Charles Drake

The life of 1920s actress Jeanne Eagels. A largely fictionalized account of the career of actress Jeanne Eagels, whose fame was both on stage and on the screen in the 1910s and 1920s, is presented. After losing in a rigged carnival beauty pageant, winning which she believed would be her first step to becoming a serious actress, Jeanne joins the traveling carnival itself under the guidance of the pageant organizer, Sal Satori, who features her in a variety of carnival stage shows. But it's when the carnival approaches New York City that Jeanne demonstrates how she truly mapped out her road to acting fame even before meeting Sal. Under the tutelage of renowned acting coach Nellie Neilson, Jeanne, who does possess true acting talent, is given her big acting break and does achieve fame on the Broadway stage, and ultimately also in Hollywood films. Jeanne is not averse to doing whatever is required to advance her career, even at the expense of others. Achieving fame so quickly takes its toll on Jeanne, who turns to alcohol and drugs which would lead to her tragic end. Although other men would come and go over her life, Sal, who ends up joining forces with his brother in operating lucrative Coney Island attractions, is one constant, he who fell in love with and wanted to marry her.

Cary Scott is an affluent widow in the town of Stoningham, in suburban New England, whose social life revolves around the weekend visits of her college-age son and daughter, her best friend's country-club activities, and a few men vying for her affection. Feeling stuck in a rut, she becomes interested in Ron Kirby, her arborist. He is an intelligent, down-to-earth, and respectful, yet passionate, younger man, and she discovers he is content with his simple life outside the materialistic society in which they live. Ron introduces Cary to his friends, who seem to have no need for wealth or status, and their exuberance provides a welcome contrast to her staid existence. Ron and Cary fall in love, and Ron proposes. Cary accepts, but she has concerns about the viability of their relationship, due to their different ages, classes, and lifestyles. These concerns are magnified when she tells her children and friends about the engagement and is met with a solid wall of disapproval, and, eventually, she breaks up with Ron. Particularly influential in her change of mind are her children's protestations against Cary's plan to sell the family home and move to Ron's tree nursery, as they will not want to visit her there. After spending most of the Christmas season alone, Cary misses her life with Ron, but she thinks she has missed her opportunity for happiness because she mistakenly believes Ron is seeing another woman. On Christmas, her daughter announces she will be getting married soon and her son says that, since he is likely going to study abroad and then work overseas, they should start thinking about selling their house, which is too big for just Cary. She is overwhelmed by how pointless her sacrifice was, and her spirits are not lifted when her children give her a television set to fill her empty life. Cary goes to see a doctor about recurrent headaches she has started having, and he suggests they are being caused by her body punishing her for ending her relationship with Ron. Leaving the appointment, she runs into one of Ron's friends, and in the course of their conversation she learns that Ron is still single. She goes to his property, but then changes her mind and leaves. Ron sees her from a precipice and excitedly, though unsuccessfully, tries to get her attention. The ground collapses out from under him, and he falls off the cliff. That night, Ron's friend tells Cary about the accident, and she hurries over to his house. She decides she no longer wants to allow other people to dictate how she lives her life and settles in to nurse Ron back to health. When Ron regains consciousness, Cary tells him that she has come home.

Biography of bandleader Glenn Miller from his beginnings to his death over the English Channel in December 1944. The unemployed trombone player Glenn Miller is always broken, chasing his sound to form his band and hocking his instrument in the pawn house to survive. When his friend Chummy MacGregor is hired to play in the band of Ben Pollack, the band-leader listens to one Glenn's composition and invites him to join his band. While traveling to New York, Glenn visits his former girlfriend Helen Berger, in Boulder, Colorado, and asks her to wait for him. Two years later he quits the band and proposes Helen that moves to New York to marry him. After the success of "Moonlight Serenade", Glenn Miller's band becomes worldwide known and Glenn and Helen and their two children have a very comfortable life. Duting the World War II, Glenn enlists in the army and travels to Europe to increase the moral of the allied troops. In the Christmas of 1944, he travels from London to Paris for a concert to be broadcast; however his plane is never found in the tragic flight. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

A fireball streaks across the desert sky and crashes. We see an aerial view of Sand Rock, Arizona in the late evening in the early spring. Inside an isolated ranch house outside of town we meet John Putnam (Richard Carlson) and his girlfriend Ellen Fields (Barbara Rush). He is an amateur astronomer, she the local school teacher. They sit in front of a fire in his partially completed home enjoying a cup of coffee. They walk outside to take in the night air when they spot the "meteor" from the opening shot. From inside the crater, by the old Excelsior Mine, we see a sphere partially exposed that looks like a soccer ball. A hexagonal shaped "door" opens and we see some weird machinery and in shadow one of the occupants--a single eyed blob of a creature. It exits the ship and explores the desert leaving in its wake a shimmery trail. John and Ellen charter Pete Davis (Dave Willock) to take them to the crater in his helicopter. They circle the crater and land near the rim. The three climb to the top and peer inside. John walks down to the floor of the newly formed crater insisting that Ellen and Pete stay up on the rim. John sees the ship partially buried in the side of the mine, and also notices the shimmery substance near the exit of the ship. He stretches his hand out to touch the glowing material, but hesitates when he notices something inside the ship and stands up to face it. The door closes and slams shut triggering an avalanche of loose debris, burying the ship and almost killing John. John climbs back out of the crater and explains what he saw, but Ellen and Pete do not believe him. Two cars approach the crater. Pete and Ellen beg John not to discuss what he saw--they think he was imagining it. Sheriff Matt Warren (Charles Drake) and Dave Loring (Alan Dexter), who runs the local newspaper, arrive on the scene. John starts to relay his story and the disbelief and ridicule starts. Three more cars arrive at the crater. John, Ellen, and Pete fly back to the airport. John and Ellen drive back to his house. Along the way they are being observed. They encounter the creature on the highway as it appears to block their path on the road. John pulls to the side of the road thinking they hit it. Finding nothing they continue down the road. The next morning the crater is a buzz of activity. A KLTV television news van pulls up. The Sheriff's office has set up a cordon around the crater admitting only authorized personnel. The military has sent a small group out to explore. John and Ellen arrive only to be hounded by the press. John is there to meet with Dr. Snell. Dugan (Robert Carson) from American Press, and Lober (Dick Pinner) from Press Dispatch want to question John about the Sand Rock Star newspaper headline, "Star Gazer Sees Martians". They get no answers and turn their attention to Ellen, who is equally reluctant to talk to the press. John walks down into the crater to talk to Dr. Snell (George Eldredge). His assistant, Bob (Bradford Jackson) is taking radioactivity measurements, but finds none. Snell is convinced it was just a meteor, and refuses Johns request to dig it out. As John heads back to his car, where Ellen was patiently waiting, he is confronted by Matt. He has known Ellen a long time and is concerned about her involvement with John. He is jealous. John and Ellen drive off. As they are driving the see the county telephone linemen, George (Russell Johnson), and his boss, Frank (Joe Sawyer). John asks them if they've seen anything. Frank tells them he's hearing something very strange on the wires. Frank and George head down the road and encounter the creature. As he exits the truck, George is attacked and "globbed" or absorbed. John and Ellen suspect something is wrong and turn around and head back in the same direction that George and Frank took. They find the empty telephone truck on the side of the road. John retrieves his gun from the car and they begin their search, starting with the truck. John notices blood on the truck door and the shimmery trail, a telltale sign of the xenomorph. George appears to them, but is behaving very strangely. John notices Frank's arm on the ground, unmoving, the rest of his body is hidden behind a boulder. John and Ellen head back to town to get the Sheriff. John states his conclusion that Frank is dead, and it appears that George was the perpetrator. The xenomorph, now masquerading as George explains things to the human George and Frank. The Sheriff reluctantly agrees to accompany John and Ellen back out to where they encountered George and Frank, but when they arrive the truck and any evidence is gone. The three drive back to town. The Sheriff returns to his office, but John notices George and Frank walking through town. John follows and confronts them. They warn John not to interfere. Back at the Excelsior Mine, miners Sam (Edgar Dearing) and Toby (Warren MacGregor) are building a fire just outside the mine opening. They are waiting for Tom (George Selk) to return with food. Tom and his mule are just about back to the mine when the mule is spooked, and runs off. Tom turns around and is confronted by the xenomorph and is "globbed" or absorbed. Sam and Toby think they hear something in the mine and enter it. As they exit the mine they are met by the creature and are also a globbed. John and Ellen are summoned to see the Sheriff that evening. Frank's wife (Virginia Mullen) and George's girlfriend Jane Dean (Kathleen Hughes) have reported them acting strangely and now missing. Their clothes are also missing. The sheriff questions John because he appears to be the last one to have spoken to either of them. Ellen takes Mrs. Daylon and Jane home in John's car. John stays with Matt to discuss the situation; he tells Matt that Frank and George are in fact the creatures from the space craft stuck in the crater. The sheriff tells John that electrical equipment has been stolen from the hardware store and that Dr. Snell and his assistant, Bob, have been reported missing. John and Matt go out to the crater and find Dr. Snell's car, but no trace of Snell or Bob. Ellen is driving alone on the highway when she encounters Frank standing in the middle of the highway. She stops and he gets into the car. Frank instructs Ellen to take him to the mine. Back at the Sheriff's office, the phone rings. It is for John, and he is informed that the xenomorphs have Ellen. The Sheriff and John drive out into the desert. John exits the car and searches for Ellen. He sees what appears to be Ellen on a ridgeline in a cocktail dress. He follows her. She leads him to the opening to the mine shaft. A voice from inside the mine tells John that they are repairing their ship and will be leaving that night. The missing townsfolk are being held hostage. John begs to see the creature as it really is. It shows itself and John is horrified and repelled. He returns to see Matt who has been waiting by the car. Matt drops John off at his house. John notices the door unlocked and a shimmering trail leading back to an empty closed. All of his clothes are missing. The Sheriff gives orders to clear everyone away from the crater. John tells Matt that he got a visit and his clothes are missing. Frank appears in town just outside the Sheriff's office. Matt is spoiling for a confrontation with the creature impersonating the lineman, but John restrains him. They fight. Frank drives off in his telephone truck. The Sheriff forms an impromptu posse as John steals his police car and heads off to the crater. The Sheriff intends to confront Frank on the highway. Taking a shortcut through the desert, he forms a vehicle barricade across the highway. As Frank approaches, the posse opens fire. The truck careens off the highway and hits a boulder and bursts into flame. Meanwhile John arrives at the mine entrance and enters. He finds alien Ellen. She tells John they only need a few more hours. She then attacks him with a wand that emits a beam that cuts through rock, but misses. He shoots her with his gun and she falls into a lake below and dissolves. The posse arrives outside as John continues his exploration of the old mine. He hears machinery and finds the aliens in their human form making repairs to their ship. The head xenomorph has assumed John's identity. He explains their mission and the equipment's power. John demands Ellen's release as a sign of good faith. Alien John reciprocates by ordering all the hostages released. As they depart the mine, alien John resumes his alien form. John seals the mine entrance with dynamite to keep the posse away from the aliens. The ground begins to rumble and the ship departs, streaking across the sky.

In 1876, cowboy Lin McAdam and his good friend, Frankie "High Spade" Wilson, travel to Dodge City, Kansas to participate in the Centennial Rifle Shoot, which is being held on the Fourth of July. Lin knows that his sharpshooting brother, Dutch Henry Brown, whom he suspects murdered their father, will also be in the contest, as first prize is a rare Winchester '73 rifle. Soon after their mutual arrivals in Dodge City, Lin and Dutch Henry are stopped from killing each other by the town's famous marshal, Wyatt Earp. Later, Lin narrowly defeats his brother in the rifle contest, but Dutch Henry and his friends ambush Lin and steal the Winchester. Two days later, a penniless Dutch Henry loses the rifle in a poker game to Joe Lamont, an Indian trader. Lamont is later killed by Young Bull, an Indian chief whom Lamont had hoped to cheat with defective guns and rifles. Meanwhile, Lin learns from Jack Riker, a saloon keeper, that Dutch Henry is headed for Tascosa to meet up with Waco Johnny Dean, an outlaw. That night on the trail, Lin and High Spade run into a U.S. Cavalry unit, led by Sgt. Wilkes, which has been surrounded by Young Bull's warriors. The Indians attack the next morning, but they are repelled when Lin shoots and kills Young Bull. After Lin and High Spade leave, Wilkes discovers the rare Winchester by the dead Indian chief and gives it to Steve Miller, the cowardly fiance of Lola Manners, a dance hall girl. Steve and Lola then travel to Tascosa, where they accept the hospitality of the Jameson family. Waco Johnny and his men soon arrive at the Jameson home, with a posse in hot pursuit, and the outlaw uses Lola as a hostage when Steve refuses to give him the Winchester. Waco Johnny kills Steve in a gunfight, then escapes from the farmhouse with Lola and the rifle and heads for Dutch Henry's hideout in the nearby mountains. Dutch Henry quickly recognizes the Winchester and demands it back. The outlaws then plan a bank robbery, only to have Lin and High Spade arrive in Tascosa that same day. Lin kills Waco Johnny just as Dutch Henry and his men are leaving the bank, and Lola is shot and wounded in the ensuing gunfight. Lin takes off alone after his brother, who heads back toward his mountain hideout. Though he is trapped below Dutch Henry, Lin torments his brother by calling him by his given name, Matthew McAdam, then manages to sneak behind him as he reloads the Winchester. Lin then shoots and kills Dutch Henry, finally avenging their father's death. Later, Lin returns to Tascosa with the Winchester, where his return is welcomed with open arms by both Lola and High Spade.

Elwood P. Dowd is an endlessly pleasant and delightfully eccentric bachelor living in a small town that isn't quite aware that its newest citizen is a invisible, 6'3" white rabbit named "Harvey," that only certain people can see. After supposedly meeting this rabbit - its origins attributed to the Celtic legend of the Pooka - Dowd's sanity is put into question by his equally eccentric sister, Veta Louise. Elwood casually drives his sister's guests from their house by introducing and carrying on one-sided conversations with his invisible and silent friend. His sister and niece, Myrtle Mae, resort to taking him to the local sanitarium to have him committed. However, owing to people not paying attention, interrupting, and cutting Elwood off as he is about to introduce his imaginary friend, it doesn't immediately appear that there is anything wrong with him, although the examining doctor is sure he is doing the right thing by admitting him. Elwood is carted upstairs by a rough-handed and simple-minded man in the white coat while the examining doctor ushers the sister into the head psychiatrist's --Dr. Chumley's-- office to give a description of the problem. As Elwood is "escorted" to hydrotherapy, he tells the man in the white coat his friend "Harvey" is a "Pooka" The Aide later looks up the definition in the dictionary: "Celtic mythology, a mischievous spirit that takes animal form and appears sometimes to some people for the purpose of doing this and that." As Veta, still highly upset over Elwood driving away her friends, bemoans Elwoods delusions to Dr. Chumley, her frazzled manner and insistence that Elwood actually does have a six foot 3 inch invisible rabbit for a friend convinces Chumley it is she, not Elwood, who is hallucinating. He quickly has Veta carted upstairs and, fearing a lawsuit for incarcerating and treating a sane man, brings Elwood down and makes every manner of friendly gesture, including firing the examining doctor, Dr. Sanderson . His nurse, Miss Kelly, who is actually quite fond of Dr. Sanderson, is crestfallen, but, upset at being fired, the good doctor is unaware of her feelings for him, and this angers her. Elwood in his normal good natured way takes no exception to any of the events and once again, as he is about to introduce "Harvey," gets cut off, interrupted and ignored while Dr. Chumley pursues his patronizing commentary. Never one to interrupt, the pinnacle of politeness, Elwood lets him say whatever he is going to say and is finally given a pass to leave. Soon Veta's friends, including Judge Gaffney, and Myrtle Mae arrive. The mistake is uncovered, and the entire group goes into a panic trying to find Elwood. Veta and the Judge Gaffney promise to sue the sanitarium for wrongful incarceration and rough treatment. Distraught, Elwood drinks heavily and retires to his favorite watering hole, Charlie's. Dr. Chumley, himself, tracks Elwood down, but while he is doing this, everyone else is looking in other places. When it finally becomes apparent to everyone that the Doctor has been gone for over four hours and that Elwood is not back in custody, another major panic ensues and the group descends on Charlie's to see what has happened to Dr. Chumley. Elwood, of course, is sitting alone, drinking, and maintains that the doctor left the bar with Harvey. They are convinced he is a madman and has done away with the doctor. However, in his easygoing and pleasant manner, Elwood sidetracks everyone with drinks and conversation and disarms them. Eventually the subject does turn back to the missing doctor, and the panic ensues again. The police are summoned, the heavy handed man in the white coat muscles Elwood back to the sanitarium, but not before becoming infatuated with Myrtle Mae and making advances toward her. Although he is a big galoot, she's attracted to him. The entire entourage, of Veta, Myrtle Mae, Dr. Sanderson, Miss Kelly, Judge Gaffney, the guard and the police, arrive at the sanitarium in a police car and a taxi to discover the doctor is there. However, Dr. Chumley arrives back at the hospital with a look of admiration and fear. Dr. Chumley indeed did leave with Harvey, the Pooka, but he wisely does not say anything about it to anyone, dismisses them all and tells everyone that everything is under control. He tells Dr. Sanderson that he is a fine doctor and can have his job back, then disappears into his office. Sanderson then decides to administer a very powerful injection, called Formula 977, into Elwood that will make him cease with his delusions about the rabbit for once and for all. Meanwhile the cab driver wants his money for the fare. No one seems to have any money so Veta says she'll pay. Digging everything out of her handbag, she discovers her money is gone. She assures the driver that if he waits until Elwood has his injection, she'll pay him handsomely when they are driven back home. The Cab driver however has dour insights into the effects of the injection about to be administered to Elwood. He says he's given many people a ride to the sanitarium for that injection and it changes them into crabby mean people; normal but irritable and unpleasant. Elwood, the most disarming and engaging and mild mannered man in the universe, is on the verge of being turned permanently into a real nuisance, so Veta abruptly changes her mind and rushes in and prevents the injection. Dr. Chumley asks to see Elwood privately in his office where Elwood tells him tells the incredible story of how he came to meet Harvey, and explains the way in which people react when they meet them. Elwood also explains that Harvey has the power to stop time by saying: "Did I tell you he could stop clocks? Well, you've heard the expression 'His face would stop a clock'? Well, Harvey can look at your clock and stop it. And you can go anywhere you like, with anyone you like, and stay as long as you like. And when you get back, not one minute will have ticked by. You see, science has overcome time and space. Well, Harvey has overcome not only time and space, but any objections." By this point, Dr. Chumley is not only convinced of Harvey's existence, but has begun spending time with him on his own, and requests that Elwood allow Harvey to stay with him for a while and help him out by making his long-needed sabbatical a reality. Apparently this is one of the things Harvey can do if he is so inclined. Elwood asks Harvey if he will work with Chumley and tells Chumley that Harvey agrees. Dr. Sanderson pays for the cab and warms up to the nurse who has a crush on him. The entourage leaves, with the heavy-handed guard and Myrtle Mae making a date to see each other. As the sister digs in her pocketbook she discovers her money purse. She looks over her shoulder and says knowingly, "Harvey," and shakes her head. She knew Harvey existed, and was mischievous, and her only reason for wanting to have Elwood committed was that Elwood's insistence on introducing him to her guests was driving everyone away. As Elwood is leaving, Dr. Chumley asks Elwood for Harvey's help, and Elwood, being the obliging fellow he is, makes no objection. Dr. Chumley, arm in arm with an invisible companion, asks "Have you ever been to Akron?" In the final shot, after the gates to Chumley's Residence are closed, and Elwood is leaving, he stops, turns around and has a conversation with an invisible Harvey, who is already back from his trip to Akron (only a few minutes have gone by, but it was weeks due to Harvey the Pooka stopping time) and reaffirms their friendship. Harvey opens the security gate (showing only the control handles moving by themselves; Harvey is never seen on camera), and Elwood and his invisible companion saunter off towards the bus stop, following Veta and Myrtle Mae, towards the planned last stop of Charlie's Bar and another drink.