Lee Grant

Publishing magnate refuses to publish a book by his son's male lover so the kids buy out their father and run it themselves! Isaac Geldhart is a Holocaust survivor who, overcome by grief at the recent death of his wife, seems determined to run his publishing firm into the ground by printing books that have no hope of financial success. His son Aaron, who also works at the company, grows frustrated with Isaac's emotional decline and attempts to take over the firm. The resulting crisis involves Isaac's other two children, his daughter Sarah and his dying son Martin. —Jesse Garon <grifter@primenet.com>

A gruff bookie's life is turned upside-down when he gets a 6-year-old kid as collateral for a bet. Sorrowful Jones (Walter Matthau) is a cheap bookie in the 1930s. When a gambler leaves his daughter as a marker for a bet, he gets stuck with her. His life will change a great deal with her arrival and his sudden love for a woman also involved in gambling operations. —Steve Richer <sricher@sympatico.ca> Sorrowful Jones (Walter Matthau) is a cheep bookie in 1930s New York City who grudgingly accepts a six-year-old girl (Sara Stimson) as collateral for a debt. The sprightly youngster soon has a positive effect on her curmudgeonly guardian, adding a little sunshine to his life.The little girl decides to play matchmaker for Sorrowful and lonely widow Amanda Worthington (Dame Julie Andrews) by setting her up with Jones on a date. —Larry B.

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.

On Election Day, 1968, irresponsible hairdresser and ladies' man George Roundy is too busy cutting hair and dealing with his girlfriends and mistress Felicia Karpf, whose husband Lester is having an affair with his ex-girlfriend Jackie. Thirty-something George Roundy is a Beverly Hills hairdresser, who spends as much time sleeping with his female clients as he does doing their hair. Whether they want to admit it, all the women in his life are for the most part aware that they are are not the only one with whom he is sleeping. And some, such as the wealthy and married Felicia Karpf, have a stronger emotional dependence on George than they would like to admit. George's current girlfriend is Jill, an up and coming actress. Jill's best friend is Jackie Shawn, one of George's old girlfriends who left him because he couldn't make a true commitment to her. In turn, Jackie is currently having an affair with Lester Karpf, Felicia's wealthy businessman husband. George is unhappy working at a salon owned by Norman, with whom he is constantly butting heads. In his first act of wanting finally to be a grown up, George wants to open his own salon, but doesn't have the financial resources to do it, and no bank will lend him money for the venture. Felicia at least convinces Lester to consider investing in George. On Monday, November 4, 1968, the eve of the presidential election, this group spends the evening together, first at a dinner party hosted by Lester, and then another private party. Lester asks his potential new business partner, George, to accompany his mistress Jackie, not knowing that George and Jackie know each other. Jill, who is invited to the party by Jackie, invites director Johnny Pope as her date, he who is considering her for a role in his next movie filming in Egypt and perhaps more. Over the course of the evening, George may come to the realization of what he wants in life both professionally and personally, but achieving happiness will depend upon others in his life, they who have known George up to this time only as an uncommitted narcissist.

Three vignettes, each set in room 719 of New York's Plaza Hotel, make up this comedy. Three separate stories concerning relationship issues are presented, each largely taking place in suite 719 of the Plaza Hotel in New York City. In story one, suburban New Yorkers Sam and Karen Nash are spending the night in the hotel as their house is being painted, but more importantly for Karen because it is their twenty-"something" wedding anniversary, the hotel where they spent their honeymoon. While Karen wants to recreate the romance that she remembers of their wedding night, Sam is preoccupied with business matters. But it is other issues that highlight their fundamental differences that may demonstrate if they will make it to twenty-something plus one. In story two, womanizing Hollywood movie producer Jesse Kiplinger has exactly two hours free during his whirlwind stay in New York, which he wants to fill with a quickie. Of the many women he calls, the first to agree to meet at his suite is his old hometown flame, married Muriel Tate. Muriel, who knows what Jesse wants, he who she has not seen in fifteen years, is a bundle of nerves as she continuously second guesses herself in whether she should have come. And in story number three, there are a roomful of people in the Baroque Room of the hotel for the wedding and following reception of Borden Eisler and Mimsey Hubley, the event which is being paid for by Mimsey's penny-pinching father, Roy Hubley. What the people in the Baroque Room are unaware of is that Mimsey has locked herself in the bathroom of the hotel suite, but not saying a word to either her father or mother, Norma Hubley, as to the reason for her cold feet. As Roy and Norma try whatever they can to get Mimsey out of the bathroom while stalling the Eislers in the Baroque Room, Roy and Norma also focus on issues in their own relationship and how they raised Mimsey, which may be appropriate if they learn the reason for Mimsey's cold feet. —Huggo Film version of the Neil Simon play has three separate acts set in the same hotel suite in New York's Plaza Hotel with Walter Matthau in a triple role. In the first, Karen Nash tries to get her inattentive husband Sam's attention to spruce up their failing marriage. In the second, brash film producer Jesse Kiplinger tries to get his former one-time flame Muriel to see him for what he stands for. In the third, Roy Hubley and his wife Norma try and try to get their uncertain-of-herself daughter out of the bathroom before her approaching wedding. —Matthew Patay

Philip Colbert, a wealthy man from Chicago who was planning to build a factory in the rural town of Sparta, Mississippi, is found murdered. Police Chief Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) comes under pressure to quickly find Colbert's killer. African-American northerner Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), passing through, is picked up at the train station by a racist police officer who finds Tibbs with a substantial amount of cash in his wallet. Tibbs is brought to the police station where Gillespie, heavily prejudiced against blacks, jumps to the conclusion that he has his culprit, but is embarrassed to learn that Tibbs is a respected Philadelphia homicide detective who had been visiting his mother. After the bigoted and racist treatment he received, Tibbs wants nothing more than to leave Sparta as quickly as possible, but his captain from Philly recommends he stay and help the investigation. The victim's widow, already frustrated by the ineptitude of the local police, is impressed by Tibbs' expert ability when he clears another wrongly-accused suspect Gillespie has arrested on flimsy evidence. She threatens to stop construction on the much-needed factory unless Tibbs leads the investigation. Unwilling to accept help but under orders from the town's mayor, Gillespie talks Tibbs into lending his services. Despite the rocky start to their relationship, the two police come to respect each other as they are compelled to work together to solve the crime. Tibbs initially suspects wealthy plantation owner Eric Endicott, who opposed the new factory. When he attempts to interrogate Endicott about Colbert, Endicott slaps him in the face. Tibbs slaps him back, which leads to Endicott sending a gang of redneck hooligans after Tibbs. Gillespie rescues Tibbs from the fight and orders him to leave town for his own safety. Tibbs refuses to leave until he has solved the case. Tibbs asks Sam Wood, the officer who discovered the body, to retrace his steps the night of the murder. He and Gillespie accompany Sam on his patrol route, stopping at a diner where the counterman, Ralph Henshaw, refuses to serve Tibbs because he is black. When Tibbs notices that Sam has deliberately changed his route, Gillespie begins to suspect Sam of the crime. When he discovers that Sam made a sizable deposit into his bank account the day after the murder (which Sam claims was gambling winnings) and Lloyd Purdy, a local, files charges against Sam for getting Purdy's 16-year-old sister, Delores, pregnant, Gillespie arrests Sam for the murder over Tibbs' protests. Purdy is insulted that Tibbs, a black man, was present for his sister's interrogation about her sexual encounter with Sam, and he gathers a lynch mob to get his revenge on Tibbs. Tibbs is able to clear Sam by finding the original murder scene and pointing out that Sam would not have been able to drive two cars at the same time to dump the body and the victim's car while continuing on his patrol. Acting on a hunch, Tibbs tracks down the local back-room abortionist, who reveals that someone paid for Delores Purdy to have an abortion. When Delores arrives, Tibbs pursues her outside, where he is confronted by the murderer: the diner counterman Ralph Henshaw. Purdy's mob tracks down Tibbs at this moment, and he is being held at gunpoint when he proves to Purdy that it was Ralph, not Sam, who got Delores pregnant. Purdy attacks Ralph, who kills Purdy in self-defense. Ralph is arrested and confesses to the murder of Colbert. He had attempted to rob Colbert to gain money to pay for Delores' abortion but accidentally killed him. His job done, Tibbs finally boards the Gulf, Mobile, & Ohio train out of town, seen off by a more respectful Gillespie.

Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds star as a suburban couple who learn that not even divorce can solve all their problems. After 17 years, life has become too predictable and stale for Richard and Barbara Harmon. They argue, they visit a marriage counselor, and a drunk Richard visits a prostitute. They split up. After meeting other people, they are reunited at a nightclub where they realize that their marriage was better than their divorce. With two teenage children, Richard and Barbara Harmon, both from working class backgrounds, have hit a rough patch in their 17-year marriage. Richard cannot understand why Barbara isn't happy while he feels he has slaved for years, just within the last few years finally to become a business success and good breadwinner. Barbara feels he doesn't communicate well or understand her emotional needs, and that he has changed ever since he became that business success which is more important than her in their marriage. Their sexual dry spell is difficult on both, as neither has even contemplated being unfaithful. Taking advice from others, they take measures to protect their individual selves, in the process exacerbating the issue of divorce, which had not even been a possibility before these measures. As they work toward divorce, they must figure if they truly want a future without each other. Adding to the complicated situation is long-divorced couple Nelson and Nancy Downes, the former who is trying to marry off the latter so he won't need to pay alimony anymore and can get back on his feet. Nancy does want to remarry because she's lonely, but it must make economic sense. For Nancy, Richard fits the love side of the equation, but not the economic side as long as he must pay Barbara alimony. So Nelson and Nancy go on a mission to get Barbara remarried to someone else.

Detective Story (1951) is classified as film noir, telling the story of a single day in a police detective squad room. It stars Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, William Bendix, Cathy O'Donnell, Lee Grant, George Macready, and others. The movie, an adaption of the 1949 play of the same name originally created by Sidney Kingsley, was directed by William Wyler. Robert Wyler and Philip Yordan edited the original play to become the film version we know today. Detective Jim McLeod (Kirk Douglas), A hardened, bitter man, leads a precinct of characters in their grim daily task with the city's lowlife. Little does he realize that his pursuit of an abortionist, Dr. Karl Schneider (George Macready) will allow him to discover his wife's terrible secret. The film begins with the arrest and booking of a shoplifter (Lee Grant, her film debut) at the 21st police precinct in NYC. Outside, Detective Jim McLeod, is romantically engaged for a moment with his wife, Mary (played by Eleanor Parker), and talking about their future and future children. Jim enters the precinct to process a young embezzler, Arthur Kindred (actor Craig Hill). McLeod meets one Endicott Sims (played by Warner Anderson) who is the lawyer representing Dr. Karl Schneider (George Macready), a New Jersey doctor. Schneider had his medical license revoked and now wanted on murder charges. Mr. Sims informs precinct Lieutenant Monahan (Horace McMahon), that Dr. Schneider wants to turn himself in without being beaten by Detective McLeod. Jim McLeod expresses his vehement hatred of Schneider, and other criminals, by saying the law "coddles them." Two burglars, Charley Gennini (Joseph Wiseman) and Lewis Abbott (Michael Strong), are interrogated by Detectives Jim McLeod and Lou Brody (William Bendix), and successfully turns Lewis Abbott against Charley Gennini. When Karl Schneider arrives with his lawyer Endicott Sims, Detective McLeod informs him that Miss Hatch (Gladys George), the doctor's accomplice, has implicated him and plans to identify him in a line-up. Dr. Schneider bribes Miss Hatch with a fur coat. Of course, after that, she fails to identify the doctor in the line-up. Jim McLeod erupts and tells Miss Hatch she is a liar. Later on he admits to a reporter, Joe Feinson (Luis Van Rooten), he hated his father who possessed a "criminal mind". His father eventually drove his mother into a lunatic asylum. This past is what made McLeod hunt for and put away evil-doers. Detective McLeod must take Karl Schneider to Bellevue Hospital. A young victim of Dr. Schneider's handiwork is there. Sadly, when they arrive at the hospital, McLeod discovers the woman has died. With the woman dead, and no eye witness identification of the doctor having done the procedure, there is no case against Dr. Schneider. On the way back to the police precinct, Jim literally beats Schneider until he collapses. Meanwhile, Arthur Kindred's employer, a man named Albert R. Pritchett (performed by James Maloney), comes in the precinct. He fully intends to press charges against Arthur Kindred for embezzlement. Mr. Kindred's friend, Susan Carmichael (portrayed by Cathy O'Donnell), arrives to help him. She has worked hard to gather $120 to go towards Mr. Pritchett, hoping against hope no charges will filed against her friend Arthur. McLeod calls Mr. Kindred a thief trying to convince Susan that Arthur isn't worthy of her help, but Susan pleads with Mr. Pritchett. She swears the rest of the money will be in Mr. Pritchett's hands by the next day. Later, Jim's wife, Mary McLeod, arrives at the station. She speaks with Lt. Monahan about whether she knows Giacoppetti (a racketeer) believed to have dated Mary a long time ago. Also, if she knows Dr. Schneider. She denies ever knowing either of them, but when Giacoppetti walks in and greets her, she is surprised and runs out, crying. Giacoppetti then tells Lt. Monahan that Mary had gotten pregnant while they dated and had gone to Dr. Schneider for an abortion. Mary confesses to her husband, Jim, about the pregnancy and abortion she had to endure by Dr. Schneider many years ago. Later, when she is alone with Jim, she begs his forgiveness for her past transgession. He brutally states he'd rather die than find out his wife is "a tramp". He then demands to know if her infertility is because of the abortion Schneider performed. Feeling hurt and humiliated by Jim's reaction, Mary runs out in tears. Some time after, Mary returns to the squad room to inform McLeod she is leaving. He proceeds to plead with her to stay. She relents, but after a nasty comment made by the doctor's lawyer, Mr. Sims, (Warner Anderson) about Mary's love life, Jim boils over. He demands to know how many men there were before he met her. He says he cannot wash away the "dirty pictures" in his mind. Mary, hurt anew and shocked by what he's said, calls him cruel and vengeful. Mary decides to leave Jim for good, not wanting be "driven to a lunatic asylum" like his mother was by his father. She vows she never wants to see him again. A victim runs into the police station yelling she's been robbed. Gennini, playing to the confusion of the moment, grabs a gun from a policeman. He shoots Detective McLeod several times. As Jim McLeod lays dying, he asks his wife to forgive him. He then tells his fellow police officers to go easy on Arthur Kindred. McLeod then begins the Act of Contrition, a Catholic confessional prayer, dying before it is completed. His partner, Brody, finishes the prayer. A distressed Brody then releases Arthur Kindred while admonishing him "not to make a monkey out of me."