The Last Tycoon

An earthquake shakes the studio during a production, triggering a burst water pipe in the water tower and flooding a nearby set. The chaos disrupts filming as crews scramble and monitors flicker with the emergency. In the confusion, Stahr glimpses two women clinging to the head of a statue, one of them Kathleen Moore.

Stahr goes back to his mansion after the flood and has his secretary identify the two women he saw in the quake. The moment underscores how his private life is spilling into the public, studio world. He keeps the incident to himself as he tries to maintain his control.

In the studio office, Cecilia Brady greets Stahr and hints at the power dynamics inside Hollywood. He confides his support for Rodríguez, the actor who is in the middle of a separation from his wife. The conversation reveals Stahr's willingness to back troubled talents despite studio politics.

A studio luncheon brings the board into focus on a potential writers' strike and the studio's profitability. The discussion is practical and tense as executives weigh risks against prestige. Stahr navigates the corporate chessboard while keeping his eye on his projects.

Stahr arranges to meet Kathleen later that night and consoles Didi in her dressing room. The scenes highlight his divided loyalties between personal attachments and professional ambitions. He struggles to balance work with the pull of romance.

As Stahr leaves the studio, he meets Edna, an aspiring actress who asks to be dropped off at her Westwood home. There, he encounters Kathleen again, an Anglo-Irish actress who captivates him. The encounter deepens the entanglement between his career and his romance.

The next day, Stahr consults with George Boxley, an English novelist on contract, to spark his imagination. He tells an impromptu story about a woman entering a room and spilling the contents of her purse on a table. When Boxley asks about the nickel spilled from the purse, Stahr explains that the nickel is for the movies.

At a screenwriters' dinner party, Stahr unexpectedly sees Kathleen again and dances with her. Kathleen leaves soon after, but they agree to meet each other the following morning. The moment rekindles romance amid the backdrop of Hollywood's machine.

They walk around the site of Stahr's unfinished beachfront house and later return to the beach for a night of passion. Kathleen realizes she resembles Minna Davis, adding a weighty personal layer to their affair. Afterward, she mails him a letter saying she is engaged to another man.

Back in the studio, Stahr confronts Boxley and has him escorted off the lot, signaling a deepening rift between the two men. Kathleen's note urging him not to see her complicates matters further, revealing the stakes of their relationship. The studio atmosphere grows increasingly unstable.

Stahr learns that Boxley has died by suicide, which intensifies the studio turmoil and prompts a rewrite of a key scene in the film. Didi's new film premieres amid the upheaval, but Stahr's mind remains on the personal loss. The tragedy pushes him further from happiness with Kathleen.

Stahr receives a telegram from Kathleen informing him that she is marrying at noon. The message lands amid production pressures and his personal heartbreak. The note cements the distance between them and foreshadows the end of their affair.

Cecilia Brady arranges a meeting between Stahr and Brimmer, a communist labor organizer. The dinner devolves into a tense game of political posturing, with Brimmer and Cecilia flirting and Stahr becoming increasingly combative. Brimmer knocks Stahr out in a brutal ping-pong exchange, and Cecilia does what she can to help him recover.

Brady informs Stahr that an emergency meeting has been called and that he is relieved from further labor negotiations, with a vacation suggested. Stahr arrives at his office with a bruised eye, haunted by memories of Kathleen, and then walks into a dark, silent sound stage. The ending leaves his future unresolved as the studio world goes on around him.