Walter Pidgeon

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.

A Vietnam vet bomber hijacks a Boeing 707, forcing the crew to fly to Russia amidst tensions and stereotypes of the early 1970s. A crazed Vietnam vet bomber hijacks a Boeing 707 in this disaster film filled with the usual early '70s stereotypes, and demands to be taken to Russia. —Marty McKee <mmckee@wkio.com> Global Airways domestic flight 502 to Minneapolis-St. Paul has the potential for problems after Angie Thatcher, the girlfriend of co-pilot Sam Allen, is re-assigned as lead flight attendant; she is also the ex-girlfriend of the pilot, Hank O'Hara. There is further excitement once in the air as the President of the United States relays a message for one of the passengers. But those two issues take a back seat when a note for one person obviously to find states that there is a bomb aboard the plane and the note writer will detonate said bomb unless the flight is diverted to Anchorage, Alaska. The location of the note means that it had to have been written by one of the passengers in first class: a jazz cellist off to a gig; an army sergeant on furlough to attend his sister's wedding; a US Senator and his young adult son off on a fishing trip together; a young female hippie; a pregnant woman nearing the end of her third trimester traveling without her husband; and a couple past middle age on their latest move due to yet another work transfer, which the husband views as "losing". The flight crew has to view everyone as a suspect in taking whatever each says with a grain of salt. But even if they are able to discover the identity of the hijacker and his/her motivation and end goal, they still have to find and defuse the bomb. —Huggo

The life of Fanny Brice, famed comedienne and entertainer of the early 1900s: her rise to fame as a Ziegfeld Girl, her subsequent career, and her personal life, particularly her relationship with Nick Arnstein. In early-20th-century New York, Fanny Brice knows that she is a talented comedienne and singer. She also knows that she is not the beauty typical of the stage performers of the day, with her skinny legs and crooked nose and other physical issues. So she knows that she must use other means to get her break in show business, so that she can at least display her talents. With help from Eddie Ryan, who becomes her friend, Fanny is able to get a part in a novelty act in a vaudeville show, the renown from which eventually comes to the attention of famed impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. Fanny becomes one of the Ziegfeld Follies' most popular acts, despite almost getting fired after her first performance by defying Flo's artistic vision for her closing number. Beyond stage success, Fanny also wants a happy personal life, most specifically with suave Nicky Arnstein, a gambler in every respect of the word. Fanny loves him and loves that he loves her despite her lack of traditional beauty, but she does not love that he comes in and goes out of her life based on his financial standing at any given time and his need to earn that quick buck by the next poker game or high-stakes business deal as he feels he needs to play the traditional role of moneymaker in their relationship on his own terms. —Huggo Vibrant young Fanny Brice starts out as a bit player on the New York City vaudeville stage and works her way up to stardom on Broadway. Valued for her vocal and comedic talents by renowned theater impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., Fanny thrives, but her relationship with her suave, imprisoned businessman husband Nick Arnstein is another story. —Jwelch5742

Paris, France. After the success of his first book, famous American writer Charles Wills (Van Johnson) returns to Paris, and visits a local cafe named Café Dhingo where he chats with the bartender about his life. Charles flashes back to his past.... August 1944. Shortly after the liberation of Paris from the Nazis, Charles, a sergeant in the US Army and reporter for the Stars and Stripes, was on the streets of Paris, covering the liberation celebration. He was suddenly grabbed by the most beautiful brunette woman he ever saw, she kissed him on the lips and disappeared into the crowd. Charles followed the crowd to Café Dhingo and met another pretty American woman named Marion Ellswirth (Donna Reed). The mutual attraction was instant, and he was invited to join the party her father was throwing in celebration of the liberation of Paris and the impending end of the war. Charles, Marion, and her persistent French suitor Claude Matine (George Dolenz) arrived at the Ellswirth household, only to find that the woman who kissed Charles was Marion's younger sister Helen (Elizabeth Taylor). During drinks, Charles learned that Marion and Helen's father, James Ellswirth (Walter Pidgeon), fought in the trenches of France during World War I. He survived the war and settled in Paris and was part of the drifter generation (aka: The Lost Generation, 1883-1900). Unlike most drifters, he never grew out of it; even went as far as raising his two daughters to desire such lifestyle. Helen took after her father and used her beauty to sustain a life of luxury even though James was flat broke. Marion went the other way, and looked for serious-minded and conventional young men such as Claude the aspiring prosecutor and Charles the future novelist. Over the next few months, Charles and Helen fell in love and started dating. After Helen recovered from a near-death case of pneumonia from being out in the rain during that winter, they got married and settled in Paris in the spring of 1945 after news that World War II has ended for good. James had hoped that Helen would marry rich, but having taken a liking to Charles, he accepted Charles into the family. Helen eventually got pregnant and gave birth to a daughter in 1946, whom they name Vickie. Marion, having lost Charles to Helen, agreed to marry Claude around the same time. Charles struggles to make ends meet with his meager journalist salary while he worked on his novels as well as look after Vickie, while Helen and Grandpa James partied on. Then one day luck struck: James had bought a few large pieces of land in Texas, convinced that he would become an oil baron. The oil never came and the deeds became a family joke. Always ready with practical jokes, he gave those deeds to Charles as Helen's dowry. Five years later in 1951, the joke turned into gold as oil began to shoot up from these lands non-stop, bringing them money beyond Charles and Helen's dreams. With all of their debits paid off, Charles quit his job to focus entirely on his writing career, and Helen and James began to host parties instead of going to them. Over the next year, the relief of financial strain and the influx of wealth suddenly brought out the irresponsible side of Charles, as he could no longer deal with the disappointment of his manuscripts getting rejected by publishers. And unexpectedly, this brought out the responsible side of Helen. Now it was Helen who wished to stay home to raise their daughter Vickie, while Charles partied his wealth away. They also each took on other interests: Helen started to flirt with handsome English tennis player named Paul Lane (Roger Moore). Charles asked professional divorcee Lorraine Quarl (Eva Gabor) to join him as he competed in a local Paris-to-Monte Carlo race. After the race, Charles returned to Paris to patch things up with Helen, only to find her sitting in Café Dhingo with Paul. A fight broke out between Paul and Charles, an angry Charles went home first and bolted the door and then passed out after drinking too much whiskey. Helen ended up having to walk all way to Marion's place in the falling snow and rain. She caught pneumonia again and this time... she didn't make it. Charles hears about her hospitalization the next day and races to the hospital to be at her side when she dies. After Helen's funeral, Marion petitioned for and got full custody of Vickie. Charles went back to his hometown of to Milwaukee to deal with the loss of both his wife and daughter. Two years later in the present day 1954, having straightened out his life and quit drinking for good, Charles returns to Paris (where the movie begins) and finished telling his story to the Café Dhingo bartender. Charles then goes to Marion's house, hoping that his reformation would have softened Marion, and give eight-year-old Vickie (Sandy Descher) back to him. Still feeling resentful towards Charles for having fallen for Helen instead of her, Marion refuses. Seeing that Charles and Vickie belong together, Claude finally stepped in and told Marion off. In the final scene, Marion and Claude bring Vickie to Café Dhingo to look for Charles. And in front of the painting of Helen, the family is finally reunited again. Charles and Vickie then walk off together to go back to America.

September 1939. Mrs. Kay Miniver (Greer Garson) and her family live a comfortable life at a house called 'Starlings' in Belham, a fictional village outside London, England. The house has a large garden, with a private landing stage on the River Thames at which is moored a motorboat belonging to her devoted husband Clem (Walter Pidgeon), a successful architect. They have three children: the youngsters Toby and Judy (Christopher Severn and Clare Sandars) and an older son Vin (Richard Ney) at university. They have live-in staff: Gladys the housemaid (Brenda Forbes) and Ada the cook (Marie De Becker). As World War II looms, Vin comes down from university and meets Carol Beldon (Teresa Wright), granddaughter of Lady Beldon (Dame May Whitty) from nearby Beldon Hall. Despite initial disagreements (mainly contrasting Vin's idealistic attitude to class differences with Carol's practical altruism) they fall in love. Vin proposes to Carol in front of his family at home after his younger brother prods him to give a less romantic but more honest proposal. Several months later, as the war comes closer to home with the bombing of Great Brittan, Vin feels he must "do his bit" and enlists in the Royal Air Force, qualifying as a fighter pilot. He is posted to a base near to his parents' home and is able to signal his safe return from operations to his parents by cutting his engines briefly as he flies over the house. Together with other boat owners, Clem volunteers to take his motorboat to assist in the May-June 1940 Dunkirk evacuation. Early one morning, Kay unable to sleep as Clem is still away, wanders down to the landing stage. She is startled to discover a wounded German pilot (Helmut Dantine) hiding in her garden and he holds her at gunpoint. Demanding food and a coat, the pilot maniacally asserts that the Third Reich will mercilessly overcome its enemies. She feeds him, calmly disarms him and then calls the police. Soon after, Clem returns home, exhausted, from Dunkirk. Lady Beldon visits Kay to try and convince her to talk Vin out of marrying Carol on account of her granddaughter's comparative youth. Lady Beldon is unsuccessful and admits defeat when Kay reminds her that she, too, was young when she married her late husband. Lady Beldon concedes defeat and realises that she would be foolish to try and stop the marriage. Vin and Carol are married; Carol has now also become Mrs Miniver, and they return from their honeymoon in Scotland. A key theme is that she knows he is likely to be killed in action, but the short love will fill her life. Later, Kay and her family take refuge in their Anderson shelter in the garden during an air raid, and attempt to keep their minds off the frightening bombing by reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which Clem refers to as a "lovely story" as they barely survive a bomb destroys parts of the house. They take the damage with nonchalance. At the annual village flower show, Lady Beldon silently disregards the judges' decision that her rose is the winner, instead announcing the entry of the local stationmaster, Mr. Ballard (Henry Travers), named the "Mrs. Miniver" rose, as the winner, with her own rose taking second prize. As air raid sirens sound and the villagers take refuge in the cellars of Beldon Hall, Kay and Carol drive Vin to join his squadron. On their journey home they witness fighter planes in a 'dogfight'. For safety, Kay stops the car and they see the German plane crash. Kay realises Carol has been wounded by shots from the plane and takes her back to 'Starlings'. She dies a few minutes after they reach home. Kay is devastated. When Vin returns from battle, he already knows the terrible news. Unexpectedly he is the survivor, and she the one who gives her life for England. The villagers assemble at the badly damaged church where their vicar (Henry Wilcoxon) affirms their determination in a powerful sermon: "We in this quiet corner of England have suffered the loss of friends very dear to us, some close to this church. George West, choirboy. James Ballard, stationmaster and bellringer, and the proud winner only an hour before his death of the Beldon Cup for his beautiful Miniver Rose. And our hearts go out in sympathy to the two families who share the cruel loss of a young girl who was married at this altar only two weeks ago. The homes of many of us have been destroyed, and the lives of young and old have been taken. There's scarcely a household that hasn't been struck to the heart. And why? Surely you must have asked yourselves this question? Why in all conscience should these be the ones to suffer? Children, old people, a young girl at the height of her loveliness? Why these? Are these our soldiers? Are these our fighters? Why should they be sacrificed? I shall tell you why. Because this is not only a war of soldiers in uniform. It is the war of the people, of all the people. And it must be fought not only on the battlefield but in the cities and in the villages, in the factories and on the farms, in the home and in the heart of every man, woman and child who loves freedom. Well, we have buried our dead, but we shall not forget them. Instead they will inspire us with an unbreakable determination to free ourselves, and those who come after us, from the tyranny and terror that threaten to strike us down. This is the People's War. It is our war. We are the fighters. Fight it then. Fight it with all that is in us. And may God defend the right." A solitary Lady Beldon stands in her family's church pew. Vin moves to stand alongside her, united in shared grief, as the members of congregation rise and stoically sing "Onward, Christian Soldiers", while through a gaping hole in the bombed church roof can be seen flight after flight of RAF fighters in the V-for-Victory formation heading out to face the enemy.

In Kansas during the Civil War, opposing pro-Union and pro-Confederate camps clash and visiting Texan Bob Seton runs afoul of William Cantrell's Raiders. When transplanted Texan Bob Seton arrives in Lawrence, Kansas, he finds much to like about the place--especially Mary McCloud, daughter of the local banker, but politics is in the air: it's just prior to the Civil War and there is already a sharp division in the Territory as to whether it will remain slavery-free. When he gets the opportunity to run for marshal, Seton finds himself running against respected local schoolteacher William Cantrell. Not all is what it seems, though: While acting as the upstanding citizen in public, Cantrell is dangerously ambitious and prepared to do anything to make his mark, and his fortune, on the Territory. When he loses the race for marshal, he forms a group of raiders who run guns into the territory and rob and terrorize settlers throughout the territory. Eventually donning Confederate uniforms, it is left to Seton and the good citizens of Lawrence to face Cantrell and his raiders in one final clash. —garykmcd Cowpoke Bob Seton becomes a rival for William Cantrell's girl and for the sheriff's job Cantrell covets. When Seton wins both, Cantrell forsakes his respected position as schoolteacher and leads a band of renegades through Kansas, looting and destroying, all in the name of the Confederacy. —Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net> A Civil-War era story of a renegade guerrilla band led by William Contrell. (Couldn't be a thinly-disguised take-off on the real William Quantrill, confederate guerrilla commander, 1837-1865. No, of course not.) Cow-town boss in conflict with the new marshal. —Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu> The story takes place before the Civil War when Bob Seton takes a run for Federal Marshal of Kansas against William Cantrell. He ends up defeating Cantrell which infuriates him. Cantrell then steals away Seton's girl and manipulates her into marriage. The rivalry between them comes to a climax when Seton exposes Cantrell and his guerrillas. —Christopher D. Ryan <cryan@direct.ca>