Martin Balsam

A convicted rapist, released from prison after serving a fourteen-year sentence, stalks the family of the lawyer who originally defended him. Imprisoned for brutally assaulting a young girl, Max Cady spends his time in jail wisely - reading literature, sculpting his body to perfection and planning his violent revenge on the defence lawyer who put him behind bars. After serving his fourteen year sentence, Cady is released from prison and his rampage begins. —BecksyKane Fourteen long years of incarceration can change a person in more ways than one. And with the sweet taste of newly gained freedom in his mouth and all the time in the world, unrepentant, violent criminal Max Cady sets foot in the tranquil community of New Essex in North Carolina still bearing a grudge: one way or another, flawed defence attorney Sam Bowden is going to pay. Now, as the pitiless psychopath embarks on a relentless mission to test Bowden's limits to the breaking point, the lawyer's defenceless family is about to pay for Sam's sins. But not before the Bowdens learn a thing or two about pain and loss. Sinewy, iron-pumping Max has lived his life like an animal. Is Sam prepared to die like one? —Nick Riganas Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte)is a small-town corporate attorney/"Leave It to Beaver" type family-man. Max Cady (Robert De Niro) is a tattooed, cigar-smoking, bible-quoting, rapist. What do they have in common? Fourteen years, ago Sam was a public defender assigned to Max Cady's rape trial, and he made a serious error: he hid a document from his illiterate client that could have gotten him acquitted. Now, the cagey, bibliophile Cady has been released, and he intends to teach Sam Bowden and his family a thing or two about loss. —James Craver Max Cady (Robert De Niro) is a psychopath just released from prison for rape. He is out seeking revenge from his lawyer Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) who he believes deliberately held back important information about his case during the trial, which could have kept him out of jail. He sets off to terrorize Bowden, his wife (Jessica Lange) and even goes after their 15 year old daughter (Juliette Lewis). —Sami Al-Taher <staher2000@yahoo.com>

Operation Eagle Claw, in Apr 1980, is the American operation to rescue American hostages being held at the U.S. embassy to Tehran. The operation is being aborted after a fatal helicopter crash, with the U.S. Delta Force evacuating to their C-130 transports. Among them is Major Scott McCoy (Chuck Norris), who, against orders, rescues his wounded comrade Pete Peterson (William Wallace) from the burning helicopter before the team finally evacuates. Peterson was trapped under the burning debris of a jeep. McCoy put his own life and limb on the line to lift the jeep, extract Peterson and carry him to the C-130 transport all by himself. Colonel Nick was worried about the entire squadron and wanted to lift off but holds the transport long enough for McCoy to bring Peterson back. McCoy expresses his disgust for the politicians and military hierarchy that forced the mission to launch despite the risks, and announces he is resigning his commission. McCoy says that for 5 years he saw people planning missions in Vietnam and soldiers dying on the ground as a result of it. Overall, 8 members of the special forces were killed and 13 wounded in the disastrous operation. Five years later, a group of Lebanese terrorists armed with a Colt M1911, PM-63 machine pistol and AK-47s hijack American Travelways Boeing 707 (ATW) Flight 282 that is on a flight from Cairo, Egypt to Athens, Greece to Rome, Italy and then to New York City. The flight is currently in Athens and going to Rome. The flight has couples Harry Goldman (Joey Bishop) and Sylvia (Lainie Kazan), Ben Kaplan (Martin Balsam) and Edie, and Robert Levine (Jerry Lazarus) and Debra (Susan Strasberg). Debra is travelling with her daughter Ellen (Natalie Roth). A flight mechanic had stowed the weapons on-board before the flight departed and the hijackers retrieved them after the flight took off from Athens. Taking all passengers and crew hostage, the group, the pro-Khomeini New World Revolutionary Organization, led by Abdul Rifai (Robert Forster) and Mustafa (David Menachem), forces Captain Roger Campbell (Bo Svenson) and his crew to fly the plane to Beirut (they force the cockpit to be opened by threatening to blow up the plane with a grenade), Lebanon, where they make demands to the United States government that, if not met, will result in the death of the hostages. During the flight, the hijackers realize that the passengers include Hebrews from Israel on board. They collect everyone's passports and also find that the flight has 3 Marine Divers on board. Abdul separates the Marines in first class cabin and binds their hands and legs. At the hijack, the captain switched on the emergency beacon, indicating to Athen's ground control that the flight has been hijacked. The news soon reaches the Pentagon. General Woodbridge (Robert Vaughn) US general, Army Chief of Staff is in charge of the US operation. Woodbridge and the President authorize a Delta Force unit to neutralize the terrorists. The plane has over 100 Americans on board. During the crisis, the terrorists segregate the Hebrew passengers from the Americans by forcing a reluctant flight purser of German heritage named Ingrid Harding (Hanna Schygulla) to identify them. Another passenger, Catholic priest William O'Malley (George Kennedy), joins the Hebrews in solidarity. Unbeknownst to the authorities, once the plane lands in Beirut, the Hebrew hostages and O'Malley are then taken off the plane and transported to a militant-controlled area of Beirut, while a dozen additional henchmen (Jaffar (Avi Loziah), Jamil Rafai (Uri Gavriel), Salim (Adiv Gahshan)) are brought on board. The flight departs for Algiers, where the terrorists release the female hostages and children. Meanwhile Delta Force, led by Colonel Nick Alexander (Lee Marvin) is deployed to resolve the crisis. McCoy joins the task-force when he hears the news on TV. The Delta force believes that there are only 2 terrorists on board. Once the female hostages are evacuated in Algiers, they launch their assault, only to discover too late that there are additional hijackers and inadvertently alert the terrorists. Abdul kills one hostage, a US Navy diver named Tom, taking the other two US divers with them as well as dozens of male Hebrew passengers on board to Beirut. Delta Force gives chase to rescue the remaining hostages. Upon landing in Beirut, the terrorists gather their hostages and transport them to a militant-controlled area of Beirut. The pilots and two male flight attendants remain in the 707. Using a sympathetic Greek Orthodox priest Father Nicholas (Shaike Ophir), Israeli Army Intelligence prepares an operation to free the hostages. McCoy and Peterson are able to enter into Lebanon disguised as a Canadian television crew. In a prolonged campaign against the terrorists, the Delta Force bide their time to identify the terrorist leaders and locate the hostages. Once their location is discovered, Delta Force assaults the terrorist holdout, freeing the hostages and evacuating them to the airport. During the battle, McCoy, Peterson, and their team hunts down Abdul and his men, killing most of the militants before Abdul shoots Peterson, gravely injuring him. McCoy chases Abdul and tracks him down to an abandoned home. He then engages him into a vicious hand-to-hand fight, breaking Abdul's arm. As the terrorist leader prepares to shoot McCoy, he is killed after McCoy launches a rocket into his car. With the hostages and rescue teams secured, the team seizes Flight 282 by secretly infiltrating the airfield through a cotton field. Using silenced weapons, Alexander and the Delta team assassinates the terrorist guards including the last hijacker and saves the crew, ordering them to fly to Israel. The team boards the plane with all of the hostages, taking off just as McCoy is the last one to board the plane after having destroyed several terrorist jeeps on the runway with his motorcycle armament. On board the team tends to the wounded passengers and Pete who is now dying. After having confirmed that the hostages are safe and on route home, Pete says his farewells to McCoy before succumbing to his wounds. In the main cabin the ex-hostages and Delta commandos join together in a rousing rendition of "America the Beautiful", not knowing about Pete's death. In Israel, the Boeing 707 lands safely and the hostages are greeted by their families, while Delta Force disembarks with Peterson's body in tow to their C-130. The team concludes their operation and departs for the United States in the middle of celebrations by the people.

Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) has arrived in Brooklyn to visit his longtime Korean war buddy friend Charley (Francis Drake), who is attacked by a gang in his apartment. The neighbors hear the commotion and call the police. Paul arrives as Charlie collapses dead in his arms. The police arrive and mistakenly arrest Paul for Charley's murder. At the police station, chief Richard Shriker (Ed Lauter) recognizes Paul as "Mr. Vigilante". Shriker lays down the law on Paul, and the two get into a scuffle before Paul is taken to a holding cell. In the same cell Manny Fraker (Gavan O'Herlihy), the leader of the gang who attacked and killed Charlie, is held. Fraker and Paul get in a fight before the police break it up. A few moments later, Fraker is released from the jail after his fellow gang members post his bail. Before walking out, he threatens Paul and states: "I'll tell you what, I'm gonna kill a little old lady, just for you. Catch it on the six o'clock news." Manny arrives back on his gang turf to take his place as leader, slashing fellow gang-member Hector (David Crean), possibly for betrayal (and later he and his gang kill either a resident or a member of a rival gang when he accidentally enters Manny's turf). Manny's gang is also responsible for the recent thefts in the apartment where Charley was staying. The police receive daily reports about the increased rate of crime. Shriker arranges to talk with Paul and offers him a deal: Paul can kill all the punks he wants to kill, but has to inform Shriker of any gang activity he hears about so the police can get a bust and make the news. Paul agrees and moves into Charley's apartment in a decaying building in the middle of a bombed-out gang war zone. The building is populated by a group of elderly tenants who are absolutely terrified by Fraker and his gang. Kersey befriends some of them: Bennett Cross (Martin Balsam), a World War II veteran and Charley's good buddy; Mr. and Mrs. Kaprov (Leo Kharibian & Hana Maria Pravda ), an elderly Jewish couple, and young Hispanic couple Rodriguez (Joe Gonzalez) and his wife Maria (Marina Sirtis). After a few violent muggings, Kersey decides to go into action: he uses money to buy a car from a used car shop as bait. When two gang members try to break into the car, Kersey protests, and they reply "What's it to you man?" Kersey says, "It's my car!" Whereupon they laugh and say, "now you're gonna die!" and advance towards Kersey. Kersey quickly pulls out a revolver and shoots them dead. Kersey protects Maria twice from Fraker's gang but is unable to save her a third time as she is raped (she later dies as a result of her injuries). Kersey orders an automatic gun for protection, a .475 Wildey Magnum, and spends the afternoon hand-loading ammunition for it stating "Nothing's good enough for our friends". He then tests the gun later that night when he kills another gang member, The Giggler (Kirk Taylor), who steals his camera bag and tries to make a clean getaway. He immediately becomes applauded in the neighborhood as Shriker and the police become involved in the violent acts. Kersey also throws a gang member off a roof (landing on the hood of a car) during a nightly chase sequence. There is also a subplot involving a possible love interest in public defender Kathryn Davis (Deborah Raffin) in which we learn why Kersey is hesitant to get back in the dating game. Kersey later goes back to say goodbye to her, as she is going out of the city to visit her sister. Kersey offers to take her out for dinner on her final night. While waiting in Paul's car, Kathryn is knocked unconscious by Fraker and the car is pushed into oncoming traffic. The car slams into another and explodes, killing Kathryn. The police arrive and Shriker places Kersey under protective custody because Kersey is now in too deep. Bennett takes matters into his hands, after his taxi shop is blown up, in an attempt to drive out Fraker's gang with one of Charley's machine guns, a MG-42. The gun gets jammed as the gang cripples Bennett. Shriker notifies Kersey and takes him to the hospital. Kersey escapes after Bennett notifies him of the one remaining gun. Kersey and Rodriguez spend the day collecting weapons. At the climax, both Kersey and Shriker attack a group of gathering gang members. They mow down many of the criminals with a Browning M1919 A4 machine gun before running out of ammo. Kersey then uses the Magnum while Rodriguez uses a zip gun, while many neighbors begin fighting back as Fraker sends in more reinforcements. Shriker decides to help Kersey and together they kill many criminals before Kersey runs out of cartridges for his Magnum. He goes back to the apartment to collect more ammo, with Fraker in pursuit. Fraker tracks Kersey down to the apartment and Shriker arrives just in time, resulting in Shriker getting wounded in the arm and Fraker shot (however, he wears a bulletproof vest). Kersey obliterates Fraker once and for all with a mail-ordered 66mm LAW rocket launcher. They both hear sirens, and Shriker gives Kersey a head start. Kersey gives a look of appreciation and leaves as the remainder of Fraker's gang retreats.

Four months after their college graduation, Wendy Beamish (Mare Winningham) and William "Billy" Hicks (Rob Lowe) are in an automobile accident, and their friends, Alec Newberry (Judd Nelson), Kirby "Kirbo" Kegger (Emilio Estevez), Kevin Dolenz (Andrew McCarthy), Leslie Hunter (Ally Sheedy), and Jules (Demi Moore), rush to the hospital. The victims suffer only minor injuries after Billy crashed Wendy's new car while drunk. Jules chastises Wendy for paying Billy's medical fees after he destroyed the car her father gave her as a graduation gift. Billy is arrested for the incident. At the hospital, Kirby sees Dale Bieberman (Andie MacDowell), a beautiful doctor he recognizes from college, and his former crush is reignited. Jules posts Billy's bail, and the friends gather at St. Elmo's Bar, where Kirby works. Leslie and Jules question Wendy for accepting Billy's careless behavior. However, Wendy's low self-esteem and romantic interest in Billy prevent her from cutting him out of her life. Meanwhile, Billy telephones his estranged wife, and mother of his child, then flirts with several girls at the bar. Alec is angry when he learns Billy lost the job in a senator's office that he helped get for Billy. The friends quickly resolve their arguments, however, and happily dance and drink together. Sometime later, Alec discusses his political aspirations with his girl friend Leslie, and suggests they get married. Leslie believes they are not yet ready for marriage. The couple get a late-night visit from Jules, who needs a place to sleep for the night. Elsewhere, roommates Kevin and Kirby talk about Kirby's intense infatuation with Dale Bieberman, and Billy arrives to spend the night. Sometime later, Alec helps Billy obtain another job. Kevin visits Jules's new apartment and wonders how she can afford such an expensive place. Jules asks why nothing sexual ever happened between them, and accuses him of being homosexual and in love with Alec. Kevin denies the accusations, and quickly leaves. Kirby invites Dale Bieberman to an expensive restaurant to impress her, however, the busy doctor has to leave when she is called for an emergency. Leslie cooks dinner for Kevin, who tells her he gave up on love after a girl broke his heart. When Alec returns with a gift of lingerie for Leslie, he confides to Kevin that he cheated on Leslie with the sales girl. He vows he would be faithful if Leslie would agree to marry him, but Kevin is doubtful. Later, Jules gets high while snorting cocaine and telephones Alec to rescue her from a group of strange men. He arrives and accuses her of "crying wolf." Billy visits Wendy at the welfare office where she works, and admits that he lost his new job. Wendy brings him home to have dinner with her wealthy family, and borrows money from her father to give to Billy, who shocks her uptight family by climbing onto the roof. Wendy finds his antics charming, and reveals to him that she is still a virgin. Billy makes a clumsy pass at her, and embarrasses her by making fun of her undergarments. Wendy gives him the rent money he needs, then says she no longer wants to see him. On Halloween, the friends gather at St. Elmo's Bar, where Billy plays saxophone with his band. Alec asks Kevin if he can use his apartment to have sex with the lingerie sales girl, and Wendy arrives with a nerdy date named Howie Krantz (Jon Cutler). Jules continues her wild behavior, and jumps onstage. Billy kisses her while Wendy watches. Billy's wife, Felicia (Jenny Wright), arrives with her own date, and the friends worry how he will react. Billy stops the show to yell at Felicia from stage, then jumps down and punches her date. The fight continues outside the bar, and Billy curses at his wife. Moments later, Billy and Felicia kiss passionately. In time, when Wendy and Leslie have an intervention with Jules over her affair with her married boss, she dismisses their concern. Wendy hesitantly asks Leslie about Billy. Kirby's obsession with Dale Bieberman continues. He follows her to a private party, and admits his feelings to her. She attempts to dash his hopes by listing her many flaws, but Kirby mistakenly believes she is not interested in him because he lacks money, and makes it his mission to become wealthy. Meanwhile, Felicia asks Billy for an annulment, but he denies her, and vows to become a better husband and father to their daughter, Melody. Kirby takes a job as attaché to a wealthy businessman, and throws a party at the man's estate to impress Dale. Wendy's father buys her another car as a bribe to marry Howie, but she remains unenthusiastic. The friends arrive at Kirby's party, but Dale Bieberman fails to attend. Wendy introduces Howie to Billy, and Billy tells her that things are going well between him and Felicia. He apologizes to Wendy for hurting her, then crassly asks if she is still a virgin. Billy takes drugs with Jules, and Alec announces a false wedding date to the crowd, in an attempt to get Leslie to commit. They argue in private, and Leslie accuses him of having an affair. Alec blames Kevin for revealing his secret, then lunges at him. Leslie stops the fight saying it was only a hunch, but Alec's response has proven his guilt. Alec shocks Leslie by demanding she move out of their apartment. Jules drives Billy home and he kisses her. Billy becomes aggressive, and Jules fights him off, saying she only needed a friend to talk to. She accuses him of letting everyone down, and Felicia opens the front door to see her drunken husband in the driveway with Jules. Elsewhere, Kirby learns that Dale Bieberman has gone to a cabin for the weekend, and he follows her. He is embarrassed to discover that she is there with her boyfriend. He attempts to leave, but his car gets stuck in the snow. Dale and her date invite him to spend the night in their cabin. Meanwhile, Leslie stays at Kevin's apartment and discovers that he has been secretly in love with her for years. She and Kevin have sex, and in the morning, Alec arrives to apologize to Kevin, unaware that Leslie is there. When Leslie comes out from the bedroom, Alec is stunned. Kirby gets his car unstuck from the snow, and Dale Bieberman kindly says goodbye. Kirby passionately kisses Dale, leaving her speechless, then drives away laughing. Sometime later, Wendy tells her father that she does not care for Howie, and that it is Billy she loves. Leslie returns to her apartment with Alec to pack her belongings, and tells him that she has moved in with Jules. They argue over her involvement with Kevin, and Alec secretly longs to win her back. Leslie witnesses Jules's drug use, and worries about her friend. Kevin asks Leslie to move in and asserts his love for her, but she tells him it was "just sex" to her, and asks him to leave. Sometime later, Leslie visits Alec at his work and asks for help with Jules, who has locked herself in their apartment after all of her belongings were repossessed. Leslie confronted her after discovering that Jules secretly lost her job three weeks before. Kevin and Kirby meet Alec and Leslie at Jules's apartment, and the men climb the fire escape to look inside. They find Jules sitting on the floor with all the windows open, nearly freezing to death. Kirby leaves to get Billy's help to cut the window bars, and Alec takes out his anger on Kevin, dangling him over the fire escape. Leslie begs him to release Kevin. Billy arrives and convinces Jules to open the door. She tells him she has been visiting her comatose, much-hated former stepmother, and talking to her about why her father hates her. Billy tells Jules that her worries are an illusion, like the story of "St. Elmo's Fire,"--flashes of light in the sky that sailors used to guide their voyages. However, the sailors only imagined them to keep motivated on their journeys. Billy comforts Jules, and admits that they all feel lost, and soon they begin laughing. Later, Billy visits Wendy at her new apartment, tells her what happened with Jules, and shares that Felicia is about to remarry. He pays back some of the money he owes Wendy, and they discuss his upcoming move to New York City. Billy asks Wendy if she is still a virgin, and gently asks her for a going away present. Billy makes love to Wendy. Afterward, she walks him to the bus station, where the rest of their friends await to see Billy off. Billy tells Alec not to lose Leslie, then promises to keep in touch with Wendy. Leslie tells Kevin and Alec that she loves them both, but chooses to be on her own for a while, and they all agree to remain friends. The group plans to meet later for breakfast, but decide to find a new place, not St. Elmo's Bar. Jules jokes about her plans to bury her stepmother in a large cat suit to save on funeral costs.

In northern Italy, a group of Roman Catholic clerics led by a shadowy robed figure (Jose Ferrer) meet and Monsignor Franchino (Arthur Kennedy) portends danger. Meanwhile, in New York City, elite fashion model Alison Parker (Cristina Raines) seeks her own apartment, but her boyfriend, lawyer Michael Lerman (Chris Sarandon), wants to get married. In Baltimore, Maryland, Alison's father dies suddenly and she returns home, where she recalls being so traumatized from walking in on her father participating in an orgy that she attempted suicide. She collects a cross that her father tore from her neck during the incident. Alison's mother tells her she stayed with Mr. Parker because she had nowhere else to go. Back in New York City, Alison meets with real estate agent Miss Logan (Ava Gardner) who shows her a "perfect" apartment to rent. Alison rents a furnished apartment in Brooklyn Heights. On the top floor of the building lives a blind, senile priest named Father Halliran (John Carradine), who stares blankly out of his window. After fainting during a photo shoot, Alison is visited by an eccentric neighbor, Charles Chazen (Burgess Meredith), who drops by with his pet cat and bird and tells Alison about the other tenants in the building. When he leaves, she notices a photograph of Charles in her apartment. That night, at a party in the apartment, Michael again presses Alison for marriage. In the morning, Alison meets two more neighbors, the wisecracking Gerde (Sylvia Miles) and the mute Sandra (Beverly D'Angelo), who are lovers. At a commercial shoot, Alison again collapses, frustrating Jack (Jeff Goldblum) the photographer. Charles throws a birthday party for his cat and Alison meets more of her strange neighbors. Later, she has a disturbing dream and is awakened by noise from the supposedly empty apartment above her. Alison meets with Miss Logan and learns that aside from the priest, the apartment building has been empty for years and the building is owned by the Holy Diocese of New York. Meanwhile, Father Halliran is visited by Monsignor Franchino. (In some versions, Franchino meets with a group of priests who are a secret order to protecting the world from evil to give them an update them on the events unfolding.) Elsewhere, Michael Lerman asks private investigator James Brenner (Hank Garrett) to check out Alison's building. Alone the next night, Alison hears more noises and investigates. She sees Chazen's cat eating the pet bird and is pursued by an apparition of her father, whom she stabs repeatedly. Alison flees into the street, where she is found, covered in blood, by residents of nearby buildings. The next day, two police detectives, the veteran Gatz (Eli Wallach) and his rookie partner Rizzo (Christopher Walken), visit Michael and question him about his dead wife Karen's suicide and a second suicide attempt by Alison, implying that he is involved in the previous night's incident. Meanwhile, police find nothing suspicious in Alison's apartment and match the blood type on her nightgown to her own. Michael discovers that Mrs. Clark, one of the supposed guests at Chazen's cat's birthday party, was the name of a convicted murderer, who was executed in 1949. Later, Brenner, the private eye, is found stabbed to death in his car and his blood type matches Alison's. Detective Gatz connects Brenner to Michael and suspects that Michael hired the investigator to kill Karen and is now trying to drive her insane. When the detectives arrive at Michael's apartment to confront him, Alison leaves her boyfriend's home for a walk and stops by a Catholic Church. There, she confesses to Monsignor Franchino that she has committed adultery, twice attempted suicide, and is feeling suicidal again. The monsignor assures her that if she embraces Jesus and returns to the church, the feelings will vanish. When Alison returns to Michael's apartment, he suggests that she may not have imagined the events and they visit her apartment in Brooklyn Heights. There is no evidence that Alison killed anyone there, but she says that some of the things in the room, such as the carpet, are different. In a book, Alison sees the same Latin phrase on every page, but Michael only sees English. When Alison writes the text, Michael takes it to Professor Ruzinsky (Martin Balsam), who reports that it is a passage from Milton's Paradise Lost. Alison returns to the church and meets the rector, who tells her he does not know of the priest she claims to have met there earlier. Meanwhile, Michael visits Monsignor Franchino under the pretense that he has a bequest for Father Halliran. Franchino tells him that Halliran has been retired since 1952, suffers from palsy and is unable to accept visitors. Michael shows Franchino the excerpt from Milton, but the monsignor claims not to recognize it. Franchino refuses Michael's request to make a copy of Father Halliran's file. That night, Michael asks Alison's friend, Jennifer (Deborah Raffin), to stay with her while he attends to business. Michael meets a man named Perry (William Hickey), an ex-convict that he represented in the past and bribes him some cash to assist with breaking into the diocese to look at the official files on Halliran. Michael discovers that Father Halliran was originally named Daniel O'Rourke, and, after a suicide attempt, disappeared and re-emerged as Halliran. Michael finds files on several more people who attempted suicide, gained new identities and became priests or nuns and all have lived and died in the very same apartment building in Brooklyn where Alison lives. When one dies, another takes his or her place. A file for Alison states that Halliran will die the very next day and Alison will become a woman named Sister Theresa. Meanwhile, detectives Gatz and Rizzo determine that the eight people Alison claims were at the birthday party for the cat were murderers executed long ago. Michael has Alison attend a party at Jennifer's while he investigates the apartment in Brooklyn Heights. At the party, Alison faints and her friends put her to bed, but at midnight she sneaks away. In Brooklyn Heights, Michael discovers a hidden portal behind a wooden wall of the building which reads: "Through me you go into the city of grief. Through me you go into the world of pain. Through me you walk among people lost. Abandon hope all yee who enter here". Father Halliran appears and tells him that this whole building is the entrance to Hell. Michael pursues the priest upstairs and demands answers as he attempts to strangle him. Alison arrives at the building and is met by Michael, who calmly explains that the Latin they found was a warning from the angel Gabriel to the angel Uriel, stationed at the Gateway to Eden. Since that time, a series of sentinels have stood watch, guarding the world against evil. Currently, it is Father Halliran, but that night, Alison is to become the next sentinel upon his passing. The people Alison met in the building, the murderers, were actually reincarnated devils, who could only stop her from becoming the next sentinel by driving her to suicide. Michael goes on to explain that he is dead, killed by Monsignor Franchino minutes earlier for trying to strangle Halliran. He is damned to eternal hell for his sins, including hiring Brenner to murder his wife, Karen. Michael turns his head, revealing a gaping wound, and his head splits open. Alison flees downstairs where Chazen and the demons confront her. She returns upstairs and sees Gerde and Sandra feasting on Michael's dead body. Just then, all of the demons of hell come forth from behind doors and walls. Among the demons, Alison sees her father and Chazen. Cornered by the deformed and hideous demons in Halliran's apartment, Chazen approaches Alison and urges her to join them by killing herself; he gives her a dagger. Franchino and Halliran appear bearing a cross and drive back the demons. Chazen exhorts the demons to fight, but Alison takes the cross. The devils fade back into the walls and the monsignor leads Father Halliran away. The next morning, Gatz and Rizzo arrive at the apartment building where Father Halliran is carried out of the building in a body bag, with the medical examiner's report that he just died of a heart attack. A search of the building leads to no other people around. The building is later demolished. Some time later, Miss Logan, the real estate agent who is still working for the shadowy priesthood in protecting the new apartment building, shows a young couple (Tom Berenger and Nana Tucker) an apartment in the new building. They ask about the neighbors and are told that there are only two: one is a musician and the other is a reclusive blind nun who lives on the top floor. In that apartment, the blind Alison, now known as Sister Theresa, sits silently, wearing a white habit and staring blankly out the window, holding the cross... now the new sentinel and protector of the entrance to Hell.

Two Washington Post reporters` investigation of a minor hotel room break-in uncovers the greatest political scandal in US history and leads to the downfall of President Nixon.

In Los Angeles, California, a sniper (Warren Miller) fires a rifle from the window of his hotel room, killing a middle-aged man bicycling with his wife. At Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Paul (Brock Peters), a security officer, leads a pair of watchdogs into the scoreboard tower before locking all entryways. Meanwhile, the sniper leaves the hotel and drives toward the stadium, where a championship football game is to be played that afternoon between the Los Angeles and Baltimore, Maryland, teams. Football fans from Baltimore arrive at Los Angeles International Airport, including Steve (David Janssen), a short-tempered car salesman, and Janet (Gena Rowlands), his live-in girl friend. After a gambler named Mr. Sandman (Jack Klugman) places a large bet on the Los Angeles team, he is summoned to the hotel suite of Mr. Green (Alan Miller), a gangster to whom Sandman owes $28,000. Green demands the money at the conclusion of the game, or Sandman will be killed. Outside the Coliseum, Mike and Peggy Ramsay (Beau Bridges and Pamela Bellwood) have a picnic on the lawn outside the stadium with their two young sons, along with several other families. Meanwhile, the sniper enters the scoreboard tower undetected, then distracts the dogs with a piece of meat, and breaks the lock to the upper level, which overlooks the interior of the Coliseum. A telephone conversation between police captain Pete Holly (Charlton Heston) and Coliseum manager Sam McKeever (Martin Balsam) reveals that the governors of Maryland and California, the mayor of Los Angeles, and the president of the U.S. will be in attendance. A television crew prepares to broadcast the game from their control room, with several cameras placed around the stadium, including one in the blimp hovering overhead. The game gets underway and Baltimore quickly accumulates an eleven-point lead over Los Angeles. A Catholic priest (Mitchell Ryan) takes a seat next to Sandman, who fears for his life and requests a prayer for the Los Angeles team. Elsewhere in the crowd, Mike Ramsay scans the stadium through his binoculars, and is distracted by an indiscernible presence above the scoreboard. Moments later, the blimp camera detects the sniper. Sam informs the Secret Service of the security breach and deters the president's visit, then calls in Pete Holly. Later, Paul becomes indignant when Sam and Holly question his competence in the performance of his duties, and while they discuss their options in dealing with the crisis, Paul climbs the 60-foot ladder to the top of the tower. Before the two men are able to stop him, Paul reaches the top and is struck by the sniper's rifle stock, causing him to fall his death. Holly orders in the police department's Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) team, as well as three fully staffed ambulances. When the S.W.A.T. team arrives, Holly apprises its leader, Sgt. Chris Button (John Cassavetes), of the situation, and assures him that both governors and the mayor will be evacuated, reducing the chances of a shooting. Button, however, believes everyone in the stadium to be a "probable target." The sergeant deploys his men, placing two in each light tower overlooking the scoreboard, two in the control room to monitor the sniper, and others in and around the scoreboard, none of which are noticed by the more than 90,000 people in attendance. Holly hopes to foil the sniper without incident, and will only turn the operation over to Button after the two-minute warning is sounded, which signals the final moments of the game. In the stands, the priest tries to comfort Sandman, who has admitted that his life depends on the game's outcome. Mike goes to the lobby to tell the police about his discovery of the sniper, but the police take him away for interrogation. Meanwhile, in the control room, the camera signal from the blimp is lost and a police helicopter is called to monitor the sniper. As the Los Angeles team takes the lead, the two-minute warning is signaled with a pistol shot, and Holly orders the S.W.A.T. team into action. Steve and Janet end a bitter argument in the hallway with the decision to get married, but as they return to their seats, the sniper shoots and kills Steve... and then all hell breaks loose. The sniper finally opens fire on the crowd and kills two S.W.A.T. team members and several spectators, including Sandman. Peggy Ramsey is wounded by a bullet to her shoulder as she runs out of the stadium with her two young sons. Mike manages to get away from the police and runs through the panicking crowing trying to find his wife. At the same time, the S.W.A.T. team fires back, but the sniper is undaunted and shoots into the panicked crowd as it stampedes out of the stadium. Holly and Button climb the ladder to the scoreboard, while gunfire from the police helicopter causes the sniper to retreat into the tower. The police follow him inside, and the sniper continues to fire on them from a narrow shaft above the tower. Holly shoots six bullets into the shaft, and the sniper falls. The captain tries to interrogate the dying man but gets no response. The sniper's wallet identifies him as Carl Cook, "a transient from out of state." Elsewhere around the Coliseum, emergency crews treat the injured and identify the dead. Mike is returned to his family as his injured wife is placed in an ambulance. The priest remains in his seat, cradling Sandman's dead body. Later, as Cook's body is lowered from the tower, Button speculates on the killer's posthumous celebrity, and on how the police will likely be criticized for using excessive force.

The murder Having sorted a matter out in the Middle East, detective Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney) is returning to England aboard the Orient Express. During the journey, Poirot encounters his friend Bianchi (Martin Balsam), a director of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, which owns the line. The train is unusually crowded for the time of year: every first-class berth has been booked. Shortly after the train's departure from Istanbul, a wealthy American businessman, Ratchett (Richard Widmark), tries to secure Poirot's services for $15,000 since he has received many death threats, but Poirot finds the case of little interest and turns it down. That night the train is caught in heavy snows in the Balkans. The next morning Ratchett is found stabbed to death in his cabin. Poirot and Bianchi work together to solve the case. They enlist the help of Dr. Constantine (George Coulouris), a Greek medical doctor who was travelling in another coach with Bianchi as the only other passenger and thus not a suspect. Pierre Michel (Jean-Pierre Cassel), the middle-aged French conductor of the car, also assists the investigation, as well as being a suspect. Poirot soon discovers that Ratchett was not who he claimed to be. The victim's secret past indicates a clear motive for murder, even justification, but who was the killer? Clues Dr. Constantine's examination of the body reveals that Ratchett was stabbed 12 times. Some wounds were slight, but at least three of them could have resulted in death. The stopped watch in the victim's pocket, as well as Poirot's reconstructed timeline of passenger activities the night before, indicate that Ratchett was murdered at about 1:15 a.m. The train had stopped, surrounded by fresh snow, before that time. There are no tracks in the snow and the doors to the other cars were locked, so the murderer is almost certainly still among the passengers in the coach in which Ratchett was killed. Most importantly, Poirot realizes that Ratchett was in fact a gangster called Cassetti. Five years previously, Cassetti and a henchman kidnapped and murdered Daisy Armstrong, the baby daughter of a wealthy British Army Colonel who had settled in America with his American-born wife. The body was found after the ransom had been paid. Overcome with grief, the pregnant Mrs. Armstrong went into labor early and died while giving birth to a stillborn baby. A maidservant named Paulette who was wrongly suspected of complicity in the kidnapping committed suicide. Colonel Armstrong, consumed by these tragedies, later killed himself as well. Cassetti's accomplice was arrested and executed, but Cassetti himself fled the country with the ransom, as he was only revealed to be the leader on the eve of the execution. Having established these facts, Poirot, Dr. Constantine and Bianchi summon the other passengers one by one and proceed to interrogate them. (The fictitious Armstrong case was inspired by the real-life kidnapping of aviator Charles Lindbergh's child.) Suspects The thirteen suspects are: Hector McQueen (Anthony Perkins), a tall, young American man, the victim's secretary and translator; Edward Beddoes (Sir John Gielgud), the victim's British valet; Mary Debenham (Vanessa Redgrave), a young British woman, returning home to England after working as a teacher in Baghdad; Colonel Arbuthnott (Sean Connery), a British officer in the British Indian Army returning to England on leave; Princess Natalia Dragomiroff (Wendy Hiller), an elderly Russian royal; Hildegarde Schmidt (Rachel Roberts), a middle-aged German woman, the Princess' personal maid; Count Rudolf Andrenyi (Michael York), an aristocratic Hungarian diplomat; Countess Elena Andrenyi (Jacqueline Bisset), née Grünwald, his beautiful young wife; Greta Ohlsson (Ingrid Bergman), a middle-aged Swedish missionary returning to Europe on a fund-raising trip for her mission in Africa; Mrs. Harriet Belinda Hubbard (Lauren Bacall), an older, fussy, very talkative American pluri-widowed socialite; Antonio (Gino) Foscarelli (Denis Quilley), an exuberant Italian American car salesman from Chicago; Cyrus B. "Dick" Hardman (Colin Blakely), a Pinkerton's detective masquerading as a talent agent; Pierre-Paul Michel (Jean-Pierre Cassel), the French conductor of the sleeping car. Motive Poirot soon comes to realise that all the suspects were connected to the Armstrong family and had reason to seek revenge for the tragedies that followed the kidnapping. Some openly admit their connections to the Armstrongs, while other ties must be uncovered by Poirot. McQueen was the son of the District Attorney who prosecuted the case and was very fond of Mrs. Armstrong; Miss Debenham was Mrs Armstrong's secretary; Beddoes was Colonel Armstrong's army batman and the family butler; Col. Arbuthnott was an army friend of Col. Armstrong; Princess Dragomiroff was Sonia Armstrong's godmother; Miss Schmidt was the Armstrongs' cook; Miss Ohlsson was Daisy's nursemaid; Foscarelli was the Armstrong's chauffeur; Hardman was, at the time, a policeman who was in love with Paulette; Michel was Paulette's father; Countess Andrenyi was Mrs Armstrong's sister; Mrs Hubbard was Mrs Armstrong's mother; Count Andrenyi was Mrs Armstrong's brother in law. Ratchett was sedated by Beddoes and McQueen. Each of the passengers then stabbed him in turn. Poirot presents this explanation for the murder to the assembled passengers, describing it as the "complex" solution to the crime. Yet he also offers another explanation, a "simple" one. In the course of the inquiry evidence has been found of an intruder on the train, who may have murdered Ratchett and then escaped evidence planted by the suspects. Poirot suggests that Ratchett/Cassetti may have been involved with the Mafia and murdered as the result of a feud. He leaves it to Bianchi, director of the line, to decide which explanation to present to the local police. Bianchi decides that this "simple" solution will be enough for the local police and that Ratchett deserved everything he got. A cover-up is therefore instigated. Poirot is satisfied that justice has been done, though he does admit to a struggle with his conscience.

In New York City, four heavily armed men with code names (Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, Mr. Grey, and Mr. Brown), wearing disguises of eyeglasses, fedora hats, and fake mustaches, board at different station stops (the Green Line at 59th Street, Grey Line at 51st Street, Brown Line at Grand Central, and finally Blue Line at 28th Street) on the Pelham 123 subway train run of the 6 Lexington Avenue Local service. The men take the train, securing a group of hostages, whom they isolate in one car of the train, then disconnect this car from the rest of the train. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Zachary Garber (Walter Matthau), a cynical and curmudgeonly yet light-hearted New York City Transit Authority police lieutenant, begins his day by leading four visiting Tokyo Metro directors on a tour of New York's subway command-center. This is interrupted by Blue's radio announcement to the command center that "your train has been taken." Blue (Robert Shaw), the British-accented leader of the hijackers, tells Garber they are demanding a ransom of one million dollars, to be delivered to them within one hour; otherwise they will kill one passenger per minute, starting when the hour has passed. Garber, the sarcastic Lieutenant Rico Patrone (Jerry Stiller), and other transit workers cooperate while trying to guess how the criminals intend to escape the subway tunnel and get away. Various clues soon surface for Garber to figure out, first with his hearing Blue's very distinctive English accent over the radio. It later turns out that Blue was a ruthless British mercenary, and Green (Martin Balsam) is a former transit worker who from time to time sneezes over the radio and is heard by Garber, who responds by saying "Gesundheit." Garber also learns that one of the hostages is an undercover police officer. The mayor finally agrees to pay the ransom at the urging of his deputy mayor. The police dispatch a squad car carrying the ransom money. When the car is wrecked in a collision, Garber daringly bluffs to buy some time, telling the takers that the money already has been delivered to the 28th Street Station and only the walk down the tunnel is delaying it. A reluctant Blue agrees to the delay. A police motorcycle completes the trip from the scene of the collision to the subway station and two unarmed officers are sent down the track on foot to deliver the money to the hijackers. With the money finally in hand, the hijackers demand that electric power be restored to the subway line, and that all signals in the path of the train be turned green from 28th Street to the South Ferry station, both of these being necessary for the car to move. Having overridden the subway car's dead-man's switch, which would otherwise ensure its stopping unless someone remained at the throttle, the hijackers get off the train and set it in motion. As the train starts to move, the undercover officer also jumps off the train and hides between the rails. The car begins to travel faster and faster, since no one is controlling its speed. Outside the tunnel, Garber and Inspector Daniels are convinced that the runaway train is a diversion and that the hijackers must have left the train. The hijackers divide the ransom money, discard their disguises, and start their escape into the tunnel's emergency exit; however, Grey refuses to leave his gun behind as agreed and is shot dead by Blue. The undercover officer, still hiding in the tracks, manages to kill Brown with one shot. Green escapes onto the street. Garber arrives after Green has gotten away and, drawing on Blue, orders him to surrender just as Blue is about to shoot the undercover officer. Blue asks Garber if the death penalty is available in the state of New York anymore. Told that it is not, Blue responds, "Pity", then promptly electrocutes himself by stepping onto the third rail while a horrified Garber watches. Entering the South Ferry Loop, the runaway car finally encounters a red signal. The car's emergency brakes are tripped and it grinds to a halt; the remaining hostages are all safe. Green, the only hijacker to escape, has left as a clue only Garber's surmise that one of the hijackers must be an ex-motorman of the New York Transit Authority (owing to the hijackers' knowledge of the car's operation). With the dead three all identified, Garber realizes that the hijacker still at large must be the former transit employee. Garber and Patrone, working their way through a list of former motormen "discharged for cause" (and, by implication, disgruntled), pay a visit to Harold Longman. Longman, known to the audience as Mr. Green, is shown rolling in the packs of ransom money on the bed in his seedy efficiency apartment when Garber and Patrone knock on his door. He hides the money quickly, then opens to the officers and bluffs his way through their questioning. The officers find Longman's alibi weak, but start out the door, until Longman sneezes and Garber says "Gesundheit." Garber then re-opens the door, the expression on his face in the door opening (the film's final frame) telling the audience that he knows he has just found the final hijacker.

Released after ten years in prison, Duke Anderson decides to steal from every apartment in a luxurious Manhattan building, unaware that he is being video taped throughout.

Captain Eric Finlander (Richard Widmark) is a hardened cold-warrior and captain of the American destroyer USS Bedford. Ben Munceford (Sidney Poitier) is a reporter given permission to interview the captain during a routine patrol. Munceford is delivered to the Bedford via a helicopter sortie, along with the ship's new MD, Potter. The Bedford is positioned in the Denmark strait, midway between Greenland and Iceland. Bedford can cause more damage in 10 minutes than the entire US Navy in WW II. Eric says that waters are frequently visited by Russian submarines who are looking for the right spots to launch their ballistic missiles at the US and NATO. Munceford knows that Eric is very results oriented and forced a Russian submarine to surface off the coast of Cuba. He and his crew got commendations for the achievement. Munceford is on board in order to write an article of life on a navy destroyer, but his real interest is Captain Finlander who was recently passed over for promotion to rear admiral. Munceford is curious as to why. Eric was one of only a few military officials to publicly state that the United States should have used greater force during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Potter's staff on the ship includes Chief Hospitalman McKinley (Sick Bay) (Phil Brown) and Hospitalman Nerney (Sick Bay) (Donald Sutherland). Finlander uses the ship's medical staff to sift through garbage possibly dumped by a Russian submarine. The medical staff detects the presence of Hydrogenated oils in seaweed, indicating kitchen waste from a ship or submarine dumped into the ocean. Analysis of the thickness of the potato peels indicate that the submarine has been in the water for around 36 hours. In his first meeting Eric tells Potter that he did not want a doctor to be assigned to the ship. Potter is bemused to learn that on a ship of 300 men, nobody ever reports sick. The American destroyer USS Bedford (DLG-113) detects the mother ship through its peculiar radio transmissions. Following the mother ship, Eric detects a Soviet submarine in the GIUK gap near the Greenland coast. Eric designates the contact Big Red and believes that any of the 5 Russian trawlers in the area might be acting as its mother ship. Though they are not at war, Captain Eric Finlander harries his prey mercilessly, while civilian reporter Ben Munceford and NATO naval technical advisor, Commodore (and ex-World War II U-boat captain) Wolfgang Schrepke (Eric Portman), look on with mounting alarm. Wolfgang was an ace U-boat commander in his day and sank over 200,000 tons of allied shipping and supplies. Other staff on the ship include Commander Allison, Executive Officer (Bridge) (Michael Kane), Lieutenant Bascombe (C.I.C.) (Gary Cockrell), Lieutenant Beckman (Communications) (Brian Davies), Lieutenant Hacker (Communications) (Edward Bishop), Lieutenant Berger (C.I.C.) (George Roubicek) and others. Because the submarine is not powered by a nuclear reactor, its submerged endurance is limited. Eric plays a waiting game after losing sonar contact in a field of icebergs, knowing the diesel-powered sub will have to surface within 24 hours to replenish its air and recharge its batteries. The crew never complains, but Lieutenant Commander Chester Potter, M.D. (Martin Balsam) is concerned that maintaining this level of vigilance is dangerous and suggests modifications, all of which Finlander dismisses out of hand. The Russian submarine's situation gives Finlander an advantage, but also means the Russians will be more desperate. Also joining the ship are Ensign Ralston (James MacArthur), an inexperienced young officer constantly being criticized by his captain for small errors, and Lieutenant Commander Chester Potter, USNR (Martin Balsam), the ship's new doctor who is a reservist recently recalled to active duty. When Eric orders a coastal patrol, Ralston suggests not going too close to the coast. Eric chews him out publicly as Ralston knew that a submarine commander would hide under the ice caps close to the coast and to detect it, the Bedford would need to be within a 1000 meters of the coast, and running unpredictable sonar patterns. Munceford is treated with mounting hostility by the captain because he is seen as a civilian putting his nose where it does not belong and because he disagrees with Finlander's decision to continue with an unnecessary and dangerous confrontation. Finlander treats as unwanted anyone who isn't involved in the hunt for the Russian submarine - including the doctor. He says he would go "all the way" to save his country, but, after calming down, insists his current action is just a deterrent. The Soviet submarine is spotted by the Bedford's radar when it finally pokes its snorkel above the surface. It was not seen first by the sonar-man because he is having exhaustion-induced delusions. Schrepke reminds Finlander that his orders are just to escort the sub out of Greenland's waters, but Finlander sends a message ordering the sub to fully surface and identify itself. When the order is ignored, Finlander runs over the snorkel. Captain Finlander orders Bedford to withdraw to a safe distance. Munceford and Schrepke protest that Finlander is forcing the sub to fight, and Finlander orders Ralston to arm an anti-submarine rocket. He reassures Munceford and Schrepke that he is in command of the situation and that he won't fire first, but that "If he fires one, I'll fire one." Ensign Ralston, clearly on edge due to the ordeal, mistakes Finlander's boast as an order to fire, and launches one of Bedford's anti-submarine rockets (ASROC) at the sub. The crew can only watch helplessly as the ASROC destroys the Russian submarine. The crew of Bedford have little opportunity for regret before their sonar detects a salvo of four torpedoes coming at the destroyer, apparently fired by the Russian when he detected the ASROC. Finlander orders evasive maneuvering and the use of countermeasures but realization has already dawned on everyone, except Munceford, that the approaching torpedoes will be nuclear. Finlander, in shock, leaves the bridge, trailed by a panicking Munceford. The battle ends with still shots of various crewmen "melting" as Bedford and her crew are vaporized. The last image is an iconic, towering mushroom cloud from the torpedo detonations.

A screen adaption of the blistering best-seller which examines the story of platinum blonde bombshell Jean Harlow (Carroll Baker) who rose to fame in the reckless Hollywood of the 1930s. In this story, Jean Harlow (Carroll Baker) starts in the movies as set dressing, the pretty girl who is used for the glamor shots. Refusing to descend to the casting couch for work, she finds that she is soon blacklisted from the industry. But an agent named Arthur Landau (Red Buttons) sees something in Jean and begins representing her. For a long time, the jobs are scarce and consist mostly of receiving the pie in the face in low budget comedies. But Arthur's belief in Jean never wavers and when she finally graduates to featured roles, the critics say that she cannot act, but she is unforgettable. Polishing the image as the girl next door, but with some fire, she begins her climb to the top and becomes the girl every woman wants to look like and every man wants to have. But her own life is a disaster - unlike her screen life. —Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>

Jonas Cord is a disagreeable young tycoon who's building planes, directing films, and catting around on the corporate make in 1930s Hollywood. Upon the death of his father in 1928, Jonas Cord Jr., who has thus far led a wild life, assumes control of the Cord business empire centered on a Nevada chemical company, that control despite the animosity that existed between father and son about business issues. With the exception of a few trusted people including his best friend, aging cowboy Nevada Smith, business manager "Mac" McAllister, and longtime butler Jedidiah, Jonas in turn trusts no one in his effort to take complete control of the business and his life, buying out other "friends", business associates and adversaries in his "I know best" attitude. In the process, he begins to diversify his business interests into areas which he either has an interest and/or believes will be industries of the immediate future, including aviation and the movie industry. The poor way he treats people extends to his personal life, including the many women closest to him, such as his stepmother, Rina Marlowe, who was his girlfriend before she married his father, and who would become his wife, Monica Winthrop, the daughter of a business associate. The question becomes if this life is sustainable for him, especially as people try to usurp him, and those he trusts may no longer be able to tolerate his behavior, which he may not be able to let go of in much of it stemming from issues ingrained into him when he was a child. —Huggo George Peppard plays a hard-driven industrialist more than a little reminiscent of Howard Hughes. While he builds airplanes, directs movies, and breaks hearts, his friends and lovers try to reach his human side--and find that it's an uphill battle. The film's title is a metaphor for self-promoting tycoons who perform quick financial takeovers, impose dictatorial controls for short-term profits, then move on to greener pastures. —Jeanne Baker <jbaker@erim.org>

A man (Robert Mitchum) enters a courthouse and asks for Sam Bowden. He watches Sam (Gregory Peck) in a trial, then follows him to his car, re-introducing himself as Max Cady. Max makes vaguely threatening comments as Sam drives off. Later, Max watches Sam and his family bowling, and makes a pass at the waitress. Sam calls police chief Dutton (Martin Balsam) and tells him that Max is being creepy. He explains that Max is an ex-convict who may have a grudge against Sam, and that Sam's family may be at risk. Dutton calls his deputies and tells them to pick up Max for vagrancy. Max cooperates and obviously knows the law, so they release him. The next day, Sam finds their dog, poisoned. Sam suspects Max but cannot prove it. His wife Peggy (Polly Bergen) and daughter Nancy (Lori Martin) are distraught, and Sam explains about Max. Max hires a fiery lawyer, Dave Grafton (Jack Kruschen), who accuses the police of harassing Max. Dutton tells Sam he cannot do anything until Max commits a crime, but advises Sam to hire private detective Charles Sievers. Sievers (Telly Savalas) starts following Max. He calls the police to have Max picked up for lewd vagrancy, but by the time they arrive, Max is gone, and the woman he was with (Barrie Chase) is beaten up. She refuses to help them and leaves town, fearful of Max's revenge. Sievers suggests Sam hire a dock thug, but he refuses. The next day, Sam catches Max leering at his daughter and takes a swing at him. Max doesn't punch back. Coming out from school, Nancy sees Max and flees, eventually running in front of a car. She's ok, but anger builds in Sam, and he gets a gun. Peggy convinces him not to go after Max. Sam meets Max in a bar and tries to pay him off. Max says he prefers "death by a thousand cuts", and turns him down. Sam hires the thugs to beat up Max, but he fights them off. Max calls Sam and tells him that he has the law on his side. Sam and Peggy discuss a plan to use Nancy as bait. San tells Dutton that he will "hide" his family in a boat on the Cape Fear River, then asks for a deputy to help him catch Max. Sam and Deputy Kersek (Page Slattery) stake out the boat. Max arrives and sneaks up on Kersek, killing him. He sets the boat with Peggy on it adrift, and Sam chases after. Nancy calls the sheriff from the dock. Max attacks Peggy, but leaves for Nancy when Sam arrives. Sam and Max fight; Sam shoots Max, and Max begs Sam to finish him off. Sam declines, saying Max will rot in jail. The family leaves together.

This classic movie follows a carefree New York playgirl, Holly Golightly, and a struggling writer who is swept into her dizzying lifestyle as she looks for a suitable millionaire to marry.

A secretary on the run spends a night at a motel, whose proprietor is a nervous man with a domineering mother and a growing obsession with his beautiful guest.