Irving Metzman

Inspired by Sherlock, Jr., Hellzapoppin', and Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author, it is the tale of a film character who leaves a fictional film of the same name and enters the real world.

During a secret live fire exercise of a nuclear attack, many United States Air Force Strategic Missile Wing personnel prove unwilling to turn a required key to launch a missile strike. The nuclear missiles are managed through a secure room in an underground bunker with 2 officers at all times. Both the officers have to concur with the orders and work in unison to launch the missiles. One of the officers buckles under pressure and refuses to launch the missiles that would kill 20 million humans, before confirming the orders with their chain of command. In a real scenario this is problematic as the chain of command could already have been taken out by enemy warheads. In the test, 22 of the missile commanders failed to launch their missiles as instructed. A Soviet missile attack would take 23 minutes from launch to impact, 6 minutes if launched from a submarine. There is no time for the officers to confer with their superiors and their only option is to follow the instructions given to them by the computer. Such refusals convince Dr. John McKittrick (Dabney Coleman) and other systems engineers including Watson (Dennis Lipscomb) and Cabot (Kent Williams) at NORAD that command of missile silos must be maintained through automation, without human intervention. Control is given to a NORAD supercomputer, WOPR (War Operation Plan Response, pronounced "whopper"), programmed to continuously run military simulations and learn over time. Patricia Healy (Juanin Clay) is McKittrick's assistant. Paul Richter (Irving Metzman) manages the WOPR computer. Paul says that WOPR spends its time thinking about all the scenarios of WW III and it is fed data about the weather, troop movements, weapons statuses, from all over the world. The WOPR estimates enemy response to US response to enemy response and so on. It does so by playing a series of war games, and it estimates damages, counts the dead, and looks for ways to optimize the US response. General Jack Beringer (Barry Corbin) is staunchly against the idea of putting national security in the hands of a computer, but McKittrick argues that the control remains with the humans at the top of the decision making hierarchy and only the operational execution of the decision is delegated to WOPR. David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) is a bright but unmotivated Seattle high school student and computer hacker. When he receives an F on a recent biology test and offends his teacher, he's sent to the principal's office. While waiting, he sneaks a look at the password list for the school's computer system. When he leaves school for the day, he meets his friend and classmate Jennifer Mack (Ally Sheedy), who is also looking at a failing grade in Biology. David invites her to his house to show how he'll avoid having to make up Biology in summer school: he uses his IMSAI microcomputer to hack into the district's computer system. He then changes his grade and does the same for Jennifer. Jennifer becomes anxious about David cheating to help her, orders him to change her grade back and leaves. After she leaves, David changes her grade to an A. David later sees an ad for a computer game company called Protovision that promises a wave of new and exciting games in a couple of months. David programs his system to dial every number in Sunnyvale, California to find Protovision. During another visit with Jennifer, she tells him she was foolish to forbid him changing her failing grade and wants him to alter it again. David admits he did it anyway and then shows her how his system is dialing hundreds of phones in California. When she suggests that it will cost a lot of money, he admits he knows ways to avoid the charges and any punishment for it. He is able to hack into Pan-Am airlines and make a reservation for her and himself to Paris in a few months. Then a system that does not identify itself intrigues David. The system shares a list of games, starting with general strategy games like chess, checkers, backgammon, and poker and then progressing to titles like Falken's Maze, Theaterwide Biotoxic and Chemical Warfare and Global Thermonuclear War, but cannot proceed further. David is somewhat shaken by the sinister nature of the last few in the list but is still intrigued enough to continue later. David shows the list to two of his hacker friends, who explain the concept of a backdoor password and suggest tracking down the "Falken" referenced in Falken's Maze, the first game listed. Lightman discovers that Stephen Falken is a deceased artificial intelligence researcher, who did some of the earliest work teaching computers about basic strategy in gameplay and how to learn from errors. Tragically, his wife and young boy, Joshua, were killed in a car wreck and Falken's health deteriorated until he died. David suddenly has a brainstorm, figuring out that the password to the system is "Joshua". When he feeds it in, the system comes alive. However, Lightman does not know that the Sunnyvale phone number connects to WOPR, or "Joshua", at Cheyenne Mountain. With Jennifer looking on, he turns on a speaker that allows the system to talk and starts a game of Global Thermonuclear War, playing as the Soviet Union, excitedly ordering missile launches on both Las Vegas and Seattle. The computer starts a simulation that briefly convinces the military personnel at NORAD that actual Soviet nuclear missiles are inbound, with no warning detection. While they try to defuse the situation, David and Jennifer excitedly play the game back at David's house, unaware of the confusion at NORAD. When David's father yells for him to come and pick up garbage their dog had spilled out of some trash cans, David suddenly shuts down his system, cancelling the alert at NORAD. The techs at NORAD are able to quickly trace the call to Seattle. Joshua nonetheless continues the simulation to trigger the scenario and win the game, as it does not understand the difference between reality and simulation. When David sees a news report about the fake alert at NORAD, he realizes he'd caused it and begins to destroy all the info he'd gathered on Falken. When the phone rings and gives him a computerized tone, it's Joshua calling him back. Joshua calls David "Professor Falken" and informs him the game is continuing and that there are just over two days left. David anxiously tries to convince the system that Falken is dead but Joshua refuses to accept it as fact. When Joshua tells him about a "primary goal" the system tells him it intends "to win the game." David hangs up but the system tries calling him again. David refuses the call and unplugs his phone. Joshua continues to produce false data such as Soviet bomber incursions and submarines deployments to the humans at NORAD, pushing them into raising the DEFCON level and toward a retaliation that will start World War III. In Seattle, the FBI arrests David and takes him to NORAD. He realizes that Joshua is behind the NORAD alerts but fails to convince McKittrick (who believes David is working for the Soviets) and faces imprisonment. While giving David a brief tour of the facility, McKittrick shows David the WOPR server, which David recognizes as Joshua himself. He takes David to his office, leaving briefly when he gets a call. David uses McKittrick's office PC to talk to Joshua, who tells the young hacker that the game is continuing and shows him casualty figures depicting millions of deaths and injuries and property destruction. David asks if Falken had a last know address and Joshua gives it, Goose Island, Oregon. The FBI again seize Lightman escapes NORAD by joining a tourist group and, with Mack's help, travels to the Goose Island where the widowed Falken (John Wood) now lives under the alias "Robert Hume". David and Jennifer find that Falken has become despondent, believing that nuclear war is inevitable and as futile as a game of Tic-Tac-Toe between two experienced players. When they feel they've failed to convince him to contact NORAD, they leave but can't find a way to shore since the last ferry has already left. David feels tremendous remorse at plotting the end of civilization and Jennifer tries to comfort him. The two have a romantic moment that's interrupted by the sudden arrival of a helicopter. Believing at first that Falken had called the authorities, they quickly find out that the pilot is Falken himself. The trio rushes to NORAD, arriving just as the mountain is being sealed when Joshua launches a nuclear attack. The alert comes through about a Soviet first strike with hundreds of missiles, submarines, and bombers. Believing the attack to be genuine, NORAD prepares to retaliate. Falken, Lightman, and Mack convince military officials to cancel the second strike and ride out the non-existent attack. When the targeted American bases (Elmendorf Air Force Base, Grand Forks Air Force Base, and Loring Air Force Base) report back unharmed, NORAD prepares to cancel the retaliatory second strike. Joshua starts an attempt to launch a second strike, however, using a brute force attack to obtain the launch code for the U.S. nuclear missiles. Without humans in the silos as a safeguard using the two-man rule, the computer will trigger a mass launch. All attempts to log in and order WOPR to cancel the countdown fail. Disconnecting the computer is discussed and dismissed, as a fail-deadly mechanism will launch all weapons if the computer is disabled. Instead, Falken and Lightman direct the computer to play Tic-Tac-Toe against itself. This results in a long string of draws, forcing the computer to learn the concept of futility and no-win scenarios. Joshua obtains the missile code but before launching, it cycles through all the nuclear war scenarios it has devised, finding they too all result in stalemates. Joshua concludes that nuclear warfare is "a strange game"; having discovered the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction ("WINNER: NONE"), therefore "the only winning move is not to play." Joshua then offers to play "a nice game of chess" and relinquishes control of NORAD and the missiles. Everyone in the control room celebrates and even McKittrick has newfound respect for David.

Dr. Sam Rice is a Manhattan psychiatrist, recently divorced, who loses a patient when George Bynum is stabbed to death. In flashbacks, Bynum is shown as a middle-aged married man who worked at Christie's, the famous auction house. He was having an affair with another employee, beautiful but elusive Brooke Reynolds. Sam learns quite a bit about Brooke during his sessions with Bynum. She is from a wealthy family but her parents are dead. Bynum hired her on an impulse, even though he had promised the job to someone else. While Sam is reading through his notes of Bynum's sessions, Brooke comes to his office. She introduces herself and asks him to return Bynum's watch to his wife. It is doubtful whether Mrs. Bynum knew of her husband's affair and Brooke doesn't want to upset her. Sam agrees to take care of it. He asks Brooke if she would like to make an appointment for grief counseling. She starts to reply and the buzzer sounds. A Lt. Vitucci from the police department is outside. Brooke is startled and knocks over a figurine on Sam's desk. It breaks and she is very upset. Sam tells her to forget it and shows her to his private exit, where she can leave without being seen by the detective. Vitucci asks Sam many questions about Bynum that he cannot answer due to patient confidentiality. He does confirm that he saw Bynum once a week. Vitucci reveals that the murder was most likely committed by a woman. Bynum was in a bar arguing with a woman. He left and she followed him, after which he was found stabbed inside his car. Sam at once thinks of Brooke but feels protective of her. Vitucci cautions him to be careful for a while, adding that if he thought Sam knew who might have killed Bynum, the killer might get the same idea. Sam goes home but is met by his mother Grace, a retired psychiatrist. She reminds him that they are due to attend a family birthday party that night but he begs off. While doing laundry in the basement of his building, Sam continues to read over his notes. Having met Brooke, he is disgusted by Bynum's crude remarks about her sexuality. Then he hears a sound, as if someone is walking around. He calls out but no one answers. Suddenly remembering Vitucci's warning, he collects his laundry and heads for the elevator. He is startled when the door opens to reveal Brooke. She explains that the doorman directed her to the basement. The small box she is carrying is a figurine to replace the one she broke earlier. Sam is pleased and expresses sympathy for what she must be going through. Brooke reluctantly reveals that she didn't love Bynum. The next day, Vitucci summons Sam to Bynum's office at Christie's. When he arrives, he is met and escorted upstairs by Gail Phillips, one of the employees. This time Vitucci is not as polite. He says that Bynum was having an affair with at least one of his colleagues but no one knew who. Bynum's secretary reveals that he had an appointment with his psychiatrist five days a week. Sam says that is impossible. Obviously Bynum was using him as a cover. As he leaves, he runs into Brooke but she pretends not to know him. That night a very agitated Brooke comes to Sam's apartment. She wants to know what he told the police about her, as Vitucci questioned her for hours. Sam says he told them nothing but adds that it is foolish to think that they won't find out about her. She admits to feeling guilty because she was trying to break off the affair and now that Bynum is dead, she is relieved. Sam tells her that is a very normal feeling. They kiss but the arrival of his mother interrupts them. Sam is trying to interpret a dream Bynum told him about. In the dream, Bynum was at a house in the country. He went inside and saw a little girl with a teddy bear. The child plucks the eye from the bear, causing it to bleed. Bynum is holding a green box which he puts in his pocket. The child chases him throughout the house and she means to kill him. Since Grace is also a psychiatrist, Sam turns to her for help. He thinks the dream may contain a clue to who killed Bynum. Over Chinese takeout they try to interpret the dream. Grace feels the murderer is a child-like woman capable of intense rage. Bynum tried to control her but was unable to. Sam looks up Brooke's address and goes to her apartment but she isn't home. He then goes for a walk in Central Park and is conscious of someone following him. Inside a tunnel he is mugged. The mugger takes his wallet and coat before telling him to leave. While wearing Sam's coat, the mugger is stabbed to death. The next day, Sam is at the murder scene with Vitucci, who points out that the mugger was mistaken for him. Sam blows it off and says it is a coincidence. He still does not mention Brooke. Vitucci is fed up with him, sensing that Sam knows more than he is telling. Finally reaching Brooke's apartment, Sam is startled to find her naked under a sheet. An Oriental man is there to give her a massage. She invites him to an auction that night at Christie's, adding that she will be taking bids by telephone. Vitucci sees Sam at the auction. He has news that they are closing in on the killer. The bartender who was on duty the night of the murder will be joining Vitucci, to see if he can identify the woman who was with Bynum. Sam sees Brooke but does not have time to warn her. As she hurries away she drops her keys. Instead of returning them to her, Sam slips away and goes upstairs to her office. In her desk, he finds a news article that has been ripped to shreds. He pieces them together and learns that years earlier, Brooke's father fell to his death from a bell tower. Brooke was with him and they were seen arguing, but she was not charged. Sam is certain now that Brooke is the killer. As he locks her office, she comes toward him, asking for her keys. He backs away as if he is afraid of her. They go back to the auction and Brooke takes her place by a telephone. Vitucci comes in with the bartender and Sam writes Brooke a note to warn her. But she doesn't read the note until the auction is over. In the crush of people, she leaves before Sam can get to her. He tries to call her several times from a phone booth but there is no answer. Seeing her fellow employee Gail Phillips, Sam asks if she knows where Brooke might have gone. Gail hesitates but reluctantly gives him the address of Brooke's parents, who owned a house outside of town. He sets off there by car. When Gail reaches her apartment, she is surprised to see that Vitucci is waiting. He asks to speak to her about Ms. Reynolds. They go inside, where Vitucci sees dozens of framed pictures of Gail and George Bynum together. Sam finds Brooke's house and realizes it is the same one in Bynum's dream. As he goes inside he brushes against a ship's bell, causing it to ring. Brooke is waiting for him and says she did not kill her father. It was true that they were arguing but he fell because he leaned over too far and lost his balance. Brooke has no idea who put the news article in her desk. Sam describes the dream and she admits that Bynum was in the house several times. When he mentions the green box, Brooke says it is not a green box but greenback. Gail Phillips always cashed her paychecks and carried the money with her, which caused Bynum to call her greenback. They realize at once that Gail is the murderer. She and Bynum were having an affair but he broke it off when he met Brooke. He gave her the job he had promised to Gail. It was Gail who put the news article in Brooke's desk trying to implicate her. Sam tries to call Vitucci but he doesn't answer his pager. The scene switches to Gail's apartment. There is blood on the wall and Vitucci is slumped on the floor, stabbed to death. Realizing that Gail must be on her way to the house, Sam and Brooke leave. He gets into the car but she goes back for her cigarettes. Gail is hiding in the back seat and stabs Sam. She then goes after Brooke. When Brooke hears the ship's bell, she senses danger. She runs through the house trying to hide but Gail catches up. She drags Brooke to a balcony overlooking the sea and a pile of rocks. Holding the knife to Brooke's throat, she orders her to jump. Brooke fights back and is joined by Sam, injured but very much alive. Together they wrestle with Gail until she loses her footing and falls. After staring at her body below, Sam and Brooke fall into each other's arms.