David Susskind

It is 1947. An 8-year-old girl named Alice is growing up on a farm near Monterey, California, and has dreams of being a singer. The background is all ruby red, a deliberately theatrical and artificial feel of classic cinema, indicating satire of "Gone With the Wind" and "The Wizard of Oz." Flash forward to the summer of 1974, present-day when this was filmed. A view of the town of Soccoro, New Mexico with Mott the Hoople's All the Way From Memphis blasting on the soundtrack. Inside a tacky, blue-collar home is Alice trying to sew and she turns down her son's record player. Alice is clearly a bright and witty woman that clowns around with her son, but stuck with a bored, uncommunicative husband that works as a Coca Cola truck driver. He berates and threatens her for her son's bratty antics and behavior. One day while Alice and her friend Bea are hanging out together, she receives a phone call that her husband died in a vehicle accident while at work. Soon afterwards, she practices her piano and singing and has a sale of her household belongings and sells the house Alice and Tommy leave Soccoro for Monterey. They first stop in Phoenix, where she is trying to get a job singing in a bar, but the first time she's checked out by the owner and offended, but soon finds work in another bar. Soon afterwards, she meets the younger and charming Ben. Alice's son is forced to fend for himself and constantly complaining about them being stuck where they are, but she insists on staying. One morning, a woman Alice doesn't recognize comes to Alice's motel and reveals herself to be Ben's wife. Alice assures her she knew nothing about Ben being married. Ben comes to the door screaming for his wife to get out, breaks in, and beats her to get out. He threatens Alice for telling him to calm down. Alice and her son leave immediately. Alice and Tommy are in the car and Tommy seems indifferent to Alice's situation and trying to tell her a "Shoot the Dog" joke, despite her breakdown. They settle into a motel room in Tucson. Alice gets a job as a waitress at Mel and Ruby's Cafe, which is walking distance from them Alice is at work for the first day at the cafe, for which she and the staff were the basis for the hit TV series "Alice", in the late 1970's and early 1980's. It is a backbreaking job for her at the extremely busy and chaotic greasy spoon diner. There's the owner and short order cook Mel, the sassy and foul-mouthed Flo, and the strange and neurotic Vera. Flo introduces Alice to the customers as the new girl and makes references to her body and Alice is offended and does not want anything to do with her personally. She also meets David, a divorced, soft-spoken rancher who is a regular customer. He takes an instant liking to her. Alice reluctantly takes up a relationship with David and her son Tommy takes a liking to him as well. Meanwhile, Tommy forms a friendship with the tomboyish Audrey, whom he takes guitar lessons with. One day at the diner, Flo has an outburst with Mel when he's trying to find Vera spilling ketchup all over several customers. Alice is believed to have been hurt at the outburst, but it turns out she's laughing uncontrollably and begins a friendship with Flo. They hang out together in between shifts and Flo tells her how she can make more money at the job Alice's son celebrates his 12th birthday at David's ranch and has an outburst over his music choices and David spanks him for it and corrects Alice for having such a bratty son. They both leave the house. Alice and Tommy have a fight and she drops him off the side of the road. Alice receives a call that Tommy is at a juvenile detention center drunk and that he and Audrey were getting drunk on ripple. She oversleeps the next day Alice is unable to function at work and Flo takes her to the ladies room for a chat. Alice tells her about how she's depended on men her whole life, her late husband, and broken relationship with David. Flo also tells her of her single parenting and about dental work her daughter needs that will cost hundreds. Vera is in the diner alone trying to break up a fight going on. Alice and Flo return to work and publicly, she and David work out their differences and reconcile. Afterward, Tommy tells her it's okay if they don't go to Monterey. At the same time, a Monterey Hotel is in front of them while they're walking.

MOUNTAIN RIVERA, a prizefighter, has come to the end of his days. Never capturing the heavyweight title he dreamed of, he loses to young upstart, CASSIUS CLAY. After the fight, a DOCTOR tells Mountain's manager, MAISH RENNICK, that any further fights will lead to a detached retina and blindness. Montana is through. The news comes as a shock to Maish and to Mountain's trainer, ARMY, who adores the big fighter. The three men have always been a kind of team, drinking together, playing cards, getting by in the fight world. Maish and Army break the news to Mountain. But Maish is in a bind. Maish has dropped a huge bundle of cash in the fight and he owes big to MA GREENY, a vicious female gangster with a group of THUGS at her side. Maish had better pay up or else. Mountain must now look for work in order to support himself, but he lacks skills. Further, the years of fights have left him disfigured and addled. Army takes him around applying jobs. A movie usher job doesn't pan out because he's too big for the uniforms. Thus, they head for the unemployment office, where sensitive counselor GRACE MILLER feels empathy for the big, lumbering but sweet old fighter. She suggests that he apply for a job counseling boys at a summer camp, arranging an evening interview. In the meantime, Maish feels the heat concerning his debt to Ma Greeny. As a way out, he talks to sleazy wrestling promoter, PERELLI, who thinks Rivera would be great for exhibition wrestling. It's all fake, requiring little physical abuse, but it does require a huge loss of dignity. Perelli wants to create a "character" for Rivera - dressing him up like a stereotypical Indian. Rivera feels emboldened by his interview with Mrs. Miller. He believes he could be a camp counselor. Army's happy for him. When Maish brings up the wrestling idea, however, Rivera feels slighted. He worships Maish, feeling that he owes him a lot, but he doesn't want to be treated like a "stumblebum." Army also objects. Maish agrees to forget about the wrestling idea, sending Army out for sandwiches. While he's gone, Maish takes Rivera out drinking, getting him drunk so as to sabotage his evening appointment with Mr. Reardon, who's hiring for the camp. Army's angry with Maish when he finds him in the bar. Realizing he's late for the appointment, Rivera stumbles out of the bar. He reaches the ritzy hotel where Reardon is staying, but Rivera's so drunk he can barely walk. He goes up to Reardon's floor, but can't remember the room number. He shambles about, knocking on doors, calling out Reardon's name, finally knocking over a room service cart. Miss Miller comes out of Reardon's door, shocked and saddened by what she sees. Humiliated, Rivera runs out of the hotel. But Miss Miller comes to the ramshackle room where Rivera stays. She tries to get him to believe in himself, but Rivera knows he's only fooling himself. The two briefly become intimate with a kiss, but when Rivera begins to make love, she pulls away. Rivera thinks she should leave, and she does after each says a gentle farewell. She runs into Maish on the way down, confronting him for double-crossing Rivera and getting him drunk. Maish responds with a blast of cynicism. The first wrestling match goes on as planned. They dress Rivera up in his costume. But the big fighter still clings to what's left of his dignity, refusing to go on. Ma Greeny walks in with her THUGS. When it's clear to Rivera that they're going to kill Maish if Rivera walks, the big fighter agrees to go on. Maish thanks him, but it's clear that his association with Rivera and Army, also in attendance, has forever been corrupted. Outside, Maish runs into a YOUNG FIGHTER hopeful, but Maish blows up at him, his cynicism now at a boiling point. He tells the kid to go home and forget about it, as there are only eight champs in the world, the rest ending up lost and ruined, as Rivera. As a saddened Army watches, Rivera dons his humiliating outfit, then faces the crude, bloodthirsty CROWD

The Younger family consists of Mama and her college-age daughter Beneatha, her son Walter and his wife Ruth, and her 10 year old grandson Travis. The family has lived in the same cramped Chicago apartment for years. Walter is a chauffeur and Ruth works as a part-time maid. Mama has just retired as she is expecting a $10,000 life insurance check from her deceased husband's estate. Walter is very dissatisfied with his life and wants the $10,000 to open a liquor store with his friends. Ruth feels the money is Mama's to spend as she wishes and neither of them approve of Walter's dream. While waiting for the check to arrive, Walter has grown angry and bitter. He snaps at Travis and Beneatha, poking fun at his sister's dream of becoming a doctor. After school, Travis earns money by carrying groceries at the nearby supermarket. Mama worries because he doesn't have a proper bedroom and sleeps on the living room sofa. She is also worried about Ruth, who reveals that she is pregnant but hasn't told Walter yet. They can't afford more children. Beneatha's college friend from Africa, a Mr. Asagai, drops by. At Beneatha's request, he has borrowed a traditional African costume for her to wear. She reluctantly introduces him to Mama after warning her not to ask him "stupid" questions about Africa. Mr. Asagai is very good-natured and takes Mama's questions in stride. When the check arrives, Walter begs Mama yet again to let him borrow the money. He got one of his friends to write up a business plan, which Mama refuses to read. She uses part of the check to buy a house in Clybourne Park, which is an all-white neighborhood. The family will have much more room and Mama can plant a garden in the back yard. The rest of the money is set aside for Beneatha's education. Walter is furious and goes on a three-day drinking binge. His employer calls and says if he isn't back at work the next day he is fired. Mama goes to the bar and listens to Walter cry because he will never have his dream now. At last she relents and gives him the rest of the money. He and his friends give their combined cash to Willie, who is going to bribe certain officials to speed up their application for a liquor license. Only Willie leaves town instead, stealing the money of his friends. While all this was going on, an official from the Clybourne Park Home Association pays the Youngers a visit. In a nutshell, the white citizens don't want the Youngers moving into their neighborhood. The man offers Mama more than she paid to cancel the sale. But despite Walter's losing the money and likely his job, they decide to move after all.