Steven Geray

Europe 1944: Fragile Fox is a company of American G.I.s based in a Belgian town near the front line. They are led by Captain Erskine Cooney (Eddie Albert), a man who appears to be better at handling red tape than military strategy. Cooney is a natural coward who freezes under fire and cannot bring himself to send more men into battle to reinforce those already under attack. When Lieutenant Joe Costa (Jack Palance) sends a squad to take a pillbox, Cooney agrees to provide covering fire but freezes at the critical moment leading to the slaughter of Costa's squad, and the death of Lt. Ned Lathrop, another company officer who had attempted to rescue the squad. The increasing and unnecessary loss of life is causing morale problems among the troops and trying the patience of Platoon Leader Lt. Joe Costa, a bold and brave fighter and a natural leader of men. The Executive Officer, Lt. Harold Woodruff (William Smithers) is the "voice of reason" who tries to keep the peace between Cooney and Costa. Both Woodruff and Costa are respected by the enlisted troops. While Woodruff tries to get Cooney re-assigned to a desk job behind the lines, Costa hints at a more direct solution to the problem. It's a well-known fact that Cooney owes his position to battalion commander Lt. Col. Clyde Bartlett (Lee Marvin), a man who has known the Cooney family since he was a 14-year-old clerk in the office of Cooney's father, a top judge. The judge and his influence could be very useful to Bartlett's post-war political ambitions and it all depends on his and Cooney's war records. When Woodruff tries to appeal to Bartlett's honor and claims that Cooney is not capable of leading the unit and should be reassigned to a desk job, Bartlett dismisses him. Woodruff is promised that the war is coming to an end and it is highly unlikely that the platoon will ever see combat again. Neither Captain Erskine Cooney nor Bartlett are liked by the company: as Pfc. Bernstein (Robert Strauss) puts it: "When you salute them two, you have to apologize to your arm." When the Germans start the counter-attack known as the Battle of the Bulge, Bartlett orders Cooney to seize the town of La Nelle. Since there is no way of knowing if the Germans are there or not, Cooney overrules an all-out attack and decides that Costa should lead a reconnaissance mission. Costa agrees provided that both Cooney and Woodruff promise him to send in reinforcements if necessary. As he is about to leave, Costa warns Cooney of the consequences if he ever plays the "gutless wonder" again: "I'll shove this grenade down your throat and pull the pin!" As they approach La Nelle, the platoon comes under fire by German SS. Most of them are killed or injured. Costa and a handful of men take refuge in a farmhouse but find themselves under siege. The only survivors are Platoon Sergeant Tolliver, Private First Class Bernstein, Pfc. Ricks (James Goodwin) and Pvt, Snowden (Richard Jaeckel). When Costa calls for reinforcements, Cooney snaps, ignores the pressure from Woodruff to go in and turns to drink. A little strategy and deception enables Costa and his men to hold up but when Panzers appear he has no choice but to call a retreat. He furiously tells Woodruff over the radio to warn Cooney that he's "coming back!" In the confusion that follows the retreat, Costa becomes MIA. The rest of the men manage to get back to the main town, though another of them is killed, in addition to the many casualties during the initial move on La Nelle. The men show their contempt for Cooney: Bernstein (Robert Strauss) spits at his feet and Sergeant Tolliver (Buddy Ebsen) rejects his offer of a drink, telling him that where he comes from "We don't drink with another man unless we respect him." Bartlett appears and tells Woodruff and Cooney that they must hold their present position in spite of the German advance. Bartlett threatens to arrest Cooney if he falls back, as it would leave another company unprotected and the Germans would be able to "roll up the entire front line". When Cooney begs to be reassigned, an enraged Bartlett strikes him. Woodruff warns Bartlett that he is going to lodge a complaint with General Parsons, the Colonel's superior, over the handling of the company. With the pressure building, Cooney breaks down, telling Woodruff about having been beaten by his father in order to "make a man" out of him. Bartlett had told him that he is in command "as a favor to the judge. He's always wanted a son, now I'm trying to give him one." Feeling sorry for Cooney, Woodruff tells him to sleep it off and is about to assume command when Costa suddenly reappears, determined to kill Cooney. As they argue, they are told that the town is being overrun by Germans and that the surviving members of Costa's squad are cut off. Costa takes it on himself to save his men. Costa grabs a Bazooka and bravely disables a tank, only to have his arm crushed by its treads. A handful of men, including Woodruff and Sergeant Tolliver, take refuge in a basement. Private Bernstein is injured and, being a Hebrew, is unlikely to have his POW rights respected by the attacking SS. They try to get out but their way is blocked, and a drunken and erratic Cooney insists they are "holding for Bartlett". Cooney orders the men to surrender and just as he steps out of the basement to do so he is met by a severely injured Costa, his grievously mangled and bloody arm dangling uselessly. It is clear that Costa is gravely wounded and, as he collapses to the ground in front of Cooney, he appeals to God to give him enough strength to kill Cooney. Cooney mockingly kicks the gun away from him. With Costa dead, Cooney suggests that the rest of them surrender even though they have not been discovered. At that moment Woodruff warns him that he will shoot him if he does. When Cooney does make a move, Woodruff kills him. Feeling remorse, Woodruff instructs Tolliver to place him under arrest, but Tolliver and the other GIs reject his command. Each man, except Snowden, steps forward and shoots Cooney to prevent Woodruff from taking the blame. Snowden returns to report that the town is empty and American reinforcements are arriving with the Germans in full retreat. Bartlett finds the men and demands to speak to Cooney; the men point to his body. The men then intervene before Woodruff can confess and inform the Colonel that Cooney was killed by the Germans, but Bartlett senses immediately that they are covering for Woodruff. He dismisses the men and gets a moment along with Woodruff. Bartlett, who has always hated Cooney, contemptuously kicks him over, remarking "So the old judge wanted a son, huh? Looks like he had to lose one to get one." He gives Woodruff a field promotion to captain and tells him to forget about the threatened complaint to General Parsons; but he then announces that he is going to nominate Cooney for the Distinguished Service Cross. Outraged that a coward should be honored in this way, Woodruff openly accuses Bartlett of manipulating the whole thing in order to get rid of Cooney, who was a liability, and get favors with his powerful father. Bartlett remarks that Woodruff has too much to lose if he makes the whole affair public, and leaves after promising to get a medal for Costa too. As he leaves Woodruff decides to do the right thing to honor Costa, and calls the commanding general, Gen. Parsons, on the radio to file a full report.

Discovering that a ventriloquist is travelling to Zurich, a spy ring hides secret plans in his dummies' heads. When a second spy ring learns of the plans, they descend upon the ventriloquist, causing city-wide pandemonium. Ventriloquist Jerry Morgan has to see another love affair fail. The reason: when the relationship reaches the point when it is time to discuss marriage, his doll Clarence becomes mean and jealous. His fiancée Audrey leaves him and Jerry smashes his two dolls, Clarence and Terrence. Morgan's doll maker Papinek is a member of a spy ring who has stolen secret plans to the top secret Lafayette airplane. Since Morgan is leaving for Zurich the same night, Papinek decides to use Morgan's dolls as a mailbox and hides the secret plans in the heads of the dolls. Another secret spy ring also wants to get their hands on Jerry's luggage and they *also* follow him. Eventually, Jerry is chased by both these organizations as well as the police, who suspects him of murder. —Mattias Thuresson

Nightclub singer and her brother-in-law try to find her husband's killer. When Steve Emery arrives in Trinidad at the urgent request of his brother, he is stunned to find that his brother has not only been murdered, but that his brother's wife Chris is succumbing to the seduction attempts of the man who quite possibly is the murderer. His feelings are further exacerbated when he discovers that he, too, is becoming strongly attracted to Chris, who is a steamy cabaret singer. She, in turn, is playing off one against the other while betraying the secrets of both men to the police, for whom she is secretly working. —Alfred Jingle and Albert Sanchez Moreno In Port of Spain, Trinidad, the mediocre painter Neal Emery is found dead apparently after committing suicide. Inspector Smythe seeks out Neal's wife, the dancer Chris Emery that is the lead attraction of the Caribe night-club to tell her about the death of her husband. Soon Smythe finds that Neal actually was murdered and his prime suspect is Neal's friend, the wealthy Max Fabian and has eyes on Chris. Smythe asks Chris to spy Fabian to find an evidence to arrest him. Meanwhile Neal's brother Steve Emery unexpectedly arrives in Trinidad to visit his brother and learns that his brother had committed suicide, but he does not believe on the official statement. He stays at Chris house and decides to investigate the murder of his brother. Soon Chris and Steve fall in love with each other, but Chris cannot tell to him the reason why she continues to meet Fabian. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) is in Buenos Aires playing dice with locals. Soon someone holds a gun to his head, but a man with a snappy cane helps him out and also tells him about a casino on the other side of town. At the casino, Johnny makes sure he looks his best and enters the gambling room. He watches a short man win with a late bet at the roulette table. He goes to the blackjack table and wins several hands after requesting each time to cut the deck. Two tough guys says the casino director wants to see him; Johnny tries to fight them, but fails. The director turns out to be the man with the cane and goes by the name of Ballin Mundson (George Macready). Johnny admits to cheating, but instead of being thrown out he manages to persuade Mundson to hire him. Soon World War II ends, and there is a party at the casino. Mundson is due to leave town and leaves Johnny in charge; they have gained each other's trust. When Mundson returns he has Johnny come to his house. Mundson has brought home a woman, Gilda (Rita Hayworth), as his wife. When Johnny and Gilda see each other it's clear that they know each other, though they don't tell Mundson. That night at the casino Johnny sees the man from earlier winning at roulette again in suspicious manner and learns that it is Mundson's way of bribing those that allow his casino to continue despite gambling being illegal. Johnny has dinner with Mundson and Gilda. When Mundson leaves the table to meet with some German men, Johnny blames Gilda for marrying Mundson for the money. Gilda dances with another man, Capt. Delgado, and even gives him her phone number in front of Johnny. Later that night Mundson reveals his suspicion to Gilda that she knows Johnny from before and warns her that she should not make any missteps. Another night at the casino we see the man from before looking for his bribe at the roulette table, but his bet is turned away. Soon Johnny finds Mundson in his office talking to the same man; the conversation is about tungsten trading, Mundson telling the man he should not be selling the metal according to their agreement. Johnny goes downstairs to get Gilda out of the way, who is again enjoying herself with another man, and he and Mundson have a drink in the bar. Suddenly there's a gunshot, it's the man with the tungsten who is out to get Mundson; he misses, but in the commotion goes into the washroom and shoots himself. Scared by the threat to his life, Mundson tells Johnny about the cartel that he runs to monopolize tungsten and control the world, and gives him the combination to the safe in his office. Later that night Gilda returns home from town with the young man, Gabe. Johnny knocks the guy over and has him leave and tells Gilda she should not make trouble with Mundson and that he will make things appear right even if she does continue to cavort with other men. One night Johnny wakes up by the sound of Gilda singing in the casino room with only the washroom attendant, Pio (Steven Geray), as audience. She's been out again. Johnny takes her home and they tell to Mundson that they have been swimming, together. Another night the casino is having a carnival party. Two Germans come to Johnny's office and demand to see Mundson; Johnny rings Mundson. Mundson talks to Gilda about being late for the party; tension runs thick between them. At the party Johnny and Gilda dance; Gilda comes on to him, but he refuses. A man, Obregon (Joseph Calleia), who's been hanging around the casino for weeks, tells Johnny there might be trouble. Johnny gets a message that Gilda has left and wants him to pick her up later. Soon a man is revealed to be dead behind his mask, and there is commotion. Johnny finds Mundson in his office and warns him he might be in danger. But Mundson tells Johnny to go find Gilda, then calls an airfield and makes some arrangements. Johnny picks Gilda up, and they go to the house. Gilda suggests they make use of the time alone. He goes to her room to throw her out, but ends up kissing her. They hear a sound and Johnny sees Mundson leaving the house: he has seen them. Johnny goes after Mundson in a car, and so do the police, headed by Obregon. They follow Mundson to an airfield and watch him take off in a plane and crash down into the ocean, assuming that he is dead. However, we soon see Mundson being picked up by a boat, revealing that he had indeed intended to escape from the police investigation. With everybody thinking Mundson is dead, Gilda inherits his fortune, and Johnny takes over the casino and the cartel. Gilda and Johnny get married, and he takes her to a new home. Gilda is happy, but Johnny does not intend to live with her; instead, he makes sure she cannot have contact with anyone. One of the Germans from the cartel comes to see Johnny and tells him that Mundson held the tungsten patents unrightfully. Now he wants them and the cartel leadership back. Gilda comes to see Johnny, wanting a reason for his treatment of her. He blames her for cheating on Mundson and wants to punish her. Seeking company, Gilda starts going out with other men, but Johnny has them disappear one by one. Realizing Johnny wants to keep her in cage, she runs. We see her as a club singer in Montevideo with another man, Tom. He persuades her to go back to Buenos Aires to get an annulment of her marriage. But when they arrive, it turns out Tom is on Johnny's payroll, and Gilda is back in her cage. Obregon talks to Johnny, wanting him to reveal the names of the cartel members, Johnny says he knows nothing about it. Gilda starts singing and dancing in the casino and flirts with the men. Johnny doesn't like it and hits her. Obregon comes again, closes down the casino and puts pressure on Johnny. Johnny gives him what he wants. Obregon tells Johnny that Gilda is waiting in the casino. Johnny overcomes his pride and asks Gilda to take him with her back to America. Suddenly Mundson appears from his office, explains how he is not dead afterall and announces his intention of killing them both. But before he can, Pio stabs Mundson with his own cane. Obregon comes in seeing what's happened, but lets them go, saying afterall a man can only die once. Gilda tells Johnny, "Let's go home."

In order to dissuade teenage girls from mauling him at concerts, a Mexican "Frank Sinatra" pretends an American soprano is his wife, and even persuades her to pose as such.

After a performance of Martha at the Paris Opera House, police inspector Raoul Daubert (Edgar Barrier) proclaims his undying love to singer Christine DuBois (Susanna Foster), despite her known affections for both her career and baritone Anatole Garron (Nelson Eddy). The conductor Villeneuve (Frank Puglia) then tells Christine that she has great promise, but must choose between the opera and "a normal life." The news is not so fortunate for violinist Erique Claudin (Claude Rains), who is fired after 20 years in the opera's orchestra. Returning home, he is threatened with eviction by his landlady, who questions his confessed poverty. The next day, Claudin visits singing instructor Signor Ferretti (Leo Carrrillo), whom he has been secretly paying for three years to coach Christine. With no funds to continue the lessons, Claudin offers his new concerto to music publishers Pleyel and Desjardines. Later, after mistakenly believing that the music publisher has stolen his work, Claudin strangles Pleyel to death, then is facially disfigured when the publisher's assistant throws a tray of acid in his face. The violinist escapes into the sewers of Paris, and the next day, the master key of the opera house is stolen, as well as a costume and two masks. Meanwhile, as Christine sings Anatole a childhood lullaby, Raoul arrives to question her about the murderer, as a bust of her was found in Claudin's apartment. At a performance of Amour et Gloire, Christine hears Claudin's disembodied voice, telling her that, with his help, she is going to be a great singer. The mad violinist then drugs soprano Biancarolli's (Jane Farrar) drink, and understudy Christine takes her place with great success. Biancarolli accuses Garron of drugging her and demands a police investigation. She agrees to drop all charges if Christine is returned to the chorus and no mention of her magnificent performance is published. Later, Claudin visits Biancarolli, ordering her to leave Paris, and when she refuses, murders the singer and her maid. The opera is closed by the police, only to have a note arrive, demanding Christine's performance. After Raoul agrees to re-open the opera, but with another singer, Lorenzi, in her place, to lure the murderer out, Christine is visited by her two suitors, who argue over their two plans to catch the killer. Anatole convinces Franz Liszt to perform Claudin's concerto as another lure and the opera house re-opens with Le prince masque de Caucasie. A new note from the "Phantom" is found, threatening harm if Lorenzi performs in Christine's place. To gain access to the performers, Claudin kills an undercover policeman, taking his place backstage, and sends a giant chandelier crashing down on the audience when Lorenzi begins to sing. He then abducts Christine and takes her into the catacombs of the opera house. He tells her that she can sing now, but only for him. Upstairs, Anatole instructs Liszt to play Claudin's concerto, as he and Raoul search for the missing singer. Claudin accompanies the famous pianist, and Christine slowly recognizes the piece as her childhood lullaby. The two suitors follow the music of Claudin's piano and Christine's singing to find the Phantom and his captive. Just as Christine removes Claudin's mask and discovers his disfigured face, her rescuers arrive. Raoul attempts to shoot the advancing madman, but Anatole deflects his arm, sending the bullet into the ceiling and causing the collapse of the Phantom's lair. Anatole, Christine and Raoul escape the disintegrating walls, but Claudin is buried alive. Christine questions how Claudin composed the concerto around her lullaby, but Anatole tells her that she and Claudin were from the same part of France, and that it must be an old folk song of the area. As she utters sympathetic words about her patron, Anatole comforts her, stating that Claudin's madness will soon be forgotten, but his concerto will live forever. Later, after a triumphant performance, Christine is congratulated by her two suitors. They demand that she choose between them, but she elects instead to greet her adoring public. Realizing that she has made her choice, the baritone and the detective decide to dine together.