Jack Lemmon

30 years later... Oscar has settled in Sarasota, Florida, where he reports on a weak minor league baseball team and plays cards with other senior citizens. His son notifies him from California that he's getting married in a few days, to the daughter of Felix Ungar. Oscar and Felix happily reunite at the Los Angeles airport, 17 years after living together in New York City, but having not seen each other since then. They rent a car and drive off together, promptly teasing each other about their annoying differences: Felix was always fastidious and clean, Oscar was always unkempt and casual. Oscar soon gets irritated with Felix for needing to stop to pee, and later needing to stop for food, and to take pills. Felix laments that his third wife left him a few years earlier. Within a couple hours of driving, the two lose the directions to the wedding, realizing that Felix's suitcase was left back at the car rental agency. Making matters worse, the empty rental car rolls down a hillside and explodes. Felix and Oscar set off on foot along the desert highway, and no other cars come by for hours. They finally get picked up by a Mexican farmer, who asks them to drive his truck to a nearby gas station. They are soon stopped and arrested by a phalanx of police who find many illegal immigrants in the back of the truck. The local sheriff deduces that the two are not criminals and lets them go. Felix calls relatives at the wedding site and learns that they are five hours off course, so he and Oscar decide to spend the night in their current town. Felix and Oscar go off to a local bar, where Oscar charms a couple ladies somewhat younger than they are, named Thelma and Holly, and Felix goes along. The two couples dance, until the ladies suddenly need to leave. The next morning, they get a ride with an older man who is heading to the town where the wedding is being held. Alas, he soon dies after driving the car very slowly for a few miles. Police show up and take Felix and Oscar back to town, where the same sheriff from before again deduces they have committed no crimes and lets them go. Felix and Oscar get a bus out of town, and Felix says he feels happy and youthful. Along a stop, Thelma and Holly get on the bus, but soon after, the ladies' husbands hijack the bus and take all of them hostage on a wild car ride. Soon the police stop them and take them back to the same town where the same sheriff from before becomes so frustrated that he offers to transport Oscar and Felix to the wedding by a regional airline. While getting on the plane, Felix meets a friend of Oscar's named Felice, whom he is sure is his soulmate. Oscar convinces Felix to chat up Felice, and the three continue on to the wedding. When they arrive, they immediately learn that Oscar's son-- the groom-- has gotten cold feet and is hiding on the roof. Oscar tries to talk him out of getting married, in reverse psychology that convinces his son to go through with the wedding. After the service, Felix dances with Felice. Oscar gives his son extremely valuable baseball cards as a gift. That night, Felix tells Oscar that he plans to spend some time in San Francisco with Felice. Felix and Oscar depart at the airport with restrained emotion. Back in Sarasota, Felix shows up at Oscar's house to tell him that things did not work out with Felice. Oscar is hesitant, but agrees that Felix can stay with him for a while. As Felix begins cleaning the place, Oscar goes back to playing poker with his old friends.

Just as John and Max resolve to save their beloved bait shop from turning into an Italian restaurant, its new female owner catches Max's attention. Things don't seem to change much in Wabasha County: Max and John are still fighting after 35 years; Grandpa still drinks, smokes, and chases women; and nobody's been able to catch the fabled "Catfish Hunter", a gigantic catfish that actually smiles at fishermen who try to snare it. Six months ago John married the new girl in town, Ariel, and people begin to suspect that Max might be missing something similar in his life. The only joy Max claims is left in his life is fishing, but that might change with the new owner of the bait shop. —Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au>

John and Max are elderly neighbors in a cold Minnesota town. They both live alone in their homes since their wives have died, and exchange stories about how their friends are now dying when they are not busy insulting each other. They have a contemptuous rivalry that goes back over 50 years. A very attractive woman named Ariel, who is a little younger than them, moves in across the street during the days before Thanksgiving. She is so adventurous that she rides a snowmobile on the streets at night. Johns daughter Melanie has a baby girl but is separating from her husband. Maxs son Jacob is running for mayor of their town. Melanie and Jacob have an ongoing flirtation with each other. John is trying to evade the IRS, to whom he owes back taxes. One night he thinks the IRS has come for him, so he jumps out his bedroom window, and Ariel surprisingly shows up, asking to use his bathroom for no particular reason. She discloses that she has been watching how John and Max both ogle her. The next day, John tries to convince Max that his visit from Ariel was amorous in intent. Their bitter bickering at each other continues apace. Chuck is another older man who runs a local bait shop. He challenges John and Max to think about how attractive they actually are to women anymore. Johns father, known as Grandpa, goes ice-fishing out on a frozen lake, where his son and Max (and many other local men) also have their own little fishing shacks. Grandpa is a blithe spirit at the age of 94, enjoying a bounty of liquor and non-filtered cigarettes. One evening Chuck goes to visit Ariel at her home, which John and Max intently spy upon. When later asked why he was with her, Chuck says they did not have sex but something more like a spiritual awakening. John and Max thus both plan visits to Ariel and spend much time making themselves presentable. As we learn, Ariel used to teach art and now teaches classics, and her tastes are revealed through her houseful of eccentric pieces. She also had a husband who died five years earlier, and keeps a life-size sculpture of him, naked, in her studio. Max is next to visit Ariel, and she is mildly bemused by his accounts of being a television repairman. Later she visits him in his ice-fishing shack and they try to pull in a legendarily enormous fish together. The sound of Max and Ariel loudly fighting and grunting to bring up the prize fish is overhead by the other men on the lake, who assume they are having wild sex. As it turns out, they actually do land the fish, but to the shocked dismay of Max, Ariel throws it back in the water. Thereafter, Ariel tells Max they will be great friends, but her chaste kiss reveals it will not be a romantic relationship. In a sincere moment, John tells Max that Chuck has died suddenly. They still end up fighting with each other again. Later, Ariel shows up at Johns house unexpected, and offers to cook dinner. John is quite charming in their conversation, telling her stories of his days as a teacher. John goes to visit his father, who tells him that after you turn 90, you begin realizing that all you have in life are experiences. He motivates John to pursue Ariel, which he soon does by joining her on a snowmobile ride to further evade an IRS agent waiting at his house. Ariel even lures John into making snow angels on the ground, and they hold hands. Over another dinner. Ariel asks John about the pictures in his house. He had a son who died in the Vietnam War, and as it turns out, he and Max were much closer friends when they were younger. He begins to tell the story of how the two of them became enemies when they fought over a woman. Somehow finding inspiration, John moves in to give Ariel a deep kiss, and she is receptive. Soon thereafter, Ariel invites John to bed. He remarks that he has not made love since October 4. 1978, so Ariel suggests that theres no need to worry about sexual diseases. The next morning, Max gives Ariel flowers to apologize for his rakish behavior before. Meanwhile, John is dancing around his house, so energized that he adds Tabasco to his eggs. John and Max return to their ice-fishing rituals, but now Max is so angry and jealous of him that he drives a truck into Johns shed and forces it out onto thin ice. This leads to a very physical yet comical fight between them, in which we learn that John had married a woman whom Max had always loved. John then confesses that he thought Maxs wife was a better woman than his wife. John goes on to say that he had the greatest sex ever with Ariel, which provokes Max to try stabbing him with a frozen fish. Of all people, Grandpa intervenes to break up these two delinquents. Downtrodden, John feels that Max should have Ariel because he stole Maxs true love when they were younger. Ariel brings John one of her paintings, but explains that they will not work as a couple. Ariel is disappointed, and tells John that the only things you regret in life are the risks you dont take. Johns daughter Melanie shows up for Christmas Eve with her estranged husband. John privately repeats to her what Ariel told him about living with regrets, and then Maxs son Jacob shows up. Jacob later pushes his dad to make peace with John. John and Max meet at a bar and John reveals that he pitied Max and gave up Ariel for him. They argue again, and on the way back from the bar, John has a heart attack. While he is in the hospital, the IRS moves to claim Johns house, although Jacob, who has been elected mayor, gets an order to save the property. We next see people gathering for what appears to be a solemn event at a church, which is not a funeral as we may expect, but actually a wedding for John and Ariel. Much time has done by, during which Jacob arranged to clear Johns IRS debt, with Maxs help. John and Max have reconciled, and their children are clearly falling in love with each other. Grandpa gives away Ariel at the ceremony, and all is joyous as the couple head off in their limo... but Max has left a fish in the back just as a little revenge.

While his mom recovers in hospital from a heart attack, John puts his busy life on hold to fly home and help his elderly dad around the house. John's son later joins them and they all truly bond for the first and, tragically, final time. John, a busy, "always-on-the-run" executive, learns during a meeting that his mother may be dying and rushes home to her side. He ends up being his father's caretaker and becomes closer to him than ever before. In the process, he teaches his father to be more independent which causes problems with the man's wife. Estranged from his own son, the executive comes to realize what has been missing in his own life. As John, his father and his son slowly bond, and even his mother returns from the hospital, everything starts seeming right with the world - until dad goes to have a minor surgery only to come out of it demented and a shadow of his former self. —Jerry Shannon <jlshan@ix.netcom.com> Someone helps his dad help his dad while his grandma is in the hospital. However, the situation changes in a way no one could expect. "Dad" offers an emotional, funny, and sad story to be enjoyed by everyone. Even though there are laughs, this movie will ensure an emotional roller coaster. —Christopher-147932384 Successful businessman, John, has to take care of his father after his mother has fallen victim to a heart attack. Although they've become estranged to each other, they finally succeed in coming together again, and even John's son gets involved. As John, his father and his son slowly bond, and even his mother returns from the hospital, everything starts seeming right with the world - until dad goes to have a minor surgery only to come out of it demented and a shadow of his former self. —Homme A. Piest <piest@pobox.leidenuniv.nl> John, an overworked business type, rushes home to be with his father after his mother has a heart attack. He helps his dad learn to live more independently and this ends up affecting the estranged relationship he has with his college aged son. As John, his father and his son slowly bond, and even his mother returns from the hospital, everything starts seeming right with the world - until dad goes to have a minor surgery only to come out of it demented and a shadow of his former self. —Nate Dogg <holtslander@hotmail.com>

When an idealistic American writer disappears during the Chilean coup d'état in September 1973, his wife and father try to find him. In September1973, in Chile, the American journalist Charles Horman arrives in Valparaiso with his friend Terry Simon to meet his wife Beth and bring her back to New York with him. However, they are surprised by the military coup d'état sponsored by the US Government to replace President Salvador Allende and Charles is arrested by the military force. His father Ed Horman, a conservative businessman from New York, arrives in Chile to seek out his missing son with Beth. He goes to the American Consulate to meet the Consul that promises the best efforts to find Charles while the skeptical Beth does not trust on the word of the American authorities. The nationalism and confidence of Ed in his government changes when he finds the truth about what happened with his beloved son. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil September, 1973. Liberal minded young American couple Charles and Beth Horman - he a writer and translator - live in Santiago, Chile, they who chose Chile because of the comfort they felt in a country matching their own values. Charlie's father back in New York, Ed Horman, a conservative devout Christian Scientist, sees his son, and thus by association Beth, as flaky, directionless and irresponsible. Charlie and Beth's American friend Terry Simon, in the country solely for a visit, and Charlie are caught in Viña del Mar the day the right wing military overthrows the elected left wing government in a coup. At the hotel where Charlie and Terry end up for the night, they encounter US military and government officials. Because of the coup, Charlie and Terry decide to take notes of what they see, including that of the "unofficial" American presence in Viña. The day after the start of the coup, Charlie is taking Terry to the airport so that she can get out of the country, when they, learning that the airport is closed, are advised by American freelance reporter Kate Newman to take refuge at a large, American friendly hotel with lots of public visibility because of word that the military is taking away anyone for any reason, many of those who will end up missing never to be seen again, largely nationals but sometimes foreigners. Charlie leaves Terry at a hotel so that he can go home to retrieve Beth. Beth, however, is caught stranded away from home after curfew, and when she is able to get home the following morning, she learns from a neighbor that the soldiers had been to their house, with eyewitnesses later telling Beth that they saw Charlie being taken away. Two weeks later, Ed makes his way to Santiago to help Beth locate Charlie, Ed who had contacted his local politicians for diplomatic assistance in the matter. In Santiago, Charlie's case is largely handled by US Consul Phil Putnam, and US Naval officer Captain Ray Tower. Ed and Beth are often at odds with each other despite their common goal of finding what happened to Charlie: Ed wants Putnam, Tower and any other US official to use whatever clout they may have to assist him, Beth and Charlie - US citizens - while Beth doesn't trust them, especially Tower, for good reason. In the process of the Hormans' investigation, Ed may get a clearer picture of his son, who he would admit he really did not know. As Ed and Beth increasingly seem to be getting the runaround by those who are purportedly trying to help them, they may, with the assistance of others, get closer and closer to the truth, which may turn the world of patriotic Ed on its head forever. —Huggo In 1973, U.S. businessman Ed Horman arrives in Chile to look for his son, Charles, a politically left-leaning journalist who disappeared during a military coup. Charles' wife, Beth, has been looking for some time, but her requests for help from the U.S. consulate have thus far produced few results. As Ed and Beth try to figure out what really happened to Charles, Ed realizes that the American officials may know more than they're telling. —Jwelch5742 Based on the real-life experiences of Ed Horman, this is the story of an American father of conservative background who comes to a South American country to search for his missing son, a journalist. Ed joins with his daughter-in-law Beth, who like her husband is politically polarized from the father, in prying through the bureaucracy and dangerous political intrigue in search of their son and husband. Little by little, the father comes to realize that his own beloved government is not telling him the truth. —Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

An ambitious TV reporter on assignment with her photographer at a southern California power plant learns of an impending control room crisis involving the plant`s supervisor.

Millionaire philanthropist Philip Stevens (James Stewart) arrives at his palatial estate and holds a media conference to discuss a flight containing his hand-picked guest list of rich and famous friends, which will soon be arriving in Florida. His luxury aircraft, a Boeing 747 outfitted with high-end accommodations, is packed with his collection of priceless artwork to be installed at his home, which has been converted into a new museum where Stevens hopes to share the treasures with the world. The plane, piloted by Captain Don Gallagher (Jack Lemmon) lands in Washington. Gallagher meets the plane's lead production manager Stan Buchek (Darren McGavin) upon landing, and tells him the aircraft handled perfectly, and as they observe the museum pieces being loaded into the cargo holds, wonder whether the collection or the plane is more expensive. Meanwhile a mysterious pair of men-an airline employee and a civilian--stand at the airport gift shop and quietly switch suitcases as they meet at a magazine rack, never making eye contact or speaking. The employee then enters a locker room and assumes a disguise with a mustache and wig, finding a gun in the bathroom paper towel dispenser, and joins the ground crew as the cargo is loaded. Meeting up with a companion on board later, canisters of CR-7 gas are connected to the air supply, rigged to be activated manually. Gallagher finds Eve Clayton (Brenda Vaccaro) in an office. They have been a couple for some time, and he finds the courage to bring up marriage, but she says Stevens has asked her to work in Geneva for him, which would put distance into their relationship. He wants a wife and family, and she wants her career. That evening the guests begin to arrive and board the aircraft, including Benjy (Anthony Battaglia), whose mother is Stevens' daughter Lisa (Pamela Bellwood). She is taking her son to meet his grandfather for the first time, but her own relationship with her father is strained. Emily Livingston (Olivia de Havilland) boards with her personal assistant Dorothy (Maidie Norman). She joins several art critics she knows and, after the men and she exchange banter, she sits with them as their fourth and engages in a challenging game of poker. Jane Stern (Arlene Golonka) arrives with her daughter Bonnie Stern (Elizabeth Cheshire), who was chosen for the flight to present an artwork her schoolmates designed for Stevens' museum. A film is played of Stevens greeting the passengers and urging them to enjoy their flight. Bob Chambers (Robert Foxworth), the main conspirator, will be the co-pilot for the flight that evening, and he and Gallagher settle in the cockpit, while conspirators Wilson (Michael Pataki) and Banker (Monte Markham) are among the crew members. Gallagher appears on the screen to invite the passengers to view their taxi down the runway as the plane, now known as 2-3-Sierra, begins its flight. At the bar, blind pianist Steve (Tom Sullivan) plays and sings a song for corporate assistant Julie (Kathleen Quinlan). The children challenge Dorothy to a tabletop video game while a woman leaves to find two men in the nearby office. Frank Powers (Gil Gerard) discusses a future underwater farming excursion with diver Martin Wallace (Christopher Lee), whose demeanor grows sour when the woman, his wife Karen Wallace (Lee Grant), enters the room in an inebriated state and shows off the bottles of booze she has collected. When Martin leaves, Karen teases Frank with threats to tell her husband about their affair, one which he much regrets. Eve talks to Philip from the cockpit and informs him that Lisa and Benjy are aboard, and he decides to head out to meet them. Eve then tells Gallagher she has thought things over and wonders if they can discuss their relationship in Palm Beach later. He agrees. A drink arrives for Emily, along with a calling card bearing the name of her old flame Nicholas St. Downs III (Joseph Cotton), she sees him across the lounge area and is happy to reunite with him after decades apart. Eddie (Robert Hooks) tends bar and tells Eve his wife is expecting twins, and she encourages him to call home to check on her, then speaks with Lisa in private. Determined to become independent, Lisa wants to break the news to her father that she won't be dominated by his power and position any longer, but Eve informs her that Philip is terminally ill and has months to live, and urges her to restrain herself. Julie and Martin are at the bar and discuss the sea, which enthralls him as a diver, but she admits water frightens her. Karen interrupts their talk and tosses a drunken barb at Julie, who leaves, and she and a miserable Martin exchange insulting banter. The conspirators begin their coup. The security guard is knocked out, but is hit too hard and dies instantly, so they move the body out of sight. Gallagher is lured from the cockpit to tend to a sick passenger and is subdued by a blow to the head. They secure oxygen masks to their faces, the sleeping gas is released into the cabin, and the passengers lose consciousness. Chambers takes the controls and the plane descends below radar, heading into a fog bank, reducing visibility to less than a mile. He changes the flight path over the Bermuda Triangle, taking the craft off course at 600 mph. The air traffic controller radios the plane from Palm Beach when they lose the radar signal, but he ignores it. The plan is to remove the artwork and head to South America with their black market profits, while the passengers awaken to an empty plane on deserted St. George Island. Minutes later, as Chambers looks at the vista ahead, a large offshore drilling platform emerges from the haze, and they are heading straight for it. He pulls back on the yoke and tries to turn, but the wing clips the derrick and the engine catches fire. Chambers immediately hits the fire extinguishing button and the flames go out momentarily, but the sudden loss of airspeed threatens to stall the airplane. As the engine reignites, the stall alarm goes off and the tail of the plane hits the water. The passengers awaken and start to scream and panic. Chambers struggles to keep the plane airborne, but finally it hits the water violently and stalls in the ocean. Banker is in the hold securing the art for the transfer when a cargo container slams into and breaches the bulkhead, the ocean bursts in and sends the container back to pin him to a wall, and the surging water drowns him. Wilson is killed when he enters the cockpit and is slammed into the flight panel, and Chambers is knocked unconscious at the controls. As passengers recover from the initial shock of impact, Karen looks out a window and alerts everybody as the plane begins to slip beneath the waves, settling on the ocean floor some 100 feet below the surface. The ocean bottom is fortunately above the depth that would crush the fuselage, and Gallagher calms the passengers, informing them that they have been tracked and will be rescued soon. Buchek suffers an impact fracture of his arm while trying to protect Bonnie, who has been injured under the bar. Emily looks after Dorothy, who took a blow to her head. Gallagher and Buchek ask a passenger, Dr. Williams (M. Emmett Walsh) to help. The doctor spends time tending to the wounded, though he later confesses to the lead flight attendant that he is actually a veterinarian for Stevens and is used to tending horses. Gallagher and Buchek examine the plane and find some cargo areas flooded, but others remain airtight for the time being. How long the plane will hold up, and the lack of oxygen, are concerns. Their attention is drawn by Eddie, who has suffered a severely broken leg, and Nicholas helps them take him into the main cabin to rest. Martin also offers to help, stopping momentarily to calm Karen but stressing to her that she will be fine while he is away. Gallagher and Buchek interrogate Chambers in the office when he regains consciousness and hear the confession of the conspirators' plans. They put him on watch in the passenger area. Steve the pianist is seriously hurt, Julie stays with him and, when he touches her face as a way of imagining how she looks, she gives him her earring as a token, and he says he loves her. When he requests a drink of water, in the moments it takes to bring it to him, she finds he has succumbed to his injuries. Meanwhile, Lisa assures Benjy that Bonnie will be okay. Ships and planes are sent out to search for the downed flight under the guidance of Joe Patroni (George Kennedy), and he assures Stevens that the plane will be found. With the crash happening far from their expected flight path, Gallagher tells Eve they are on their own. Buchek examines growing damage to the fuselage and finds more airtight areas being breached by water, and the passenger compartment begins to flood. As Emily comforts Julie, she hears a droning sound outside and asks all the passengers to be quiet. Martin recognizes the sound as that of an approaching ship, which brings them hope, but the ship's crew do not know the plane is submerged near them and pass the crash site. Karen lashes out at Gallagher, blaming him for their situation. Gallagher and Buchek find the only inward opening door of use on the plane, located in a rear cargo hold which has remained dry, and they wire an electrical circuit inside. Gallagher announces to the passengers that he plans to exit the plane from that airtight compartment and send a life raft to the surface with a homing beacon to alert search parties to their location. Martin volunteers as an experienced scuba diver to join him and double their chances of success, and Gallagher agrees. Buchek shows Gallagher how to touch two wires together to create the spark needed to unlock the cargo door. Karen tries to stop Martin from taking the risk, saying they should think about themselves, but he argues that selfishness sent them into their predicament, and he kisses her before he joins Gallagher. Buchek wishes Gallagher luck, leaves the hold and the hatch is shut and locked. Placing their oxygen masks to their faces, Gallagher notes they can get two minutes of air to breathe as he joins the two wires once. The door creaks but does not open, so he tries again several times, finally removing his oxygen mask to investigate the connection. Martin steps over to the door, and before Gallagher can warn him, it bursts open, striking Martin and throwing him across the cargo hold in a wave of ocean water as the cabin floods. Gallagher swims to a glassy-eyed Martin and tries to revive him with oxygen, but he died on impact and the effort is futile, so he grabs the raft and exits the hold into the open ocean. Karen and the others watch in horror as Martin's body floats away. Several passengers try to settle a shocked Karen as Gallagher swims skyward, pulls the inflation device and sends the raft to the surface ahead of him. Swimming to it when he surfaces, he boards and activates the beacon, then sits helplessly hoping for a quick response. A Navy plane investigates the beeper which has suddenly appeared on radar, indicating the flight is 100 miles off course. On the airplane, Karen is obviously in an alcohol-fueled state of shock from losing her husband. She absently preens in a mirror, then approaches the main hatch and attempts to open it, which would flood the plane. Eve approaches and tries to calm her down, but they begin to struggle. Karen pounds at Eve, who finally has to punch Karen and knock her out to prevent a catastrophe. A jet pilot reports to base that he has spotted the plane, which is completely underwater at the coordinates given. Gallagher shouts with joy as the passing jet dips a wing in acknowledgment. The Navy discusses the situation, and it is decided to raise the plane as they would a submarine in a salvage operation. Patroni guides the Navy in how best to raise the aircraft without splitting it in two, while Stevens is sent to meet with the survivors. The USS Cayuga arrives at the site, and a crew comes by boat to retrieve Gallagher, who talks with Patroni as the rescue is coordinated, stressing that the passengers are running out of time. With additional salvage crew members and equipment, the vessel sends divers (Gallagher also volunteers to help with his amateur diving experience and knowledge of the aircraft) below to the plane. A diver writes to the passengers on a tablet and shows it to them at a window, indicating that they should secure themselves as the crew attempts to lift the plane from the water. Divers run heavy straps under predetermined points under the fuselage and attach them to huge bladders to fill with compressed air to raise the plane. The crew aboard the inflation boat begin sending air down to the bladders, which inflate and rise, lifting the plane from the ocean floor, but another airplane door opens under the change in pressure, water begins to fill the plane, and one bladder breaks away. The flood sends some passengers spinning in its wake. Karen is swept away toward the back of the plane and drowns. Buchek grabs Benjy and prevents him being swept away as well. Chambers is killed when debris from the flooding strikes him. As the boats and crew circle and watch at the surface, the plane breaks through the water, and rafts-one with Gallagher aboard--pull up to the hatch as flight attendants ferry Eddie, Bonnie and Jane and the other wounded passengers aboard. Emily and Nicky see that Dorothy did not survive the ascent and reluctantly leave her. The able-bodied survivors rush out to waiting boats, but when a second strap holding a bladder keeping the aircraft buoyant gives way, Eve is trapped with the water rising at her only exit. Gallagher wades into the plane to her side and they climb the stairs to the cockpit to exit by the door there, and jump into the ocean. They are lifted by helicopter to safety. The remaining bladders holding their former prison give way and Flight 2-3 Sierra disappears again underwater. On-board the Navy ship, Philips greets Lisa and Benjy, the injured are airlifted away, and Gallagher and Eve reaffirm that they have a date in Palm Beach that night as they land and greet the other grateful survivors on the Cayuga's deck.

Chicago, Illinois, 1929. Outside a criminal courts building, police build a scaffold and bleachers for the public hanging of Earl Williams, who has been convicted of killing a policeman. Upstairs, reporters play poker in the press room. Newspaper editor Walter Burns (Walter Matthau) calls from the Chicago Examiner, looking for reporter Hildebrand 'Hildy' Johnson (Jack Lemmon) to put him on the story, but he's not there. Walter leaves word that Hildy should immediately come to his office. Later, Hildy wanders into Walter's office at a leisurely pace and informs the editor that he's in love. Walter tells Hildy he wants him to cover the hanging the next morning and snap an illegal picture of the hanged man with a hidden camera. Minutes after the execution, an ambulance will be waiting for Hildy outside so that he can type his story in the back and beat the other newspapers to press with a morning extra. Hildy tells Walter he's quitting to get married and move to Philadelphia. He plans to take an advertising job so that he can spend time with his future wife instead of continuing as a workaholic reporter. Walter resents Hildy for betraying him, insisting that he taught Hildy everything he knows. Determined to keep Hildy in town and on the Williams story, Walter tracks down Hildy's fiancee, Peggy Grant (Susan Sarandon), an organist who works at a movie theater. Posing as Otto Fishbein, a probation officer, he tells Peggy that Hildy is on probation and cannot legally move to another city. Hildy then calls his fiancee, and, over the phone, realizes that Walter is playing a trick. Hildy explains to Peggy that Fishbein is actually Walter, and she sends him away. At the criminal courts press room, Hildy's replacement, Rudy Keppler (Jon Korkes), arrives and informs the others that Hildy has left the business. Mollie Malloy (Carol Burnett) arrives moments later, and yells at the reporters for writing lies about her, claiming she is Williams' girlfriend. Mollie confesses that she had befriended Williams but was not his girlfriend. Unlike the reporters, Mollie believes that Williams didn't intentionally kill anyone. As Mollie leaves, Hildy shows up with drinks to celebrate his new advertising job. Just then, the sheriff (Vincent Gardenia) visits the press room to hand out tickets to the hanging. Hildy accuses the sheriff and mayor of reprieving Williams twice so that the hanging would take place just before an election. The sheriff insists that Williams is a communist who is very sane and shot the policeman to make a political statement. Hildy disagrees, claiming that Williams is "just a screwball." At the jailhouse, Williams (Austin Pendleton), a diminutive, soft-spoken man, is escorted to the sheriff's office for his final psychological examination. Williams calmly explains to Dr. Eggelhofer (Martin Gabel) that he once sent a bomb to J. P. Morgan's office on Wall Street, then contradicts himself by saying he loves people and would never abuse anyone. Eggelhofer borrows the sheriff's gun to demonstrate his theory about why Williams shot at the police officer. Upstairs, Hildy's celebration is interrupted by gunshots. Sirens blare, more shots are heard, and the reporters realize Williams has escaped. Hildy gets on the phone to tell Walter the news. The editor laments that Hildy is no longer reporting, but Hildy promises he's "right on top of it." Downstairs, the sheriff tells reporters about Williams' escape, but insists he doesn't know where the prisoner got a gun. Hildy runs into Jennie (Doro Merande), the building's janitor, who overheard the incident. She tells Hildy she had better not reveal what she overheard, as the sheriff would fire her. Meanwhile, the injured Eggelhofer's stretcher falls out of an ambulance. As the stretcher speeds down the street, Eggelhofer yells repeatedly that Williams is a "fruitcake." Hildy phones Walter to tell him what he's learned from Jennie, that Eggelhofer used the sheriff's gun to reenact the crime, and Williams stole it, shot Eggelhofer, and made his escape. Hildy then informs Walter that Peggy is picking him up in 15 minutes and he can no longer follow the story. The Mayor (Harold Gould) addresses reporters in his office and tells them he has utter faith in the sheriff. After the reporters leave, the Mayor reprimands the sheriff for letting Williams get away. A man named Plunkett (Paul Benedict) arrives and delivers a reprieve for Williams, sent by the Governor. The sheriff receives a phone call that police have trapped Williams. The Mayor tells Plunkett that the reprieve is not applicable because Williams has escaped custody, but he may try to serve the reprieve again tomorrow. The Mayor then sends orders, via the sheriff, for the police to "shoot to kill," now that Williams is in their sights. Headed for a night train to Philadelphia, Hildy joins Peggy in a taxi outside the courthouse. However, when he realizes he left the wedding rings, he runs back inside. There, Hildy finds the rings moments before Williams falls through a window and points a gun at him. Hildy reminds Williams that he conducted an interview with the convict at his jail cell a few days ago. Williams then passes out, and Hildy drags him to the bathroom, draws the curtains, and calls Walter to tell him that he has Williams in his custody. Mollie shows up, and Williams emerges at the sound of her voice. Hildy sends Peggy to pick up their luggage while he finishes up some last-minute business. Hildy hides Williams inside a roll-top desk when the other reporters demand entry to the press room. The men suspect Hildy is hiding something. To cover for Hildy, Mollie claims to know where Williams is, then jumps out the window. The reporters run outside to see if she's still alive. As the room clears, Walter appears at the door. He orders a delivery truck and six large men to move the desk, with Williams inside, to the Chicago Examiner office. Hildy types up a story while Walter takes Williams' picture and sends Keppler to develop the negative. Just then, Peggy returns to find Hildy typing away with Walter at his side. Distracted, Hildy suggests Peggy go to the train station ahead of him, and she leaves, dejected. When he finishes the story, Hildy becomes frustrated with Walter's persistence and heads off to the train station. Before he can leave, however, the sheriff shows up with the other reporters, all of whom accuse Hildy of hiding something. A policeman holds Hildy, while the sheriff demands Williams' whereabouts. The sheriff finally realizes Williams is inside the desk. Police escort Williams away, and the sheriff arrests Hildy and Walter for hiding the convict. In a jail cell, Hildy blames Walter for keeping him from Peggy. In a neighboring cell, Plunkett, who has been arrested for drunkenness, overhears Walter and informs him that he has Williams' reprieve. The Mayor arrives at the jail, and Walter presents him with the reprieve, accusing him of ignoring it so that he could hang Williams before the election. The Mayor lets Walter and Hildy out, and Walter arranges for Hildy to be rushed to the train station to meet Peggy. Just before the train pulls away, Walter gives Hildy his pocket watch as a gift for service to his newspaper. After the train pulls out of the station, Walter (crafty and evil to the end) arranges for Hildy to be arrested at the next stop for stealing his watch! The film closes with a series of texts that say that some time later, Hildy returned to the Chicago Examiner to become Managing Editor. Walter retired, lecturing from time to time at the University of Chicago on the ethics of journalism. Williams, now freed, got married to Mollie, and the two run a health-food store together.

Troubled garment manufacturer Harry Stoner tries to make his small debt-ridden factory survive. He hires an arsonist to burn down a building so he can collect the insurance money, pimps for clients, and has flashbacks to the war. The film depicts a day and a half in Harry Stoner's life. Harry is down on his luck and trapped in his own indulgences, trying to escape from the fact that business is dire and his company owes bundles of money. His day is filled with unusual episodes as he picks up a young pretty hippie hitchhiker, arranges for his company's warehouse to burn down so he can collect the insurance-money (arguing with his most faithful employee about the consequences), hires a prostitute for an important salesman and, while speaking at a fashion show, experiences rather uncomfortable WWII flashbacks. —Kristian Krokfoss <krokus@online.no> Just over twenty-four hours from morning to morning the next day in the life of middle aged Angelo Harry Stoner, a WWII vet who was stationed in Italy, and now owns and operates outwardly successful Capri Casuals, a women's wear manufacturer, which allows his him to live in comfort in Beverly Hills, is presented. Those twenty-four hours show the disillusionment with how his life has turned out as he deals with one crisis after another while the stress of the day brings up memories of the war. He and his wife, Janet Stoner, who is heading off today for a week long personal trip to New York, have a rather emotionally cold relationship now and are drifting apart. He finds that he has to mediate a dispute between two of his employees, old school Meyer, a skilled cutter and a traditionalist, and young Rico, a designer who feels that the world should be at his feet with him being the reason for the company's success, despite admitting that he rips off designs from others. Harry and his business partner, Phil Greene, are preparing for their season's fashion show to their buyers, which should be a sense of optimism in sales, and while they go through the motions of organizing the event, which includes arranging for female "company" for one of their out of town buyers, Fred Mirrell, behind the scenes they are trying to figure out how best to keep the company afloat as they are deep in debt. They have already previously cooked their books, which would easily be discovered if they were ever audited. While Phil favors the route of borrowing from the mob, Harry contemplates hiring Charlie Robbins, the best in his business, to torch one of their factories for the insurance money. The one seemingly bright light this day for Harry is meeting early twenty-something Myra, a free spirit who spends her day hanging out along the Sunset Strip. Their time together may just further highlight the divide between their respective generations. —Huggo

Movie opens at a swanky Wall Street Party hosted By Ted, Howard's Boss, and CEO of big Wall Street firm. It turns out the party is a gathering of wealthy Wall Street traders employees and big wigs looking to hook up with women. Ted encourages Howard, and teaches him how to land a one of the various women and then bed them. Howard is uncomfortable as he makes his rounds at the party and is unable to get the attraction from any of the multitude of intoxicated, attractive, but vulgar women. Another party-goer, Catherine, also seems put off by the entire party and all of its patrons, but like Howard she moves around the party, entertained by the vulgar, highfalutin, grandiose, vain, pretentious, garish, and gaudy people and the shenanigans they engage in. Catherine and Howard meet, the two are instantaneously attracted to each other, and decide to leave the party for more civilized gathering. As Catherine gather her coat, Ted give Howard the key to a particular night club, The Safari Club, he consider a "second home". The two grab a cab and head to the Safari club, which turn out to be another absurd scene with scantily clad women in cages acting like animalistic cave women. To grab the attention of the cave women waitresses male club goers are given pop guns and shoot the women in the tuchus. Howard has not yet learned that Catherine is his new boss' wife. The two agree that the Safari club is no better then the party they just left and decide to leave. Catherine recommends dancing and the two go to a hipster club with real music and dance their tuchus's off and have a great time. Catherine meets a an astrologist at the party who tell her that Ted is not a good love match for her but that Howard is a perfect match. Catherine seems to agree. Catherine reveals to Howard that she plans on leaving Ted the next day and grabbing a one way flight back to her home town of Paris. Howard follows suit and decides to leave his wife and grab the same flight with Catherine to start a new life with her in Paris. Howard has no problem leaving his uncaring wife behind and his young boy who doesn't seem to care if his father is alive or dead. The rest of the movie dedicated to the road blocks Howard must overcome to get on the plane with Catherine to Paris. Ted tries everything he can to win back Catherine. Eventually Howard wins out and is able to board the plane at the last minute. The movie ends with the two holding hands on the plane.

Fussy Felix Unger moves in with his divorced poker buddy, sloppy Oscar Madison. Felix's (Jack Lemmon) wife has left him and he is contemplating suicide. His friends sense his depression and one of them, Oscar (Walter Matthau), volunteers to take him in until he is fine again. The two of them are like chalk and cheese - Oscar is fun-loving, gregarious and slovenly, Felix is a shy, stay-at-home, obsessive-compulsive neat-freak. Being around Oscar brightens Felix up, but he quickly starts to irritate Oscar. —grantss Felix Ungar has just broken up with his wife. Despondent, he goes to kill himself but is saved by his friend Oscar Madison. With nowhere else to go, Felix is urged by Oscar to move in with him, at least for a while. The only problem is that Felix is neat, tidy, and neurotic, whereas Oscar is slovenly and casual. —Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au>

When a recently fired policeman falls in love with a French prostitute in Paris, he doesn't want her to be with other men, so he creates an alter-ego who will become her only customer. Naive, by-the-book French police officer Nestor Patou is transferred to the Red Light district. Upon witnessing what must be a brothel, he calls the station, organizes a raid, and transports all the "ladies" to the jail. Unfortunately, this disrupts the well-organized system of the police and the pimps' union, not to mention inadvertently netting his station superior at the brothel. Fired, he goes to a bar to drink, is befriended by Irma, beats up her pimp, and finds he is that he is her pimp now. He does not like the thought of his girl seeing other men, so he comes up with a plan. —Brian W Martz <B.Martz@Genie.com> Disgraced former police officer Nestor Patou falls for beautiful Parisian prostitute Irma La Douce. Though Nestor becomes Irma's pimp, he can't stand the idea of her being with clients, so he devises a way to keep her all to himself. This scheme leads to plenty of trouble, though, and soon Nestor is forced to avoid his old law-enforcement peers in an attempt to stay with Irma and out of jail. —Jwelch5742 In the vibrant Les Halles food-market, at the bustling red-light district of rue Casanova, business is booming for delicate Parisian streetwalker Irma. Infatuated with her, zealous but penniless former police officer Nestor Patou will soon find himself dragged into an unknown world when he accepts Irma's generous invitation to move into her apartment. Little by little--as the young gendarme learns the tricks of the trade, first by becoming Irma's procurer, and then, by becoming the king of the block's pimps--an unexpected love affair begins--however, Nestor's justifiable jealousy gets the best of him. Now, Irma thinks that Nestor is cheating on her. To what extremes must Nestor go to prove his love for sweet Irma? —Nick Riganas A policeman, Nestor, falls in love with a prostitute, Irma, but doesn't want her seeing other men. So he creates an alter-ego, a wealthy Englishman, Lord X, who will be her only customer. Seems like a solid enough plan...to him. What could possibly go wrong? —grantss

An alcoholic marries a young woman and systematically addicts her to booze so that they can share his "passion" together. Joe Clay is a top-notch public-relations man. Anything a client wants, Joe can arrange, from dancing girls to an article in a prominent magazine. But part of the job is drinking, and Joe's ability to consume alcohol seems boundless. When he meets the very pretty Kirsten Arnesen, she prefers chocolate to alcohol; Joe's solution is Brandy Alexander, which is made up of brandy and crème de cacao. Joe and Kirsten eventually marry, but their love can't prevent the downward spiral brought on by alcohol. —garykmcd Working in a public relations firm as an account executive, Joe Clay feels like he needs to drink as part of his job. But he enjoys this aspect of work. While at a client party, Joe meets his client's secretary, Kirsten Arnesen. Despite an initial dislike of Joe, Kirsten eventually goes out on date with him. She is a non-drinker who neither likes the taste of alcohol or feels the need for its effects. But based on her addiction to chocolate, Joe does start her on alcohol consumption with the chocolate-tasting Brandy Alexander. Joe and Kirsten fall in love, get married, and start a family. But as the stresses of work start to pile up, Joe's drinking increases and he pressures Kirsten into joining him to drown his sorrows. Alcohol soon becomes their main focus, and this rapidly destroys both their personal lives and Joe's professional life. Kirsten's father, hardworking nurseryman Ellis Arnesen, wants to help, specifically his daughter, but he has a difficult time forgiving Joe who introduced her to drinking. Despite Joe finally coming to the realization that alcohol is the main problem in their lives (Joe states that the reflection of a bum he saw in a window was himself), they must admit that they are indeed alcoholics and that they can never have alcohol again before they can even think of reclaiming their lives. Beyond that, they must be able to stay away from liquor, which may be impossible. —Huggo Public relations agent Joe Clay drinks a lot. He doesn't think he has a problem: shmoozing and boozing is part of his job. He meets Kirsten Arnesen and they fall in love. She's a teetotaller but his influence sees her drinking heavily too. Soon their drinking is having a significantly detrimental effect on their lives. —grantss Boy (with drinking problem) meets girl (with addiction to chocolate). They fall in love, marry, and have a beautiful baby girl. But the picture-perfect family is anything but. Joe has introduced his wife Kirsten to the "pleasures" of drinking, and soon both are confirmed alcoholics. An absorbing, frightening study of the insidiousness of addiction. —A.L.Beneteau <albl@inforamp.net>

Some Like It Hot is a story of two Chicago musicians who pretend themselves as women in order to escape from Chicago and enjoying in all-female jazz band. The musicians find their love pretending themselves as millionaires. When their love came across their real identities the story takes an unexpected turn which reveals the main moral of the story.

Jane Osgood runs a lobster business, which supports her two young children. Railroad staff inattention ruins her shipment, so with her lawyer George, Jane sues Harry Foster Malone, director of the line and the "meanest man in the world". Jane Osgood is trying to support her two young children by running a lobster business. After one of her shipments is ruined by inattention at the railroad station, Jane decides to take on Harry Foster Malone, director of the line and the "meanest man in the world". With the help of her lifelong friend - and lawyer - George Denham, Jane sues Malone for the price of her lobsters & her lost business. What she ends up with is a lot more than either of them bargained for. —April M. Cheek <Aravis2713@aol.com> Living in Cape Anne, Maine, widowed Jane Osgood is trying to support her family of two young children by starting a lobster mail order business. Things for her business start off badly when a shipment perishes due to the operation of the Eastern & Portland Railroad, newly acquired by penny-pinching Harry Foster Malone. When the E&P fails to compensate Jane adequately for their error, Jane gets into a David versus Goliath battle with the powerful Malone, who she deems the meanest man in the world. The story affects all the townsfolk and reaches a national audience, Jane having both supporters and detractors. But both Jane and Malone will do whatever they can to beat the other, both who see the fight as a matter of principle. Meanwhile, New York based reporter Larry Hall, in Cape Anne to cover the story, falls for Jane. This move does not sit well with George Denham, who is Jane's childhood friend, lawyer and wannabe suitor. —Huggo

An idealistic tenderfoot Chicago hotel clerk is taken on a cattle-drive to Mexico by famous trail boss Tom Reece but discovers that cowboy life isn't what he expected. Chicago hotel clerk Frank Harris dreams of making his fortune in the cattle business. He gets his chance when, the father of the Mexican woman he loves breaks off their relationship and Frank bankrolls cattleman Tom Reece to be able to join him on a cattle buying trip to Mexico. Soon, though, the tenderfoot finds out the reality of life on the trail as a cowboy is not what he expected. —Jorge Mourinha <rjmourinha@mail.telepac.pt>

The friendship between two tramp boat owners is threatened by the arrival of a beautiful and seductive passenger. Tony and Felix own a tramp boat, and sail around the Caribbean doing odd jobs and drinking a lot. They agree to ferry the beautiful but passportless Irena to another island. They both fall for her, leading to betrayal and a break-up of their partnership. Tony takes a job on a cargo ship. After a collision he finds himself trapped below deck with time running out (the ship is aflame), and only Felix, whom he hates and has sworn to kill, left to save him. —John Oswalt <jao@jao.com> Tony and Felix own a boat and transport goods, mostly legal, to various islands in the Caribbean. Their latest job is to carry a beautiful redhead, Irena, to Trinidad with no questions asked. She from Eastern Europe and has no documents. After World War II she went to the US with an American soldier and is now on her own. Felix sees her for what she is but Tony falls for her pretty hard. When she rejects him, Tony goes to work on a merchant ship that's now heading back to Trinidad and he has every intention of getting even. The ship is involved in a collision in the fog and Tony is trapped in the hold. When the ship's cargo of rubber catches fire, it's a race against time to get him out before the ship explodes. The local port doctor says they may have to amputate his legs to set him free but he flatly refuses. The doctor turns to Felix and Irina for help. —garykmcd

After Texas heiress Ellie Andrews defies her father, A. A. Andrews, to marry fortune-hunter Jacques Ballarino, Andrews has Ellie kidnapped before the marriage can be consummated and locks her away on his San Diego yacht while he arranges an annulment. To thwart her father, Ellie jumps overboard, and travelling incognito, boards a Greyhound bus bound for Houston, where her groom awaits. Also on the bus is Peter Warne, an irreverent, fast-talking reporter who has just been fired. Ellie is assigned to the seat next to Peter, and when they stop for a dinner break, a thief steals the suitcase containing all her money, leaving Ellie with only six dollars to her name. The bus continues onto Tucson, and when it stops for breakfast, Ellie naively asks the driver to wait for her. Returning late, Ellie finds the bus gone and a bemused Peter waiting at the station with the ticket she left behind. Disclosing that he knows Ellie is the missing heiress, Peter holds up a copy of the local newspaper with her picture plastered all over the front page. When Ellie offers to buy his silence, Peter, offended, sends a telegram to Joe Gordon, his former editor in Houston, offering an exclusive story about his cross-country adventure with the heiress. They then board the night bus to Houston, where Ellie is accosted by the garrulous, lecherous George Shapely. To rescue Ellie from Shapely's verbal advances, Peter tells him that they are married. When the bus is forced to stop for the night because the road has been washed out by a storm, Peter and Ellie take refuge at an auto court, where Peter registers as husband and wife. Once in their room, Peter strings a blanket between their beds and dubs it the "Walls of Jericho." Ellie accuses Peter of trying to take advantage of her, but Peter replies that all he wants is a story. Meanwhile, back in Texas, Andrews offers a $20,000 reward for Ellie. The next morning, an attraction begins to smolder between Peter and Ellie when he cooks her breakfast and she confides that she has never been alone with a man. When Andrews' detectives come to the auto court in search of Ellie, Ellie combs her hair over her face, affects a crude accent and feigns a marital spat with Peter, sending the embarrassed detectives scurrying. Ellie and Peter then break out in a congratulatory dance and are about to kiss when Peter sees a newspaper story trumpeting the reward. Concerned, Peter insists upon leaving the bus and taking the back roads. Broke and hungry, Ellie proves her mettle by using her womanly wiles to hitch a ride with Danker, a passing motorist who offers them a ride in his old jalopy. When they stop at the diner, however, Danker speeds off with Peter's suitcase. Peter chases after Danker, then swaps his wrist watch for the old clunker and drives back to fetch Ellie. After Ballarino refuses his father-in-law's demand for an annulment, Andrews releases a statement that he will not interfere with his daughter's marriage if she will just return home. Upon reading the story in the paper, Ellie, who is falling in love with Peter, tries to delay their arrival in Houston by convincing Peter to spend one last night on the road. That evening, after Peter strings up the Walls of Jericho, Ellie crosses over to Peter's side and confesses that she loves him. Stunned, Peter tells Ellie to go back to bed, and once she falls asleep, he barters his hat for a tank of gas to drive to Houston. There, Peter goes to Gordon's office and offers to sell his story for $2,000 so that he an afford to propose to Ellie and "tear down the Walls of Jericho." Back at the motel, the proprietors awaken, and noticing that Peter's car is missing, think that he has skipped out on the rent. Barging into Peter's room, they find Ellie alone and throw her out into the night. Believing that Peter has deserted her, Ellie contacts her father about coming home. Peter is motoring back to Ellie when Andrews, accompanied by a police escort, sweeps past to collect his daughter. While stopped at a railroad crossing, Peter spots Ellie in Andrews' car and tries to follow, but his jalopy breaks down. When Peter sheepishly returns to Gordon's office to return his advance, the editor assigns him to cover Ellie's lavish wedding that is to be held at the Andrews estate. On the day of her wedding, Ellie tells her father that she is in love with Peter, prompting him to show her a letter that Peter has sent, asking for reimbursement of his expenses. When Ellie reads the letter, she assumes that Peter is after the reward. Soon after, Peter arrives at the estate and presents Andrews with an itemized bill for $35.75. When an incredulous Andrews asks why Peter has decided to forgo the reward, Peter finally admits that he is in love with Ellie. As Andrews escorts his daughter to meet her groom, he tells Ellie that Peter has refused the reward and declared his love for her. Just as the ceremony begins, Peter walks out, and Ellie, noticing his absence, runs after him, flags him down and jumps into his jalopy. Later, while on their honeymoon, Peter tears down the Walls of Jericho for good.

After submitting a story of her beautiful sister, a woman assumes her identity to maintain the attention of a playboy publisher. Ruth and her beautiful sister Eileen come to New York's Greenwich Village looking for "fame, fortune and a 'For Rent' sign on Barrow Street". They find an apartment (such as it is!), but fame and fortune are a lot more elusive. Ruth gets the attention of playboy publisher Bob Baker when she submits a story about her gorgeous sister Eileen. She tries to keep his attention by convincing him that she, (a "spinsterish old-maid writer") and the gorgeous, man-getting Eileen are one and the same person.

After a young woman with dreams of fame rents a billboard to advertise herself, her life changes overnight. Gladys Glover has just lost her modeling job when she meets filmmaker Pete Sheppard shooting a documentary in Central Park. For Pete it's love at first sight, but Gladys has her mind on other things -- like making a name for herself. Through a fluke of advertising she winds up with her name plastered on six billboards throughout city. Suddenly all of New York is clamoring for Gladys Glover without knowing why, and playboy Evan Adams III is making a play for Gladys that even Pete knows will be hard to beat. —A.L.Beneteau <albl@inforamp.net> Gladys Glover, a naive and starry eyed young woman, came to New York City less than two years ago from upstate to make a name for herself. Not only has that not happened, but she just got fired from her latest job as a girdle model. Documentary filmmaker Pete Sheppard, whom she meets by chance and who falls in love with her at first sight, predicts that if an opportunity presents itself, she will be able to seize it. Based on that idea, Gladys, seeing that it is available and using her life savings, decides to rent out a giant billboard in busy Columbus Circle for three months, the signage to be only her name in large lettering. While Gladys loves the billboard and takes any opportunity to stare at it, Pete believes it is a wacky idea since it means nothing, and if it does attract attention, it will only be of the kind that will brand Gladys a nut. It does attract some attention, most specifically of wealthy playboy Evan Adams III of Adams Soap, the company which wants to use the billboard for their regular summer advertising campaign. Despite Gladys and Evan's antagonistic first meeting, Evan sees in Gladys his next romantic conquest. In Gladys' and Evan's negotiations for that billboard space, Evan may be able to parlay Gladys' want for notoriety into his own amorous gains. Gladys has to weigh if this wanted fame is worth it any any cost, even at the expense of losing Pete, for whom she also seems to be falling. —Huggo

While pursuing new love interests, a former married couple keep running into each other all over town. Robert and Nina divorce after eight years of marriage. He takes up with his womanizing Navy buddy Charlie Nelson while she looks to her interfering mother for guidance. Both start dating other people, but although they try to ignore each other whenever they accidentally meet, it is obvious the past is not dead. Then one night they find themselves in a nightclub doing the mambo together. —Jeremy Perkins {J-26} After months of each feeling but not stating outwardly to the other that they have been dissatisfied with their marriage, lawyer Robert Tracey and soap opera creator and writer Nina Tracey née Chapman, after eight years of marriage, decide to get an uncontested divorce. They are at the stage of hating the other so much that despite the divorce being uncontested on both sides, each is irked that the break-up isn't causing the other any grief. Each also feels that the downfall of their marriage is in large part due to the advice and support of their primary confidantes, Robert's being his womanizing best friend, plagiarizing playwright and old army buddy Charlie Nelson, and Nina's being her mother, interior designer Edith Chapman, who is further advised by who Robert considers Edith's quack of a therapist, Dr. Van Kessel. During the post-divorce period, Robert and Nina constantly run into each other. Their individual lives also seem to parallel each other, including the satisfaction of their respective dates with others, which are encouraged by Charlie and Edith. That parallel also includes an eventual realization about their true feeling for the other. The question becomes if their pre-divorce behavior of not stating what they're feeling will kibosh what each really wants in life. —Huggo