Bill Duke

The film begins with a bizarre text which reads, "When I die, Bury me deep, Lay two speakers at my feet, Wrap some speakers around my head, And rock and roll me." It then opens on a scene with a lumberjack named Red Miller ( Nicolas Cage ), working in the forest before leaving in a helicopter. It then turns to show his wife Mandy ( Andrea Riseborough ) sketching predatory animals and smoking marijuana. Red returns home to Mandy and talk about planets and stars as well as the Marvel character "Galactus." Mandy and Red are then shown in a montage that shows them in a beautiful lake on a boat, and then looking at each other through fire, looking at each other as if they know something terrible awaits them. Mandy then wanders into the woods and finds a dead fawn, symbolizing the death of innocence. Mandy tells Red of a time in which she was younger and almost peer-pressured into killing a starling. Upon reading a dark fantasy novel, Mandy begins to fear that something evil will happen to her. Upon traveling a road, she passes a truck with its passenger, Jeremiah Sand, eyeing her mysteriously. Jeremiah becomes obsessed with Mandy and tells his acolytes of how he NEEDS Mandy. Brother Swan and Lucy, apostles of Sand, call up a team of Satanic deformed Bikers. Swan gives them a jug of hideous LSD which they take and demand another sacrifice, stating, "Blood for Blood." Mandy is kidnapped by Sand's apostles, an old whore named Marlene among them, where they drug Mandy and Marlene stings her in the throat with a giant wasp, calling it "The Cherry on Top." A delirious Mandy is brought before Sand. Sand explains that he was a failed musician who "Found God" and founded a religious cult, before exposing himself to her, to which she laughs hysterically, enraging Sand into believing that he is being rejected. Sand brings his sister Lucy before Red, who he has captured and tied up with barbed wire. He seeks to demonstrate Lucy's love for Sand by forcing her to shoot herself in the temple. Red screams for her to stop but she pulls the trigger, which it revealed to be empty. Swan then comes and presents Red with a blade. Sand compares himself to Jesus and calls Red a "soulless pig" before stabbing him with the blade. Mandy is then dragged out in a bag, hung by a tree and then burned to death before Red. Red screams in horror and pulls himself free from the bonds, and mourns over Mandy's ashes. A broken Red returns home and watches a bizarre trailer of a "Cheddar Goblin." He falls asleep and has an animated nightmare before awakening and having an emotional breakdown.He goes to his friend's place in a camper, who tells Red that the satanic biker gang is called the "Black Skulls" who became deformed after taking some terrible LSD which made them hideous. Red forges an ax and heads after the Biker Gang. The title screen of "Mandy" spreads out upon the screen. Red chases after the biker gang, shooting one off his bike with a cross bow before ramming into him with his car. He falls unconscious from the collision and awakens in the "Black Skulls'" Lair, his left hand nailed to the floor. He is beaten by a Black Skull guard before gaining the upper hand by beating him down with a pipe and sending him down a deep chasm nearby. Red arms himself with a box cutter and body armor before investigating the place. He finds a dead elderly couple, obviously victims of the biker gang. He enters another room, seeing a Black Skull watching pornography and snorting cocaine. Red attacks this Black Skull and slits his throat with the box cutter after a brief scuffle, the Black Skull's blood drenching into his face with Red laughing maniacally. He is then attacked by another Black Skull who enters the room with a shotgun. Red attacks him and snaps his neck, getting caught up with joy in the violence. He rewards himself by snorting cocaine off of a broken shard of glass. He then notices a jug of the LSD the bikers have been drinking and takes a small taste of it out of curiosity. He sees a bizarre series of apocalyptic nightmarish scenes before coming to his senses. Red exits the lair and kills the remaining Black Skull with his ax. The Black Skull states, "She's still burning" to which an enraged Red hacks him to pieces after setting him on fire. Red approaches a nearby tower where he meets the chemist, who had made the LSD which deformed the biker gang. The chemist has a pet tiger which Red frees from a cage after the Chemist receives telepathic information and tells Red to head north to find Sand's lair. Red catches up with Lucy and Swan. He kills Swan by impaling him through the mouth with the bladed handle of his ax. He leaves Lucy, realizing she is merely a Puppet of Sand and no threat to him. He nears the lair of Sand, a converted satanic church where he kills Sand's attacking apostles with his ax and a chainsaw. He enters the church with Marlene who offers her services to him. Red instead decapitates her and taunts Jeremiah Sand with her severed head. Sand at first declares that he is protected by God and will not be hurt by Red, but then whimpers and begs Red for mercy. Red instead seizes him by the head. Sand screams and even offers him oral sex so that he will be saved. Telling Sand, "I'm your God now!" Red crushes Sand's head into jelly before burning the church. He enters his car and drives off, imagining that he is seeing Mandy sitting in the passenger's seat, smiling at him. It is revealed that Red is in a bizarre bloody state of deformity in reality- obviously deformed by his revenge quest and the LSD, and is hallucinating Mandy. As he drives off, it is revealed that the world he is in now is a bizarre inferno of madness that is not our own. The credits are red text on a black screen and is mute as there is no background music to be heard.

A 26-chapter anthology that showcases death in all its vicious wonder and brutal beauty. The ABC's OF DEATH is an ambitious anthology film featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in contemporary genre film. Inspired by children's educational ABC books, the motion picture is comprised of 26 individual chapters, each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors were then given free reign in choosing a word to create a story involving death. Provocative, shocking, funny and ultimately confrontational; THE ABC's OF DEATH is the definitive snapshot of the diversity of modern horror. Drafthouse Films, Magnet Pictures and Timpson Films are proud to present this alphabetical arsenal of destruction orchestrated by what Fangoria calls "a stunning roll call of some of the most exciting names in horror across the world." —Anonymous

Two LAPD policemen, Hank Rafferty (Steve Zahn) and Charlie Reed (Timothy Busfield), investigate a warehouse heist and discover a gang of thieves, one of whom kills Charlie before they escape. Hank had noticed the tattoo on the killer's arm, before he escaped with the rest of his gang. Meanwhile, Earl Montgomery's (Martin Lawrence) lifelong dream to become a police officer is thwarted when he flunks police academy for accidentally causing an explosion. Earl is racist and arrogant. He thinks he is better than everyone and when challenged by the instructor, he ends up taking the drill far too seriously, cuffing the instructor by jumping from his car, which then drives into barrels of gasoline, which explodes. After Hank receives a warning from Detective Frank McDuff (Colm Feore) after interfering with the investigation of Charlie's death (Mcduff wanted Hank to stay away as the warehouse was storing $800K of computer chips, which are now gone, making this a national security matter), he meets Earl when Hank notices him trying to get into his car after locking his keys inside. When Hank questions Earl, Earl race-baits and insults Hank to the point of getting himself arrested. A bumblebee comes along to which Earl is allergic, causing him to panic. Hank tries to save Earl by shooing away the bee. From afar, it appears as if Hank is brutalizing Earl when he is actually attempting to shoo the bee away by swatting it with his baton; a man catches the incident on videotape. Because of the incriminating evidence and a spiteful Earl lying about the accused brutalizing, Hank is terminated from the police force and charged with aggravated assault against Earl. He is sentenced to six months in prison. Hank is hated by all the blacks in prison, even before he steps foot inside the prison, so he assaults a prison guard regularly and spends the entire 6 months in solitary confinement. After being released, Hank takes a job as a security guard and continues investigating Charlie's death. Noticing an alarm being tripped at a soda warehouse, Hank goes to investigate. Earl, who is working for the same security company, is on duty at the warehouse but is slacking off. Hank interrupts the heist, and a gunfight erupts with the thugs, during which Hank and Earl cross paths again. The two give chase to the thieves but are pulled over by the police for speeding. One of the thieves had dropped a cell phone. Hank calls the number, and it belongs to the van rental company. They figure that the guys who rented the van are headed to Mexico in a semi-trailer. Inside the truck (they get in when they find the truck at a rest stop), Hank and Earl find the thieves' van. Earl tries to hot-wire the van but accidentally triggers the alarm, alerting the thieves. After a brief shootout, Hank and Earl drive the van out of the truck and escape. Inside the van are what look like ordinary beer kegs; Hank has them examined at a foundry, where they learn that the kegs are actually made of an atomic aerospace alloy, which is worth millions. Hank takes the van and the kegs to the house of his ex-girlfriend, Denise (Robinne Lee). They broke up after Hank was arrested, and Hank asks Earl to tell Denise the truth about the "assault". Earl promises, but when he sees that Denise is an attractive black woman, he breaks his promise and starts hitting on her, playing the victim again. This causes another fight between them, and Denise kicks both of them out. After a heated argument, Hank punches Earl in the face, before storming off. Later, the pair is cornered by police, learning that they are suspects in the earlier shootout (on the highway inside the trailer truck, but no cops knew that they were ever inside the trailer truck). They escape and Hank realizes that the thieves must have an inside man in the police department. That night, the pair trace the van's owner to an address and stake out the place, but Earl rushes inside on his own and is confronted by the thieves. Hank arrives just as Earl is shot in the leg, and before escaping, he recognizes one of the thieves, Nash (Eric Roberts), as Charlie's murderer (from the tattoo on his wrist). When Hank takes Earl to Denise to get his wound treated (which turns out to be simply a graze), a bee flies into the house and Earl runs for cover, making Denise realize that Hank's story about the "assault" on Earl was actually true while revealing that Earl is actually the racist. She slaps Earl for lying and reconciles with Hank. Based on seeing the address on Nash's pager, they follow him to a meeting at a yacht club and witness him talking to McDuff, who is revealed to be Nash's inside man. Hank and Earl share everything they know with Hank's former boss, Lieutenant Washington (Bill Duke). Washington tells them that an year ago $7MM worth of space alloy was stolen from an aerospace company. The guys melted it into beer kegs to smuggle it out, when FBI got a tip. But the insider moved first to secure the stuff, before the FBI could get there. They pretend to approach McDuff, offering to sell him back the "beer kegs" for $1 million. However, Nash learns about their plans (his guys overheard the conversation between Washington and Hank & Earl) and takes Washington hostage first. During the confrontation the next day, Earl and Hank meet with McDuff, Nash, and their men near the coast, rescuing Washington and accidentally starting a shootout, but the trio manage to kill or apprehend most of Nash's gang, including McDuff. Hank is shot, but he survives and kills Nash by dropping a nearby crane's lifting hook onto an unstable slab of rock that Nash is standing on, catapulting him into the ocean, avenging Charlie's death. Six more months later, in honor of their heroic actions, Hank is reinstated in the LAPD and Earl is admitted to the force, and they are made partners. The two encounter a situation similar to where they met, in which a man is apparently locked out of his car. Earl helps the man but learns that he is actually a thief. He successfully stops the thief by shooting at the car, but the vehicle explodes soon after.

In a filthy kitchen an unkempt man puts on surgical gloves and quickly downs a full glass of cheap whiskey. Face down on the kitchen table is a barely conscious Porter (Mel Gibson), severely wounded with two large bullet wounds in his back. Medical professionals call it a GSW (Gun Shot Wound) and have to be necessarily reported to the police. This causes the criminals to seek health-care outside of the formal medical sector. The doctor pours whiskey on Porter's back to sterilize the area and digs out the bullets. Porter spends five months recuperating. Porter narrates that he had $70,000 taken from him and that is what he was going to get back. Porter is a career thief and former U.S. Marine. 5 months later, a penniless Porter exits the subway and steals cash from a 'blind' homeless man's hat containing donations. When the homeless man protests, Porter tells him "Shut up, I cured you." Porter then carefully looks at men walking on a busy sidewalk. He spots someone who is similar in physical appearance to him and well-to-do. He bumps into the targeted man and steals his wallet. Porter then spends the afternoon buying fine clothes, withdraws cash from a bank, and buys jewelry that he later pawns for $500 cash and a handgun. His spending spree ends when a restaurant waiter tells "Mr. Johnson" that his credit card was declined. Porter says to try the card again and flees the restaurant without paying. Porter begins tracking down Val Resnick (Gregg Henry), his former partner, and Lynn (Deborah Unger), his estranged wife and a heroin addict, both of whom betrayed Porter following a $140,000 heist from the Chinese triads. Porter noticed that the Chinese gang followed the same route each day while taking the daily collections and did not wear seat belts. The next day, he rams his car head on into the Triad car, knocking them unconscious. Val deceived Porter's wife Lynn into believing Porter was having an affair with Rosie, a call girl he used to protect. After Lynn shot Porter and the two left him for dead, Val rejoined the Outfit, a powerful criminal organization, using $130,000 of the heist money to repay an outstanding debt. Porter is intent on reclaiming his $70,000 cut. Porter confronts Lynn at her apartment, who has been consumed by guilt and become addicted to heroin. He tries to confiscate her drugs, but she finds some in a secondary stash. Porter goes to sleep after a bath. When he awakens, he finds her dead from an overdose the next morning. Believing that Val was funding her habit, Porter interrogates Lynn's drug connection, who points him to Val's middleman, Stegman (David Paymer). Porter finds Stegman in the company of corrupt police detectives Hicks (Bill Duke) and Leary (Jack Conley), and Val learns from Stegman that Porter is alive. Porter enlists the help of a call girl, Rosie (Maria Bello), who is affiliated with the Outfit. Porter once served as her driver, during which time they had a one-night stand. Lynn's jealousy and the fact that Porter had cheated on her with Rosie led to her and Resnick double-crossing Porter. Resnick is seeing a Triad-connected dominatrix Pearl (Lucy Liu) when Porter violently re-enters his life. Resnick goes to Carter (William Devane) at the Outfit to explain why Porter is demanding $70,000. Told to handle it himself. However, after Val leaves Carter directs one of his men to take care of Porter himself. Desperate, Val directs Pearl to tell the Triads that Porter was responsible for the $140,000 heist. Before the Triads can kill Porter, Hicks and Leary arrive, having found Lynn's body and questioned her dealer, and extort Porter for a cut of his money once he recovers it. Following Porter to Rosie's apartment, Val shoots her dog and threatens to sexually assault her, but Porter shoots and wounds him. Giving up the names of Outfit bosses Fairfax and Carter, Val is killed by Porter. Taking Rosie to his secret apartment, Porter finds a bomb rigged to the telephone by Carter's men Philip (John Glover) & 2 of his associates, who call him from a car outside. Cutting their fuel line, Porter incinerates them with a lit cigarette. Outside Carter's office, Porter is waylaid by Hicks, Leary, and Stegman, who also demands a cut. Porter gives them his revolver to hold while he is inside, securing Leary's fingerprints on the gun that killed Val. Meeting with Carter, Porter disarms his guards and threatens to kill him. Deferring to the organization's corporate structure, Carter calls Bronson (Kris Kristofferson), the head of the Outfit. Porter repeatedly corrects them that all he wants is his half-share of the money Val stole, but Bronson refuses to pay, and Porter kills Carter. Framing Hicks and Leary for Val's death, Porter leaves Hicks' badge and the gun with Leary's fingerprints by the body. Porter arranges for Hicks and Leary to be busted by their own colleagues in Internal Affairs. With the aid of Rosie, he kidnaps Bronson's son Johnny (Trevor St. John), keeping him tied up, which he reveals to Bronson on another call while he threatens Fairfax. Stegman captures Porter, but a shootout ensues with Pearl and the Triads, leaving Stegman, his driver, and the Triads dead; holding Porter at gunpoint, Pearl is knocked unconscious when the Outfit arrives to abduct Porter. Bronson and his mob associate Fairfax (James Coburn) join the hunt to take him down. Porter meets face-to-face with Bronson, who has brought a $140,000 ransom but swears Porter will never touch it. Porter reasons that all he wanted was the $70,000 Resnick took, but Bronson orders his men to hammer Porter's toes until he reveals Johnny's location; they smash two toes before he gives them an address. Bronson, Fairfax, and their men drive to the address, Porter's apartment, with Porter locked in the trunk. As they go inside, Porter breaks free and uses the car phone to dial his apartment phone; Bronson answers, triggering the bomb left by Carter's men, and the explosion kills Bronson, Fairfax, and their men. Leaving Johnny cuffed to her radiator, Rosie joins Porter in starting a new life together, beginning by "going for breakfast...in Canada."

In 1934, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson (Laurence Fishburne) is released from Sing Sing and returns to Harlem, where mobster Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth) asserts his control of the lucrative numbers game. Schultz begrudgingly reports to Mafia boss Charles "Lucky" Luciano (Andy Garcia), who pays bribes to special prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey (William Atherton) to protect his business. Reuniting with his cousin "Illinois" Gordon (Chi McBride), Bumpy returns to the employ of Harlem crime boss Madame Queen (Cicely Tyson), whose business is threatened by Schultz. Bumpy is introduced to Francine (Vanessa Williams), a friend of Illinois' girlfriend Mary (Loretta Devine). Schultz's meeting with the Queen ends in a standoff when he presents her with a rival's testicles. Walking Francine home from a club, Bumpy charms her with his poetry. Madame Queen is attacked by Schultz's men, led by black enforcer Bub Hewlett (Clarence Williams III), but Bumpy and fellow mobster Whispers (Paul Benjamin) repel the assassins and rescue her. At a meeting of the Commission, Schultz states his determination to take over Harlem. After robbing Schultz's operation with Illinois, Bumpy is chastised by Madame Queen for making his own decisions. Schultz then hires two hit men, the Salke brothers, to kill Bumpy, and has his police contact, NYPD Captain Foley (Richard Bradford), arrange for Madame Queen's arrest. At a party, a 17-year-old named Tyrone asks Bumpy for a job, and Francine struggles to reconcile her feelings for Bumpy with his criminal ways. The Salkes break into Bumpy's home, killing his guards, but Bumpy ambushes them and kills one while a terrified Francine shoots the other dead. Illinois is beaten and robbed by Foley and his officers, while Madame Queen is arrested for illegal gambling. Taking over her operation, Bumpy enlists Tyrone as a runner, and ignores the Queen's orders to avoid violence. By May 1935, he is locked in an all-out war with Schultz. His wealth and power grow, as does the body count, including Tyrone. Bumpy's attempt to comfort Tyrone's mother at his funeral is rejected. At an ice cream parlor with Francine, Bumpy realizes his banana split has been poisoned. When the shop owner reveals that Bumpy's associate Vallie ordered him to hire the new teenage employee responsible, Bumpy forces the boy to eat the poisoned ice cream despite his attempts to apologize. Whispers then kills Vallie with a razor. Bumpy confronts Schultz at the Cotton Club with Vallie's severed finger, demanding he cease his Harlem operations, but Schultz refuses. Disguised as truck drivers, Bumpy and Illinois deliver a bomb to one of Schultz's illicit breweries, narrowly escaping before the warehouse explodes. Illinois returns home to find Schultz had Mary killed in retaliation. Threatened by Dewey to end the bloodshed in Harlem, Luciano invites Bumpy and Schultz to a meeting, against both their wills. Visiting Madame Queen in prison, Bumpy is rebuked for inciting a gang war. Finding she can no longer accept who he is, Francine leaves him, and Illinois drunkenly confronts him over the innocent lives lost. Illinois is abducted and tortured by Foley, to Hewlett's disgust, but refuses to betray his cousin. At Luciano's meeting, Bumpy and Schultz refuse to settle their dispute. After finding Illinois' corpse left as a message, Bumpy slits Foley's throat while he's with a black prostitute, but spares Hewlett's life and offers him a partnership. Bumpy accepts an alliance with Luciano, and Luciano's driver - on Bumpy's orders - informs Schultz that Bumpy will be meeting with Luciano's accountant. Schultz and his men burst in but find only the accountant, whom Schultz kills. At a restaurant, Schultz's long-suffering henchman Lulu (Ed O'Ross) shoots him in the bathroom, and Schultz calmly returns to his table before dying. Meeting Luciano outside for payment, Lulu is shot dead. With Dutch eliminated and the gang war settled, Dewey - having received an enormous bribe from Bumpy, delivered by Hewlett - warns Luciano to stay away from Harlem. Hewlett and Bumpy part ways, and Bumpy arrives at Illinois' funeral. After exchanging looks with Francine and Madame Queen, Bumpy walks out into the rain alone.

An old flame discovers her ex-boyfriend from the past is a relocated FBI informant out to stop the bad guys. Rick has been given a new identity by the FBI for helping convict a drug dealing FBI agent. Fifteen years later his former fiance recognises him. Rick's FBI 'minder' has been replaced by a corrupt agent who helps the drug dealing FBI agent and his accomplice locate him. There are many subsequent chase scenes as Rick and girlfriend revisit his former haunts. —Rob Hartill When the criminal Eugene Sorenson is released after serving fifteen years in a penitentiary, his partner Albert Diggs is waiting for him. Meanwhile, in New York City, the lawyer Marianne Graves travels to Detroit to a business meeting. While filling up her rented car in a gas station and mechanic workshop, she recognizes the attendant Billy Ray and her husband-to-be Rick Jarmin, but he denies. Rick is under the FBI witness protection program and calls his liaison Lou Baird, but the corrupt agent Joe Weyburn answers the phone call and tells that Lou has retired. Rick tells that has been recognized and Weyburn tells him to wait for a further contact. While returning to the hotel after the meeting, Graves parks the car nearby the gas station and witnesses Sorenson and Diggs trying to kill Rick. She helps him to escape with a shot in the butt and he spends the night in her hotel suite. But soon Weyburn tracks her credit cards and bank account and they are located, They need to flee seeking for help while their love is rekindled. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Vengeance drives a tough Detroit cop to stay on the trail of a power-hungry auto magnate who is systematically eliminating his competition. Law-school educated Detroit Police Detective Sergeant Jericho Jackson, known locally as "Action Jackson," was a celebrated lieutenant on the force, but he was demoted nearly two years ago for almost tearing the arm off of sexually violent sociopath Sean Dellaplane, whose father is Peter Anthony Dellaplane, a major car manufacturer. The fallout over the case collapsed Jackson's marriage, and put him at odds with the public. Jackson still has conflicts with his commanding officer, Captain Earl Armbruster. And Dellaplane himself has taken an intense dislike to Jackson, with whom he's been feuding. Jackson begins investigating Dellapane's professional exploits, uncovering the string of murdered trade union members connected to Dellaplane's company. Jackson discovers that Dellaplane is secretly maneuvering his way into a "behind the throne" seat of power, and has been using a group of assassins called the Invisible Men to kill uncooperative union officials. Dellaplane's intent is to gain a political power base, and pick the next president of the United States...one who will be friendly to his interests. Dellaplane fatally shoots his wife Patrice when she discovers his plot, and he plants her body in Jackson's apartment, framing Jackson. Dellaplane is not the kind of guy who would miss Patrice, because he has a mistress named Sydney Ash. Sydney is a local lounge singer and heroin addict. Dellaplane keeps Sydney hooked with a free supply of heroin, delivered in a little velvet-lined box. On the run from the police, Jackson is helped by friends from his old neighborhood -- Sable, a local hotel owner and retired professional boxer, and Dee, a lively local hairdresser and gossip informant who gives Jackson a way to discreetly get to Dellaplane. Jackson and Sydney arrange a meeting with Dellaplane's figurehead replacement for the auto union, unaware that The Invisible Men have been tracking them. What Jackson soon realizes is that Dellaplane intends to enact his plan, and make sure Jackson takes the fall for that too. Jackson and Sydney, along with her bodyguard, Big Edd, find themselves having to fight for their lives against Dellaplane and the Invisible Men. —Todd Baldridge

Julian Kay (Richard Gere) is a gigolo, a young man who makes a living as a wealthy ladies' escort. His official pimp/employer, Anne (Nina Van Pallandt) realizes that he is her star prostitute despite not being faithful to her. A small 'chauffeur' gig is planned for the next day, but Julian looks more interested in getting a higher percentage of the profits than in the practical contact details. After bargaining some more, Julian leaves and refuses to suntan with other two girls (Michele Drake and Linda Horn). We learn that Anne has been carefully preparing a highly-paid job with a Swedish woman who is about to arrive in Los Angeles. Julian trains at home to keep in good shape when a gay pimp, Leon James (Bill Duke) calls to ask him to act as a sub for an urgent gig to be played the next day in Palm Springs, some 110 miles - 2 hours drive from Los Angeles. Reluctantly, Julian finally accepts for 90% of the fees agreed with client. Leon chokes but has no other choice than greedy Julian... Julian does his chauffeur gig for a rich widow. He looks forward to meet the lady again for more and so reports to Anne afterwards. Sometimes, Julian tries to find his own clients, so he makes a pass at Michelle Stratton (Lauren Hutton), who is sitting alone at a high-end restaurant. In the ensuing conversation, Michelle sees Julian for what he is, although he claims to be only hired as a guide, a translator or a chauffeur. No deal is closed that night, and Julian leaves alone. Later in Palm Springs, Tom Rheiman (Tom Stewart) wants Julian to beat his wife Judy (Patricia "Patti" Carr) while making love to her from behind. Although Julian does not like that kind of jobs (S&M and bondage), he's already been paid, and he's already there, so it's understood that he complies. Two nights after that, Julian learns in the papers that Judy Rheiman was assaulted and murdered in Palm Springs. He later goes with Lisa Williams (K Callan) at Sotheby's Parke-Bernet to choose the bric-a-brac needed to redecorate her mansion. They have fun and laugh together. There is then an incident when Julian pretends to be gay in front of a casual, embarrassing acquaintance of Lisa (Faye Michael Nuell) and he almost breaks a valuable porcelain into pieces in the attempt to quickly get rid of the lady. Right after that, Julian and Lisa leave the place laughing. Michelle appears at Julian's apartment. Many people know who he is and where he lives, so she only had to ask. At first, he says to her that he doesn't work in his own apartment, but she talks to him and they end up going to bed together. Afterwards, Michelle talks about how her marriage to politician Charles Stratton (Brian Davies) is void of love or emotion. He advises her to start thinking about herself, because it looks that the only reason for the marriage to stay together is because it would be damaging to Stratton's political career. The next day, LAPD Detective Joe Sunday (Hector Elizondo) arrives at Julian's apartment in Los Angeles to question him about the death of Judy Rheiman in Palm Springs. She was killed, and Julian says (quite arrogantly), that she was with Lisa Williams choosing the decorations at the time of the crime. Detective Sunday leaves without arresting Julian, but warns him not to leave town for he may return to ask more questions. Julian keeps on seeing his clients. For example, Mrs Laudner takes him to a political party where the main guest is Stratton. He greets him and his wife, pretending not knowing her (and vice-versa). When Julian inquires about gossips concerning the Strattons, Mrs Laudner says that Michelle is very sad. As Michelle keeps on meeting Julian whenever she can, something which gets noticed by her husband, Julian starts being followed by a political aide of Stratton. Julian decides to face the beat and talk to Stratton directly. Charles Stratton tries to buy him up with $5,000 to stop seeing his wife, which Julian refuses, as he has begun to feel really interested in Michelle. Stratton warns him about the good graces of his small HiSo supports to end soon, if he persists to see Michelle. Another day or two later, Sunday follows Julian to his usual shoeshine parlor. He says there were handcuff marks over previous handcuff bruises on Judy's wrists, meaning Julian lied when he said he never handcuffed her during the gig done for Leon. Since Lisa Williams had said to the detectives that Julian left her at 7:00 pm in the evening, not later, and basically denying that they had a sexual relationship together, Sunday states there was enough time for Julian to drive to Palm Springs back and forth plus commit the crime... Julian has to go to the police station for a line-up, but the witness is not sure about him being the person who went to Judy Rheiman's home earlier that day. Julian feeds a protestation from a fellow inmate obliged to participate in the line-up. Sunday and Lt. Curtis (David Cryer) later talk with Julian again at the LAPD. Sunday laughs at the situation, because in his previous visit Julian had given him some advice to be more attractive to ladies and he is trying to improve his overall appearance. Julian stays free after the key witness could not formally identify him during the line-up. Julian begins to get worried. He needs an alibi for the night of the crime. Next, he goes to the Williams' house, but Lisa doesn't want to acknowledge that she ever met him: the police has been to her home with a restraining order against Julian. Mr. Williams (Richard Derr) also appears, and he coldly dismisses Julian saying that on the night of the crime Lisa was with him all the time. Julian meets Leon at a gay disco and asks him to give him an alibi, what he finally seems to agree. Leon even suggests that Rheiman is the real culprit, as he is a 'freak'. The police search Julian's apartment during his absence, leaving it in a total mess. Julian later meets Michelle in a botanical park; she must leave for two months in Europe on her husband's orders, until the polls are over. Julian states the news are hard to stand. Once back home, Julian recognizes Leon's blonde boyfriend (Gordon Haight) leaving quickly the garage in his vintage Porsche 911. Julian gets really paranoid and he creates havoc in his apartment to find the jewels who have been said stolen at the Rheimans' in Palm Springs and are still missing. He finally finds them hidden in his luxurious car - a car he had to tear to pieces in order the find the jewels. He grabs the plastic pouch and decides to leave quickly for downtown, where he rents a plain Ford Pinto to pursue his quest for help. Julian calls Anne for help and accepts a short notice rendezvous at the Perino's. Calling Jill (Jessica Potter) at his reception, he learns that the police are sitting there waiting for him and that Michelle tried to meet him urgently. Showing dirty and jacketless at the Perino's, he is rebuked by the maître d'hôtel (Harris Weingart) because of his untidy look. There, Anne does not want to know anything about him: Julian forgot about picking the European lady at the airport, destroying a big deal arranged months ago. Anne gets really mad at him, and she does not want to work with him again nor help him through. As she has always been disappointed with Julian, who got clients on his own, and worked for other bosses sometimes now it's her opportunity to let him go. Julian, who had told Jill about the place he would be, notices Michelle at a table near. They meet shortly in the restroom and Julian requests from Michelle that she forgets everything about him, since he is framed and lost. Julian stalks Leon in the red light zones, but to no avail. He waits until the dawn near his home and finally sees him arriving along with his blonde BF. He shows up at Leon's flat, is granted access while his blonde boy hides then leaves discreetly; Julian argues again about the alibi he needs now. But Leon states that some things from the Rheimans' house, linked to the murder, have appeared at Julian's apartment and have being seized by the police; that the 'bitch' from Palm Springs reviewed definitely her eyewitness report about Julian having been seen at the Rheimans' house... So that Julian is obviously the ideal culprit and thus will fall alone. Julian throws the jewels pouch at Leon who ignores the thing. Julian tries to explain the case: blonde boy may have killed Judy Rheiman during a hardcore gig, then the husband arranged with Leon to frame him. Leon does not say anything. Julian offers to work for Leon the way he wants, to break in new boys, do any tricks... As this doesn't work, he offers to pay Leon a great deal of money, but Leon says that the person who's framing him will always rise the bet higher than him. As an answer to Julian's "why me?" question, Leon reveals he was precisely the lonesome, self-centered and toe-crushing guy ideal for the role. Leon then asks Julian to leave while he greets the blonde boy from the balcony. In an ensuing rage, Julian runs after him, pushes him so Leon ends up falling down the balcony; but he is grabbed at the latest moment by Julian who holds tight Leon's legs - but his feet slip out of his boots and he falls many floors below. Julian remains stunned in Leon's apartment, all his hopes to escape the frame being lost. Since a maid who happened to be around testified that Julian tried to pull Leon to safety, he goes to prison on the sole charge of Judy Rheiman's murder. There is a great deal of media interest on Julian's case, as his profession has been disclosed. Michelle visits Julian in prison to inform him that she is willing to give up everything to be with him. Feeling that all has been lost, Julian asks Michelle not to see him again. However, Michelle pays for Julian's defense who changes his old-time lawyer (Peter Turgeon) for a new one (William Dozier). However, Julian will not be freed until Michelle finally faces Lt Curtis. The detective already knows that she's paying for Julian's defense lawyer. She says that doing so, she wants to show Julian's innocence, because she was with her that night of the crime. In the final scene, Michelle has already revealed her secret, and media immediately has set camp in front of the Strattons', so she cannot go back anyway. Although they are still talking through a glass, it's implied that Julian will soon be freed and that they will be together.

On a Friday July morning in downtown Los Angeles, a middle aged ex-convict, Lonnie (Ivan Dixon), greets his fellow workers at the Dee-Lux Car Wash, including: Hippo (James Spinks), a large good natured man; Snapper (Clarence Muse), an elderly shoe shiner; Geronimo (Ray Vitte), a thin, African-American with feathers in his hair; Goody (Henry Kingi), a Native American who wears a hat with pig ears; T.C. (Franklyn Ajay), who dons a three piece suit and a large Afro hairstyle; Chuco (Peppe Serna), an Hispanic Casanova; and Scruggs (Jack Kehoe), a cowboy and fuel pump operator. The men change into their orange overalls as Earl (Leonard Jackson), their uptight supervisor, orders them to work when Leon "Mr. 'B" Barrow (Sully Boyer), the owner of the car wash, drives up with his college-aged son, Irwin (Richard Brestoff), who spouts communist philosophy and carries around Mao Zedong's Little Red Book. Marsha (Melanie Mayron), the busty cashier, opens the office. Two of the employees also introduced are Floyd (Darrow Igus) and Lloyd (DeWayne Jessie), they are singing musicians who have an audition for an agent at the end of their shift and spend the entire movie doing their jazz-blues dance moves in front of bewildered customers. Another employees is Charlie (Arthur French), a perpetually sick middle-aged employee. Meanwhile, a prostitute, Marleen (Lauren Jones), sneaks out of a cab to avoid paying the fare and hides in the car wash's ladies room. Earl is furious when worker Duane (Bill Duke) strolls in late. The tall African American refuses to answer why his late for work and also why he didn't show up for work yesterday. Duane tells Earl not to call him anymore by his so-called slave name, "Duane," and insists he be addressed as Abdulla Mohammed Akbar, as he is recent Muslim convert. Lonnie tries to be friendly towards Duane/Abdulla, but the young and angry black Muslim refuses to talk to or confide in Lonnie either about what is bothering him. As the men work, they dance to disco music, but the radio show is interrupted by a news bulletin announcing the threat of a "pop bottle bomber," who fashions soda bottles into bombs and blows up small businesses. Meanwhile, Irwin, who just smoked a marijuana cigarette, informs his father, "Mr. B," that he wants to join his "exploited brothers" washing cars, but Irwin slips, goes through the car wash, and gets a hot wax treatment. When the radio promises concert tickets to the first caller to correctly identify a song, T.C. rushes to the telephone booth, but he does not have a dime to make the call. As he screams in frustration, a Mercedes automobile arrives with a boy vomiting out the window. The mother (Lorraine Gary) tells Chuco to wash the car, as she drags the boy to the ladies' room. She bangs on the locked door until Marleen comes out wearing a new wig. When the woman returns to her spotless Mercedes, she accuses Chuco of shoddy workmanship and withholds her 5¢ tip, but her son vomits all over her and the car's interior as she leaves. Later, Reverend Daddy Rich (Richard Pryor) and the sexy Wilson sisters (The Pointer Sisters) arrive in a gold-painted Cadillac. The workers swarm to hear the Reverend preach the gospel of prosperity. Only Duane/Abdulla refuses to listen to his words despite the Wilson Sisters performing a song in front of him and everyone as Daddy Rich collects donations and leaves in his limo. A little later, when a Doberman Pinscher escapes from a vehicle, Scruggs catches the dog, but not before it excretes in the parking lot, and Earl orders Goody and Chuco to clean up the mess with a discarded donut box. Afterward, Chuco puts on Goody's pig hat, sticks his face against a frosted window and oinks, scaring the cashier Marsha while she is using the ladies' room. When Chuco returns Goody's hat, Marsha mistakenly believes Goody is the culprit and dumps a bucket of cold water over him, but Goody later gets even with Chuco by putting hot chillis in Chuco's sandwich. T. C. takes his lunch break at a café across the street and asks Mona (Tracy Reed), a waitress, for a date. She refuses, claiming she is through with dating men who have no future. Later, "Mr. B" propositions Marsha for sex and she tells him she has to check if she is free. Through most of this, Scruggs talks with his best friend Geronimo about calling Scruggs' wife, Charlene, since Scruggs never came home from work the previous day having spent it with Geronimo at a brothel. The sly and womanizing Geronimo gives Scruggs advice to be patient for Scruggs' wife will welcome him home at the end of the day like any other loyal wife. Meanwhile, Hippo pays Marleen to have sex with him in the storage room. Back on the wash line, Irwin preaches communism to the workers, but Duane cuts the boy off, claiming that when the revolution comes, whites will be working for black men. Lonnie tries to mentor Duane/Abdullah while struggling to raise two young children, who visit the car wash. Lonnie also fends off his parole officer who makes an unannounced visit to check up on him. At the same time, Duane/Abdullah confronts the drag queen employee Lindy (Antonio Fargas) and sharply criticizes his cross-dressing, to which Lindy coolly replies, "I'm more man than you'll ever be and more woman than you'll ever get". Seeing a van parked across the street, Duane leaves to talk to the driver. When Duane returns, Lonnie warns him to stay away from the driver, who is a fellow ex-convict. Employee Justin (Leon Pinkney) clashes with his girlfriend, Loretta (Renn Woods), who wants him to go back to college, but he refuses out of the feeling that a black man like him will not get anywhere in the world with any kind of education. She refuses to get married to him unless he goes back to college. It is also revealed that Snapper is Justin's elderly grandfather and he is a follower of Daddy Rich. As another news report about the "soda pop" bomber is broadcast over the radio, a man (Professor Irwin Corey) fitting the bomber's description drives up, asks Hippo for his soda bottle, and disappears into the men's bathroom. Hippo warns T.C. that the man will blow up the car wash. When the man comes out of the bathroom, T. C. grabs the bottle and runs away screaming. Another customer tackles T.C. and the bottle smashes onto the concrete, revealing a urine sample for the man's liver test. Meanwhile, a handsome man arrives and asks Marsha for a date. She agrees, then tells "Mr. B" she cannot meet him later because she has to visit her sister. Sly (Garrett Morris), a con artist employee and bookie, gets arrested by the police at the car wash for a series of unpaid parking tickets. At the end if the day, "Mr. B" fires Duane over his unexplained absences from work for the past several weeks, and Duane angrily confronts and physically threatens Mr. B. However, Lonnie prevents his friend from assaulting their boss, who storms away. When Lonnie asks "Mr. B" to rehire Duane, and also for a raise, "Mr. B" claims he has no time to talk and Lonnie storms away in frustration. Later, "Mr. B" follows Lonnie to the locker room, promising to continue their conversation the next day. When Scrugg's wife shows up at the car wash, she instead throws him a suitcase containing all his clothes, thus throwing him out of their house for staying out all night and cheating on her. Geronimo makes a hasty retreat, and Scruggs ends his friendship with Geronimo for giving him bad marriage advice. As the car wash closes for the day, T.C. telephones the radio station and finally wins tickets for the concert. After T.C. changes back to his suit, he goes to the diner and asks Mona to accompany him. She agrees to go to the concert. As Justin and his grandfather Snapper wait for the bus to pick them up, Loretta arrives in her car to drive home with Justin, and he agrees to talk about his career choices next week. Earl leaves to discover the donut box of dog excrement on his car, while Geronimo and Goody drive away with Goody yelling "you clean it up!" Scruggs leaves the car wash alone with his suitcase to spend the night someplace else. Lonnie volunteers to close the office so Marsha can keep her date. As he counts the cash, Duane enters with a revolver, demanding the money, but Lonnie refuses, explaining that he will not allow Duane to go to prison for such a small sum. Duane is unable to shoot Lonnie and cries that he is unable to deal with life's pressures. Lonnie embraces his friend and says they will figure out a solution together. In the final shot, Marleen watches the men leave as she waits for her next customer.