Maggie Smith

Four women set out on a journey to Lourdes confronting their pasts in search of a miracle.

The dowager countess inherits a villa in the south of France from a man she once knew. The family travels to France to find out why he willed it to her.

The Crawleys must prepare to welcome the King and Queen of England, a visit that will unleash scandal, romance, and intrigue, leaving the fate of Downton hanging in the balance.

A man forms an unexpected bond with a transient woman living in her van that's parked in his driveway. This movie tells the true story of Alan Bennett's (Alex Jennings') strained friendship with Miss Mary Shepherd (Dame Maggie Smith), an eccentric homeless woman who Bennett befriended in the 1970s before allowing her temporarily to park her Bedford van in the driveway of his Camden house. She stayed there for fifteen years. As the story develops, Bennett learns that Miss Shepherd is really Margaret Fairchild (died 1989), a former gifted pupil of pianist Alfred Cortot. She had played Chopin in a promenade concert, tried to become a nun, was committed to an institution by her brother, escaped, had an accident when her van was hit by a motorcyclist for which she believed herself to blame, and thereafter lived in fear of arrest. Based upon the true story of London playwright and actor Alan Bennett's (Alex Jennings') unusual multi-year relationship with an eccentric elderly, homeless woman he knew as Miss Mary Shepherd (Dame Maggie Smith) in the 1970s before allowing her to park her van in the driveway of his home. She stayed there for fifteen years. Miss Shepherd was, in fact, Margaret Fairchild, former pupil of pianist Alfred Cortot. She played Chopin in a concert, and after she tried to become a nun, was institutionalized by her brother. Living in fear of being caught and sent back, she had an accident when her van was hit by a motorcyclist for which she believed herself to blame, and thereafter was also fearful of arrest. —Huggo This movie tells the story of Alan Bennett's (Alex Jennings') strained friendship with Miss Mary Shepherd (Dame Maggie Smith), an eccentric homeless woman who Bennett befriended in the 1970s before allowing her temporarily to park her Bedford van in the driveway of his Camden house. She stayed there for fifteen years. As the story develops, Bennett learns that Miss Shepherd is really Margaret Fairchild, a former gifted pupil of pianist Alfred Cortot. A memoir from acclaimed English playwright and author Alan Bennett is the basis for this film, centred on Miss Shepherd (Maggie Smith), a woman of uncertain origins who 'temporarily' parks her van in Bennett's London driveway and proceeds to live there for 15 years. What begins as a begrudging favour becomes a relationship that will change both their lives.

Making their final stand upon the ramparts of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter and his friends face their greatest foe and make the ultimate sacrifice.

Nanny McPhee arrives to help a harried young mother who is trying to run the family farm, but finds that the children are fighting a war of their own against two spoiled cousins.

Lord Voldemort has returned but the Ministry of Magic is keeping the wizarding world from the truth. The future of magic now depends on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

When a young pregnant woman named Rosemary "Rosie" Jones (Emilia Fox) boards a train, her enormous trunk starts leaking blood. The trunk is found by the conductor in the luggage compartment, and he promptly reports it to the police. The police are waiting for Rosie at the next station. Questioned by the police about the dead bodies inside, Rosie calmly reveals they are her unfaithful husband and his mistress. Convicted of manslaughter, she is imprisoned in a unit for the criminally insane due to diminished responsibility. Rosie was still pregnant when she entered the prison. Forty-three years later, Walter Goodfellow (Rowan Atkinson), the village vicar of Little Wallop, is very busy writing the perfect sermon for a convention. The town has a population of 57. Walter is completely oblivious to his family's problems. His wife Gloria's (Kristin Scott Thomas) has unfulfilled emotional/sexual needs and starts an affair with her golf instructor Lance (Patrick Swayze). Gloria wants to have sex with Walter, but Walter claims to be too busy with his work at the Parish. His teenage daughter Holly's (Tamsin Egerton) growing sex drive and physical maturity who constantly changes boyfriends. His son Petey (Toby Parkes), a victim of bullying at school. Gloria frequently catches Holly having sex with random guys in their vans, right outside her home. Gloria tries to counsel Holly that she is an intelligent girl and is wasting her life by sleeping around. New housekeeper, Grace Hawkins (Maggie Smith), becomes involved in their lives, learning about their problems. Neighbor Mr. Brown's (James Booth) Jack Russell terrier Clarence, barks non-stop, preventing Gloria from sleeping. Mr. Brown is hard of hearing, so he simply could not care less if Clarence is being a nuisance to others. Petey has bullies and Gloria is having an affair with Lance. Lance promises to take Gloria to Mexico for a vacation in 2 weeks. They are unable to have sex, as there is no place in town where Gloria is not recognized. Lance calls Gloria, and Grace picks the phone, and Lance talks to her without realizing that she isn't Gloria. Grace came to the house with a large and vintage old trunk. The whole family works together to lift the heavy trunk up to Grace's room on the first floor. Meanwhile Walter is nothing but sweet to Grace and makes her feel very welcome in his home. Walter is the object of ridicule for the entire village, since he is incompetent in every sense of the word, including at the game of soccer where he participates with the local club. As a goalkeeper, Walter is absolutely horrible and leaks many goals against the opposing team. He is only tolerated due to his position as the vicar of the town. Even Lance approaches Walter and mocks him for the way the village makes fun of him, and yet Walter is only polite to Lance in return. One day, Gloria is spending time with Lance when she picks his phone and finds that he has been in touch with another girl, who Lance has been seeing on the side. Grace sets out to solve the problems in her own way by killing Clarence (the dog) as well as Mr. Brown (when Brown sees Grace trying to bury Clarence's body during a stormy night and Grance notices this), sabotaging the brakes on the bullies' bicycles which injures one of them and killing Lance with a flat iron outside the house for videotaping Holly undressing one night. Grace puts Holly on the path to recovery by getting her interested in cooking. As Walter prepares the sermon for the conference, Grace suggests adding humor. Like the joke about how God visited Earth 2000 years ago, met a nice Hebrew girl and they are still talking about it. Also, seeing he has let his relationship slide due to his devotion to God, she shows him he can love his wife and God by looking at the erotic references in the Song of Solomon. As the problems in the household seem to gradually clear, Walter leaves for his convention. Gloria and Holly see Grace's photo on the news, showing her release and previous offenses, and they begin to realize what she's done. They find Lance's phone in Grace's large trunk in her room. She also shows the girls the video that Lance had been shooting of Holly secretly while she was undressing in her room. She's Gloria's long-lost mother Rosie Jones, who's come to meet her. After briefly processing the flood of information, Gloria asserts that when having a problem with someone, one cannot just kill them. Grace mentions this is the point she and her doctors could never agree on. Despite their disagreements, Gloria tries to help Grace with Lance's body but cannot handle it. Over a cup of tea, the three women decide not to tell Walter or Petey any of what has happened. Nagging congregant Mrs. Parker (Liz Smith) visits to discuss the problem of the "church flower arranging committee". Grace, erroneously believing Mrs. Parker is about to turn them in for her crimes, attempts to hit her with a frying pan but Gloria stops her. Mrs. Parker, shocked, has a heart attack and dies. Walter returns from the convention just then and sees Mrs. Parker's body, but not realizing she is dead. Soon after, Grace leaves the family when order is seemingly restored among them. Walter then talks to Bob (Patrick Monckton) and Ted (Rowley Irlam), the waterworks employees, who have been working quietly in the background on the vicarage's pond during recent events. They advise the pond has blue green algae in it which means there is the possibility of the pond poisoning people as the pond is connected to the local area's water table, meaning the pond needs to be drained. Remembering Grace's victims' bodies are in the pond, Gloria, with a strained smile, offers them some tea. The film ends with an underwater shot depicting the bodies that had been placed in the pond, including the recently added Bob and Ted (implying that Gloria was the one who killed Bob and Ted and put their bodies inside the pond).

Harry, Ron and Hermione`s third year at Hogwarts looks bleak when the infamous Sirius Black - who abetted Lord Voldemort by killing 13 people with a single curse - escapes prison.

An orphaned Italian boy is raised amongst a circle of British and American women living in Mussolini's Italy before and during World War II. In 1935 a group of elderly British women, whom the Italians have named the Scorpioni, have chosen Italy, specifically Florence, as a place to live to blend their proper British sensibilities with their love of Italian art and culture. One of those Scorpioni, Mary Walsh (Dame Joan Plowright), works as the English secretary for Paolo Innocente (Massimo Ghini), who, in part because of his own wife's adamant refusal, largely neglects his illegitimate adolescent son, Luca (Baird Wallace), despite Paolo's want for Luca to grow up to be a proper young man, much like the English. Luca has lived in an orphanage since his dressmaker mother's death, death a concept that Luca does not yet understand. As such, he often runs away looking for his mother. On a mutual agreement between Paolo and Mary, Mary becomes Luca's guardian, she who will receive help in raising Luca by her fellow Scorpioni and financial help from Paolo as needed. Associated with the Scorpioni is a brash younger nouveau riche Jewish-American woman named Elsa Morgenthal (Cher), who, because of her affection for Luca's mother to whom she owed money, sets up a trust for Luca's future. Amongst the Scorpioni, Lady Hester Random (Dame Maggie Smith), the widow of the former ambassador to Italy, in particular and Elsa do not get along because of their fundamental outward differences. The life for the Scorpioni changes with the on-set of World War II, more specifically when Italy declares war on Britain and France. Despite all of the Scorpioni taken into custody of sorts by the Italians, they are eventually housed in the comforts of a hotel. Lady Hester wrongly believes it is her association with Mussolini (Claudio Spadaro) that has gotten them into their comfortable surroundings, but which in reality was arranged and paid for by Elsa. Luca, who has just returned to Italy after attending school in Austria, helps Elsa with her efforts to assist those persecuted in Italy. Luca, now a teenager, has fallen in love with Elsa. As such, Luca is jealous of Elsa's professional and personal relationship with Italian lawyer Vittorio Fanfanni (Paolo Seganti). Elsa's own situation becomes more precarious with the United States' entrance into the war, the Nazis' increasing persecution of Jews, and Luca discovering that Fanfanni has ulterior motives in his relationship with Elsa. Through it all, Mary still tries to be the voice of what is right to Luca, who may be tainted by his own immature teenaged thoughts during these difficult times. —Huggo Semi-autobiographical tale from the early life of Writer and Director Franco Zeffirelli looks at the illegitimate son of an Italian businessman. The boy's mother has died, and he is raised by an Englishwoman in pre-World War II Fascist Italy. Living to each other in Florence, and presided over by an ambassador's widow, a group of Englishwomen live a sheltered existence which they believe is guaranteed personal protection in a tea reception given by Il Duce (Claudio Spadaro). However, as war breaks out, the women are interned. Occasionally in this English colony is a wealthy American, who visits amongst her travels and marriages to wealthy older men. She respects the "Scorpioni", as they are known, and secretly arranges for their stay in a hotel. The ambassador's widow finds her vulgar and tries to ignore her, but when the United States enters the war, the American too is taken into custody. Only then does she discover that her Italian lover has tricked her into signing over all of her money and modern art collection to him, and is now arranging her execution. This obliges all to join forces. Georgie (Lily Tomlin) is an American archaeologist working at a dig in the city. —John Sacksteder <jsackste@bellsouth.net> Semi-autobiographical tale from the early life of Writer and Director Franco Zeffirelli. An illegitimate child is raised by an Englishwoman in pre-World War II Fascist Italy, part of an English community in Florence presided over by a diplomat's widow. Elsa Morganthal Strauss-Armistan (Cher) is a wealthy American collector of modern art who visits these "Scorpioni" on occasion. —Dehlia

Reunited by the death of a college friend, three divorced women seek revenge on the husbands who left them for younger women. After years of helping their hubbies climb the ladder of success, three wives have been dumped for newer, curvier models. But the trio is determined to turn their pain into gain. They come up with a cleverly devious plan to hit their exes where it really hurts, in the wallet. Sit back and watch the sparks fly as The Wives get mad, get even, and get it all. Justice has seldom been so sweet. Or so much fun. Reunited after nearly three long decades at their friend's funeral, the once-close-knit team of college friends--the Oscar-winning actress, Elise; the mouthy, Brenda, and the quiet housewife, Annie--realise that they have much more in common than their age. Betrayed and divorced by their treacherous husbands for trophy mistresses, the wronged women finally summon up the courage to take matters into their own hands, to avenge themselves, and give them a dose of their own medicine. Now, the exes are hell-bent on getting even. Do their former men stand a chance against the First-Wives Club? —Nick Riganas Now in middle age, Elise Eliot, Brenda Cushman née Morelli, Annie Paradis née MacDuggan, and Cynthia Griffin née Swann were the closest of friends in college twenty-five years ago, but they drifted apart after college in their differences. Elise is a youth obsessed famous actress. Brenda is brash and straight talking. Annie is a doormat of a woman who has never taken a decisive action in her life. And Cynthia is the proverbial glue in guiding the other three. Elise, Brenda and Annie are reunited at Cynthia's funeral, she who committed suicide upon the marriage of her ex-husband Gil Griffin to who was his much younger mistress. In reuniting, the three women come to various degrees of realization that they are much like each other and much like Cynthia: each is at a different stage of her marriage dissolving - Brenda and her discount retail mogul husband Morty Cushman have already divorced, Elise and her movie producer husband Bill Atchison are in the middle of a contentious divorce with Bill requesting alimony, and Annie and her husband Aaron Paradis, a partner in a successful ad firm, are separated, although Annie goes running back to Aaron for sex anytime he asks in her anticipation that they will get back together - and that each wife was the catalyst for her respective husband's financial success. But it isn't until each woman receives a final letter of that guidance from Cynthia and that they all finally discover that there is a younger woman now in her husband's life that the three, with the help of supporters, decide to join forces to get revenge on their husbands. The questions become if they can find a way to get back at each of the three where it will really hurt them, and if they themselves can overcome their own differences to accomplish this goal. —Huggo

Mary Lennox (Kate Maberly) is a ten year old British girl living in India around the cusp of the 20th century. Her parents (Irène Jacob and Colin Bruce) are neglectful, leaving her in the care of an Aya (Parsan Singh), a native servant, while they attend parties and partake in other leisures and obligations. This leaves Mary with a sour disposition and all the anger and bitterness of someone twice her age. Her anger leads her to act out, but she never cries. One night, while her parents are away at a nearby party, Mary breaks her mother's small, ivory elephant and hides with the pieces under her parent's bed. Suddenly, the earth shakes and things in the room begin to fall off their counters and break. Elephants roar and people outside scream as the earthquake continues. Mary's parents both perish in the devastation and she is left alone. Six months after the incident, Mary arrives by ship in Liverpool, England where she is picked up by Mrs. Medlock (Maggie Smith), the head keeper of Misselthwaite Manor in Yorkshire. The manor is owned by Mary's sullen uncle, Lord Archibald Craven (John Lynch) whose late wife was the twin sister of Mary's mother. Mrs. Medlock instructs Mary to keep out of trouble and not to disturb her uncle, who would rather not see her at all, while she finds ways to amuse herself. Mary is dissentful towards the manor which appears cold and dank among the wintry grounds it sits on. However, she finds a kind heart in her servant, Martha (Laura Crossley), the daughter of one of the cooks. Martha is patient with the angry Mary, and assists with her dressing and amusement, giving her a jump rope as a gift. She also speaks of her brother Dickon (Andrew Knott) who is around Mary's age and may provide her additional company while Martha works. Mary soon discovers that the manor holds many secrets and mysteries. She hears crying at night and, when she questions the servants, they deny the sounds. One evening she finds a hidden door in her room that leads to abandoned sectors of the manor. She discovers one particular room, dusty but brightly decorated, that she is interested to find belonged to her aunt. An ivory elephant, one identical to her mother's, sits on the bureau inside of which Mary finds a key. During one of her daily explorations of the grounds, Mary meets an old gardener named Ben Weatherstaff (Walter Sparrow) who warns Mary not to go snooping about, though he tells her that she reminds him of the late mistress. When Mary inquires about the grounds hidden behind a large stone wall, Ben tells her that it was a garden owned by Mrs. Crane and that it's since been locked away to anyone since she died. When he leaves, Mary is met by a red-breasted robin which leads her to the ivy covered wall and a secret doorway hidden within. Through the keyhole, Mary can see the expanses of a large garden. Remembering the key she found, Mary fetches it and tries it on the door: it fits. Inside, she finds that the garden is overgrown and appears dead in the chill air. Having originally thought that her uncle wanted nothing to do with her, Mary is surprised when she is summoned to meet him. She is brought to his study where she sees her crook-backed uncle for the first time. He is saddened to see that Mary looks just like her mother and, therefore, like his wife. Though he contemplates sending her to better accomodations at a boarding school, Mary begs to stay at the manor, asking only for a bit of earth to grow things in. Craven allows her to stay and bids her leave before he packs and leaves the manor, fleeing the coming spring, Mary theorizes. The staff at the manor speak of her uncle as a cursed man, forever enveloped in grief since the loss of his wife. Mary goes to visit her garden again and comes across the nature-loving Dickon. She shows him the garden on oath of secrecy and he relieves her worries of its health when he shows her that all the plants in the garden are still alive, just asleep. He helps her remove invasive weeds and shows her the proper way to plant flower bulbs. Mary smiles again. When she notices a swing hanging from a nearby tree, Dickon tells her that Mrs. Craven died falling from it. One night, Mary dreams of her mother. As her toddler self begins to cry after losing her mother, Mary awakens to the sound of real crying. She takes a candle and follows the sounds to a chamber she's never seen. Inside, a boy her age lies in a large bed and, when he sees her, stops his crying and beckons her forward. He introduces himself as Colin Craven (Heydon Prowse), the master of the house while his father's away. The children learn they are cousins and Colin tells Mary how he's never left the house and cannot walk while displaying his morbid obsession with death. He tells her that his mother died giving birth to him and, being so weak, was fed the notion that he will remain so until he develops a hunch like his father and then die. Medlock tends to Colin personally and rigorously instructs the other servants to provide for him. Mary, however, cannot see anything wrong with Colin besides the fact that he's cooped up inside all the time. His selfish behavior angers her further, though she regularly visits him while being sure to avoid Medlock who would highly disapprove. One day Mary, sickened by Colin's despondence and convinced that all he needs is some light, opens the closed windows and puts Colin in his wheelchair to sit by them. She leaves him in his room, but the light blinds him and, when he sees Mary outside with Dickon, he begins to throw a tantrum and falls out of his chair. The concerned servants place Colin on the bed where he continues to scream until Mary returns and begins massaging his back. When Medlock finds them together, she demands that Mary leave until Colin orders her to let them be. With Mary's encouragement, Colin finally decides that he may be ready to venture outside and makes the announcement to all the servants that he, Mary, and Dickon, will explore the grounds alone. Mary and Dickon take Colin in his wheelchair to the garden his mother used to tend. He is in awe and is convince that the place is filled with hidden magic. When old Ben discovers them, he blurts out that Colin is naught but a cripple. Offended, Colin stands for the very first time. As spring arrives and flowers bloom and animals are born, the children continue to visit the garden together and Colin grows stronger by the day, eventually learning to walk. They decide to keep his progress a secret and wish to surprise Lord Craven when he returns. Medlock, however, sees Mary as a threat to Colin's health and is convinced that her wild ways and disobedience will prove fatal to the boy. The children visit the garden every day and Mary and Dickon grow close. Colin expresses his love for Mary but she assures him that they will always be together as they look at photographs of their mothers. Colin feigns weakness in front of Medlock and the servants though he is against his old treatments, including taking ice baths to soothe his 'swollen' legs. Medlock soon grows convinced that Colin and Mary should be separated and she locks them in their rooms, intent on keeping them there until Craven's return. However, Mary escapes through the secret door in her room and reunites with Colin and Dickon. They escape the manor and run to the garden in the middle of the night to perform a magic rite to summon Colin's father home and set his spirit free. Craven, meanwhile, dreams of his wife and hears her calling him to her garden. He wakes with a start and immediately heads home. The servants are surprised to see him home unannounced and scramble to accompany him, including Medlock. He demands to see his son but, when they walk into an empty room, Medlock tells him that it must be because of Mary. They go to her room to find it also empty and Craven resolves to follow his wife's words. He leaves the distraught Medlock in the manor as he walks towards the garden where he hears laughter and finds the secret door open. He walks inside where he finds Colin blindfolded, but walking, playing blind man's bluff. Mary and Dickon emerge from their hiding spots as Craven approaches Colin. Thinking the figure is Dickon, Colin reaches up to touch his father's face before removing his blindfold in surprise. Father and son embrace one another in happiness but Mary runs away, saddened and thinking that no one wants her. Dickon tries to console her, but she runs off alone. Colin and Craven soon find her and Craven tells her that every miracle that has happened (the garden growing once more, Colin's strength, and now Craven's return to the place he thought he'd never see again) is because of her and she IS wanted. Everyone returns to the manor where the servants and Medlock are astounded to see Colin walking and running beside his father. Dickon rides his white pony over the Yorkshire estate as Mary narrates that her uncle learned to laugh, she learned to cry, and the garden remained open to all. And, if you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.

When Captain James Hook kidnaps his children, an adult Peter Pan must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit in order to challenge his old enemy. Peter Pan (Robin Williams) has grown up to be a cut-throat merger and acquisitions lawyer, and is married to Wendy's (Dame Maggie Smith's) granddaughter, Moira (Caroline Goodall). Captain James Hook (Dustin Hoffman) kidnaps his children, Jack (Charlie Korsmo) and Maggie (Amber Scott), and Peter returns to Neverland with Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts). With the help of her and the Lost Boys, he must remember how to be Peter Pan again in order to save his children by battling with Captain Hook once again.

The Belgian detective Hercule Poirot travels to what appears to be an idyllic vacation island in the Adriatic Sea. The Evil exists anywhere.... even in paradise islands. A former actress (Arlena Marshall), who alienates everyone around her, is found strangled on the beach. Everyone in the resort had a motive to kill Arlena, but all seemingly have an alibi. Poirot will investigate the murder. Poirot discovers that the murderer is Patrick Redfern, Arlena's lover, who had been having an affair with Arlena while seemingly flaunting it in his wife's face. He wanted to steal back a diamond he had given her, which had itself been stolen before Arlena came into possession of it. It turns out that not only did Patrick's wife approve of the affair, but was in cahoots with her husband. An elaborate ruse had been set up to throw Poirot off the track with Patrick's wife temporarily impersonating Arlena after Arlena had been killed. The murder turns out to be linked to a previous murder case, in which it was assumed that a vagrant had committed the crime.

In the Ancient Greek world, King Acrisius of Argos (Donald Houston) locks his daughter Danaë (Vida Taylor) away from mortal men to avoid a prophecy that he would die if his daughter had a son. While she is imprisoned, the god Zeus (Laurence Olivier) impregnates her. After discovering the pregnancy, Acrisius casts his daughter and her newborn son Perseus out to sea in a wooden coffin, hoping to kill both and avoid his fate. In retribution, Zeus orders the god of the sea, Poseidon (Jack Gwillim), to release an ancient monster known as the Kraken to destroy Argos, fulfilling the prophecy. Atop Mount Olympus, while the city is destroyed, Zeus crushes the clay figurine of Acrisius in his hand, killing the tyrant. Meanwhile, at Zeus' request, Poseidon ensures that Danaë and Perseus drift across the Aegean Sea safely, arriving on the shores of the island of Seriphos. Over the next several years, Perseus (Harry Hamlin as an adult) grows from an infant to a handsome young man. Calibos (Neil McCarthy), son of the sea goddess Thetis (Maggie Smith), is a handsome young man destined to marry Princess Andromeda (Judi Bowker), the daughter of Queen Cassiopeia (Sian Phillips) and heir to the rich Greek city of Joppa. But the cruel and destructive Calibos has destroyed every living thing surrounding the Wells of the Moon, including Zeus's entire sacred herd of flying horses, save for the stallion Pegasus. As punishment for his many transgressions, Zeus transforms Calibos into a satyr-like creature who is subsequently shunned and forced to live as an outcast in the swamps east of Joppa. Thetis, furious at her son's fate, vows that if Calibos cannot marry Andromeda, no other man will, either. Equally infuriated by Zeus' unquestioning devotion for his own son, Thetis magically transports Perseus from Seriphos to Joppa. Perseus, finding himself in the amphitheater of Joppa outside the city, is befriended by the elderly scholar and playwright Ammon (Burgess Meredith). He learns of Andromeda and her plight: she cannot marry unless her suitor successfully answers a riddle, and any suitor who fails to answer the riddle correctly is burned at the stake. Perseus also tells Ammon that he is prince and heir to Argos and hopes to return there to claim the title. Zeus realizes that his son has been sent to a dangerous region of the world and orders his gods to provide his son with a helmet that will make him invisible, a sword which can cut through material as hard as marble and a golden shield. When Perseus sneaks into Andromeda's bedchamber, using his helmet for cover, he discovers that each night a monstrous vulture arrives with a small cage and carries the princess' spirit off to the east. Perseus captures and tames Pegasus and follows Andromeda's spirit on her nightly journey to learn a new riddle from Calibos. Armed with the answer, Perseus is nearly killed by Calibos in the swamp but escapes, losing the magical helmet. Perseus appears at the next ceremony for a new suitor and answers the riddle correctly, presenting Calibos's severed hand (with a pearled and gold ring on one of the fingers, which is the answer to the riddle) and winning Andromeda's hand in marriage. Perseus tells Joppa that he'd spared Calibos' life if he would lift the curse. Later, in the temple of Thetis, the wounded Calibos prays to his mother Thetis to take vengeance on Perseus. Thetis tells Calibos that she cannot do so because Perseus is protected by Zeus, but, at her son's suggestion, she can take vengeance on Joppa, Andromeda and her mother. At the wedding, Queen Cassiopeia compares Andromeda's beauty to that of Thetis herself, which angers the goddess and gives her an excuse to fulfill her son's wish. The statue of Thetis collapses and its head comes to life, demanding Andromeda as a virgin sacrifice to the Kraken in 30 days or Joppa will be destroyed. Perseus seeks a way to defeat the Kraken and leads a small group of soldiers with him with Andromeda and Ammon joining them in the quest. Ammon recommends that they consult the Stygian Witches, three old, blind women (Flora Robson, Anna Manahan, and Freda Jackson) who live to the East. At the same time, Pegasus is captured by Calibos and his men, forcing Perseus and his caravan to make the difficult and dangerous journey by land. Zeus commands Athena (Susan Fleetwood) to give Perseus her owl Bubo as a replacement for his lost helmet of invisibility. Not wishing to give up her companion, she has Hephaestus (Pat Roach) build a mechanical replica of Bubo as an aid for Perseus. Bubo finds Perseus and leads him to the Stygian Witches, who reside on a craggy mountaintop in a remote region. Perseus, with Bubo's help, manages to snatch from the three cannibalistic witches a magical glass orb which is their communal 'eye'. Perseus promises to return the eye to them if they tell him how he can defeat the Kraken. The witches tell him the only way to defeat the Kraken is by using the head of another of the titans, Medusa the Gorgon. Once a beautiful woman, Medusa had been punished by the goddess Aphrodite (Ursula Andress) by being transformed into a horrible monster. Meeting Medusa's gaze will turn any living creature to stone, including the Kraken. She makes her home on the Isle of the Dead, which lies across the River Styx, at the very edge of the Underworld. Because Perseus held their eye, his cloak will be able to withstand Medusa's toxic blood should he succeed in claiming her head. Perseus tosses back the glass eye to the witches and makes his escape. That evening, Perseus tells Andromeda to return to Joppa with Ammon as he must go on alone with Cassiopeia's soldiers to the underworld to kill Medusa and claim her head. She refuses, wishing to stay with him but when she wakes in the morning, she finds Perseus and his men have left. The next day, Perseus and his men arrive at the River Styx where the skeletal ferryman, Charon is to row them to the Isle of the Dead in exchange for a silver coin. Perseus takes three of his men with him to cross the river to the island. Once there, Perseus and his men find the Temple of Medusa and soon battle Dioskilos, a two-headed dog guarding the lair. One of the soldiers is killed, but Perseus and the other two succeed in slaying Dioskilos and set forth into the underground ruins where Medusa resides. Armed with a bow and several arrows, Medusa takes on the three intruders to her domain. One of Perseus's men loses his life to one of Medusa's blood-poisoned arrows, while the last becomes caught in the stare of Medusa and is transformed into stone. Perseus eventually manages to not only deceive Medusa with the help of his shield, but also decapitate her with his sword and collects her head, losing his shield in a pool of Medusa's acidic blood. That night, as Perseus and his party set out to return to Joppa with Medusa's head wrapped in his cloak, Calibos raids the camp, drives off the group's horses and punctures the cloak carrying Medusa's head, spilling her blood and spawning three giant scorpions. The scorpions and Calibos attack the party. After the last two of his men are killed (one by a scorpion and the chief guard, Thalo, by Calibos himself), Perseus is able to slay the remaining scorpion and manages to best Calibos, whom he finally kills with Aphrodite's sword. Perseus, weakened by his struggle and running out of time, orders Bubo to find Pegasus. The mechanical owl locates Pegasus in the swamp, guarded by Calibos' men and the giant vulture. Bubo creates a chaotic melee, the camp burns when a fire-pit is overturned and Bubo frees Pegasus. Back in Joppa, Perseus arrives in Ammon's amphitheater and collapses from exhaustion. On Olympus, Thetis reminds Zeus that it is time for Andromeda to be sacrificed. The weary Zeus orders Poseidon to release the Kraken. As he walks away from the clay figurines in his collection, he revives Perseus. As Andromeda is about to be sacrificed to the Kraken, Bubo appears, trying to stall the Kraken while Perseus catches up, flying on Pegasus. Perseus approaches the Kraken, but the monster knocks him off his mount, spilling them both into the ocean. Bubo retrieves the head and delivers it to Perseus, who frees the head, turning the Kraken into stone which collapses into the bay. The task completed, Perseus throws the severed head into the ocean and frees Andromeda. Pegasus emerges from the sea to the crowd's delight. The gods discuss the outcome of the adventure: Perseus and Andromeda will live happily, rule wisely and produce good children. Zeus forbids the other gods to pursue any vengeance against them. In addition, the likenesses of Perseus, Andromeda, Pegasus and Cassiopeia are set among the stars as constellations to forever remind mankind of the values of heroism and bravery.

On a flight to Los Angeles, California, British actress Diana Barrie (Maggie Smith) watches herself on the in-flight movie in the role for which she has received an Academy Award nomination. She expresses her nervousness about the upcoming Oscar ceremony to her husband, Sidney Cochran (Michael Caine), as the plane lands. Elsewhere, on a Los Angeles freeway, Dr. Willis Panama (Bill Cosby) and Dr. Chauncey Gump (Richard Pryor), physicians from Chicago, Illinois, vacationing together with their wives Bettina (Sheila Frazer) and Lola (Gloria Gifford), bicker with each other constantly as their rental car first breaks down, then collides with two other vehicles. As Diana and Sidney check into the Beverly Hills Hotel, Hannah Warren (Jane Fonda) paces her room in the hotel while waiting to meet with her ex-husband, Bill Warren (Alan Alda). When he arrives, they note that it has been nine years since they saw each other, then they leave to keep the lunch reservation he made. At the Los Angeles airport, Harry Michaels (Herbert Edelman) picks up his brother, Marvin Michaels (Walter Matthau), who has come to town to attend Harry's son's bar mitzvah. Marvin explains that he and his wife Millie (Elaine May) always fly separately, so she will arrive the next morning. Marvin notices that Harry still ogles and wants to proposition every beautiful woman he sees. Harry drops Marvin off at the Beverly Hills Hotel and they arrange to meet for dinner later. Meanwhile, Hannah and Bill reminisce over lunch and later at his beachfront home. She is an editor for Newsweek magazine in New York City and dating a writer for the Washington Post. He is a former journalist, now working as a screenwriter, and contemplating marrying his girlfriend. Then they discuss the real reason Hannah has flown to Los Angeles: their seventeen-year old daughter, Jenny (Dana Plato), unhappy living with her mother in New York, ran away to stay with her father and wants to spend the next year with him in Los Angeles. Hannah doesn't want her daughter living in southern California but she is nervous about seeing Jenny and getting her to return to New York. Back at the hotel, Diana continues fretting over the likelihood of winning the Academy Award and exchanges witty banter with Sidney. Later, she has a couple of drinks to calm her nerves as she gets dressed for the awards ceremony. As Hannah and Bill return to Hannah's hotel room, Jenny calls and informs her parents that she will abide by whatever decision they make. Hannah announces to Bill that Jenny will return to New York with her. Bill is disappointed but trusts Hannah's instincts. When Hannah expresses how afraid she is of losing Jenny, Bill remarks that he has never seen his ex-wife so vulnerable. Then Hannah says Jenny can stay with Bill in Los Angeles, but only for six months. Hannah watches Jenny drive off with Bill. At the hotel's front desk, the doctors learn there is a reservation for Willis but not for Chauncey. The hotel has no extra rooms because it is Academy Award week. The only thing available is a small single room undergoing repairs. Chauncey agrees to take it. Later, Willis tells Chauncey that he has made a dinner reservation at a Japanese restaurant and booked them a tennis court for a doubles game the next day. While the Gumps struggle to get ready in their tiny room, Chauncey complains about having to eat Japanese food. As Willis and Bettina wait for their friends in the lobby, Willis complains that Chauncey is always late. When the two couples finally gather at the hotel's front door, the doctors argue about who will drive to the restaurant, until Bettina insists she will drive. On the way to the Academy Awards, a nervous Diana begs Sidney to be nice to her and wish her luck. He reminds her how talented she is and gives her a kiss. They exit the limousine and greet the crowd outside the venue. Elsewhere, paramedics arrive at a collision in which a car is on top of the one Bettina is driving. While a policeman questions her, Chauncey insists to the officer that his legs are paralyzed from sitting down at the Japanese restaurant. After the Academy Awards ceremony, Diana observes Sidney speaking with an attractive young man. Drunk, she takes her disappointment about losing the Oscar out on her husband. At the hotel, as Harry drops his brother off after dinner, Harry teases Marvin that "the night is not over yet." Marvin goes to his room and finds that Harry has hired a hooker, Bunny, to entertain him. Later, Chauncey wakes up in the middle of the night, sick from the Japanese food. Lola calls Willis and insists he tend to Chauncey. Willis angrily acquiesces. Back in their hotel room, Diana jealously insists that Sidney was flirting with the young man that she saw him speaking with earlier. Sidney asks her why they cannot lie to each other about the nature of their relationship the same way they lie to everyone else about it. He reminds her that he has never hidden who he is... that he is homosexual. Diana asks why Sidney doesn't love her anymore. He insists he never stopped loving her. She says his kind of love doesn't do her any good, then begs him to "screw" her before immediately apologizing. She loves him but she doesn't understand why he stays with her when he could share the company of other gay men exclusively. He explains he enjoys his proximity to her minor celebrity and tells her he loves her more than any woman he's ever known. They acknowledge they have fun together, then share a kiss. She comes to bed and they make love. The next morning, Marvin wakes up to find himself in bed with Bunny. He tries to get her up and out of the room but she has passed out after drinking a bottle of tequila. Calling the front desk, Marvin learns that his wife, Millie, has just arrived and is on her way to his room. He tries to keep Millie from discovering the nude, unconscious hooker in his bed but finally reveals his indiscretion. Incensed, Millie leaves. Elsewhere at the hotel, Willis, Bettina, Chauncey and Lola play doubles tennis. Bettina accidentally smashes her racket on Willis' head, loses her balance and injures her ankle as she falls. Lola stumbles over a basket of tennis balls trying to come to Bettina's aid and Chauncey trips over the net trying to help Lola. Outside the Michaels' room, Millie hurries away as Marvin tries to explain his infidelity. At first, Millie doesn't see how she can attend the bar mitzvah knowing Harry paid for Marvin's hooker, then she decides to forgive Marvin and forget it ever happened. She also plans to spend all of his money. The Panamas and the Gumps return to the Panamas' room to care for Bettina's ankle. Lola breaks a bottle of perfume in the bathroom, then cuts her finger on one of the glass shards. While they tend to Lola, Bettina trips and falls through the room's French doors, breaking the panes of glass. Then Lola bangs her head on the door of the medicine cabinet while rinsing off her bleeding finger and passes out. Willis goes to the bathroom to soak a wet towel for her, but steps on the broken glass. Willis and Chauncey put both women on the bed then start fighting each other, damaging the room in the process. After shopping in the hotel boutique, Millie returns to the hotel room. Marvin tries to embrace her but she wants no signs of affection from him in front of the still-unconscious hooker on their bed. In the Panamas' room, Chauncey swears it has been the worst trip ever and Willis tries to force Chauncey to say it is the best time they ever had and that the Gumps will love going on vacation with the Panamas again. In front of the hotel, the taxi that the Michaels were going to take to the bar mitzvah has been given to Bunny, who is awake and fully dressed. She generously allows them to ride with her to their destination. At the airport, Hannah is surprised to see Jenny, who has come to say good-bye and thank her mother for letting her stay with Bill. In another part of the airport, the Panamas and the Gumps, who are bruised and covered in bandages, limp towards their flight. As Diana and Sidney's plane takes off, they learn that the in-flight movie is the same as on their flight to Los Angeles and Diana begs Sidney to get them off the plane.

An eccentric millionaire invites the world`s top detectives to his remote mansion to involve them in a baffling whodunit, convinced he can out-sleuth them all.

Beautiful mother of five Jo leaves the banality of her marriage to second husband Giles to wed her passionate screenwriter lover, Jake Armitage. As her suspicion of Jake's philandering grows, Jo's sanity spirals. Screenwriter Jake Armitage (Peter Finch) and his wife Jo (Anne Bancroft) live in London with six of Jo's eight children; the two eldest boys are at boarding school The children are spread over Jo's three marriages; only the youngest is Jake's biological child, but he treats them all as his own. Jo left her second husband Giles (Richard Johnson) after meeting Giles' friend Jake; the two were immediately attracted to each other. Their upper-middle-class life is very different from Giles and Jo's; who lived in a barn in the English countryside. But Jo is ruminating about her strained marriage to Jake, with issues on both sides. Jo suspects Jake of chronic infidelity, only confronting him with her suspicions whenever evidence presents itself. Jo's psychiatrist believes that she uses childbirth as a rationale for sex, which he believes she finds vulgar. The combination of these issues has placed Jo in a fragile metal state. Both state that they love each other, but neither seems to like the other much. As they prepare to move back to the English countryside, into a new house within sight of Jo's old barn, both Jo and Jake come to their own unspoken individual conclusions of whether their marriage can withstand these strains.