Hart Bochner

Liberty Wallace (Linda Fiorentino) is the Vice President of Marketing for McCloud Industries, one of the largest gun manufacturers in the United States. She's the daughter of the company's founder, and married to the company's ruthless CEO, Victor Wallace (Oliver Platt). While Victor traffics in international armaments, Liberty takes a break to have a romantic affair with Russell Williams (Martin Cummins), an actor. The balance of their marriage of convenience shifts when a sniper, Joe (Wesley Snipes), targets Liberty in a busy Los Angeles Park on the way to her affair. Joe has already taken Russell hostage and placed a bomb under him with a 95 min timer. The bomb has a sound sensor and will explode in case Russell tries to draw attention to himself with any sort of noise. Russell is due for his performance in a play and was in his room at the theater. Liberty was on her way to the theatre to watch his performance. Joe calls Liberty on her cell phone, ordering her to shackle herself to a nearby vendor's hot dog cart (The owner of the cart Dwayne (Ron Selmour) deals in drugs and has been supplying Liberty for several weeks). Liberty has no intention of acquiescing to Joe's wishes, until he begins shooting. Officer Burt McGovern (Fulvio Cecere) is on beat patrol that day. Convinced, she locks herself to the stand (Dwayne had walked away from the cart by then), only to learn that it is loaded with explosives. If she calls for help, hangs up the phone, mutes the phone, or fails to co-operate, the bomb will go off. Liberty realizes she cannot buy her way out of the situation, and she is forced to consider Joe's demand for an anti-gun forum. Joe reveals how Liberty's company diverted arms shipments to Poland into Serbia, that led to civil war when arms reached the hands of teenagers on both sides. It is revealed that Joe's daughter was fatally shot at school by a classmate, who used a gun manufactured by McCloud Industries. Joe has decided to show Liberty what it is like to be on the other end of the weapon, and the horrors of what she has had a blind hand in for years. Liberty strips naked to attract attention and soon Officer McGovern comes around. As McGovern tries to call for backup, Joe shoots him. A passerby notices this and calls 911. Victor and Liberty have even bartered illegal deals that have resulted in easier access to weapons for street dealers, including the ones who sold the weapon that killed Joe's daughter. Joe wants Liberty to use her political connections and this incident to spark a public debate on the Second Amendment. Despite his past, Joe no longer supports the unequivocal right to bear arms. Joe tells Liberty that she is going to die, but that she can die as a hero if she exposes her company's shady business dealings and political connections before she's killed. When Victor, who is also having an affair, finds out that Liberty has been taken hostage, he is torn between protecting himself and allowing Liberty to be killed, or going to help her. At first, it seems that Joe, who is actually a former CIA agent, is using Liberty as bait to attract media attention, but then Joe guns down news reporter Bill Tollman (Jonathan Scarfe) (Joe called Bill to the scene and let her interact with Liberty), who is also the son of a hawkish U.S. Senator. Joe expresses his belief that this act will cause the Senator to change his pro-gun stance. Liberty under attack from 2 gunmen at a distance. Joe takes them out and tells Liberty that they are probably CIA agents ordered to kill her by Victor, as they want to protect the company secrets. As Joe monitors and records her every move, Liberty reveals secrets about her past, and business dealings. She reveals that Victor is having sex with the President's wife. and reveals Swiss bank account numbers of US Congressmen who are paid to be pro NRA. She admits to supplying arms to gangs who control New York. They also supplied arms to the Iraqis during the gulf wars. Victor has also been opposing any legislation from the government advocating stricter gun control in America, citing the 2nd amendment. Joe calls Victor on his cell phone as Victor is finally acting on his choice to get out of town. While Joe is shaming Victor for leaving his wife to die, Victor suddenly recognizes the voice on the phone as someone he knows personally. Following the phone conversation, Victor orders his car to bring him to where his wife is. When Victor finally arrives on the scene, Joe calls him on his cell phone again, and Victor addresses Joe by the name Alex. They discuss the time they met in Colombia and how Alex had saved Victor's life there. Victor also apologizes for having won a military medal under false pretenses for whatever transpired while they were in Colombia. Joe/Alex then shoots and kills Victor in front of Liberty. Alex then tells Liberty that it is all up to her now before informing her that a key to her shackles is hidden in a box, underneath the hot dog cart. Liberty retrieves the key and releases herself, and then she runs to Russell's dressing room. Together, they helplessly watch the timer on his bomb count down to zero. When the bomb does not explode, they realize that it was a fake. Meanwhile, a police SWAT team has figured out which building Joe is hiding in. Before they can get to Joe/Alex he shoots himself under the chin, and dies; but he has already forwarded Liberty's recorded confessions to several newspapers.

A plane is flying through a heavy storm that is filled with rowdy college students coming back from Hawaii after spring break. One couple heads into the lavatory for sex when the girl sees the words "you're going down" written in red on a mirror. The plane starts a descent, and the couple exits the bathroom to find all of the passengers dead and the killer, a flight attendent wielding a knife, attacks them. The couple runs into the cockpit to find both pilots dead. While the boy tries to hold the killer steward off by holding the door closed, the girl gets in the pilot seat and yells "mayday!" over the radio. Suddenly... Toby the director yells "Cut!" as the camera pulls back to reveal that this whole thing is a horror movie filmed by a small college crew at Alpine University. Toby yells at his crew for not getting the shot right as well as the blond girl, Sandra Petruzzi (Jessica Cauffiel), over her motivation. When the work is completed for the day, the sound recorder Amy Mayfied (Jennifer Morrison), walks home to her doom where it's revealed that she is a aspiring filmmaker wanting to write and direct her own movie some day. The next day, Amy is in class with other film students listing to the talk of the Alfred Hitchcock Film Award and the thesis film projects. Walking back to her dorm after her late night class, Amy is given a ride by Reese Wilson (Loretta Devine), the campus security guard. The two of them talk about Pam Grier and that they are both fans of her movies. Amy tells Reese that she has a film due, but cannot think of a good story, Reese tells her that a few years ago she was the security guard at Pendleton University where a serial killer killed eight students there, but Amy dismisses it as the local urban legend of the area. Later, Amy visits her film class teacher, Professor Solomon (Hart Bochner), and gives him her idea about making a film about a killer who kills people basing them on urban legends. The professor thinks that its a great idea. That evening, film student Travis Stark (Matthew Davis) is in a local bar with his girlfriend Lisa and they talk about his films. As Lisa orders two more drinks, someone slips a pill in her drink. Travis leaves to go to work on his latest movie, and Toby (Aston Mount) walks over to Lisa to hit on her. Lisa leaves, telling him that he can pay for the drinks. She stumbles into a coatroom where an unseen person sneaks up behind her and throws a plastic bad over her head. Lisa wakes up sometime later that night in a bathtub full of ice with a wound on her stomach and sees one of her kidney's is on a plate nearby. Lisa sees someone in the other room of what appears to be an abandoned building. She crawls out of the tub and shuts the door. Lisa calls 911 on her cell phone, but the operator thinks that its a prank call and hangs up on her. Lisa tries crawling out a window when the unseen person breaks in and pulls her back in, and breaking the window. The window is slammed shut on Lisa's neck, beheading her. The next day, Amy asks Travis if he can look at her approved script. When Amy tells some fellow students about her movie, Toby pulls her aside and accuses her of stealing his horror genre and says that no one will take the Hitchcock Award away from him which he feels belongs to him and him only. Amy goes to see Travis who is upset that he got a C- on his film and asks if she knows an available cinematographer. On the set, three of the film student crew, Stan Washington (Anthony Anderson), Dirk Reynolds (Michael Bacall), as well as Sandra fake an accident in which Sandra plays dead with some blood makeup on her head. After Amy describes the scene to Sandra, the cinematographer Schorm "Simon" Jabuscko (Marco Hofschneider), shows up with his camera. As people are leaving for the night, Sandra returns to the set for her dorm room keys. Someone sneaks into the studio and attaches a microphone to a camera and approaches her. The next day in the screening room, Amy and her friends watch the latest footage they shot. But the footage changes to feature Sandra being chased and killed by the unseen killer. Amy thinks that it is real, but the others think is another of Sandra's practical jokes. Later that day, Amy and the others get news that Travis killed himself. Another film student, named Graham Manning (Joseph Lawrence), talks to Amy, assuring her that Sandra is probably in Los Angeles filming a bit part on the series ER. Amy goes to the campus tower where it is said that Travis shot himself over his bad grade. There, Amy has a run-in with Travis' identical twin brother, Trevor (also Mathew Davis). He tells Amy that he thinks that Travis did not kill himself, but he tells her not to tell anybody that she saw him. That evening, Amy films a scene where the students count down to the new year and scream. While Simon is outside to smoke a cigarette, the killer, wearing a fencing mask with a hooded dark-blue sweat suit, attacks him with his own camera and beats him to death with it. Amy, having heard the last part of the killer, goes outside where Simon got attacked, but the killer and Simon's body are gone. Amy notices a security camera and she goes to Reese to ask to borrow the tapes of the last hour or so of what the cameras recorded. Amy watches the tape in the studio and sees Simon killed by the hooded fencing mask killer. But the killer appears and breaks into the studio. She locks the door to the booth, but the killer breaks through. Amy is chased by the killer through the building and to the dock where she dives into a sewer piper. While running through the sewer tunnel, Amy finds Reese and the two of them go back to the recording studio, but the tapes are gone. Reese is skeptic to Amy's claims about being attacked and also says that she cannot do anything without evidence. The next morning, Amy secretly meets with Trevor again where she tells him that she thinks that Sandra and Simon are dead, but Trevor tells her that he cannot go to the police for he has a bad relationship with the local authorities for they will not believe him either. Amy thinks that the killer might be one of the students up for the Hitchcock Award. That evening, Amy and colleague Vanessa Valdeon (Eva Mendes), the boom operation on the film (whom clearly has a crush on the straight Amy), head to the ride Merry Minders, the location of the Tunnel of Terror carnival ride scene (where the urban legend has real dead bodies in a carnival fun ride). Stan and Dick arrive there to set up dead bodies, and Amy asks Graham why be brought along the odd PA Kevin (Derek Aasland). Graham is upset that Amy is pulling a power trip in front of everyone, and he leaves. Amy sees Trevor watching them from the trees, nods to him, and tells everyone that they can leave the set to get something to eat. When Stan goes off into the tunnel to fix more lights, the killer hits him on the head and electrocutes him with a sliced cable. Next, the killer attacks Dirk and pushes him against a control box, electrocuting him too. The ride's railcar stops with Amy inside and she walks out the rest of the way. Amy finds Dirk dead and is chased by the killer to the entrance where Reese is waiting. She ventures into the tunnel, but the killer has fled. The police arrive and carry away the dead Stan and Dirk while they take Amy away for questioning. The next day, Trevor meets with Amy in her room where he tells her that he followed Graham but lost him the previous night and cannot rule him out being the killer. They lie down together on Amy's bed where Amy falls asleep and has an intimate dream of her with Trevor when he suddenly stabs her. Amy wakes up in her bed alone. Amy sees a light on in the tower and finds Vanessa who says that she got Amy's note to meet with her there. Amy replies that she didn't send her any note when a dummy falls onto a table and the two girls run up to the tower followed by the killer. They hide in a room when the door is opened and the killer grabs Vanessa, but leaves Amy locked in the room. Amy breaks down the door and finds a dead Vanessa hanging from the tower bell. Amy runs outside where Reese sees her and begins to follow her. Amy finds Trevor who takes her to the library. He tells her that in his own investigation, all the dead people worked on the short film The Gods of Men, his brother's film. They watch the bad film when at the end of it, Amy notices a splice and says that it is not Travis' film. Amy and Trevor waylay Toby Melcher as he is driving to the campus by flaging him down and threaten him with a gun as another urban legend (a guy picking up a dead hitchhiker). They take him to the studio set and handcuff him to a chair and accuse him of being the killer for he is the only surviving crew member who worked on Travis' film. Just then, Professor Solomon arrives where Trevor, acting as Travis, says that Toby stole his film. Toby reminds 'Travis' that Travis only did the sound and merely gave the credit to Toby who has never seen the film. Suddenly, Solomon pulls out a gun and shoots Toby. Trevor goes for the gun and Amy runs. Solomon knocks Trevor aside and holds him at gunpoint. The professor tells Amy that many years ago, her father was one of the judges who cast the deciding vote against him for the Hitchcock Award in film school. Solomon explains what when Amy came into his office on that day with her idea about making a horror movie about an urban legend serial killer, he decided to kill all those who worked on Travis' film and frame her for the killings so he could steal Travis' film and submit it as his own. Graham comes out of hiding and swings a chair at Solomon who ducks and the four of them battle over the gun until Reese arrives and points her gun at all of them unsure who is the killer. Feigning innocence, Solomon reminds Reese that Amy is the killer because he saw her running from the tower a few hours ago when Vanessa was killed. Reese points her gun at the professor saying that she never told anyone that she even saw Amy running from the tower and the only way that Solomon knows is if he was there. Solomon punches Reese and she punches him back. During the struggle, the prop guns get mixed up with the real guns. Amy, Trevor, and Solomon each have a gun. Trevor and Solomon get a click, but nothing happens. Amy, with a gold-trimmed gun that Reese had shown her earlier, tries to pass the gun to Reese. Solomon jumps on her and gets shot in the back. Reese then places him under arrest as Amy and Trevor embrace. Graham also finds Toby whom is still alive as well. Some months later, Trevor is accepting the Alfred Hitchcock Award on behalf of his late brother's film when the creepy PA Kevin, perched high atop a walkway, attempts to shoot Trevor as he is accepting the award and gets shot by Reese. Kevin falls off the scaffolding.... into a large air bag below and Amy yells "Cut!" It is the last scene of Amy's very first independent funded movie titled Urban Legends with her directing, Trevor in the lead role, Toby as the assistant director, and most of the crew in acting parts, while Graham talks on his cell phone nearby as Amy's manager to discuss her film's upcoming completion and future premier. In the final scene set another few months later, a TV set showing Amy's complete film is turned off by a nurse while a dazed and near-cationic Solomon, now confined to a wheelchair from his gunshot wound, is now residing in a insane asylum having watched Amy's completed movie. Solomon is wheeled away back to his room by a familiar looking nurse whom is.... Brenda Bates (Rebecca Gayheart). The wild-eyed killer from the first Urban Legend movie and the inspiration for this whole new film.

Richard Clark has just left the well-known Wellington Academy to teach at Marion Barry High School. Now, he will try to inspire the D-average students into making good grades and try to woo a fellow teacher.

During a conference of crime bosses held in a Gotham City skyscraper, Batman interrupts mobster Chuckie Sol (Dick Miller) attempting to distribute counterfeit money in Gotham. Sol was instructing his men about the procedure for laundering some new counterfeit bills through their casino. Batman takes out Sol's' cronies but Chuckie manages to get to the parking garage. Sol tries to escape in his car but is attacked by the Phantasm, a masked vigilante resembling the Grim Reaper, who causes him to die in a crash. Witnesses see Batman at the scene and believe him to have been responsible. Batman (Kevin Conroy) is blamed for Sol's death. Councilman Arthur Reeves (Hart Bochner) tells the media that Batman is a public menace. Commissioner James Gordon (Bob Hastings) is against it, since he doesn't believe Batman would commit first-degree murder. Detective Harvey Bullock (Robert Costanzo), on the other hand, is in favor of stopping Batman. Alfred (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) and Bruce (Kevin Conroy) are watching the presentation in the Batcave. Alfred dismisses Reeves' claims. That evening Reeves attends a party at the mansion of billionaire Bruce Wayne, Batman's alter ego. Reeves taunts Bruce for his bad luck with women and for having allowed an old girlfriend, Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany), to get away. Batman confronts Andrea, who soon deduces his secret identity. In a flashback to ten years ago during Bruce's college days, Bruce meets Andrea in a cemetery while visiting his parents' grave. That night, he dons a ski-mask and black leather jacket, and ninja styled outfit then foils a warehouse heist but is discouraged that the criminals did not fear him. This was the very first time he went crime fighting and he seeks a more frightening image. Bruce thinks that he failed to keep control of the situation because the criminals weren't afraid of him. Around the same time, he begins a romance with Andrea. Andrea invites Bruce to come and meet her father, and he agrees. They attend the Gotham World's Fair, where a particular car grabs Bruce's attention. Later that day, Bruce & Andrea greet Carl Beaumont, who is just finishing business with Arthur Reeves (Reeves works for Beaumont's legal department at this time). The meeting is interrupted by Valestra, who wants to speak with Carl. Both Bruce & Andrea are suspicious of Valestra. Afterwards, Bruce and Andrea witness a street merchant being mugged by a biker gang. Bruce attempts to stop the gang, but his concern for Andrea allows them to get away. Though conflicted about whether to honor his promise to his parents or settle down to a happy life with Andrea, Bruce eventually proposes to her. Eventually, Bruce decides to abandon his plan on becoming a crime-fighter and proposes marriage to Andrea. However, Andrea mysteriously leaves Gotham with her father, Carl Beaumont (Stacy Keach), ending her engagement to Bruce in a Dear John letter. Heartbroken, Bruce commits to a new life as a vigilante crime fighter, converting a cavern under Wayne Manor into a base and assuming the mantle of Batman. In the present, the Phantasm vigilante finds and kills another gangster, Buzz Bronski (John P. Ryan), when he visits Sol's grave at the Gotham Cemetery. Bronski's bodyguards mistake the fleeing Phantasm for Batman. Arthur is now more fanatical than ever in his crusade against Batman. Commissioner Gordon vehemently refuses to participate, so Bullock eagerly steps up. Later that night, Reeves and Bullock turn on the Bat-Signal as a trap to arrest Batman, but the latter, however, does not show up, having listened to Reeves and Gordon's argument. This further convinces Reeves that Batman is guilty of the mobster killings. While investigating the scene of Bronski's death, Batman lingers at his parents' grave but leaves after an accidental encounter with Andrea, who deduces his identity. Using the Bat-Computer, Batman confirms that the two dead men- Sol & Bronski- were partners in phony dummy corporations set up at least 10 years ago. There was a third man involved- Sal Valestra. As Batman drives off in the Batmobile, Alfred asks him if he will be seeing Andrea when he returns. Batman tells Alfred that he knows less about him than he thinks. In Valestra's office, Batman finds a photo of Carl Beaumont with Valestra and the two dead men. After spying on her and Arthur at dinner, Batman interrogates Andrea about her father's dealings with the mob, but she denies any knowledge of such dealings and her father's whereabouts. She replies to Batman that he's only one still attached to his parents. Salvatore Velestra learns of their murders in the news and fears that Batman will come for him next, resulting in a panic attack. Later that day, Valestra is rebuffed by his former ally, Reeves, when he asks for help. Desperate, Valestra turns to the Joker for help. Valestra goes to the now abandoned World's Fair, which is a hideout for the Joker (Mark Hamill), who greets him like an old friend. Valestra tells him that he thinks Batman is killing off members of "the old gang." Joker notes that this is uncharacteristic behavior for Batman, and insists he is not a hired gun for the mob. Valestra reminds him that if the vigilante is specifically targeting his old associates, then it's only a matter of time before they go after the Joker. Valestra also reminds Joker that he is even more guilty than Valestra himself is. The Joker then assures Sal that he will not be harmed. That night, the Phantasm arrives at Valestra's penthouse but finds that he has already been killed by the Joker, who also rigged the place with a surveillance camera and explosives to apprehend and eliminate the mobsters' killer. Phantasm escapes the explosion and eludes a pursuing Batman. Batman is chased by the police but escapes with the aid of Andrea, although he loses his cowl and cape during the chase, as he had used them for a decoy that the police ended up shooting. Andrea rescues Batman/Bruce in her car, and they spend the night together at Wayne Manor. The next morning, Andrea admits that she left Gotham to go into hiding with her father in Europe because he could not repay Valestra money that he had embezzled from him. Carl eventually accumulated enough money for repayment, but Valestra and the mob were not satisfied. Andrea says that she has returned to Gotham to stop her father from murdering his former partners. Bruce and Andrea tentatively resume their relationship. Bruce later examines a photograph of the mobsters and realizes that Valestra's enforcer was the man who later became the Joker. The Joker confronts Reeves in his office, accusing him of orchestrating the murders to conceal his mob connections, which Reeves denies. Andrea then calls Reeves, which confirms Joker's suspicions. Then, Reeves is exposed to Joker's toxin and taken to the hospital, where he is interrogated by Batman and confesses that he previously worked as the Beaumonts' lawyer and helped them hide from the mob. Arthur kept in touch with Carl while he was abroad, helping to set up funds. When Carl refused to bankroll Reeves's first struggling election campaign, Reeves revealed Carl's location to Valestra in exchange for the mob's support. Batman leaves the hospital in disgust. Batman deduces that the mobsters had Beaumont killed and that the Phantasm is Andrea, whose final target is her father's murderer: the Joker. Phantasm tracks the Joker to his hideout, a miniaturized replica of Gotham City in an abandoned amusement park and removes the ominous costume after Joker also deduces the identity of the Phantasm: The killer is Andrea, intent on avenging her father's death. The Joker is also revealed to be the last surviving member of the Valestra mob. Before his fateful first encounter with Batman, he was an unnamed hit-man who personally murdered Beaumont on Valestra's orders. Batman arrives and saves Andrea from the Joker and begs Andrea to give up her quest for revenge. She refuses, stating that the mob ruined any chance she had at happiness. She then tells Batman that he himself is driven by revenge. Andrea vanishes and Batman battles with the Joker, a struggle that ends in stalemate. Moments later, Andrea reappears and seizes the Joker, bidding Batman goodbye before vanishing with the super-villain in a cloud of smoke. The model city (and the entire amusement park) then erupts in a series of rigged explosions, which Batman barely escapes by falling into a waterway and being swept away to safety by the current. Back in the Batcave, a heartbroken Bruce receives consolation from Alfred, who tells him that no one could have helped Andrea. Bruce finds a locket containing a picture of himself and Andrea in the cave. Meanwhile, Andrea stands on the deck of an ocean liner, truly alone. The final scene shows Batman standing on top of a building; when the Bat-Signal emerges in the distance, he swings off into the night to continue his war on crime.

In the opening scene, in the year 1958, we are introduced to two best friends and Smith College roommates, Liz Hamilton (Jacqueline Bissett) and Merry Noel Blake (Candice Bergman). Liz helps Merry pack her things and sneak away in the middle of the night where Merry decides to marry her boyfriend Doug Blake (David Shelby) and leaves the school permanently, even though Doug dated Liz in the past. Ten years later. In 1968, Los Angeles, California, Liz is a famous writer and Merry and her eight-year-old daughter, Debby (Nicole Eggert), listen to a talk Liz gives at a Southern California college campus rally. Afterward, Liz attends a party thrown in her honor at Merry and Doug's beach house in Malibu. Soon, Doug and Liz walk on the beach and she admits to a failed love affair with a Frenchman and a bout of writer's block. When they return, Merry is jealous of her best friend leaving the party with her husband but it doesn't last long. A little later, Merry says she admires Liz's success, while Liz envies Merry's marriage and family, her money and the nice things that she can afford. Soon, Merry shows Liz a novel she has written called 'The House by the Sea' about all the people she knows in the beach colony. When Merry reads the manuscript out loud to her, Liz tells her the book is terrific. Merry is doubtful, but then asks Liz to give the manuscript to her editor Jules Levi (Steven Hill). Merry's request triggers Liz's sense of competition; she tells Merry that Jules is only interested in publishing serious literature, and Merry hasn't suffered enough for her art. Meanwhile, Liz admits to Merry that writer's block prevents her from finishing her second book. Nevertheless, Liz convinces Jules to buy Merry's book. Seven years later. In 1975, Dick Cavett interviews Merry about her books on his talk show in New York City. While Merry's career gains momentum, Doug's is stalled and in the middle of their love making, she jots down notes for her next novel. When Merry returns to bed, Doug's passion is long gone. Later, in the middle of Merry's television interview with Merv Griffin, Doug walks over to Liz's apartment and tells her he wants to relocate to New York and rekindle their relationship. Merry shows up at Liz's and fights with Doug about his failing career and their marriage. He calls her "books trash" and storms off. At Central Park, Doug tells Liz he did not get a job offer in New York but he has a job interview in Houston, Texas, and they could have a future together. When Merry meets them at a park, Doug walks off and leaves it to Liz to tell Merry that her marriage is over. Six years later. In present day 1981 New York City, Liz is one of the judges of the National Writer's Award and Merry lobbies to get her new book, 'Home Cooking,' nominated to win an award. Chris Adams (Hart Bochner), a 22-year-old reporter from Rolling Stone magazine, meets Liz at the Algonquin Hotel to do a story on her. Before the interview begins, Merry's troubled and estranged daughter, Debby (now played by Meg Ryan), pays a short visit with her trouble-seeking Puerto Rican poet boyfriend, Ginger Trinidad (Daniel Faraldo). When Merry arrives, she wants Liz to tell her if her book has been nominated. When Liz remains silent, Merry invites Liz to a literary party. Liz notices an attraction to Chris as she sits down for her Rolling Stone interview. In the morning, Liz leaves for her country cottage in Connecticut, where Chris joins her and they consummate their relationship. Liz brings Chris to Merry's party and Merry congratulates Liz for falling in love, but Liz is jealous when she sees Chris talking to Debby. Later, Liz and Chris talk about being in love but she is too scared to accept his marriage proposal. When Liz visits Merry at her suite at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Merry tells her Doug is in town and her instincts tell her that they will get back together. Merry also envisions winning the National Writer's Award. When she senses that Liz has doubts about Chris, Merry gives Liz her blessing. She tells her friend there are no guarantees when it comes to relationships. Back at her hotel, Liz worries when she is unable to reach Chris. On the way to lunch with Doug, Merry wants Liz to tell her if she's won the award. Liz reveals the judges have awarded the top prize to two writers: Merry and Sharon Gay. Later, Liz meets Chris at a coffee shop and finds out that he has saved Debby's boyfriend, Ginger, from going to jail. After the ordeal, Chris invites Debby to be his assistant on his next writing assignment and Liz realizes that her relationship with Chris is over. She asks him not to publish her interview. Meanwhile, Merry visits Liz at her hotel and accuses Liz of being in love with Doug and the one he is going to marry although Doug has told Merry he plans to marry a woman from Texas. The friends fight, ripping apart a treasured childhood teddy bear that Merry gave to Liz when she left college. Later, Merry watches the Awards party at her hotel suite apart from the revelers. She grabs a bottle of champagne and takes a taxi to Liz's cottage. In the final scene at the cottage, as Liz and Merry sit beside a lit fireplace, Merry apologizes for their fight, and Liz responds that no matter what has happened between them, they've always been great friends and that despite their complicated lives, they will always have each other. Liz suggests that they take a year off and travel together. While it's a scary thought for Merry, Liz tells her to be spontaneous and see what happens. The clock chimes midnight and Liz wants Merry to give her a kiss. Merry asks Liz if, after all these years, she is gay. "No", says Liz, she just wants a New Year's kiss. They hug and Liz gives Merry a peck on the cheek. Afterward, the two friends smile and toast each other by the light of the fire.

The Bahamas, 1940 American artist Tom Hudson (George C. Scott) lives on the remote island of Bimini, in the western region of the Bahamas. At the dock, he finds two friends aboard his fishing boat, the Tortuga. As islander, named Joseph (Julius Harris) washes the deck, Eddy (David Hemmings), a British alcoholic, nurses his wounds from a fight the night before and brandishes a rifle that he won in a poker game. That evening, Tom celebrates the Queen Mother's birthday with a prostitute named Lil (Susan Tyrell), drinking and firing flares into the harbor. The Boys The next day, Tom's three estranged sons, 19-year-old Tom, Jr. (Hart Bochner) from his first marriage, 14-year-old Dave (Michael-James Wixted) and 10-year-old Andy (Brad Savage) from his second marriage, arrive on the island, but he does not meet them at their seaplane; Eddy and Joseph drive the boys to their father's home. Housebound during a rainstorm, Andy admires one of Tom's drawings, a portrait of Tom, Jr.'s mother, Audrey. When Andy asks why his father did not capture the likeness of his own mother, as well, Tom admits that he was not creative during his second marriage. That night, the boys bicker about their father as Tom listens from his studio. While Tom, Jr., has fond memories of his childhood with Tom and Audrey, Dave complains that their father physically abused his mother Joan during drunken altercations. However, Andy insists that their father has become a better man since the divorce. When Tom joins his sons in their room, a pillow fight ensues and Dave pummels his father. With tensions eased in the coming days, the boys enjoy spear fishing in a reef as Tom and Eddy watch from the Tortuga. When a hammerhead shark threatens to attack, Tom shoots and misses, so Eddy kills the shark with his new machine gun. Andy is impressed by Eddy's heroism, although he notices that the man has a drinking problem, and Tom is dismayed that he was unable to defend his boys, himself. In the evening, the men see an explosion offshore and Eddy declares that a German U-boat has been torpedoed. The next day, a dead crewman washes onto the beach. Tom orders his sons to return to the house, then tells Joseph that Tom, Jr., is nearly old enough to fight in the war. Sometime later, Tom admits to Tom, Jr., that he still loves his mother, Audrey. Later still, Tom tells his son that Jewish refugees are arriving on the island to escape the war in Europe. During a deep-sea fishing excursion on the Tortuga, Dave hooks an enormous marlin and struggles with the line for hours. Although the boy is exhausted and bleeding, Tom coaches his son to keep up the fight. When the marlin gets away, Tom declares that he loves Dave unconditionally, and they embrace. Back on the island, Tom, Jr., announces his decision to join the Royal Air Force in Canada. When the summer ends, Tom bids farewell to his sons as they board a seaplane bound for the U.S. At boarding school, Dave and Andy receive a letter from their father, who writes that the island is increasingly affected by the war. Tom professes his love for the sea, but reflects upon his isolation and promises to be more involved with boys' lives. The Woman Sometime later, Tom finds Eddy at a local hotel, beaten in another fight. As Lil tends to Eddy's wounds, she asks Tom for a date, but he is distracted by the unexpected presence of his first wife, Audrey (Claire Bloom). As Tom escorts Audrey along the beach to his house, she announces her engagement to an army general, but admits that she still has feelings for Tom, and they kiss passionately. At Tom's house, Audrey drinks to excess and Tom realizes that she has come to the island because Tom, Jr., was killed in battle. When she returns to the mainland, Tom wallows in anguish and decides to leave the island for good. Eddy offers to accompany him in his voyage back to America, but Tom disparages Eddy's alcoholism and declines. The Journey As Tom and Joseph sail the Tortuga toward Florida, however, Eddy surprises them as a stowaway. The men soon spot the boat of a fellow islander, Captain Ralph (Gilbert Roland), smuggling Jewish refugees into Cuba. The vessel was attacked by a German U-boat the previous evening, so Tom and his friends rescue its passengers and resume their journey toward Cuba. That night, the Tortuga is detained by the Cuban Coast Guard. As the Cubans snatch a female refugee, a gunfight ensues, leaving the Tortuga damaged. The following morning, the Tortuga is pursued again. Although Tom navigates an escape, Eddy dies from gunshot wounds and Tom casts his body overboard, lamenting the loss of his friend. Sometime later, off the coast of Cuba, Tom delivers the refugees ashore, then triggers a gasoline explosion to detain the Coast Guard. Climbing aboard the Tortuga to get away, Tom is shot in the back. As Joseph declares his love for his fallen comrade, he reflects that Tom refuses to accept affection from others. In his final moments of life, Tom envisions himself and Audrey back at his island home, where he promises to love her eternally. He embraces young Dave and Andy, then leaves with the newly-reconfigured family as Joseph waves goodbye.