William Holden

In this disaster epic, 135 floors below the opening gala of the world`s tallest skyscraper, a fire ignites a conflagration that traps hundreds of partygoers in a Towering Inferno.

A young girl runs away from home and meets a grouchy older man who reluctantly takes her in. Eventually they develop a romantic and affectionate relationship. Breezy (Kay Lenz) is a teenage hippie with a big heart. After taking a ride with a man who only wants her for sex, Breezy manages to escape. She runs to hide on a secluded property where stands the home of a middle-aged divorced man, Frank Harmon (William Holden). Frank reluctantly takes Breezy in only to fall, unexpectedly, in love with her. —Kelly In this Counterculture vs. Establishment romance, Frank Harmon (William Holden) is a middle-aged businessman, recently divorced and bitter about his life and the world in general. One morning he discovers a pretty, hippie-esque girl who calls herself Breezy (Kay Lenz) asleep on his front porch. Frank asks her to leave and she politely obeys. She forgets her guitar, however, and returns the next day to retrieve it. Breezy also asks Frank if he would let her take a bath. He agrees, and even lets her sleep at his house that night. A few days later, Breezy turns up at again at Frank's doorstep with a cop; after being arrested for vagrancy, she told the police that she lived with her uncle Frank. Frank plays along and, against his better judgment, agrees to let her stay with him. After spending time together, Frank and Breezy open up to each other, discussing their feelings on a variety of issues. A friendship grows between them that, in time, becomes a love affair, but Frank's friends find fault in his new romance, and he breaks it off, a decision he comes to regret. This was the first movie Clint Eastwood directed in which he did not star, something he would not do again until Bird (1988). —Jack Herer A free-spirited young woman, Breezy, hitches a ride with an aging real estate salesman, Frank. Sensing that she just wants to use him he tries to have nothing to do with her. She's not that easy to shake, however, and over time a bond forms between them. —grantss Wanting to experience life in the world away from her small Pennsylvania hometown of Intercourse a year following high school graduation, free spirit Edith Alice Breezerman, who prefers to be called Breezy, has been in Los Angeles for three months living primarily with her drug-addict friend Marcy and Marcy's boyfriend David. With no real desire for a long term job and thus with no money - she only having the clothes on her back and a cheap guitar - Breezy will find a bed or couch elsewhere whenever Marcy is too drugged-out for her liking. Breezy is sincere in her feelings, she, in whatever she may offer others, not expecting anything in return beyond human decency. When she meets fifty-something real estate agent Frank Harmon, all Frank sees in her is another unkempt hippie who wants to sponge off society. Frank, a loner who lives a comfortable life in a house in the Hollywood hills, steers away from any committed relationship in the disaster that was his first and only marriage. As such, he is once again by himself when his "no-strings" girlfriend Betty Tobin, who could admit to him and herself that she is in love with him, announces that she is getting married to someone else in knowing there is no future for her and Frank. As such, Frank, with who Breezy quickly admits that she has also fallen in love, eventually opens himself up to her. In Frank falling in love with Breezy in return, the question becomes whether Frank can overcome his own pre-Breezy biases and what he perceives as those in his social circle about a relationship of their nature. —Huggo

After a rancher's family is massacred by a gang of outlaws, he assembles a mean team of convicts as his posse to pursue the killers. The life of peaceful rancher John Benedict (William Holden) is torn apart after his family is massacred by a gang of marauding outlaws and his farm is destroyed. He assembles a team of mean, lawless convicts to act as his posse as he pursues the gang responsible for the deaths of his loved ones.

In the summer of 1942, American Lieutenant Colonel Robert T. Frederick (William Holden), a War Department staff officer with no prior combat or command experience, is summoned to Britain where he is selected by Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten (Patric Knowles) to raise a commando force composed of both American and Canadian personnel for operations in German-occupied Norway. Robert had written a report criticizing this plan of Mountbatten and was summoned to explain his position. Mountbatten refuses to back down, even after Robert says that there is no extraction plan for the troops from Norway. Mountbatten assigns Robert to raise this brigade. Back in the U.S., Frederick arrives at the derelict Fort William Henry Harrison in Montana where he receives his American troops - all of whom are jailbirds, never-do-wells, and misfits. When the hand-picked elite Canadian contingent arrives, there is immediate friction with the Americans and chaos ensues. Robert's team includes Maj. Cliff Bricker (Vince Edwards) (who joined the paratroopers as he hated to fly). The camp is in a dilapidated state and Robert says Cliff is the biggest hustler in the army and asks him to arrange all the supplies the camp needs. Capt. Cardwell (Tom Stern), is the Garrison CO of Fort William Henry Harrison US troops include Pvt./Cpl. Omar Greco (Richard Jaeckel) (who thinks about escaping the camp), Pvt. Billy 'Bronc' Guthrie (Bill Fletcher), Pvt./Cpl. Rockwell W. "Rocky" Rockman (Claude Akins), Pvt. Theodore Ransom (Andrew Prine) (who went AWOL from his previous unit after he struck the CO after he serenaded his girlfriend. He walked into Fort Harrison voluntarily). Canadians are led by Maj. Alan Crown (Cliff Robertson), Cpl./Sgt. Peacock (Jack Watson), Pvt. Henri Laurent (Jean-Paul Vignon), Sgt. Patrick O'Neill (Jeremy Slate) (close combat specialist). The rabble-rousing Americans needle the docile Canadians and try to provoke them. There is healthy competition between the Americans and the Canadians. Crown insists that Robert should take advantage of the Canadian combat experience, but Robert points out that Canadians lost at Dunkirk, and he is training the unit to win. Robert asks Crown to get O'Neill to beat the crap out of Rockwell in the mess hall in order to demonstrate the superior training and fighting abilities of the Canadians. O'Neill takes command of the hand-to-hand combat training for the brigade. The brigade is trained to ski on the icy slopes near the camp. The Canadians are under strict order not to fight the Americans. The 2 units go to a bar, where the local lumberjacks' barge in and insult the Canadians. The Canadians give as much room to the locals as possible and are looking to avoid a fight. But when the lumberjacks hit Sgt Peacock, the Americans come to their aid and beat the locals in the bar brawl. This brings the 2 units closer together as one team. Robert is delighted to see the brigade coming together, but orders $1/month to deducted from each man's pay till the $3000 damage bill is repaid. By the time Frederick manages to overcome the national differences and mold the First Special Service Force into a highly trained commando unit, he is informed that the Allied High Command have had a change of heart and offered the Norwegian missions to British troops. Left without a role, the brigade is ordered to be disbanded, and its soldiers reassigned. Frederick remains undeterred and manages to persuade Lieutenant General Mark Clark (Michael Rennie) (Commander of the U.S. Fifth Army) to give his men a chance to prove themselves with a new mission in Italy. Clark's skeptical deputy commander, Major General Maxwell Hunter (Carroll O'Connor), orders the 1st Special Service Force to reconnoiter a German garrison in a well defended (and surrounded by mountains) Italian town, but Frederick goes one better and captures the entire town. He devises a plan to enter the town by trekking over a mountain and then entering the town by hiking 2 miles in ice cold water of the mountain river. Robert and his men enter the town by stealth and kill the German's one by one, even taking over their tanks, defending the city. Gradually, they take a large number of German soldiers as their prisoners. In the process, they earn the nickname "Die Teufelsbrigade" - The Devil's Brigade (given to them by the enemy CO). Robert earns the respect of his men, who celebrate his birthday in a grand style. Convinced now of the ability of Frederick's men, Lieutenant General Clark promotes Frederick to full Colonel and gives them a task no other Allied troops have managed to accomplish - to capture Monte la Difensa. The town is a key point on the way to Rome. Allied armies have tried to take the town for 3 weeks, with heavy casualties, and failed each time. Facing severe obstacles, the Devil's Brigade attacks the undefended eastern side of the mountain by scaling a cliff the Germans believed could not be climbed. The Allied forces pound an artillery barrage from the front, diverting the German attention, allowing Robert's men to climb the cliff in 3 hrs. The cliff side of the plateau was poorly protected, and Robert's brigade was able to climb on top. Reaching the top as a unit (Germans were occupied with the artillery barrage from the front side), they take the stronghold despite considerable losses, allowing the Allies to continue their advance north into Italy. The Brigade continued to fight many more battles throughout Italy till Rome. They built a myth about themselves and too many good soldiers died to keep it true.

Casino Royale (1967) Sir James Bond (David Niven) retired at the height of his powers when forced to betray his lover Mata Hari, and now lives in an English country house, surrounded by lions, devoting himself to Debussy and cultivating black roses, attended by his butler (Erik Chitty). However, alarmed by the mounting losses of their spies, he is visited by the heads of the British ('M' or McTarry; John Huston), French (LeGrand; Charles Boyer), American (Ransome; William Holden) and Russian (Smernov; Kurt Kasznar) Secret Services (collectively driven by M's chauffer John LeMesurier), who petition him to return. He refuses, considering himself to belong to a nobler tradition, and them all gadget-ridden "jokeshop" spies, and deploring the handing on of his legend, name and number to a "sexual acrobat". Even a letter from the Queen does not sway him, and as a final desperate trick M signals for Sir James' home to be blown up by the Army: the attack also kills M (but not, apparently, the others). Smersh Authority (the villains) learns that "Sir James Bond is back, with his morals, his vows and his celibate image. We must destroy that image". Sir James, thus forced out of retirement, travels to Scotland, taking M's toupee (the only surviving relic or heirloom) to M's widow, Lady Fiona, who has been substituted by Smersh agent Mimi (Deborah Kerr). She explains the rituals surrounding the death of The McTarry, which include a banquet (with fresh goat haggis and lots of whisky), dancing, and a memorial grouse shoot ("Whenever a McTarry dies, the grouse come into season"). The castle is filled with beautiful girls, agents of Smersh, pretending to be M's eleven 16-19-year-old daughters ("some of us are adopted") including Heather (Tracey Crisp) and Meg (Alexandra Bastedo), who undress Sir James for his bath ("be careful, that's my loose kneecap"), Buttercup ("Daddy's little thermometer", Angela Scoular) whom Sir James discovers actually in his bath, as well as Eliza (Gabriella Licudi), Peg (Elaine Taylor), and Michele (Frances Cosslett). Sir James drinks all the others under the table at the banquet, but when later approached by Mimi in his bedroom claiming he "comfort her" as her "widow's due", upon rejecting her, she calls him a "ninnogaywillycouf" and summons the pipers for a 'worzle', a contest which involves picking up and attempting to throw large stone cannonballs. This he wins, largely as the five pipers (Robin, Jock, Sandy: Bob Godfrey, Percy Herbert) injure themselves in trying to pick up the balls, whereas he manages to pick one up, throw it and catch it. Mimi is so impressed the other girls decide she is a risk and lock her in her room. At the grouse shoot, one of Sir James' cape buttons has been substituted with a homing beacon, and the girls send rocket-launched explosive-laden dummy grouse towards him. Assisted by Mimi, who has escaped down the rather unsafe drainpipe from her room, Sir James uses his braces to fire the button back into the rocket launcher, blowing it up. Mimi, injured, wins a farewell kiss from Sir James ("Madam, are you quite sure you're dying?") before entering a convent, and tells him that their orders came from "Authority: International Mothers' Help, East Berlin" (1). Driving back from Scotland, Sir James is trailed by a remote-controlled booby-trapped milk float (control girl Penny Riley), but manages to escape so that it kills yet another Smersh agent (). In London, he takes over as head of the British Secret Service, whose only surviving members are his secretary Miss Moneypenny (or rather her daughter; Barbara Bouchet), and his assistant Hadley (or rather his son; Derek Nimmo), who explain that all the secret agents apart from Sir James' replacement (now doing television) have been killed in sexually suggestive situations ("stabbed to death in a ladies sauna bath", "burnt in a blazing bordello", "garrotted in a geisha house", etc.) with the possible exception of Sir James' nephew, Jimmy Bond (Woody Allen), last seen in the Caribbean escaping a firing squad ("I have a very low threshold of death") with an exploding cigarette, only to end up in front of another firing squad. Sir James decides to call up all the auxiliary staff, and to create the ultimate 'Anti-Female Spy Device' - a man whom all women desire, but who is indifferent to them. Miss Moneypenny is tasked with finding one such ("your mother did some of her best work at night"), and she finds Cooper ('Coop': Terence Cooper: "Sounds like something for keeping birds." "That's me"). Coop, a holder of the 'Kama Sutra Black Belt', is then sent for his anti-female training, against a gym-full of a variety of exotic, exotically dressed Bond girls (Yvonne Marsh, Veronica Gardnier - there are over 200 beautiful girls in the film), overcoming them all but eventually meeting new secret weapon The Detainer (Daliah Lavi), who also becomes 007 ("I don't do anything, but, unless you're one of them, you do"), Sir James having decided that to create confusion all agents, both male and female, will become 'James Bond, 007'. Sir James personally recruits two new 007 spies. The first is wealthy Vesper Lynd (Ursula Andress: assistant Valentine Dyall), who Sir James persuades using a £5m tax arrears demand (2). Vesper is given the task of approaching and recruiting Evelyn Tremble (Peter Sellers: "Isn't Evelyn a girl's name? No, its mine"), an expert in baccarat at the Buckingham Club, whom Sir James wants to use to defeat Smersh's treasurer, Le Chiffre (Orson Welles), currently gambling with Smersh's money at Casino Royale. She does this, seducing Tremble at her Mayfair flat (to which she has lately had Nelson's Column removed) and also encouraging him to dress up in a number of costumes (including Napoleon - complete with 'Sunny Elba' pamphlet - Hitler and Toulouse-Lautrec: "Come on, you have more to do". "More?!"). Tremble, now also James Bond, 007, goes to Q (Geoffrey Bayldon) and his fey assistant Fordyce (John Wells) in their cellars full of inept inventions (where he is also shadowed by a dwarf dressed as a garden gnome "He's our security man") for his fitting with a gadget-filled suit ("a little bit tight about the..." "Poison capsule compartment?"). Sir James then recruits his own daughter by Mata Hari, Mata Bond (Joanna Pettet), currently working as a living Eastern goddess ("Celestial Virgin of the Sacred Altar" "Figuratively speaking, of course": temple guard Milton Reid, monk John Hollis): there is a superb temple dance sequence. Mata Bond is sent to West Berlin by London taxicab (taxicab driver Bernard Cribbins) to infiltrate International Mothers' Help, known to be a Smersh cover for the Mata Hari School of Dancing, a spy training school, with rather complex neo-Cubist décor, presided over by the formidable Frau Hoffner (Anna Quale) and the diminutive Polo (Ronnie Corbett). Revealing her identity as Mata Hari's daughter, she is shown by Polo to her mother's old room ("What an enormous bed!" "The German army was very large in those days"), where she discovers a secret passageway activated by the cistern, which leads to a projection suite: she also discovers 'little Otto' one of her mother's lovers ("Is he dead?" "Hard to tell. He always looked like that"). She learns that Le Chiffre is, via his agent (Vladek Sheybal) auctioning his art collection of blackmail photographs to raise money: the auction in the auditorium is attended by officers from the British (Jack Gwilliam, Richard Wattis), Chinese (Burt Kwouk), American (Hal Galili) and Russian armies. Warned by the taxi-driver (revealed as Carlton-Towers of the Foreign Office) to prevent Le Chiffre raising the money, as the bidding for the first lot escalates ("Seventy million tons of rice!" "Sixty tons of caviar!"), Mata returns to the projection room, seizes the case of projector slides and flushes them away: she then escapes Polo by unplugging his external heart battery, Frau Hoffner is shot by Otto, and Mata, using a foam fire-extinguisher on the assorted military, makes good her escape with Carlton-Towers (first trying a drain, but on hearing 'What's New, Pussycat', by taxi back to London). Le Chiffre's agent, telephoning him to report his failure, and that Smersh's leader Dr. Noah now knows what Le Chiffre has been up to, is blown up in his telephone box (the explosion also destroys part of the Berlin Wall). Tremble now travels to Casino Royale, where after meeting Matthis, a French inspector of police (with an improbable Scots accent; Duncan Macrae (3)) , and having a car-wash with many eavesdroppers (yet more beautiful girls), in his room meets Miss Goodthighs (Jacqueline Bisset) "the management of the Hotel Tropical present their compliments" who attempts to drug him with doped champagne. Vesper arrives, 'takes care of' Miss Goodthighs, and rouses Tremble. Vesper and Tremble go the Casino: they deposit £100,000 (cashier Graham Stark) and then meet the casino director Slimmington-Jones (Colin Gordon) in his office. Tremble spots that Le Chiffre is using infra-red spectacles to cheat: Vesper steals these: Le Chiffre shows off with some magic (assistants Jennifer Baker, Susan Baker), and then Tremble and Le Chiffre play a very-high-stakes baccarat game (50 million francs: ~£3.6m or $10m at the time), which Tremble ultimately wins. Tremble takes his winnings as a cheque drawn on a Swiss bank. On the way out of the Casino, Vesper is kidnapped: Tremble, advised of this by the doorman (John Bluthal) follows in a racing car (the racing car driver Sterling Moss, as himself, having run off) but is also captured by Le Chiffre, who wants the cheque. Placed in a very elaborate but broken chair in Le Chiffre's dungeon, he suffers torture - not physical, but mental - eventually becoming a Scot in full Highland costume attacked by four Scots marching bands (including Peter O'Toole), he is rescued by Vesper using a machine gun disguised as bagpipes, who then, however, betrays and kills him (and presumably takes the cheque: "Never trust a rich spy'). Le Chiffre is then killed by Smersh agents sent by Dr. Noah. Back in London, Sir James goes to see the Prime Minister, leaving Mata to sight-see ("Mummy would have taken me in" "Mummy took everyone in"): she is captured by a Household Cavalry officer () on horseback and taken by flying saucer, which lands on the now-vacated site of Nelson's Column, to Casino Royale, where, it is now revealed, the secret headquarters of Smersh's leader Dr. Noah are located (announcer Valentine Dyall). Advised of this by former agent Mimi, now a nun collecting donations ("This department has always been very helpful to needy girls") Sir James and Moneypenny follow to Casino Royale: attacked in the casino director's room (which is a lift connecting to Dr. Noah's HQ, activated by pushing the eye of a stuffed tiger) they eventually win through to an audience hall with chairs made of gold ingots to see Dr. Noah himself - who turns out to be Sir James' missing nephew, Jimmy Bond. Jimmy is however speechless in his uncle's presence: "I never should have let Nellie send him to progressive school... I'm beginning to think you're a trifle neurotic". Dr. Noah/Jimmy reveals part of his plans (using a taped message); to release a bacillus which will leave all women beautiful and all men shorter than himself; and then hits a gong to summon his staff and have Sir James and Moneypenny incarcerated. Dr. Noah then reveals to The Detainer, whom he has also captured, stripped and strapped down to a couch ("I learnt that in the Boy Scouts"), his desire to outshine his uncle, and the rest of his plans: to substitute robot doubles for all world leaders (some of which he has already done). He also shows her a pill he has invented, which "looks like an aspirin, it tastes like an aspirin, but it is not an aspirin" - it is in fact an atomic bomb, which goes off after 400 chain reactions. Feigning interest in him, she is released, steals the pill, and manages to slip it into his champagne, and he starts his hiccup-visualized countdown. Sir James, Mata, Moneypenny and Coop (captured earlier) now manage to escape the psychedelically-decorated room in which they have been imprisoned (using exploding 'vaporized lysergic acid' (4)), and making their way back to the audience hall ("Super place for a coming-out party") and meeting up with The Detainer, find their way back to the Casino (with the aid of Frankenstein's monster: David Prowse). Whilst The Detainer escapes, Sir James tries to call London for aid, but is stopped by Vesper; "Dear Vesper. The things you do for money": who has, however, apparently fallen in love with him, and everything that has happened has been a plan to lure him to her at Casino Royale. He overpowers her, and then he and the remaining James Bonds initiate an attack on the Smersh agents in the Casino, aided by the French (Jean-Paul Belmondo: translates 'Merde!' as 'Ouch') and the Americans, both horse-riding Cowboys and tomahawk-wielding Red Indians (air-dropped with tepees as parachutes: Ransome reappears also): George Raft (as himself) shots himself during the affray, and the Keystone Cops have a cameo. Dr. Noah appears with the final chain-reaction countdown hiccups, and the Casino is explosively completely destroyed, killing all five remaining James Bonds (Sir James, Coop, Vesper, Mata, Moneypenny), as well as Dr. Noah/Jimmy Bond. The closing song explains that six James Bonds (including Tremble) go to "a heavenly spot", Jimmy to "a place where it's terribly hot"). Notes: (1) For younger readers: During the Cold War, the city of Berlin was divided by the Berlin Wall (1961-1989) into West Berlin (under Allied control: the Wall surrounded this) and East Berlin (under Soviet control). One of the motifs of the film is that the International Mothers' Help building straddles the border, this being reflected in the interior décor and lighting, and a symbolic rope bisecting the auditorium. (2) In 1967, £5m was half of art auctioneers Christie's annual turnover. Nowadays (2009) it buys 10% of a Titian. (3) There is also a brief pre-credits scene where Tremble (as James Bond) and the Inspector meet in a pissoir (4) Lysergic acid is a precursor for lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD - very Sixties). As its melting point is 240oC, and its (theoretical) vaporization point considerably higher (it degrades), a certain technical liberty is taken by considering it to be an explosive vapour collectable in a seat-cushion-cover in the film (Original version retained below - fades a bit to the end) Any movie directed by 5 different people is bound to be confusing. This is, off course, no exception. The movie starts off with James Bond (Evelyn Tremble (Peter Sellers)) meeting Lieutenant Mathis (Duncan Macrae) of the Special Police in a pissouir in Paris. After Bond checks Mathis' credentials, he follows him out. The credits roll. 4 cars come in from different directions - a Citroen, a Cadilac, a Bently, and what appears to be something Russian. The 4 chaufers wait by their cars as the 4 passengers get into a Rolls Royce, driven by a fifth chaufer. Through conversations between M (McTarry (John Huston)), Ransome (William Holden), Le Grand (Charles Boyer), and Smernov (Kurt Kasznar), we learn that this is the home of the original James Bond. He is pure of mind and body. They property is protected by many lions. James is exercising as the gentlemen arrive. He has a stutter. He complains that the agent that replaced him as James Bond 007 is leaving a trail of dead women behind; that the new gadgets have taken the honour from the profession. He takes them outside to show them his black rose. Each spy head complains that they are losing agents at an alarming rate. They want James to come out of retirement to fix their shared problems. James interrupts them to play some Debussy. We learn that Bond retired because he had to lure his lover, Mata Hari, to her death. He returns from playing. M shows him a letter from the Queen. Still, he refuses the request to return to duty. M lights a cigar as a signal, and British troops bomb the property. His mansion is destroyed and M's toupee is blown off. Cut to a Smersh control room. We hear the head of Smersh (Authority) tell them that James Bond is back, with his morals, vows, and celebate image in tact. He tells them to initiate Plan B to attempt to destroy that image. We see James driving his Morgan (?) through the British countryside into Scotland. Various spys report his progress. We learn that he is heading for M's (McTarry's) castle. Plan B is in operation with Agent Mimi taking the place of M's widow (Lady Fiona) because she has the best Scot's accent. Sir James presents the remains of M to Lady Fiona (Deborah Kerr). They explain that they'd heard of the death from the Grey Piper. The room is full of women, mourning. They prepare a traditional hagis feast for midnight, where they will dance the traditional Scotish Fling and drink Ouskabar. It is explained (there's a lot of explaining going on, but it really doesn't help) that they drink until they drop in their tracks, then after an hour's rest, the piper awakes them for the morning grouse shoot. James is shown to his room, where Meg and Heather help him undress for his bath. The room is full of paintings of nude women. Meg and Heather tell him that they are 2 of M's 11 daughters - all between the ages of 16 and 19. As they walk down the hall to the bath, they walk past a series of bedrooms, each with a gorgeous girl peering out. James goes into the bath room and starts to undress, when he notices that 17 year old Buttercup is in the tub - testing the water temperature ("Daddy's little thermometer"). She invites him in to scrub his back. James has to turn on the cold water to avoid certain embarassment. Cut to James' room, where we see Meg and Heather swapping a button on his coat - but they are speaking French! We learn that the button is to be used only as a last resort - that Mimi's never failed before. At the hagis feast, everyone is drinking scotch. Two girls have their legs entwined with James at the table, as he listens to Mimi pass on some of the McTarry folklore. Everyone eventually passes out except James, who takes his cup and the scotch decanter up to his room. He's enjoying a nightcap as Mimi comes in and declares "her Widow's Due", insisting that James "doodle her". He refuses, so she insists that he "pay the piper". She blows a silly trumpet solo on a hunting horn, and calls the huge Scottish pipers in. They are going to "wassle" - play catch with heavy stone cannon balls. The first 5 do themselves in trying to lift and throw the balls. The sixth manages a throw that James catches and throws back. The piper catches the ball, but the weight forces him back, into an armour display, which falls on him and knocks him out. James then picks up the last wassle ball and karate chops it in 2. Mimi is stricken. She praises him in French, blowing her cover. The other girls realize, and lock Mimi in her room. The next morning, James is out for the grouse shoot. Mimi's locked in her room, and realizes that James is in trouble. The truck that brought the beaters is actually a launcher of exploding grouse. Mimi escapes by sliding down a drainpipe outside her window, and come to warn James that the button on his coat is actually a homing device. He shoots the grouse before they can get too close, and tells Mimi to take off his braces. They use them like a slingshot to fire the button back towards the beaters. The beaters use a garter belt to fling the homing button back. James grabs the return shot, and Mimi is able to fire it into the grouse launcher. Mimi is injured, and commits herself to a nunnery. She tells James that they are run by International Mother's Help in Berlin. James leaves the McTarry estate, but is followed by a woman driving an E-Type Jaguar. The women in the Smersh control room activate a rigged milk truck. Through some tricky driving, James gets in front of the Jag, and the milk truck loses its visual feed to Control. Control has to set the truck to automatic. James drives into his gated estate and gets the gate closed as the Jag spins into them. The milk truck plows into the Jag, and they both explode. James shows up at MI5, sees Moneypenny, and gives her a big kiss. Moneypenny enjoys it, but explains that she is actually Moneypenny's daughter. James is on a mission, and has lost his stammer. He meets Hadley, who is also the son of the original Hadley. Hadley goes over the state of MI5's agents. Most have been lured to their death by enemy women agents. The replacement James Bond has quit to "do television". James' nephew, Jimmy Bond was working as a spy in the Caribbean, but hasn't been heard from in a while. In a flashback, we see Jimmy (Woody Allen) about to face a firing squad. He escapes using an exploding cigarette. James assigns Moneypenny to find a replacement 007 agent that is desireable to women, but can be trained to resist them. She selects agent Cooper, and spends the night confirming that he is good with women. The next day, she is having trouble staying awake, but James likes Coopers credentials (6" 2 1/2', 184 lbs, Kama Sutra Black Belt). James announces that all remaining agents and trainees will be known as "James Bond 007" to confuse the enemy. Cooper goes through his anti-female training, flipping off a girl dressed identically to Ursula Andres in Dr. No. The third girl appears later as Dr. Noah's prisoner. James shows up at the headquarters of Vesper Lynd (Ursula Andress). We learn that she is the world's richest spy. She negotiates a trade of the Eiffel Tower for nuclear warheads, and purchases the Lord Nelson's statue. James requests her help in exchange for reducing a large writ for tax arears. Vesper approaches Evelyn Tremble (Peter Sellers) at the Buckingham Club. They come close to kissing, as Vesper suggestively tells him that she would like to go over some of the passeges in his book on winning at Baccarat. She has been reading it in her bed. She will send her car to bring him to her place. Evelyn arrives as Vesper is disposing of a body. In one of the best looking shots in the movie, they walk behind a huge aquarium - in slow motion - to "The Look of Love" song. Vesper is waiting for Evelyn on (in?) her sunken couch. Evelyn admires Lord Nelson's statue from her window. After some suggestive banter, we see Evelyn exercising in his pyjamas and Vesper wearing a nightgown. She films Evelyn dressing up as Hitler, Napolion (complete with a "Sunny Elba" brochure) and Toulouse-Lautrec. She requests his help in breaking La Chiffre, who likes to play high stakes Baccarat. Evelyn accepts, and agrees to become James Bond for the assignment. Evelyn shows up at the MI5 training facility, where we see frog-men firing bows and arrows and a drill sergent leading his men into an elevator. Evelyn is fitted with a wrist-TV, and body armour vest. Cut to James Bond's office, and James has learned that International Mother's Help (IMH) is a Smersh front. He decides that Mata Bond should try to infiltrate. She is his iligitmate daughter with Mata Hari. She gets to IMH and destroys the slides, forcing Le Chiffre to play baccarat. Tremble to France / Carwash / Miss Goodthighs Vesper & Tremble to Casino Le Chiffre's Magic, swap glasses Tremble plays one hand, and loses. Le Chiffre Stirling Moss Big disconnect - Bond is Le Chiffre's prisoner - mind torture Vesper kills Tremble, Dr. Noah's men kill Le Chiffre Mata kidnapped - Mimi gives a hint Ambushed in casino office Escape, but end up in front of Dr. Noah Dr. Noah is Jimmy Bond (Woody Allen) Bacillius The Detainer Looks like an Asperin, tastes like an asperin. 400 tiny little time pills. Vaporized Lysergic Acid - Agent Cooper returns Frankenstein to office Vesper pulls gun on Evelyn American Aid Monkey wearing toupee Indians Police - Keystone Cops Explosion

During the Civil War, Mexican cattleman Alvarez Kelly supplies the Union with cattle until Confederate Colonel Tom Rossiter's hungry men force Kelly to change his customers. Suave former Texan cattleman Alvarez Kelly now living in Mexico has little interest in the Civil War except to make some money. But after a long drive to deliver cattle to the Union he finds himself kidnapped by Confederate Colonel Tom Rossiter. With the hungry troops and civilians surrounded in Richmond by the Union army the Colonel intends, one way or the other, to persuade Kelly to help steal the herd and move it into town. Confederate money has no appeal so the Colonel resorts to other means with unexpected results. —Jeremy Perkins {J-26}

Blacklisted in modern day WW2, a Swedish oil trader opts to assist British Allies, by means of infiltrating and surveying Nazi Germany. Stockholm, 1942: Eric Erickson is a native American who has been granted Swedish citizenship. Because of his oil trade - Sweden is officially neutral, so trade with both warring parties is possible - he is blacklisted by people who collaborate with the enemy. The British put pressure on him to become an agent of the Allies. His business and frequent trips to Germany serve as a cover. It is not long before his new, feigned pro-Nazi attitude alienates him from his Swedish surroundings and his wife. In order to gain an insight into the Nazis' oil supply, Erickson pushes ahead with his plans for a new refinery. At a business meeting, he meets Marianne Möllendorf, an officer's wife who also works as an agent. The two fall in love. When one of his German friends dies, Erickson rushes to Germany to destroy a dangerous document. The Gestapo arrest him and question him about his relationship with Marianne. The noose tightens. —Arte An American oil company executive of Swedish descent, now living in Sweden, is blackmailed into spying for the Allies during World War II. At first resentful, his relationship with a beautiful German Allied agent causes him to realize how vital his work is. When he learns that his anti-Nazi German associates are under suspicion from the Gestapo, he risks his own life to go back inside Nazi Germany to finish his work and try to save his friends. It's an exciting story with great characters, filmed partly in the locations where the story took place. —Carol

A businessman moves to Hong Kong to pursue a career as an artist and falls in love with a prostitute he hires as a model. Robert Lomax, tired of working in an office, wants to be an artist. So he moves to Hong Kong to try his hand at painting. Finding a cheap hotel, he checks in, only to find it's used by prostitutes and their "dates" they meet in the bar downstairs. Since he never picks up any of the ladies, they all want to know more about him. Eventually, he does hire one to model for him... and soon falls in love. However, since he's on a limited budget, he can't afford her exclusively, but doesn't want to "share" her with anyone else. —Brian W Martz <B.Martz@Genie.com> Approaching middle age, American Robert Lomax puts behind his job as an architect to live in Hong Kong as an artist. After finding a cheap hotel to live, he finds it's used by the local prostitutes to bring their dates. Since he never offers to have a date with any of the ladies, they all become curious. He does hire one to model for him... and falls in love. —Huggo Unable to convince himself he likes what he does for a living, disillusioned, grizzled American architect Robert Lomax puts his career on hold and leaves everything behind to have a go at painting. But as Robert sets foot on bustling, far-off Wan Chai in Hong Kong Island, a chance encounter with exotic, feisty native Suzie Wong will turn his world upside down, paving the way for an unexpected, unusual, East-meets-West relationship. And amid exciting new experiences and happy Sherry-Flip-fuelled nights, Lomax is on the verge of making an eye-opening, life-changing discovery. However, what does Suzie, the mysterious girl with the almond-shaped eyes, want from Robert, the fine gentleman in a strange land? —Nick Riganas

In 1863, a Union outfit is sent behind Confederate lines in Mississippi to destroy enemy railroads but a captive southern belle and the unit's doctor cause frictions within ranks. Based on the true story of Col. Benjamin H. Grierson. In the Spring of 1863, Grierson left bases in northern Mississippi, taking 1,700 troopers with him. According to Bruce Catton, Grierson "drove through central Mississippi, tearing up railroads and upsetting [Confederate General] Pemberton's troop deployments before reaching Union-held Baton Rouge."

American David Ross (William Holden), a former tugboat captain now in the Canadian Army, is hastily commissioned in the Royal Navy and assigned to rotating command of W88, a double-screwed rescue tug then in dry dock due to battle damage. His predecessor committed suicide. The slow, poorly armed tugs bring in "lame ducks," freighters crippled near Britain by German attacks. The main danger is from U-boats and aircraft. David is reunited with an old friend, Captain Chris Ford (Trevor Howard), who commands another tug about to go on a mission. Chris takes David with him and they are attacked twice. That night Chris brings him home to his flat to meet his lover, Stella (Sophia Loren), who wears a wedding ring. She had been engaged to Philip Westerby, another tugboat captain, but he was killed the day before their wedding. A friend of Chris', Van Barger, took possession of the hard-to-find flat and Stella stayed with him. Knowing the extreme danger of his job, Van Barger then gave a copy of his key to the flat to Chris, so that Stella would be taken care of no matter what. When Chris chooses David to be the next in line, he tries to refuse, but his friend is insistent. David's tug comes out of dry dock and he goes aboard to take his turn of command from the tug's other captain, Van Dam (Oscar Homolka), who gives him tips for survival in combat but warns him that his real enemy is the one within himself, fear. Shaken by his recent close call, Chris proposes marriage to Stella, who accepts. However, she has a premonition that he will not be coming back from his next mission. She is proved correct. At first, David refuses to move in. When he eventually does, he is surprised that Stella does not share his bed, but as time goes by, she falls in love with him, unlike the others. She puts away her photograph of Philip, gets rid of the uniforms of David's predecessors, and takes off the wedding ring. She also leaves her flat for the first time since Philip was killed. Finally, she asks David to marry her, and he gladly accepts. With the U.S. entry into the war, an American freighter becomes David's next assignment, even though it is Van Dam's turn. Its inexperienced crew sends out a continuous S.O.S., contrary to sealed orders, revealing the ship's position to the enemy. When David finds out the situation, he tries unsuccessfully to refuse what amounts to a suicide mission. Knowing his chances, he gives his key to the new captain of another tugboat, Chris's former mate, Kane (Kieron Moore). David's tug is attacked by a U-boat and hit numerous times. He orders the crew to abandon ship, then rams the submarine. After being rescued, David hurries back to the flat, but Kane is already there, having told Stella that David was killed. When she sees him alive, she screams at him to get out, hurt to the core by his betrayal in passing on the key. Later, Kane finds David drinking his sorrows away, and informs him that Stella is leaving for London on the train. David does not arrive at the station in time to board the train, but vows to Kane that somehow after the war he will find her.

A highly principled British colonel becomes obsessed with leading a band of P.O.W.s to build a bridge at the behest of their Japanese captors in World War II Burma.

A director hires an alcoholic has-been and strikes up a stormy relationship with the actor's wife, who he believes is the cause of all the man's problems. Washed up singer/actor Frank Elgin has a chance to make a come-back when director Bernie Dodd offers him the leading role in his new musical. Frank however is very insecure, turns to alcohol and shuns even the smallest of responsibilities, leaving everything up to his wife Georgie who finds it harder and harder to cope with her husband's lack of spirit. Bernie tries to help Frank regain his self-confidence, believing that it is Georgie who's the cause of his insecurity. —Leon Wolters <wolters@strw.LeidenUniv.nl> Broadway director Bernie Dodd is in desperate need of a male lead for his new play and pushes to hire Frank Elgin, an aging one time star with just the experience and skills required. The downside is that he has a reputation for being an unreliable drunk. Elgin has the talent for the job, but seems to be entirely dependent on his wife Georgie to make all of his decisions for him. He tells Dodd that she has to come with them when they go to Boston to fine tune the show. He describes his wife as the drinker and suicidal at times and simply can't be left alone. Dodd takes up his cause, blaming Georgie for Frank's lack of self-confidence and a clash of wills ensues. He soon realizes he may have incorrectly assumed who was supporting who in their relationship. —garykmcd The hard-drinking Frank Elgin, a once-popular Broadway star whose glory days have passed. When director Bernie Dodd gives Elgin a role in his new musical, he must also deal with the actor's sour and ever-present wife, Georgie, who Dodd believes is the cause of her husband's failure. However, as Dodd spends more time around Georgie, the truth about her husband becomes clear. —Jwelch5742 Famed Broadway director Bernie Dodd is known for making risky casting choices which may not make the process of the show smooth, but generally has electrifying results on stage. With only a couple of weeks until out of town Boston previews, he has to recast the lead in his new musical, he lobbying for Frank Elgin, formerly a Broadway heavyweight whose career years ago sank under the weight of the onset of his alcoholism. Bernie is the only one on Frank's side, producer Philip Cook in particular who does not want to risk what is largely his money on Frank. Winning out in casting Frank albeit on only a two week run contract, Bernie, who nonetheless wants to provide as much support to Frank knowing the potential problems, is up front that one bender is enough to fire him. In hiring Frank, Bernie learns that he is a package deal with his wife, frumpish Georgie Elgin. In explaining the situation to Bernie, Frank tells a story of his and Georgie's life going off the rails following the death of their infant son, he, in trying to help Georgie deal with her grief in her turning to the bottle and attempting suicide, turned to the bottle himself while Georgie emerged out of her alcohol dependence. With Frank having problems in rehearsals up to and during the Boston run, he maintains a happy and cordial demeanor to all including Bernie, while behind the scenes is demanding that Georgie lobby for more and more on his behalf. Georgie supports Frank in being that liaison to Bernie solely in wanting Frank to be the man he once was. And Bernie, who handles Frank with kid gloves, blames all their problems on Georgie, not only in she being the crutch on which Frank always leans, but in his belief that she is the reason for Frank's alcoholism. This leads to a complex situation between the three, which the truth may be the only catalyst for them dealing meaningfully with what is going on. —Huggo

U.S. Navy Lieutenant Harry Brubaker (William Holden) is a pilot who previously fought during World War II, went back to his civilian job as an attorney, and is now a recalled naval reservist further engaged in the Korean War flying F9F Panthers in the Korean War from carriers. He is returning from a mission where his jet sustained battle damage and he has to ditch it into the bone chilling cold of the Sea of Japan. Brubaker is about to freeze to death when a Navy rescue helicopter a Sikorsky HO3S-1 appears. The rescue helicopter that saves Brubaker is flown by an enlisted Naval Aviation Pilot (NAP), the eccentric green top hat-and-scarf wearing Chief Petty Officer Mike Forney (Mickey Rooney), with Forney's crewman AD2 Nestor Gamidge (Earl Holliman) jumping into the freezing water to hook Brubaker to the rescue harness. Forney had often been in trouble for brawling and sporting a non-regulation green top hat and scarf while flying his helicopter as encouragement to downed pilots in the water. Back aboard his ship, the aircraft carrier USS Savo Island Brubaker is called to the quarters of Rear Admiral Tarrant, the Carrier Task Force 77 commander, who has taken an interest in Brubaker. Rear Admiral Tarrant (Fredric March) lost his own son at the Battle of Midway during World War II and Brubaker's manner and bearing brings back memories of his lost son. Brubaker complains about the unfairness of his recall when most actively flying/actively drilling Naval Reserve pilots weren't recalled (Brubaker hadn't been flying in the Reserve), America is not actually "at war", and most Americans have no involvement. Tarrant advises that, "All through history, men have had to fight the wrong war in the wrong place, but that's the one they're stuck with." The admiral finds the pilot is tired of war and just wants to return to civilian life to be with his family and the legal career he left behind. Nevertheless, they both agree to the necessity of seeing this conflict through to its conclusion. A new mission is set. The target is a group of bridges used by Communist forces. Commander Wayne Lee (Charles McGraw), the Commander of the Carrier Air Group ("CAG"), is dedicated to his men, but Tarrant would rather see him dedicated to his mission. Lee had come to Tarrant with a complaint over the carrier captain's overuse of engines on tied-down aircraft during docking. However, when reminded that the captain would be writing his performance review, Lee backs down -- a weakness which prompts Tarrant to decide not to recommend Lee for promotion. The Savo Island returns to port in Japan. Brubaker is told that his wife Nancy (Grace Kelly) and children have arrived in Tokyo on an unexpected visit, and he is given a three-day pass during a port visit. Their reunion is interrupted when Nestor shows up at their hotel asking Brubaker's help in bailing Forney out of the guardhouse after a brawl with another sailor. Nancy, anxious to have her husband back home, is terrified to discover the signs of a man ready to crack from combat fatigue. Nancy is deep into thoughts of being left as a widow. Tarrant tries to support her, although he, too, remembers how his own daughter-in-law had almost turned insane after losing her husband, Tarrant's son. Back on a carrier off Korea, Brubaker flies as wing-man for Commander Lee, the carrier air group commander known as "CAG" (from his position as Commander, Air Group in the carrier), on a dangerous reconnaissance to photograph the bridges. Back to the carrier, Lee presents to his pilots the air photos taken from a low pass over Toko-Ri. The flak is extremely dense, and the pilots have to fly very low into the banks of the river while receiving fire from all sides. Brubaker gets sick after this briefing and believes his days are numbered. He is ready to write a letter to Nancy predicting his own death. Forney crosses the captain of Savo Island once too often, and then he is exiled to a helicopter scow. As he is leaving the ship, he notices Brubaker's distress and relates a "cure" for bad nerves that have worked for him, standing on the bow of the ship and facing the waves. Brubaker follows his advice and finds renewed strength within himself. Lee tries to boost the pilot's morale by asking him to stay behind if he feels he cannot accomplish his mission. Brubaker vows to do his duty. The initial attack is on a series of bridges. Lee organizes two formations, the second one to be led by Brubaker. The results from the first attack are incomplete, so he orders the second group led by Brubaker to attack. Brubaker's team dashes in low and completes the destruction of the last bridge. In the attack on the bridges, the antiaircraft fire is intense, but the jets destroy the bridges without a loss. Lee then directs the air group to attack a secondary target, an ammunition dump. As Brubaker completes the run, his fighter aircraft receives a hit that creates a fuel leak. Lee escorts Brubaker, guiding him back to the carrier, but the fuel loss will not allow Brubaker to overcome the last hill before the sea. He belly-lands onto a relatively flat area. The rescue helicopter and his faithful friends Mike and Nestor land close by to pick him up, but North Korean ground troops arrive and machine gun the helicopter, killing Nestor and eliminating any chance of flying out of danger. They try to hold off the enemy with pistols and Forney's and Gamidge's M1 carbines until they can be rescued, but both are killed by the North Korean and Red Chinese soldiers. After getting confirmation from the U.S. Army that the three Americans are killed, Admiral Tarrant is shattered by the news and demands an explanation from Commander Lee of why he attacked the second target. Lee retorts that despite the losses, the mission was a success. Tarrant sorrowfully must accept that Lee has "matured", recommending him for promotion. The film ends with Tarrant alone, wondering where Brubaker and all the others under his command could have found the bravery to do what is asked from them.

The daughter of a chauffeur (Sabrina, played by Hepburn) has been madly in love with the youngest playboy son (David, played by Holden) of a Long Island society family. Although he was never serious about the young woman, she dreams he will one day fall madly in love with her. She moves to Paris to become a chef, and returns to Long Island a changed woman on the outside. Inside, Sabrina is still madly in love with David. When David invites her to a ball at the mansion, she is delirious with delight. This affair, however, jeopardizes not only David's impending marriage, but a business deal brokered by his older, responsible brother, Linus (played by Bogart). Linus arranges an unfortunate "accident" that lays David up for several days. Linus then proceeds to woo Sabrina - even convincing David he's doing this for him. Linus pretends that Sabrina has made him curious about what it would be like to leave his corporate world behind and live in Paris. Sabrina believes she's seeing a "secret side" of Linus Larabee, and starts falling in love with this new Linus. Linus entices Sabrina to run away with him and move back to Paris - even though he has no intentions of leaving with her. At the last minute, Linus realizes he cannot hurt her like this and arranges to send David (who has recovered from the accident) in his place. David realizes Sabrina no longer loves him, and (surprisingly) his older brother is in-love with Sabrina. So David arranges to have true love find its course, and the two lovers sail to Paris.

The year is 1863. The Civil War still rages. Far off in the Arizona desert, captured Confederate soldiers are being held at Fort Bravo by their Union captors. Surrounding them all is the monumental, inhospitable terrain and the implacably hostile Mescalero Apaches. Captain Roper (William Holden) of the US Army drags an escaped Confederate prisoner named Bailey back to the fort on a rope behind his horse. As they enter the grounds, the prisoners in the stockade resentfully glare at Roper. Roper tells his commanding officer that the man had ridden his horse until it gave out and left it to die, then fled on foot before being ridden down. Roper finds that his brutal tactics are unpopular with his commanding officer, his second-in-command Lieutenant Beecher (Richard Anderson), and the post's doctor. The post commander pointedly reminds Roper that the prisoners nearly outnumber the garrison. Roper admits that his actions are designed to intimidate the restless prisoners and keep them in check. Confederate Captain Marsh (John Forsythe) asks Roper for permission to see Bailey, which Roper grants. The young man is in a bad way, exhausted and dehydrated. He apologizes for his foolhardy solo escape attempt but couldn't wait for the pending larger attempt. Some of the more aggressive prisoners question Marsh's delay in staging a larger escape. Roper leads a mounted patrol into the desert to locate an overdue supply convoy carrying rifles to the fort. They find the wagons overturned and burned, the drivers tortured to death on ant mounds. As the slain men are being laid to rest, Roper notices smoke and mirror signals in the distance. An attack is imminent. On the return to the Fort they are ambushed and Beecher takes an arrow to the shoulder as the surprise attack commences. The Mescaleros wheel around the surrounded troopers, inflicting and incurring several casualties. The Apaches soon retreat into the distance and the patrol heads out to the nearest water hole. As night falls, the soldiers make camp and almost immediately hear gunfire. A band of Apaches is pursuing a stagecoach through the desert, with both the shotgun guard and a passenger returning fire. Roper' sends his men to intervene and drive off the attackers. The stagecoach is escorted to the camp, where the beautiful Carla Forester (Eleanor Parker) alights and introduces herself to Roper. She explains that she was on her way to Fort Bravo to see the colonel and his engaged daughter who is soon to be married to Lt. Beecher. Carla dresses Beecher's wound and explains that she went to school with the colonel's daughter, Alice (Polly Bergen). The next evening, sparks fly between the aggressively flirtatious Carla and an amused Captain Roper as she escorts him to his quarters. He agrees to accompany her, when asked, to the post dance the next evening. At the dance, Carla expresses surprise that a pair of Confederate officers have been permitted to attend. One of them is Captain Marsh, who gallantly asks her to dance with him. As they dance closely together, it is revealed that they are in fact lovers, and she has come to the fort to aid in his escape. The breakout is planned for the night of Lt. Beecher's wedding to Alice. Following the dance, Roper takes Carla to see his prized rose garden on the way back to her quarters. Surprised by this softer side of the stern captain, she asks about his late father. He slowly starts to reveal a human side as he falls for her. The next day, Carla and Alice depart for a nearby town to shop for a wedding dress. Roper unexpectedly and inconveniently volunteers to accompany them. Roper and three troopers escort the carriage. In town, Roper accompanies Carla to a dry goods store run by a Mr. Watson, a Confederate sympathizer who has agreed to provide supplies for the escape attempt. While Roper is distracted, she covertly slips Watson a wad of cash and describes the clothing, provisions, horses, and guns that will be required. Watson is to prepare the supplies and on the night of the wedding conceal the escapees in his wagon to leave the fort. After returning to the fort, Roper accompanies Carla on a ride into the beautiful rock formations above the fort. Roper comes on to her and embraces her. She fights him at first but then willingly submits as they kiss passionately. After Beecher and Alice's wedding, Roper tells a conflicted Carla that he in love with her, asking her to stay on and marry him. Meanwhile, the four escapees (including Marsh and Bailey) have climbed into the back of Watson's covered supply wagon. Carla tells Roper that she needs to be alone to think. After he leaves, she runs to the supply wagon and tells Marsh she is going with them. Roper pointedly questions the nervous Watson as he exits with the concealed prisoners and Carla in his wagon. The next morning, the escape is reported. Roper is stunned and bitter at Carla's deception. He is to lead a detail in pursuit of the escapees and Beecher, even though just married, is concerned about Roper's methods and forces his way onto the patrol. Bailey is captured in a saloon, as Roper has judged him to be too cowardly to ride out into the desert again. Another army patrol has been attacked and Roper sends his troops to help them and continues on with just Beecher, the Kiowa scout and Bailey. Out on the desert, Carla seems distracted, and Captain Marsh suspects that she has true feelings for Roper. Roper's pursuit group soon sneaks up on the Confederates' campsite and gets the drop on them. Marsh, upset by losing his girl, hits Roper resulting in a fistfight, with Roper winning handily. Roper gathers up his prisoners and starts back for the fort. Watching from atop the spectacular desert rock formations, the Mescaleros discover Roper's outnumbered party and attack. The group is forced to dismount and take cover in the open in a small defile. Roper arms the Rebs and they acquit themselves well, but the group is hopelessly surrounded and their Kiowa scout killed. As night falls, Bailey bolts from the ditch and flees on one of their horses which has returned. The others curse him as a coward. The following morning, the Apaches attack again, wounding Beecher and one of the Rebels. During the attack, the Apaches curiously bracket the soldiers' position by thrusting lances into the soil around their position. No one knows why. The reason soon becomes apparent as single arrows are carefully lobbed from the surrounding cliffs, registering the distance to Roper's band. Deadly volleys of arrows soon follow, cascading down onto the group. Captain Marsh, Beecher, and others are hit. Two of the Confederates desperately leap from cover to knock down the lances guiding the archers. Both are shot dead. Roper makes his own dash and finishes the task, but the end is near. As night falls, Marsh uses a gun to try to force Roper and Carla to leave together, telling Roper that she fell in love with him and now he has to save her, but Marsh collapses before they can leave. With Marsh and Beecher near death, Roper realizes that his only remaining option is to pretend the others are all dead and break cover himself to face the Apaches and hope they leave the rest to rot and move on. At dawn, he sprinkles Marsh and Beecher with dirt and tells a tearful Carla to play dead. As he walks out of the defile, with two drawn pistols, he is shot twice and collapses. Suddenly, there is a distant bugle call and the Apaches flee past him. The cavalry has arrived. Bailey was not a coward after all; he had ridden to the fort and brought help back. Roper, Carla and Beecher are saved, but it is too late for Captain Marsh, who dies after congratulating Bailey.

An aging actress refuses to admit she is too old to play the ingénue role anymore. Playwright Stanley Krown has a terrific new play. It's got a great part for reigning Broadway star Beatrice Page, and a young actress named Sally Carver will do just about anything to get the ingénue lead. The problem is that Beatrice doesn't want the great role written for her. She wants the ingénue role, something she could have played wonderfully -- when she was twenty years younger. —Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Captured Americans coping with life in a German POW camp in World War II are puzzled by the simplicity with which the Germans are able to stave off escape attempts, shooting those who try. Sefton () is a POW who has profitably wagered with his fellow American prisoners that these escapes would fail. The POWs fear there may be an informer in their midst, but who is it? As it becomes clearer and clearer to his fellow inmates that Sefton has considerable contact with his German captors, his fellow POWs mistakenly conclude that he is the informer and they turn on him, including physically beating him and helping themselves to some of his belongings. Sefton understands in full that to clear his name, he must determine the identity of the real informer, and he is, eventually, able to work out that Price (), whose English is impeccable, is a German informant masquerading as an American POW. Written messages, Sefton discovers, are being smuggled by Price to the Germans through a hollow chess piece on the chessboard in the barracks, with phony air raid drills staged to enable the Germans to retrieve these messages undetected. Now realizing that Price has figured prominently in the death of the Americans that have attempted escape, Sefton plots revenge, and, after exposing Price's true identity to his fellow POWs, he maneuvers to force Price to make an unauthorized exit from the barracks. To the guards manning the tower, Price's exit looks like an American escape attempt, and they shoot him, much to the dismay of Stalag Commandant Von Scherbach (). The diversion created by the shooting incident gives Sefton a chance to escape, and he takes with him a brave lieutenant () who has recently been captured. Because of the measures of success against the Germans he had gained prior to his capture, the lieutenant is a marked man, but he and Sefton are successful in their escape attempt. The elimination of the German informer and the first successful escape by American POWs lift the spirits of the other POWs. ================================ A few days before Christmas, 1944, at the German prisoner-of-war camp, Stalag 17, two American POWs, Manfredi and Johnson, inmates of Barracks 4, are preparing an escape. The story's narrator, Cookie, one of the prisoners, suggests that there may be a traitor among the men of Barracks 4. The men have secretly been digging a tunnel from their latrine to a point just beyond the barbed-wire fence that marks the perimeter of the camp. After going over their plan to sneak into Switzerland, Manfredi and Johnson get out of the barracks through a trap door hidden under the wood-burning stove and sneak into the latrine. They crawl through the tunnel and begin digging to the surface beyond the barbed wire fence. Inside the barracks, the men speculate as to how long it will take their comrades to emerge beyond the fence. They begin to predict that the escapees will make it all the way when one of them, a shrewd man named Sefton, wagers two packs of cigarettes that the men won't even make it out of the nearby forest. The other men, most of whom dislike Sefton, wager against him. Outside, Manfredi and Johnson dig to the surface and are about leave when they are spotted by a small German squad outside the fence, who open fire, killing them both. Inside the barracks, the remaining prisoners, including Sefton, are disheartened, knowing their buddies could not possibly have escaped. The hot-headed Duke demands an explanation from the barracks' security officer, Price. Price says he doesn't have an answer. Meanwhile, Sefton and Cookie quietly gather up the cigarettes that Sefton has won in the bet and store them in a footlocker Sefton keeps under his bed. The next morning the entire camp is awakened for roll call. Barracks 4 is overseen by Sergeant Schultz, a jolly man whom the men have absolutely no trust for. In the camp's muster grounds, the men are addressed by the camp commandant, Oberst von Scherbach. Scherbach tells the men that his guards successfully prevented the escape from the night before and that no man has ever escaped from his camp alive. He also has the corpses of Manfredi and Johnson lying in the mud and uncovered for all the men to see. The Barracks 4 chief, Hoffy, protests the treatment of the bodies and demands they have a proper burial. Von Scherbach agrees to do so. Von Scherbach goes on, saying that being caught outside the barracks after lights out means summary execution. Also, the stove in Barracks 4 will be removed so it cannot be used to camouflage the trap door the men cut in the floor and the men will also dig up the tunnel they dug and fill it in. Von Scherbach also announces that each barracks will be given a small Christmas tree and that all the prisoners will go through delousing. One of the prisoners, the shellshocked Joey, begins to play his ocarina, which is gently taken away by another prisoner, Stanislaus "Animal" Kazawa (Animal makes Joey another one later as a Christmas present). While the commandant talks and uses a mocking tone, Animal slyly throws the ocarina at the water in front of the commandant, splashing his highly polished boots with mud. The Commandant demands the guilty man step forward. Animal does and is followed moments later by several other men. Eventually, the entire prisoner population steps forward, covering for Animal. The Commandant, temporarily flustered, cancels the Christmas trees and tells the men they'll be deloused with cold water from the camp's fire hoses. The men are dismissed. After the men have the opportunity to clean up in their latrines, and following a small incident where Animal is nearly shot for crossing the barbed-wire of the camp while lusting after Russian female prisoners, the men go back to their barracks for breakfast. Sefton fries himself an egg in front of the other prisoners and when questioned about how he paid for it, he tells them that he bartered for it using the cigarettes he'd won the night before. The other men are quite angry that Sefton would use cigarettes he'd gotten as a result of the deaths of their comrades, however, Sefton counters, saying that many other prisoners trade with the Germans and that life in the camp is such that thievery is common. One of the other prisoners, the short-tempered Duke, tells Sefton that collusion with the Germans could get him hurt or killed and small fight breaks out. Hoffy promptly breaks it up and Sefton, claiming he has indigestion, gives the fried egg to Joey. Price, the barracks security officer, asks Sefton how he could be so sure that Manfredi and Johnson wouldn't make it to freedom. Sefton says he didn't know for sure but he "liked the odds" of the situation. Sefton also angrily tells his comrades that they're wasting their time and risking their lives unnecessarily by trying to escape. Sefton plans to ride out the war as a prisoner and stay alive. The barracks of the camp share a ham radio that they keep hidden and use to listen to the BBC and other communications about the war. The radio is smuggled throughout the compound by Marko and his partner, Steve, who is on crutches having lost a leg in combat. They use his empty pantleg to hide various items, including the radio. When the radio is brought to Hoffy and Barracks 4, Marko tells them they can have it only for two days instead of a week; the traitor in their barracks is known to the rest of the camp and the other barracks chiefs fear the radio will be discovered. The men set up the radio immediately, using a few yards of chicken wire as the antenna, which doubles as their volleyball net. One of the prisoners, Blondie, is a radio expert and begins to report about military actions in Europe; the news he picks up is about the famous Battle of the Bulge. Just then, Schultz arrives to seize the barracks stove and the radio is cleverly hidden in a pail of water. Hoffy and Duke try to grill Schultz about the barracks spy but Schultz refuses to tell them anything. Schultz also notices that a signal from the spy has been left for him; a loop has been tied in the cord for one of the bare light bulbs hanging from the rafters. After he barks orders for the men to report outside to fill in the escape tunnel, he goes to the chess board and takes the black queen. Pulling off the crown, he sees a small note rolled up and hidden inside. He exchanges the queen for an identical piece, pulls the loop out of the cord and walks out. While the men uncover the escape tunnel they dug, they notice a horse-drawn cart going by with the coffins of Manfredi and Johnson. The men all remove their hats in respect. Cookie narrates for a while about Sefton himself who, despite the poor conditions of the camp, has built a substantial entrepreneurship for himself based mostly on the trading of cigarettes. Sefton has several successful businesses at his disposal including distilling schnapps from potato peels, horse races (he uses mice that run around a small track), and a telescope that the men use to peek into the delousing shack in the Russian compound where female prisoners are disinfected. Hoffy, Price and Duke are not pleased with Sefton's ventures, fearing that the Germans will find out and punish them more harshly than ever. During a session where Sefton has the telescope set up, Harry Shapiro and Animal try to sneak into the Russian prisoners camp to look inside the windows of the delousing shack, using a pot of white paint to mark a line down the center of the road. They're caught immediately by a German guard and escape when they slap him in the eyes with the brush, making it back to their camp successfully as their comrades cheer. A new prisoner arrives; Lieutenant James Dunbar, who is being housed at 17 until the Germans ship him to the officers camp. Dunbar is greeted warmheartedly and comically by the rest of the barracks. However, there is instant friction between him and Sefton. Sefton, from the same suburb of Boston, tells everyone that Dunbar is from a wealthy family and should be pampered during his stay. Dunbar lets the first few comments go but tells Sefton that he can resent his family's wealth but he should tread cautiously. Sefton tells Dunbar that his family fortune won't protect him in the camp. Sefton leaves the barracks, to an unknown destination. The rest of the men ask Dunbar about how he was captured & brought to the camp. He was shot down on a bombardment mission and had been on his feet for three days without any sleep. He'd have been brought to Stalag 17 earlier but there was a major delay coming out of Frankfurt: a German munitions train was destroyed just outside the city and snarled much of the Reichsbahn transport for miles around. The sergeant that accompanied Dunbar, Bagradian, tells everyone that it was Dunbar himself that blew up the train. Dunbar is modest about the incident but tells everyone that he'd rigged a simple time bomb and tossed it aboard the train as it was leaving the station. Schultz shows up unexpectedly, telling the men they'll be getting new blankets. A visit from a representative of the Geneva Conventions is due to show up in a few days & the Commandant wants to give the appearance that the camp is complying with regulations. Hoffy scoffs and says that they know the blankets will be confiscated after the Geneva agent leaves. Schultz also confiscates the radio, playing coy for a bit before revealing it's hiding place in the bucket. He also sees that a new message has been left for him by the spy. He orders the men outside to get their blankets and retrieves the hidden message. After the men file back into the barracks they turn on Cookie, demanding to know where Sefton has been for the past few hours. With Hoffy's permission, Animal breaks into Sefton's footlocker & discovers a wealth of contraband that Sefton has been hoarding, including a cuckoo clock and silk stockings. Duke appears and tells them that he knows where Sefton disappeared to: he's been over at the Russian women's barracks partying with them. In a fury, Hoffy smashes Sefton's prized telescope. When Sefton returns, he finds the men staring angrily at him and that his footlockers have been broken into. Hoffy and the rest of the men suggest that he's the German spy they've been unable to identify. Sefton claims he's innocent and that the men should hold a kangaroo court. The Commandant suddenly makes an appearance and arrests Dunbar for suspicion of sabotaging the train that was destroyed near Frankfurt. Dunbar is taken into custody and the men become angrier with Sefton, immediately suspecting him. They turn on him and he is brutally beaten. The next morning, on Christmas Eve, the men are rousted out by Schultz to receive Red Cross parcels, brought by the Geneva agent. A mistaken shipment leaves the men with a large supply of ping-pong balls. Sefton is nearly unable to get out of bed and Schultz notices that he's been severely beaten. Sefton tries to bribe Schultz into revealing the identity of the traitor but is rebuffed. When the other prisoners walk in on them, their belief in Sefton as the traitor is reinforced. Hoffy tells Sefton that he tried to get Sefton transferred to another barracks but couldn't. Sefton tells everyone that he'll find out who the traitor is. Schultz walks in with the Geneva agent, who inspects the barracks and sees through the ruse of beautifying the camp: the blankets smell of moth balls & the meat promised in the men's meal is missing. When he asks Price and Harry about the conditions they live in, they both give non-committal answers but refuse to speak up about problems. When he questions Sefton about his obvious injuries, Sefton refuses to rat out his fellow prisoners. Hoffy takes the opportunity to tell the agent about Dunbar being taken to the Commandant's quarters without formal charges and the agent promises to investigate. At the Commandant's apartment, Dunbar is being forced to stand upright in an attempt to make him confess. Dunbar has held out but is rapidly becoming weaker with the lack of sleep he had while being taken to the camp. After talking a bit about how he became a prison camp warden, he places a call to his superior to let him know he has caught the saboteur responsible for the Frankfort train explosion. When the Geneva agent arrives, he asks about Lt Dunbar. The agent tells Von Scherbach that he cannot torture Dunbar in this manner without proof. The Commandant agrees and says he'll find out about the time bomb Dunbar allegedly used. Later in the day, the men celebrate with a small tree they decorate with their dog tags, smuggled to them by Marko and Steve. The men have traded Sefton's distillery equipment for the camp's phonograph and begin to sing "When Johnny Comes Marching Home". Price steals away from the group and sees that the cord for the light used to flag a message has been looped. Revealing himself as the traitor, he's able to switch the black queen for a new one. When the marching line of his barracksmates catches up to him, he enthusiastically joins them. Sefton, still recovering in his bed, notices that the loop in the cord is gone. Later, while playing horseshoes with Bagradian, Price asks him how the Lieutenant could have carried any explosive device with him through the German prisoner searches in the train station. Bagradian tells him Dunbar simply folded a lit cigarette into a book of matches. When the cigarette burned down it lit the matches, causing a fire that detonated the ammunition. That night the men gather around the tree and sing "O, Come All Ye Faithful". Sefton notices that the loop in the cord has reappeared. The solemnity of the evening is ruined when the camp lights go out & Schultz tells them all to evacuate and take refuge in the trenches used in case of bombings. Schultz waits until everyone leaves and begins talking in German to Price, who'd lingered behind to make sure the barrack was empty. He shows Schultz how Dunbar sabotaged the train using the method Bagradian told him about. After they leave, Sefton steps out from a hiding spot, having heard the whole conversation. On Christmas Day the men throw a party in their barracks with music and much of the liquor and wine that Sefton had been hoarding. Sefton talks to a suspicious Cookie about the traitor in their midst. Sefton talks about the potential consequences of revealing the traitor to the others & what punishment they'd face if they killed the man outright. Sefton suggests that a well-constructed plan to rid themselves of the traitor and appear blameless is needed. Cookie suggests that Sefton tell Hoffy or Price. Sefton takes the suggestion to heart. Hoffy shows up and announces that the SS has arrived to take Dunbar into custody -- his method for destroying the ammo train has been uncovered. Hoffy tells the men that they've come up with a plan to rescue Dunbar from the SS. All the men from the other barracks will disperse outside and help with a diversion. Sefton seizes the opportunity to demand that he stay in the barracks & be guarded by someone they trust -- Sefton suggests Price. Outside, the men have Steve drop a smudge pot crafted from ground ping-pong balls from his empty pantleg onto the mud near the SS agents car. When the cover from it is thick enough, also making it impossible for the tower guards to open fire, a small group of the men rush the SS guards and grab Dunbar, hiding him. The commandant is furious and runs checks of every man against their records. The barracks are thoroughly searched and the prisoners are forced to stand in the appelplatz for six straight hours, however Dunbar is never found. It is later revealed that Dunbar is hiding out in one of the water towers above one of the latrines. That night Hoffy calls a meeting where they'll collect everyone's dog tags, with the notable exception of Joey and Sefton, and draw the name of the man who will get Dunbar out of the water tower and out of the camp through the barbed wire. When the name is drawn, Price takes the tag and says he'll go. He figures that his work as barracks security chief has been less than adequate and he'd like to make it up to the men. Another trap door is cut in the floor and as he prepares to leave, Sefton steps forward and announces another wager that Dunbar will never make it out of the camp. The men are instantly furious with him but he slowly begins to reveal Price as the traitor: he approaches Price and asks him where he was when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Price slips up, saying he was having dinner at six in the evening, but in Germany, when America was getting the news earlier in the day. Sefton tells everyone that Price had sworn loyalty to his family's homeland and had gone back to Germany when the war broke out, he'd been trained as spy and was planted in the camp. Price tries to escape through the trap door but is easily caught and subdued. Sefton then tells everyone that he'll be the man to get Dunbar out -- he likes the odds because now they can use Price as a decoy. Considering that he'd sent Johnson and Manfredi out to their deaths when they tried to escape, Hoffy and the other prisoners are eager for payback. They'll throw him out the door with cans tied to his leg and he'll draw the searchlights and gunfire from the Germans in the guard towers. Sefton slips down through the trapdoor, bidding everyone a sardonic farewell and sneaks over to the latrine. He gets a freezing Dunbar down from the water tank and waits for the signal from his comrades. When Price is thrown out into the appelplatz he draws fire from all the towers, despite his cries for help in German. As he desperately tries to approach the commandant's offices, he's gunned down. At the edge of the camp, Sefton cuts through the wire fence and he and Dunbar escape into the woods. In the appelplatz, the commandant and Schultz first smile at the corpse lying the mud but are quickly chagrined to find that it's not Dunbar, but Price. In the barracks, the men reflect on how well Sefton's plan worked. The Animal suggests that Sefton merely wanted to steal their wirecutters. Cookie happily begins whistling the theme of the Army Air Force.

While in Washington to lobby for favorable legislation, a garbage tycoon hires a reporter to teach his ex-showgirl mistress proper etiquette to better fit in with high society, but she ends up learning more than he bargained for. Uncouth, loud-mouth junkyard tycoon Harry Brock descends upon Washington D.C. to buy himself a congressman or two, bringing with him his mistress, ex-showgirl Billie Dawn. Brock hires newspaperman Paul Verrall to see if he can soften her rough edges and make her more presentable in capital society. But Harry gets more than he bargained for as Billie absorbs Verall's lessons in U.S. history and not only comes to the realization that Harry is nothing but a two-bit, corrupt crook, but in the process also falls in love with her handsome tutor. —Paul Penna <tterrace@wco.com> Nouveau riche New Yorker Harry Brock, who made his money as a junk dealer, is uncouth and brash, he believing that money should be able to get him whatever he wants. What he wants is more power and money, which is the reason he has come to Washington DC, specifically to bribe a congressman or two, only the latest of his illegal activities. Among Harry's entourage is his fiancée of seven years, Billie Dawn, a former showgirl and an uneducated seemingly stereotypical dumb blonde. Beyond throwing money at her or playing gin rummy with her, Harry largely ignores Billie, or when he does spend time with her treats her badly, despite he being in his brand of love with her. As Harry is embarrassed by Billie's uncultured ways in dealing with the political elite of Washington - in the process he being clueless or unconcerned as to his own crudeness - he decides to hire Paul Verrall, a local freelance reporter writing a story on him, to teach Billie how to be cultured. Paul gladly accepts the job in his enjoyment of showing all that Washington DC has to offer in its history and politics, but not for Harry, who he does not like much. Paul finds that Billie is an eager student regardless of she seeing herself as being dumb and uneducatable. But Billie is able to see the world differently through the new eyes that Paul gives to her, she now not only learning about the world in general, but questioning her relationship with Harry, especially the legal papers Harry's lawyer Jim Devery is always getting her to sign. In the process, Paul also comes to some realizations about his feelings toward Billie and Harry. —Huggo Brassy blonde moll Billie Dawn hits Washington, D.C., with her unscrupulous millionaire sugar daddy, Harry Brock, and his sleazy lawyer, Jim Devery, who has been pressuring Harry to marry Billie by pointing out that a wife cannot be forced to testify against her husband. In an effort to make Billie more socially acceptable, Harry hires journalist Paul Verrall to smarten her up -- and sparks soon fly between the pair. —Jwelch5742

A sharp-eyed woman spots a man with a gun on a train and her alert to the railroad police helps them in their search for a ruthless gang who have kidnapped a blind heiress. Secretary Joyce Willecombe grows suspicious of two men boarding her train and is referred to 'Tough Willy' Calhoun, head of the Union Station police. The all-seeing, no-nonsense Calhoun is initially skeptical, but the men (who escape) prove to be involved in a kidnap case. Calhoun calls in equally tough police Inspector Donnelly, but the ruthless kidnapper's precision planning stays one jump ahead of them. Most of the action centers around bustling Union Station. —Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu> On a train to Union Station, Joyce Willecombe witnesses what she believes is suspicious activity by two men. Indeed, they have kidnapped Lorna Murchison, the blind daughter of Joyce's wealthy employer, and are holding Lorna ransom for $100,000. As the crooks use bustling and aways crowded Union Station as the drop-off point for the ransom, "tough" Lt. Bill Calhoun, Chief of Police at Union Station, leads the investigation along with equally pragmatic Inspector Donnelly of the city police. Joyce and Bill are two of only a few people who can identify the two men. The investigators use this limited knowledge to gather more evidence as to the crooks' hideout and hopefully a still living Lorna. Meanwhile, Joe Beacom, a penny-ante ex-con and mastermind behind the kidnapping, won't let anything or anyone, including his accomplices, stop him from getting the prized $100,000. —Huggo Lt William Calhoun, head of the police squad at Union Station, finds himself trying to solve a kidnapping when the criminals decide to use the train station as the drop-off point for the money. The victim, Lorna Murchison, is blind and her wealthy father is prepared to pay any amount to get her back safe. Working with Inspector Donnelly, they track down the kidnapper but he manages to escape leading to a final showdown in the station. —garykmcd

At the end of the Civil War, two friends return home to Colorado and one of them has changed and is violent and erratic. Two friends return home after their discharge from the army after the Civil War. However, one of them has had deep-rooted psychological damage due to his experiences during the war, and as his behavior becomes more erratic--and violent--his friend desperately tries to find a way to help him. —frankfob2@yahoo.com

The film uses a prologue, credited as Stage Manager, unusual for a movie. The Stage Manager (Frank Craven) walks in and out of scenes, narrating background and context, announcing flashbacks in time, or telling characters to start talking and be quiet. At one point, he solicits questions from the audience. The narrator first shows what the town of Grovers Corners, New Hampshire, looks like in 1940, then shows what it was like in 1901. He points out the various Protestant churches, the location of the railroad tracks, and mentions that the new Polish immigrants who work in the mill live on the other side of the railroad tracks, separate from the Anglo pioneer stock who constitute the establishment. He narrates facts and statistics, such as that the population is 2642, not counting about 500 Polish immigrants, and that 85 per cent of the voters vote Republican. The narrator shows us, in the graveyard, that the tombstone names are the same from generation to generation since about 1680. Just like the names, nothing much changes in this town, any change comes very very slowly. In the rest of the film, there is no conflict to be resolved, as the characters are not real people but nostalgic archetypes whose purpose is to represent everyone in a typical life and to make philosophical points that are enunciated at the end. The town is a nostalgic archetype also, a mythical place where people are born, grow up, work, fall in love, get married, and die. The external world, symbolized once in a while by the whistle of the train, intrudes on the myth only sporadically and mildly. Act 1 presents an ordinary day in 1901. Dr. Gibbs (Thomas Mitchell) is the town doctor, who lives with his wife (Fay Bainter) and their son George (William Holden), a high school student. Next door live the newspaper owner Mr. Webb with his wife (Beulah Bondi) and their daughter Emily (Martha Scott), also a high school student. Everybody knows everybody else, they all interact comfortably with each other, nobody locks their doors at night. White picket fences border the nicer homes. A young newspaper boy delivers the daily newspaper every morning. A milkman delivers milk to the families daily, entering into the kitchens directly and chatting with the housewives. The milkman uses a quaint tool to measure out the milk, a kind of tubular shovel that allows him to pour the measured milk into the customers own containers. The mother of Mrs. Gibbs has died, leaving her a small legacy. She discusses what to do with the money with her neighbor, telling her she has two goals, one, to finally have a relaxing vacation with her overworked husband, and two, and she wants to experience something of life outside of Grovers Corners, going to see Paris, France, saying It seems to me, once in your life, before you die, you ought to see a country where they don't speak any English and they don't even want to. The mothers morning routines in feeding their children warm breakfasts and sending them off to school even on cold winter days are quaintly over-typical, including the worries about wearing warm clothes so as not to catch colds. Archetypal also are the minor sibling rivalries within the families. The two neighbor ladies gossip about how the choirmaster at their church drinks too much. There are also over-typical conversations of the parents with their teenagers. At the Gibbs household, the father has to have a serious talk with George because he neglects to be helpful to his mother at home, as in chopping the wood for cooking. The way George responds is unreal, as he is an archetypal good boy: with just two sentences from his father he immediately reforms. Later on we see a church choir practice. It's axiomatic that in just about any church, the music director, organist or choirmaster is a gay man. Mr. Stinson (Philip Wood) is gay, no question about it. As the stage manager says, some are not cut out for small town life. That's why he drinks. There aren't any kindred spirits for him in tiny Grover's Corners, New Hampshire. Along the way we learn that George has a childless uncle who runs a nearby farm and wants George to help him and eventually take over the business, and that George likes farm work. In the last sequences of Act I the inevitable romance between the nice boy and the nice girl next door is foreshadowed. He needs hints on doing his math homework, and she is happy to give him hints but not to let him just copy. They set up a communication system from one upstairs bedroom window to another. Right after Emily and George have one of their awkward conversations on the sidewalk, The mother, is watching them through a window and there's a tiny moment where we can see on her face that she clearly approves of the match. When Emily comes in with questions about whether she's beautiful, her mother gets quickly flustered and throws up her hands. "You're pretty enough for all normal purposes," the mother huffs, and that's that. Act 2 starts three years later, after George and Emily have fallen in love and intend to marry, and there are preparations for their wedding. Things have changed a bit. There are cars on the road, and fewer horses. Townspeople complain about noise and traffic. The milkman still delivers milk, but in Act 2 he is using bottles instead of delivering and measuring bulk milk with his quaint measuring contraption. Mrs. Gibbs never made it to Paris. We learn also that George has been an outstanding baseball player for the town team, and that his marriage will interrupt that. The narrator announces that before we see the wedding, well have a flashback to the day when George and Emily decide they were meant for each other. The conversation is initiated by George on the way home from school, as he offers to carry Emilys books. She complains that he has changed, neglecting her in favor of a consuming interest in baseball, yet she has been watching him all year long, from a distance. He accepts the criticism, and assures her by saying that he, too, has watched her from a distance the whole year long. They are both sweet and innocent and halting and tentative, and struggle with their nerves. He invites her to go into the drugstore for an ice cream soda, she accepts, and there he discusses what he will do after graduation. He will take over his uncles farm, doesnt want to go to Agricultural school, as he prefers to start his work life right away and not spend years away from Emily. Finally, he hems and haws and never quite comes out with saying he loves Emily, until she gets so frustrated she blurts out that she knows he loves her, and she loves him back. Flash forward to the archetypal wedding day. George wants to see Emily but others insist that the groom must not see the bride on the wedding day until the ceremony. There are concerns about the wedding dress. Emily is scared about the finality of the decision. The parents reminisce about their own wedding days. Dr. Gibbs tells anecdotes about his fears and cold feet. There is a comical conversation between George and Mr. Webb about advice he had received from his own father in law about how the man should go about taking the upper hand in the matrimonial relationship. Like a proverbial mother in law, Mrs. Gibbs voices her concerns that Emily is too young to understand how she needs to take care of George, and just about predicts he will be dead of pneumonia by the end of the winter. At the church, the other townspeople comment on how nice the wedding is, how beautiful the bride looks, how weddings are so important, and how they always cry at weddings. And the wedding proceeds without a hitch. Act 3, taking place supposedly in 1913, is retrospective and philosophical. Birth, life and death flow on in Grovers Corners, like water on a river, always moving but the river stays the same or changes ever so slowly. We are shown images that tell us Emily has died after giving birth to her second child, and of her funeral. During and after her funeral, her ghost converses with other ghosts of dead persons in the Grovers Corners cemetery. Emily is the newcomer. The others ghosts mostly just sit there and watch and occasionally talk to each other. Her questions are answered ambiguously. The ghosts are unemotional observers, commenting on how old so and so looks now. Among the dead are Mr. Stimson the church organist, who committed suicide by hanging himself, and whose suicide was covered up. Also among the dead are cheery neighbors who attended Emilys wedding, and Mrs. Gibbs. A frequent phrase the ghosts say about the living is, They just don't understand, do they, the poor dears. The message they want understood by the living is that life, and every last minute, every precious breath is not to be wasted and squandered, regardless of how ordinary and unimportant it may seem. They have vague regrets about their relationships with others while they were alive, but arent that interested any more. Emily gets special permission to go back and re-live just one day of her life. She decides, after getting advice from the other dead folk, to re-live one quite ordinary day, and she re-lives her sixteenth birthday, She is very excited at experiencing that one day, but finds in the end it's not what she thought it would be. It goes too fast, and people don't have time to look at one another, they are impatient with one another. "This is the way we were: in our growing up and in our marrying and in our living and in our dying." The nostalgic, problem-free life of WASP America between the Spanish American War and the First World War was a flawed paradise. EPILOGUE: Emily wakes up from the temporary coma resulting from the birthing of her second child. She is not dead. Act 3 was all a dream.

In Tucson of the 1860s, a pioneer woman struggles to succeed in the freight and cattle business while at risk at the hands of corrupt and violent local businessmen and rampaging Indians. Phoebe Titus is a tough, swaggering pioneer woman, but her ways become decidedly more feminine when she falls for California bound Peter Muncie. But Peter won't be distracted from his journey and Phoebe is left alone and plenty busy with villains Jefferson Carteret and Lazarus Ward plotting at every turn to destroy her freighting company. She has not seen the last of Peter, however. —Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>