Gary Cooper

An army major, himself guilty of cowardice, is asked to recommend soldiers for the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Mexican Border Incursion of 1916. After a cavalry charge during the 1916 U.S. "war against Pancho Villa," unheroic awards officer Tom Thorn (who is obsessed with the nature of courage) recommends 4 men for the Medal of Honor. He is ordered back to Cordura with them...and prisoner Adelaide Geary, gringo who sheltered the enemy. On the arduous journey, Thorn's heroes show a different face, and Thorn may have one last chance to prove he's no coward. —Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu> In 1916, the American Army is hunting Pancho Villa down in Mexico. The awards officer Major Thomas Thorn is assigned as observer in the battlefield to seek out heroes in the regiment of veteran Colonel Rogers during the attack to Ojos Azules villa to be nominated to the Medal of Honor with Pvt. Andrew Hetherington that is riding with him. The villa is owned by the American Adelaide Geary, who welcomes Pancho Villa's men after their raids. However, Colonel Rogers commands the attack and defeats them in Ojos Azules. Thorn identifies acts of heroism by Lt. Fowler, Sgt. Chawk, Cpl. Trubee and Pvt. Renziehausen during the charge. When Colonel Rogers learns that was not nominated by Thorn for the Medal of Honor, he is furious with Thorn. Rogers unsuccessfully tries to change his position reminding Thorn that he was protected by him from an investigation of cowardice in respect to his father. Thorn rides with the five soldiers and Geary, who is accused of giving hospitality to Pancho Villa's men to Candura. Along the difficulties of their journey, Thorn researches the feelings of the men during their heroic acts and learns that one heroic act does not turn men into heroes. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Link Jones (Gary Cooper rides into the small town of Crosscut, Texas. He sees a beautiful woman (Julie London) leaving the local saloon; they are taking down the sign advertising her as a singer. He gets a meal, and then hires someone to take care of his horse for a few days. He says he's Link Jones from Good Hope, which is five days' ride west. Then he drops his money bag, and we see he is wary about the money. Then he washes up and changes his clothes, and after thinking it over, puts his money bag and his holster and pistol in his satchel. Link heads to the train station and buys a ticket to Fort Worth. There he sees that Billie Ellis (London) is also boarding the train, and he meets Sam Beasley (Arthur O'Connell), a loquacious gambler. The local sheriff seems to recognize Link and asks his name. Link gives a different name, Henry Wright, and says his home town is Sawmill. The sheriff asks if he knows Dock Tobin, but Link denies knowing the name. On the train, Beasley is friendly and talkative, and gets Link to tell him that he is traveling to Fort Worth to hire a schoolteacher. Talking loudly, Beasley observes that you would have to pay someone a year's salary in advance in order to get them to travel so far to such a remote place. Link replies that yes, he has the townspeople's money. A shady character Alcutt hears it all. The train stops to load wood and all able-bodied men are asked to help. The train guard assures that Link he'll watch his bag. But it's an ambush; four men lay in wait for the train, and the shady character is part of the gang. Separated from his gun, Link gets knocked out, and Alcutt takes his satchel off the train. The train guard manages to fight off the bandits, wounding Alcutt, and the train takes off. When Link comes to, he realizes he's been left behind, and soon he finds that Miss Ellis and Mr. Beasley are in the same predicament. They begin to walk with Link telling them the nearest town is about a hundred miles away. Link leads the trio to a farmhouse, and says he lived there once long ago. He sends his companions to wait in the barn while he cautiously approaches the house. But the would-be train robbers are waiting in the dark, guns drawn, and Link is caught. The situation is tense, when from the back room comes an old man (Lee J. Cobb) who introduces himself as Link's uncle Dock Tobin. Dock reminisces about what a great gang he had when Link was his right hand, and how enraged he was when Link left him all while Link is at gunpoint. He says he wants to rejoin Dock, but guns remain pointed at him. Meanwhile, the wounded Alcutt is dying. Dock insists one of his men put him out of his misery, and at last Coaley shoots him. With the tension still high, they agree that Link will stay, and Link brings in his friends from the barn. Immediately, Beasely is put to work digging a grave. Dock asks if Billie is Link's woman and to protect her, he says yes. Then Link is sent to take out the body. While outside he hears Billie Ellis begin screaming. Link runs back to find that Coaley has her at gunpoint, demanding she undress for the pleasure of them all. When Link tries to intervene, Coaley holds a knife to his throat, drawing blood. Billie removes her shoes, stockings, blouse, skirt, and undershirt, and is wearing only her undergarments when Dock ends the show and allows Link to take Billie to sleep in the barn. In the barn, Link helps Billie get into bed, where she sobs while he tries to comfort her. It is here that Billie begins to fall for Link, who is distraught because he has lost all the townspeople's money. He says he has a wife and two children (ages 8 and 10) at home and he speaks of them with deep affection. Billie says his wife is a very lucky woman. In the morning, Claude (John Dehner) arrives. Coaley and Claude are brothers and Link's first cousins. Dock wants to rob a bank in Lassoo, a bank he says is loaded with money. Now that Link is with them again, he's sure that they can pull off the job. They ride off in three wagons with two on horseback towards Lassoo. When they stop for a break, a "friendly" bit of wrestling turns into a murderous fight between Coaley and Link. Coaley fights dirty in every possible way, but Link gets the upper hand. He can't bring himself to kill, but Link strips Coaley in the same order he forced Billie to strip and leaves him humiliated. Coaley draws his gun and ignores Dock's order to stop. Beasely leaps jumps in front of Link to save him and is shot by Coaley, who is then shot by Dock. Link tells Billie that the folks in Good Hope know all about his murderous past, and he's "broken his back" working to establish himself with them as a decent man. Now, among this gang, he feels he wants to kill them, but he knows if he does, then he's no different from them. Dock's plan is to send one man into Lassoo to case the bank. If the man feels that they can take the bank, then he will wait in town; otherwise, he will ride back. The rest of the gang is to wait four hours, and if the man doesn't ride back, they will ride into Lassoo to meet him, find out how many guns await them, get the layout from their scout, and proceed to get rich. Link convinces Dock that he's the only man who can be the scout: Claude and Dock are known on sight in these parts, Trout (Royal Dano) is mute, and Ponch (Robert J. Wilke) is too stupid. Dock reluctantly agrees but sends Trout along with him. When they arrive, they find that Lassoo is a ghost town, and a scared Mexican woman lives in the former bank. She holds a gun on the two men, terrified, but while Link tries to reassure her, Trout shoots and kills her. Enraged, Link kills Trout with the dead woman's gun. She has no ammunition, so Link gets Trout's guns and gun belt and waits. He also searches Trout, but doesn't find his money. Claude and Ponch ride into Lasso. A tense, exciting battle follows; Link kills both men and is wounded in the left arm. Again, he searches fruitlessly for the money. As he is leaving, a Mexican man rides up; Link just says "I'm sorry." As Link rides off, we hear the husband's grief as he finds his beloved Juanita dead. Back at camp, Link finds Billie stripped and weeping. It appears that she has been molested despite Dock's promise to keep her safe. Link goes after Dock, wanting to take him in alive, but he is forced to return Dock's fire and kills him. His search over, Link gratefully pockets the money from the townspeople of Good Hope. As they drive away together from the awful scene, Billie thinks that Link will be treated as a hero. She says that she regrets nothing because she's never loved before, and although she knows that Link cannot return her love, to have the feeling is worth it.

During the Mexican Rebellion of 1866, an unsavory group of American adventurers are hired by the forces of Emporer Maximilian to escort a countess to Vera Cruz. After the American Civil War, mercenaries travel to Mexico to fight in their revolution for money. The former soldier and gentleman Benjamin Trane meets the gunman and killer Joe Erin and his men, and together they are hired by the Emperor Maximillian and the Marquis Henri de Labordere to escort the Countess Marie Duvarre to the harbor of Vera Cruz. Ben and Erin find that the stagecoach is transporting three million U.S. dollars in gold hidden below the seat, and they scheme to steal it. Along their journey, betrayals and incidents happen changing their initial intentions. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Mexico, 1866: After the American Civil War, Benjamin Trane, a former soldier of the US Southern States, and Joe Erin, a bandit, try their luck in Mexico, where the partisans of Benito Juárez and the supporters of Emperor Maximilian I are waging war. Both sides try to recruit the two adventurers. The Marquis Henri de Labordère, who represents the emperor, wins the men over and gives them a mission: they are to escort Countess Duvarre and her carriage to Vera Cruz. But they soon realize that there is a specific reason for this mission: while spending the night in a monastery, Ben and Joe discover that Countess Duvarre's carriage is transporting gold worth three million dollars. This gold is to be used to hire troops in Europe to keep Emperor Maximilian on the throne. However, the countess has other plans for the gold. She offers Ben and Joe a share in her plan and a share of the gold afterwards. Shortly before Vera Cruz, in Las Palmas, the countess meets with a captain who is to take her out of the country with the gold, but without Ben and Joe. But the Marquis beats her to it: he captures her and leaves the city with his soldiers and the gold. Ben, Joe, and the rest of the gang immediately give chase. At a bridge, the Juaristas attack the carriage. However, since the gold is no longer in the carriage, the gang now joins the partisans. —Arte Ben Trane and Joe Erin, two rival soldiers of fortune who team to fight for the highest bidder. The two men come to loggerheads when Trane's sweetheart Nina begs them to fight on the side of the rebels, while the wealthy Marquis de Labodere implores them to offer their services to Emperor Maximillian. Though they still haven't taken sides, Trane and Erin agree to escort the aristocratic Countess Marie Duvarre through hostile territory to Vera Cruz. It soon develops that the Countess is transporting a gold shipment to the Emperor's armies. Hardly the most patriotic of souls, she offers to split the gold with Trane and Erin, but they steal it for themselves instead. It takes a while (and several bloody armed confrontations) before the two protagonists do the right thing. Two nineteenth century soldiers of fortune, one survivor of the Civil War with a soft spot for sick horses and social justice, the other a charming and greedy trigger-happy killer, search for their next dollar down in Mexico at a time when the country is torn between Emperor Maxmillian and the nationalist peasant Army trying to overthrow him. Since the Emperor has the most cash, our hired guns agree to serve the Emperor by escorting a Countess to the city of Vera Cruz by passing through territory under rebel control. On the way to Vera Cruz, both fighters discover three million U.S. dollars in gold coins (intended to buy guns for the Emperor from France) hidden at the bottom of the stagecoach carrying the Countess, and she is not totally unaware of the fact either. She has her own plans too. All three plot against the other two to scoop the treasure away. Betrayal is not an issue. It's not even personal. It's just business. After a few gunfights and ambush scenes between Maxmillian's escorting Army and the peasant rebels, justice reigns, and Ben Trane emerges as the noble soul who triumphs over crass materialism despite the soft spot in his heart that Joe Erin took for weakness. —Gary Kencey

In South America, after Jeff Dawson and Dutch Peterson's oil rigs are dynamited by local bandits, the two partners resort to risky transportation of nitroglycerin to raise money. In a hypothetical country in South America, Jeff Dawson and his partner Dutch Peterson have invested all their savings in a lease contract to explore oil. However, their expectation ruins when bandits blow the derrick of the oil well with dynamite and they get stranded in the town without any money. In despair, they accept the risky transportation of nitroglycerin to raise US$ 800.00 and Dutch is shot in the leg by road thieves; but Jeff discovers that their employer is a trickster and they area not paid for their job. When their former friend Paco Conway meets them, Jeff finds that he is a local tycoon and is married with Marina Conway, who had a past with him. Paco hires Jeff his foreman to help him with his eighteen oil wells while Dutch is recovering in the hospital. Meanwhile the criminals press Paco to pay US$ 50,000.00 otherwise they will blow his wells and Marina revives her love and desire for Jeff, leading the trio to a tragedy. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The movie opens with outlaws Jack Colby (Lee Van Cleef), Ben Miller (Sheb Wooley), and Jim Pierce (Robert Wilke) meeting up on horseback and riding into the small town of Hadleyville on a Sunday morning. As church bells ring out, the townspeople eye the notorious gang warily. Meanwhile, Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) and pacifist Quaker Amy Fowler (Grace Kelly) are getting married at the Justice of the Peace office. The three outlaws ride through town and settle in outside the train depot to await the noon arrival of gang leader Frank Miller. Marshal Kane and his radiant bride are congratulated by the town mayor (Thomas Mitchell) and the retired Marshal (Lon Chaney, Jr.), and Kane reluctantly hangs up his star per his wife's wishes. Just then a telegram arrives announcing the pardon of Frank Miller, who Kane had arrested and sent to prison for murder years earlier. The station master declares that Miller is coming on the noon train. Along with the arrival of the other three outlaws, it is obvious that the Miller gang is reuniting to come after Kane and the judge who sentenced Miller. Kane and Amy are quickly hustled out of town in hopes of avoiding bloodshed. Once out on the open road, Kane suddenly turns his buckboard around and tells a bewildered Amy that he can't run from his past. Besides, the new Marshal won't arrive until the following day and the town will be defenseless. Back in town, the world-weary judge who sentenced Miller to prison is packing up his office and getting out of town. He advises Kane to do the same. Kane's hot-headed young deputy, Harvey Pell (Lloyd Bridges), who was passed over for the Marshal's job, presses Kane to turn over the reins to him and get out of town. Kane declines. Complicating things is the fact that Deputy Pell has taken up with saloon owner Helen Ramirez (Katy Jurado), a former lover of both Kane and Frank Miller. With Miller coming back, Helen Ramirez decides to sell the saloon and leave town. Determined not to be a widow, Amy Fowler also buys a ticket on the departing noon train. At the train depot, Ben Miller grows impatient and rides in to pay a visit to the town saloon, where he is welcomed like a returning hero. As Miller leaves, he runs straight into Kane and they exchange glares. Kane enters the unfriendly confines of the saloon to ask for volunteers and overhears the surly bartender speculating he will soon be shot dead. An angry Kane knocks him to the floor. The jeering saloon patrons rebuff Kane and he leaves empty handed. Kane then pays a visit to the packed church and interrupts the sermon to ask for help. A heated debate erupts among the parishioners, and a lesson in civics follows as a few brave citizens stand up for Kane and the rest find excuses to avoid conflict. The realization that he may be fighting alone begins to dawn on Kane. A visit to the retired and cynical former Marshal only produces another rejection. Meanwhile, Amy drops in on a surprised Helen Ramirez, searching for an answer to Kane's stubborn refusal to leave. Amy thinks her husband is staying because of Ramirez. Ramirez sets her straight. Tired and stressed, Kane goes to the livery stable and thinks about saddling his horse and leaving. Deputy Pell sees him and follows him in, pressuring him to leave. When Kane resists, Harvey slugs him. A desperate fistfight ensues, which Kane wins. Kane goes to the barber's office to clean up and hears the undertaker building a coffin. Back at the Marshal's office, the one man who has volunteered to stand with Kane backs out when he discovers they will be alone. After the man leaves, Kane makes out his will and leaves it in a desk drawer. The clock ticks down the last seconds before noon. Suddenly, the shrill whistle of the approaching train sounds. The three outlaws lace up their gunbelts as the train nears. In a heartwrenching scene, Kane steps out onto the street just as Amy and Helen Ramirez drive by on their way to the station. Amy looks away, but Helen doesn't. Just as the two women arrive at the station, Frank Miller steps off the train, makes eye contact with Helen, and turns away to strap on a gun belt. In an iconic scene, the camera goes wide to reveal Marshal Kane all alone on the deserted streets. The Miller gang walks into town, where Kane is waiting. Kane catches a break when foolish Ben Miller smashes a shop window to steal a hat. Kane circles behind the gang on their blind side and calls out. When they whirl around, Kane drops Ben Miller. Amy hears the gunshot as the train pulls out and jumps off. She runs into town to find Ben Miller dead in the street. Kane is soon caught in a crossfire and takes refuge in the hayloft of the livery stable. Colby rushes the stable, only to be gunned down by Kane. The remaining two outlaws set fire to the stables and prepare to shoot Kane as he is smoked out. Kane drives the frantic horses out, concealing himself Indian-style in the midst of the fleeing horses. He escapes, but not without getting shot off his horse. The wounded Kane holes up in a small store as Miller and Pierce pour shots Into the building. Pierce stops to reload in front of the Marshal's office across the street and is suddenly shot in the back at close range. As he collapses, Amy is revealed behind the shattered window, gun in hand. Frank Miller realizes what has happened and takes Amy hostage, using her as a shield to approach Kane's position. Miller calls Kane out, threatening to kill Amy unless he shows himself. Kane lowers his gun and steps out. Knowing that Miller is about to kill her husband, Amy spins around and claws Miller's face as he throws her down. Marshal Kane quickly takes aim and kills Miller. As the townspeople flood into the street, Kane's wagon is driven up so the couple can resume their wedding journey. Will Kane surveys the ungrateful townspeople scornfully and drops his tin star into the dust.

in 1840 during the Second Seminole Florida War, an American Army and military leader General named Zachary Tailor sends an army of American Western cowboys and soldiers lead by the heroic Captain Quincy Wyatt (who lives with a 5-year-old Indian boy) along with his two sidekicks, Navy Lieutenant Tufts and Scout Monk on a mission to destroy a Spanish Seminole Fortress deep in the jungles of Florida where an evil Indian army of Seminole warriors of the evil dark side led by the dark evil Chief Billy "Ocala" Powell are keeping people prisoner. they have an epic battle at the fortress, eventually leading to blowing up the fortress and rescuing the prisoners in the fort's dungeons. Judith "Judy" Beckett, one of the prisoners takes a romantic interest in Captain Wyatt. after the fortress explodes though the Indians escape, they flee into the deep dangerous dark and jungles and man-eating Alligator-infested swamp terrors of the Everglades in order to reach their safety while under chase by the Seminoles and Chief Oscala. after killing a deadly dangerous venomous snake, being forced into eating fish and turtles and one of the soldiers getting eaten by hungry man-eating Alligators, they eventually make it to Wyatt's home only to find that the place is burned down to the ground in smithereens and Wyatt thinks that the 5-year-old Indian boy he lives with is gone. the Indians chase them there and both armies are on opposite sides of a lake. Wyatt challenges their evil Seminole Chief Oscala to an underwater battle in the lake. Wyatt wins, killing and stabbing Ocala and the Indians all flee in terror, he gives his weapon to Lieutenant Tufts who says he will tell his family the entire story behind it. and then Captain Wyatt realises that the child is luckily still alive and finds him. Wyatt falls in love with Judy and the film ends.

During the Spanish Civil War, an American allied with the Republicans finds romance during a desperate mission to blow up a strategically important bridge. Spain in the 1930s is the place to be for a man of action like Robert Jordan. There is a civil war going on and Jordan who has joined up on the side that appeals most to idealists of that era -- like Ernest Hemingway and his friends -- has been given a high-risk assignment up in the mountains. He awaits the right time to blow up a bridge in a cave. Pilar, who is in charge there, has an ability to foretell the future. And so that night she encourages Maria, a young girl ravished by enemy soldiers, to join Jordan who has decided to spend the night under the stars. —Dale O'Connor <daleoc@interaccess.com> Spanish Civil War, 1930s. Richard Jordan, an American, has joined up with the Republican side. He is given the tough assignment of blowing up a vitally important bridge. Things get complicated when he falls in love - Based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway. —grantss

When reporter ANN MITCHELL (Barbara Stanwyck) is laid off by managing editor HENRY CONNELL (James Gleason) because of streamlining, she begs to stay on since she's supporting her MOTHER (Spring Byington) and TWO SISTERS (Tina Thayer and Carlotta Jelm), but it's no use. Angry, she gathers up her belongings but then, as a parting shot, types up a fake letter from "John Doe" stating that he's so downtrodden by the unfairness of things that he intends jumping off the building on Christmas Eve. The paper prints the letter and it causes a sensation. Everyone relates to and wants to help John Doe. Connell, desperate to get hold of the original letter is shocked when Ann tells him there was no letter. Connell, angry, is ready to print a retraction but Ann suggests that they hire a "fake John Doe" to embody the pathos of the letter. She gets her job back along with a lucrative fee and contract. Several desperate MEN line up claiming to have written the letter, so Ann and Connell must now pick the one. When handsome JOHN WILLOUGHBY (Gary Cooper) walks in, Ann's clearly smitten. A likable, quiet baseball pitcher who's fallen on bad times, John's the one who will become "John Doe." Although he seems too honest to lie, Ann believes he's desperate enough. They create a fake letter, put him up at a fancy hotel with bodyguards, making him sign an agreement. Also in tow (much to Connell's chagrin) is THE COLONEL (Walter Brennan), a confirmed vagabond, distrustful of society, who warns John that he's falling into a trap of privilege. Next come publicity photos, which are directed by Ann to get the correct "angry protest" look. With headlines proclaiming his anger at the unfairness of the world, John becomes an increasing media sensation, courtesy of hyperbolic headlines concocted by Connell. Meanwhile, the GOVERNOR (Vaughn Glaser) suspects John Doe is a myth but mistakenly feels it was concocted by publisher B. D. NORTON (Edward Arnold) to discredit him. Ann convinces Norton to play it for what it's worth. Norton offers her money to write radio speeches to sell Doe. He also wants her to work directly with him and not Connell. Ann goes to work, typing up a storm but nothing comes to mind. Ann's Mother (Spring Byington) suggests that she write something upbeat and simple, using the values of Ann's late father as an inspiration. By now, John has begun realizing that his baseball career might not get started again if the John Doe business is revealed as a phony. Nonetheless, John reads his first manufactured upbeat speech, written by Ann, to a packed house. Ann coaches him to be sincere, suggesting that she's fallen in love with John Doe. The speech, broadcast on the radio, stirs the people with its "love-thy-neighbor" style message. CROWDS love him but John can't get away fast enough. He and the Colonel retreat to riding the rails in a boxcar and flee. B. D. Norton, thinking he was great, wants him located. When a DINER WAITER (Sterling Holloway) recognizes him, John's hope for a return to normalcy is squelched by sudden CROWDS, eager to meet him. Ann and Norton locate him. John isn't happy about it. When Norton offers him a lecture tour, he refuses it angrily. When the common PEOPLE who have a "John Doe" club talk to him, however, he softens when hearing how he's touched them. Now, John's torn. His itinerant pal, The Colonel, thinks he's been "hooked" and, disgusted, walks out on him. Norton arranges the lecture tour. John speaks in state after state, addressing the many national clubs in his name. Connell tells Norton, however, that he's curious why Norton is spending so much money on the tour. In the meantime, Ann, knowing that John now likes her, feels increasingly like the heel she feels she is. She feels even worse when John relates a tender dream that he had about her and talks to her about how he relates to the lonely, hungry people to whom he's been speaking. Norton gives Ann a fur coat and a gift. He then tells her that he wants John Doe to announce a new "third political party," which, it's clear to Ann, was Norton's plan all along. Norton wants to be the presidential candidate for that party, which will be less for the people than it is for those like Norton - big business types. John visits Ann's Mother, telling her he'd like to marry Ann. Her gentle advice is just to ask. While John talks with Connell, the editor, who's had a few drinks, blurts that Norton has a dark agenda. John feels hurt and used, as he'd felt the whole John Doe was legitimate, not a tool for Norton's political ambitions. Connell also tells John how well paid Ann is to write the speeches and would do anything for money. Angry, John walk in on Norton and Ann at a lavish dinner party he's having in his mansion. John overhears Norton's political plotting as well as his toast to Ann for having aided him. Ann sees that John is listening. John asks Ann if indeed she wrote Norton's speech and she admits it. John then confronts Norton and all at his party. John threatens to thwart his efforts. Norton accuses John of being the fake, not him. Norton threatens to reveal such if he talks. Aghast that Norton would kill the John Doe movement to protect his own interests, John is furious with all of them. He tells them off with passion, impressing Ann and the STAFF, who overhear. John feels that the movement is far too powerful for Norton and his cronies to stop. Norton wants John stopped before he can blow the whistle at the huge gathering that has now formed at a public arena. Ann catches up with John, trying to explain, telling him that she didn't know what Norton and his people were doing. John doesn't believe her and won't allow her to accompany him in his cab. John shows up at the event as a huge CROWD stands in the rain singing the National Anthem. A PRIEST introduces John. Before he can speak, Norton has published a report that John Doe is a fake. Norton's TROOPERS storm the event as John tries to get the mob's attention and speak. With John subdued, Norton takes the mike and accuses him of being a fraud. As John tries to speak, the Troopers cut the mike cords. Ann listens on the radio as the mob becomes unruly. John returns to his place beneath a bridge with The Colonel. Newspapers herald his faker. Clubs disband. John feels disgraced. He's tortured by memories of the sweet, simple people that he feels he now let down. Christmas Eve comes, the appointed time that John Doe was to take his life by leaping from the building. Some of his FOLLOWERS are convinced he'll jump, so they head for the roof, as does Ann. Indeed, John shows up, a letter in his hand addressed to the admirers he feels he let down. He's about to jump when Norton steps from the shadows with this MEN, telling him that if he jumps the mayor has been instructed to remove his ID, and thus his suicide will be for nothing. But John tells him he's already mailed a copy of the letter elsewhere. John's glad they're here. He tells Norton that the movement that they killed will be born all over again. Ann shows up as he's about to jump, begging him not to do it. She insists they can start it over again together; his followers agree. John and Ann walk away, and Connell gets in the last word with a thwarted Norton.

After learning her multi-millionaire fiancé has already been married seven times, the daughter of a penniless marquis decides to tame him. US multi-millionaire Michael Barndon marries his eight wife, Nicole, the daughter of a broken French Marquis. But she doesn't want to be only a number in the row of his ex-wives and starts her own strategy to "tame" him. —Stephan Eichenberg <eichenbe@fak-cbg.tu-muenchen.de>

A unassuming greeting card poet from a small town in Vermont heads to New York City upon inheriting a massive fortune and is immediately hounded by those who wish to take advantage of him. Longfellow Deeds lives in a small town and leads a small-town kind of life, including playing the tuba in the town band. When a relative dies and leaves Deeds a fortune, Longfellow picks up his tuba and moves to the big city, where he becomes an instant target for everyone from the greedy opera committee to the sensationalist daily newspaper. Deeds outwits them all until Babe Bennett comes along. Babe is a hot-shot reporter who figures that the best way to get close to Deeds is to pose as a damsel in distress. When small-town boy meets big-city girl, anything can, and does, happen.

In Victorian England a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland populated by fantastical characters. On a boring winter afternoon, Alice dreams that she's visiting the land behind the mirror. This turns out to be a surrealistic nightmare, with all sorts of strange things happening to her, like constantly growing and shrinking or playing croquet with flamingos. —Stephan Eichenberg <eichenbe@fak-cbg.tu-muenchen.de>

Two young men, one rich, one middle class, who are in love with the same woman, become fighter pilots in World War I. Two young men from the same town but different social classes end up as fighter pilots in WWI. Jack Preston is a keen auto mechanic, building and modifying cars. David Armstrong comes from a wealthy family. They are both in love with the same woman, Sylvia. Her heart belongs to David but she doesn't let Jack know and plays along with his infatuation. Meanwhile, Jack's neighbour, Mary, is deeply in love with him but he just views her as a friend. WWI interrupts the romantic entanglements as Jack and David enlist in the US Army Air Service (Air Service of the AEF at the time). They are initially bitter enemies, due to them both vying for Sylvia's affections. Over time, however, they become very good friends. They are both posted to the same fighter squadron in France, where being a fighter pilot means every day could easily be your last. —grantss In 1917, Jack Powell is a young man with a passion for cars. His next door neighbor is Mary Preston, who is in deep love for him, but Jack does not notice her. Jack indeed loves Sylvia Lewis, but she is in love with the rich David Armstrong. When USA enters in World War I, Jack and David join the Air Force to fight in France and become pals. Mary joins the Women's Motor Corp, trying to be close to Jack. But it is war, and a tragedy happen between the two friends. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Jack works on his sports car and dreams of flying. His neighbor Mary is in love with him but he seems not to notice, having been smitten by the fair Sylvia, but he can't see that Sylvia has eyes only for David. The distant drums of war beckon, and Jack and David train to be pilots in the American Expeditionary Corp. Their rivalry soon evolves into camaraderie as they do aerial battle with the Germans in the skies over France. Meanwhile, Mary has joined the Women's Motor Corp and despairs that Jack doesn't notice her. —Ed Sutton <esutton@mindspring.com>