not made it to the station in time. In the winter of 1942, Krakow Jews struggle to withstand the demoralizing conditions of the ghetto. Austrian Schutzstaffel (SS) officer Amon Goeth arrives in Krakow to oversee the building of the Plaszow forced labor camp, and establishes himself as a ruthless killer when he shoots a Jewish engineer for being too argumentative. In March 1943, Krakow Jews are again forced to relocate to Plaszow. Their "liquidation" from the ghetto results in mass bloodshed, as Nazi guards gun down anyone who attempts to hide or flee. Schindler observes the atrocity, and is struck by a young Jewish girl in a red coat, moving alone through the chaotic streets. In the ghetto's infirmary, a Jewish doctor and nurse administer a fatal dose of medicine to patients just before SS officers burst in and shoot them in their hospital beds. At Plaszow, Goeth amuses himself by shooting slow-moving or resting workers with a sniper rifle. When Schindler's workers fail to report to the factory, he goes to Plaszow to inquire about their whereabouts, and must ingratiate himself with Goeth to allow for their release. Word spreads that Schindler is a benevolent boss. Regina Perlman, a young Jewish woman living in Krakow under a false identity, begs Schindler to hire her parents. Schindler again reprimands Itzhak Stern for his charitable hiring practices. He defends Goeth as someone who is under tremendous pressure, who would not normally act like a tyrant. Stern relays a story about Goeth executing prisoners at random, and urges Schindler to fight against Goeth's brutality. Schindler relents and hires Regina Perlman's parents. The next time he visits Goeth, Schindler pulls aside his Jewish housemaid, Helen Hirsch, who recalls Goeth beating her on the first day of work, and predicts he will someday kill her. Upstairs, Schindler tells the drunken Goeth that true power is refraining from killing someone when you have every reason to do it. The next day, Goeth experiments with showing mercy toward the Jewish prisoners, but quickly gives up and kills his houseboy for failing to properly clean his bathtub. Later, Goeth paces in Helen's quarters, struggling to restrain himself despite his strong attraction to her. Finally, instead of kissing her, he beats her. In the women's barracks, a female prisoner shares a rumor that at some camps, Jewish prisoners are lured into gas chambers disguised as showers and killed en masse. Others cannot believe it, and laugh it off as impossible. With an incoming shipment of Hungarian Jews arriving at Plaszow, German doctors are called to determine which existing workers can stay, and who must be sent to concentration camps. Children are loaded into trucks and driven out of the camp, as their parents chase after them in desperation. Schindler goes to the train station, where departing Jews are packed into unventilated train compartments. He suggests hosing them down as a prank, but Goeth realizes Schindler is doing it out of pity, to keep them from overheating. Soon, Schindler is arrested for kissing a Jewish worker who presented him with a birthday cake. Goeth negotiates his release. In April 1944, a Nazi edict requires that buried Jewish bodies be exhumed and burned. Plaszow workers are tasked with digging up the dead bodies. Goeth tells Schindler that the "party is over," and everyone will soon be sent to Auschwitz. Schindler concocts a plan to start a new factory in his hometown of Zwittau-Brinnlitz, Czechoslovakia. He uses all his money and belongings to bribe SS officials, including Goeth, to allow over 1,000 of his workers, named on a list, to be transferred to the new factory. He wants to add Helen Hirsch to the list, but Goeth plans to shoot her. Schindler entices him to wager Helen in a card game, and Goeth loses, allowing Schindler to rescue her. Although Schindler's male workers arrive in Zwittau-Brinnlitz, the women are diverted to Auschwitz, due to an alleged clerical error. There, their hair is cut off and they are forced to shower in a large room that they fear is a gas chamber. Schindler goes to Auschwitz and uses diamonds to negotiate their release. SS officers try to steal his child employees, but Schindler insists he needs their small fingers to polish shell casings. Back in Zwittau-Brinnlitz, Schindler forbids SS guards from shooting any of his workers, or carrying guns on the factory floor. He reunites with his wife, Emilie, and promises to be faithful to her. When Stern warns Schindler that the company's new artillery shells are failing tests, the satisfied Schindler vows never to produce working artillery. The workers are allowed to resume observing the Sabbath, despite the SS guards' dismay. Just as Schindler and the factory run out of money, Germans surrender to Allied forces, bringing an end to World War II. Schindler makes an announcement to his workers and the SS guards that he is a war criminal and will flee that night. He urges the guards, who have received orders to kill all the Jews at the factory, to return home as men instead of murderers. The guards reluctantly leave. Schindler observes three minutes of silence for the Jewish victims of the war. One of the workers allows three of his gold teeth to be pulled, to fabricate a gold ring as a parting gift for Schindler. At midnight, they present him with the ring, engraved with a Hebrew saying that states, "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire." Stern credits Schindler with saving 1,100 people. Schindler breaks down in tears, disappointed in himself for not saving more. He dons a concentration camp uniform, and flees with Emilie. The next day, a soldier arrives to tell the workers that they have been liberated, but discourages them from going back to Poland. He points them in the direction of the nearest town, where they walk to find food. In time, Goeth is arrested at a sanitarium and hanged for war crimes. Schindler's marriage and subsequent business ventures fail. In 1958, he is named a "righteous person" by the council of Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel. The descendants of the Jews he saved eventually outnumber all the Jews in Poland.
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.
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.
Early one morning, police arrive at a large house on Sunset Blvd. in Beverly Hills, where a man's body floats face down in the pool: Six months earlier, while down on his luck, screenwriter Joe C. Gillis is living at the Alto Nido apartments in Hollywood, California. Joe is served with a court order commanding him to relinquish his car or pay $290 in back payments by noon the next day. Hoping to make a quick deal, Joe meets with Paramount studio producer Sheldrake to peddle a baseball/gambling picture he has written, but is turned down. While in Sheldrake's office, Joe encounters studio reader Betty Schaefer, who pans the script as formulaic. Sheldrake then refuses him a personal loan, as does his agent. Despairing, Joe makes plans to return to Dayton, Ohio, where he worked as a newspaper copy writer. While driving down Sunset Blvd., he spots the two men who are trying to repossess his car and successfully eludes them, but then has a blowout. He coasts into the driveway of a dilapidated 1920s mansion and hides the car in an empty garage. Joe then enters the house, where stoic butler Max von Mayerling orders him upstairs to consult with "madame" immediately. Joe soon discovers that he has been mistaken for a mortician, who is due to arrive with a baby coffin for "madame's" dead pet chimpanzee. Joe recognizes the faded woman as Norma Desmond, once a famous silent movie star. When she rails against modern talking pictures, Joe tells her that he is a screenwriter. Excitedly, she announces that she is planning a return to the screen in a story she is writing about the Biblical figure Salomé. When Norma discovers Joe is a Sagittarius, she is convinced of their compatibility and hires him to edit her lengthy screenplay for $500 per week and puts him up in a room over her garage. The next day, Joe awakens to find that all his belongings have been moved from his apartment, and that Norma has settled his debts. Although he is angry at Norma for her presumption, he acquiesces because he so desperately needs a job. Joe soon learns that Norma's fragile but enormous ego is supported by the scores of fan letters she still receives, and two or three times a week, Max projects her silent pictures on her living-room movie screen. As Norma and what Joe calls "the waxworks," Hollywood old-timers Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nilsson and H. B. Warner, are playing bridge one night, two men arrive and tow away Joe's car. To appease the distraught Joe, Norma arranges for Max to refurbish her old Isotta-Fraschini, an extravagant Italian sports car. The once reclusive Norma becomes increasingly controlling. After a rain storm soaks Joe's room, she has him moved into the bedroom adjacent to hers, where her three former husbands slept. When Joe notices that none of the bedroom doors have locks, Max explains that Norma's bouts of melancholy are often followed by suicide attempts. Joe then realizes that Max has been writing Norma's fan letters so that she will not feel completely forgotten. On New Year's Eve, Norma stages a lavish party for herself and Joe, but he flies into a rage because he feels smothered. Feeling rejected, she slaps him, and he leaves the house. At a lively party at the home of his friend, assistant director Artie Green, Joe again meets Betty, who is engaged to Artie, and is excited about one of Joe's stories. Joe asks to stay for a few weeks, and Artie agrees to put him up. When he calls Max to have his things sent over, however, Max tells him that Norma slit her wrists with his razor blade. Joe returns to the house at midnight and finds Norma weeping at her own stupidity for falling in love with him. She pulls him to her and they kiss. After Norma recovers, she has the pool filled, and announces that she has sent her script to Paramount's director of epics Cecil B. DeMille, with whom she made twelve pictures. One night, Joe sees Artie with Betty at Schwab's Pharmacy. Although Betty tells him she has nearly sold one of his stories, Joe says he has given up writing, and leaves. Norma later gets a call from Paramount, but refuses to take the call because DeMille has not called her himself. Finally, Norma visits the studio unannounced. While Norma receives the long-awaited attention she craves on DeMille's set, Max learns that the earlier call was an inquiry about her car, which the studio wants to use for a film. While on the lot, Joe sees Betty, who is busy revising his story, and agrees to collaborate with her on the script in her off-hours. Norma misinterprets DeMille's pitying kindness for a deal, and a staff of beauty experts descends on her house to ready her for the cameras. Betty and Joe, meanwhile, meet repeatedly in the late evenings, and he begins to care for her, but keeps his other life with Norma a secret. One night, Max reveals to Joe that he was once an influential Hollywood director who discovered Norma when she was sixteen and made her a star. After he became Norma's first husband, she left him, but when Hollywood abandoned her, he gave up his prosperous career to return to serve her as a butler. Eventually, Norma, suspicious that Joe is involved with another woman, finds his and Betty's script and goes into a deep depression. Meanwhile, Betty receives a telegram from Artie, who is filming in Arizona, asking her to marry him immediately. She confesses her love to Joe, and he admits he wants her, too. When he arrives home that evening, however, he catches Norma calling Betty to expose him as a kept man and giving her the Sunset Blvd. address. When Betty arrives, Joe bitterly explains that he is Norma's companion. Betty urges him to leave with her immediately, but he tells her he is bound to "a long term contract with no options" and allows her to leave. He then packs, with the intention of moving back to Ohio, and returns all of Norma's gifts. Joe then tells her that there will be no film of Salomé, that the studio only wants to rent her car, and that her fans have abandoned her. Shouting that "no one ever leaves a star," Norma shoots Joe twice in the back and once in the stomach, sending him to his death in the pool. A throng of reporters and policemen surround the house, but the police are unable to get Norma out of her bedroom, until Max directs the Paramount newsreel crew to set up their equipment at the bottom of the stairs, and tells Norma that the cameras have arrived. In a state of delusional shock, Norma descends the stairs as "Salomé" while Max tells the cameramen to start rolling. At the bottom of the stairs, Norma announces, "I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille."
In World War II Burma, after they are captured by Japanese troops during World War II, British commander Col. Nicholson and his troops march into Prisoner of War Camp 16 whistling their regimental tune. Their crisp arrival is wryly observed by Shears, an American sailor who bribes a guard to transfer him from the burial detail to the infirmary. When the camp's commander, Col. Saito, imperiously informs the new prisoners that they will all be expected to work on building a railroad that will connect Bangkok to Rangoon, Nicholson protests that under the regulations of the Geneva Convention, all officers are exempt from manual labor. Afterward, Nicholson goes to the infirmary to visit Jennings, one of his wounded men. There Maj. Clipton, the camp's medical officer, introduces the colonel to "Commander Major" Shears. When Jennings proposes escaping, Nicholson counters that he was ordered by headquarters to surrender, and therefore escaping would constitute a military infraction. Incredulous at the colonel's naïveté, Shears retorts that escape is their only chance to avoid the death sentence of forced labor. The following day, Saito announces that all the men, including officers, will work on building a bridge across the River Kwai. When Nicholson defiantly waves a copy of the Geneva Convention, Saito slaps him across the face with it and flings it to the ground. Nicholson still refuses to let his officers perform manual labor, and after the other men march off to work, Saito calls for a machine gun and threatens to gun down all the officers. Watching in horror, Clipton runs out of the infirmary and protests that he and his patients have seen everything and will be witnesess to murder if Saito orders the gunners to fire. Saito then changes his mind and forces the officers to stand for the entire day in the merciless sun. Afterward, Saito locks Nicholson in "the oven," a crude metal shed, and imprisons the other officers in the "punishment hut." As the troops encourage Nicholson with a rendition of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," Shears, Jennings and a prisoner named Weaver escape into the jungle. Jennings and Weaver are gunned down by the guards, who then pursue Shears to a ridge above the river and shoot him. The guards assume that Shears is dead after he plunges into the river, but he survives and makes his way down river to the shore. Later, Saito summons Clipton and asks him to tell Nicholson that unless he cooperates, the patients in the infirmary will be forced to work. Confronted with the ultimatum, Nicholson still refuses to comply on the grounds that "it is a matter of principle." With only two months left before the May first deadline for the completion of the bridge, Saito, frustrated by the slow progress, takes command of the project himself. After a segment of the bridge collapses, a defeated Saito has Nicholson brought to his office from the oven and explains that if he fails to meet the deadline, he will be forced to commit hara-kari. Unmoved, Nicholson insists that the Geneva Convention be adhered to, after which Saito orders him taken back to the oven. Meanwhile Shears, who was found near death by some friendly villagers, recovers and begins a solitary boat trip down river. Days later, his water exhausted, Shears passes out, leaving his boat to drift aimlessly. Plagued by ineptness and sabotage in his efforts to build the bridge, Saito orders the weakened and dehydrated Nicholson pulled from the oven and brought to his office where he grants a general amnesty to the officers and declares it will not be necessary for them to perform manual labor. As the men cheer Nicholson's victory, Saito sits in his office, broken and sobbing. Upon inspecting the bridge, Nicholson criticizes the workers' cavalier attitude and asks Capt. Reeves, who worked as a civilian engineer, for advice. Reeves observes that the river bottom at the present location is soft mud and suggests moving downstream where the bottom is solid bedrock. When Maj. Hughes, a public works engineer, criticizes the men's lack of teamwork, Nicholson declares that they will rebuild the company's morale by building an exemplary bridge. Nicholson, completely oblivious to the fact that he is about to aid and abet the enemy, presents a plan to Saito increasing the men's daily work quota and suggests that Japanese soldiers should work laying track. Seeing his position crumbling, Saito stoicly says that he has already given the order. Shears, meanwhile, has been picked up by a sea rescue plane and brought to a hospital in Ceylon where he is visited by Maj. Warden, the explosives instructor at a nearby British commando school, who invites him to a meeting at the school. At the meeting, Warden explains that he plans to lead a team into Burma to blow up the bridge and asks Shears to join them. Shears, desirous of returning to civilian life, demurs, confessing that he was merely impersonating an officer and therefore is not qualified for the mission. Warden then informs him that the U.S. Navy already knows about his deception and has authorized his transfer to the British commandoes. Faced with possible imprisonment for impersonating an officer, Shears reluctantly accepts the assignment and retains his rank as Major. At the prison camp, Clipton warns Nicholson that he could be charged with treason for collaborating with the enemy. Obsessed by proving the mettle of his British soldiers, Nicholson turns a deaf ear to the medic's protest. At the commando school meanwhile, Shears joins a team comprised of Warden, Chapman and Lt. Joyce, a young recruit wary of killing. As the four parachute into the jungle, Chapman crashes into a tree and is killed. The others are met by Yai, a native guide who hates the Japanese, and four women bearers. As they begin their trek through the jungle, they receive a radio transmission from headquarters informing them that a special train carrying troops and VIPs is scheduled to inaugurate the bridge on the thirteenth, and ordering them to carry out the demolition on that day. Realizing that he cannot finish the bridge by the deadline, Nicholson matter-of-factly tells Clipton that he has asked the officers to work beside the enlisted men and they have volunteered "to a man." After Clipton's protests, Nicholson then recruits wounded men from the infirmary to perform "light labor." In the jungle, meanwhile, Warden's team is accosted by Japanese soldiers, and in the skirmish Warden is shot in the ankle. Warden subsequently stumbles along on his crippled foot, climbing torturous mountain paths, but when they are just six hours away from the bridge, he declares that the others should continue on without him. Angrily denouncing Warden's self-sacrifice as the histrionics of a British gentleman, Shears orders him hoisted onto a stretcher, after which they all continue on together, reaching the bridge just as Nicholson is nailing up a plaque commemorating the work of the British soldiers. That night, as the prisoners put on a show in celebration of the completion of the bridge, concluding with "God Bless the King," Joyce and Shears, aided by the women, pilot a raft filled with plastic explosives to the bridge while Saito, having been bested by the British, makes preparations for hara-kari. After attaching the explosives to the bridge, Joyce takes cover with the detonator while Shears swims back across the river to await the arrival of the train the next day. At daybreak, the commandoes discover that the water level of the river has dropped, exposing the wires leading to the detonator. When the troops march onto the bridge for the ribbon cutting ceremony, Clipton informs Nicholson he wants no part of the festivities and retreats to a hill to watch. As the train whistle is heard in the distance, Nicholson spots the wires and calls Saito to go with him and investigate. Warden watches in disbelief as Nicholson follows the wire to the detonator, incredulous that a British officer would try to prevent an act of sabotage against the enemy. Sneaking up behind Saito, Joyce stabs him in the back with his knife, then informs Nicholson that they have been sent by the British to blow up the bridge. Crazed, Nicholson attacks Joyce, prompting Shears to scream "kill him" and swim to Joyce's defense. As Warden bombards the bridge with mortar shells, the Japanese open fire, wounding Shears and killing Joyce. When the injured Shears dies at Nicholson's feet, the colonel realizes his folly just as he is wounded by mortar fire and falls onto the detonator, setting off the explosives as the train approaches the bridge. As the bridge collapses, sending the train spilling into the river, Clipton surveys the scene and utters "madness."
In Chicago, in February, 1929, federal agent Mulligan sets up a raid on a speakeasy run by notorious bootlegger "Spats" Colombo, based on information provided by small-time gangster "Toothpick" Charlie. As Mulligan inspects the lively speakeasy, two members of the band, saxophonist Joe and bass player Jerry eagerly discuss plans for their salary from their first job in four months. The longtime friends begin arguing about how to spend their salary until Jerry notices Mulligan's badge and they make a hasty exit as the raid begins, avoiding the police roundup. Putting up their coats as collateral, they place a bet with their bookie, and promptly lose both the bet and their coats. Desperate, Joe and Jerry visit the musicians' agency building hoping to line up another job. At Sid Poliakoff's agency, receptionist Nellie Weinmeier, incensed over being stood up by Joe a few nights earlier, reveals there is an opening for a bass and sax with a band in an all-expenses paid trip to Florida. Joe and Jerry eagerly question Sid, only to learn that the positions are in an all-girl band. Sid tells them of a job at a college dance in Urbana and Joe accepts, then charms Nellie into loaning them her car for the Urbana gig. Retrieving the car at a garage owned by Toothpick Charlie, Joe and Jerry unintentionally witness Spats and his men shoot Charlie and his men to death for informing on the speakeasy. Although the musicians are spotted by Spats, he is distracted by Charlie, who revives long enough to allow Joe and Jerry to flee. After they evade the gangsters, Jerry suggests they call the police, but Joe reminds him they will not be safe from Spats in any part of Chicago in spite of the police. Joe then telephones Sid and, using a high falsetto voice, accepts the job with the all-girl band. That evening at the train station, Joe and Jerry, uncomfortably disguised as women, check in with band leader Sweet Sue and manager Beinstock as the newest members of the Society Syncopators, Joe as Josephine and Jerry as Daphne. Once on board the train, Joe fears that Jerry's enthusiasm at finding himself among so many women will expose them and warns his friend to behave "like a girl," but in the process, musses Jerry's outfit. Retreating to the ladies' room for repairs, the men come upon stunning singer and ukulele player Sugar Kane Kowalczyk drinking bourbon from a flask. Sugar pleads with them not to report her to Sue, who has threatened to fire her if she is caught drinking again. A little later during rehearsal, when Sugar's flask falls to the floor, Sue responds angrily, but Jerry steps forward, and to Sugar's surprise, claims the flask is his own. That night, Sugar sneaks to Jerry's berth to thank him for his action, then abruptly jumps into the berth to avoid Sue. Overwhelmed by Sugar's proximity, Jerry grows anxious and suggests that he needs a drink and within minutes an impromptu party ensues at Jerry's berth. Joe awakens and is horrified, but gets drawn into the festivities when Sugar asks him to help break up an ice block in the ladies' room. There Sugar confides that she is with the all-girl band in order to escape a series of unhappy love affairs with tenor saxophone players and dreams of finding a sensitive millionaire who wears glasses. Upon arriving in Florida at the beachfront Ritz Seminole Hotel, "Daphne" catches the attention of wealthy, oft-married Osgood Fielding III. Once in their room, Jerry, infuriated at being flirted with and pinched by Osgood, demands they give up their disguises and find a male band, but Joe insists they must maintain their masquerade, as Spats will surely investigate male orchestras all over the country. Jerry reluctantly agrees and then accompanies Sugar to the beach. Unknown to Jerry, Joe has stolen Beinstock's suitcase of clothes and eyeglasses and, dressing in them, goes to the beach where he stages an accidental meeting with Sugar. Joe implies that he is the heir to the Shell Oil company and, captivated by the apparently sensitive "Junior," Sugar invites him to the band's opening that night. Back in their room, Jerry receives a call from Osgood inviting Daphne to a candlelit dinner on board his yacht. Joe accepts for Jerry, then tells his protesting friend that he must keep the date with Osgood on shore, as he, in the guise of Shell Oil, Junior, plans to dine with Sugar on Osgood's yacht. That night during the band's performance, Osgood sends Jerry an enormous bouquet, which Joe commandeers to give to Sugar with a card inviting her to dine with Junior. Afterward, Joe meets Sugar on the pier as an unhappy Jerry talks Osgood into dining at a local roadhouse. While Jerry and Osgood tango to the music of a Cuban band at the roadhouse, on board Osgood's yacht Joe convinces Sugar that a romantic emotional shock in his youth has left him impotent and years of expensive medical treatment have failed to cure him. Appalled, Sugar begs Joe to allow her to help, but after numerous passionate kisses, Joe insists he is unmoved. Determined, Sugar pleads to keep trying and Joe agrees. At dawn, Joe climbs back in the window of the hotel room to find Jerry deliriously happy because Osgood has proposed. Taken aback, Joe tells his friend it is impossible for him to marry another man, but Jerry explains his plan to reveal his identity after the marriage ceremony and, after an annulment, force Osgood to pay him alimony. Disturbed by Jerry's high spirits, Joe urges him to remember that he is a boy, and Jerry sadly wonders what to do with Osgood's engagement gift, an extravagant diamond bracelet. The next day, gangsters from all over the country, summoned by mob boss Little Bonaparte, meet at the hotel under the guise of attending an opera convention. Mulligan is also present and when Spats arrives, accuses him of the murder of Toothpick Charlie and his gang. Upon spotting Spats in the lobby, Joe and Jerry panic and realize they must flee. In their room, Jerry laments having to give up Osgood and Joe telephones Sugar to disclose that Junior's family has ordered him to Venezuela immediately for an arranged marriage. Moved by Sugar's despair, Joe places the diamond bracelet in a box of flowers and pushes it across the hall to her door as a farewell gift from Junior. Joe and Jerry then escape out of their hotel window but are seen by Spats and his men on the floor below. When the pair dash away leaving their instruments behind, Spats finds bullet holes in Jerry's bass and realizes the "broads" are the Chicago murder witnesses in disguise. Knowing they have been discovered, Joe and Jerry dress as a bellboy and a wheelchair-bound millionaire and head across the lobby filled with Spats's men. Noticing that Jerry has inadvertently left on his high heels, the henchmen give chase and Joe and Jerry run into a convention hall and hide, unaware that the mob "convention" is scheduled to meet there. Moments later, Spats sits at the table under which Joe and Jerry are hiding, and in a prearranged plan, Bonaparte pretends to honor Spats by presenting him with a giant cake, out of which bursts an assassin who guns down Spats and his men. Terrified, Joe and Jerry bolt, but as Bonaparte orders them found, Mulligan and his men close in to make arrests. Resuming their disguises as women, Joe and Jerry overhear that the remainder of Bonaparte's men are watching all buses and trains out of town and Joe decides they should escape on Osgood's yacht after Jerry elopes with him. When Jerry balks, Joe says their only option is certain death by Bonaparte's men. While Jerry telephones Osgood to make arrangements, Joe hears Sugar and the band finishing a song and climbs onto the stage to tell her that no man is worth her heartbreak, then kisses her before hurrying away. Realizing that "Josephine" is "Junior," Sugar follows the men down to the dock and the waiting Osgood. As they all board the speedboat, Joe removes his wig and confesses that he is a liar and a phony, but Sugar insists that she does not care and the couple embrace. Meanwhile, Osgood proudly tells Daphne that his mother is delighted about their upcoming wedding. Jerry nervously confesses that he cannot marry him, declaring that he is not a natural blonde, smokes, has lived in sin and cannot bear children, but Osgood remains cheerfully undaunted. At last Jerry snatches off his wig and admits that he is a man, wherein Osgood happily assures him that, after all, "nobody's perfect."
During an interstellar civil war, rebels battle against an evil empire, led by Darth Vader and a villainous governor named Grand Moff Tarkin. The imperial stronghold is a planet-sized, armored space station called the Death Star, and insurgent Princess Leia Organa leads a mission to seize the battleship's blueprints, hoping to reveal its vulnerability. During the ensuing battle, Darth Vader and his military force of stormtroopers capture Leia's spaceship, but she secretly hides the Death Star plans in a robot "droid" named R2-D2, who flees the spaceship with his companion, C-3PO. Unable to recover the plans, Darth Vader discovers that an escape pod was launched during the attack, and orders the droids detained. Meanwhile, R2-D2 and C-3PO crash land on the desert planet Tatooine. Ornery C-3PO is displeased by his companion's claim that they are on an important mission, and the two droids part ways. However, they are captured by cloaked scavengers called Jawas and sold to young Luke Skywalker and his Uncle Owen. As the boy refurbishes the droids, he complains that Uncle Owen has thwarted his dream of becoming a pilot and following in the footsteps of his deceased father. Fiddling with R2-D2, Luke unwittingly activates a three dimensional projection of Princess Leia, uttering the plea: "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope." Smitten and intrigued, Luke wonders if the message is addressed to a hermit known as "Ben" Kenobi. At dinner, Luke tells Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru about Leia's message, but Owen orders the boy to erase R2-D2's memory, and insists that Obi-Wan died alongside Luke's father. Storming away, Luke discovers that R2-D2 has escaped. The next morning, Luke and C-3PO recover the wayward droid, but are attacked by the hostile, nomadic Sand People. However, "Ben" Kenobi comes to the rescue, and admits that "Obi-Wan" is his real name. Seeking shelter at Obi-Wan's home, Luke learns that his father was a Jedi knight during the Clone Wars, and was known as the galaxy's best starfighter. Obi-Wan explains that he mentored Luke's father and makes good on an old promise, giving Luke his father's lightsaber. Since Jedis were guided by "the Force," a mystical energy that unites all living creatures in peace, the neon light sword once upheld universal justice. However, Luke's father was killed by a colleague, Darth Vader, who used his knowledge of "the Force" to betray the Jedis. As Obi-Wan activates R2-D2's message from Leia, she explains that she was on a mission to bring Obi-Wan back to her home planet of Alderaan, and adds that vital information has been hidden in R2-D2's memory system. The only person equipped to retrieve the data is her Jedi father, so the droid must be escorted to Alderaan immediately. Obi-Wan announces he will teach Luke to use "the Force," so he can be of service on the mission, but Luke insists on returning home. Meanwhile, on the Death Star, Grand Moff Tarkin announces that the galaxy's government council has been dissolved, and the Empire is one step closer to ultimate power. Back on Tatooine, Luke discovers his family murdered by stormtroopers and vows to become a Jedi. He joins Obi-Wan and the droids in their search for a pilot at the spaceport town of Mos Eisley. In a seamy tavern, they hire rugged outlaw smuggler Han Solo and his first mate, a tall, hairy Wookiee named Chewbacca. The men narrowly escape a stormtrooper attack in Han Solo's Millennium Falcon. Meanwhile, Vader tortures Leia to discover the whereabouts of the rebel base, but she remains resolute. Tarkin navigates the Death Star toward Alderaan, then orders Leia's execution and threatens to destroy her home planet unless she confesses. Although Leia claims the rebel base is on planet Dantoonine, Tarkin incinerates Alderaan. At the same moment, on the Millennium Falcon, Obi-Wan feels pain in his heart. He acknowledges a terrible tragedy, but continues Luke's lightsaber training, teaching the boy to trust his instincts and to use "the Force." When the Millennium Falcon reaches Alderaan, the planet is gone and the ship is forcibly sucked into the Death Star by its "tractor beam." Darth Vader learns that the Millennium Falcon began its journey in Tatooine and realizes it is transporting the coveted Death Star plans. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan uses "the Force" to ensure that no humans or droids are detected aboard the spaceship, but Darth Vader perceives the presence of his former Jedi master. Upon their arrival aboard the Death Star, Han Solo and Luke kill several stormtroopers, don their armor, and capture a nearby outpost. There, R2-D2 plugs into the Death Star's computer network and discovers seven locations that secure the battleship's "tractor beam." Once the locks are disabled, the Millennium Falcon can escape. Obi-Wan declares that he alone must immobilize the locks and leaves after promising Luke, "the Force will be with you… always." Just then, R2-D2 locates Princess Leia and reports that her execution is pending. Luke convinces Han Solo to join him on a rescue mission with assurances of a bountiful reward. As they release the princess, a gunfight ensues, and Leia orders her rescuers into a garbage chute to escape. There, Luke is pulled underwater by a tentacled monster, but the creature suddenly disappears when the dump walls begin to compact. Radioing C-3PO for help, Luke orders R2-D2 to shut down the "garbage mashers," and the comrades are saved. As they return to the Millennium Falcon and battle stormtroopers, Obi-Wan disables the "tractor beam" and reunites with Darth Vader, who is intent on killing his former Jedi master. However, Obi-Wan warns that the prospect for peace will become infinitely more powerful if Darth Vader succeeds. When Obi-Wan is confident that Luke can see him, and that Leia has safely boarded the Millennium Falcon, he permits Darth Vader to strike him dead, but his voice remains fixed in Luke's consciousness. The friends escape a firefight, and Leia warns that the Millennium Falcon has been fitted with a tracking device. The Death Star follows as they proceed to the rebel base on the planet Yavin. There, R2-D2's data is analyzed and soldiers are briefed that the Death Star's weak point can only be accessed by a one-man fighter jet. The pilots must navigate down a narrow trench and fire into a two-meter-wide thermal exhaust port, causing a chain reaction. As Luke mans his ship, with R2-D2 as his navigator, Han Solo ducks away with his reward money, claiming the battle is a suicide mission. Meanwhile, the Death Star comes within firing range of Yavin and the Imperial leaders anticipate their decisive victory. Rebels race toward the battleship and attempt to dodge their pursuers, including Darth Vader, who pilots a deadly imperial fighter. With many of Luke's senior comrades defeated, the boy is ordered to the front, but his rear guard is killed. The Death Star takes aim at Yavin just as Luke speeds toward its vulnerable portal. Although he uses a device to guide him, he subconsciously hears Obi-Wan's refrain, "use the Force," and turns off the computer to follow his instinct. Just then, Darth Vader directs his guns on Luke's starfighter and prepares to fire, but Han Solo suddenly appears in the Millenium Falcon and interferes, sending the villain spiraling into space. Luke's missiles successfully destroy the Death Star an instant before the battle station fires at Yavin, and peace is finally restored to the universe.
At the Sarah Siddons Society's annual banquet, imperious theater critic Addison DeWitt, playwright Lloyd Richards and his wife Karen, producer Max Fabian and legendary actress Margo Channing watch as Eve Harrington is presented with the theater's most prestigious award. Karen recalls when Eve first entered their lives: On a rainy October night, Karen arrives at the theater where Margo is starring in Lloyd's play, and is approached by Eve, who has been to every performance. Touched by the young woman's devotion to Margo, Karen brings her backstage. In Margo's dressing room, Eve describes her childhood in the Midwest and her marriage to Eddie, an Air Force radio technician who was killed in the war. Eve explains that her life changed when she happened to see Margo in a play in San Francisco, and when the production moved to New York, Eve followed. Director Bill Sampson, Margo's younger boyfriend, comes to say goodbye before leaving for Hollywood to direct a film. Eve accompanies Margo and Bill to the airport, and so endears herself to them that Margo moves Eve into her guestroom. Eve quickly makes herself indispensable as Margo's assistant, to the displeasure of Margo's maid, retired vaudevillian Birdie Coonan. Their relationship becomes strained, however, when Eve arranges a homecoming birthday party for Bill without telling Margo. The night of the party, Margo and Bill quarrel about Eve, and he chides Margo for her jealousy and insecurity about her age. The tension between them escalates as the guests begin to arrive, and Margo gets drunk and grows maudlin. Max takes Margo aside and says he has foolishly agreed to audition Addison's date, the breath-taking Miss Casswell, and Margo promises to read with her. She then asks Max to give Eve a job in his office. Meanwhile, Eve tells Karen that she would like to replace Margo's pregnant understudy, and Karen promises to speak to Max. On the day of Miss Casswell's audition, Margo shows up late and encounters Addison in the lobby of the theater. Addison tells her that Miss Casswell already read with Margo's new understudy, Eve, adding that Eve performed brilliantly. Margo argues bitterly with Lloyd and accuses Bill of rehearsing Eve on the sly. When they are alone, Bill asks Margo to marry him, as he has many times before, and when she says no, he walks out. Lloyd goes home and raves to Karen about Eve's performance, and comments that he longs to see Margo put in her place. Recalling that they are scheduled to spend the weekend in the country with Margo, Karen comes up with an idea to teach Margo a lesson, and places a call to Eve. At the end of a tense weekend, Lloyd and Karen are driving Margo to the train station when the car suddenly runs out of gas. While Lloyd sets off to find help, Margo apologizes to Karen for her recent bad behavior and Karen looks guilt-stricken. Eve goes on in Margo's role that night, with Addison and several other critics in attendance, all of them invited that afternoon. After the show, Addison goes backstage and overhears Eve making a play for Bill in her dressing room. When Bill rejects her, Addison comes in and offers to help promote her career. The next day, Addison's column sings Eve's praises and makes snide remarks about "mature" actresses playing youthful roles. Bill returns to Margo's side to comfort her. Later, Lloyd tells Karen that he would like to put his next play into production right away, with Eve as "Cora," the role that was to have been Margo's. That night, after the show, Lloyd and Karen join Bill and Margo at the Cub Room, and Bill announces that he and Margo are engaged. The waiter brings an urgent note from Eve, asking Karen to meet her in the ladies' room. Eve asks for the lead in Lloyd's new play, adding that Addison will print the truth about Margo's missed performance if her demand is not met. Karen shakily returns to the table, only to hear Margo declare that she does not want to play "Cora." On the night of the play's New Haven opening, Eve tells Addison that Lloyd is going to leave Karen and marry her. To Eve's surprise, Addison coldly vetoes her plans, saying he has uncovered her scandalous past, and that Karen told him about Eve's attempt to blackmail her. Addison tells her that she belongs to him, and Eve wretchedly submits. Back at the awards banquet, Eve gives a humble acceptance speech and promises to return to the theater after her upcoming assignment in Hollywood. After the banquet, Eve is tired and depressed, and returns to her apartment, where she finds a young woman, Phoebe, waiting in her room. Phoebe says she is the president of one of Eve's fan clubs and took the subway from Brooklyn in the hope of meeting her idol. When the doorbell rings, an exhausted Eve asks Phoebe to take care of things. Phoebe opens the door to Addison, who has brought Eve's award, which was left in the taxi, and takes it into the bedroom. Fondling the award with a determined gleam in her eye, Phoebe tries on Eve's cape and stands before the mirror, posing and bowing.
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.
On a Friday afternoon in Phoenix, Arizona, Marion Crane and her lover, Sam Loomis, are having a romantic rendezvous at a hotel when Marion complains that she is tired of meeting Sam under such sordid circumstances. Sam, who runs a hardware store in Fairvale, California, assures her that they can marry after he pays his debts, but Marion longs for immediate respectability. Upon her return to the real estate office where she works as a secretary, Marion learns that her boss, George Lowery, is with oil tycoon Tom Cassidy. When the men return, the lecherous Cassidy brags to Marion that he is paying $40,000 in cash to buy a house for his daughter. Lowery, worried about leaving the money in the office over the weekend, tells Marion to take it to the bank, and Marion asks to go home afterward. After rebuffing Cassidy again, Marion departs, but at her apartment, stuffs the money into her purse and leaves with a suitcase. Driving until exhaustion forces her to pull over, Marion falls asleep on a lonely stretch of road. She is awoken on Saturday morning by a highway patrolman, who is suspicious of her irritable manner. After the policeman dismisses her, Marion, afraid that he will remember her, goes to a used car lot and trades in her vehicle for one with California plates. Later, during a fierce rainstorm, Marion misses the turnoff to Fairvale and stops at the Bates Motel, where the proprietor, Norman Bates, welcomes her and offers to fix her dinner at his home, a looming structure on the hill behind the motel. Marion accepts, but as she hides the cash in a newspaper she had purchased, she hears an old woman loudly berate Norman for attempting to bring a girl into her home. When Norman returns with sandwiches, he explains to the apologetic Marion that his mother is "not quite herself." Norman then invites her into his parlor behind the office, where Marion is nonplussed by the birds Norman has stuffed in pursuit of his hobby, taxidermy. Marion chats with the shy Norman, who confesses how alone he is, except for his mother. When Marion asks if Norman has any friends, Norman replies that "a boy's best friend is his mother," although he admits that he wishes he could run away, as Marion is apparently doing. Norman relates his belief that everyone is in a trap of some kind, and that his mother is mentally ill due to the deaths of his father and later, her lover. When Marion suggests that Norman could lead a life of his own if he put his mother in an institution, he reacts bitterly, stating that his mother is harmless and that he could never abandon her. Relaxing, Norman asserts that "we all go a little mad sometimes." Realizing that she has gone mad herself, Marion tells Norman that she has to return to Phoenix, in hopes of escaping a private trap. Marion then goes to her room, unaware that Norman is watching her undress through a peephole. While Marion writes a note calculating how much of the stolen money she has spent, Norman strides to the house, resolved to assert himself. Norman's strength fades, however, and as he sits dejectedly at the kitchen table, Marion tears up her note, flushes it down the toilet and enters the shower. As Marion enjoys her shower, a shadowy female figure enters the bathroom and repeatedly stabs her. A few minutes later, in the house, Norman screams out to his mother about the blood, then rushes to find Marion, lifeless on the bathroom floor. Sickened but determined to protect his mother, Norman wraps Marion's body in the shower curtain and after cleaning the room, deposits her corpse and belongings into the trunk of her car. Norman also tosses in the newspaper, which he does not know holds the money, then sinks the car in a swamp behind the house. A week later, as Sam is writing to Marion, he is interrupted by her sister Lila, whom he has never met. Sam is baffled by Lila's frantic questioning about Marion and is prevented from answering by the arrival of Milton Arbogast, a private investigator. Arbogast and Lila explain to Sam about Marion's theft, and although Sam maintains his innocence, Arbogast remains suspicious that he is involved. Promising Lila that he will find her sister, Arbogast then spends two days searching the area. When he reaches the Bates Motel, he interrogates Norman, who stammers that he has never seen Marion. Arbogast uncovers Norman's lie, however, and after Norman admits that Marion was at the motel, the detective appears to accept his statement that she left early in the morning. When Arbogast sees Mrs. Bates sitting in a window of the house, he wants to question her, but Norman orders him to leave. Unsettled, Arbogast calls Lila and relates everything that Norman said, then states that he will return to Fairvale after interrogating Mrs. Bates. As Arbogast climbs the stairs in the house, however, he is stabbed to death by a woman. Soon after, Norman sinks Arbogast's car in the swamp, while in Fairvale, Lila grows impatient about the detective's absence and Sam eventually takes her to see Deputy Sheriff Al Chambers. Convinced that Arbogast got "a hot lead" from Norman, then left to chase Marion and the money, the skeptical Chambers dismisses Lila's concerns, especially when she mentions Mrs. Bates. Chambers explains that, ten years earlier, Norman's mother poisoned her lover upon discovering that he was married, then committed suicide. After Chambers telephones Norman, who confirms that Arbogast left suddenly, Norman confronts his mother, telling her that she must hide in the fruit cellar for her own protection. Over her loud objections, Norman then carries her downstairs. Unsatisfied by Chambers' remarks, Lila and Sam drive to the motel the following day and check in. After sneaking into the room in which Marion stayed, Lila finds a piece of the paper on which Marion had written. Convinced that Norman hurt Marion to steal the money, Sam detains him in the office while Lila searches for Mrs. Bates. Norman, irritated by Sam's insinuations, retreats to his parlor and upon hearing Sam's mention of his mother, knocks Sam unconscious. Meanwhile, Lila has been exploring the house, in which she finds Mrs. Bates's immaculate bedroom and her bed, which bears the imprint of her body. Lila also snoops around Norman's squalid room, which contains his childhood toys and a small cot. Returning to the first floor, Lila sees Norman running up to the house and hides downstairs. As Norman goes upstairs, Lila creeps down to the fruit cellar, where she finds Mrs. Bates sitting with her back to the door. Lila inches forward to tap the old woman on the shoulder, but when she swings around, Lila is horrified to find herself staring at a decaying corpse. As she screams, Lila turns around to see Norman, wearing a wig and one of his mother's dresses. Shrieking "I am Norma Bates," Norman lunges toward her with a knife, but Sam arrives in time to overpower him. Later, as Sam and Lila wait with Chambers and other officials at the courthouse, Norman is examined by a psychiatrist, Dr. Richmond. Richmond explains that Norman, who suffers from a split personality, has been taken over by the dominant personality, that of his mother, and that Norman himself no longer exists. Richmond states that after the death of his father, Norman was overwhelmed by his domineering mother, and that when she took a lover, Norman killed them both. Unable to bear the guilt, Norman preserved her corpse, then, to heighten the illusion that "Mother" was alive, began dressing and speaking as her. Believing that his mother would be as jealous of him as he was of her, Norman subconsciously allowed the Mother side of his personality to murder any woman whom he found attractive. As they discuss the case, Norman sits in a nearby room, huddled in a blanket, while the Mother side of his personality thinks to herself that she could not allow her son to brand her a killer. Noticing a fly on her hand, Mother cunningly declares that she will not swat it, so that anyone observing her will know that she would not even harm a fly.
In 1937 Los Angeles, private detective J. J. "Jake" Gittes, who specializes in adultery cases, is hired by the well-dressed Mrs. Evelyn Mulwray to follow her husband Hollis, chief engineer for the Department of Water and Power. Jake later sits in on a city council meeting, where Mayor Bagby offers his support for a new dam that will guarantee an adequate water supply for the city. After Hollis emotionally speaks out condemning the project as unsafe, Jake follows him as he inspects the dry Los Angeles riverbed under the Hollenbeck Bridge, then goes out to Point Fermin, where thousands of gallons of water rush through a drainage pipe out into the sea that night. A few days later, Jake and his associate, Duffy, photographs Hollis rowing a pretty young blonde woman around Echo Park Lake. Jake then follows the couple to the El Macando courtyard apartments, where he secretly takes pictures of the girl embracing Hollis. The next day, one of Jake's photographs is printed on the front page of the newspaper, accompanied by a story about Hollis' "love nest." When Jake arrives at his office, he is stunned to learn that the woman claiming to be Mrs. Mulwray was an imposter, and the real Evelyn, who has come to the office, intends to sue him. Angry that he has been duped, Jake finesses his way into Hollis' office, but finds no compromising information, only a handwritten notation reading "Oak Pass Reservoir, Tuesday, 2:00 pm." His search is interrupted by Hollis' underling, Russ Yelburton, who assures him that Hollis is not the sort of man to have an affair, then escorts Jake out. Jake then goes to Hollis' estate to speak with him directly. Evelyn says that she will not pursue her lawsuit, then suggests that Hollis might be at the Oak Pass reservoir. Jake then drives there and encounters Lt. Lou Escobar, an old rival from his days on the police force in Chinatown, and sees Hollis' dead body being pulled from the water. Evelyn later identifies Hollis at the morgue and refutes Escobar's suggestion that her husband committed suicide, claiming that they were trying to work out their problems over his affair. Outside, Jake tries to convince Evelyn that Hollis was murdered, but she insists that it was an accident. After she leaves, Jake goes back inside to look around and is puzzled when a medical examiner casually tells him that one of the bodies in the morgue was a homeless man who drowned under the Hollenbeck Bridge. Knowing that there should not have been enough water there to drown someone, Jake revisits the bridge. After finding only a small pool of water in the gravelly land below, Jake speaks with a boy on horseback and learns that water rushes through at night. When Jake returns to walk around the Oak Park Reservoir that evening, he hears a gunshot, then a rush of water, which quickly envelopes him. After making his way out of the torrent, he is stopped by a short man in a white suit, accompanied by Claude Mulvihill, a cheap detective whom Jake detests. The short man puts a knife into Jake's left nostril, then suddenly cuts through it, warning Jake that next time he will lose his entire nose. At the office the next day, as Duffy and Jake's other associate, Walsh, try to talk him out of pursuing the Mulwray case, he receives a phone call from a woman named Ida Sessions, who reveals that she was hired to impersonate Mrs. Mulwray but had no idea that anyone would be killed. Because she is frightened, she will not reveal anything more, but tells him to look in the obituary column. Later, Jake goes back to see Yelburton, and while he is waiting, notices several pictures on the walls of Hollis with Noah Cross, the man whom Walsh had photographed a few days before having a heated argument with Hollis outside the Pig 'n Whistle restaurant. Yelburton's secretary tells him that Cross and Hollis owned the water company in partnership, but Hollis thought that water should belong to the people and gave the company to the city. When he speaks with Yelburton, Jake alludes to knowing more than he does, saying that Hollis' murder is tied to the new dam and the deliberate dumping of thousands of gallons of water during a drought. After Yelburton sheepishly admits that some water has been diverted quietly to the northwest San Fernando Valley, Jake proffers that he is not after him, but those behind him. Returning to his office, Jake is visited by Evelyn, who wants to hire him to investigate Hollis' murder. Some time later, Jake goes to Catalina Island to the Albacore Club to see Cross, whom he has learned is Evelyn's father. Implying that he does not want his vulnerable daughter to be taken advantage of, but also indicating that he feels sorry for the girl Hollis was seeing, Cross offers to double what Evelyn is paying if Jake finds the girl. Jake catches Cross in a lie when he says that he had not spoken to Hollis in years, but Cross brushes aside Jake's revelation that they had been photographed together. Some time later, Jake goes to the Hall of Records, where he discovers that thousands of acres of farm land in the Valley recently have been sold. Armed with a list of the purchases he has torn from the record books, Jake drives to the Valley but finds himself chased by a family of angry farmers who think he works for the water company. Just before Jake is knocked out by one of the younger farmers, the father snarls that the city has attacked their wells to force them to sell their land cheap. When Jake wakes up, Evelyn is with him, summoned by the father, who found her card in Jake's pocket. As they drive back into town, Jake tells her that the proposed dam is a fraud because the water will be going to unincorporated areas of the Valley instead of the city of Los Angeles. He also tells her about the recent land sales at bargain prices. As Evelyn comments on the old-fashioned names of the buyers, Jake suddenly remembers that one of them, Jaspar Lamar Crabb, who was listed in the obituary column Ida Sessions suggested he look at, had died a week before his deed was recorded. Because Crabb had lived at the Mar Vista Rest Home, Jake suggests they drive there. Pretending that they are looking for a home for his father, they ask to look around. Jake recognizes the names of many of the residents as the same as those on the newly recorded deeds, but when he speaks with one of the residents, Emma Dills, who is making a quilt with an emblem for the Albacore Club, she knows nothing about any property in the Valley. The home's manager, now joined by Claude, then orders them to leave. Outside, Jake sees the man in the white suit approaching and, with Evelyn's quick driving, is able to escape. Later, at Evelyn's house, the two make love. After Evelyn receives a phone call, she tells him that she must leave, but first confides that her father owns the Albacore Club. When Jake then reveals that he had met her father there, she becomes unsettled and warns him that her father is dangerous. Suspicious of the phone call, Jake follows Evelyn to a house on Canyon Drive where he peeks through the window and sees the young blonde woman crying, apparently struggling with Evelyn and her Chinese butler, Kahn. When Evelyn gets into her car, she is startled by Jake, who assumes that the girl is being held against her will and coldly threatens to call the police. Evelyn then says that the girl is her sister and implies that she condoned Hollis' affair because she wanted him to be happy. Finally back at his house, Jake receives two anonymous calls from a man who says that Ida Sessions wants to see him. The next morning, Jake arrives at Sessions' house, where he discovers her dead body, then is surprised by Escobar and his partner, Loach. Escobar guesses that Ida had initially hired Jake but assumes that Evelyn killed her husband and is being blackmailed by Jake. Escobar also reveals that the autopsy on Hollis showed that he had drowned in salt water, not the reservoir's fresh water. After Jake tries to convince Escobar that there has been a plot to divert water and that Hollis was murdered because of it, Escobar gives him two hours to find Evelyn and bring her in to the police. Jake then goes to Evelyn's house, but only finds the maid. He then goes outside and gazes at the pond, which the gardener complains is filled with salt water. Remembering that he had seen something shiny in the pond the first time he visited, Jake and the gardener retrieve a broken pair of gold-rimmed glasses. Jake then drives to the Canyon Drive house and gruffly asks Evelyn if the glasses belonged to Hollis. After she acknowledges that they look like his, Jake calls Escobar and tells him to come over. Evelyn is confused by Jake's actions, prompting him to demand that she tell him about the girl, suggesting that she killed Hollis out of jealousy and shouting that he knows that she does not have a sister. As Jake angrily starts to slap her, Evelyn finally breaks down and screams "she's my sister and my daughter." She then explains to the stunned Jake that she became pregnant at age fifteen after her father raped her, then went to Mexico, where Hollis took care of her and continued to take care of both her and the girl, who is named Katherine. Now Jake tells her to find a place to go, and Evelyn suggests Kahn's house in Chinatown. Before leaving, Evelyn glances again at the eyeglasses and mentions that they could not have belonged to Hollis because he did not wear bifocals. A short time after Evelyn drives away with Katherine, Escobar and Loach arrive. Jake lies that Evelyn has gone to her maid's house in San Pedro and offers to give them the address, but Escobar insists that Jake come along. When they arrive in the San Pedro, Escobar reluctantly acquiesces to Jake's request for a few minutes alone with Evelyn. The house actually belongs to Curly, a man who had hired Jake to follow his cheating wife. Once inside, Jake asks Curly to take him for a ride in his truck, and while Jake hides from sight, offers to forgive his bill and pay him $100 if he will take Evelyn and Katherine to Ensenada in his boat. Later, outside Evelyn's house, Jake loads Curly's truck with her suitcases, then calls Cross to tell him that he has found the girl and he should bring his checkbook to Evelyn's house. When Cross arrives, Jake confronts him about murdering Hollis and raping Evelyn. Although Cross genuinely admired Hollis for "making this town," he admits to murdering him so that water could be brought to the Valley. He also said it was not for the money, which he did not need, but for the future, explaining that once water is in the Valley, the land will be incorporated into the city. With Loach as his henchman, Cross forces Jake to take them to Katherine. When Cross, Jake and Loach arrive on Chinatown's Alameda Street a short time later, they are approached by Escobar and his men, who start to handcuff Jake. Happy to be taken out of danger, Jake blurts out that Cross killed Hollis. During the confusion of conflicting stories, Evelyn and Katherine approach Evelyn's car. When Cross tries to introduce himself to Katherine as her grandfather, Evelyn draws a gun and warns that he will never have her. After shooting Cross in the arm, she drives off, ignoring Escobar's order that she stop. When she continues driving down the street, Escobar and his men shoot at the car until it stops. Hearing the sound of the car's blaring horn in the distance, Jake, Escobar, Cross and the others rush to it and find Katherine covered in blood, screaming next to Evelyn's dead body. Cross pulls Katherine away, shielding her eyes, as Jake stares at Evelyn's body. When he directs a crack at Escobar, Escobar screams at Walsh and Duffy to do Jake a favor and take him away. As Jake is being pulled away by his friends, Walsh tries to comfort him saying, "Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown."
At an Oregon mental asylum, serene but tyrannical Nurse Ratched maintains firm control over the men's ward. In the day room, calm music blares from a record player, as she and her assistant, Nurse Pilbow, hand out daily medications to their patients. Randle Patrick McMurphy, who is eager to escape a work farm prison where he is serving a six-month sentence for statutory rape, is delivered to the asylum wearing handcuffs. When McMurphy attempts to greet a very tall Native American, called Chief Bromden, he is met with a blank stare and no response. Billy Bibbit, the youngest patient in the ward who has a marked stutter, informs McMurphy that Bromden is a deaf-mute. When the hospital psychiatrist, Dr. Spivey, meets with McMurphy, he tells him that the prison officials believe McMurphy is faking mental illness and informs him that the hospital staff will be evaluating him to determine whether he should be returned to complete his sentence or remain at the asylum. McMurphy arrives at Ratched's ward as she is leading a group therapy session in which she urges the men to discuss the marital and sexual problems of Harding, a well-spoken, educated patient who suspects his wife of infidelity. The men are at first reluctant to speak up, but Ratched encourages them to talk. Due to the intrusive nature of the discussion, Harding becomes upset, causing tension to rise within the group. The session ends with loud arguments that prompt the orderlies to physically remove some of the patients out of the room to restore the peace. During an outdoor exercise interval, McMurphy encourages Bromden to play basketball by climbing onto the shoulder of another patient and shooting the ball through the hoop, but Bromden shows little interest. Later, McMurphy encourages his fellow patients to play blackjack, instead of their usual pinochle, using cigarettes to represent dimes. When McMurphy asks Ratched to turn down the music so the men can hear each other, Ratched refuses, explaining that the older men who are hard of hearing would not be able to enjoy it. McMurphy balks at taking medication, but Ratched convinces him to cooperate by offering to administer the medicine in another way. At the next group session, McMurphy suggests changing the work detail, so that the men can watch the opening of the World Series on television. Ratched patiently explains that making changes would disturb the men in the ward who take a long time adjusting to a schedule. She suggests taking a vote, but most of the men are reluctant, even fearful, of voting against her will. Later, in the "tub room" of the asylum, McMurphy suggests that they leave the asylum to watch the game at a bar, but the men explain that they are locked in. McMurphy bets them that he can get them out and attempts to lift a large marble washing station with which he plans to break open a window, but finds it too heavy. When he finally gives up, he tells the others that at least he tried. At the next group session, Ratched focuses on Billy, who had asked a girl to marry him. Ratched mentions that Billy's mother never told Ratched about the girl, which causes Billy's stutter to intensify. When she asks about the first time he tried to commit suicide, another patient, Cheswick, asks Ratched why she presses Billy on the subject when he does not wish to talk. Changing the subject, he says that he would like to see the baseball game and asks for another vote. This time, all nine men in the group vote in favor of the game, but Ratched tells them that there are eighteen patients in the ward and a majority vote is needed to change ward policy. McMurphy approaches each of the other men, urging them to raise their hands, but they are too mentally ill to comprehend the events around them. Just as Ratched ends the group meeting, McMurphy convinces Bromden to raise his hand, but Ratched again refuses to give in, claiming that the vote was closed. Refusing to be defeated, McMurphy stares at the blank television screen and pretends to watch the game, shouting out a play-by-play commentary that inspires the other men to join him and cheer. After his fourth week at the asylum, McMurphy meets with Spivey, as other doctors observe their conversation. When he is asked if he likes being at the asylum, McMurphy responds that Ratched is not honest, that she "likes a rigged game." Spivey tells McMurphy that he diagnoses no evidence of mental illness, prompting McMurphy to make silly faces and other odd movements, and ask, "Is this crazy enough for you?" As the men are preparing to go on an outing, McMurphy impulsively asks Bromden to help him over the barbed wire fence around the hospital. On the other side, he hides in the vacant bus until the men board, then drives the bus away, leaving the asylum staff behind. After picking up Candy and Rose, friendly prostitutes with whom he is acquainted, he takes the men to a marina, where he convinces the harbor master to let them charter a boat, introducing himself and his cohorts as doctors from the mental institution. He teaches the men to bait a hook and puts Cheswick in charge of the ship's wheel, while Billy and Candy go below deck. When the men later return to the waiting police who accompany Spivey, they are exhilarated. Later, the panel of doctors meet and cannot agree on whether McMurphy is mentally ill, but some believe he is dangerous. When they consider returning him to the prison, Ratched suggests that they keep him rather than relinquish their problems to another institution. Outside, McMurphy leads the men in a game of basketball. Bromden walks back and forth between the two baskets, ensuring that his own team's ball goes into the basket while preventing the opposing team's ball from going through, but everyone enjoys the game. During a hydrotherapy session, McMurphy mentions to one of the orderlies that he has only sixty-eight days left of his sentence, but is told that, unlike a prison sentence, asylum commitments last until the doctors allow you to leave. At the next group session, McMurphy accuses his fellow patients of not explaining that he must remain there at the discretion of Ratched and the doctors. Harding says that he did not know, as he had voluntarily committed himself, and Ratched explains that McMurphy is one of only a few who are actually committed. Hearing that Billy could leave if he wished, McMurphy tells him that he is young and should be out enjoying women. He tells the men they are no crazier than most people. When Ratched encourages comments on McMurphy's statement, the men direct their challenges at her, by asking why the doors to their rooms are locked during the day and why their cigarettes are withheld from them. When the usually docile Cheswick demands his cigarettes, Ratched accuses McMurphy of creating the necessity of rationing their cigarettes, because he was winning their money and cigarettes in gambling. A patient, Taber, who has been hiding a lit cigarette in the cuff of his pants, yells out in pain when it burns his leg, creating chaos that builds when Cheswick loudly demands his cigarettes and disturbs the more vulnerable patients. To calm him, McMurphy breaks the window of the nurses' office to retrieve his cigarettes. Meanwhile, Washington, an orderly, tries to force Cheswick from the room, prompting McMurphy to punch him. They fight, but when Washington holds McMurphy down, the silent Bromden comes to his aid. Order is restored when more orderlies are called in, and McMurphy, Bromden and Cheswick are cuffed and taken from the room to be given sedatives. While waiting in a hall, after Cheswick is taken away, McMurphy offers Bromden a piece of chewing gum and is given a quiet thank you, revealing that Bromden can both hear and speak. McMurphy suggests they escape the asylum together, but he is taken away and given electroshock treatment. When McMurphy returns to the ward, he shuffles in, bearing a vacant look on his face, but soon laughs and acknowledges that he is playing a joke on the men. Still intent on escaping, McMurphy breaks into the nurses' office one night and calls Candy and Rose, asking them to bring liquor. McMurphy invites Bromden to leave with him, but Bromden declines. When Candy and Rose arrive, McMurphy pulls them in through a window and awakens the men for a farewell party. Afterward, McMurphy prepares to leave with the women and says goodbye to each of the men. Noting that Billy is upset, McMurphy invites him to come along, but Billy believes he is not ready for the outside world. Realizing that the virginal Billy is attracted to Candy, McMurphy arranges for them to have a private "date." While waiting for Candy, McMurphy falls asleep and when the orderlies and nurses arrive the next morning to discover the disheveled room, it is too late for him to escape. When the hospital attendants discover Billy in bed with Candy, Ratched asks him if he is ashamed of himself. Billy answers without stuttering that he is not, but when Ratched threatens to tell his mother, he breaks down and is taken from the room by the orderlies. Shortly after, Billy commits suicide. Angry, McMurphy grabs Ratched by the throat and strangles her, until Washington knocks him out. Later order is restored and Ratched, now wearing a neck brace, regains control of the men, although they still play blackjack using cigarettes for money. McMurphy, however, has not been seen and various rumors circulate, some stating that he escaped the asylum and others that he is on another floor, "meek as a lamb." During the middle of the night, McMurphy is returned to his bed by orderlies. Bromden goes to him, ready for the two of them to escape, but discovers that McMurphy has been given a lobotomy that has left him vacant and spiritless. To free him, Bromden suffocates his friend with a pillow. He then goes to the tub room, lifts the washing station and breaks the window, through which he leaves the asylum.
Tom Joad returns from prison, where he was serving time for manslaughter, to his family's Oklahoma farm and finds the house abandoned. Muley, his half-crazed neighbor, tells Tom about the recent dispossession of the sharecroppers, who have been driven out by drought and the greedy land companies. Tom finally locates his family as they are about to pack their belongings on a dilapidated truck and head West, lured by promises of work and high wages in California. Joined by their friend Casy, a former "fire and brimstone" preacher, the Joads begin their long trek west on Route 66. Soon after, Grandpa dies and is buried alongside the road. Their hopes for a bright future are dimmed when a man at a roadside camp warns of no work in California, but the family continues on. As the Joads cross the great California desert, Grandma dies, and the remainder of the family emerges from the desert to find no jobs and hoards of starving migrants. Poverty and desperation begin to break apart the family as the husband of pregnant daughter Rosasharn leaves her. Despite rumors of labor violence, the family nonetheless hits the road once again. Hounded by the law and the local citizenry, the Joads find work as strikebreakers. Casy warns Tom that strikebreaking will only drive down wages, and when a deputy murders Casy for his labor organizing, Tom fights back and kills the deputy. With Tom now hunted as a murderer, the family steals away under cover of night and finds temporary refuge in a government agricultural camp. When the police track Tom down at the camp, however, he is forced to bid farewell to his family, knowing he may never see them again. As the family leaves the haven of the camp for promise of work in Fresno, Ma Joad voices the faith to carry on.
At the dawn of mankind, a colony of peaceful vegetarian apes awakens to find a glowing black monolith standing in their midst. After tentatively reaching out to touch the mysterious object, the apes become carnivores, with enough intelligence to employ bones for weapons and tools. Four million years later, in the year 2001, Dr. Heywood Floyd, an American scientist, travels to the moon to investigate a monolith that has been discovered below the lunar surface. Knowing only that the slab emits a deafening sound directed toward the planet Jupiter, the U.S. sends a huge spaceship, the Discovery , on a nine-month, half billion-mile journey to the distant planet. Aboard are astronauts David Bowman and Frank Poole, plus three others in frozen hibernation, and a computer called HAL 9000. During the voyage, HAL predicts the failure of a component on one of the spacecraft's antennae. Bowman leaves the ship in a one-man space pod to replace the crucial part; the prediction proves incorrect, however, and when Poole ventures out to replace the original part, HAL severs his lifeline. Bowman goes to rescue him, but HAL closes the pod entry doors and terminates the life functions of the three hibernating astronauts. Forced to abandon Poole, who is already dead, Bowman reenters the Discovery through the emergency hatch and reduces HAL to manual control by performing a mechanical lobotomy on the computer's logic and memory circuits. Now alone, Bowman continues his flight until he encounters a third monolith among Jupiter's moons. Suddenly hurtled into a new dimension of time and space, he is swept into a maelstrom of swirling colors, erupting landscapes and exploding galaxies. At last coming to rest in a pale green bedroom, Bowman emerges from the nonfunctioning space capsule. A witness to the final stages of his life, the withered Bowman looks up from his deathbed at the giant black monolith standing in the center of the room. As he reaches toward it, he is perhaps reborn, perhaps evolved, perhaps transcended, into a new "child of the universe," a fetus floating above the Earth.
At the Spade and Archer detective agency in San Francisco, Samuel Spade is interviewed by the beautiful Miss Wonderly, who wishes to hire him to find her runaway sister. Sam's partner, Miles Archer, agrees to be present when Wonderly meets Floyd Thursby, her sister's seducer, and then follow him to his hotel in hopes of finding the missing girl. Later that night, Sam learns that Miles has been shot. He calls Wonderly and learns that she has checked out of her hotel. Then Thursby is found with four bullet holes in his back and Sam is visited by Lt. Dundy and Detective Tom Polhaus, two policemen, who suspect him of murdering Thursby out of revenge for Miles's death. The following morning, Wonderly summons Sam to her new address, where she confesses that her real name is Brigid O'Shaughnessy and that the story she related the day before was completely false. Despite his doubts that she has told him the whole truth, Sam accepts her as his client. The announcement of Thursby's death draws an inquiry from a mysterious little man named Joel Cairo, who tells Sam that he is trying to recover a statue of a black falcon. When Sam denies any knowledge of the statue, Cairo pulls a gun and demands to search the office. Sam disarms Cairo, who offers the detective $5,000 to find the bird. Sam accepts the offer, and Cairo once again holds Sam at gunpoint while he searches the office. When Brigid learns of Cairo's visit, she asks Sam to set up a meeting with him and tells Cairo that she doesn't have the statue, but will in a few days. Their meeting is interrupted by the police, who have been sent by Miles's widow Iva, who is jealous because she and Sam had been having an affair. The police now begin to suspect Sam of Miles's murder, but he spins a complicated story to stop the police from arresting the three of them for questioning. Kasper Gutman, known as "The Fat Man," is also interested in the statue and summons Sam, but when Gutman refuses to explain his interests, Sam storms out. Later, Wilmer Cook, Gutman's gunman, brings Sam back to Gutman's apartment. Gutman tells Sam that after the Crusades, Charles V of Spain presented the Knights Templar with the island of Malta, requiring only the tribute of a falcon every year. The statue everyone wants is a golden, jewel-encrusted replica of a falcon that was stolen by pirates and afterward disappeared for centuries. After it reappeared in Greece, Gutman planned to buy it, but it was again stolen and he has been following its trail ever since. He offers Sam $50,000 to find it, but before Sam can accept, he passes out from doctored drinks. When he comes to, he searches the room and finds a paper announcing the arrival of a ship from Hong Kong, but at the docks, Sam finds the ship on fire. He returns to his office, where a dying man stumbles in with a package. The man is Jacoby, the captain of the Hong Kong ship, and the package contains the statue. A phone call from Brigid takes Sam on a wild goose chase, but first he checks the package and mails the claim check to himself. When Sam finally returns home, Brigid, Gutman, Cairo and Wilmer are waiting. Sam agrees to turn over the bird if Gutman will allow Wilmer to take the blame for the three murders. When Effie arrives with the package, however, it is quickly discovered that the bird is a fake. In the confusion, Wilmer escapes. After Gutman and Cairo leave, Sam calls the police and turns them all in. Brigid admits that she shot Miles, hoping to implicate Thursby. Even though he is fascinated by her dangerous beauty, Sam turns Brigid in for the murder of his partner.
In 1941, at a boxing match in Cleveland, Ohio, pandemonium breaks out when Jake La Motta, an up-and-coming young boxer, loses a decision to Jimmy Reeves, suffering his first loss and igniting a brawl in which audience members are trampled underfoot. Following Jake's defeat, Salvy Batts, who works for boxing racketeer Tommy Como, informs Jake's brother and manager Joey that an association with Tommy could advance Jake's career. Although Joey agrees with Salvy, he observes that his stubborn brother, whom he affectionately calls "Jack," has "a head like concrete" and insists upon remaining independent. Nevertheless, Joey promises to present Salvy's offer to Jake, and proceeds to his brother's dreary, run-down apartment, where Jake is in the middle of a screaming match with his wife Irma. Once Joey mollifies his enraged brother, the mercurial Jake laments that his small, girlish hands limit his ability to rise to the top. Suddenly hostile, Jake provokes Joey into hitting him in the face. Later, when Salvy comes to watch Jake in a sparring match with Joey, Jake becomes so angered by Salvy's presence that he pummels Joey. At the neighborhood swimming pool one day, Jake spots blonde, fifteen-year-old Vickie Thailer, who piques his interest and passion. When Jake questions Joey about Vickie, Joey reminds him that he is a married man. Leaving Irma at home one night, Jake attends a church charity dance with Joey, where he sees Vickie seated across the room with Salvy. Watching Vickie drive off with Salvy, Jake sends Joey to the pool the next day to arrange an introduction to her. When Vickie admires Jake's shiny convertible, he invites her for a ride, and after changing from her swimsuit into a virginal white outfit, she joins him. After a visit to a miniature golf course, Jake takes her to the apartment he purchased for his father and ushers her into the bedroom, where a crucifix perches above the headboard. He nudges her onto the bed, but she quickly rises and walks to the bureau, where she looks at a photo of Jake and Joey sparring, a rosary dangling over its frame. In 1943, Jake scores a major victory against Sugar Ray Robinson, Robinson's first loss and the beginning of a life-long rivalry between the two boxers. Following the fight, Vickie, who is now living with Jake, kisses his blackened eye, but when he becomes sexually aroused, he pours a pitcher of ice water down his crotch in order to preserve his energy for the next match with Robinson, which is to take place three weeks later. Although Robinson is named winner of the bout by the unanimous decision of the judges, Jake's career takes off when he wins a series of victories and, now successful, he marries Vickie and buys a new home in the Bronx. Joey has also married and moved into a nearby house with his wife Lenore. In 1947, after having had three babies and living a relatively quiet life in the suburbs, Jake has gained weight and bristles when Joey enters him into a match with newcomer Tony Janiro, for which Jake will have to lose fifteen pounds. When Joey explains that he set up the match because established boxers are afraid to face Jake, Vickie supports Joey, noting that Janiro would be an apt opponent because he is so good-looking and popular. Vickie's comment triggers Jake's obsessive jealousy, and he balks at going to training camp and thus leaving Vickie alone. When Jake asks Joey to keep an eye on Vickie while he is gone, Joey suggests taking her out for a night on the town before he leaves. They all go to the Copacabana nightclub, and when Vickie excuses herself to go the ladies room, Salvy, who is there with Tommy, invites her to join them for a drink. Jake warily watches their encounter, and when Vickie returns to the table, accuses her of flirting with Salvy and Tommy. During his match with Janiro, Jake viciously pummels his opponent in the face, destroying his good looks and winning the bout. Following his victory, Jake returns to training camp, and one night while at a nightclub, Joey spots Vickie enter with Salvy and his friends. Pulling her away from Salvy's table, Joey orders Vickie to leave with him, then smashes a glass in Salvy's face. When Salvy follows Joey outside, Joey kicks him, then bangs him in the head with a taxicab door. Afterward, Tommy summons Joey and Salvy, his arm in a sling and his face bandaged, to his headquarters at the Debonair Social Club and orders them to forget their argument and shake hands. After Salvy departs, Tommy warns Joey that Jake is embarrassing him by not accepting his patronage. Although Joey argues that Jake wants to make it on his own, Tommy counters that Jake will never get a chance at the title without his help. Upon Jake's return from training camp, Joey reports that Tommy has offered him a shot at the title in exchange for throwing a match with Billy Fox. During the fight, Jake offers no resistance to Fox, allowing his opponent to strike him at will until being declared the victor. As Jake later tearfully relates to his cornermen, he did not know any other way to lose. Following the fight, Jake is suspended by the boxing board while the district attorney probes into the possibility of a fixed fight. Two years later, in 1949, Jake faces middleweight champion Marcel Cerdan in a title bout. Before the match, Tommy comes to Jake's hotel room to wish him good luck, but after Tommy kisses Vickie goodbye and leaves, Jake slaps her and demands to know why she is so friendly with Tommy. After Jake wins the bout on a technical knockout in the tenth round, the referee straps the championship belt around his waist. By 1950, Jake has developed a paunch from his extensive binges of eating and drinking, although he is set to defend his title in a month. Still insanely jealous of Vickie, Jake suspects that she and Salvy had an affair, and when Joey denies it, Jake irrationally accuses him of having an affair with her. In response, Joey advises Jake to indulge in more sex and less food. Jake then goes to Vickie's bedroom to ask if she had sex with his brother. Offended, she locks herself in the bathroom, after which he breaks down the door and slaps her. Proceeding to Joey's house, Jake pulls his brother away from dinner with his family and begins to beat him, accusing him of adultery with Vickie. When Vickie arrives, he punches her, prompting her to go home and pack her things. She later tells Jake that she is leaving him, but his more subdued, contrite demeanor causes her to relent and she agrees to stay, although the brothers remain estranged. In 1951 Jake faces Robinson to defend his championship title in the "fight of the year." As Joey watches the bout on television, Robinson viciously pounds Jake, sending streams of blood trickling down his legs and spewing from his mouth. Even though Robinson is declared the new champion, Jake remains cocky and defiant. Five years later, in 1956, Jake, now living in Florida and grown fat and bloated, announces his retirement from boxing and the opening of his eponymous nightclub. As emcee, Jake tells crude jokes and flirts with underage women customers. Tired of Jake's abuse, Vickie finally files for divorce and takes custody of the children. One evening, while sleeping in his office, Jake is arrested for pandering to underage customers. To pay his legal fees, Jake smashes his championship belt to pry out the jewels, only to be informed by the pawnbroker that the belt was worth much more intact. Unable to raise the money for his defense, Jake, bellicose and belligerent, is thrown into solitary confinement, where he slams his head against the wall and sobs that he is not an animal. By 1958, Jake, now out of jail and living in New York, has been reduced to introducing his new wife, Emma, a stripper known as "Miss 48's," in a dive bar. One night, he spots Joey walking down the street and runs after him. Although Jake smothers him with hugs and kisses, Joey, still angry, shrugs him off. In 1964, Jake rehearses his lines for his one-night show at the Barbizon Plaza Hotel. As he stands in front of his dressing room mirror, Jake recites the famous speech from On the Waterfront in which "Terry Malloy" accuses his brother, "Charley," of betraying him, saying "I could have had class. I could've been a contender, I could've been somebody…instead of a bum, which is what I am." Before going on stage, Jake gazes into the mirror and sparring with his reflection, declares, "Go get 'em champ. I'm the boss."
On a late autumn night, a spaceship filled with foliage and fungi sits among the trees of a quiet forest. Small, squat alien creatures wander near the ship observing plants on Earth until their chests illuminate red. One alien wanders off alone, looking at the city lights below, when a brigade of trucks parks nearby and humans begin to inspect the area with flashlights. The extra-terrestrial's chest glows red, attracting the attention of the humans, and the creature runs screeching back toward its spaceship. However, the aircraft's ramp closes and the ship launches into the sky, leaving the alien behind. Meanwhile, as a group of boys play games in a suburban home, Michael instructs his younger brother, Elliott, to retrieve pizzas from the deliveryman. While outside, Elliott hears a rustling in the illuminated shed behind the house. Believing the noise to be coming from the dog, Harvey, the boy tosses a baseball inside the shed, but the ball is thrown back to him. Elliott leads the other boys and his mother, Mary, outside to show them the strange occurrence. There, they find unusual footprints, which they assume were made by coyotes. After everyone has gone to sleep, Elliott inspects the yard and nearby cornfield with a flashlight. He follows a pair of tracks into the dirt and encounters the wrinkly, blue-eyed extra-terrestrial, which screams and runs away. The next morning, Elliott rides his bicycle into the park, dropping a trail of Reese's Pieces candies behind him, but quickly returns home when he notices a man inspecting the area. During dinner, the boy insists that the alien he saw was real, despite the skepticism from his mother, brother, and younger sister, Gertie. When Elliott mentions that his absent father is in Mexico with a woman named Sally, his mother begins to cry and leaves the room. That night, Elliott sits outside on a lawn chair and the alien approaches him, dropping a handful of Reese's Pieces at his feet. Elliott uses more of the sweets to lure the creature into his bedroom, where the alien mimics Elliott's movements and watches the boy as he falls asleep. Elsewhere, a group of men use radar equipment to search the forest and find a cluster of the forgotten candies. The next day, Elliott feigns illness so he can stay home while his mother goes to work and his siblings attend school. The boy speaks to the alien and shows it his belongings. Once he retrieves food from the kitchen, Elliott draws a bath and speaks to his mother on the telephone while the alien swims in the water. After school, Elliott shows the creature to Michael and Gertie, who yell in alarm, but agree to keep the creature a secret from their mother. The alien uses its powers to levitate balls of clay into the air, mimicking the orbit of planets in the solar system, and revive a wilted flower. Although amazed, Elliott becomes concerned about beeping noises and voices of the scientists nearing the house. After Elliott and Michael leave for school, Mary hears shuffling in Elliott's closet, but the alien hides itself among the children's stuffed animals. While Elliott attends a dissection lesson in biology class, the creature drinks beer from the refrigerator at home. As the alcohol takes effect in the alien's body, their telepathic connection causes Elliott to simultaneously become intoxicated and slide out of his chair. Meanwhile, the alien reads a newspaper comic depicting spacemen attempting to contact their home planet, and watches television programs featuring flying spaceships and people using telephones. In class, Elliott frees the frogs from their jars before their classmates can dissect them. As the alien watches John Wayne kiss Maureen O'Hara in The Quiet Man, Elliott grabs his classmate and kisses her, prompting a teacher to drag him away. The alien then dismantles a Speak & Spell toy and carries various household items upstairs to the closet. Later, Gertie attempts to show the creature to her mother, but Mary is distracted putting away groceries and does not notice that it has begun to mimic the girl's educational television program. She then receives a telephone call from the school and leaves to pick up Elliott. When the boy returns home, he finds that Gertie has dressed the alien in a dress and wig, and that the creature can now speak. Elliott calls the creature "E.T.," and E.T. uses signals and its limited vocabulary to tell the children that it wishes to "phone home." That night, a man drives by the house in a van and eavesdrops on Elliott and Michael rummaging through the garage for equipment to build a radar machine. On Halloween, Elliott reminds Gertie to meet him at "the lookout" point later that evening, and covers E.T. in a sheet, pretending it is his sister dressed as a ghost. He and Michael lead E.T. up the hill to meet Gertie with his bicycle, and Elliott rides into the woods with E.T. in the front basket. After nightfall, E.T. levitates the bike into the air and they ride through the sky. Elliott then helps E.T. construct a device that will send a signal to the alien's home planet. When the children do not return home that night, Mary leaves to search for them, and a group of suited men enter the house. She finds Gertie and Michael on the streets, who inform her that Elliott is in the forest. Meanwhile, the wind pushes the gears on the machine, emitting a code out into space. Upset by the thought of E.T. leaving, Elliott cries and falls asleep among the trees. The next morning, Mary reports Elliott's disappearance to a police officer, but the boy returns home, ill and alone. Michael finds E.T., white and sickly, lying in a stream. When he brings the dying creature home and shows it to Mary, she attempts to take the children away. However, a team of scientists dressed in spacesuits enter the house and cover the premises in protective quarantine barriers. While scientists run medical tests on E.T. and Elliott and asks the family questions, Michael informs them that his brother is able to telepathically sense E.T.'s feelings, and one man tells Elliott he is glad that he found E.T. before they did. As Elliott regains strength through the night, E.T. fades, and the alien's heart eventually stops. Despite the scientists' efforts to resuscitate the creature, E.T. dies, and they pack its body in a nitrogen chamber. As Elliott says goodbye, E.T.'s chest glows red, and a nearby pot of wilting flowers blooms again. E.T. repeats "E.T. phone home," prompting Elliott to realize that the alien's companions are returning. Elliott loudly weeps to distract the doctors from noticing that E.T. is still alive, and later Mike steals a medical van, with Elliott and E.T. hiding in back. He instructs his friends to meet them at the top of the hill as Mary and Gertie chase after them in the car, the scientists trailing behind. The boys ride their bicycles through the neighborhood with E.T. perched in Elliott's basket, lifting them into the air to evade the police. As they reach the forest, E.T.'s spaceship lands in the clearing, and Mary arrives with Gertie. The girl gives E.T. a flower pot, and the alien tells her to "be good." Elliott asks his friend to stay, but E.T. hugs the boy goodbye, assuring him, "I'll be right here," before walking up the ramp. The spaceship flies away, leaving behind a rainbow in the sky.
Crazed by the belief that the Communists are planning to conquer the free world by poisoning the water supply with fluoride, Gen. Jack D. Ripper, commanding officer of the U. S. Air Force base at Burpelson, unleashes a B-52 atomic bomb attack on Russia. Ripper prevents the countermanding of his orders through a secret code and makes himself inaccessible by sealing off the base. When President Muffley learns of the unauthorized mission, he summons his council to the War Room in the Pentagon and invites Russian Ambassador de Sadesky. Despite the hysterical advice of Gen. "Buck" Turgidson, who advocates limited nuclear war, the President orders U. S. land forces, under the command of Army Col. "Bat" Guano, to attack Burpelson. Ripper kills himself rather than face capture, but his R.A.F. aide, Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake, who has been locked in Ripper's office, works out the secret code that is instrumental in recalling the bombers. All appears safe until it is discovered that a plane commanded by a boisterous Texan, Maj. T. J. "King" Kong, did not receive the recall message. At this point, President Muffley learns from de Sadesky that the Russians have developed a "Doomsday Device" which will set off worldwide nuclear explosions if an atomic bomb is dropped anywhere over Russia. Desperate, the President turns to his physicist adviser, the paraplegic ex-Nazi, Dr. Strangelove, who calculates that humanity can survive if a selected few take to underground shelters and remain there for about 100 years. All efforts to halt the lone plane fail, and Kong wildly straddles the bomb as it plummets toward the earth. Consequently, the Doomsday Device is triggered, and atomic explosions are set off all over the world.
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.
In 1968, while waiting for his next assignment during the Vietnam War, Army Captain Benjamin Willard gets drunk and wrecks his hotel room in Saigon, South Vietnam. Because of his experience with reconnaissance operations, Willard is soon escorted to COMSEC Intelligence and briefed on a priority, classified mission to terminate the command of Special Forces Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, a decorated and brilliant officer who has apparently gone insane and is wanted for the murder of South Vietnamese intelligence agents. The General and Colonel at COMSEC relay that Kurtz has deserted the military and crossed into Cambodia with his own army of Montagnard Indians who regard him as a god-like figure. Although privately ambivalent about assassinating a fellow American officer, Willard accepts the mission and boards a Navy patrol boat (PBR), commanded by Chief, that will ferry him up the Nung River towards Kurtz's outpost in Cambodia. Chief's three young crew members consist of a saucier from New Orleans, LA known as Chef; champion surfer Lance Johnson from Southern California; and Clean, a teenager from the Bronx, NY. Needing an escort into the mouth of the Nung, the PBR seeks the transport assistance of the First of the Ninth, an Air Cavalry division of fighter helicopters led by Lt Colonel Kilgore. When Willard and the crew reach the Air Cavalry, the division is busy finishing up a raid on a coastal village, but Kilgore, an avid surfing fan, stops immediately upon learning that the famous Lance Johnson is present. Motivated by the surfing possibilities, Kilgore plans to transfer the PBR and its crew to an access point near the river that promises great breaking waves, but also heavy enemy artillery. The next morning at dawn, the PBR is lifted out of the water, and Willard and the crew climb aboard Kilgore's helicopter for the ride to the mouth of the Nung. As the squadron assumes attack formation, their speakers blare Richard Wagner's opera music, Ride of the Valkyries. Landing on the beach amidst enemy mortar fire, Kilgore orders his men to "surf or fight," and, as warplanes bomb the nearby jungle, he remarks, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." With their boat back on the water, Willard and the crew continue their journey toward Cambodia. Farther upriver, while the PBR is refueled at a supply station, the crew stays to watch a raucous U.S.O. show featuring Playboy playmates. When the boat trip resumes, Willard keeps to himself, avoiding the antics of the crew, who are often under the influence of drugs, and studies Kurtz's impressive dossier. While tracing Kurtz's deviation from the U.S. military, he also begins to admire the Colonel's nerve to become a Green Beret at the ripe age of thirty-eight and his execution of unauthorized operations. Willard reads letters that Kurtz wrote to his son describing the "unjustified" murder charges against him. Along the way, Chief decides to search a Vietnamese fishing boat for illegal trafficking of military supplies. In the confusion, a jittery Clean guns down the civilians on board, and Willard shoots a wounded woman dead, so as not to delay the mission. At the Do Luoug Bridge, the last Army outpost along the river, Willard is unable to locate a commanding officer in the mayhem of nighttime gunfire, but retrieves a mail shipment for the crew as well as ammunition before continuing upriver into Cambodia. The next morning while the crew is reading letters from home, the boat is attacked by artillery fire from the jungle, and Clean is shot dead. Later, they encounter a harmless barrage of toy arrows, but the crew is tense and begins firing into the trees. Suddenly, a spear pierces Chief and kills him. While Lance buries Chief, Willard reveals to Chef the actual purpose of his visit, to kill a deranged Green Beret colonel. Although angry about the absurdity of the mission, Chef agrees to accompany Willard to his destination. As the river leads them to the entrance of Kurtz's compound, the PBR navigates slowly through a grouping of Montagnard Indians in canoes and cautiously approaches the bank where dead bodies, severed heads and pagan idols are displayed. A fanatical American photojournalist, who is a devotee of Kurtz, greets them on the riverbank and cautions them that the Indians are very protective of Kurtz. Chef stays with the boat while Willard and Lance look around the area and track down the Colonel's location. Before leaving to meet him, Willard instructs Chef to radio for an air strike if he is not back by a certain hour. The Indians handcuff Willard and lead him inside a temple. In a darkened lair surrounded by armed bodyguards, the philosophical Kurtz interrogates Willard and acknowledges the assassination orders by ridiculing Willard as an "errand boy sent by grocery clerks." While Willard is held captive in a bamboo cage, the photojournalist tries to convince him that the "genius" Kurtz has plans for Willard, otherwise he would not be alive. With no sign of Willard, Chef radios for the air strike, but soon afterwards, Chef is decapitated, and Kurtz drops the severed head into Willard's lap. Eventually, Willard is carried back to the temple and offered food, water and his freedom. Over several days, Willard remains inside the temple close to Kurtz and listens as the Colonel reminisces and lectures on topics such as horror and judgment. In case he is killed, Kurtz wants his son to know the truth of what happened and asks Willard to tell him. Willard senses that Kurtz is ready to die and decides to complete his mission. One night, as the Indians engage in a ritual slaughtering of a water buffalo, Willard covers his face in war paint and attacks Kurtz with a machete. Dying, Kurtz whispers his final words, "the horror, the horror." As Willard descends the stairs of the temple, he throws down the machete and in turn, the crowd of Indians lay down their weapons as he passes by them. Grabbing Lance's hand, Willard leads him back to the boat, and the two soldiers pull away from the compound.
The untimely death of Senator Foley presents problems for political boss Jim Taylor, who needed the senator's help to perpetrate a land swindle at Willet Creek. Taylor orders Governor Hubert Hopper, whom he controls, to appoint a yes man, but citizen committees want someone else. Hopper is also besieged by his sons, who ask him to appoint Jefferson Smith, the patriotic leader of the Boy Rangers. Confused, Hopper appoints Jeff, then convinces Taylor that naïve Jeff cannot learn enough about politics in time to affect the crooked bill. Jeff's appointment as junior senator is also supported by the senior senator, Joseph Paine, who is both Taylor's stooge and Jeff's idol. Jeff and Paine go to Washington, where Jeff, overwhelmed by his first sight of the Capitol dome, leaves the group and boards a tour bus. Five hours later, he reaches his office, where his cynical secretary, Clarissa Saunders, is waiting for him with her chum, newspaperman Diz Moore. They think Jeff's patriotic spirit is hokum, and Saunders engineers a disasterous press conference for Jeff. The next morning, Paine takes Jeff to be sworn in at the Senate, where one senator objects, alleging that the newspaper stories prove Jeff is unfit. Paine defends Jeff, and after he is sworn in, enraged Jeff goes on a rampage, slugging the reporters, who label him an "honorary stooge." The truth of it stings Jeff, and after seeking advice from Paine, who tells him to sponsor a bill proposing a national Boy Rangers camp, Jeff and Saunders stay up all night working on the bill, which Jeff presents in the Senate the next morning. Despite Jeff's nervousness, the senators like his ideas, except for Paine, who is horrified to discover that Jeff wants to use Taylor's Willet Creek site. Paine knows that Jeff must not be in the Senate the next day, when the Willet Creek bill is being discussed, and so he resolves to distract Jeff with his beautiful daughter Susan. Jeff is thrilled by Susan's attentions, but the next night, Saunders, drunk with Diz, becomes distraught over the way Jeff is being misled. She asks Diz to marry her, and they return to her office to collect her things. Jeff is there when they arrive, however, and she tells him about Paine, Taylor and the graft. As they leave, Diz realizes that Saunders is in no shape to get married, and he takes her home. Stunned by Saunders' revelations, Jeff rushes to Paine's house to confront him, but Paine tries to smooth-talk him. Later, when Taylor himself arrives, he tells Jeff that he runs Paine, and that if Jeff is smart, he will cooperate. The next day, Jeff attempts to speak against the crooked bill, but, not understanding rules of protocol, yields the floor to Paine, who denounces Jeff on charges of using the boys camp for personal gain. Some time later, at Jeff's hearing before the Committee on Privileges and Elections, Hopper, Paine and others present phony evidence that Jeff owns the land upon which he wants to build the camp. Jeff is so dumbfounded by Paine's lies that he cannot testify on his own behalf and decides to leave Washington. Later that night, Jeff goes to the Lincoln Memorial, where Saunders finds him and convinces him to attempt a filibuster. The next morning, after a night of coaching, Jeff reveals the truth about Taylor and Paine to the Senate, even as Paine continues trying to condemn him. Jeff intends to talk until his news reaches his home state, and the people rise up against the corruption, but Taylor organizes a massive newspaper campaign against Jeff. Many hours later, Saunders cheers up Jeff with a note telling him she loves him, and then calls his mother, telling her to enlist the Boy Rangers to spread the truth. The boys publish their tiny newspaper, but Taylor's gang steals the papers and injures some of the boys. Back at the Senate, Paine brings in 50,000 telegrams drummed up by Taylor, all of them urging Jeff to quit. Though discouraged, Jeff resolves to keep fighting, but after he gives one last speech to Paine, he collapses from exhaustion after the almost twenty-four hour filibuster. Paine finally breaks down, and after attempting suicide outside the senate chamber, confesses that everything Jeff has said is true. Everyone in the room cheers and Saunders jumps for joy.
In 1925, in Tampico, Mexico, down-and-out Fred C. Dobbs is hired to work in an oil field, where he meets another American named Curtin. After the job is finished, Dobbs and Curtin head for a flophouse for the night. There, Howard, an old prospector, talks about men who succumbed to gold fever and lost everything, and Dobbs swears that would never happen to him. Having learned that Pat McCormick, the man who hired them, has a reputation for defaulting on the money he owes his men, Dobbs and Curtin demand that he pay them immediately. McCormick puts up a fight, but Dobbs and Curtin overpower him and take their money. They then ask Howard to help them prospect for gold. Using their pay and the money from Dobbs's winning lottery ticket, the three men head toward the Sierra Madre mountains. When their train is attacked by bandits, the Americans help fight them off, but a sudden motion of the train prevents Dobbs from killing their leader, Gold Hat. Later, in a small village, the men buy burros and supplies and head for undiscovered territory. Just as the exhausted Dobbs and Curtin decide to quit, Howard informs them that they have located a rich lode of gold. After a while, Dobbs begins to suspect the others of cheating him and suggests that they divide up the gold as they go along. Just as Howard had warned, the men become suspicious of each other. When Dobbs is caught in a cave-in, Curtin briefly considers leaving him to die, in order to get a larger share of the treasure. One day, when Curtin goes into the valley for supplies, he encounters Cody, a Texan, who questions him closely about the territory because he is sure that there is gold in the surrounding mountains. Although Curtin lies about his business, Cody follows him to the camp site and suggests that they make him a partner. Secretly, the others decide to kill Cody, but before they can take action, the camp is attacked by bandits, led by Gold Hat. Although the bandits are scared off by the appearance of federal soldiers, Cody is killed in the crossfire. The gold streak thins out and the men leave the camp. When Curtin suggests that they give a fourth of their gold to Cody's widow, Howard agrees, but Dobbs greedily refuses. Later, Howard helps revive an Indian child after he falls in the water and is forced to visit their village to allow them to repay their debt to him. Dobbs and Curtin continue on to Durango and, while in the desert, Dobbs, who has become obsessed with the gold, urges Curtin to steal Howard's share. When Curtin refuses, Dobbs accuses him of conspiring with Howard to get rid of him. Fearing for his life, Curtin tries to stay awake all night, but when he finally falls asleep, Dobbs shoots him and leaves him for dead. Curtin manages to crawl away and is found by Indians and brought to the village where Howard is being honored. When Howard learns what transpired, he and Curtin ride after Dobbs. Meanwhile, Dobbs is attacked by Gold Hat's bandits, who kill him and steal his boots and burros. They do not recognize the dust as gold-laden and, assuming that it is sand used to make the hides that cover it weigh more, dump it in the desert. In Durango, the bandits are captured when they try to sell the burros and are shot. Howard and Curtin are later taken to the place where Dobbs was murdered and, as they search for whatever remains of the gold, a storm blows the dust back toward the Sierra Madre mountains. Laughing at the irony of their situation, Howard decides to return to the Indians and spend the rest of his life as their medicine man, while Curtin plans to go to Dallas and visit Cody's widow.
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."
In 1901, in the village of Corleone, Sicily, nine-year-old Vito Andolini is comforted by his mother as they walk in his father's funeral procession. When shots ring out, Vito's older brother Paolo is killed, prompting Signora Andolini to take Vito to see local Black Hand leader, Don Francesco, called "Ciccio," whom her husband had offended. She begs him to spare Vito's life, but the don coldly refuses, prompting Vito's mother to take a knife to Ciccio's throat and scream for her son to run. She is killed by the don's henchmen, but Vito escapes. Despite threats from Ciccio's men, some villagers help Vito, enabling him to sail to America. When he is diagnosed with smallpox and placed in quarantine on Ellis Island, Vito, who has been given the surname Corleone by an immigration official, gazes at the Statue of Liberty from his small room.
In 1958, Vito's grandson, Anthony Corleone receives his First Holy Communion in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. After the ceremony, his parents, Kay and Michael, host a lavish party at their lakeside estate. Michael, who has succeeded Vito as the don of the Corleone family, receives guests who seek his favor, including Senator Pat Geary, a pompous hypocrite, who incurs Michael's enmity when he demands money in exchange for the license Michael seeks for a gambling casino. Others at the party include Michael's weak, older brother, Fredo, who cannot control his drunken wife, and their widowed younger sister, Connie, who prefers the high life to caring for her children. Al Neri, who represents elderly Jewish gangster Hyman Roth, discusses a Cuban casino deal between Roth and the Corleones, while old family friend and lieutenant Frankie Pentangeli begs Michael not to do business with Roth or his cohorts, the ruthless New York Rosato brothers. Late that night, as Michael prepares for bed and admires a picture that Anthony has drawn for him, the room is riddled by machine gun fire. Because Michael drags himself to Kay's side and covers her body with his, neither is hurt, but Kay is quietly resentful and views Michael's promises to turn the family business legitimate as lies. Michael warns his security men to capture the assassins alive, but by the time the men are found near the lake, they have been killed. Privately, Michael confides in his adopted brother, Tom Hagen, that he is the only person he trusts and relates that he will be in complete charge while Michael goes away to try to solve what has happened.
In 1917, In New York's Little Italy, Vito, now a grown man with a wife and baby son, goes to an Italian-language vaudeville show with his friend, Genco Abbandando, who is in love with one of the actresses. Backstage, Vito sees local Black Hand leader Fanucci intimidate the young actress' father and is distressed to learn that Fanucci offers "protection" to all of the local Italian merchants, even Genco's father, for whom Vito works. Soon after, Clemenza, a neighbor across the alley, throws a package to Vito and asks him to hide it. A short time later, Fanucci comes into the Abbandando grocery and demands that Genco's father hire his nephew. When the distraught Signor Abbandando tells Vito that he must let him go, Vito comforts him and says that he will never forget all of his kindnesses. The next day, Clemenza stops Vito on the street and asks about the package, which contained guns. Impressed when Vito says that he does not concern himself with things that are not his business, Clemenza offers to give Vito's wife a rug that belongs to a friend. Cemenza then takes Vito with him to a luxurious house, where they break in and steal an expensive carpet.
After leaving Lake Tahoe, Michael travels to Miami, where he goes to the modest suburban home occupied by Roth and his wife, and tells him that Pentangeli was behind the assassination attempt. Agreeing to do business together in Cuba, Roth tells Michael to bring $2,000,000 cash to him in Havana. Michael asks Roth if he minds that Pentangeli must be killed, but Roth dismisses Pentangeli as "small potatoes." Next, Michael travels to Long Island, to his father's former house in Long Beach, now occupied by Pentangeli and his family. He then tells Pentangeli that he knows it was Roth who tried to have him killed and asks him to pretend to make peace with the Rosato brothers so that Roth will be lulled into a sense of security. Sometime later, when Pentangeli and his cohort, Willy Cicci, go to a New York bar to meet with the brothers, Tony Rosato grabs him from behind and, saying "Michael Corleone says hello," starts to strangle him. Just then, a policeman enters the bar and the Rosatos flee, leaving Pentangeli for dead and wounding Cicci outside. Meanwhile, as Michael travels to Cuba, Kay begins to feel like a prisoner at the estate because the guards, under Tom and Michael's orders, prevent her from leaving. In Havana, Michael and Roth are among several prominent American corporate executives who are being wooed by the country's president, who assures them that the country's rebels will be driven out by the new year. Later, on the way to Roth's 67th birthday party, Michael sees a mass arrest and is struck by the dedication the rebels show when one man blows up himself and a soldier with a grenade. At the party, Roth, who has a heart condition, tells those gathered that he will leave most of his interests to Michael, then privately asks Michael why the $2,000,000 has not arrived. Back at his hotel room, Michael greets Fredo, who has brought a briefcase filled with the money. After Michael tells Fredo that Roth and his underling, Johnny Ola, are in Havana, Fredo denies having met them. Michael then suggests that they spend the day together. Listening as Fredo almost tearfully asks why they never spent time alone together before, Michael, who thinks that Pentangeli has been killed on Roth's orders, says that Roth will never see the New Year. That night, which is New Year's Eve, Fredo acts as host to a number of American VIPs, including Sen. Geary, who now is indebted to the Corleone family because a few weeks before, Tom had covered up the violent death of a prostitute with whom Geary was involved. When Johnny arrives, he and Fredo pretend not to know each other, but when the party goes to a sex show and Fredo casually tells Geary and the others that Johnny had told him about the club, Michael knows that Fredo had betrayed him. Meanwhile, Johnny is strangled in his hotel room. The killer then goes to kill Roth, but because Roth has had a mild stroke, he is being taken to the hospital. There, while one of the nurses leaves to celebrate the New Year with her friends, the killer sneaks into Roth's room and starts to strangle him, but is interrupted by the nurse and a guard, who kills him before he can finish. At midnight, in the presidential palace, Michael embraces Fredo and tells him he knows that it was he who betrayed him and that he broke his heart. Moments later, the president announces that, because the rebels have advanced, he is resigning and will be leaving the country immediately. As Fredo wanders through the chaos in the streets, Michael calls for him to come with him to a waiting plane, but the frightened Fredo runs away. Days later, Michael meets Tom at a Las Vegas hotel and learns that Kay has had a miscarriage. He tells Tom to find Fredo and tell him that he knows he was misled by Roth but he should come home and not be afraid.
In 1918, as Vito drives through Little Italy, Fanucci jumps on his car and tells him that he wants him and his friends to "wet my beak" and give him $200 as part of their earnings from stealing expensive dresses. That night, Vito convinces Clemenza and their friend Tessio to give him $50 and promises to make Fanucci accept that. When Vito visits Fanucci at a local café, he offers the $100, saying he needs more time for the rest. Impressed with Vito's courage, Fanucci agrees, and leaves. Because it is the Festa of San Rocco, Fanucci struts through the crowds and offers money to the church. Unknown to him, Vito has followed him on the rooftops and enters Fanucci's house. When Fanucci arrives, Vito shoots him at close range, then takes the money from his wallet, disposes of the pieces of the gun in different drain pipes, then joins his wife and three young sons to watch fireworks.
When Michael returns to his Lake Tahoe estate, he goes to his mother's cottage to talk with her before his family. Speaking in Italian, he asks if his father ever lost his family. When she says that you never lose your family, he whispers " tempi cambi ," times change. At the same time, Willy Cicci, who was only wounded by the Rosato brothers, is testifying before a U.S. Senate committee investigating organized crime, saying that he was a "button man" for Michael when he wanted something done.
In Little Italy, in 1923, Vito is now known as "Don Vito," and with his old friend Genco, he has started the Genco Olive Oil Company, which imports oil from Sicily. Vito is so respected and feared within the Italian-American community that when his wife's widowed friend, Signora Colombo, faces eviction by her landlord, Signor Roberto, the mere knowledge that Vito is her patron, makes the frightened Roberto allow her to keep the dog her son loves and stay in her apartment with a lowered rent.
When Michael is summoned to testify at the Senate hearings, rather than exercise his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, Michael calmly answers the senator's questions, saying that he is not a Mafia boss but a legitimate businessman. In a statement, Michael challenges them to produce any evidence of his crimes. A short time later, Michael and Tom learn that Pentangeli survived the attack against him and, thinking that Michael had ordered his death, has been cooperating with the FBI. Michael asks Fredo for information, but Fredo, who knows nothing, lashes out at Michael for relegating his older brother to menial assignments. After Michael says that that is what their father wanted, he tells Fredo that he now means nothing to him and never wants to see him again. After leaving Fredo, Michael tells one of his underlings that he doesn't want anything to happen to Fredo while his mother is alive. Meanwhile, Pentangeli, who is living in comfort within FBI custody, fears testifying, but his FBI guards assure him that they can protect him. When the hearings resume, Pentangeli, who is set to testify, is stunned when he sees his older brother, who lives in Sicily, enter the chambers with Michael. When questioning begins, instead of corroborating what he had said in sworn statements to the FBI, Pentangeli denies Michael's criminal activity and says that he merely told the FBI what they wanted to hear. Although the senators suspect intimidation, there is nothing they can do. After the hearings, at their Washington hotel, Kay tells Michael that she is leaving him and taking the children with her. While they are arguing, Michael tells her that he knows that she blames him for the miscarriage but that he will change. She then confesses that it was not a miscarriage but an abortion because the "Sicilian thing" must end and she did not want to bring another of his sons into the world. After slapping her with such force that she falls, Michael screams that she will never take his children from him.
In 1927, Vito, his wife and their three young children arrive in Corleone. They are welcomed by Vito's old friend and now business partner in Genco Olive Oil, Don Tommasino. After celebrating with relatives, who admire the prosperous family, Vito accompanies Tommasino to now elderly Don Ciccio's estate. After introducing himself and kissing Ciccio's hand, Vito tells him that his father was Antonio Andolini, then rips the don's belly apart with his knife. As Ciccio screams out and dies, Tommassino is wounded as he and Vito make their escape. Leaving Corleone a short time later, Vito shows baby Michael how to wave goodbye.
At Mama Corleone's funeral in Lake Tahoe, a distraught Fredo wants to speak with Michael, but Tom tells him Michael will not enter until Fredo leaves. Connie then goes to speak privately with Michael and tells him that she had hated him for a long time, but now realizes that he was just being strong for the family. Saying that she now wants to take care of him, she asks him if he can forgive Fredo. Michael then goes to Fredo and embraces his sobbing brother, but with his eyes, lets his underling Rocco Lampone know that his feelings have not changed. Sometime later, as Michael and Tom discuss the fact that Roth, who survived a stroke, has been deported from Israel and is flying back to Miami, Michael lashes out at him for not being with him on the things he needs to do. Tom assures him of his loyalty and asks what he can do. Tom soon visits Pentangeli in custody. Assured by Tom that his brother is safely back in Sicily and his own family will be well cared for, Pentangeli, who loves history, lets Tom know that he will die as disgraced Roman senators did, opening their veins in a warm bath. Back in Lake Tahoe, Fredo, who has enjoyed spending time fishing with Anthony is about to go out onto the lake when Connie says that Michael wants Anthony right away. Later, when Fredo and Rocco are out on the lake, Fredo says a "Hail Mary" just before Rocco shoots him. At the same time, Roth arrives at the Miami airport, where he is shot and killed, and the FBI agents discover that Pentangeli has killed himself in the bathtub. As Michael sits alone in his den, he thinks about Pearl Harbor Day, 1941, when he, his brothers and Connie waited for their father to come home for a birthday celebration: Although he is going to college, Michael announces that he has just enlisted in the Marines, angering Sonny and Tom. When their father comes home, everyone leaves the dining room to greet him at the door, except Michael, who remains at the table, alone.
At 10:30 on a quiet morning in 1870, three outlaws ride into the western town of Hadleyville just as its marshal, Will Kane, is being married to a pretty Quaker named Amy Fowler. To please Amy, Will resigns his post immediately after the ceremony, but he is troubled because the new marshal has not arrived to take his place. Suddenly the station master rushes in with the terrible news that Frank Miller, a wild outlaw whom Will had arrested for murder five years earlier, recently received a pardon and is due to arrive in Hadleyville on the noon train. The three outlaws, Jack Colby, Ben Miller and James Pierce, have ridden to the station and are awaiting Miller's arrival. Alarmed, the wedding guests urge Will and Amy to leave town immediately, but after only a few moments on the road, Will turns the wagon around and heads back. "I expect he'll come looking for me," Will replies when Amy asks for an explanation. Will's young wife begs him to leave with her, and when he protests that he has never run from anyone, she threatens to leave on the train whether or not he accompanies her. Will hurriedly begins to make plans for the town's defense, and is surprised when Judge Percy Mettrick, who had sentenced Miller to be hanged, packs his belongings and flees. Will is relieved to see Harvey Pell, his deputy, still in town, but Harvey, angry that an outsider was hired to replace the retiring marshal, agrees to stay only if Will promises to support his bid for the post. Will refuses, whereupon Harvey removes his guns and walks out. Will visits his old flame, businesswoman Helen Ramirez, who had formerly been Miller's mistress. Will warns Helen about Frank, and she admits that she has sold her store and plans to depart on the noon train. In the saloon, men who enjoyed the rowdy times when Frank and his henchmen controlled the town celebrate his imminent return and refuse Will's request for help. Will then visits the home of his friend, Sam Fuller, but as Sam listens from the next room, his wife tells Will that he is not at home. Next, Will interrupts the church service to ask for deputies. Although several of the townspeople proclaim that it is Will who has made their town safe and decent, many of them also argue that Miller's impending arrival is not their problem. Finally, Mayor Jonas Henderson declares that a gunfight would hurt the town's image and that Will should have left when he had the chance. Stunned, Will leaves the church and asks his mentor, Martin Howe, for help. Howe, once the marshal himself, has become cynical, however, and after Will exits his home, he mumbles, "It's all for nothing, Will." Harvey, now drunk, tries to force Will to leave town, but Will refuses, and the two men fight until the marshal knocks his former deputy unconscious. As noon approaches, Amy visits Helen, who assures her that there is no longer anything between herself and Will. She also reproaches the young wife for not defending her husband, but softens after Amy reveals that both her father and brother were killed in a gunfight. In Will's office, the only citizen who had willingly pinned on a deputy's badge now backs out and goes home, leaving the marshal utterly alone. Will writes his last will and testament, then enters the deserted street as Amy and Helen drive a wagon toward the train station. The train arrives, and as Miller disembarks, the two women get on board. Miller straps on his gun, and the four outlaws walk toward the center of town, where Will awaits them. When one of the outlaws breaks a window, Will is able to duck inside a building and shoot him. Hearing the shot, Amy gets off the train and runs back to town. Will kills another of his attackers and takes cover in the livery stable, which the two remaining outlaws set on fire. As the frightened horses charge out, Will leaps on one and makes his escape, but falls after being shot in the arm. Amy shoots one of the gunmen in the back before he can shoot Will, but is captured by Miller, who uses her as a hostage. In response to Miller's threats, Will faces him in the street, but Amy pushes the outlaw, giving Will the chance to shoot him dead. Amy and Will embrace, and the townspeople rush into the street. Disgusted by the cowardice of his former friends, Will tosses his tin star in the dirt at their feet, then leaves with Amy.
In a small Alabama town in 1932, widowed lawyer Atticus Finch strives to create an atmosphere free from hatred and prejudice for his two children, six-year-old Scout, a tomboy, and her ten-year-old brother, Jem. The youngsters lead a carefree life, racing about the town, jeering at eccentric Mrs. Dubose and frightening themselves and their new friend, six-year-old Dill Harris, with exaggerated stories about Arthur "Boo" Radley, a supposedly mentally handicapped neighbor whom they have never seen. When Atticus agrees to represent Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a young white woman, Mayella Violet Ewell, the children must defend themselves against the racist taunts of their classmates. Though Atticus is able to demonstrate Tom's innocence by forcing Mayella to admit that her father beat her when he found her making advances toward Tom, the all-white jury returns a verdict of guilty. Atticus tries to have the decision reversed, but before he can do so, Tom attempts to escape and is killed. In revenge against Atticus, Bob Ewell attacks Scout and Jem, but Boo, who has secretly watched over the children and has left gifts for them in a tree trunk, saves them by killing Ewell. Unwilling to expose Boo to any publicity, Sheriff Heck Tate concludes that Ewell fell on his own knife and decides that there will be no trial.
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.
Restless and dissatisfied with his life as a dishwasher in a small Texas town, young Joe Buck outfits himself in flashy cowboy dress and heads for New York City, confident that his fortune will be made by selling himself to wealthy, sex-starved Manhattan women. While traveling by bus, he recalls some of the events of his childhood--the father who abandoned his wayward mother, the endless stream of men who visited his frisky grandmother Sally, and a series of sexual encounters during adolescence, including a gang rape of both Joe and his girl friend Annie. After checking into a seedy Manhattan hotel, Joe takes to the streets and eventually picks up Cass, a rich, coarse, middle-aged blonde. Although they make love in her East Side apartment, Joe not only fails to collect a fee but ends up giving her $20 for cab fare. Later, at a cheap Broadway bar, Joe meets Ratso Rizzo, a crippled, tubercular petty thief and con artist who volunteers to work as his pimp and manager. Although the two misfits have a falling out when Ratso sends Joe to the sleazy room of Mr. O'Daniel, a homosexual, religious fanatic, they patch up their differences and agree to share Ratso's dismally cold room in a condemned building. Almost in spite of themselves, their mutual loneliness leads to genuine friendship as Ratso shares with Joe his fantasy of someday living a life of luxury in Miami Beach. Economically, their partnership meets with little success, as Joe's typical "conquests" turn out to be as unprofitable as his encounter with a timid student to whom he gives himself in a 42nd Street theater balcony, only to discover that the boy cannot pay. Their situation appears to improve when Joe meets Shirley, a chic swinger at an underground party in Greenwich Village, and earns $20 for spending a wild night with her. By now, however, winter has taken its toll on Ratso, and he can no longer walk. Determined to get the bus fare to take his friend to Florida, Joe brutally beats up an aging homosexual in a hotel room and steals his money. Ratso manages to stumble onto the bus, but dies as they reach Miami. Facing an uncertain future, Joe puts his arm around the dead body of the only true friend he ever had. Upon arriving in Miami Beach, Joe disposes of his cowboy apparel and plans to find work as a landscaper.
At the end of World War II, three demobilized servicemen meet on a flight to Boone City, their mid-Western hometown. The men, Air Force Captain Fred Derry, sailor Homer Parrish, and Army Sergeant Al Stephenson, quickly develop a bond, even though they come from different backgrounds. Al is a prominent banker with a wife and two children; Fred is a former soda jerk from the wrong side of the tracks, and Homer, who has lost both hands in the war, comes from a close-knit, middle-class family. As they share a taxi from the airport and happily reminisce about familiar locations, including a tavern run by Homer's uncle, Butch Engle, each expresses trepidation about the future and how they will adapt to civilian life. Homer is welcomed joyfully by his parents and girl friend, Wilma Cameron, but his mother cannot hide her heartbreak over seeing his prosthetic hooks. Al is dropped off next at his swank apartment, where he is lovingly greeted by his wife Milly and two children, Peggy and Rob, who have grown up during their father's absence. Finally, Fred goes to see his good-hearted, alcoholic father Pat and his stepmother Hortense in the shanty in which they live and learns that his wife Marie has moved into her own apartment. At Al's apartment, the realization that things have changed during his absence makes Al feel awkward and he suggests that Milly and Peggy join him for a night out on the town. Homer is equally uncomfortable talking with Wilma's parents and decides to go to Butch's place, where he finds Fred brooding over not locating Marie. They are soon joined by a very intoxicated Al, who arrives with the indulgent Milly and Peggy. While playing the piano, Butch listens sympathetically as Homer talks about his family's self-consciousness, then plays "Among My Souveniers" for Al, who dances lovingly with Milly. When the bar closes, Peggy drives the group to Marie's apartment building, but when Fred passes out on the front steps, they decide to take him home to their place. In the middle of the night, Fred has a nightmare about a friend burning in his crashing plane, and his screams awaken Peggy, who gently comforts the sobbing Fred back to sleep. The next morning, a very apologetic Fred is driven home to Marie by Peggy and confesses that he doesn't know what he will do, but will never go back to soda jerking. Meanwhile, Al awakens with a hangover, throws his army boots out the window and compares himself unfavorably to his pre-war photograph. After showering and shaving, he and Milly nervously embrace for their first time since he went into the Army. Later, Al is irritated that Mr. Milton, his former boss, wants him to return right away to the bank and saddened by the thought of all the men who did not come back. Meanwhile, Fred goes to see his old boss, Mr. Bullard, and discovers that the drugstore is now part of a large chain. Bullard recommends Fred to the new manager, but Fred bristles at the idea of taking a low-paying job which would still involve working at the lunch counter. When Al goes to the bank that afternoon, Milton offers him a large raise and a promotion to head the small loans department, but pressures him to start working as soon as possible. That night, when Marie insists that Fred wear his uniform to impress her friends, he agrees, but begins to worry that their hasty wartime marriage was a mistake. At Homer's house, Wilma tries to make him realize that she still loves him as much as ever, but runs home crying after Homer angrily pushes his hooks through a window after seeing his little sister Luella and her friends staring at him. Some weeks later, Fred's money is gone, and he has been unable to get a job. Marie, who likes to go to clubs every night, argues with Fred over money, prompting him to take the job at the drugstore. One day, Peggy stops by, and he asks her to have lunch with him. During lunch he tells her about his "cockeyed" dreams overseas of having a family and a little home, then later kisses her. That same afternoon, Al takes a chance on granting a loan to fellow veteran Novak, a hard-working sharecropper, whose only collateral is his abilities. Although dismayed, Milton does not override Al's decision, but advises him to be more cautious and not gamble with the depositors' money. That night, as Al and Milly prepare to go out to a banquet in his honor thrown by Milton, Milly says that she has a hunch that Peggy is "crazy" about Fred. Peggy, who has invited Fred and Marie out to dinner, admits that she is in love with Fred, but does not want to be, and thinks that seeing Fred with his wife will have a therapeutic effect on her. At the banquet, an inebriated Al gives a rambling speech, but ends by saying that he loves the bank so much, he plans to gamble with the depositors' money and on the future of the country. Although Milton is somewhat annoyed at Al's remarks, Milly feels very proud. At the end of the evening, Peggy returns home and tells her parents that she is going to break up Fred's loveless marriage. Al and Milly try to convince her that an outsider cannot know the true state of someone else's marriage. The next day, Al meets Fred at Butch's and asks him if he is in love with Peggy. When Fred admits that he is, Al suggests that he reconsider things, prompting Fred to call Peggy and lie that he has merely been flirting with her. Some time later, Homer visits Fred at the drugstore and gets into a conversation at the lunch counter with a man who suggests that the war was unnecessary and that the United States was pushed into it by "the Limies" and "the Reds." Fred asks him to leave and Homer, who is incensed by the man's self-proclaimed "old-fashioned Americanism," goes after him. Fred then slugs the man and is fired. On the way home, Fred asks about Wilma and advises Homer to tell her how much he loves her and marry her right away. Late that night, Wilma comes to see Homer, saying that her parents want her to go away because it is obvious that Homer no longer loves her. He argues that she does not know what it would be like living with him, but because she wants to try, he decides to let her see the worst. In his room, Homer gets out of his robe, is able to drop the harness that holds his prosthetics and put on his pajama top without help, but after that, he is completely vulnerable. Rather than being repulsed, Wilma says that she will never leave him and lovingly tucks him into bed. Some time later, Fred, who has been unable to get another job, argues with Marie, who wants to go out with an old boyfriend. Bitterly telling him that she gave up the best years of her life for him, she demands a divorce. Fred then goes back to his father's house and decides to leave Boone City for good. After saying goodbye to his father and Hortense, and leaving his military decorations with them, Fred goes to the airport and waits for the next flight out. Walking onto a part of the field filled with surplus military planes now destined for scrap, Fred climbs into the tail of one of the planes and begins to think of the horrors he witnessed during the war. When he is startled by Karney, the man who owns the salvage company, Fred asks him if he has any jobs. The gruff Karney, who is also a veteran, explains that he is using the scrap for prefabricated houses and hires Fred on the spot. Some weeks later, at Homer and Wilma's wedding, Fred, who is Homer's best man, is nervous to see Peggy and her parents again. At first, Fred and Peggy merely exchange pleasantries, but when Homer kisses Wilma at the end of the ceremony, Fred goes to Peggy and they kiss, happy to face an uncertain future together.
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.
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.
In New York City, advertising executive Roger Thornhill attends an informal business meeting at The Plaza hotel, where, intending to send his mother a wire, he summons a bellboy who has just paged George Kaplan. Across the room, two men, Valerian and Licht, believe Roger's summons is acknowledgment that he is Kaplan and when Roger leaves the bar, forcibly take him to a waiting car and drive him to the private home of Lester Townsend in Glen Cove. There he is met by the suave Phillip Vandamm, who Roger believes is Townsend. Vandamm dismisses Roger's claim that he is not Kaplan and urges him to reveal the information he wants. When Roger continues to deny being Kaplan, Vandamm's secretary, Leonard, forces Roger to drink an entire bottle of bourbon then places him behind the wheel of a car on a mountain road. Although completely befuddled by the liquor, Roger revives sufficiently to drive erratically down the hill until he is picked up by police. At court the next day, Roger and his lawyer describe his abduction and near murder, prompting the judge to order an investigation by county detectives. In the company of his mother and the detectives, Roger returns to the Townsend home but there is no sign of the kidnapping incident. A woman claiming to be Mrs. Townsend indicates Roger attended a party at the house the previous evening and reveals that Townsend is at the United Nations addressing the General Assembly. Roger and his mother return to The Plaza hotel in search of Kaplan. In Kaplan's room, Roger finds a newspaper photograph of Vandamm who he still believes is Townsend, but is forced to flee when he realizes that Valerian and Licht have followed him. At the U.N., Roger requests to see Townsend, but is confused when the man he meets is not Vandamm. Perplexed, Roger is about to show Townsend the newspaper photo he found in Kaplan's room when Townsend is struck in the back by a knife hurled by Valerian, who then escapes. As Townsend collapses into Roger's arms, Roger grabs the knife in shock and is photographed by a nearby photo journalist. Horrified, Roger runs away. Later that day at the U. S. Intelligence Agency, a group of agents led by a man known as the Professor, discuss Townsend's murder and Roger's involvement. The Professor and his group are investigating Vandamm for selling government secrets and have created a fictitious agent named George Kaplan in hopes of forcing Vandamm into the open. When the agents wonder if they should intervene on Roger's behalf, the Professor refuses, declaring that despite the danger to Roger, he is diverting attention from another agent working undercover with Vandamm. Meanwhile, Roger is labeled by newspapers as the U.N. murderer. Having learned that Kaplan has checked out of the hotel and is heading for Chicago, Roger sneaks aboard the Twentieth Century Limited. On board Roger meets an attractive blonde, Eve Kendall, who misdirects the police while he hides. Roger evades the conductors after the train gets underway, then visits the dining car where he is seated with Eve. Roger and Eve flirt with one another when she admits to tipping the waiter to seat Roger with her, but she also reveals to having seen the newspaper coverage accusing Roger of Townsend's murder. When the train makes an unscheduled stop to allow two police detectives to board, Eve offers to hide Roger in her compartment overnight. Unknown to Roger, Eve is an associate of Vandamm, who is also onboard the train with Leonard. Upon arriving in Chicago the next morning, Roger disguises himself as a porter and escorts Eve off the train. Having concluded that Kaplan can lead him to Vandamm, Roger intends to meet Kaplan and Eve offers to make the arrangements so that Roger might maintain a low profile. After Roger changes clothes, he meets Eve who claims she has contacted Kaplan at the hotel and received explicit directions for their meeting. Roger follows Eve's directions and by mid-afternoon waits for Kaplan alongside a deserted road in the middle of empty farm fields where a crop duster works in the distance. After several cars go by without stopping, the crop duster abruptly turns towards Roger and, to his amazement, makes several attacking passes at him. Roger seeks refuge in a corn field, but the plane dusts the field with a chemical powder, forcing Roger back into the open. Spotting an oncoming tanker truck, Roger desperately flags it down and stands directly in its path, forcing the tanker to stop. Still pursuing Roger, the plane swoops down at him and smashes into the tanker. When passers-by stop to gape at the scene, Roger steals a pickup and drives back to Kaplan's Chicago hotel. There he is stunned to learn that Kaplan checked out before Eve's purported conversation with him from the train station. Moments later, Roger spots Eve in the lobby and follows her to her room where she is startled to see him. Insisting that they cannot get involved with each other, Eve demands that Roger depart. Later, Roger follows Eve to an auction at an art gallery where she joins Vandamm and Leonard. Hurt over Eve's betrayal, Roger angrily confronts them. Vandamm and Leonard scoff at Roger's indignation, then bid on and win a small Mexican Tarascan Warrior figure, unaware of the Professor's presence in the bidding audience. When Valerian and Leonard block the exits, Roger creates a scene, starting a fight in order to get himself arrested. The patrolmen report Roger's seizure and are instructed to take him to the airport where he is met by the Professor, who explains about the fictitious Kaplan and the need to capture Vandamm with incriminating evidence before he departs the country from his ranch in South Dakota. Roger refuses the Professor's request to continue posing as Kaplan until the Professor admits that Eve is their inside operative, and that she is now in grave danger of being exposed unless they can convince Vandamm of her loyalty. Upon arriving in Rapid City, Roger sets up a meeting with Vandamm at the cafeteria of the Mount Rushmore memorial. Just as he meets Vandamm, Roger stages an argument with Eve, climaxing in her shooting him with blanks. With Vandamm and Leonard convinced that Roger is critically wounded, the Professor takes Roger to meet Eve secretly and the two apologize to each other for their misunderstandings. Roger is dismayed, however, when Eve discloses that to maintain her cover she must accompany Vandamm out of the country that night. The Professor allows Eve to return to Vandamm and places the angered Roger in protective custody at a hospital. That night, Roger escapes and takes a cab to Vandamm's ranch, beside which a small airplane runway is lit. Hiding near an open window, Roger overhears Leonard and Vandamm discussing the secret microfilm hidden in the warrior figure. Leonard then tells Vandamm that his long suspicion of Eve has been justified and demonstrates that Eve's gun is filled with blanks. Deeply angered, Vandamm tells Leonard he will get rid of Eve during their flight that night. Alarmed, Roger climbs up the side of the house to warn Eve, but she leaves her room before he can talk to her. Writing a warning message on a matchbook bearing his initials, Roger then tosses it into the living room where Eve waits with Vandamm and Leonard as their private plane lands outside. After reading Roger's note, Eve meets him in her room where he tells her of the microfilm and Vandamm's plan to do away with her. When Eve joins Vandamm outside, Roger attempts to sneak out of the house but is held at gun point by the housekeeper. After escaping from the housekeeper, Roger steals Valerian's car and races to retrieve Eve, who has snatched the warrior figure and darted away from Vandamm. Stopped by a locked gate, Roger and Eve proceed on foot, followed by Valerian and Leonard. Realizing they are trapped on top of Mount Rushmore, Roger and Eve start down the monument, but Roger is attacked by Valerian and Eve tussles with Leonard. After Roger hurls Valerian off the mountain, Leonard takes the figure and pushes Eve down the cliff where Roger comes to her aid as she dangles perilously on the edge of the monument. As Leonard menaces the couple, the Professor and his men come to the rescue, killing Leonard and arresting Vandamm in the process. Roger and Eve return to New York as man and wife, sentimentally taking the train.
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.
Laid up with a broken leg during the height of summer, renowned New York magazine photographer L. B. "Jeff" Jeffries enters his last week of home confinement, bored and anxious. A bachelor, Jeff has been spending his days sitting in a wheelchair, watching his neighbors through the rear window of his two-room apartment. Although Stella, the nurse who drops by to massage his back and prepare his meals, disapproves of his "peeping" and counsels him to marry his girl friend, model Lisa Carol Fremont, Jeff insists that Lisa is too "perfect" and refined for his adventurous lifestyle. Later, after observing a pair of amorous newlyweds moving into one of the buildings adjacent to his, Jeff is visited by the glamorous Lisa. When Lisa, who has brought Jeff a lavish restaurant meal, suggests that he give up his globe-trotting and become a fashion photographer, Jeff reacts with disdain. Jeff and Lisa then watch as a neighbor whom Jeff calls "Miss Lonely Hearts" entertains an imaginery dinner date, and "Miss Torso," an attractive dancer, juggles the attentions of three male admirers in her apartment. Jeff also notices the traveling salesman who lives in a second-story apartment directly across the courtyard, arguing with his bed-ridden wife. After admiring the piano playing of Jeff's neighbor, a struggling composer, Lisa confronts Jeff about their relationship, challenging his perception that their romance is doomed because of their different lifestyles. Jeff, however, insists that the pampered Lisa would never be happy enduring hardships in exotic locales and refuses to consider changing his ways. Before leaving, Lisa announces that she cannot continue seeing him without a commitment, then promises to return the next night. After she goes, Jeff hears a woman scream and glass break, but sees nothing of note outside. During a middle-of-the-night rain shower, Jeff awakens in front of the window and notices the salesman leaving his place with his sample case. Over the next few hours, Jeff drifts in and out of sleep and sees the salesman coming and going with his case. Early the next morning, while Jeff is asleep, the salesman leaves the building with a woman, and by the time Jeff is up, the salesman has returned, alone. After Jeff mentions the salesman and his wife to Stella, the salesman looks down at the courtyard, intently watching an older couple's dog sniffing around his garden. Intrigued by the salesman's behavior, Jeff begins to watch him, first through a pair of binoculars, then through the telephoto lens of his camera. Jeff sees the salesman wrapping a saw and a butcher knife in newspaper and, later that evening, tells Lisa about the salesman's late-night activities and the fact that he spent the day at home but never went into his sick wife's bedroom. When Jeff suggests that the man might have murdered his wife, Lisa dismisses his suspicions until she spies the salesman wrapping a rope around a large trunk. Believing that the wife's body is in the trunk, Lisa crosses the courtyard to look at the salesman's mailbox and tells Jeff over the phone that his name is Lars Thorwald. The next morning, Jeff calls police detective Thomas J. Doyle, a friend from his war days, and tells him about Thorwald. Jeff and Stella observe two movers carrying out Thorwald's trunk, and Stella runs downstairs to check the name on the moving truck. Although Stella is unable to get the moving company's name, Jeff fills Tom in on all the other details when he comes by that night. Tom is unconvinced, but promises to look into the matter, unofficially. Later, after Jeff sees Thorwald shooing the neighbors' dog away from his flowers, Tom telephones to report that Thorwald and his wife were seen leaving together the previous morning by three witnesses, including Thorwald's superintendent, who also stated that, according to Thorwald, Mrs. Thorwald took the train to Meritsville. Jeff is unimpressed by Tom's evidence, pointing out that the woman may not have been Mrs. Thorwald. Despite Jeff's pleas, Tom refuses to pursue the investigation, adding that he found a postcard with a Meritsville postmark in Thorwald's mailbox, signed, apparently, by Mrs. Thorwald. Discouraged but not defeated, Jeff continues to spy on Thorwald, becoming excited when he sees him pulling his wife's jewelry out of her handbag. When Jeff tells Lisa about the handbag, she insists that, as a woman, Mrs. Thorwald would not have left without her bag or her jewelry. Before they can act on their latest discoveries, Tom stops by to announce that Thorwald's trunk, which he had tracked down, contained only Mrs. Thorwald's clothes and was picked up by her at the Meritsville train station. After Tom leaves, Lisa admits that she is strangely disappointed to learn that Thorwald is not a killer after all. Lisa then slips into a negligee she brought in a purse-sized overnight bag, hoping to prove her resourcefulness to Jeff, but moments later, the courtyard erupts with noise when the older couple's dog is found strangled. Jeff observes that only one person—Thorwald—did not look out during the ruckus. Convinced that Thorwald killed the dog because of its snooping, Jeff studies some slides he took of the courtyard two weeks before and shows Lisa and Stella that Thorwald's zinnias are now shorter. Hoping to lure Thorwald out, Jeff writes him an anonymous note, asking, "What have you done with her?" After Lisa slips the note under his door, Thorwald reads it and begins packing. Jeff looks up Thorwald's phone number and calls him, identifying himself as the note writer and demanding that they meet at a hotel. As soon as Thorwald leaves, Lisa and Stella race down to the courtyard and start digging under the zinnias, but when they fail to unearth anything, Lisa climbs the fire escape and sneaks through Thorwald's open window. Soon after, Thorwald returns and finds Lisa, who is looking for Mrs. Thorwald's wedding ring. Thorwald begins assaulting Lisa, but Jeff calls the police in time to save her. While the police are getting a statement from Thorwald, Lisa, aware that Jeff is watching her through his telephoto lens, lets him know that she found the wedding ring. Thorwald catches her gesturing to Jeff, however, and deduces in which apartment he is hiding. After Lisa is hauled to the police station, Jeff sends Stella out with some bail money and frantically calls Tom. Thorwald then bursts in, but Jeff, sitting in the dark, momentarily blinds him by taking flash pictures with his camera. Despite the flashes, Thorwald grabs Jeff, who yells to alert the neighbors. The courtyard fills with on-lookers as Thorwald wrestles with Jeff and dangles him upside-down out the window. Although Tom arrives with some back-up, the police can only break Jeff's subsequent fall. The police apprehend Thorwald, who confesses that he deposited most of his wife's body in the East River, except for her head, which he first buried in the garden and then packed in a hatbox. Later, while Miss Lonely Hearts and the composer celebrate the publication of his song, and Miss Torso welcomes home her soldier sweetheart, Jeff, who now was two broken legs, is back in his wheelchair, with the devoted Lisa by his side.
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."
Many years after Africans are brought in chains to America, the nineteenth century abolitionists demand that the Africans' descendants be freed. Phil and Tod Stoneman, sons of abolitionist leader and congressman Austin Stoneman, visit Phil's school friend, Ben Cameron, and his family in Piedmont, South Carolina. Phil courts Ben's sister Margaret, while Tod and Ben's young brother Duke become friends. When President Abraham Lincoln calls for volunteers, Phil and Tod return, but first, Ben playfully steals Phil's locket which contains a portrait of Phil's sister Elsie. During the war, Duke and Tod die in each others' arms. Northern guerrillas raid Piedmont and devastate the Cameron home. After Atlanta is burned and General Sherman marches to the sea, Ben, leading an heroic, but unsuccessful counterattack against General Grant's campaign on Petersburg, is wounded and rescued by Phil. At a Washington hospital, Ben meets Elsie, now a nurse. Ben's mother visits and successfully pleads to Lincoln for Ben's pardon from an unfounded charge. After Lee's surrender and Lincoln's assassination, Stoneman assumes great power in Congress. He sends his protégé, the mulatto Silas Lynch, to Piedmont, where the whites are disenfranchised. Lynch is elected lieutenant governor, and illiterate blacks gain control of the legislature and courts. To oversee Lynch's progress, Stoneman travels to Piedmont with Phil and Elsie. Ben and Elsie become engaged, but Margaret, prideful over the South's loss, is cold to Phil. To respond to the injustice which he feels, Ben forms the Ku Klux Klan. When Elsie learns that Ben is a clansman, she breaks their engagement. After Gus, a black soldier who becomes one of Lynch's followers, finds Flora, Ben's youngest sister, alone in the woods, he asks her to marry him. She runs in fright, and jumps off a cliff because she thinks that Gus will rape her. After she dies in Ben's arms, Gus is captured and hanged by the Klan. Dr. Cameron is arrested for having Klan costumes in his house, and although Phil and the Cameron's black servants rescue him, they become entrapped, with Margaret and Mrs. Cameron, in a country cabin. As black militia troops invade the streets of Piedmont, Lynch asks Elsie to be the queen of his black empire. Repelled, Elsie barely fends off Lynch. Her father arrives and is also horrified by Lynch's proposal, but he is powerless to prevent a forced marriage. After Ben leads the Klan's ride to rescue Elsie and Stoneman--and afterward, the Camerons--the blacks are disenfranchised. Margaret and Phil honeymoon with Ben and Elsie. In an allegorical epilogue the millenium is depicted wherein Christ's resurrection binds nations with brotherhood and love.
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.
Sometime in the not-too-distant future, gangs of teenage thugs roam rubble-strewn streets, terrorizing citizens who sequester themselves behind locked doors. Alex, the leader of one of the gangs, and his "droogs," Pete, Georgie and Dim, distinguish themselves by wearing all-white, cod pieces, bowler hats and walking canes as they spend their nights committing rapes, muggings and beatings for entertainment. One night, after stopping at the Korova Milk Bar for the house specialty, drug-laced milk that induces "ultra violence," the group kicks an elderly tramp mercilessly. Finding rival gang leader Billyboy and his hoodlums raping a woman nearby, Alex and his droogs take a moment to enjoy the scene then use chairs, broken bottles and knives to pummel the other gang unconscious. The gang speeds off in their Durango 95 sports car playing a game called "hogs of the road," which entails forcing other drivers off the road. Spotting a wealthy residence displaying the sign "HOME," the gang gains admittance by claiming that they need to use the phone to report an accident. Once inside, Alex beats and kicks the home's owner, writer Mr. Frank Alexander, while mimicking a soft shoe dance routine and singing a musical number. After the droogs shove balls into the mouths of Alexander and his wife and wrap their heads in tape, Alex rapes Mrs. Alexander as Mr. Alexander watches helplessly. Later, Alex returns to municipal flatblock 18A, a disheveled modern apartment building where he lives with his cowardly mum and dad. After stashing stolen money and watches, Alex listens to his favorite composer, Beethoven, plays with his pet snake and dreams of further violence. The next morning, Alex refuses to go to school, claiming that his work, "helping here and there," has left him exhausted. Soon after, a government probation officer, Mr. Deltoid, arrives at the flat and knees Alex in the genitals for reverting to outbursts of violence and wasting the government's resources trying to reform him. Unaffected by the visit, Alex picks up two young women at a record shop and brings them back to his room to have sex, becoming so involved that he misses a gang meeting. Later, after his droogs express their disappointment to Alex about his missing their meeting, Georgie rebukes him for picking on Dim and then suggests they commit larger robberies. Outraged at the insubordination, Alex knocks Georgie into a river and knifes Dim's arm when he tries to help Georgie. Having reasserted his authority, Alex appropriates Georgie's suggestion. The gang then proceeds to the home of health club owner Mrs. Webber, who is known as "Catlady" and lives alone with her dozens of cats. Having read about the Alexanders, Webber refuses the gang entrance when they attempt the accident ruse again, but Alex then breaks into the house and bludgeons Webber unconscious with a large sculpted phallus, part of Webber's erotic art collection. Hearing approaching sirens, Alex flees outside, where his droogs, fed up with Alex's brutality, bash him unconscious and leave him for the police. After Webber dies from her injuries, Alex is sentenced to 14 years in prison. During his jail admittance procedure, Alex must submit to an autocratic officer who assigns him a number to replace his name, strips him of clothes and belongings and performs an anal search. For his first two years, Alex panders to the prison chaplain by quoting the Bible and accompanying him on keyboard for service hymns, while secretly fantasizing about the Bible's violent and sexual passages. One day, Alex, hoping for an early release from jail, claims that he wants to reform permanently and asks the chaplain to help him get on the list for an experimental treatment of aversion therapy known as the Ludivicko technique, but the chaplain warns him that the brainwashing program will erase his will and therefore his soul. Soon after, the unscrupulous Minister of the Interior, hoping the aversion therapy will win his government valuable public support, chooses the enthusiastic Alex as the first candidate and sends him to the Ludivicko Center, where Alex is promised that he will be permanently cured in two weeks. Alex is then injected with a serum that causes him to feel waves of excruciating nausea and suffocation, which he names the "sickness," when his violent passions arise. Bound in a straightjacket with his eyelids forced open by clamps, Alex is forced to watch hours of violence and mass destruction as part of his conditioning to repulse violence. On the second day of treatment, when the attending doctors play Beethoven's ninth symphony during the screenings, Alex realizes that the music of his favorite composer will now forever be associated with "the sickness," and begs them to stop, but the doctors refuse. The day before his release, Alex is presented on a stage before an audience of government officials and other authorities to prove the treatment's validity. Alex's fear of "the sickness" prompts him to follow orders and submit to degrading treatment without reacting with violence. When he is then presented with a nude woman, Alex at first grasps for her, but the sickness prevents him from even touching her. Although the chaplain loudly protests that Alex has lost all choice and deems the treatment unethical, the Minister of the Interior proclaims it a success and releases Alex. Returning home, Alex discovers that his parents have taken a lodger, Joe, who defends his mum and dad and protests that Alex should not be allowed to return because of his atrocious behavior. Learning that the police have taken away his belongings and his snake is dead, Alex leaves the apartment sobbing and contemplates suicide at the river. When a tramp interrupts to ask for change, the man recognizes Alex as the brutal youth who beat him years ago, and leads him to a tunnel teaming with elderly drunkards who accost him. Police officers stop the fight, but Alex soon recognizes the officers as Georgie and Dim, who are happy to mete out their revenge against their former leader. They handcuff Alex and drive him to an isolated area where they nearly drown him in an animal trough while laughing at the cruel spectacle. Weak, soaking and unable to recognize his surroundings, Alex mistakenly seeks help at "HOME." Alexander, who lost his wife to suicide just after Alex and the dross's attack, recognizes Alex only as the man in the newspaper who was forced to submit to the police's inhumane experiments and offers him a bath and dinner. However, when Alex starts humming his signature show tune, Alexander then realizes that Alex is his previous assailant and concocts a plan. Thinking Alex's behavior modification treatment unjust, the politically subversive writer calls several journalists who arrive shortly after to use Alex's testimony for their own political agenda. After learning that his conditioning includes a severe aversion to Beethoven, the writer serves Alex sedative-laced wine, locks him a room and tortures Alex by playing Beethoven at a deafeningly loud volume. Alex attempts suicide by jumping from the second story window, but the fall succeeds only in broken bones that result in an extended stay at a hospital. Newspapers soon report Alex's attempt as proof of the government's inhumanity, thus prompting the government to hire psychiatrist Dr. Taylor to reverse the Ludivicko conditioning. The doctor then tests Alex by presenting him with cartoons with open-ended narratives. Alex happily creates violent dialogue for his characters, thus proving his "recovery." Soon after, the Minister of Interior visits Alex with an offer. Reminding him that the writer and several of his other victims would like him either killed or imprisoned, the minister, worried about the outcome of the election, offers Alex a job and financial compensation in trade for being the minister's propaganda tool. As Alex accepts the proposal, the press photographs the two men to publicize the government's change of heart. When Beethoven's ninth symphony is then played, Alex spontaneously imagines scenes of public fornication and happily announces that he is "cured indeed."
Twenty-six year old Travis Bickle applies for a job as a New York City taxicab driver. The personnel officer drills Travis with questions, and warms to him when he realizes they both served in the Marines. After Travis expresses his willingness to drive long hours, any day, in any part of the city, he is hired. Travis later writes in his diary about the poor condition of the city, the disturbing people he sees, and his new job which pays him $300 to $350 per week. At work, he picks up an older man with a prostitute and complains afterward about cleaning bodily fluids off the backseat of the cab. After working twelve hour shifts, he complains that he cannot sleep and wants a purpose in life. One day, Travis sees a campaign worker named Betsy and describes his romantic impression of her in his diary. Inside headquarters for Senator Charles Palantine's presidential campaign, Betsy and her coworker, Tom, engage in friendly conversation while Travis watches from his parked cab. Betsy becomes aware of Travis; however, when Tom goes outside to confront him, he speeds away. Later, he sits with fellow cab drivers in an all-night cafeteria, and they discuss the various acts of violence they've encountered. Travis remains distant and glares at several African American men. Sometime later, Travis asks Betsy out for coffee, and she accepts. At a diner, Travis and Betsy discuss the campaign, and she offers her impression of Travis, comparing him to lines from a song by Kris Kristofferson. Travis promptly buys the record. One evening, Travis picks up Senator Palantine. Though ignorant about political issues, Travis suggests the candidate clean up the city and expresses his support of the senator's candidacy. Later, a twelve year-old prostitute, Iris, gets into Travis' cab. No sooner is she in the cab, when her pimp, Matthew, also known as "Sport," arrives and pulls her from the car. Travis takes Betsy to a pornographic movie on their next date. She becomes agitated, storms out of the theater, and hails a cab. After numerous attempts to send her flowers, Travis calls Betsy in an attempt to reconcile, but she has no interest. As time passes, Travis grows angrier. He rushes into Palantine's campaign office, yells at Betsy, and threatens her. One evening, a passenger instructs Travis to pull over so he can watch the shadow of a woman standing by a lit window in an apartment building. The passenger explains that she is his wife and is having an affair. He tells Travis he intends to kill her. Travis listens, occasionally glancing suspiciously at the passenger in the rearview mirror. Later, at the cafeteria, Travis confides to Wizard, an older driver, that he has been having destructive thoughts. Wizard tells Travis to stop worrying and promises he will be okay. One night, Travis almost hits Iris by accident. He follows her and a friend as they walk down the street, but the girls pick up two men on the corner. Travis discusses loneliness in his diary, and states that his life needs a change. He meets with Easy Andy who sells, among other things, guns. Travis purchases an assortment of firearms and, intent on getting into shape, begins working out, eating healthier, and taking target practice. At home, he practices pulling guns out of holsters and hiding a knife in his boot. One day, Travis attends a rally for Palantine where he talks with a secret service agent who appears suspicious of his behavior. As Travis walks away, agents try to snap a picture of him, but he disappears into the crowd. At night, Travis stops at a convenience store. When a young man holds up the cashier, Travis approaches from the back of the store and shoots the thief. He then panics because he doesn't have a gun permit, but the cashier promises to cover for him and sends him away. After he leaves, the cashier beats the unconscious criminal with a metal bar. Travis watches another campaign event from his cab, but police usher him away. At home, he writes to his parents, telling them he has a top-secret government job and a girlfriend named Betsy. He later approaches Iris and arranges a deal for her services with Sport. They go into a nearby apartment building where Iris' timekeeper charges Travis for a room and waits in the hallway. Inside the room, Iris seduces Travis, but he rejects her advances. He explains that he came because he wants to help her escape. The next day, they meet for breakfast at a diner. Travis tells Iris he may have to go away for work, and he wants to give her money so she can leave Sport and her life as a prostitute. In the evening, alone with Sport, Iris expresses her unhappiness, but he manipulates her into staying. After more target practice and preparation, Travis arrives at another rally, having shaved his hair into a Mohawk. Travis approaches Palantine, but, when he reaches into his coat, the secret service men see him and spring into action. Travis escapes to his apartment where he regroups and heads back out, this time to the apartment building where Sport operates. Travis shoots Sport and enters the nearby building where Iris sees clients. In the hallway, he shoots Iris' timekeeper. Having followed Travis inside, the wounded Sport shoots him in the neck, but Travis returns fire and kills the pimp. He makes his way to Iris' room as the timekeeper, still alive, comes after him. Travis is then shot by Iris' client, but he quickly fires back and kills the man. The timekeeper attacks Travis as he crashes into Iris' room. After a struggle, he stabs the timekeeper and shoots him in the head while Iris looks on, terrified. Travis attempts to shoot himself next, but the guns are out of bullets. He collapses on the couch moments before the police enter. In the days that follow, news reports praise Travis as a hero, and Iris' parents send him a thank you letter for bringing their daughter back to them. After recovering from the incident, Travis returns to work. One night, he picks up Betsy, and they awkwardly discuss Palantine's nomination victory and Travis' brush with fame. At her destination, Betsy gets out of the cab and Travis throws the meter, giving her a free ride.
One summer evening in late June on the New England island of Amity, teenager Chrissie Watkins invites a drunken fellow student, Cassidy, to skinny dip in the ocean. Although enthused, Cassidy passes out a few feet from the shore, while Chrissie strips and dives into the sea only to be brutally attacked from underwater. The next morning, police chief Martin Brody meets Cassidy, who has reported Chrissie missing, on the beach just as Deputy Hendricks discovers the mutilated remains of a female body. Suspecting that Chrissie was a victim of a shark attack, Brody hurries to his office to make out a report and consult with the town physician. Determined to close the beaches when the doctor confirms his fears, Brody sets off to Amity Bay, but is intercepted by Mayor Larry Vaughn, two city council members and the doctor. Vaughn reminds Brody that closing the beaches requires a signed city ordinance and that the Fourth of July weekend is about to begin. When the doctor reluctantly admits that the body may have been mutilated by a motorboat blade and Vaughn insists they do not want to start a pointless panic, Brody grudgingly agrees to keep the beaches open. The next day, an uneasy Brody oversees the crowded beach, accompanied by his wife Ellen and their two young sons, Michael and Sean. Dozens of children and young people thrash about in the surf and a dog repeatedly fetches a stick thrown in the water by his owner. Moments later, however, the dog disappears and a group of people suddenly notice a pool of bloody red foam in the sea. As the swimmers and waders run to the beach in a panic, a mangled raft washes to shore while vacationer Mrs. Kintner searches in vain for her young son, Alex. After Mrs. Kintner posts a three-thousand-dollar reward to kill the shark that killed Alex, Brody and the Amity city board meets with local businesses, fisherman and townspeople to quell their mounting alarm. When Brody acknowledges that he must close the beaches, Vaughn reassures the dismayed business owners that the closure will last only twenty-four hours. The meeting is interrupted by local professional fisherman and shark hunter, Quint, who vows to capture the shark single-handedly for $10,000, which Vaughn agrees to consider. The following morning, Brody is horrified to find Amity harbor teaming with boats and people from Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey who have responded to Mrs. Kintner's reward offer. Struggling to control the crowds who bear everything from dynamite to guns to small fishing reels, Brody is relieved when Matt Hooper from the Oceanographic Institute arrives. At police headquarters, Hooper examines Chrissie's remains and declares that the wounds are from a sizable shark. That afternoon a group of fishermen triumphantly return to Amity harbor with the carcass of a ten-foot shark which they proudly display for reporters and locals. Although Vaughn is delighted by the exhibition, Hooper insists the bite radius of a Tiger shark is too small to be the same shark that killed Chrissie. As Brody remains doubtful, Mrs. Kintner arrives and demands to know why he allowed the beaches to remain open after Chrissie's death. That evening, Hooper visits the brooding Brody at home and reaffirms that the captured shark is not the one that killed Chrissie, and presses the chief to allow him to cut open the captured dead shark to explore its digestive remains. After Hooper determines that the shark caught by the fishermen has no human remains inside it, Brody realizes that he must close the beaches, but Hooper insists they immediately go in search of the killer shark in his high-tech exploration boat, the Aurora. Despite Brody's frank admission that he fears the water, Hooper forces the chief to accompany him. With the aid of the Aurora's powerful spotlights, Brody and Hooper soon come upon a half-sunken dinghy showing unusual signs of damage and Brody recognizes the boat as belonging to an islander. Donning scuba gear, Hooper goes underwater to inspect the little boat's hull and pulls an enormous shark tooth embedded in the planking. When the mangled remains of a torso abruptly float by a gaping hole in the boat, the startled Hooper drops the tooth. The next morning, Brody and Hooper met Vaughn on the beach to excitedly report that the shark attacks were made by a Great White. Without the tooth as evidence, however, the mayor remains skeptical and insists the beaches remain open the next day, which is the Fourth of July. The holiday dawns to hordes of vacationers packing the beaches. Hooper abandons a commitment to an eighteen-month research project in order to search for Amity's Great White shark, while Brody, Hendricks and backup deputies with helicopter support observe the waters. Distressed that no one has actually gotten into the water, Vaughn appeals with a family to do so and soon the surf is teaming with people. When Brody's son Michael asks permission to take his new sailboat out to sea, Brody pleads with him to go into the nearby estuary. While Vaughn cheerfully gives an interview to a television reporter, swimmers are suddenly terrified to see a large fin cutting across the water. As the panicked crowd returns en masse to the beach, Brody's assistants reveal the fin to be a hoax perpetrated by two local teenage boys. Meanwhile, a young woman standing between the sea and the pond sees a massive underwater form head into the relatively shallow estuary where Michael and his friends are struggling to raise their sail. Nearby, a man in a dinghy calls advice to the boys just as the underwater creature smashes into his boat. The subsequent swell overturns Michael's small sailboat and, as the boys thrash about, Michael witnesses the man being bitten in half by the enormous shark and faints. Meanwhile, the young woman's continued cries alert Brody who races toward the pond as Michael's friends pull him safely to shore. Later, at the hospital, where Michael is declared fine, a stunned Vaughn wonders if he can be held accountable for keeping the beaches open, but an angry Brody forces him to sign a contract hiring Quint. The next day, Brody and Hooper meet Quint at his pier-side office where Brody officially charters the fisherman's boat, the Orca. Although Quint chafes about the college educated Hooper joining them, Brody insists that the oceanographer and much of his technical equipment be taken on board. Over the next couple of days, the Orca roams far out to sea in search of the shark. One afternoon Quint's thick cable fishing line is bitten in two, but otherwise their quarry remains elusive. Soon after, as a grumpy Brody resumes shoveling bloody chum out to sea to lure the shark, the creature breaks the surface of the water, its massive mouth gaping. Stunned by the enormity of the shark, Brody staggers into the cabin and tells Quint that he will need a bigger boat. As Quint and Hooper excitedly watch the shark circle the Orca, the older man declares the creature is at least twenty-five feet long and three tons. While Quint prepares to shoot a cable line attached to a flotation barrel into the shark, Hooper attaches a radio tracking device to the barrel. After striking the shark with the harpoon and cable, the Orca follows the racing barrel, but Quint is taken aback when the shark easily pulls the air-filled keg underwater and disappears. Night falls with no further sign of the shark and the men sit in the tiny cabin drinking and talking. Quint reveals that in World War II, he served on board the U.S.S. Indianapolis which was sunk by a Japanese submarine and nearly eight hundred of its surviving crew was lost to shark attacks while waiting for rescue in the open sea. The men fill the subsequent tense silence with songs, when the shark surfaces in the dark and rams into the hull, damaging the boat's shaft. Despite Quint firing several rounds at the shark, it remains unaffected, but disappears for the remainder of the night. The next morning, Quint and Hooper struggle to repair the battered rudder and engine housing, when the shark surfaces and Quint shoots another cable and barrel into it, then ties the cables lines to the transom cleats. As the shark, now hooked to two floatation barrels, races further out to sea, Quint pushes the rough running engine of the Orca in pursuit, ignoring Brody's argument to turn back toward land. Later the shark appears to have vanished, only to surface suddenly and attack the cable lines. Panicked, Brody attempts to radio the Coast Guard, but Quint smashes the radio with a bat. Quint then calmly shoots another line and a third barrel into the shark, but when the shark heads to sea again towing the Orca, Quint is forced to cut the taunt cable lines, fearing that the transom will be pulled off. As the battered and listing Orca begins taking on water, the men watch incredulously as the barrels turn toward them, then submerge and go beneath the boat. Moments later, the shark rams the keel. The ship's stressed engine bearings begin to smoke, and Quint, masking his concern, pushes the engine as the shark begins pursuing them. Upon reaching the boat, the great shark rises up, biting into the transom. The violence of the creature's attack finishes the Orca's weakened engine. The shark disappears as Brody and Hooper realize that the Orca is sinking by the stern. Handing Brody a lifejacket, Quint asks Hooper about the shark cage and other equipment he has brought on board. When Hooper reveals that he has a large syringe full of strychnine nitrate, Quint declares the syringe will never penetrate the shark's tough skin. Hooper nevertheless volunteers to go underwater in the cage and attempt to shoot the syringe into the shark's mouth with the harpoon gun. Despite Brody's protests, Hooper dons scuba gear and oxygen, and is lowered in the cage into the water. Within moments the shark appears and rams the cage from behind Hooper, then grabs the bars and shakes the cage, causing the terrified Hooper to drop the harpoon gun, unfired. Fleeing the shark's crazed attack through the mangled cage bars, Hooper swims to the sea bottom. Meanwhile the shark, momentarily trapped between the cage and the side of the Orca, thrashes violently as Quint struggles to crank the winch. The bent ginpole gives way as the shark extricates itself and Quint and Brody are horrified when the battered, empty cage surfaces. The shark reappears at the stern and again lunges at the Orca's deck, tilting the boat sharply, causing Quint and Brody to tumble and slide toward the maddened creature. Brody hangs on to the cabin doorframe, but Quint, unable to maintain his grip on Brody's legs, slides directly into the shark's jaws. When the shark submerges with Quint's bloodied corpse, Brody casts about for a weapon and spots Hooper's remaining oxygen tank. When the shark attacks again, Brody manages to wedge the tank into its mouth. Taking Quint's rifle, Brody climbs out onto the bridge mast, which is now almost parallel with the water, and as the shark comes at him, fires repeatedly until a bullet strikes the oxygen tank, causing it to explode and blow off the creature's head. As blood and flesh rain down on Brody and the nearly submerged Orca, the shark's other half falls slowly through the water. Moments later, Brody is amazed when Hooper surfaces. The men laugh weakly in relief and, after Hooper learns of Quint's demise, the men use the remaining floatation barrels as support and paddle their way toward land.
As part of her daily beauty routine, the Wicked Queen asks her Magic Mirror, "Who is the fairest one of all?" and is told that Snow White, her blossoming stepdaughter, is now the "fairest one of all." In an envious rage, the queen orders a woodsman to kill Snow White, who has just met the handsome and endearing Prince, in the forest. Once there, however, the woodsman finds he cannot do the deed and admonishes the princess to hide, while he returns to the queen with a pig's heart, which he claims belonged to Snow White. Frightened by the dark, stormy forest, Snow White runs wildly through the trees until she collapses with exhaustion on the forest floor. After her nap, she wakes to find the woods full of friendly, furry animals, who guide her to an empty cottage. Shocked by the decrepit condition of the cottage, Snow White enlists the help of the animals to clean it up, and then falls asleep in an upstairs bedroom, which has been furnished with seven tiny beds. While Snow White sleeps, the owners of the beds, the Seven Dwarfs--Sleepy, Dopey, Doc, Sneezy, Grumpy, Bashful and Happy--return from working at the local diamond mine and discover the snoozing princess. After much confusion, Snow White strikes a deal with the Dwarfs, offering her domestic services in exchange for room and board. To Grumpy's dissatisfaction, Snow White turns the household upside down and instigates positive changes in the Dwarfs' life. The Dwarfs' newly found happiness ends abruptly when the evil queen, who has learned from the Magic Mirror that Snow White is alive, transforms herself into an old hag and, equipped with a poison apple, heads for the Dwarfs' cottage. Lured by the queen, the innocent Snow White bites into the apple and falls into a death-like sleep, which can be broken only when she is kissed by her first true love. Satisfied that Snow White is doomed, the queen rushes back toward her castle but is chased by the Dwarfs and falls to her death off a cliff. While lying in the woods in a glass-domed coffin built by the Dwarfs, Snow White is found by the Prince. Entranced by her tranquil beauty, the prince kisses her back to life and carries her off to eternal happiness.
Dismayed by the extreme measures to prevent robberies taken by a small-town western bank, notorious bank robber Butch Cassidy wanders over to a saloon to meet his partner, The Sundance Kid, who is in the middle of a card game. One of the players, Macon, unaware of Sundance's identity, accuses the outlaw of cheating and, refusing to surrender his money, prepares to fight it out. When Butch attempts to intervene, Macon orders him away until he learns Sundance's identity after which he meekly withdraws his accusation. On the long ride back to their hideout, the Hole in the Wall in Wyoming, Butch tries to convince Sundance that they should go to Bolivia, which abounds in gold. Arriving at the hideout, Butch is surprised to find gang members Harvey Logan, News Carver and Flat Nose Curry preparing to rob the Union Pacific Overland Flyer train. Butch vetoes their plan, declaring that banks are much more reliable. Harvey then informs Butch that because Butch has spent so much time away, Harvey has taken over leadership of the gang and made the decision to rob the Flyer. Butch insists he remains the gang's leader, leading Harvey to challenge him to a fight, which Butch quickly wins by distracting his opponent. Afterward, Butch decides that the plan to rob the train on both of its scheduled trips through the area is sound. The gang stops the Flyer, whose engineers are excited at being robbed by Butch, but the theft is almost thwarted by the dedicated efforts of a young clerk, Woodcock, who refuses to open the train car containing the bank safe. News then dynamites the door and, while the others retrieve the money, Butch revives the stunned Woodcock. A few nights later in a nearby town, Butch and Sundance sit on a bordello balcony and watch with amusement as down on the street the town marshal struggles to incite the townspeople into forming a posse to go after the Hole in the Wall gang. Butch then envisions he and Sundance joining the army and becoming officers, and confides that his real name is Robert LeRoy Parker. Sundance reveals his real name is Harry Longabaugh and as the men toast each other, the townspeople lose interest in the marshal's exhortations when a salesman demonstrates a new invention, the bicycle. When Butch turns his attentions to one of the bordello girls, Sundance rides off. One evening some days later, schoolteacher Etta Place arrives at her small house and is startled to find Sundance waiting for her in the dark. While Sundance points his gun at her, Etta disrobes and lets her hair down, then as he embraces her, she chastises him for being late. A few days later, Etta awakens to the strange sight of Butch riding around the house on a bicycle. Delighted, Etta takes a ride with Butch who performs tricks on the bicycle before being run off by a bull. On the way back to the house, Etta asks Butch if he has come to enlist Sundance in another robbery. Butch admits that he cannot understand why, despite working hard all his life, he has always been broke. Later, Butch, Sundance and the gang make another strike on the Flyer and Butch is delighted to discover the committed Woodcock back on the job. After tricking the young clerk into opening the car door, Butch discovers that Woodcock has firmly secured the safe. Using several sticks of dynamite, Butch blows up the entire train car and as the men laughingly retrieve the flyaway money, a train engine pulling a single car comes up behind the Flyer. Alarmed, Butch and the others watch as several horses and riders leap from the train car and start after them. Butch and Sundance immediately flee, but two of the gang members scrambling to get away are shot down. When Butch and Sundance split off from the surviving two gang members, they are frustrated that all the pursuers come after them. Butch and Sundance ride hard through the day into the evening, returning to the friendly bordello, but their efforts to throw off the pursuers fail, forcing them to escape into the night. To their dismay, their hunters follow using torches. Impressed and incredulous at the group's tenacity in tracking over various terrains throughout the next day, Butch repeatedly wonders about the men's identities. In a far-flung town, Butch and Sundance stop at the office of old friend Sheriff Ray Bledsoe, who angrily informs them that their presence might compromise his position. When Butch asks Bledsoe to vouch for them so they can enlist in the army, the old sheriff roughly tells them that they are doomed to meet a bloody end. Butch and Sundance resume their flight and during brief rest stops observe their single-minded pursuers. Sundance believes one of them may be a famous full-blooded Indian tracker from Oklahoma named Lord Baltimore. Although Butch is skeptical, after studying the men, he wonders if their leader is the famous lawman LaForce, known for his trademark white skimmer hat. Increasingly apprehensive, Butch and Sundance continue their evasions, riding high into a steep mountain range, where they let their remaining horse go and proceed on foot only to find themselves on a cliff overlooking a river. Realizing that half of the trackers are behind them, and the others have taken up positions on the cliff across the river, Butch determines they can fight or surrender. Sundance refuses to capitulate, but when Butch abruptly suggests they jump into the river, he staunchly refuses, finally admitting that he cannot swim. Butch assures Sundance the fall will likely kill them and, as their pursuers watch helplessly, the duo plunges into the river, which sweeps them away to safety. Some days later, an exhausted Butch and Sundance arrive at Etta's home, where she relates that the newspapers had reported their capture. She explains that the head of the Union Pacific lines, E. H. Harriman, outraged by the constant robberies of his trains by the Hole in the Wall gang, has put together an exclusive posse comprised of the nation's best lawmen to assure the demise of Butch and Sundance. Butch angrily accuses Harriman of bad business practices, declaring that if the tycoon would simply pay them the money he has paid the posse, Butch would stop robbing him. Sundance fears they will be on the run forever and later that night he and Butch invite Etta to flee with them to Bolivia. She agrees, stipulating that if the law should reach them there, she will not stay to watch them die. The next day, the trio sets off for New York, where they catch a steamer to South America. Upon arriving in a small, dusty village in Bolivia, Sundance expresses disgust with the primitive surroundings. While attempting to rob a village bank, the duo is horrified that no one speaks English, prompting Etta to teach them holdup commands in Spanish. Etta joins in the next several heists and, soon, Butch and Sundance develop a reputation as Los Bandidos Yanquis, or the Yankee Bandits. Their spree comes to an abrupt end, however, when Butch spots LaForce in a village. Etta insists that the lawman is outside his jurisdiction, but Sundance reminds her that the posse's mission is to kill them. Butch declares that if they commit no further robberies, they cannot be traced, and so announces they are going "straight." The men then take a job with Percy Garris, escorting a mining payroll, but on their very first job, Garris is killed by local bandits. When the bandits fire on Butch and Sundance, they readily surrender the money, but when it becomes obvious the thieves do not intend to let them go, the duo is forced to kill them. Dejected, Butch and Sundance return to Etta who urges them to take up farming or ranching. When they refuse, Etta decides to return to America. Butch and Sundance resume robbing banks and one day arrive in the small town of San Vicente, where they are recognized and reported to the local police. The police chief summons the army, then surrounds Butch and Sundance with his own forces. In the ensuing gunfight, the outlaws run low on ammunition, forcing Butch to make a daring race across the courtyard to grab their gun belts, while Sundance provides furious cover. Badly wounded, the men collapse in a local building and as they painfully rearm, Butch confides to the skeptical Sundance that he has discovered another place rich with potential, Australia. Unaware that a large contingent of soldiers has joined the police outside, Butch and Sundance confidently rush out of the building to make their escape, only to be caught in a hail of bullets.
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 .
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.
In 19th-century Vienna, Austria, aged composer Antonio Salieri attempts suicide after declaring that he killed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. As Salieri convalesces in a sanitarium, Father Vogler believes the elderly gentleman is suffering dementia and visits Salieri's cell for an end-of-life confession. However, Salieri feels betrayed by God and has no interest in penance. To illustrate his lack of faith, Salieri tells Father Vogel about his tormented history with Mozart: In his youth, Salieri idolizes Mozart, the prodigy, and prays to emulate the boy's talent, but Salieri's father forbids him from pursing his dream. When the old man accidentally chokes to death, young Salieri believes God has answered his prayers. Dedicating his life to music and God, Salieri achieves fame as Austrian Emperor Joseph II's court composer in the 1760s, and encourages the monarch to commission an opera from Mozart. However, the austere Salieri is horrified to discover his idol is a crude and mischievous hedonist. While Salieri labors for his art, Mozart's talent is effortless, and the young man wastes no opportunity to mock Salieri with a shrill laugh. Mozart inaugurates his Austrian tenure with the controversial The Abduction From The Seraglio, an opera about a German brothel, and Salieri is outraged that Katerina Cavalieri, the object of his affection, is cast as its leading lady. When Salieri realizes Katerina is one of Mozart's lovers, he plots revenge. Meanwhile, Mozart's father, Leopold, is displeased with his son's move to Vienna and believes the young man's talents are best served in his hometown of Salzburg, Germany. Although young Mozart was dismissed from Archbishop Colloredo of Salzburg's court, Leopold Mozart arranges for his son to regain his appointment and travels to Vienna to collect the boy. There, Leopold is incensed upon learning that his son has married a commoner named Constanze, who is newly pregnant. Mozart drags his father to a costume ball, but Leopold is ashamed of his son's antics, and disappointed that the boy is frittering away his talent in favor of a wanton lifestyle. Although young Mozart is penniless, he is too proud to apply for a teaching position in the emperor's court, so Constanze secretly brings her husband's original compositions to Salieri in the hope that he will get Mozart a job. Glancing over the sheet music, Salieri seethes with envy as he realizes that Mozart composes without making corrections. Salieri, who equates God's grace with musical brilliance, is enraged that his hard work and spiritual devotion have not earned him greater skills than those of the audacious Mozart, and he denounces God for the oversight. Vowing to destroy his rival, Salieri anonymously sends a young maid named Papagena to the Mozart home, hoping to gain access to the composer's confidential work. Although Constanze believes Papagena is a gift from one of Mozart's secret admirers, Leopold Mozart is suspicious of the girl and does not respect his daughter-in-law's judgment. When the two argue, Leopold returns to Salzburg in anger, and young Mozart is terrified by his father's disapproval. In time, Salieri receives word from Papagena that Mozart is writing an operatic adaptation of the French play, The Marriage of Figaro, which has been banned from Austria for promoting egalitarian politics. Seizing the opportunity to force Mozart out of town, Salieri tells Emperor Joseph II about the young composer's secret project. Mozart thwarts Salieri and convinces his Majesty to support the opera. With rehearsals underway, Mozart provokes controversy yet again by incorporating dance into the show, even though the emperor has outlawed ballet. When the monarch allows Mozart to keep the dance scenes, Salieri grows increasingly bitter, but feels vindicated when the emperor snores during the premiere of The Marriage of Figaro. As Mozart falls out of favor, Salieri rises to success with his own opera, Axur, Re d'Ormus, which the emperor honors as "the best opera yet written." After watching Salieri receive his accolades, Mozart joins his actor friends for an evening of drunken revelry and returns home to news that his father is dead. Devastated, Mozart plummets into alcoholism and his next production, Don Giovanni, is a commercial failure. Still, Salieri attends every show and believes the opera reveals Mozart's greatest weakness: his fear of Leopold. Remembering the costume ball in which Leopold Mozart was disguised in a black cloak and mask, Salieri dons the same ensemble and arrives at the young composer's doorstep. Salieri identifies himself as "a messenger" and commissions Mozart to write a Requiem Mass. Terrified by the apparition of his father, Mozart busies himself with the project, and Constanze is pleased by their new moderate income. Meanwhile, Salieri fantasizes that the Requiem will be performed at Mozart's funeral, but remains unsure if he can go through with the composer's murder. Over time, Mozart becomes increasingly disabled by alcoholism and poverty, and agrees to compose a vaudeville opera for his actor friend Emanuel Schikaneder, the director of a common-man's "volkstheater." Salieri learns about the piece from his spy, Papagena, and is displeased that Mozart has turned his attention away from the Requiem. Disguised in Leopold Mozart's costume, Salieri returns to the Mozart home and orders the composer to forsake the opera so he can finish the Requiem. Although Mozart agrees, he later confides to Constanze that the Requiem is killing him, and completing it would mean his death. However, Constanze is tired of being poor and demands that Mozart continue the Requiem to maintain their income. After they argue, Mozart goes out for a night of debauchery and returns home to find his family gone. In an effort to win Constanze back, Mozart defies the orders of his mysterious patron and finishes his volkstheater opera, The Magic Flute. During one show, Mozart loses consciousness and Salieri escorts him home. When Mozart awakens, Salieri falsely claims that the mysterious benefactor has promised to pay 100 ducats if the Requiem is complete by the following evening. Mozart believes the task is impossible, but he is desperate for money and spends the rest of the night dictating the Requiem to Salieri. By morning, the exhausted Mozart mistakes Salieri's efforts for compassion and begs forgiveness for their rivalry. Meanwhile, Constanze, who has taken up with a wealthy nobleman in a nearby city, senses impending doom and rushes home in a carriage to find her husband near death. Suspicious of the Requiem, Constanze orders Salieri to leave and seizes the unfinished composition, but Mozart dies as she locks it away. Mozart is buried in a mass grave. Thirty-two years later, Salieri finishes his story in the sanitarium. He scoffs at Father Vogler's religion, and muses that God is ironic and cruel. Salieri points out that God championed mediocrity and corruption by keeping him alive for so many years, and denied the world its greatest musical talent by taking the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Still, Mozart is more popular than ever, and Salieri laments that his own music has become extinct. As Salieri is escorted away by an attendant, he chuckles that he is the "patron saint" of talentless, second-rate commoners. He offers absolution to his fellow inmates, and to Father Vogler, whose faith has been shaken by Salieri's story.
Paul Bäumer, a young German schoolboy, along with his friends, is inspired by his schoolmaster to "save the Fatherland" and joins the Kaiser's forces. Their illusions are soon dispelled, however, by the cruel realities of battle, relieved only by a brief romantic interlude with some French farm girls and the humorous interjections of Katz and Tjaden. When Paul, the only survivor of the group, returns home, he finds the professor still haranguing his young scholars to join the conflict; and when Paul denounces this attitude, he is proclaimed a coward by the youths. Tiring of the false impression of war at home, he returns to the front to instruct his new comrades in warfare. As the sole survivor of this group also, Paul reaches over the top of a trench to catch a butterfly and is killed by an enemy sniper. ... Quiet reigns on the front lines.
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.
During the Korean War, Col. Henry Blake commands the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH), only miles from the front line. A lax military leader, the married Blake is more concerned with his lover and running the hospital than following any military protocol. Meanwhile, his right-hand man, Corp. "Radar" O'Reilly, who has an uncanny ability to recite Blake's every command before he can utter it, manages the necessary bureaucratic red tape. In crowded and bloody operating tents, the short-handed staff, equipped with rapidly diminishing supplies, deals with dozens of wounded soldiers in twelve-hour shifts. Even the sincere yet ineffective Father John Mulcahey, also known as "Dago Red," must stop reading the last rights to a dying man to assist in surgery. Upon Blake's request for additional help, surgeons Duke Forrest and Hawkeye Pierce are sent to the 4077th. While extremely competent, the recently drafted Duke and Hawkeye lack any respect for military decorum. To maintain their sanity amidst the constant flow of death and mayhem, they flirt with the nurses, arrogantly quip in surgery and play practical jokes on their roommate, the fanatically pious and taciturn Maj. Frank Burns. After watching Burns teach Korean mess hall boy Ho-jon to learn English by reading the Bible out loud, Duke and Hawkeye decide the sixteen-year-old would have more fun practicing with Playboy and then teach him how to make martinis as their cabin boy. Fed up with Burns' pious and humorless behavior, Duke and Hawkeye demand that Blake remove him from their tent. Pressured by the impending arrival of more wounded, Blake agrees to remove Burns and to get a "chest cutter," the doctors' other stipulation before they concede to operating. Days later, Hawkeye and Duke welcome thoracic surgeon and new roommate Trapper John McIntyre to The Swamp, their newly renamed tent. Trapper easily wins the men's affection by providing hard-to-get olives for their martinis, but coyly eludes their questions about his past. Days later, Hawkeye finally recognizes Trapper as a former college football star when Trapper expertly catches a football pass, and also realizes Trapper is a preeminent surgeon. The two then become fast friends. One day at the hospital, Trapper watches as Burns, covering for his own malpractice, blames a patient's death on Private Boone, who is stricken with despair over the incident. Furious about the irreparable harm Burns inflicts with his inept work, Trapper punches him just as Blake and the officious new chief nurse Major Margaret Houlihan pass by. Houlihan is incensed by the lack of decorum and further insulted by Hawkeye's practice of addressing the staff by their first names. After she insists to Hawkeye that Burns is an excellent military doctor, he caustically replies that not only is he no longer interested in sleeping with the prudish Houlihan, but thinks she is a "regular Army clown." One night as Houlihan and Burns draft a letter to protest Hawkeye and Trapper's behavior, they are sexually aroused by their mutual respect for military law. Meanwhile, Radar sets up a microphone in Houlihan's tent and broadcasts their passionate cries over the camp intercom system until the horrified couple realizes that the entire camp is listening in. The next morning Duke and the others taunt Houlihan with her new nickname "Hot Lips" and provoke Burns with questions about his sexual acts. When Burns physically attacks Hawkeye, Blake, believing the fight to be unprovoked, sends Burns away in a straight jacket. Days later, dental officer Capt. Waldowski, famous for sexual prowess and thus nicknamed "Painless Pole," admits to Hawkeye that he has experienced one night of impotence. Believing psychological texts suggesting that his overt heterosexuality is just a cover for latent homosexuality, Painless decides to commit suicide to avoid facing his three fiancées back home. When Painless asks for assistance, Hawkeye suggests the "black capsule," a quick end to his life. Dressed in white lab coats, the surgeons and friends prepare a suicide "last supper" in which they break bread and drink wine with Painless, before he climbs into a coffin to take his pill and die. That night, Hawkeye convinces the soon-to-be-discharged Lt. Dish, a married nurse with whom he has been having an affair, that she is obliged to have sex with the now-unconscious Painless to restore his "health." The next morning, Painless wakes fully restored, while Dish leaves for home blissfully satisfied by Painless. Days later, the surgeons decide to bet on whether Houlihan is a "real" blonde and, needing proof, gather the camp outside the women's shower and pull up the tent while Houlihan bathes. Humiliated and enraged, Houlihan demands that Blake fire Hawkeye and the others, threatening to resign her commission, but Blake instead suggests that she resign. Later, when Ho-jon is forced to have a medical examination to determine his eligibility to serve in the Korean army, Hawkeye gives him medication to cause temporary heart acceleration and low blood pressure to ensure that he is rejected. Suspecting the ruse, the Korean doctor keeps the boy as Hawkeye watches powerless to stop him. Soon after, Trapper receives orders to go to Kokura, Japan to tend to a United States congressman's son and takes Hawkeye with him. Arriving at the Kokura hospital with their golf clubs, Hawkeye and Trapper demand to start the operation immediately so they can play a round before dark, despite the head nurses' protests that they must first have commanding officer Col. Merrill's approval. When Merrill barges into the operating without scrubs demanding an explanation, Hawkeye tells him that he will be to blame if the boy dies from infection caused by Merrill's unsterilized intrusion. During surgery, anesthesiologist "Me-Lay" Marston, Hawkeye's old friend, invites them to visit a brothel after surgery, explaining that the establishment doubles as a children's hospital, where Me-Lay moonlights for surgeries. While being entertained by the prostitutes, an emergency arises involving a child of an American soldier and Japanese prostitute. Hawkeye and Trapper take the child to the military hospital, but Merrill refuses to serve "natives." To prevent any military action against themselves or the child, Melay and the surgeons use the sedation gas on Merrill and take compromising photographs of him with a prostitute to use as blackmail. Returning to 4077th in their golf attire, complete with knickers and argyle socks, Hawkeye and Trapper go straight into surgery. Later, when Gen. Hammond arrives at the camp to investigate Houlihan's formal complaints about the surgeons, Hawkeye, Duke and Trapper, aware of Hammond's football obsession, distract him with the suggestion that they stage a football match between Hammond's 325th and the 4077th, a team that has yet to be created. Hammond agrees on the condition that Blake place a $5,000 bet on the outcome of the game. Needing a fail safe team fast, the surgeons tell Blake to request surgeon Oliver Harmon "Spearchucker" Jones, once a star player for the Philadelphia Eagles. After several weeks of training, the 4077th team plays Hammond. Hawkeye, realizing that Spearchucker is their only real chance of winning, hides his identity from Hammond and keeps him out of the game until the second half. During the first half, Blake orders a 4077th player to inject a sedative into the opposing team's star player, ensuring his removal from the game. In retaliation for a racial slur from a 325th player, Spearchucker coaches his teammate to insult the player's sister, which results in a fight that leads to another 325th player being banned from the game, thus ensuring the 4077th's victory. Days later back at camp, Hawkeye and Duke receive immediate orders to be relieved of their duty and return home. Unsure of what welcome awaits them, the men prepare to leave, while Mulcahy blesses their Jeep from his prayer book and the war continues on around them.
In post-war Vienna, a city occupied by four Allied forces and sustained by a thriving black market, American writer Holly Martins arrives, penniless, at the invitation of his old friend Harry Lime, who had offered him a job. Holly goes to Harry's apartment and is told by the porter that Harry was run over by a car and killed. He rushes to the cemetery, where he finds Harry's funeral in progress. As he leaves the gravesite, Holly is approached by a British officer, Major Calloway, who offers him a ride and buys him a drink. When Calloway tells him that Harry was a notorious racketeer, Holly drunkenly vows to prove him wrong. Later, at his hotel, Holly is approached by Crabbin, the head of a cultural institute, who mistakes him for a prestigious novelist and offers to pay for his stay in Vienna if he will speak at one of their meetings. Holly soon receives a call from "Baron" Kurtz, who identifies himself as a friend of Harry and arranges to meet Holly at a café. Kurtz describes Harry's accident and mentions that Harry's Rumanian friend Popescu was also present when Harry died. Holly inquires about the beautiful woman he saw at the funeral, and Kurtz replies that she was Harry's girl friend, Anna Schmidt, an actress at the Josefstadt Theatre. Holly calls on Anna after a performance, and she tells him that Harry's personal physician, Dr. Winkel, happened to show up at the scene of the accident, and that the man behind the wheel of the car was actually Harry's driver. Anna expresses her suspicion that Harry's death was not accidental, and accompanies Holly to Harry's apartment to question the porter. Contrary to Kurtz's account, the porter says that Harry was killed at once, adding that an unidentified third man was present and helped carry the body. When Holly escorts Anna to her apartment, they find Calloway and members of the international police force searching her room. Calloway confiscates Anna's identification papers, claiming they were forged, takes her to the police station and questions her about Josef Harbin, an employee of a military hospital who recently disappeared. After Anna is released, she and Holly go to a nightclub, where they are joined by Kurtz and Popescu, and Holly relates what the porter told him about the third man. The next evening, Holly and Anna set out to talk to the porter again, but as they approach the building, the neighbors tell them that the porter has been murdered. When Holly returns to his hotel, he is promptly whisked away to Crabbin's cultural institute. The badly shaken Holly stumbles through his guest appearance at the literary salon, but when Popescu arrives with two men, he flees. Holly goes to see Calloway, who tells him about Vienna's black market for penicillin, explaining that racketeers often increase their profits by diluting the drug, which has disastrous medical effects. Calloway says that Harbin worked for Harry, stealing penicillin from laboratories, and shows Holly the evidence his men have collected implicating Harry and Kurtz. Holly is appalled by his friend's actions, and goes to Anna and tells her that he is returning to the U.S., then admits his strong feelings for her. After leaving Anna's apartment, Holly notices a man standing in the shadows and dares him to reveal himself. When an irate neighbor opens a window, the light falls across the face of Harry Lime, who disappears before Holly can reach him. Holly summons Calloway, who retraces Harry's escape route and discovers an abandoned news kiosk leading underground to the main sewer. Calloway has Harry's coffin exhumed, and the body inside turns out to be Harbin's. Using Kurtz as an intermediary, Holly arranges a meeting with Harry at the amusement park ferris wheel. Harry smoothly dismisses Holly's moral outrage at the penicillin racket and warns his old friend to stop talking to the police. Undeterred, Harry offers to help the police capture Harry in exchange for safe passage out of Vienna for Anna, who is about to be arrested by the Russians. When Anna furiously rejects the deal, Holly wants to quit, but Calloway takes him to the children's hospital to see some of the brain-damaged young victims of Harry's racketeering. Heartsick over what he sees, Holly agrees to act as a decoy to capture Harry. After waiting for Harry for hours in a café, Holly is joined by Anna, who berates him for working for the police. When Harry arrives, Anna warns him, and he escapes into the sewer, with Holly and the police in pursuit. Harry shoots and kills a British soldier, Sgt. Paine, and Holly slips away and shoots Harry as he tries to crawl through a grate to the street above. After Harry's real funeral, Holly watches in despair as Anna silently walks away down a long, tree-lined avenue.
This film consists of animation set to eight musical pieces. Deems Taylor, the narrator, introduces himself and conductor Leopold Stokowski, then describes the three different kinds of music in the program. The first type tells a definite story, and the next, while having no specific plot, suggests a series of definite pictures. The last type is referred to as "absolute" music, that which suggests abstract images and exists solely for its own sake. The first number, "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor," represents the last type of music. In this segment, animated shadows of the orchestra gradually give way to more abstract images. The second number, "The Nutcracker Suite," is an example of the second type of music, and this segment features ballets performed by the fairies who bring the seasons, Hop Low and his fellow mushrooms, goldfish and flowers. The third selection tells a definite story, that of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." The music is based on a poem by Goethe, which was in turn based upon a 2,000 year old legend. In this number, Mickey Mouse is the young, ambitious apprentice of a powerful sorcerer. When the sorcerer retires for a nap, Mickey takes up his magic hat and acquires his powers, using them to enchant a broom to carry in water. Mickey falls asleep, and while he dreams of enchanting the universe, the broom carries in more and more water until Mickey is awakened by a flood. Mickey's efforts to correct the situation result in catastrophe, but finally the sorcerer appears and restores order. The fourth number, "Rite of Spring," illustrates the story of evolution, showing how the Earth was formed and how life grew from one-celled sea creatures to mighty dinosaurs. The dinosaurs eventually die, and evolution continues. The next segment, "The Pastoral Symphony," presents a lovely day on Mt. Olympus, where cherubs, fauns, unicorns, pegasuses, centaurs and centaurettes frolic. Bacchus, the god of wine, arrives with his trusty steed Jacchus, and a bacchanal begins, only to be interrupted by Zeus and Vulcan, who shower lightning bolts on the merrymakers. Zeus eventually wearies of his game and peace is restored as Isis, the goddess of the rainbow, spreads a rainbow over the land. Apollo drives his sun chariot across the sky, and as he disappears, Morpheus, the god of sleep, draws his blanket of night over everyone. The mythic creatures fall asleep as Diana shoots an arrow of fire and covers the sky with stars. The sixth selection is "Dance of the Hours." This ballet, depicting the passage of time, is performed by a talented corps of ostriches, hippos, elephants and alligators, who represent morning, day, evening and night. The final two numbers, "Night on Bald Mountain" and "Ave Maria," are, according to Taylor, a picture of the struggle between the profane and the sacred. The segment begins on Walpurgis night, when Chernabog, the black god, who lives in Bald Mountain, casts a spell on the sleeping town and raises up ghosts from their graves and demons from the fiery depths. The evil creatures dance for Chernabog's pleasure until dawn comes and the church bells, calling the faithful to worship, begin to ring. The ghosts and demons return to their origins, while Chernabog folds himself back into the top of the mountain. The faithful begin their candlelit procession through the forest as they sing "Ave Maria," and the film ends as the sun rises.
Late one night, in a well-to-do part of Los Angeles, California, police find teenager Jim Stark sprawled drunk on the sidewalk, playing with a toy monkey. He is taken to the police station, where two other young people have also been brought in: sixteen-year-old Judy, who was found wandering the streets, and John Crawford, nicknamed "Plato," who was caught shooting puppies. Ray Framek, the juvenile division counselor, interviews the three children individually. After talking to Judy, he realizes that her father has been withholding his affection because he is uncomfortable with her passage from adolescence to womanhood. The only affection Plato receives is from the family housekeeper, a sympathetic and caring black woman, as his father permanently abandoned the family and his mother, neglectful of her lonely son, travels frequently. When the Stark family arrives, Jim's father, an ineffectual man who is henpecked by Jim's mother and grandmother, tries to make light of his son's drunkenness. His reminiscence that he got "loaded" when he was a young man sparks a family argument, prompting Jim to cry out, "You're tearing me apart!" After taking Jim into his office to talk to him alone, Ray learns that the family, who recently moved to the area, has changed residences often to give Jim a new start whenever he gets into trouble. Instead of helping him, the uprootedness has prevented Jim from making meaningful friendships. Jim is further frustrated that his father does not stand up to the women. Sympathetically, Ray offers Jim an open invitation to visit and talk with him. On the first day of school, Jim learns that Judy is a neighbor. He tries to befriend her, but she refuses his offer of a ride to school and instead joins her boyfriend, Buzz Gunderson, and their rowdy friends in his crowded convertible. Jim proceeds alone to school, where he is harassed by fellow students for stepping on the school's insignia embedded on the front steps. Later in the day, Jim drives alone to Griffith Observatory for a school field trip. During the planetarium show, the lecturer remarks about man's insignificance in the vast universe and presents a light show demonstrating the end of the world. After listening to Jim make a joke meant to impress Judy and her friends, Plato warns him that the group is cliquish. After the lecture, Buzz and his restless friends decide to harass Jim. Plato warns Jim about their intention and points out an abandoned mansion in the nearby hills, where they can escape. However, the troublemakers, among them Judy, reach Jim's car first and Buzz punctures his tire with a switchblade. While Jim calmly changes the tire, his classmates call him a "chicken," an insult that is particularly hurtful to him, and Buzz taunts him into a knife fight. After knocking the switchblade out of Buzz's hands, Jim offers to settle the matter elsewhere, without knives. When Buzz invites him to meet at a cliff overlooking the sea that evening for a "chickie run," Jim agrees, without knowing what a "chickie run" entails. Later, at home, Jim is ashamed to find his father on his knees wearing an apron, cleaning up a spilled tray of food. Wanting guidance from his father, Jim talks about a matter of honor, but his father lets him down by evading his question. At Judy's house, her father scolds her for kissing him, saying she is "too old for that," causing her to leave the house in tears. When Jim later arrives at the cliff that night, he finds a crowd waiting to watch, including Plato, who hitchhiked there to support him. While explaining the procedure for the "chickie run" to Jim, Buzz reveals that he is beginning to like him. When Jim asks why they are continuing, Buzz says enigmatically, "Because you have to do something." Meanwhile, Judy, intrigued by Jim, questions Plato about him, and Plato, claiming that Jim is his best friend, describes him as "sincere." At Judy's signal, Buzz and Jim drive two stolen cars toward the cliff's edge, where the first to jump out of the car will be declared the "chickie." However, Buzz's leather jacket catches on the door handle, preventing him from escaping at the last minute, and he plummets, trapped in the car, to his death in the sea. Fearing the arrival of the police, the observers drive off and Jim takes Judy's hand and drives her and Plato home. Later, Jim tells his parents what happened and reminds his dad about their conversation regarding "a matter of honor." Heedless of Buzz's death, the Stark adults worry whether anyone can identify Jim as having been there and his mother announces they must move again. Wanting to do the right thing, Jim says he will go to the police, but his family urges him not to get involved. Their voices rise and soon they are screaming at each other. Feeling that his father will not "stand up" for him, Jim attacks him, and then leaves the house, heading for the police station. Finding that Ray is out on a call, Jim phones Judy and she sneaks out to meet him. Apologizing for the way she treated him when she was with her friends, she says, "Nobody acts sincere." Buzz's friends, who were brought to the police station for questioning, see Jim there, and concerned that he might inform on them, beat up Plato to get his address. Afterward, the frightened Plato finds his mother's gun and goes out to warn Jim, and eventually finds Jim and Judy at the mansion. There Plato fantasizes that Jim and Judy are his family, while they pretend to be married. When Plato falls asleep, Jim and Judy explore the mansion. After hanging a chicken on the Starks's doorframe, Buzz's friends realize that Jim is not there and cruise the streets until they spot his parked car. Entering the mansion, they torment Plato, who awakens thinking Jim and Judy deserted him. Plato shoots one of the boys, then runs out toward the observatory, where he is seen by a policeman. Plato breaks into the observatory and shoots at the policeman. The shots bring backup police cars, Plato's housekeeper and Ray and the Starks, who have been searching for Jim since the hoodlums' visit. As they all converge on the front lawn, Jim and Judy feel obligated to help Plato, run into the building and find the boy hiding in the planetarium. After calming Plato, Jim asks to see his gun, promising to return it, and secretly removes the bullets. Remembering the lecture, Plato asks if the end of the world will come at night and Jim says it will come at dawn. Jim and Judy accompany Plato outside after asking Ray, at Plato's request, to turn off a spotlight aimed at the door. However, when a policeman points a light at them, Plato panics and runs, brandishing the gun. Although Jim calls out that the weapon is empty, the policemen shoot and kill the boy. Jim cries over Plato's body, while his father tries to comfort him, saying that he "did everything a man can do." Jim's father promises to try to be strong for Jim and to stand beside him in whatever happens next. After Plato's body is taken away, Jim introduces Judy to his parents. As they all leave, a man with a briefcase walks toward the planetarium and a new day begins.
In 1936 South America, archeologist-professor Indiana "Indy" Jones explores the jungle for a golden godhead. Retrieving the idol from an ancient temple, Indy unwittingly triggers a series of booby traps and narrowly escapes, but he is thwarted by the unexpected appearance of a rival archeologist named René Belloq, who is delighted to seize the relic and unleash an army of tribal warriors. Dodging arrows, Indy gets away on an awaiting seaplane. Back in the U.S., Indy returns to his university classroom, where is visited by colleague Marcus Brody. The erudite gentleman chides Indy for his illicit practices of hunting artifacts for financial gain, then alerts his friend to the presence of two U.S. intelligence agents on campus, who are waiting to meet him. In a lecture hall, the men ask Indy to interpret a secret German communiqué recently intercepted in Cairo, Egypt. The agents reveal that Nazis are excavating the area for biblical artifacts to prove Adolf Hitler is the Christian Messiah, and to wield the relics' mystical powers. When the German dispatch gives orders to acquire a "headpiece" from a professor named Abner Ravenwood, Indy acknowledges the name of his former mentor and realizes the Nazis have discovered the ancient city of Tanis, the focus of Ravenwood's research. Indy explains that Tanis is the burial place of the Lost Ark of the Covenant, which holds the Ten Commandments, but its exact location has remained a mystery for 3,000 years. According to ancient lore, the ark's tomb in the "Well of Souls" can only be located by taking a special headpiece to the "Map Room" in Tanis and holding it up to the rising sun on the "Staff of Ra." The refraction will cast a beam on a floor model of the city, and reveal the ark's secret location. To prevent Hitler from obtaining the ark, the agents offer Indy a lucrative deal to retrieve the artifact, and he begins his journey, unaware he is being followed by a Nazi operative named Arnold Toht. In a remote region of Nepal, Indy finds Ravenwood's tavern and learns the professor is dead, but his daughter, Marion, is running the family business. The young woman, who was once romantically involved with Indy, is displeased by the reunion and blames him for exploiting her innocence. Marion feigns ignorance about the headpiece, but she is tempted by Indy's $3,000 payment and instructs him to come back the next day. When Indy leaves, Arnold Toht skulks inside with an army of Nepalese henchmen and demands the headpiece, threatening Marion with a hot poker from her fire pit. However, Indy comes to her rescue and a gun battle ensues, setting the tavern ablaze. In the commotion, Toht grabs the medallion, but it has been scorched by the fire and brands his palm. As Toht drops the artifact and runs away, Indy and Marion overcome their attackers. Marion seizes the headpiece with her scarf and vows to remain by Indy's side until he pays her in full. The two fly to Cairo, where they are welcomed by Indy's colleague, Sallah, who reports the Nazis have made progress excavating the Map Room in Tanis. After a brief respite, the couple is attacked in a marketplace, and Indy mistakenly believes his lover has been killed in a truck explosion. Consoling himself with alcohol, Indy is detained by his nemesis, René Belloq. The archeologist explains that after snatching Indy's godhead in South America, he joined forces with the Nazis and has secret plans to obtain the ark for himself. Outraged, Indy nearly starts a gunfight, but he is saved by Sallah's brood of children. Sallah takes Indy to the home of a mystic, who decodes the text on Ravenwood's headpiece to reveal the exact location of the Map Room, and the men are pleased to learn that the Nazis are digging in the wrong place. At dawn, Indy and Sallah sneak to the real Map Room excavation, where Indy rappels into the chamber, affixes the headpiece to its staff, and holds it up to the rising sun to ascertain the exact coordinates of the ark's burial place. Back at Nazi base camp, Indy disguises himself as an Arab and is joyous to find Marion alive. Although the young woman is tied to a post in Belloq's tent, Indy refuses to release her because it will draw attention to his whereabouts, and he pursues his quest for the ark with promises to return. At sundown, Indy and Sallah excavate the Well of Souls, and pry open the roof to discover a chamber filled with venomous snakes. Despite Indy's aversion to reptiles, he fends off the serpents with torches and retrieves the ark. As the sun rises, the ark is hoisted out of the chamber and Indy prepares to follow, but his escape is thwarted by Belloq, who has discovered the site and is thrilled to usurp Indy's discovery yet again. Belloq, Arnold Toht, and a commander named Colonel Dietrich, throw Marion into the snake pit and trap the couple inside, sealing off light and air. However, Indy uses his bullwhip to topple a statue and knock down a wall. The couple resurfaces at an airfield where Nazis prepare to airlift the ark, but Indy fights off a Nazi muscle man, who meets his death by backing into the plane propeller, the aircraft explodes due to a gas leak. Realizing the ark will be diverted away on a truck, Indy orders Marion to meet him back in Cairo and chases the convoy on horseback. Although Indy hijacks the truck, he is thrown from the speeding vehicle and slides underneath the carriage to regain control of the wheel. In Cairo, Indy and Marion set sail with the ark, but their steamer is overtaken by a German U-boat, with Belloq and Colonel Dietrich aboard. When the Nazis recapture Marion and the ark, the steamer captain convinces the Germans that Indy is dead, and they fail to notice as he stows away on the submarine. As the U-boat lands on a remote island, Belloq convinces Dietrich to open the ark before delivering it to Hitler, and the men lead a procession to find a suitable place for the unveiling. Indy ambushes the Nazis along the way, but Belloq challenges the archeologist to destroy the relic, and Indy backs down. Indy and Marion are tied to a stake and watch from afar as the ark is opened. Although there is nothing inside but sand, steam rises from the vessel, taking the form of ghosts. As Indy warns Marion to keep her eyes shut, chaos ensues. Arnold Toht, Colonel Dietrich, and their soldiers are mesmerized by the phantoms, and Belloq is possessed by a supernatural fire that shoots laser beams from his eyes and drills onlookers through their hearts. After a gas storm sweeps away the bodies, Indy opens his eyes and embraces his terrified lover. Back in Washington, D.C., Indy reconvenes with the secret agents to receive payment for the ark and protests that the relic has been taken into custody without input from scientific researchers, who can safeguard its powers. Despite Indy's pleas, the ark is taken away to a vast warehouse, where it is obscured in a sea of identical wooden crates labeled "top secret."
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.
Although Michael Dorsey is a passionate and respected acting coach in the New York City theater scene, directors continually refuse to hire him because of his combative personality and perfectionism. On his birthday, Michael's amateur playwright roommate, Jeff Slater, throws him a surprise party at their apartment. Afterward, Michael helps his actress friend Sandy Lester prepare her audition for the television soap opera, Southwest General. The next morning, Michael accompanies Sandy to the studio, where she is promptly rejected for her appearance. Upon learning that one of his former colleagues received a Broadway role he had been expecting to play, Michael barges into the office of his talent agent, George Fields, and desperately demands more acting jobs. Distressed, George informs Michael that his notorious reputation for being difficult to work with has made him unemployable in the entertainment industry. As a result, Michael returns to the television studio and auditions for Southwest General dressed as a middle-aged woman named "Dorothy Michaels." When director Ron Carlisle dismisses "Dorothy" for not being threatening enough to play the "masculine" hospital administrator, "Emily Kimberly," she criticizes him for his sexist depiction of women. Impressed by "Dorothy's" gumption, Ron and producer Rita Marshall hire her for the role. Still in disguise, Michael follows George into a restaurant to announce the news of his job offer, and convinces the agent to loan him money for clothes, makeup, and wigs until he receives his first paycheck. Although Michael plans to use the $8,000 wages to produce Jeff's most recent play, Return to the Love Canal, he keeps his casting a secret from Sandy by claiming he inherited the money from a dead relative. Michael is inspired to try on her clothes while she showers, but when she catches him undressing, he attempts to cover his actions by confessing that he wants to have sex with her. Afterward, she fears that their relationship will change, but Michael promises to continue dating her. The next morning, he awakens early to groom himself and apply makeup for "Dorothy's" first day of filming. Once in her dressing room, she meets another actress, April Page, and receives the day's last-minute script changes. On the set, "Dorothy" watches uncomfortably as Ron condescendingly directs the show's star, Julie Nichols. She is then required to film her scene without rehearsal, and improvises her way out of having to kiss her philandering co-star, John Van Horn. Although her colleagues praise her for the instinctual change, the actor kisses her off-camera anyway. Later, "Dorothy" watches as Julie and Ron leave the studio together, prompting her to become increasingly annoyed with their boss's chauvinist behavior. When the telephone rings that night, Michael and Jeff argue about how to answer in case the call is for "Dorothy," and Jeff leaves in frustration. Over the next few weeks, "Dorothy's" presence elevates the quality of the show and gains her a large fan following. While staying late for re-shoots, "Dorothy" sees Ron kissing April behind the set, but decides not to tell Julie. Forgetting Michael's dinner date with Sandy that evening, "Dorothy" accepts Julie's invitation to rehearse their lines for the next day. After fretting over what to wear, "Dorothy" goes to Julie's apartment and learns that she has an infant daughter. She asks questions about Julie's relationship with Ron and they discuss the difficulties of being a woman in the 1980s. Suddenly remembering his obligation with Sandy, Michael returns home and removes the disguise before running to her apartment. Despite his apologies, Sandy declares that she saw "Dorothy" entering Michael's apartment earlier, mistaking her for his lover. Michael claims that she is a friend of Jeff's, and Sandy apologizes, blaming her continued bitterness over losing the part on Southwest General. After she criticizes "Dorothy's" dialogue on the show, Michael begins to improvise lines that strengthen the program's feminist message. Consequently, both "Dorothy" and the character gain national media attention, and Michael unsuccessfully begs George to let him audition for other female roles. Instead, the agent invites him to a party hosted by a high-profile Broadway producer, also attended by Julie and Ron. Michael then attempts to flirt with Julie by using a pick-up line she referenced in an earlier conversation with "Dorothy;" the plan backfires, however, as she throws champagne in his face. At work, "Dorothy" chastises Ron for disrespectfully addressing her as "Tootsie," and later accepts Julie's invitation to stay at her father Les's farmhouse for the weekend. As Les grows more attracted to "Dorothy," she eventually escapes his advances by retreating to her and Julie's room, where they share a bed and fall asleep snuggled together. Once back in New York City, "Dorothy" receives a box of chocolates from Les, and Rita Marshall signs her for another year on Southwest General. Michael hopes to get out of the commitment, but George insists that revealing his identity would ruin both their careers. One night, "Dorothy" babysits Julie's daughter while she ends her relationship with Ron. Upon returning, Julie admits that she has very strong feelings for "Dorothy," who responds by attempting to kiss her. Moments later, Les invites "Dorothy" on a date and proposes marriage. Startled, "Dorothy" agrees to "think about it," and finds John Van Horn waiting on her doorstep at home. Declaring his love, he forces himself on her until Jeff walks in and John leaves in embarrassment. Moments later, Sandy arrives, and the roommates scramble to remove Michael's disguise. As she confronts him about his evasiveness, Michael gives her "Dorothy's" box of chocolates, but she finds Les's note attached to the wrapping. Although Michael explains that he is in love with another woman, Sandy believes he is lying to conceal his homosexuality. At work the next day, Julie thanks "Dorothy" for inspiring her to be true to herself, but ultimately ends their friendship in order to extinguish any hope "Dorothy" may have for a romantic relationship. When a technical difficulty forces the cast to perform their scenes on live television, "Dorothy" strays from the script, inventing an outrageous monologue and pulling off her wig to reveal that "Emily Kimberly" is actually her twin brother, "Edward." Audience and crew members alike are shocked by the revelation, and once the camera cuts, Julie punches Michael in the stomach. As the ensuing media frenzy begins to diminish, Michael returns Les's engagement ring and admits that he has always been attracted to Julie. One day, Michael waits for Julie outside of work and apologizes for hurting her. When she confesses that she misses "Dorothy," he declares, "I was a better man with you as a woman than I ever was with a woman as a man." Smiling, she asks to borrow one of his dresses, and they walk together down the street.
The Overland stagecoach from Tonto, Arizona, to Lordsburg, New Mexico, leaves town with eight people on board. In the front, sit Buck the driver and Marshal Curley Wilcox, who is riding shotgun to protect the stage from hostile Indians and from the Plummer brothers, a vicious band of outlaws. The passengers consist of Doc Josiah Boone, the town drunk; Dallas, a woman of ill repute, who, like Doc, has been banished from town; the pregnant Lucy Mallory, who is taking the stage to meet her husband, a cavalry officer, and is treated gallantly by her fellow passenger, Hatfield, a gambler; Gatewood, the town's sanctimonious banker who mouths respectability while clutching a carpet bag filled with stolen money; and Peacock, a timid whiskey drummer. Because of an Apache uprising by Geronimo, the cavalry escorts the coach to the first station at Dry Fork. Along the way, Buck stops to pick up the Ringo Kid, who has escaped from prison to seek revenge on the Plummers, who killed his family and sent him to jail on false testimony. After Curley arrests Ringo, the stage continues on to Dry Fork, where they discover that there are no troops to escort them farther. Voting to continue on alone, they reach the next stop, where their journey is delayed when Mrs. Mallory, learning that her husband has been wounded, goes into premature labor. Doc sobers up to deliver the baby, and as they await Mrs. Mallory's recovery, Dallas and Ringo fall in love and Dallas urges Ringo to escape. Ringo is on the verge of leaving when he sees Apache war signals, and the passengers hastily board the stage to make a desperate dash to Lordsburg. Just as they think the danger has passed, the Apaches attack at a dry lake bed, wounding Peacock and Buck and killing Hatfield. At the last minute, the cavalry rides to the rescue and escorts the stage to Lordsburg, where Gatewood is arrested for embezzlement. There, Curley grants Ringo his freedom so that he can avenge the murder of his family, and after gunning down the Plummers, Ringo and Dallas ride off into the night to begin life anew at his ranch across the border.
A sandstorm batters the Sonora Desert in Mexico. Two vehicles arrive and discharge Mayflower Project operatives including David Laughlin, who explains that he is not a professional interpreter, but a cartographer. However, Laughlin translates for French scientist Claude Lacombe as project members rush to a mysterious circle of vintage WW II airplanes, which were reported missing in 1945. Meanwhile, in Indianapolis, Indiana, air traffic controllers monitor a strange aircraft in the vicinity of two airliners. There is a near miss, but the pilots don't want to report an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO). Elsewhere, in Muncie, Indiana, a young boy named Barry Guiler is awakened by the wind. As his toys begin to operate independently, Barry goes downstairs, where he is delighted to find the front door is open and the house bathed in bright light. Barry's mother, Jillian Guiler, awakens to see Barry running into the woods. Nearby, Roy Neary is at home with his wife, Ronnie, and their three children when the phone rings. Ronnie is told that there is a widespread power outage and Roy is to report to work at a substation. As Jillian looks for Barry in the woods, Roy parks on a country road, lost. Lights appear behind Roy's truck and levitate as mailboxes shake and the truck loses power; gravity is momentarily reversed, then everything goes quiet. Roy sees a spacecraft flying away and drives after it while Barry runs down a road on Crescendo Summit and encounters a family watching the sky. Jillian finds Barry and grabs her son just as Roy's truck comes around a bend, narrowly missing them. Three low-flying spacecraft fly past, followed by three police cars. The UFOs fly through a toll collection area, cross into Ohio, and disappear into the distance as electric power is restored across the valley. With his face half-sunburned, Roy heads home to collect his family and drives them back to Crescendo Summit, hoping to share another UFO event with them. The next morning, Roy is fascinated by the mountainous shape of his shaving cream and later receives a phone call terminating his employment. Despite Ronnie's protests, Roy goes back to Crescendo Summit that night and gathers with fellow UFO witnesses, including Jillian and Barry, whom Roy observes making the same mountain shape in the mud that he saw earlier in his shaving cream. Although the crowd is excited by approaching lights, the aircraft turn out to be helicopters. Across the globe in India, Lacombe and his team record thousands of people chanting a series of musical tones. When asked where the sounds came from, the people point to the sky. Back in the U.S., Lacombe shares his breakthrough with an auditorium audience and demonstrates hand signals that correlate to the musical notes. A satellite dish in Barstow, California, beams the tonal sequence into space and a signal of repeating numbers is received in response. Laughlin, the cartographer-turned-translator, notes that the first set of numbers is a longitude and the team determines that the location is in Wyoming. Meanwhile, in Muncie, Barry plays the same notes on a xylophone while Jillian sketches the mysterious mountain. Taking out the trash, Jillian sees rolling clouds and the bright lights of an approaching spacecraft, then runs inside and barricades the house as it rattles. Despite Jillian's efforts to grab hold of her son, Barry crawls away through the dog door and disappears. Sometime later at a U.S. Air Force briefing, Major Benchley and the Mayflower Support Leader debunk the sightings; however, a team of people in red jumpsuits and sunglasses are loaded on a bus in an unidentified military warehouse. Reviewing a map of a Wyoming mountain called Devil's Tower, military personnel, including Major "Wild Bill" Walsh, debate possible cover stories to evacuate the area without prompting suspicion. Back at the Neary home, Roy continues to be haunted by the mountain shape; he sculpts it with mashed potatoes at dinner and later builds a clay model, but remains bewildered. In the morning, Roy knocks the peak off of his clay mountain in defeat and the flat plateau triggers recognition. After uprooting plants and collecting debris from neighbors' yards, Roy's obsession frightens Ronnie and she gathers the children to leave for her sister's home. Constructing a mountain from mud, Roy watches television and notices a breaking news report about a train derailment in Wyoming that supposedly unleashed nerve gas. When the footage depicts a mass evacuation near Devil's Tower, Roy is elated to recognize the flat-topped mountain of his imagination. Meanwhile, Jillian sees the same report and connects the Devil's Tower to her own obsessive drawings. Sometime later, Roy drives a rented station wagon to Wyoming, where he rescues Jillian from being evacuated on a train. As Roy speeds away from the military checkpoint, Jillian updates him on the search for Barry. Arriving at a barbwire barricade, Roy and Jillian see Devil's Tower in the distance and marvel at the mountain that had previously only existed in their minds. Continuing on the road, they observe what appear to be dead livestock; although Roy believes the evacuation is a government hoax, they don gas masks to be safe. Soon, the car is stopped by military vehicles. Roy and Jillian are separated and detained by soldiers dressed in hazardous material suits. Lacombe and Laughlin interrogate Roy, asking if he has had a "close encounter" and showing him photographs of eleven people, including Jillian. At a base camp below Devil's Tower, Roy and Jillian are reunited on a helicopter with the ten other people who sought out the mountain, but Roy is convinced that the air is not contaminated with nerve gas and takes off his mask to prove that the story is a hoax. Meanwhile, Wild Bill Walsh berates Lacombe for allowing civilians into the restricted area; however, Lacombe defends the UFO witnesses and suggests that there may be thousands more. Back at the helicopter pad, Roy, Jillian, and a comrade named Larry Butler escape and soldiers give chase. Maj. Walsh orders helicopters to spray the sleep aerosol previously used on the area's livestock to make the animals appear dead. Although the sleeping gas fells Larry, Roy and Jillian get away and discover a well-lit arena with a landing strip on the backside of Devil's Tower. As scientists make preparations, lights appear in the distance and move toward Roy and Jillian. When four spacecraft fly over the arena, project members play the tones that Lacombe discovered in India and Jillian recognizes the tune from Barry's xylophone. After repeating the musical sequence in response, the spacecrafts fly away and the scientists break into applause. As more spacecraft swarm overhead, Roy wants to get closer, but Jillian is afraid to continue. After kissing his companion farewell, Roy climbs toward the landing strip. In a moment of silence, an enormous mother ship arrives, casting a dark shadow. While the notes are reciprocated between the scientists and the spaceship, Jillian follows Roy into the arena. As the craft lowers its ramp, radiating a warm glow, figures materialize in the light, including the WW II pilots who went missing in 1945 and Barry, who runs to Jillian. Lacombe and the officials discuss Roy as a potential human representative for the spaceship's next voyage and Lacombe admits envy. The spaceship's ramp opens again, revealing a spider-like creature and other humanoid aliens, and an official asks Roy for his full cooperation. Following a church service, the team of astronauts in red jumpsuits walks toward the mother ship with Roy in tow, but two aliens pull Roy out of the line and lead him aboard the craft. When an alien exchanges hand signals with Lacombe, a calm falls over the observers. The mother ship ascends into the sky, with Roy aboard, and disappears into the darkness.
Clarice Starling, a top student at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Academy in Quantico, Virginia, is summoned by Jack Crawford of the FBI's Behavioral Science Services Department to partake in a special assignment. Crawford tells Clarice, a former student of his at the University of Virginia, that the FBI is collecting data on all imprisoned serial killers, but thus far, they have had no luck with Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist who ate his murder victims, earning the nickname "Hannibal the Cannibal." Clarice suspects the assignment is related to an ongoing investigation of "Buffalo Bill," a wanted serial killer who skins his female victims, but Crawford denies it. In Maryland, at the Baltimore State Forensic Hospital headed by the self-important Dr. Frederick Chilton, Clarice is warned upon arrival that Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a "pure psychopath." Eyeing her lasciviously, Dr. Chilton suggests Jack Crawford is attempting to manipulate Lecter by sending an attractive woman to question him. Clarice is led to a maximum-security corridor in the basement, where Lecter is being held in a glassed-in cell. Clarice introduces herself, and Lecter sniffs the air, guessing the type of lotion and perfume she uses. He attempts to psychoanalyze Clarice, guessing by her accent and clothing that she is from West Virginia and only one generation removed from "poor white trash." When she asks him to fill out an FBI questionnaire, he loses patience with her and sends her away. Clarice walks past a neighboring cell, where a prisoner named Miggs masturbates and throws semen in her face. Lecter overhears and calls Clarice back. Apologizing for Miggs's rudeness, he offers Clarice a clue, urging her, "Look deep within yourself." He also instructs her to look up his former client, Miss Moffet. Later, Jack Crawford tells Clarice that Lecter retaliated against Miggs by verbally tormenting him until he swallowed his own tongue. Based on Lecter's clue, Clarice finds a business called Your Self Storage, where a storage unit has been rented for the past ten years under the name Hester Moffet. There, Clarice discovers a transvestite's disembodied head inside a jar. She returns to the Baltimore State Forensic Hospital and questions Lecter again, pointing out that the name "Hester Moffet" is an anagram for "the rest of me." Lecter identifies the disembodied head as belonging to Benjamin Raspail, a former client; however, he denies killing the man, and reveals that Raspail was the victim of a fledgling killer interested in transformation. Clarice guesses the killer could be Buffalo Bill and presses for more information, but Lecter demands to be transferred to a new hospital and given a cell with a view. In exchange, he offers a complete psychological profile on Buffalo Bill. Meanwhile, in Memphis, Tennessee, Buffalo Bill kidnaps Catherine Martin, the daughter of U.S. Senator Ruth Martin. When the body of another victim is found in Clay County, West Virginia, Jack Crawford takes Clarice with him to view it. On the way there, they examine photographs of Buffalo Bill's former victims, all overweight young women missing large swaths of skin. At a funeral home, Clarice discovers a cocoon lodged in the victim's throat. The cocoon is found to be a Death's Head Moth, a rare insect indigenous to Asia. Clarice visits Lecter again, and offers him a transfer to a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in upstate New York and a yearly vacation at Plum Island, but only if he helps the FBI find Buffalo Bill in time to save Catherine Martin. She gives Lecter a case file, and he agrees to help in exchange for personal information about Clarice. She confesses that her mother died very young, and her father, a policeman, was killed in the line of duty when she was ten years old, leaving her orphaned. She went to live with relatives on a farm in Montana, although she ran away after two months. Turning the conversation back to Buffalo Bill, Clarice asks about the significance of the moth, which was found in Benjamin Raspail's head as well as the latest victim's, and Lecter says it is a symbol of change. Although Buffalo Bill is not a transsexual, he says it is one of many identities the killer has tried on in an effort to escape his own terrifying pathology. Meanwhile, at Buffalo Bill's house, Catherine Martin is held at the bottom of a well in the basement. Referring to her as "it," Buffalo Bill sends lotion down the well and forces her to rub it on her skin. Catherine cries and begs to see her mother, then screams in terror when she sees a fingernail embedded in the well wall. Later, Dr. Frederick Chilton visits Lecter, who is restrained inside his cell. Chilton reclines on Lecter's bed and informs him that the deal Clarice offered was bogus. Unwittingly leaving his pen behind on the bed, Chilton claims he made a legitimate deal with Senator Ruth Martin, who has offered Lecter a transfer to a Tennessee prison. Soon, Lecter is strapped to an upright stretcher, restrained with a face mask, and flown to Memphis, where he meets Ruth Martin at the airport. He informs the senator that the killer is "Louis Friend," a former lover of Benjamin Raspail. He also gives a physical description, then insults Martin by asking her if she breastfed Catherine and suggesting her nipples must tingle when her daughter is in peril. Clarice goes to the Memphis building where Lecter is being held overnight in a makeshift cell. She accuses him of using another anagram with Louis Friend, which stands for Iron Sulfide, also known as "Fool's Gold." She begs him to give her the killer's real name, but he insists Clarice has everything she needs to know in the case file. He presses her for more personal information, and she reveals the reason she ran away from the farm in Montana: One night, she woke to a frightening noise and discovered lambs being slaughtered in the barn; she tried to save them and was sent to an orphanage as punishment. In turn, Lecter describes Buffalo Bill as someone driven by a covetous nature, and explains that a person begins to covet what he or she sees every day. Later, Lecter uses the pen Dr. Chilton dropped in his cell to break free from handcuffs and attack two police guards, Lieutenant Boyle and Sergeant Pembry, murdering them and posing as a wounded Pembry to escape the building. Back in Quantico, Clarice finds Lecter's notations on a map of locations where the victims' bodies were found, describing the spots as "desperately random." Clarice recalls what he said about coveting and deduces that Buffalo Bill must have known his first victim, Fredrica Bimmel. She goes to Bimmel's home in Belvedere, Ohio, and discovers that the girl was a seamstress. She reasons that Buffalo Bill must also be a tailor creating a dress made of women's skin. She calls Crawford to share her theory, but he responds that the FBI has already identified Buffalo Bill, who goes by the names Jame Gumb and John Grant, and they are on their way to arrest him at home in Calumet City, Illinois. Despite the news, Clarice continues her investigation in Belvedere. She finds Stacy, a friend of Fredrica Bimmel's, who does not recall Fredrica having any male friends but says she often did tailoring for an older woman named Mrs. Littman. Clarice goes to Littman's house just as Crawford and a SWAT team surround the house in Calumet City and find it empty. Clarice rings the doorbell, and Buffalo Bill answers the door. He identifies himself as Jack Gordon and leads her inside. Clarice observes his odd behavior and notices a moth flying around spools of yarn. She orders him to freeze at gunpoint, but Bill flees into the basement. Clarice follows, discovers Catherine Martin in the well, and assures her she is safe. Catherine begs Clarice not to leave her alone, but Clarice goes in search of Buffalo Bill. She discovers a dress form draped in an unfinished "dress" made from human skin, resembling a woman's body. The lights are shut off and Clarice fumbles in the dark. Using infrared goggles to stalk her, Buffalo Bill creeps up behind Clarice, but she hears him cock his gun and reflexively turns and shoots him dead. Police arrive and escort Catherine Martin and Clarice outside. Sometime later, Jack Crawford watches Clarice graduate and congratulates her afterward. She is told she has a phone call, and recognizes Dr. Hannibal Lecter's voice on the line. Calling from an undisclosed tropical location, Lecter promises not to attack her, saying the world is more interesting with her in it. Just before hanging up, he claims he is "having an old friend for dinner" as he watches Dr. Frederick Chilton disembark from a small plane.
On 27 September 1975, Max Schumacher, the head of the United Broadcasting System's (UBS) television news department, fires veteran newscaster and old friend Howard Beale because of his low ratings. To commiserate, Max drinks with Howard at a couple of New York City bars, and toward the end of the night, Howard drunkenly suggests that shooting himself during his broadcast might improve ratings. The equally inebriated Max jokingly adds that real-life murder and mayhem might improve the entire network's ratings. The next evening, during his broadcast, Howard announces his upcoming retirement, and since he has nothing else in his life, he will "blow his brains out" on next Tuesday's show. The comment creates a media flurry, and UBS executive Frank Hackett takes Howard off the air. The next day, Howard calls Max to apologize and ask if he can return to his show that night to say goodbye. Later, Los Angeles, California, news liaison Bill Herron shows Max and Diana Christensen, the head of UBS programming, film footage of a bank robbery taken by an African American revolutionary group, the Ecumenical Liberation Army (ELA). Herron tells them that his contact, Laureen Hobbs, a black U.S. Communist Party official, is in communication with the ELA and can supply the network with more crime footage. Though Max sees no news value in the film, Diana thinks UBS could build a new "movie of the week" around the ELA by mixing its anti-establishment crime footage with scripted stories. At a UBS stockholders' meeting, Hackett announces plans to end the independent news division's autonomy because it loses money. Discovering that his authority has been undermined, Max is outraged, and believes that Hackett purposely humiliated him. On Wednesday evening, Howard broadcasts his final show. He apologizes to his audience for his threatened suicide, and explains that he had no other recourse. Howard repeats a vulgarity several times, but Max refuses the producer's request to take his friend off the air, even though sixty-seven million people are watching the incident on live television. UBS chairman Ed Ruddy asks for Max's resignation, Howard Beale becomes a media sensation, and his rant is headlined on the front page of New York City's biggest newspapers. Calling Howard a "latter day prophet denouncing the hypocracies of our time," Diana tells Hackett she wants to put Howard back on the air, because his show rose five rating points in one night and will jump another fifteen points if he returns. She promises to make the news show a hit, and Hackett and Ruddy agree. Max is permitted to stay with UBS, and Howard's ratings go up for the next few days. When public interest begins to wane, Diana demands that Howard act more extreme. She also adds new elements to the program, including a psychic and a gossip columnist. To solidify her authority over the enterprise, Diana seduces Max. The following night, Howard tells his audience that a voice woke him up that morning and told him to report the truth. Sleeping at Max's apartment to avoid the press, Howard awakens the following morning, puts on his raincoat, and spends the day walking in the rain. When Max tells Hackett he wants to take Howard off the air because he is having an emotional breakdown, Hackett fires Max. Only minutes before Howard's show begins that evening, he walks into UBS from the rain, still dressed in his pajamas, and complains to his television audience about the ills of society. He tells them to get out of their chairs, stick their heads out their windows, and yell, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" Diana receives calls from UBS affiliates around the country, reporting that people are screaming out their windows. At Max's New York apartment, his daughter opens a window and watches hundreds of neighbors shouting Howard's new catchphrase. Billed as "the mad prophet of the airwaves," Howard skyrockets in the ratings. Diana travels to Los Angeles to talk with Laureen Hobbs about setting up the ELA's "political terrorism" program, called The Mao Tse Tung Hour, even though the ELA is wanted by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Later, Howard tells his audience that UBS chairman Ed Ruddy has died and now the network's owner, a conglomerate called Communication Corporation of America (CCA), will control the news content. Since few Americans read or think for themselves, and television is their only "truth," they must save themselves by turning off their television sets. After Ruddy's funeral, Max and Diana rekindle their relationship and vacation in New England for a weekend, while Max's wife, Louise Schumacher, is out of town. Diana talks incessantly about rating shares and television business, even during sex, but despite his disapproval of Diana's worldview, Max remains infatuated. When Max confesses the affair to his wife, she asks him to leave their apartment and he moves in with Diana. At the UBS affiliates convention in Los Angeles, Diana rouses the audience with the network's new ratings, while Hackett is called away from the banquet to answer a phone call from CCA CEO Arthur Jensen's office. Hackett is told to turn on a television set and watch Howard Beale inveighing against a consortium of banks that is buying CCA, and therefore UBS, for Saudi Arabian interests. Howard tells his audience to contact the White House and stop the deal. Informed that the East Coast broadcast alone has already flooded the U.S. President with telegrams, Hackett is ordered to return to New York City and have Howard Beale in Arthur Jensen's office at 10 a.m. When they arrive, Jensen takes Howard into a private boardroom, berates him for wrecking the Saudi deal, and explains that corporations, not nations, run the world. Jensen wants Howard to preach this new message to his audience. When Howard returns to the air, he stops complaining about corporate greed and national ills. His ratings plummet. Diana wants to replace Howard, but Jensen demands that he stay on the air regardless of ratings. Realizing that Diana represents the madness that has taken over modern media, Max leaves her, hoping his wife may take him back. Diana and Hackett save their ratings by hiring the ELA to assassinate Howard during his television show.
During the Korean War, members of a U. S. Army patrol are captured and taken to Manchuria by Chinese Communists who brainwash them into believing that Raymond Shaw, a mother-dominated sergeant, has led a successful action against the Communists. Back in the United States, Raymond is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on the strength of his comrades' testimony. Actually he is now a puppet of the Communists; at the sight of a Queen of Diamonds, his mind is triggered into obeying any instruction, retaining no knowledge of his subsequent actions. Meanwhile, another member of the patrol, Bennett Marco, begins having nightmares in which he vaguely recalls what happened in Korea. Suspicious, he starts an investigation and discovers Raymond's strange reaction to the playing card. Unknown to Raymond, the key Communist behind the U. S. operation is his mother, a politically ambitious woman who plans to have her son shoot the presidential nominee during a rally at Madison Square Garden, thus paving the way for her husband, Senator Iselin, the vice-presidential nominee, to take control of the government. As part of the Communist master plan, she uses the cards to force Raymond into killing both his wife, Jocie, and his father-in-law, Senator Jordan, a crusading liberal and his mother's chief political enemy. On the night of the rally, Marco confronts Raymond with a handful of the cards and tries to convince him that he no longer has control of his own mind, but Raymond follows his mother's instructions and takes a rifle to a deserted projection booth. At the last moment, however, the hypnotic spell breaks and he kills his mother and stepfather and then takes his own life.
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.
While playing on his Wyoming homestead, young Joey Starrett spies a lone rider approaching his house, then listens with great curiosity as Shane, the buckskin clad stranger, reveals to his father Joe that he is heading north, toward home. When Joey cocks the rifle he has been toting, Shane, startled by the noise, draws his gun with the speed of a gunslinger. Joe is disturbed by Shane's behavior and, as a group of men ride up, sends him on his way. The men's leader, grizzled cattle baron Rufe Ryker, accuses Joe of squatting on his grazing land and demands that he give up his homestead. When Joe refuses, Ryker's men start to intimidate him until Shane suddenly reappears at Joe's side. The men depart, and Joe's wife Marian, who has observed everything from inside the house, urges Joe to invite Shane to dinner. Joey is thrilled to have Shane spend the evening with them, and at the end of the meal, Shane, reticent to talk about his past, goes outside to chop wood for the family. Joe joins in and the next day, the two men team up to pull a stubborn tree stump out of the ground. Later, Joey tells Shane that his parents want him to stay and innocently lets on that his father is concerned about Ryker's threats. Shane, who has put away his gun, agrees to remain and heads to town to buy work clothes. Soon after, homesteader Ernie Wright arrives at the Starretts' to announce that Ryker's men have destroyed his wheat field and, consequently, he and his family are moving away. Joe begs Ernie to stay and calls for a meeting of the homestead men that night. Meanwhile, in town, Shane purchases clothes at Sam Grafton's general store, then orders a soda pop in the adjoining saloon. There, Chris Calloway, one of Grafton's men, calls Shane a "sodbuster" and tosses a glass of whiskey on his new shirt. Shane does not react to Calloway's provocations, however, and walks out. That night, during the meeting, Joey overhears homesteader Fred Lewis, who witnessed the saloon exchange, declare that Shane did not stand up to Calloway. Marian reassures Joey that Shane is not a coward, but counsels him not to become too attached to him. Later, having decided to stick together as a group, the homesteaders and their families go to town to shop for the next day's Fourth of July celebration. At Grafton's, Calloway again confronts Shane in the saloon, but this time, Shane throws two drinks on Calloway and slugs him. After a grueling fistfight, Shane finally knocks out Calloway and is offered a job by Ryker. When Shane declines, Ryker accuses him of lusting after Marian, and despite pleas from Joey, Shane single-handedly takes on all of Ryker's men. Joe aids Shane in the fracas, until Grafton, fed up with the destruction, demands a halt. As the homesteaders depart, Ryker vows to fight on and sends for notorious Cheyenne gunslinger Jack Wilson. Back at home, Joey gushes to Marian about his love for Shane, while Marian wrestles with her growing romantic feelings for the loner. The next day, after Joey admits to Shane that he sneaked a peek at his gun, Shane gives the boy some pointers on how to shoot and demonstrates his skill as a marksman. Though impressed, Marian expresses her disapproval of guns and asks Shane not to encourage Joey's interest. Ernie, meanwhile, complains to neighbor Stonewall Torrey that because Ryker's men killed his sow and ruined his fields, he is giving up. Angry, Stonewall, whose courage has been questioned by some of the homesteaders, goes to town and, in the saloon, criticizes Ryker for running Ernie off his land. Later, at the Fourth of July party, Joe and Marian also celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary, and Marian shares a dance with Shane. When Stonewall arrives and announces that Ryker has hired a gunfighter, Shane guesses he is Wilson. Back at their house, the Starretts and Shane are met by Wilson, Ryker's brother Morgan and Ryker, who in an attempt to appear reasonable, offers to sell Joe his land. Joe angrily rejects the idea, pointing out that the government already recognizes the homesteaders' claims. In turn, Ryker complains that because he fought the Indians and slaved to make the land livable, he is entitled to own it, without fences. Ryker and Wilson depart peacefully, but in town, Ryker instructs Wilson to do whatever is necessary to defeat Joe. To that end, Wilson provokes a confrontation with Stonewall, then shoots him down when he makes a half-hearted move for his gun. With the nearest lawman a three-day ride away, Wilson's claim of self-defense goes unchallenged. At Stonewall's funeral, the Lewis family announce that they, too, are leaving their homestead, but Joe and Shane beseech their other neighbors to keep fighting. Just then, a fire is spotted at the Lewis place, and Ryker's blatant sabotage strengthens Joe's resolve to stop Ryker at any cost. That night, Ryker sends for Joe, while Joe prepares to challenge Ryker at gunpoint, ignoring Marian's tearful pleas not to risk his life. Shane, who has been warned about Ryker's plans by a reformed Calloway, dons his buckskins and straps on his gun, then fights Joe to keep him from leaving. When Shane hits Joe in the head with his gun butt, a terrified Joey screams hatefully at him, but Marian is relieved. Joe is knocked out, and aware that she will not see Shane again, Marian says a grateful goodbye. Joey trails Shane to the saloon and sees him goad Wilson into drawing his gun. Shane shoots Wilson dead, then shoots Ryker when he draws, and with Joey's help, outdraws Morgan. Later, Joey apologizes for his angry words and begs Shane to return to the homestead. Gently declining, Shane tries to explain to the boy that he cannot change the man he is at heart and does not belong there. As Shane mounts his horse and rides off, Joey, devastated and confused, cries after him to "come back."
From his home in Marseilles, millionaire Alain Charnier runs the largest heroin-smuggling syndicate in the world, employing ruthless Pierre Nicoli to assassinate his adversaries. While they refine their plan to smuggle $32 million worth of heroin into the United States by hiding it in the car of their new accomplice, French television personality Henri Devereaux, in New York City two police detectives continue their dogged pursuit of drug dealers. Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and his partner, Buddy "Cloudy" Russo, use intimidation and psychological tactics to taunt and trap their targets, sometimes skirting the boundaries of ethical behavior. One night after a typically grueling day of chasing down suspects, Popeye convinces Cloudy to go to the local club with him for a drink. There, Popeye, who thinks of little else besides his job, grows suspicious of the patrons at one table who are celebrating boisterously. "Just for fun," he and Cloudy tail the main carouser, Sal Boca, all night until he returns to the diner he runs with his wife Angie. Days later, they are still watching Sal, who has a record of petty crimes, as does his brother Lou. Cloudy, posing as a patron, is able to observe the steady traffic of local businessmen who hold clandestine meetings in the back room with Sal. One day, the detectives tail Sal to the apartment building of drug financier Joel Weinstock, and exult that they have finally connected him to a known criminal. To obtain insider information, Popeye storms into a gritty bar frequented by drug users and small-time dealers. Shoving the customers against the wall and humiliating them, Popeye picks their pockets for drugs and makes a few arrests. His real aim, however, is to meet in private with one of the dealers, Hector, who is his secret informant, without arousing the others' suspicions. To that end, Popeye roughs up Hector and pulls him into the back room, and after Hector reveals that a shipment of heroin is due into the New York harbor soon, Popeye punches him to make their "confrontation" appear real. The detectives bring their case to their captain, Walter Simonson, who derides the circumstantial evidence and berates them for failing to break a big case. Together, the partners manage to convince Simonson to allow them two wiretaps, one on Sal's diner and the other on his house. Days later, at the same time as Charnier and Nicoli, newly arrived in New York, watch Devereaux's car being transported onto the wharf, federal agents Bill Mulderig and Klein are brought onto the case. Mulderig dislikes Popeye because, on a previous case, the detective's rough tactics resulted in the death of a policeman. Cloudy, who attempts to defend his partner, later visits Popeye's apartment and finds him handcuffed to the bed by a young sexual partner. Over the next few days, Popeye and Cloudy follow Sal's conversations on the wiretap, and one day they rejoice to hear a Frenchman call and make an appointment to meet. In the car on the way to the planned rendezvous, as Mulderig razzes Popeye from the backseat, they are caught in a traffic jam that endangers their ability to follow Sal. Popeye races out onto the street to catch sight of Sal's car, and soon the police are back on his trail as he enters the Roosevelt hotel. There, they spot Sal with Charnier and Nicoli, then follow them to a restaurant, standing on the freezing street while the Frenchmen enjoy a leisurely gourmet meal. Charnier leads Popeye to his hotel, where the detective is able to learn the Frenchmen's names from the clerk. Soon after, Sal brings the heroin to Weinstock, whose drug expert tests it and reports that it is high-grade, valuable dope. However, Weinstock, knowing the police are after Sal, insists on taking more time before agreeing to Charnier's price. Meanwhile, Charnier slips away from the federal agents posted around his hotel and walks along the street, where Popeye is shocked to spot him. Popeye follows him into the subway, but as he attempts to trail him, the wily Charnier manages to evade him, waving as his subway car speeds away from the detective. Klein follows Sal to Washington, D.C, where Sal meets with Charnier to ask for a few more days. Charnier insists on having the money by the end of the week, then tells Nicoli to kill Popeye, as he poses the biggest threat to their deal. At the same time, Simonson informs Popeye that, with no movement on the case, he must close it down. The furious Popeye, unable to convince Simonson to give him more time, fights with Mulderig. Soon after, Popeye is walking near his apartment when Nicoli, hiding on a rooftop, shoots at him. Popeye tries to secure the area, then crawls along the building's side until he can climb to the roof. There, he is able to spot Nicoli and races to follow him into an elevated subway platform. As Nicoli steps onto a car, a transit guard hears Popeye yell a warning, causing him to follow Nicoli suspiciously as he travels from car to car. On the ground, Popeye commandeers a passerby's car and speeds to the next subway station, hoping to reach it before the train. On the el, Nicoli shoots and kills the policeman, then holds the driver at gunpoint and commands him not to stop at the station. Popeye arrives at the stop and runs to platform, but when the train does not slow down, he jumps back into his car and careens wildly through the city streets, narrowly avoiding other cars and pedestrians, to reach the next station. Nicoli has confronted the conductor and passengers with his gun drawn, and now shoots the conductor as the driver suffers a heart attack. The train, rushing out of control, slams directly into a parked train. Below, Popeye sees the wreck and, stopping his car, walks disoriented to the bottom of the el stairs. Nicoli climbs through a door to the outside of the cars, crawling between them in order to escape the wrecked train, but as he reaches the top of the station stairs, Popeye gets him in his gun sights. Nicoli, now unarmed, turns to run, but Popeye shoots him in the back, killing him. Soon after, Popeye and Cloudy are following Sal when as he picks up Devereaux's car. They pursue the car to the street where Sal parks it, and watch for days as it sits untouched. When some men approach the car, Popeye arrests them, and although they are soon revealed to be petty car thieves, he orders the car torn apart. The police mechanic rips apart the entire car but finds nothing. Popeye, insisting the heroin is in the car, urges him to try again, and this time, they uncover 120 pounds of dope in the front grille. Hours later, they have replaced the heroin and rebuilt the car, which they return to Devereaux in order to trail him. Devereaux, spooked by the police interest, informs Charnier that he no longer wants to be involved. Charnier and Nicoli then drive the car to meet with Weinstock and his men at an abandoned warehouse, where they swap the drugs for cash. Sal, exulting in his new wealth, drives off with Charnier, only to find the bridge closed off by Popeye and his men. They return to the warehouse, where all of the criminals scatter, followed by the police. Popeye, obsessed with catching Charnier, stalks through the dilapidated building. When he hears footsteps, he turns and shoots, accidentally killing Mulderig. Although Cloudy is horrified, Popeye single-mindedly continues his pursuit, wandering off into the shadows, where a lone shot rings out.
Forrest Gump, a middle-aged man seated on a bus bench in Savannah, Georgia, offers a chocolate to an African-American nurse beside him. He tells the nurse an old saying of his mother's: "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get." Forrest explains that he was named after an ancestor, General Nathan Forrest, who started the Ku Klux Klan, a racist organization. By naming her son "Forrest," Mrs. Gump wanted him to remember that people sometimes do things that don't make any sense. Decades earlier, in Greenbow, Alabama, young Forrest lives with Mrs. Gump, his single mother, in a large, rural house where she rents out rooms to travelers. Born with a crooked spine, Forrest is made to wear a pair of leg braces to straighten his back. One day, a school administrator, Mr. Hancock, tells Mrs. Gump that Forrest cannot attend public school because his intelligence quotient of seventy-five is too low, but Mrs. Gump changes Hancock's mind by having sex with him. Later, while a musician houseguest plays his guitar, Forrest dances, moving awkwardly due to his leg braces. Afterward, Mrs. Gump and Forrest spot the houseguest on television – it is Elvis Presley, a famous rock n' roll musician, emulating Forrest's style of dancing. On his first day of school, Forrest is shunned by all the kids on the school bus except by Jenny, a young girl who is abused by her alcoholic father. Forrest and Jenny become close friends, and, one day, when bullies throw rocks at Forrest, Jenny instructs him to run. Forrest runs so fast that the braces come off of his legs. From that day forward, Forrest runs everywhere he goes and eventually his athletic abilities earn him a football scholarship to the University of Alabama. When Forrest visits Jenny at her all-girl college, he embarrasses her by interrupting a date with a young man. Later that night, Jenny places Forrest's hand on her breast, and he apologizes after ejaculating inside his pants. When he is selected for the All-American football team, Forrest meets President John F. Kennedy at the White House in Washington, D.C. Upon graduation, Forrest joins the United States Army and befriends Bubba Blue, another recruit who hails from a long line of shrimp fishermen. One night, a soldier hands Forrest a Playboy magazine with nude pictures of Jenny. On leave, Forrest goes to the topless bar where Jenny is working in Memphis, Tennessee, and when a man splashes Jenny with his drink, Forrest hits him and carries Jenny offstage. Afterward, she reprimands Forrest for trying to save her. Forrest tells Jenny he loves her, but she replies that he doesn't know what love is. After they are sent to fight in the Vietnam War, Bubba suggests to Forrest that they start a shrimp fishing business when they return home. Sometime later, Forrest's troop is ambushed in the jungle and Forrest saves several injured men, including his troop leader, Lieutenant Dan, by carrying them to safety. Although he is shot in the buttocks, Forrest heads back into the line of fire to find Bubba. Discovering that his friend is fatally injured, Forrest cradles Bubba in his arms as he dies. In the Army hospital, Forrest convalesces next to Lieutenant Dan, who has lost both his legs and resents Forrest for saving his life. Meanwhile, Forrest receives a stack of letters that were returned, unopened, from Jenny's address in Greenbow. When he is awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor, Forrest returns to the White House and meets President Lyndon B. Johnson. During an anti-war protest outside the Washington Monument, Forrest is invited onto the stage to talk about the war, but an Army official unplugs the speaker system so that Forrest's speech is inaudible. Spotting Forrest from the crowd, Jenny runs into the Reflecting Pool where Forrest joins her. Jenny takes Forrest to the headquarters of the Black Panthers, an African-American militant group, and one of the members lectures Forrest on the Vietnam War. When her boyfriend slaps Jenny across the face, Forrest attacks him. Later, Forrest tells Jenny that he would never hit her, saying he would like to be her boyfriend. However, after walking around with Forrest all night, Jenny returns to her abusive boyfriend. As she and the boyfriend board a bus, Forrest gives Jenny his Medal of Honor. Forrest, who spent countless hours playing ping-pong during his convalescence, travels to Army hospitals and teaches wounded soldiers how to play. Upon winning an international ping-pong championship in China, Forrest becomes a celebrity in the United States and is interviewed on The Dick Cavett Show alongside John Lennon of the famous rock n' roll band, The Beatles. Leaving the show, Forrest runs into Lieutenant Dan who is now a bitter, wheelchair-bound alcoholic. After spending Christmas together, Forrest and Lieutenant Dan celebrate New Year's Eve at a bar in New York City. Forrest daydreams about Jenny, who is in California, sneaking away from yet another abusive boyfriend. Traveling with the U.S. Ping-Pong Team, Forrest meets President Richard Nixon, and Nixon recommends that Forrest stay at the Watergate Hotel. There, Forrest notices flashlights inside the adjacent Watergate office complex one night and calls security, thus uncovering the infamous Watergate break-in. After he is discharged from the Army, Forrest receives $25,000 for endorsing a ping-pong paddle and uses the money to start a shrimp fishing business called Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, in honor of Bubba. Forrest names his boat Jenny and hires Lieutenant Dan to be his first mate, raising Dan's spirits. Elsewhere, Jenny takes drugs and contemplates suicide. Although Forrest and Lieutenant Dan initially encounter obstacles at sea, their luck changes when a hurricane washes in an abundance of shrimp, making Bubba Gump an overnight success. One day on the boat, Forrest learns that Mrs. Gump is sick and he rushes home. Shortly after his return, Mrs. Gump dies from cancer. Since Lieutenant Dan invested Bubba Gump money into Apple Computers, Forrest receives windfall profits and gives his money away to churches, hospitals, and Bubba's family. Forrest moves back into his mother's house and cuts the grass at Greenbow's high school football field for free. One day, Jenny arrives, and Forrest provides her with a room. First, she sleeps for a very long time, and after that, they walk around Greenbow together. When they come upon her father's old house, Jenny becomes angry, throwing things and crying. On the Fourth of July, Forrest asks Jenny to marry him, but she refuses, saying he doesn't want to marry her. Later that night, however, Jenny declares her love for Forrest, and they make love. The next morning, Jenny leaves without saying goodbye. Lonely in her absence, Forrest puts on a pair of running shoes that Jenny gave him and runs from his house. He doesn't stop running and eventually reaches California, where he turns around and heads back East. Forrest runs cross-country multiple times, and after he receives attention from the press, other runners begin to follow him. Jenny sees Forrest on television and sends him a letter, asking him to visit Savannah, where she now works as a waitress. While still waiting for the bus in Savannah, Forrest learns from another passenger that he can walk to Jenny's house. Finally, he leaves the bench where he first spoke to the nurse. At her apartment, Jenny apologizes for how she has treated Forrest, saying she was "messed up." Forrest meets Jenny's son, also named Forrest, and learns that he is the father. Forrest panics, asking if the child is smart, and Jenny assures him that he is. At a playground, Jenny tells Forrest that she is sick with a virus that has no cure. Forrest invites her and their son to stay with him in Greenbow, promising to take care of her. Jenny asks Forrest to marry her and he agrees. After they are married in Greenbow, she dies, and Forrest has her father's house razed. Forrest continues to live in his mother's house, sending his son to school on the same bus where he first met Jenny.
During the reign of the emperor Tiberius, the Roman officer Messala arrives in Jerusalem as the new Tribune, head of the Roman garrison. Having spent much of his boyhood in Jerusalem while his father was provincial governor of Judea, Messala became close friends with Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince from a rich and influential family. On the night of his return, Messala is visited by Judah, and the two men warmly reminisce about happy times of their boyhood. Messala tells Judah that the emperor wants the recent rebelliousness of Judea crushed and asks for his help. Judah is uneasy with the request but, as he is against violence, agrees to speak with other influential Jews. The next day, Messala visits Judah, his mother Miriam and sister Tirzah. Messala gives Tirzah a beautiful brooch, and Judah presents Messala with a horse he has raised, but the men argue over Messala's insistence that Judah tell him the names of Jewish leaders who will not denounce rebellion. Judah refuses, severing their friendship. That night, Simonides, the faithful steward of the house of Hur, returns from Antioch with good news of the family's increasing wealth. He asks for permission for his daughter Esther to marry a free man, and says that she wants to ask Judah personally for permission. Judah is attracted to Esther, whom he has not seen since childhood, and grants permission, saying her freedom will be his wedding gift, even though he knows that she is marrying only because her father wishes it. Later that night, when Judah and Esther are alone, they exchange a passionate kiss. Judah then takes Esther's slave ring and promises to wear it until he meets the woman he will marry. The next day, Gratus, the new governor, arrives to a cold reception by the people of Jerusalem. As Judah and Tirzah watch his procession from the roof of their house, Tirzah leans against some tiles and accidentally loosens them, causing them to fall just as Gratus is passing. After he is thrown from his horse and knocked unconscious, Roman soldiers storm the house. As they enter the courtyard, Judah tells Tirzah and Miriam to say nothing, then tries to reason with the soldiers, pleading that it was an accident. When Messala suddenly appears at the courtyard entrance, Judah appeals to him, but Messala coldly watches as Judah, Tirzah and Miriam are taken away. After their arrest, Messala goes to the roof and sees the loose tiles, confirming that Judah had been telling the truth, but says nothing. Soon guards go to Judah's cell to tell him that he is being sent to the seaport of Tyrus, which Judah knows means imprisonment as a galley slave. He overpowers the guards and escapes into the garrison, then steals a spear and breaks into Messala's quarters. After Messala orders his guards to leave them, Judah demands to know what has happened to Miriam and Tirzah. Messala tells him that Gratus will recover but they will be punished for their crime. Judah does not understand why Messala would let this happen, especially after Messala admits that he knows the truth. Judah begs for mercy, but Messala rebuffs him, saying that the people now will fear him, and warning if Judah kills him, Tirzah and Miriam will be crucified before his eyes. Defeated, Judah has no choice but to let the guards take him away as he asks God to grant him vengeance. Days later, as Judah and other chained prisoners, weakened by thirst and exhaustion, enter the town of Nazareth, townspeople offer them water, but the Roman guard stops a woman who tries to give some to Judah. In despair, Judah falls to the ground and implores God to help him. At that moment, a carpenter, who has seen his plight, approaches, gives him water and bathes his face and hands. The guard then tries to stop the carpenter but strangely acquiesces when he looks into the man's face. Judah also gazes in awe at the young Nazarene, not understanding why he has offered help. Three years later, Judah is rower 41 in a Roman galley. On the day that Roman Consul Quintus Arrius takes command of the vessel, Arrius goes below to survey the rowers. Sensing both strength and hatred in 41, Arrius deliberately taunts him by lashing him, and later observes his reaction when the men are submitted to a grueling test of endurance to increase their rowing speed. Later, Judah is ordered to Arrius' quarters, where the consul offers him the chance to leave the galley and become a charioteer or gladiator. Judah declines, saying that he has not died because God does not want it so. Soon a fleet of Macedonian ships is sighted and the galley prepares for battle. Prior to the start of the fighting, Arrius orders a subordinate to chain and lock the rowers' shackles to their posts, but leave 41's unlocked. During the battle, when their galley is rammed, the rowers are trapped until Judah kills their guard, takes his keys and unlocks the others. He then goes on deck, where he throws a spear at an enemy soldier who has attacked Arrius and forced him into the water. Judah dives after Arrius and pulls him to safety on some floating debris that serves as a raft. When Arrius realizes that his ship is sinking, he tries to kill himself with his own knife, but Judah stops him. The next morning, the two men are alone in the sea, with no ships in sight. Arrius asks to know 41's name and wonders why he saved his life. Moments later, they see a ship in the distance and realize that it is Roman. When they are brought onboard, Arrius shocks the captain by giving Judah water before he himself drinks. He then learns that, although five galleys were lost in the battle, the Romans were victorious. Arrius then takes Judah's arm, and leads him off, past the rowers' hole. Some time later, Arrius is hailed in a procession through the streets of Rome, accompanied by Judah, who rides in his chariot. When the emperor awards Arrius with the baton of victory, he inquires about Judah and agrees to meet with Arrius to discuss his situation. The next day, the emperor gives Judah to Arrius, to be his slave. Months later, Judah has ridden Arrius' chariot to victory five times in the Roman arena, bringing him fame and admiration throughout Rome. At a celebration banquet, Arrius announces that he is adopting Judah as his heir, replacing the son who had died. When Arrius and Judah, who accepts his new name as Young Quintus Arrius, speak privately, Judah tells Arrius of his affection and gratitude, and accepts his signet ring, but reveals that he must return to Judea to find his mother and sister. On his way to Jerusalem, Judah stops at an oasis, where an old man, Balthasar of Alexandria, thinks that he may be the man whom he saw as a baby in a stable in Bethlehem. Balthasar soon realizes that Judah is not that man, but the two strike up a friendship. Balthasar introduces Judah to Sheik Ilderim, a wealthy Arab who cherishes his magnificent team of white chariot horses. Judah observes the team and admires them, but over dinner in Ilderim's tent, refuses his suggestion that he drive the team for him in the arena. Judah is intrigued, though, when Ilderim expresses his hope to humiliate the arrogant Messala by a victory over his chariot and adds that, in the arena, there is no law. When Judah arrives at his family's now-decaying home in Jerusalem, he is surprised to see Esther, who never married but returned to the house with Simonides after he, who was also imprisoned, was released. Simonides, who was crippled and blinded under torture, proudly tells Judah that his fortune is safely hidden. Later, Judah and Esther kiss and reveal their feelings for each other, but Esther worries that Judah is consumed with hate and tells him of a young Nazarene she has heard of who preaches of love. The next day, Messala receives the gift of an expensive knife from Quintus Arrius, the younger. Messala is shocked when the man is revealed to be Judah, who shows him the seal from Arrius' signet ring. Judah then tells Messala if Miriam and Tirzah are restored to him, he will forget what has happened, and says that he will return the next day. Shaken by Judah's appearance, Messala tells his underling Drusus to go to the prison and find out what has happened to the women. In the lowest level of the prison, Drusus discovers that the women, who had not been seen in years, are now lepers. Fearful of the disease, the guards order the women taken to the edge of the city and the contents of their cell burned. Late that night, Miriam and Tirzah, covering their deformities in rags, go to their home. Although they merely want to look at it, Esther hears them. The women refuse to let her approach, and when Esther reveals that Judah is not dead, but in Jerusalem, Miriam makes her promise to tell him that they have died in prison. When Esther later tells Judah what Miriam had asked, his bitterness and despair frighten her, and she implores him not to be consumed with hatred. Judah will not listen, though, and leaves, determined to find a means of revenge against Messala. [An intermission divides the story at this point.]
Soon Ilderim goes to Messala's home, offers a wager of a trunk filled with gold and silver and asks him and his companions for odds on an upcoming chariot race. When Messala hears that his opponent will be Judah, he accepts the wager at four to one, calling it the difference between a Roman and a Jew--or an Arab. On the day of the race, Pontius Pilate, an old friend of Arrius, who has become the new governor of Judea, oversees the race. Ilderim is optimistic, and happy that Judah has earned his horses' affection, but worries when he sees that Messala's chariot has spiked wheels and warns Judah. During the nine-lap race, Messala uses the blades on his wheels to destroy many chariots, and several of the other charioteers are killed or maimed. Messala tries to destroy Judah's chariot, but instead crashes his own and is dragged by his team. Judah wins the race and is crowned victorious by Pilate, who calls him the crowd's current god when the Judeans cheer loudly for him. After the race, Messala, who is in agony, will not allow the physician to amputate his mutilated legs until after Judah, whom he has summoned, arrives. Rather than seeking forgiveness, as Messala dies, he taunts Judah by revealing that Tirzah and Miriam are not dead but living in the valley of the lepers. In despair, Judah goes to the valley to find his mother and sister, ignoring the fear of contagion. As he searches, he is stunned to see Esther and Malluch, the mute who takes care of Simonides, bringing baskets of food down to the lepers' caves. Judah angrily confronts Esther for her deception and demands to see Miriam and Tirzah, but she pleads that they would be shattered if he saw what has become of them. When Miriam and Tirzah weakly call for Esther, Judah hides as Esther gives them food, and weeps when he hears his mother ask if he is well and happy. Although still unconvinced by Esther's pleas to remain hidden, Judah nonetheless leaves with her and Malluch. On their way back to the city, they see a crowd gathering on a mountain top. Balthasar, who is in the crowd, calls out to Judah, saying that the Nazarene who will speak is the one he sought, and that he is the son of God. Although Judah momentarily thinks of the Nazarene who had given him water, he scoffs at the remark and returns to the city alone. Judah is then summoned by Pilate, who greets him warmly as the son of his old friend, and delivers the message that he has been granted Roman citizenship. Though expressing his affection for Arrius, Judah rejects the citizenship and gives Arrius' ring to Pilate to return, saying that Rome turned Messala into what he became. When Judah returns home, Esther tells him of the words of love and forgiveness she heard from the Nazarene, but Judah will not listen. The next day, Esther returns to the valley of the lepers, followed at a distance by Judah. When Miriam approaches she reveals that Tirzah is dying. As Esther tells Miriam of the Nazarene's words and says that she wants to take them to him, Judah comes forward. Miriam tries to make Judah go away by showing him her deformed face, but Judah strokes her forehead and embraces her. He then carries Tirzah from the cave and, with Miriam and Esther, walks back to Jerusalem. The city is almost deserted when they arrive. People shun the lepers, but an old blind man tells them that people are gathered for the trial of the Nazarene. They then walk to the center of the city and observe Pilate washing his hands of the man, who is sentenced to death. Seeing the Nazarene's tortured body, the women weep, but Judah suddenly recognizes him. Judah then follows his journey to the crucifixion site, and when the Nazarene stumbles under the weight of his cross, offers him water. As the women sadly return to the valley of the lepers, Judah continues to follow the Nazarene. When Judah sees Balthasar, he relates what happened in Nazareth and wonders what the man has done to deserve this, but Balthasar says that he came into the world for this purpose. As the Nazarene dies, the skies darken and a storm rages. Outside the city, Miriam, Tirzah and Esther have taken cover. Tirzah says that she is no longer afraid, and Miriam sadly says, "His life is over." Suddenly, through lightning flashes, Esther sees that Miriam and Tirzah no longer bear the deformities of leprosy. That night, when Judah returns home, he embraces Esther and relates that, even near death, the Nazarene sought forgiveness for those who caused his suffering. Esther then shows him that Miriam and Esther have been cured and the four lovingly embrace.
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.
During the Gold Rush, prospectors brave Alaska's dangerous Chilkoot Pass, hoping to strike it rich in the snowy mountains. Just as Big Jim McKay discovers gold on his claim, a storm arises, prompting a Lone Prospector to take refuge in a cabin. Unknown to him, the cabin's occupant is desperado Black Larsen, who attempts to throw the vagabond Prospector out. Strong winds, however, repeatedly blow the little man back inside, and soon after, Jim is also swept into the cabin. Jim fights with Larsen over his shotgun, and after Jim prevails, the Prospector claims him as a close friend in order to remain safe. Over the next few days, the three men live together uneasily, their hunger growing as the storm rages on. After eating the lantern candle, with salt, the Prospector worries in vain that Jim has eaten Larsen's little dog. Finally, the men cut cards to see who will hunt for food, and the loser, Larsen, sets out alone. He immediately encounters two lawmen who are searching for him, and after shooting them both, steals their supplies and travels on until he happens upon Jim's claim. Meanwhile, the Prospector and Jim grow so ravenous that they boil and eat the Prospector's leather shoe for Thanksgiving dinner. Unsatiated, Jim starts hallucinating, imagining that the Prospector is a large, luscious chicken. He tries repeatedly to shoot his little friend for dinner, causing the men to fight. The Prospector closes his eyes and attacks, and when he discovers that the leg he is clutching is actually that of a bear, he shoots it, finally providing them with a meal. Soon after, the storm ends and the friends part ways. Upon returning to his claim, Jim finds a well-fed Larsen, who knocks Jim out and flees but is soon killed in an avalanche. The Prospector travels on to Gold Rush City, where he falls in love with Georgia, a dance hall girl. Georgia's flirtation with ladies' man Jack Cameron precludes her from noting the Prospector's existence until finally, hoping to provoke Jack, she chooses the grubby Prospector as a dance partner. The Prospector is thrilled, but cannot help calling attention to himself when his pants fall down and he accidentally belts them with a leash that is still attached to a dog. Later, the Prospector sees Jack and Georgia quarrelling, and although afraid of the much larger man, bravely fights him. When a clock falls on Jack's head and knocks him out, the Prospector, who did not see the clock hit Jack, is amazed by his own strength. The next morning, the little man obtains food by pretending he is nearly frozen outside Hank Curtis' cabin, prompting the kind man to feed and shelter him. One day, while Hank is away mining, Georgia and her friends happen by his cabin. Georgia discovers her photo under the Prospector's pillow and teases the gullible man by pretending to adore him. Before leaving, the girls accept his invitation to New Year's Eve dinner, after which he rips up his pillows in delight, only to be found covered in feathers by Georgia when she returns for her gloves. Although the Prospector shovels snow for days to earn enough money to prepare a lavish dinner, on New Year's Eve the girls celebrate in the dance hall, leaving the little man waiting in his cabin. He falls asleep at the table and dreams that he is entertaining the girls by creating the illusion of as dance using rolls attached to two forks, but when he wakes, he is alone. He goes to the dance hall, but the girls and Jack have already left for his cabin to tease him further. There, however, Georgia sees the dinner he has prepared and realizes her joke has gone too far. A few days later, Jim, who has partial amnesia and has searched in vain for his rich claim, recognizes the Prospector in the dance hall and joyfully instructs him to lead him to Larsen's cabin, which he knows is near his claim. After the Prospector declares his love to Georgia and promises to return for her, the men journey to the cabin, and while they are asleep, a strong wind pushes the house until it teeters over the edge of a cliff. When they wake, they slowly realize that, by standing at opposite ends of the room, their weight shifts the cabin back and forth over the mountain edge. After multiple attempts, they finally manage to climb out of the house just before it topples over the cliff, only to discover that they are on Jim's claim. The friends are immediately transformed into multimillionaires, and prepare to return to the mainland by boat. Unknown to the Prospector, Georgia is also on the boat, and after a journalist asks the Prospector to don his hobo clothes for a photo shoot, Georgia assumes he is a stowaway and tries to protect him from the ship's guards. Soon, the misunderstanding is cleared up, and the Prospector invites his love to his luxury stateroom, where he "spoils" a press photograph by leaning over to kiss her.
In 1863 Tennessee, wounded Union Army Lieutenant John J. Dunbar overhears that his foot is about to be amputated and escapes the hospital tent. He returns to the battlefield, where Union soldiers have reached a stalemate with the Confederates. Mounting a horse named Cisco, Dunbar embarks on a suicide mission by riding along the Confederate front lines. The enemy soldiers shoot at him, but he survives. While the Confederates are distracted, the Union soldiers attack and put the Confederates to rout. For his heroism, Dunbar is decorated and awarded the horse. He also receives the medical treatment necessary to save his foot. Given the choice of any post, Dunbar opts for the western frontier. A crass wagon driver named Timmons leads him to the remote post of Ft. Sedgwick, where he is to report to Captain Cargill. However, they find the post abandoned and in disrepair. Although Timmons does not want to abandon him, Dunbar insists on staying there alone. He spends his days cleaning up the fort, writing in his journal, and admiring the beautiful terrain. Soon after, Pawnee Indians see Timmons traveling on his own and kill him. Nearly a month passes with no sign of Cargill. A wolf with white paws begins to make regular visits to the fort and Dunbar names it "Two Socks." One day, Dunbar returns from bathing in the river to find "Kicking Bird," a Sioux Indian, inspecting the fort. Dunbar approaches, and Kicking Bird retreats in fear. Dunbar writes about the encounter in his journal, and decides to bury his armaments so they do not fall into enemy hands. Back at the Sioux village, Kicking Bird discusses Dunbar with the tribe in Lakota, their native language. Although a younger Indian named "Wind In His Hair" denounces all white men and doubts Dunbar's ability to survive on his own, Kicking Bird is impressed by Dunbar's independence and believes he might be peaceable. Wind In His Hair leads a group of Sioux to steal Cisco, but the horse breaks free and returns to Ft. Sedgwick. Dunbar dons his army uniform and sets out to visit the Sioux village. On the way, he comes upon a white woman in Sioux garb, who is bleeding from a self-inflicted wound. The woman screams when she sees Dunbar, but passes out. He takes her back to the village and tells the Sioux, "She's hurt," but they do not understand. Wind In His Hair takes the woman, and Kicking Bird discourages other Sioux from attacking, promising that Dunbar did not come to fight. Later, at the behest of their chief, "Ten Bears," Kicking Bird and Wind In His Hair make the first of many friendly visits to Ft. Sedgwick. Dunbar gives them coffee and sugar, and attempts to communicate using gestures. He learns they are in search of buffalo, but assures them he has not seen any. Kicking Bird asks Stands With A Fist, the white woman Dunbar rescued, to act as translator, but she claims the white man's language has died inside her. She recalls her childhood on the frontier, when she narrowly escaped an Indian attack on her family. After Kicking Bird and Wind In His Hair deliver a buffalo hide to Dunbar, the soldier writes in his journal that Indians are nothing like the negative stereotypes perpetuated by white people. He is invited to the Sioux village, where Kicking Bird offers him a pipe inside his teepee. Stands With A Fist appears and uses broken English to translate their conversation. Dunbar is not surprised to learn that Kicking Bird is a holy man. Back at Ft. Sedgwick, he awakens to the thunderous sound of a buffalo stampede. He rides to the Sioux village to inform them, then joins in their buffalo hunt. They come upon a field of slain buffalo, killed only for their hides. The Indians lament the wasted animals, and Dunbar feels guilty knowing white hunters must be the culprits. When they catch up to the herd, the Sioux use arrows to kill buffalo, while Dunbar uses his rifle. "Smiles A Lot," a younger Sioux boy, is knocked off his horse and nearly killed by a buffalo, but Dunbar shoots the animal just in time. The Sioux celebrate the hunt with an all-night party. Wind In His Hair trades his breastplate for Dunbar's army jacket, and Dunbar proudly wears the traditional garb. He is dropped back off at Ft. Sedgwick, where Two Socks awaits him, but he soon becomes lonely without the Sioux. Three days later, he sets out for an unannounced visit to the village. Two Socks follows, prompting Dunbar to chase the animal away. On their way to visit Dunbar at the same time, a group of Sioux observe as Dunbar and Two Socks run in circles in a field. They offer him his own teepee at the village, and Dunbar settles in there. Kicking Bird asks how many white people are coming, but Dunbar cannot bring himself to admit that the Sioux will soon be outnumbered. A war party is assembled to fight the Pawnee Indians, enemies of the Sioux. Dunbar asks to fight, but Kicking Bird wants him to stay behind and watch over his family. Dunbar agrees, and Kicking Bird calls him by his new name, "Dances With Wolves." Dunbar learns how to say the name in Lakota, and uses it to identify himself henceforward. While the war party is away, Dances With Wolves and Stands With a Fist get to know each other over language lessons. Stands With A Fist reveals how she came to live with the Sioux at a young age. Dunbar asks why she is not married, but she refuses to answer. He learns from an elder that her husband was killed recently, and Stands With A Fist will be in mourning until Kicking Bird, who rescued her as a young girl, decides she is ready to move on. Later, Stands With A Fist is dismayed to find Dunbar has returned to Ft. Sedgwick. There, he sketches her in his journal and writes that he loves her. Dunbar finally coaxes Two Socks to eat out of his hand, just before Stands With A Fist appears. She kisses him and says they must be careful not to get caught before she is out of mourning. They return to the village and make love in his teepee that night. They are interrupted by a commotion outside. Dunbar learns that the Pawnee are headed to the village, so he retreats to Ft. Sedgwick to retrieve his store of guns. Armed with U.S. army rifles, the Sioux easily defeat the Pawnee. At the urging of his wife, "Black Shawl," Kicking Bird tells Stands With A Fist that her mourning period is over and officiates her wedding to Dances With Wolves. Dunbar finally reveals to Kicking Bird that droves of white people are bound to overtake the land. The Sioux chief, Ten Bears, says they will continue to fight for their territory, just as they have throughout history. The next day, they migrate to their winter camp. Dances With Wolves returns to Ft. Sedgwick to retrieve his journal, concerned that it may tip off the soldiers to his whereabouts, but he is discovered by Union Lieutenant Elgin's command and taken prisoner. Accused of treason, Dances With Wolves is severely beaten and sentenced to hanging at Ft. Hayes. Wind In His Hair leads a group to rescue Dances With Wolves. Two Socks follows the soldiers' trail, as well, but the animal is brutally shot by Dances With Wolves's captors. At a river crossing, the Sioux attack Lt. Elgin and his men, killing the soldiers and rescuing Dances With Wolves. They arrive at the Sioux winter camp, where Stands With A Fist embraces her husband, and they fall into the snow together. Dances With Wolves informs Ten Bears that the soldiers will continue to search for him now that he is a confirmed traitor. He needs to leave the Sioux and suggests that they move their camp as well. Before he and Stands With A Fist leave, Dances With Wolves receives a gift from Kicking Bird, who observes that they have come a long way. Smiles A Lot surprises Dances With Wolves with his journal, which he retrieved during the skirmish with Lt. Elgin's men. As U.S. soldiers search the mountains, Dances With Wolves and Stands With A Fist ride away. Watching the couple go, Wind In His Hair calls out that he will always be a friend to Dances With Wolves.
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.
On one of the last summer nights of 1962, teenagers cruise the main drag of their small California town as rock and roll music and the wry comments of disc jockey Wolfman Jack blare from their car radios. At Mel's Drive-in, a favorite gathering place, waitresses on roller skates serve food to customers seated in their cars. For two recent high school graduates, popular senior class president Steve Bolander and his more studious friend, Curt Henderson, this is their last night in town, as they are flying east to a prestigious college in the morning. Steve, whose father is prominent in the Moose Lodge, delivers the organization's scholarship check to Curt, but his friend is having second thoughts and confides that he may instead attend the local city college for a year. Ready for change, Steve is surprised by Curt's revelation and suggests to his girl friend Laurie, who is Curt's sister and the head cheerleader, that they should date other people while he is away. Presenting the keys of his Chevy to his gawky former classmate, Terry "the Toad" Fields, Steve asks him to take care of the car. Curt chats with their twenty-two-year-old friend, John Milner, an auto mechanic and amateur racer who has remained in perpetual adolescence and suppresses his feelings of being left behind. While looking at the young women around him, Curt longs for the "dazzling beauty" of his dreams and, while on his way to a school sock hop with Steve and Laurie, he spots a beautiful blonde driving a white Thunderbird automobile. When she mouths the words "I love you" and drives away, Curt wants to pursue her, but his companions refuse to change their course. John is cruising the streets in search of companionship when several people tell him that Bob Falfa, an out-of-towner driving a 1955 Chevy, wants to race him. While waiting at a red light, John flirts with the occupants of a car full of girls and one of them, Carol, agrees to join him. To his disappointment, Carol is only twelve years old, but having nowhere to leave her, he feels resigned to her company. At the dance, Laurie, feeling hurt and angry with Steve, provokes a quarrel on the dance floor, but when the emcee introduces Steve and Laurie to the crowd and asks them to lead off the slow dance, the couple feigns ardor. While dancing, Laurie reminds Steve of how they initially got together and when the music changes to a more lively number, they continue to cling to each other. Still undecided about his future, Curt roams the halls and confides in a young teacher, Mr. Wolfe, who urges Curt to experience life and relates his own experience of returning home after only one semester. Seeing a white car in the parking lot, Curt hopes to find his mysterious blonde, but finds instead a couple inside necking. However, later, while riding with his former girl friend Wendy and her friend, he sees the blonde drive past them. After Curt makes a a mischievous remark, the girls eject him from the car and as he wanders on foot, the blonde in the Thunderbird drives past him again, always elusive. Meanwhile, John feels burdened by Carol and, embarrassed when his friends see them together, says she is a cousin he is babysitting. Crushed, Carol leaves his car and runs down the street, but John drives over to her rescue when a car full of young men taunt her. Terry, whose usual transportation is a Vespa motor scooter, is thrilled with the status of driving Steve's car. After a minor traffic accident, an encounter with a sleazy automobile salesman and various attempts to pick up a girl, he spots a poufy-haired blonde named Debbie, who he says looks like actress Connie Stevens. Pleased with the comparison, she gets in the car with him and asks for alcohol. Too young to buy whisky, Terry waits outside a liquor store for someone to purchase it for him. Although a drunk takes his money and sneaks away, another man agrees to help him and then holds up the store, throwing a bottle to Terry as he escapes from the storekeeper's gunshots. Later, Terry and Debbie are necking on a blanket in a field when Steve's car is stolen. Although Carol and John bicker a lot, they also play pranks on other drivers and he takes her to a car dump, where he points out different cars and tells her stories of the inevitability of collisions and death. Although John has never been beaten in a car race, he feels the pressure of defending his "number one" reputation. Consequently, when Falfa begins to follow him, John decides to take Carol home before facing off with him. When Carol refuses to divulge her address, John feigns uncontrollable passion for her, frightening her into telling him where she lives. After he takes her home, Carol asks for something to remember him by and John gives her a piece of his car as a token and a peck on the cheek. Meanwhile, Curt is approached by a gang of hoods, called the Pharaohs, who order him to accompany them or face bodily harm. Trapped inside their automobile, Curt again sees the blonde driving the Thunderbird, but is unable to take action. Needing gas money, the Pharaohs rob the arcade of a miniature golf park, as Curt nervously chats with the owner who is a member of the Moose Lodge. Afterward, their leader gives Curt a chance to "join" the Pharaohs and orders him to chain the axle of a policeman's car to a post. Pleased with Curt's work, the Pharaohs drop him off at Mel's, where his car is parked. The blonde drives by, but Curt cannot get his car started in time to follow her. Elsewhere, Steve tries to convince Laurie to have sex with him, but she pushes him out of the car and drives away. Steve returns to Mel's alone, where a waitress invites him home, and although he refuses her, Laurie sees them together and presumes that he is already dating others. Terry, after throwing up from the liquor and excitement, finds Steve's car, but while he is hot-wiring the car, the thieves catch him and beat him up. While driving by, John sees the attack and fights off the thugs. Terry and Debbie then return to Mel's to get ice for his bruised face, and Steve, who has realized he does not want to leave Laurie, learns from others that she is riding around with Falfa. Desperate to get her back, Steve takes possession of his car, forcing Terry to admit to Debbie that he does not own it. Debbie, unfazed by his confession, says she had fun and suggests they meet again the next day. Curt, desperate to reach the blonde, finds the radio station that broadcasts Wolfman Jack's program to request that the Wolfman send a message over the air asking her to call him. When the disc jockey on duty claims that Wolfman's shows are pre-recorded, Curt explains that it is urgent because he may be leaving town the next day. After Curt admits to indecision, the DJ tells him to "get his ass in gear," and agrees to air the message. As Curt is leaving, the man broadcasts live on the air, and Curt realizes he has just met the mysterious Wolfman. Eventually Falfa, accompanied by Laurie, finds John and they agree to face off at dawn on an isolated road. Word spreads and a few spectators congregate to watch. As the sun is rising, the race begins and although Falfa is in the lead, he loses control. His car flips several times and catches fire, but miraculously neither he nor Laurie is injured. Although John retains his racing reputation, he senses the fickleness of fate. Steve and Laurie are reunited after he helps her out of the wreckage. After Wolfman reads Curt's message on the radio, Curt receives a call from the blonde, who says she will be cruising Third Street that evening. However, Curt has come to a decision and knows he will not be in town at the end of the day. A few hours later, Curt's family and Steve say goodbye as he boards the plane. After taking off, Curt sees the Thunderbird driving along a road below, while his plane flies out of range of the radio station.
In late November, 1975, Rocky Balboa, a sweet, garrulous, slightly over-the-hill boxer, wins his latest match with more fury than talent. Although he is well-known and well-liked in his South Philadelphia neighborhood, back in his dingy apartment, he has only his turtles to whom he can report his triumph. He then visits the local pet store in the hope of winning over the painfully shy clerk, Adrian Pennino, but she barely responds to his efforts. During his day job Rocky works as a collector for local loan shark Tony Gazzo, but when he cannot bring himself to break the thumb of one debtor, Rocky earns Gazzo's displeasure. Demoralized, Rocky turns to the one place at which he feels at home, the gym, but there discovers that his manager, Mickey Goldmill, has given his locker to a new contender. When Rocky confronts Mickey, the 76-year-old former bantamweight states that although Rocky has heart, he fights "like an ape" and should quit before he loses his one distinction, his unbroken nose. After once again getting nowhere with Adrian, Rocky visits her brother, meat packer Paulie Pennino, to ask why she disdains him. Paulie declares Adrian a "loser," a spinster at almost thirty, but invites Rocky to Thanksgiving dinner with them the following night. Meanwhile, reigning heavyweight champion Apollo Creed learns that his next opponent, set to fight him in five weeks' time, is injured and no worthy contender can be arranged. Creed, a colorful attention-seeker, despairs of losing the media coverage and decides to launch an exhibition fight with a Philadelphia unknown on New Year's Day, the first day of the country's bicentennial. Declaring that Americans will love the idea of an underdog ostensibly being given his big chance, he thumbs through a list of local boxers and pinpoints Rocky, whose self-appointed nickname is "The Italian Stallion," as an interesting ethnic counterpoint. At the same time, Rocky prepares for his first "date" with Adrian, but upon entering Paulie's house, realizes that Adrian is unaware of the set-up. Embarrassed, she declares herself unready for guests, prompting Paulie to explode in anger and throw her turkey dinner into the alleyway. Although she locks herself in the bedroom in response, Rocky urges her to come out and takes her to a closed ice skating rink, which he convinces the manager to open briefly. As Adrian skates, Rocky trots alongside her, explaining that he never succeeded as a boxer because he is a left-handed hitter. When he confesses that his father told him he had no brains so had better work with his body, Adrian reveals that her mother told her to develop her brains, as she did not have a good body. Walking to his apartment, he asserts that their weaknesses—his dim-wittedness and her timidity—make them perfect partners. At his stoop, she tries to leave but he charms her into staying, then once inside soothes her skittishness and gently initiates a passionate embrace. The next day, Rocky learns from Mickey that Creed's promoter, Miles Jergens, wants to meet with him, and both assume Creed is looking for a sparring partner. When Mickey insults him, Rocky demands an explanation, and Mickey spits out his disgust that Rocky failed to live up to his early promise as a fighter and instead became "a leg-breaker." At Jergens' office, Rocky is stunned to learn that he is being offered a chance at the heavyweight championship but quietly turns down the opportunity, knowing he has no possibility of winning. However, Jergens convinces him that he cannot pass up the chance of a lifetime, and soon after the bout is announced on television. Watching the broadcast later, Paulie points out to Rocky that the commentators were mocking him, and although Rocky professes not to care, he later admits his distress to Adrian. He plans to train alone, and when Mickey visits to plead to be his manager, Rocky brushes off the old man's desperate self-marketing, declaring that he needed a manager ten years ago when he still had a future. Mickey, for whom Rocky's fight represents his last stab at success, shuffles out in defeat, but outside stops to listen as Rocky explodes in anger, shouting that this lucky break has come too late for him and he is sure to be beaten badly. Minutes later, however, Rocky chases after Mickey and hires him. Rocky immediately begins a self-imposed, grueling training schedule, running through the city at four a.m. On his first day, he ascends the steep, stone stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and is exhausted by the time he reaches the top. He stops by Paulie's meat-packing plant, where Paulie, as is customary, pesters him for a job with Gazzo. When Paulie then questions angrily whether or not Rocky has slept with Adrian, Rocky pushes him away, punching a frozen carcass until his fists bleed. Later, a reinvigorated Mickey trains Rocky enthusiastically, and despite agreeing to the trainer's demand that he swear off women during training, Rocky spends more and more time with Adrian. After weeks of Rocky's training regimen, which now includes daily workouts punching the frozen meat, a drunken Paulie arranges a television interview in the meat locker. Although Creed, busy preparing his media exposure, ignores the broadcast, his trainer is impressed by Rocky's tenacity. Afterward, Paulie overhears Rocky complaining to Adrian about him, and threatening them both with a bat, raves that he failed to marry in order to take care of Adrian. With sudden vitriol, she screams that she owes him nothing and no longer wants to feel like a loser, and after Paulie collapses in drunken exhaustion, Adrian and Rocky agree that she will move in with him. Each day, Rocky runs through the neighborhood, receiving the well-wishes of the locals. Finally, after weeks of exertion, he is able to run up the museum steps with ease, and at the top throws up his hands in triumph. His status as the underdog contender has earned him national attention and affection, but on the night before the fight, Rocky visits the empty arena and realizes anew that there is no way he can win. At home, he tells Adrian that it does not matter if he loses, but if he can just last all fifteen rounds, as no one ever has against Creed, he will know for the first time that he is more than "just another bum from the neighborhood." On the day of the fight, as the arena fills, Rocky prays, then banters with Adrian. As he enters the ring, the announcers report that some have called the bout "the caveman vs. the cavalier," and that the Las Vegas odds assume that Rocky will be knocked out within three rounds. Next, with supreme fanfare, Creed, throwing money to the crowd, enters the arena, costumed as George Washington on a boat. The fight begins, with Rocky's friends watching eagerly on the local tavern television. Creed, overconfident, is far quicker than Rocky and jabs at him tauntingly, but when Rocky lands an unexpected strong hit, felling Creed for the first time ever, the champion returns with renewed vigilance. He begins to pummel Rocky, and when Rocky manages to back Creed up against the ropes, Creed breaks his nose. During the ensuing bout, Rocky takes a tremendous beating but continually rebounds to land a few hard punches. Fourteen rounds later, both are still fighting with equal commitment and have suffered multiple injuries. Exhausted, Rocky keeps struggling to his feet, even as the commentators wonder what could possibly be keeping him up, and Mickey demands that he give up. Finally, Rocky slams Creed in the ribs, causing internal bleeding. In their respective corners, Rocky demands that his cut man slice his eye with a razor to drain it of blood, while Creed orders his trainer to let the fight continue. The fifteen rounds finally draw to a close and the crowd roars its approval. As the reporters swarm him with questions, Rocky bats them away and shouts Adrian's name. She runs toward him, slowed by the crowd, as the announcer proclaims that the fight has ended in a split decision. When Adrian finally reaches Rocky, she falls into his arms. Flush with his own personal victory and barely even registering that the fight has been called for Creed, Rocky declares his love for her.
In a small Pennsylvania town called Clairton, five friends, Steven, Stan, Nick, Axel and Michael, leave their job at the steel mill and get ready for Steven's wedding that night. While making preparations with the priest at the church, Steven's mother expresses disapproval of Steven's fiancée, Angela, because the bride is pregnant and Steven may not be the father. She also complains that she will be stuck alone with the new wife when Steven, Nick and Michael leave to fight in the Vietnam War. At the wedding reception, Michael flirts with Nick's girlfriend, Linda. When Nick asks Linda to marry him when he and his friends return from war, she says yes. The next morning, Michael, Nick, Stan and Axel go deer hunting. Michael explains his theory of the importance of killing a deer cleanly with one shot. During the hunt, Michael shoots and kills a buck. Later, in Vietnam, the Viet Cong destroy a village. Michael kills an enemy soldier and is unexpectedly reunited with Steven and Nick. All three are captured by the Viet Cong and placed in a prisoner camp on a river where the jailers force the men to play Russian roulette: one bullet is placed in a revolver, then a prisoner holds the gun up to his own head and pulls the trigger. When an injured Steven becomes unhinged and refuses to play, he is beaten and put in a watery pit to die. Michael tells Nick he has an escape plan: Michael will have the Viet Cong put three bullets in the Russian roulette gun and he and Nick will play each other. When it's Michael's turn, he will signal Nick to grab a captor's gun and the two of them will start shooting their guards. Nick is dazed but agrees. Michael and Nick carry out the plan, kill their captors and escape with Steven. The three friends float down the river and soon encounter a helicopter that hovers to rescues them. Although Nick makes it onto the helicopter, Steven falls back into the river and Michael jumps after him as the helicopter flies away. Michael pulls Steven to the shore and carries him on land until they join a procession of Vietnamese refugees. Michael places Steven in the care of soldiers in a and continues on foot alone. Meanwhile, Nick convalesces at the U.S. Army hospital in Saigon, but he remains mentally and emotionally damaged. One night in Saigon, Nick stumbles into a secret lair where spectators bet on men voluntarily playing Russian roulette. Unaware that Michael is among the audience members, Nick disrupts the game by grabbing the gun, which still has one bullet in the chamber. Nick aims the weapon at a competitor's head and fires, then puts the gun to his own head and pulls the trigger; however, the bullet does not discharge. The angry crowd forces Nick out of the building and he runs down the street until a French man, Julien, approaches him and offers to make Nick rich. As Michael forces his way out of the crowd and tries to reach his friend, Nick jumps into Julien's car. Although Nick sees Michael chasing the car on foot, he turns away and leaves Michael behind. Later, Michael returns home. When he sees that there is a party waiting for him, Michael avoids his friends and goes to a motel. The next day, Michael visits Linda. She is happy to see him, but she is still in love with Nick, even though he never contacted her while he was gone; Nick is missing and the army doesn't know where he is. When Michael reunites with Stan and Axel, he is surprised to learn that Steven is home, too. Visiting Angela, Michael learns Steven's phone number, but instead of calling his friend, Michael prepares to leave home. Before he goes, Michael runs into Linda, who suggests they comfort each other with sex, but Michael insists he can't stay in town any longer and leaves. Linda chases after him and they make love in a motel. Later, Michael and his friends go hunting. Michael gets a clear shot of a deer, but he lets the animal live. Back at the cabin, Axel teases Stan about the gun Stan carries around with him and Michael returns in time to see Stan pointing his gun at Axel. Michael grabs the gun away from Stan, who protests that the weapon isn't loaded, but Michael opens the cylinder to find it is full of bullets. Emptying the chamber of all but one bullet, Michael presses the gun against Stan's forehead and pulls the trigger. As the friends eye Michael warily, he goes outside and tosses the gun away. When Michael returns to Clairton, he goes to see Linda and they spend another night together. Afterward, Michael calls Steven, then visits him at the Veterans Administration Hospital and encourages him to come home. Steven, who lost both his legs in the war, doesn't want to leave the hospital. Showing Michael the $100 bills he has been receiving from Saigon every month, Steven claims that he does not know who is sending the cash, but Michael immediately realizes the money is from Nick. Steven is worried about Nick's safety because the U.S. is on the verge of withdrawing from the war Saigon will erupt into violence. Michael finally convinces Steven to come home. Later, Michael travels to Saigon and locates Julien. The French man takes Michael to a building where a crowd places bets on two men playing Russian roulette. Michael sees that Nick is one of the competitors and urges his friend to leave with him, but Nick does not recognize Michael and spits in his face. When Michael buys into the game to compete against his friend, Nick takes his turn with the gun and remains in the contest. Michael puts the gun to his own head, pulls the trigger, and makes it to the next round. Although Michael beseeches Nick to come home, Nick takes another turn and loses the last round of Russian roulette, fatally shooting himself in the head. Later, back in Clairton, after Nick's friends bury their fallen comrade and gather at the local bar for breakfast, singing "God Bless America" and toasting Nick.
By 1913, the outlaw gangs of the Old West are rapidly disappearing. Under the leadership of aging Pike Bishop, one such gang rides into San Rafael, Texas, to rob the local railway office. Though dressed in U.S. Cavalry uniforms, Bishop and his men--Dutch Engstrom, brothers Lyle and Tector Gorch, and a young Mexican, Angel--are ambushed by bounty hunters led by ex-convict Deke Thornton, a former member of Bishop's gang who must pursue his old friend or return to prison. When a group of temperance marchers are caught in the crossfire, the ambush turns into a massacre that ends when Bishop's men escape into Mexico and the bounty hunters stop to loot the corpses. At a rendezvous in Mexico with Sykes, an old, broken-down gunslinger, the gang discovers that the stolen railway bags contain iron washers instead of money. Accepting their bad luck, they ride to Angel's home village, where they learn that the bandit general Mapache, a sadistic opponent of Pancho Villa, has killed Angel's father and ridden off with the youth's sweetheart, Teresa. Though Angel kills Teresa in public when he finds her with the general, Bishop intervenes on behalf of the boy and makes a deal with Mapache whereby Bishop's gang will rob an army munitions train and sell its load of rifles to the bandits for $10,000. In spite of the presence of Thornton's bounty hunters on the train, Bishop's gang hijacks the vehicle and escapes with the army rifles. Angel, who has given a carton of munitions to the people of his village, is seized and held prisoner by the bandits. Because loyalty to one another is all that remains, the "wild bunch" demands Angel's release; but when the demand is made during a drunken celebration, Mapache slashes the boy's throat. Bishop kills the bandit chief in retaliation, thereby setting off a slaughter in which the entire gang, as well as hundreds of Mexicans, are killed. Thornton and his bounty hunters arrive to collect the bodies of the ransomed outlaws; but when all except Thornton ride out of town, they are shot down by Sykes and the peasants from Angel's village. As the Mexicans tie the sacks of gold to their horses, Sykes and the weary Thornton decide to become a team.
An oppressed assembly-line factory worker is used as a guinea pig for his employer's test of an Automatic Feeding Machine. The machine malfunctions, nearly driving the worker crazy. In a nervous frenzy, he runs madly through the factory, spraying oil everywhere. He is taken to a hospital, but immediately after his release, is arrested when he is mistaken for a radical leader. Prison life is comfortable, and he reluctantly accepts parole after he heroically stops a jailbreak. Outside, he discovers mass unemployment, and despite a glowing letter of recommendation, he cannot hold a job. Eager to return to jail, he gallantly admits to stealing a loaf of bread to save a starving gamin. The result is that they are both arrested, but manage to escape the police. Together, they dream of a middle class life, and when the worker becomes a department store night watchman, they happily play among the luxuries they cannot afford. One night, burglars enter the store, and the worker is arrested again. The gamin tries to make a home for him in an abandoned shack, and this time, when he is released, his factory has reopened. He goes back to work repairing machines, but a strike puts him out of a job and back in jail. The gamin finally gets employment dancing in a cafe, and when the worker is freed, he becomes a singing waiter. Despite his ineptness, he makes a hit with an improvised nonsense song, but just as the couple are a success, the police try to arrest the gamin, who is wanted for running away from Juvenile Hall. The worker and the gamin escape the officers and set out on the road together.
In the mid-1920s, Texas rancher Jordan "Bick" Benedict II goes to Maryland to buy "War Winds," a prized stallion, from Dr. Horace Lynnton. There Bick falls in love with Lynnton's spirited elder daughter Leslie. After Leslie breaks her engagement to Englishman Sir David Karfrey, they quickly marry and Bick brings Leslie back to his enormous ranch, Reata. When they arrive in the dusty, windswept town named after Bick's family, Leslie graciously greets their Mexican-American driver, Angel Obregon, and Bick admonishes her not to be too kind to "those people." Bick's tough, cattle-driving sister Luz throws a party for the newlyweds and Leslie faints when she is served a plate of barbequed calves' heads. Determined to become a real Texan, however, Leslie rises early the next morning and takes the breakfast duties away from Luz, who looks upon Leslie as a rival to her position as head of the household. While Luz, Bick and Leslie are out driving cattle, Bick sends Leslie home with Jett Rink, a rough cowboy who is close to Luz, but clashes with Bick. On the way back to Bick's mansion, Leslie insists on stopping in Reata, where the poor Mexican laborers live. Leslie goes into one of the hovels and discovers that a mother, Mrs. Obregon, and her newborn, Angel III, are seriously ill. Returning home, Leslie learns that Luz has taken a serious fall while trying to break War Winds. After Luz dies, Leslie asks the doctor to go to the village to tend to the Obregons' sick baby, despite Bick's protests that their family physician should not tend to "those people." At the funeral, Bick, his lawyer and other friends tell Jett that Luz willed him a piece of land, but encourage him to instead accept a cash settlement twice the value of the property. Jett declines the cash, and insists on taking the plot of land which he calls "Little Reata." Soon Leslie gives birth to twins, Jordan III and Judy. As the years pass, Bick continues to argue with her over her work at the migrant labor camps, where she has hired a new, Mexican-American physician, Dr. Guerra, to help improve living conditions. Leslie gives birth to another girl, whom they name Luz, and at the twins' fourth birthday party, Bick, who clearly favors his son, insists on forcing his frightened heir to ride a new pony. Bick's disappointment at Jordan's tears and Leslie's admonishment is further heightened when little Angel III skillfully rides the pony back to the corral. Uncle Bawley, Leslie's ally in her conflicts with Bick, tells her to continue rearing the children her way, as Bick knows no more about the job than his father. Realizing that their differences have caused too much friction in their marriage, Leslie decides to take the children for a long visit to Maryland. After a lonely Thanksgiving for both Bick and Leslie, Bick unexpectedly shows up at the wedding of Leslie's younger sister Lacey, who is marrying David. Bick takes Leslie back to Reata after she admits that she cannot change and he says Texans like vinegar with their greens. Meanwhile, Jett, who has found oil on Little Reata, becomes wealthy. His success enrages Bick, who forces Jett to stop using the name Reata, and the new company, Jettexas, becomes a multi-million dollar company. Years later, as the children approach adulthood, Judy wishes to go to college at Texas Tech to study animal husbandry, although Leslie wants her to go finishing school in Switzerland. Jordan, whom Bick has tried to groom since birth to be the heir to Reata, decides to become a doctor. At Christmas, just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Judy elopes with her sweetheart, Bob Dace, who has just been drafted. Angel Obregon brings Angel III to visit, proudly showing off his son's new soldier's uniform, and Jordan, who has received an over-sized cowboy hat from his father, meets Juana, a young nurse in training who has accompanied Dr. Guerra to the festivities. That afternoon, Bick gets drunk on eggnog, and tries to convince Jordan, and then Bob and Judy, to take the ranch when he retires, but they want to start a small ranch of their own. Jett, not realizing that it is Christmas, shows up and convinces Bick to allow an oil well to be drilled on Reata. After the war, all of the local ranchers, including Bick and Leslie, have become oil rich. At a pool party to celebrate the end of World War II, Leslie expresses disgust that the Texas oil barons are receiving a 27.5% tax exemption from the government. Jordan, who has just married Juana in a private, Mexican-Catholic ceremony, then announces his wedding, much to his father's anger. A short time later, Angel III is brought home in a casket and, at the funeral, after the attending soldiers give Angel's father the American flag in honor of his son's bravery, Bick gives the grieving Obregons a Texas flag from his own collection. Soon Judy and Bob, and Juana and Jordan have their first babies, both boys. Jett, now called "Mr. Texas," plans to have a huge celebration to commemorate the opening of his new airport and hotel in Hermosa, Texas. Luz, who has a crush on Jett, can think of nothing else, and Bick finally decides to attend "like the best of 'em," and even buys his own airplane to arrive in style. At a celebratory parade, Bick and Leslie are distressed to discover Luz riding a float as "Queen of the Parade." Later, in the hotel's quiet bar, Jett ignores his guests, gets drunk and proposes to Luz, who demurely declines, then leaves. At a cocktail party in the Benedict suite, Jordan and Juana arrive with their baby. When Juana goes to the hotel beauty salon to get her hair done for the banquet, they refuse service because they have orders from Jett not to do business with "her people." Jordan grows furious and breaks the salon's mirror. A short time later, Jett, almost stumbling from drunkenness, arrives late at the banquet, at which he is to give a speech. As he walks up to the podium, Jordan confronts him and the two exchange punches, until Jordan is carried out nearly unconscious. Bick then takes Jett into a store room to give him a thrashing, but Jett is so drunk that he cannot defend himself. After knocking down rows of wine racks, a disgusted Bick, his entire family and their close friends leave the banquet room. Jett finally arrives at his place on the dais and promptly passes out. Back in their suite, when Bick refers to Juana as a "fine little gal," Jordan becomes angry and accuses him of being as bad as Jett and argues that Bick only fought "Mr. Texas" because Jordan had disgraced the Benedict name by losing the fight. Luz is upset and wants to go to Jett, but her parents refuse. Uncle Bawley, for whom Leslie has always had a soft spot, convinces her to let him take Luz to Jett. They find him drunkenly sobbing in an empty banquet room, rambling about his love for the beautiful Leslie. The next day, Bick sends the airplane back to Reata while he, Leslie, Luz, Juanna and the baby drive home. On the way, they stop at a roadside café where the waitress does not want to serve them because of Juana and the baby, but the owner acquiesces, realizing that Leslie and Bick are well-to-do. When an elderly Mexican husband and wife enter the café, however, the owner roughly tries to throw them out. Seeing this, Bick goes to their defense. Despite using his influence as "Bick Benedict," the owner refuses to change his mind and the two men engage in a brawl that ends in Bick's complete defeat. Back at Reata, Leslie reveals that Luz has forgotten about Jett and gone to Hollywood to become an actress. As she and Bick relax while babysitting their two grandsons, one white and one brown, Bick says that his grandson looks like a "wetback," but that men will just have to get over it. When he reflects that he is a failure, Leslie says that she realized what a great man he was when she saw him lying on the floor of the café after fighting for the rights of the downtrodden. The couple, finally content, gaze at the two boys, whose faces represent the future of Texas.
In September of 1967, Chris Taylor enters the Vietnam War after dropping out of college. He joins an infantry stationed near the Cambodian border, and struggles to acclimate to the physical demands of soldiering in the jungle. When Taylor vomits on a patrol after seeing the corpse of a Vietnamese soldier, Sergeant Bob Barnes reprimands him, but Sergeant Elias later comes to his aid and lightens the load in his pack. In a letter to his grandmother, Taylor describes his duties, including walking all day, digging foxholes in the evening, and going on all-night ambushes, and worries that he has made a mistake by volunteering for the war. One afternoon, Barnes orders Elias to lead his men on a night patrol, but Elias argues that it is Sergeant O'Neill's turn. Lieutenant Wolfe, the platoon commander, believes he should be the one giving orders and confronts Barnes, who agrees begrudgingly. In the jungle late at night, Taylor wakes up fellow soldier, Junior, when it is his turn to stand watch; however, Junior quickly falls back asleep, and Taylor later wakes to find soldiers from the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) circling their camp. A firefight ensues, and Taylor is grazed by a bullet while another new recruit, Gardner, is killed. After Taylor returns from a short hospital stay, King, a fellow soldier, invites him to party with Elias and a group of soldiers called "hopheads," who use drugs, listen to rock n' roll music, and dance together in their bunker. While Taylor bonds with Elias's crew, a more aggressive group of soldiers drinks beer and listens to country music while Barnes and O'Neill play poker in their bunker. On New Year's Day, 1968, the platoon patrols the jungle and comes across a bunker recently abandoned by the NVA. Two men are killed by an explosive booby trap, while another soldier, Manny, goes missing. After the platoon finds Manny's mutilated body tied to a tree by the river, Wolfe receives orders for the platoon to search a nearby village where Vietnamese soldiers may be hiding. The platoon rounds up villagers, mostly women and children. When Taylor finds an old woman and a mentally handicapped, one-legged man inside a hut, he shoots at the man's foot, forcing him to hop around. As Taylor walks away, Bunny, one of Barnes' men, laughs and continues the abuse, brutally bludgeoning the handicapped man until he dies. Outside, Barnes interrogates the village chief, who says the villagers were forced to stash weapons but he doesn't know when the army will be back. The village chief's wife demands to know why Barnes's men killed their livestock, and Lerner, a soldier who speaks Vietnamese, translates, but Barnes becomes agitated and shoots her in the head. He then holds the village chief's daughter at gunpoint, demanding more information; however, Elias arrives and hits Barnes with the butt of his rifle, ordering him to stop. The sergeants fight, but Wolfe interferes. Elias demands to know why Wolfe allowed Barnes to shoot the woman, but Wolfe feigns ignorance. In the bushes nearby, Taylor comes across a group of soldiers, including Bunny and Junior, who watch while their companion, Morehouse, rapes a young Vietnamese girl. Taylor pulls Morehouse off the girl and yells at the group, calling them animals. His comrades ridicule him, and Bunny calls Taylor "a homosexual" for interrupting. On Wolfe's orders, the platoon sets fire to the village and leaves. Later that day, Elias informs Captain Harris that Barnes shot the village chief's wife. Harris orders Elias and Barnes to make a report when they return to base camp, and promises there will be a court-martial if he finds that Barnes's actions were illegal. That night Elias tells Taylor that he no longer believes the United States can win the war. On the platoon's next patrol, they are ambushed by NVA soldiers. Elias devises a plan to strike the NVA from behind, and takes four soldiers, including Taylor and Rhah, with him as he sets off to another location. Meanwhile, Wolfe provides the wrong coordinates for an air strike, and many of his men are killed. After he reprimands Wolfe, Barnes takes charge and orders everyone to retreat to helicopters. Barnes then searches for Elias's group. When he finds Elias separated from the others, Barnes shoots him down. Moments later, Barnes runs into Taylor and tells him that Elias was killed in action. Though Taylor wants to find Elias, Barnes orders him to escape in the helicopters. As the surviving soldiers are flown out of the area, they spot Elias on the ground below, running from a group of NVA soldiers. As Elias is shot several more times and falls to the ground, Taylor glares at Barnes, realizing his previous report of Elias's death was a lie. Back at the base, Barnes hears Taylor secretly urging the other soldiers to kill their sergeant, but no one moves when Barnes dares them to try. Taylor attacks Barnes, but the sergeant overpowers him and holds a knife to his face. Although Rhah urges Barnes to back off, Barnes makes a cut under Taylor's eye before leaving. Wolfe commands Rhah to head Elias's squad, but Rhah argues that the squad has only six people remaining. O'Neill, who has reservations about the platoon's upcoming mission, asks Barnes if he can take his rest and recuperation leave early, but Barnes rejects the request, claiming that everybody must die sometime. That night, Taylor and his companion, Francis, watch from a foxhole as NVA soldiers invade their camp. Though they are outnumbered, Francis and Taylor gun down several soldiers and escape the foxhole just before it is hit by a grenade. Taylor runs through the camp, on a killing spree, shooting one soldier after another. Meanwhile, Harris orders the Air Force to "expend all remaining" within the surrounding perimeter. Barnes and Taylor cross paths on the battlefield, and though Barnes attempts to kill Taylor with a shovel, the two are knocked out by an air strike. Taylor wakes up the next day, surrounded by corpses. He sees Barnes crawling through the jungle, severely injured, and shoots him dead. A search crew later finds Taylor sitting on a log, holding a grenade. Francis emerges from a foxhole and stabs himself with a bayonet in order to be taken away as a casualty. O'Neill emerges from his hiding place under the body of a dead NVA soldier. To O'Neill's dismay, Harris gives him control over the platoon when gets back to camp. Francis informs Taylor that they get to go home since they've been wounded twice. As Taylor is lifted away by helicopter, he waves goodbye to Rhah, then holds himself and weeps.
In 1987 Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jerry Lundegaard struggles as the sales manager at an Oldsmobile dealership owned by his father-in-law, Wade Gustafson. After taking on a $320,000 loan using nonexistent vehicles as collateral, Lundegaard schemes to get himself out of debt by hiring two men to kidnap his wife, Jean, for an $80,000 ransom, to be paid by Wade Gustafson. A mechanic at the dealership named Shep Proudfoot connects Lundegaard with Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud, a couple of petty criminals based in Fargo, Noth Dakota, who agree to do the kidnapping in exchange for a new car and half the ransom. In the meantime, Lundegaard proposes a potentially lucrative real estate deal to Wade, in the hope of borrowing $750,000 to invest. Wade decides to pursue the deal on his own behalf, which furthers Lundegaard's resolve to go through with the kidnapping. Showalter and Grimsrud take Jean by force, driving her out of town in a car from Lundegaard's dealership. On their way to a cabin at Moose Lake, they are stopped by a state trooper who tickets them for driving without tags. Jean makes a noise from inside the car, which prompts Gaear to shoot the trooper dead, as well as two passersby. The triple murder is investigated by Marge Gunderson, the Brainerd, Minnesota, chief of police, who discovers that the killers called Shep Proudfoot from their hotel room. She goes to the Oldsmobile dealership to question him and Lundegaard, who attests that no vehicles have gone missing from the lot. That evening, Marge meets up with an ex-classmate, Mike Yanagita, who tries to seduce her despite the fact that she is married and pregnant. Due to the new complications in the kidnapping, Showalter doubles the previously negotiated fee, demanding $80,000 from Lundegaard. In the meantime, with only twenty-four hours to prove to the loan company that he has the collateral he promised, Lundegaard tells Wade that the ransom has been set at $1 million. Wade thwarts Lundegaard's plan by insisting on delivering the ransom money, himself. Armed with a loaded gun, Wade brings the money to Showalter in a Minneapolis parking garage. The kidnapper becomes agitated when Wade asks to see his daughter, who is not there. He shoots Wade, but Wade manages to shoot back before dying. Showalter flees with a bullet wound to the jaw. He is shocked to find $1 million in the briefcase. He removes the $80,000 that he and Grimsrud were promised, then buries the remainder on the side of the highway. Showalter returns to the cabin at Moose Lake to discover that Grimsrud has killed Jean. Showalter offers Grimsrud his half of the $80,000 and insists on fleeing separately. They squabble over who gets to keep the car, and Grimsrud ends the dispute by killing Showalter with an axe. Marge questions Lundegaard's honesty and returns to the Oldsmobile dealership to interrogate him again. Lundegaard runs away, and Marge reports him to Minnesota police. She receives a tip from a bar owner who overheard Showalter bragging about his exploits, and locates the Moose Lake cabin, where she finds the missing dealership car in question. Grimsrud is feeding Showalter's dead body into a woodchipper as Marge appears. To stop him from escaping on foot, she shoots him in the leg. He and Jerry Lundegaard are arrested, and Marge returns home to her husband, Norm. The two casually discuss his painting of a mallard, which has been selected to appear on a new three-cent postage stamp, and the arrival of their baby in two months.
Wealthy widow Gloria Teasdale forces the government of Freedonia to accept Rufus T. Firefly as its leader. Firefly's outrageous public behavior offends Ambassador Trentino of Sylvania, who with the help of his confederate, dancer Vera Marcal, intends to take control of Freedonia by marrying Mrs. Teasdale. Firefly, who also makes occasional love to Mrs. Teasdale after learning of her fortune, has in his employ two of Trentino's spies, Chicolini and Pinky, whose battles with a street vendor of lemonade are more effective than their espionage. Firefly's secretary, Bob Roland, decides that Firefly must insult Trentino so that the latter may be deported, and Firefly handles the job with enthusiasm, bringing the two countries to the brink of war. Chicolini and Pinky attempt to steal Freedonia's war plans by impersonating Firefly, and though Firefly is temporarily persuaded that Pinky is his own reflection in a mirror, the job results in Chicolini's capture and trial for treason. Several efforts by Mrs. Teasdale, Trentino and Marcal to effect a reconciliation between Firefly and Trentino only result in Firefly repeating his offensive behavior, and war is finally declared. Chicolini begins the war on the side of Sylvania but soon joins Pinky on Freedonia's side, and Freedonia's soldiers under Firefly's unorthodox command, eventually capture Trentino and emerge victorious.
In Portsmouth Harbour, England, in December of 1787, preparations are made to sail the H.M.S. Bounty to Tahiti, where her crew will collect breadfruit trees and import them as a cheap source of food for slave camps in the West Indies. Before sailing, a press gang headed by Fletcher Christian, the ship's lieutenant, strongarms Thomas Ellison, William Muspratt, Quintal and others into the King's Navy for the two-year voyage. Roger Byam, a descendent of a long line of decorated naval officers, is made a midshipman on the Bounty and is commissioned by Sir Joseph Banks to help him research his Tahitian dictionary. As the ship is about to set sail, Ellison, who does not want to leave his wife and child, is caught trying to break ship. When Christian learns of Ellison's attempted desertion, he reasons with Ellison and gently persuades him to return and serve his country. Soon after boarding his ship, William Bligh, the Bounty's sadistic captain, orders his crew to witness a "flogging through the fleet," a brutal form of punishment in which court-martialed seamen are flogged in view of every ship in the fleet. Although the master-at-arms pronounces the court-martialed seaman dead as he approaches the Bounty , Bligh insists that he proceed with the flogging. Later, Bligh, who respects only one law, the "law of fear," and tolerates no dissent among his crew, upbraids Christian when he complains about the ship's indecent food supply. Once at sea, Byam is severly punished by Bligh after he and another seaman are caught engaging in a minor fistfight, and is ordered to stand perched on top of the masthead during a storm. Christian tries to end Byam's cruel punishment by calling him down, but Bligh immediately sends him back. Later, Bligh keel-hauls a sailor because he asked for water to treat a wound. When Bligh accuses his crew of stealing cheese from the ship, seaman McCoy informs him that he witnessed Maggs, Bligh's clerk, remove the cheese in Portsmouth under his superior's orders. McCoy is soon punished for exposing the captain's scheme. Desperate for food, seaman Thomas Burkitt and others decide to risk their rationed dinner and use it as bait for shark fishing. They succeed in capturing a shark, but when Maggs insists on a share of the catch, a quarrel ensues and Bligh intercedes. Christian accuses Bligh of starving his crew, and Bligh calls Christian a "mutinous dog." Just as Christian is about to strike Bligh, land is spotted on the horizon and the crew makes preparations for landing. Once in Tahiti, Bligh is greeted by island chief Hitihiti, an old friend of the King's Navy who greeted Captain Cook's ship when Bligh was a sailing master on it ten years earlier. Following the polite exchange of salutations, Bligh puts his crew to work harvesting the breadfruit trees. When Bligh denies Christian shore leave, the kind-hearted Hitihiti manages to secure his freedom and then introduces the lieutenant to his granddaughter Maimiti. Christian falls in love with Maimiti, and before he leaves Tahiti, he instructs Byam to tell her that he will come back for her someday. At sea once again, Bligh orders the flogging of four seamen who attempted to desert and insists that the ship's ailing surgeon witness the punishment. The brutality proves too much for the physician, and he collapses and dies. Christian blames Bligh for the doctor's death and decides to put an end to Bligh's ruthless tyranny by leading the crew in a mutiny. Christian takes over control of the ship by forcing Bligh and his allies into the ship's launch and casting them out to sea. He then turns the ship around and sails it back to Tahiti, where he marries Maimiti. Christian then abandons Byam and other seamen who were loyal to Bligh and were not loaded onto the ship's launch with the captain. As Christian leaves Tahiti to sail the Bounty to a new island, another British ship, the Pandora , is seen approaching on the horizon. The Pandora lands in Tahiti carrying the rescued Bligh, who quicky arrests Byam and the others for mutiny, despite their sworn loyalty to him. Determined to find Christian and see him "hanging from a yardarm," Bligh navigates the Pandora into heavy seas and breaks the ship on a reef. Bligh, Byam and other survivors are rescued and then taken to England. Meanwhile, Christian sails the Bounty to Pitcairn Island, where he sets the ship ablaze and settles his men to begin life anew. Five years pass and Byam, who has been convicted of high treason, receives a pardon when the King learns of Bligh's cruel disciplinary practices. Byam is soon restored to the Royal Navy, and is assigned to its flagship, which is set to fight the French in the battle of Trafalgar and "sweep the seas for England."
In a prologue, an announcer steps from behind a curtain to warn the audience of the horrifying nature of the film they are about to see. In the main story, at a funeral, Fritz, a dwarf, and young scientist Henry Frankenstein dig up a freshly buried body, claiming that the corpse is waiting for a new life. They also remove a man hanging from a gibbet, but his broken neck requires that a new brain be found. After Doctor Waldman's lecture at Goldstadt Medical College, Fritz sneaks in and, after dropping a bottle containing a normal brain, leaves with one containing the brain of a criminal. Meanwhile, in Henry's hometown, Victor Moritz visits Elizabeth, whom he loves. She has received a strange note from Henry her fiancé, who writes that his experiments preclude her from joining him. Concerned, Victor and Elizabeth visit Waldman, Henry's former professor, who explains that Henry had left the college to pursue a mad dream of recreating human life. Together the three go to Henry's laboratory, a watchtower in the mountains. There, Henry and Fritz are preparing to use the power of lightning to charge their electrical mechanisms and give life to a body they have pieced together. Henry agrees to let his friends observe and explains his scientific theories as his creation comes to life. Later Victor and Elizabeth attempt to pacify Henry's doubting father, Baron Frankenstein, who is only interested in promoting the date of his son's wedding. At the laboratory, while Waldman tells Henry of the monster's criminal brain, Fritz torments the monster and the monster kills him. After a fight, Henry and Waldman sedate the monster just as the baron approaches the lab. The exhausted Henry is taken home after Waldman promises to destroy the monster, but instead Waldman is killed by the escaping monster. As the wedding of Elizabeth and Henry is celebrated, the monster drowns Little Maria, a village child who plays with him, then menaces Elizabeth. Ludwig, Maria's father, carries his daughter's body into town, and an angry search party is formed. They go through the mountains by torchlight until Henry finds the monster, and the two engage in a struggle that continues in an abandoned mill, where the monster has fled. The mob sets the mill ablaze, and the monster hurls Henry to the ground before being engulfed by flames. Later, the baron celebrates the wedding of his recovered son with a toast to a future grandchild.
At an airstrip near the California-Mexico border, Wyatt and Billy, two motorcyclists, sell a large quantity of cocaine to a pusher who handles the transaction from his chauffered Rolls Royce. Once Wyatt (who is called "Captain America" because of the stars and stripes on his jacket and bike) has concealed the cash in his cycle's gas tank, the two young men ride off, vaguely intending to reach New Orleans, Louisiana, in time for Mardi Gras. Unwelcome at motels because of their nonconformist appearance, they camp outdoors and smoke marijuana until they fall asleep. After stopping at a ranch where they repair their bikes and join the rancher and his Mexican wife for a meal, they pick up a hitchhiker and accompany him to the commune where he lives. Despite the friendliness of the people working the barren soil and a pleasant swim with two women, Billy becomes impatient to leave, and the two once more take to the road. Upon arriving in a Texas town, where a civic celebration is in progress, Wyatt and Billy join the procession and are jailed for "parading without a permit." Sharing their cell is alcoholic George Hanson, a civil rights lawyer who prefers sleeping off his binges in jail to facing the wrath of his wealthy father, one of the town leaders. A quick camaraderie develops among the three men; George intercedes and prevents jail officials from giving the two traditional haircuts, and he accepts their invitation to ride with them, mainly because he has always wanted to visit the House of Blue Lights in New Orleans. One night while sitting around a fire, George smokes his first joint and joyfully elucidates his theory that creatures from Venus are already living among us. The next day the three travelers stop at a small luncheonette but leave when confronted by open hostility and bigotry. That night they are attacked at their camp site by thugs who pummel George to death and leave Wyatt and Billy badly beaten. Incapable of voicing their feelings, Wyatt and Billy pay tribute to George by riding on to New Orleans and visiting the House of Blue Lights. Finding that neither the prostitutes nor the Mardi Gras festivities can overcome their moroseness, they go to a nearby cemetery to take LSD with two of the prostitutes. When the acid trip turns out to be a bad one that leaves Wyatt and Billy more despondent than before, they take to the highways again. Though Billy suggests they change direction and head for Florida, Wyatt senses the futility of continuing. The next morning they are passed on the road by two men in a pickup truck who decide to scare the two longhairs by pointing a shotgun at them. When Billy responds with a gesture of defiance, one of the men fires a shot that hits him in the stomach. After trying to reassure his dying friend, Wyatt leaps on his cycle to ride off for help, but the truck has turned back, and this time the man with the gun takes deliberate aim and blasts Wyatt and his motorcycle off the road.
In 1943, after German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps has severely defeated American tank units in the Kasserine Pass, Tunisia, Gen. George S. Patton is sent to spearhead the U. S. sector of the North African campaign. His dramatic flair for leadership revitalizes the tank corps; an avid student of military history, he indulges his mystical belief in reincarnation and envisions the succession of great warriors and battles that have preceded him. Aided by his deputy commander, Gen. Omar N. Bradley, Patton scores a decisive victory over Rommel at El Guettar, which eventually leads to the German expulsion from North Africa. His next assignment is to lead the 7th Army into Sicily by taking Palermo, but instead he is ordered to protect the flank of his chief rival, British Field Marshal Montgomery, while Montgomery leads the attack. On his own initiative, Patton pushes forward and takes Messina, the island's main port and primary objective of the campaign, thereby intensifying his feud with Montgomery. Shortly thereafter, Patton visits a field hospital where, in a fit of rage, he slaps a weeping, battle-fatigued soldier; his action causes Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower to demand the general's public apology and to eventually relieve Patton of his command. In spite of his probation, Patton's worth as a decoy during a tour of the Mediterranean is acknowledged, and he eventually assumes leadership of the 3rd Army under the command of Bradley. He forces his men through an impasse at Normandy and comes to a dramatic rescue of the beleaguered 101st Airborne under siege at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Patton pushes his troops all the way to Czechoslovakia where, with total victory imminent, he is ordered to allow Montgomery and the Russian troops to rout the already disorganized German army. At the war's end, Patton cannot refrain from insulting America's current ally, Russia; unable to make the transition to peacetime, he is removed from command and bids a sad farewell to his staff.
In New York City, at the turn of the century, Cantor Rabinowitz is determined that his thirteen-year-old son Jakie become the next in a long family line of cantors. On Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, he looks forward to the time when Jakie will take his place in the temple, but his loving wife Sara is concerned that their son wants to do something else. Meanwhile, Jakie is seen singing in a saloon by neighborhood kibbutzer Moishe Yudelson, who then rushes to inform the cantor. Jakie is then dragged home and given a whipping by his father. Later, Jakie tells his heart-broken mother that he is going to be on the stage, then runs away. Years later, in San Francisco, Jakie has become a singer performing at Coffee Dan's restaurant. When he sings the poignant song "Dirty Hands, Dirty Face" for the audience, followed by the jazz tune "Toot, Toot, Tootsie," vaudeville dancer Mary Dale, who is in the audience, is intrigued. She tells him that he has what other jazz singers do not, a tear in his voice, and helps him to get a job with her troupe. Some time later, while performing in Chicago, Jakie, who has changed his name to Jack Robin, goes to a concert of sacred songs given by famed Cantor Josef Rosenblatt, and is deeply moved. Through the years, Jack has sent letters home boasting of his success but has never reconciled with his father. Jack has grown to love Mary and is saddened when she leaves the troupe for a chance to appear in a Broadway show. A short time later, Jack is told by his agent that he, too, has been offered a part in a Broadway show, and he looks forward to a return home to New York and his mother. In the autumn of 1927, on Cantor Rabinowitz's sixtieth birthday, Jack pays a surprise visit home. Although Mrs. Rabinowitz is over-joyed to see her son, who promises to move them to a new house in the Bronx and buy her a new pink dress, Cantor Rabinowitz is furious to hear his son singing jazz music in the house. They have a violent argument over Jack's preference for show business over the family tradition of being a cantor, and Jack leaves after his father bitterly calls him a "jazz singer." On Yom Kippur, Cantor Rabinowitz is too ill to sing the Kol Nidre in the temple and dreams that his son will sing in his place. Yudelson goes to see Jack at the theater where April Follies , the show in which he is co-starring with Mary, is about to open, and asks him to sing in the temple. Although Jack is torn, he refuses. Just before Jack is to go on stage and perform his role in the dress rehearsal, Yudelson returns with Mrs. Rabinowitz, who begs her son to reconsider. Although Jack's heart is pulling at him, Mary reminds him of what he had just told her, that his career means everything to him. Jack refuses to leave the dress rehearsal and, seeing Jack on stage, Mrs. Rabinowitz realizes that her son no longer belongs to her and leaves. When his number is over, Jack is told by Mary that his mother realizes that his life is now show business, but Jack cannot deny what is in his heart, and rushes to see his father. Jack then goes to the temple and, after Cantor Rabinowitz hears his son singing the Kol Nidre, he dies in peace. Although the show's opening had to be canceled because of Jack, he is soon a Broadway star and sings "Mammy" as his mother and Yudelson proudly sit in the front row, and Mary happily watches from the wings.
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.
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.
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."
In 1970 New York, gangsters Henry Hill, Tommy DeVito, and James "Jimmy the Gent" Conway, hear banging as they drive through a remote area at night. Stopping at the side of the road, Henry opens the trunk to reveal a man covered in blood, barely alive. Tommy curses the man and stabs him, while Jimmy shoots him multiple times. Henry, who is half-Irish and half-Italian, recalls that from a young age, he always wanted to be a gangster. Fifteen years earlier, in 1955 Brooklyn, young Henry lives across the street from a taxicab stand run by Tuddy Cicero, whose brother, Paul "Paulie" Cicero, is a local Mafia boss. Henry gets a job working at the cabstand. His abusive father approves at first, but beats him when he learns Henry has been skipping school. Eventually, Henry drops out of school entirely, performing odd jobs for the Mafia, waiting on gangsters, selling cargo from stolen trucks, and vandalizing cars. He achieves a milestone when he is arrested for selling stolen cigarettes. After he is let off, Henry is greeted by Jimmy Conway, a formidable Irishman with a knack for hijacking trucks, who tells him he just learned the two greatest things in life: "Never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut." In 1963, at a bar run by Mafia connection Sonny Bunz, Henry discusses a potential heist at Idlewild Airport with Jimmy Conway and Frenchy, a corrupt airport guard. Meanwhile, Tommy DeVito, a known hothead, beats Sonny Bunz for demanding he pay his outstanding $7,000 tab. Later, Tommy talks Henry into a double date with two Jewish girls from Five Towns, Long Island. Preoccupied by a meeting he has scheduled later that night, Henry ignores his date, Karen, and rushes through dinner. He forgets about a follow-up double date the next night, and Karen arrives at the cabstand to chastise him. Amused, Henry agrees to take her out on a proper date. He impresses Karen by taking her to the Copacabana nightclub, where they receive special treatment from the staff and Mafia patrons. Karen asks what Henry does for a living, and he tells her he works for a construction union. Over time, Karen grows accustomed to Henry's lavish lifestyle and ignores the obvious signs that he is a criminal. Henry and Tommy execute the Idlewild Airport heist, stealing $420,000 in cash from an Air France plane. They pay Paulie $60,000 as a "tribute." Sometime later, Karen and Henry are wed in a Jewish ceremony. At the reception, Mafia members give Karen envelopes stuffed with cash. She begins spending time with Mafia wives and is traumatized by their scandalous stories. She worries that Henry could go to prison, but Henry claims that people only go to jail if they are not organized. Karen eventually comes to see Henry's crimes as entrepreneurial enterprises, and embraces the sense of community the Mafia provides, especially after the birth of their daughters, Judy and Ruth. In 1970, at a Mafia bar run by Henry, Billy Batts, a "made" gangster from another crime family, celebrates his return from prison. Batts piques Tommy's temper by mentioning old times when young Tommy used to shine his shoes. Later that night, Henry locks the door to the bar as Tommy and Jimmy attack Batts. They beat him until he is unconscious, then roll him up in a tablecloth and load him into the trunk of Henry's car. Jimmy suggests dumping the body upstate, and they go to get a shovel at Tommy's mother's house, where Mrs. DeVito insists on feeding them a meal. Back on the road, they hear a banging and pull over to discover Batts is still alive. Tommy stabs him repeatedly, and Jimmy shoots him multiple times. As they bury Batts's dead body, Henry worries about the repercussions of killing a made gangster. Paulie gets word of Batts's disappearance, but Henry does not reveal that Tommy killed him. Tommy continues to wreak havoc when he shoots Spider, a young recruit, for mouthing off at him during a poker game. Tommy defends his actions, asserting that Spider would have become a "rat" like the rest of his family. As Henry spends increasing amounts of time with his mistress, Janice Rossi, Karen becomes suspicious, and tracks down Janice at her apartment. Later, she wakes up Henry by pointing a gun at his face. Henry talks her down, promising that he loves her. She lowers the weapon, allowing him to retaliate by wrestling her to the floor and yanking her hair. A distraught Karen goes to Paulie, who tracks down Henry at Janice's apartment. Paulie declares that divorce is not an option and orders Henry to return to his family. Henry agrees to go back after accompanying Jimmy to Tampa, Florida, for a weekend job. In Tampa, Jimmy and Henry extort money from a local gangster. The gangster's sister, a typist for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), reports the incident. Henry and Jimmy are found guilty and sentenced to ten years at a federal penitentiary. Jimmy is sent to a facility in Atlanta, Georgia, while Henry joins Paulie, who is serving time for contempt, at a prison in Pennsylvania. Using their mafia connections, the men enjoy a relatively comfortable lifestyle in prison, and Karen helps Henry by smuggling in drugs for him to sell. One day, she notices Janice Rossi's name in the guest register and accosts Henry in the visitation area. As their daughter, Ruth, wails, Karen berates him for continuing the affair and threatens to expose his drug operation. She complains that she has run out of money, and Henry reminds her that, as long as he is in prison, they cannot expect Mafia support. He agrees never to speak to Janice again and promises to support the family, as long as she keeps bringing him drugs. Four years later, he is released. Karen and the girls now live in a small apartment, but Henry vows to move them to a better place. Although Paulie forbids him any further involvement in drugs, Henry secretly maintains his connections to a supplier in Pittsburgh, and recruits Jimmy and Tommy to help. Henry and Karen develop cocaine habits, and Henry begins sleeping with Janice's friend, Sandy, whom he employs in the drug operation. In their chintzy new home, Henry and Karen host Morrie Kessler, a wig salesman with Mafia ties, and his wife, for dinner. Morrie tells Henry about a heist he has masterminded, which stands to make his crew millions of dollars. Henry helps orchestrate the heist, which requires several men to steal $6 million in cash from a Lufthansa plane. The gangsters celebrate after they pull off the robbery, but Jimmy becomes angry when he discovers some of the guys have risked getting caught by making large purchases with money from their shares. Morrie pesters Jimmy for his payout, but Jimmy does not want to share the profits and orders hits on nearly everyone involved, including Morrie. Soon, Tommy is told that Paulie is going to "make" him, an honor neither Henry nor Jimmy can achieve because only one-hundred percent Italians can be fully initiated into the Mafia. However, when Tommy shows up for the ceremony, he is killed in retaliation for Batts's murder. Jimmy cries when he hears the news. By 1980, Henry and Karen's cocaine addictions have rendered them paranoid, and Henry believes a helicopter is following him around. On a particularly busy day, he delivers guns to Jimmy in the morning, but Jimmy rejects the weapons and sends him away. He then picks up his wheelchair-bound brother, Michael, at a chronic care hospital, where the doctor observes that Henry looks unwell and offers him Valium. Henry brings Michael back home, pointing out the helicopter on the way, and makes preparations for the elaborate Italian dinner he plans to cook that night. He leaves again, taking Karen with him to pick up a batch of cocaine destined for Atlanta. To his delight, the drug supplier buys Jimmy's unwanted handguns. Henry continues to notice the helicopter, but the only person who believes him is Karen. He calls Lois, his drug mule, and urges her not to make calls from his house, but she disregards him. He takes the cocaine to Sandy's apartment, where she mixes it with quinine and complains that Henry does not spend enough time with her. At home, Henry finishes cooking dinner and sits down to enjoy it with Lois and his family. Lois realizes she left her lucky hat at home and insists on retrieving it before she flies to Atlanta. Henry reluctantly agrees, but when they get in the car, police surround them. Henry is arrested and informed that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has, in fact, been following him for a month. When he is released on bail, Henry fears that Paulie or Jimmy might kill him to prevent him from snitching, and decides to turn informant. In court, Henry identifies Jimmy and Paulie, who stare daggers at him. Soon after, Henry and his family enter the Witness Protection Program and move to a homogenous suburb, where Henry laments that he must live the rest of his life "like a schnook."
Referring to each other as "Pumpkin" and "Honey Bunny," two lovers finish their meal at a diner, and decide to hold up the place. Elsewhere, at another time, Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield arrive at an apartment to collect a briefcase from a man named Brett, on behalf of their gangster boss, Marsellus Wallace. Inside the apartment, the hitmen shoot Brett and one of his cohorts for double-dealing behind Marsellus's back. They deliver the briefcase to Marsellus, as he is cutting a deal with a boxer named Butch, who agrees to throw an upcoming boxing match. Afterward, Marsellus enlists Vincent to take his wife, Mia, out on the town while he is away. Prior to picking her up, Vincent buys heroin from his drug dealer, Lance, and injects himself with a dose. Mia, a once-aspiring actress, goes with him to a 1950s-themed restaurant, where the two bond over milkshakes and participate in a dance contest, which they win. Returning home, Mia discovers the heroin in Vincent's jacket while he is in the bathroom. Assuming it is cocaine, she snorts the drug and accidentally overdoses. Vincent rushes her to Lance's house, where they revive her with a shot of adrenaline to the heart. Butch, the boxer, betrays Marsellus by winning his boxing match and accidentally killing his opponent in the process. At a motel, he prepares to flee town with his girl friend, Fabienne, who reveals that she forgot to pack Butch's lucky gold watch, passed down to him by his father. Aware that Marsellus might have already sent a hitman after him, Butch risks a trip back home to retrieve the watch. Inside his apartment, he discovers a gun on the kitchen counter and surmises that someone has broken in. As Vincent Vega emerges from the bathroom, Butch shoots him dead. On the drive back to the motel, Butch is spotted by Marsellus, who gives chase. The pursuit ends at a pawnshop, where Butch and Marsellus are unexpectedly kidnapped by the sadistic shop owner, Maynard. They are taken to the basement, where Marsellus is raped by Maynard and his cohort, Zed, while Butch is held captive by a man in a bondage suit. Butch breaks free, rescues Marsellus, and the two of them kill Maynard and Zed. Thankful for his life, Marsellus agrees to let Butch go but swears him to secrecy over the assault. Earlier, back at Brett's apartment, Vincent and Jules are poised to leave with the briefcase when another man rushes out of the bathroom, shooting at them but missing with every shot. They retaliate by shooting him dead, and leave with the apartment with Marvin, the only surviving cohort. As they drive, Vincent talks with his gun casually trained on Marvin. Jules hits a bump and Vincent accidentally shoots him dead. With Marvin's blood splattered throughout the car, they speed to the nearest safe haven, the home of a friend named Jimmie. Vincent and Jules enlist the help of Marsellus's associate, "The Wolf," to clean up the car and dispose of the body. Afterward, Jules and Vincent go to a diner. Jules has decided that his and Vincent's lives were spared earlier by a miracle. He proclaims that his life of crime is now over. Just then, at a nearby table, Pumpkin and Honey Bunny announce they are robbing the place. Jules intervenes and takes Pumpkin at gunpoint. Honey Bunny threatens Jules with her gun. Returning from a trip to the bathroom, Vincent pulls his gun on Honey Bunny. During the ensuing standoff, Jules quotes a Bible passage, Ezekiel 25:17, which he has traditionally recited before murdering his targets. He declares his intent to take the path of "the righteous man" from now on. Still pointing his gun at Pumpkin, he hands over the money in his wallet, and instructs him and Honey Bunny to leave. Having defused the crisis, Jules and Vincent take the briefcase they are about to deliver to Marsellus and leave the diner together.
Martha Edwards opens the door of her cabin to the arid Texas landscape outside just as her brother-in-law, Ethan Edwards, approaches on horseback. Although it is 1868, Martha, her husband Aaron, their children Debbie, Lucy and Ben, and their adopted son, Martin Pawley, have not seen Ethan since he left them to fight for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Because Martin, an earnest but friendly young man, is part Cherokee, Ethan treats him coldly, even though it was he who rescued the lad when his parents were massacred in an Indian raid years earlier. Soon after Ethan's arrival, Rev. Samuel Johnson Clayton, a captain in the Texas Rangers as well as an old family friend, announces that the cattle of local rancher Lars Jorgensen have been stolen. Although Ethan is somewhat contemptuous of Sam, he joins Martin and a posse in pursuit of the thieves. When they find that the bulls have been killed with Comanche lances, Ethan declares that what the Indians really wanted was to lure the men away from home, thereby leaving their ranches open to attack. The men head back, but it is too late, for upon their arrival at the Edwards home, they discover that everyone has been brutally murdered except for Lucy and Debbie, who have been taken by the Comanche. The posse then sets out to find the girls. On finding a fresh Comanche grave, the men unearth the body but are shocked when Ethan shoots out its eyes. According to Comanche belief, Ethan explains, this will prevent the dead man's spirit from entering the spirit lands and force him to wander forever. The next day, the Comanche raiding party, led by Chief Scar, surrounds and attacks the posse, but the rangers drive them off. When Sam refuses to pursue the Comanche, explaining that they should be allowed to bury their dead in peace, Ethan explodes, and storms away from the men, intending to continue the search on his own. Both Martin, who endures Ethan's insults for the sake of his missing sisters, and young Brad Jorgensen, who loves Lucy, insist on joining him. One day, Brad returns from a scouting mission and joyfully announces that he has seen Lucy's blue dress at a nearby Indian encampment. Ethan reveals that he found Lucy's body and covered it, then angrily warns Brad never to ask him to reveal more. Wild with grief, Brad rides into the Indian camp and is shot to death while Ethan and Martin look on in horror. One year later, Ethan and Martin visit the Jorgensen ranch, and Ethan admits to Lars that they have lost the war party's trail. Lars replies that a Texas merchant named Futterman claims to have knowledge of Debbie's whereabouts. Meanwhile, Martin confides in Lars's daughter Laurie, who is in love with the young man, his fears that Ethan may kill Debbie because of her long association with the Comanche. To Laurie's dismay, Martin then leaves to follow Ethan, who has departed without a word. The two give Futterman money in exchange for the news that Debbie is held captive by Scar. That night, Futterman tries to shoot Martin and Ethan, but Ethan kills him and his henchmen, then retrieves his money. Time passes, and Laurie, who is now being courted by the bumbling Charlie McCorry, receives her only letter from Martin. In it, he confesses that he inadvertently "bought" a squaw he named Look, who trembled when he asked her about Scar, but left him an arrow fashioned of rocks before leaving him during the night. Later, Martin and Ethan discover that Look joined the Comanche but was killed when the band was raided by the U.S. Cavalry. Ethan and Martin examine the prisoners taken during the raid, but do not find Debbie among the several white women found living with the Indians. His voice tinged with loathing, Ethan watches the women and remarks, "They ain't white anymore. They're Comanche." In a New Mexico cantina, the two searchers meet Mose Harper, a dull-witted but loyal old friend who, in exchange for the promise of a comfortable rocking chair, introduces them to Mexican Emilio Figueroa, who claims to know Scar. Emilio takes them to Scar's village, where they finally meet their elusive enemy, who explains that because his two sons were killed by white men, he has taken many white scalps in revenge. One of his wives, a young white woman, then displays some of the scalps on a pole. Later that day, Ethan and Martin are visited by the woman, who, although admitting she is Debbie, begs them to leave and states that the Comanche are now her people. Disgusted that Debbie has been "living with a buck," Ethan aims his gun at her, but Martin steps between them. At that moment, Scar attacks, and while Debbie runs back to the Indians, Ethan and Martin escape. Ethan eventually recovers from a gunshot wound received during the encounter, and the two return to the Jorgensen ranch, just as Laurie and Charlie are about to exchange marriage vows. Laurie is thrilled at the return of the man she really loves, but Charlie is angry and challenges Martin to a fight. The altercation ends amicably, and Charlie calls off the wedding. Clayton, who was planning to marry the couple, assumes his role as the local lawman and arrests Martin and Ethan for the apparent murder of Futterman. Just then, cavalry lieutenant Greenhill arrives with orders from Col. Greenhill, the flustered young officer's father. The rangers are to join the colonel in the field for a "joint punitive action" against the Comanche. Greenhill brings in Mose, who has been held captive by Scar. Injured and shaken, Mose reveals Scar's location, whereupon the men immediately prepare for a surprise attack. Worried that Debbie will be killed in the coming battle, Martin sneaks into Scar's camp to rescue her, even after Ethan reveals that one of the scalps on Scar's pole belonged to Martin's mother. When Martin enters Debbie's tent, she screams but admits that she wants to leave. When Scar appears, Martin shoots him, and Sam and the rangers attack the camp. Ethan finds Scar's lifeless body and scalps it, after which he begins to chase the frantic Debbie. As the battle rages around them, Martin tries to stop Ethan, but Ethan catches Debbie and, instead of killing her, suddenly lifts her into the air, tenderly cradles her in his arms and says, "Let's go home, Debbie." Sam and his rangers win the battle, after which everyone returns home. Ethan delivers Debbie to Mrs. Jorgensen's tearful embrace, and Laurie joyfully greets Martin, while Mose, looking on from his rocking chair, smiles. Ethan surveys the scene from the door of the house, turns around and slowly walks away.
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.
In 1880, at Greely's whorehouse in Big Whiskey, Wyoming, a drunken cowboy named "Quick Mike" orders his friend, Davey Bunting, to hold down prostitute Delilah Fitzgerald while he slashes her face in retaliation for laughing at his small penis. Greely's proprietor "Skinny" Dubois stops Mike at gunpoint. Complaining that Delilah is now "damaged property," Skinny tells the sheriff, "Little Bill" Daggett, that he wants compensation for lost revenue. Seasoned prostitute "Strawberry Alice" argues that Mike and Davey should be hanged, but Little Bill forgoes hanging or whipping. Instead, he orders them to repay Skinny seven ponies. Scheming revenge, Strawberry Alice rallies the prostitutes to pool their savings. Sometime later, on his small farm in Kansas, widower William Munny enlists the help of his children, Will and Penny, in corraling sick pigs. A cocksure young man calling himself the "Schofield Kid," after his Schofield revolver, arrives in search of the "cold-blooded assassin," William Munny, he heard about from his Uncle Pete. The Kid wants to team with Munny to collect a $1,000 reward on the heads of Quick Mike and Davey. Munny claims he is no longer a killer since his late wife, Claudia Feathers, cured him of his drinking problem and showed him the error of his ways. The Kid is riding due west to the Western Trail in case Munny changes his mind. Returning to work on his ailing farm, Munny has a change of heart. He tells his son, Will, to take care of the younger Penny, and promises to be back in two weeks. He has a hard time mounting his horse, not having ridden in some time, and explains to the children that the recalcitrant horse and sick pigs are his comeuppance for past sins. On his way to meet the Kid, Munny stops by the home of his old partner, Ned Logan, and offers to split the reward three ways if Ned wants to join in. Although Ned has also changed his ways, and his Native American wife Sally Two Trees does not approve, he is lured by the money. Meanwhile, hoping to collect the $1,000 reward, British assassin "English Bob" arrives in Big Whiskey, accompanied by his biographer, W. W. Beauchamp. Getting word that his old rival English Bob is in town, Little Bill seeks him out and demands he relinquish his weapons. English Bob tries to conceal his .32 pistol, but Little Bill finds it and brutally beats him, shouting that there is no "whore's gold" to be won. Little Bill takes English Bob to jail, where the sheriff regales W. W. Beauchamp, the biographer, with his own gun-fighting stories. When Munny and Ned Logan catch up with the Kid, they quickly realize the boy is shortsighted, and can only see within fifty yards. That night, Munny and Ned complain of their discomfort when they make camp. The Kid boasts that he has killed five people, and asks Munny about a notorious shootout in Jackson County, in which he was rumored to have killed two deputies who had him cornered at close range. Munny, however, claims to not recollect the incident. A rainstorm hits, and the three mount their horses and ride on. Munny refuses Ned's offer of liquor to stay warm. The next day, as they enter Big Whiskey, they see a bruised English Bob being driven out of town in a carriage. At the jail, Little Bill gets word that three men have come into town, and at least two of them are armed. He goes to Greely's whorehouse and finds Munny, soaked through and feverish, in the saloon. While the Kid and Ned are upstairs receiving an "advance" on their reward, Little Bill demands Munny's firearm and beats him when he lies about having one. Munny is kicked out in the rain, just as the prostitutes push the Kid and Ned out an upstairs window. The three take cover in a shack, where Ned stitches a gash in Munny's face. The next day, the prostitutes bring supplies. Still suffering a high fever, Munny believes he is dying and begs Ned not to tell his children about his checkered past. When his fever finally breaks, he wakes up to find Delilah Fitzgerald tending to him. He sees the scars on her face and remarks that he must look like her now, but assures her he does not think she is ugly. Delilah offers him sex, informing him that Ned and the Kid have been sleeping with the women in advance of their reward, but Munny cannot be unfaithful to his wife. Unaware that he is a widower, Delilah commends his loyalty. Munny joins Ned Logan and the Kid as they set out to find Quick Mike and Davey Bunting. They locate Davey with a group of cowboys branding a calf. Ned shoots Davey's horse, and the horse pins him. Ned aims at Davey but cannot bring himself to shoot. Munny takes over and, with only one bullet left, shoots Davey in the gut. Afterward, Ned announces he is going home. Munny discourages him from quitting, but promises to share the reward with him regardless. A group of local cowboys catch Ned on his way back to Kansas and bring him to Little Bill, who brutally whips him and demands the names of his accomplices. Munny and the Kid stake out the Bar T ranch where Quick Mike is in hiding. Finally, Quick Mike has to use the outhouse, giving the Kid an opportunity to ambush him. He shoots Mike in the chest three times, and a group of Bar T ranchers shoot at Munny and the Kid as they flee. At a designated meeting spot, the assassins wait for their reward. Shaken, the Kid swigs alcohol and admits he never killed before. When he starts to cry, Munny empathizes, saying, "It's a hell of a thing killing a man." Teenage prostitute "Young Sue" delivers the reward money and reports that Ned died while Little Bill was torturing and interrogating him. Learning that Ned's body is on display outside Greely's, Munny becomes enraged. He demands the Kid's Schofield revolver, and the Kid willingly hands it over, vowing never to kill again. Munny entrusts the Kid to deliver his portion of the reward money to his children, and to deliver Ned's portion to his wife, Sally Two Trees, if Munny does not return within a week. At Greely's, Munny interrupts Little Bill as he organizes a search party. Wielding a rifle, Munny demands to speak to the owner. Skinny Dubois identifies himself, and Munny shoots him point blank. Next, he aims at Little Bill, who chuckles when the rifle misfires. As the sheriff draws his gun, Munny tosses the rifle and draws the Schofield. He shoots Little Bill and three more men, then warns the rest to flee unless they want to die. Munny pours himself a drink. Riveted by what he just witnessed, W. W. Beauchamp asks Munny about his strategy. Munny claims he has always been "lucky in killing folks," then threatens Beauchamp to leave him alone. Little Bill stirs, and tries to draw his gun, but Munny shoots him point blank. As he walks out of Greely's, Munny threatens anyone who tries to shoot. One man points his gun but is too cowardly to pull the trigger. Munny mounts his horse and shouts that the people of Big Whiskey better give Ned Logan a proper burial and stop mistreating prostitutes, or he will come back to kill everyone. Some years later, Claudia Feathers's mother, who never approved of her son-in-law, visits her daughter's grave in Kansas, but Munny is long gone. It is rumored he went to San Francisco, California, where he prospered in dry goods.
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.
Actor and songwriter George M. Cohan is impersonating President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the musical show I'd Rather Be Right, by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, when he is summoned to meet the president at the White House. In response to the president's questions, George tells him the story of his life: George was born on the Fourth of July, 1878 to Jerry and Nellie Cohan, a pair of vaudeville actors. A short time later, his sister Josie is born and soon the family is touring the country as "The Four Cohans." The family gets a big break when they are hired to star in Peck's Bad Boy. At thirteen, George, the star of the play, is a success, but his self-importance is responsible for losing the Cohans several bookings. Several years later, George, now a young man, meets aspiring singer Mary when he is playing the part of an old man and she comes backstage to ask his sage advice about breaking into show business. The Cohans and Mary, who soon learns George's real age, go to New York, where George tries to sell the songs he has written. When he learns that The Four Cohans are losing work because of his reputation for imperious behavior, he pretends that his play has been sold so that the others will accept a booking without him. Later, in a bar, George overhears Sam H. Harris talking with Schwab, a potential backer, and offers him his new musical, Little Johnny Jones. Sam and George become partners and produce a number of plays that feature George's popular formula of success stories laced with patriotism. In the meantime, George proposes to Mary, Josie becomes engaged, and the older Cohans buy a farm and retire. It is the end of The Four Cohans and George takes this opportunity to write Popularity, a serious play. It fails miserably, but news of its failure is wiped out of the papers by the sinking of the Lusitania by the Germans in 1915. When the U.S. enters the war, George tries to enlist, but at thirty-nine, is too old to be a soldier. Unable to fight, George writes the inspirational song "Over There." After World War I, Cohan writes more shows. Josie and Nellie die and then George's father Jerry dies. Feeling his age, George dissolves his partnership with Sam so that he and Mary can take a much-needed rest. They travel to Europe and Asia, and end up on the Cohan farm. George pretends to enjoy his life, but he hates being out of the limelight. After a group of teenagers see George reading Variety and think that the headline "Stix Nix Hix Pix" is a form of jive talk, George realizes how much he still wants to be performing and gladly accepts Sam's offer to star in I'd Rather be Right. The president has listened quietly to George's story and now presents him with the Congressional Medal of Honor for his songs "Over There" and "It's a Grand Old Flag." George is the first actor to receive this honor, and he responds as he used to when he was with The Four Cohans, "My mother thanks you; my father thanks you; my sister thanks you; and I thank you." When George leaves the White House, a parade of soldiers and a band march by singing "Over There," and George proudly joins them.
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All Babies of Our Nations Are Alike Until Adults Change Them, Maureen Applegate All Babies Are Alike
Source: https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-movies/
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