Everybody’s Woman

The film opens with Gaby Doriot slitting her wrists and being rushed to the hospital. In the hospital, the anesthetic gas she receives triggers flashbacks that become the core of the film. The audience is drawn into Gaby's past as the frame for the story.

A young Gaby is expelled from school after a music teacher falls in love with her. The teacher, unable to face his life, flees abroad, leaving his family behind. This early moment sets the tone for a life lived under scrutiny and romance.

Gaby is invited to a party by Roberto Nanni, son of the wealthy Leonardo Nanni. They dance and Roberto quickly falls in love with her. Their romance is immediately tested by Alma's wary concern for Gaby's reputation.

Alma, Roberto's ill mother, fears Gaby's reputation and the disruption it could bring to the family. Over time, Alma comes to love Gaby as well. This uneasy maternal bond adds tension to the unfolding relationships.

Gaby goes to the Nanni house to care for Alma while Roberto travels to Rome. Leonardo, meanwhile, begins to fall in love with Gaby. The triangle shapes a complicated emotional path for all involved.

Leonardo invites Gaby to a private talk in the garden; Alma, hearing music, calls out for Gaby. When Gaby doesn't respond, Alma becomes frantic and falls down the stairs in her wheelchair, dying. The event shatters the family and foreshadows darker outcomes.

After Alma's death, Leonardo and Gaby embark on a seemingly endless trip across Europe, ignoring calls to return. Upon their return, Gaby is haunted by memories of the house and begins to unravel. Their romance, once bright, now feels like a trap.

Gaby leaves Leonardo, telling him he should be with his wife, even if she is dead. Soon after, Leonardo is charged with embezzlement and sentenced to four years in prison. Meanwhile, Gaby's career takes off as she becomes a huge movie star.

After serving his sentence, Leonardo is released and wanders into the foyer of a theater, staring at Gaby's image. He is expelled for not wearing the proper evening attire. On leaving, he is run over by a car outside the theater.

To avoid a scandal, Gaby's managers bring Roberto in to exonerate her publicly. In the process, Gaby realizes that she has loved Roberto all along. This rekindling of feeling complicates the public image she has built.

Gaby learns that Roberto has married her sister Anna after meeting at the auction of his father's house. The cruel twist underscores the tragedy of Gaby's personal life. The relationship that might have redeemed her fate remains out of reach.

Gaby commits suicide, leaving a note about the loneliness that persisted through her stardom. The tragedy highlights the emptiness behind the glamorous exterior. Her death marks the final collapse of the life she built on public adulation.

At the end, the anesthetic mask is removed and doctors confirm Gaby's death. Printing presses stop printing her poster, signaling the end of her era. The film closes on the cold reality of fame's costs.