Search Movie Plot Summaries & Endings Explained

Music · Whimsical tone · Happy ending

Once Upon a Mattress (1972)

The second television adaptation of the Broadway classic Once Upon a Mattress aired on December 12, 1972 on CBS and was videotaped in color. It reunited original Broadway stars Carol Burnett, James Gilford and Madeline White, and added Bernadette Peters as Lady Larken, Ken Berry as Prince Dauntless, Ron Husmann as Harry and Wally Cox as the Jester. Directed by Ron Field and Dave Powers, the production cut several songs, combined or altered characters, and, after removing the Minstrel and Wizard, introduced a new prologue with Burnett singing “Many Moons Ago” as a bedtime story.

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Crime · Tense tone · Bleak ending

Sleuth (1972)

Envisioning the perfect crime, a man obsessed with games and theatrical deception lures his wife’s lover to his home, turning a seemingly simple meeting into an elaborate battle of wits. As each tries to outmaneuver the other, the contest spirals toward increasingly dangerous, potentially lethal consequences.

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Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Victoria No. 203 (1972)

A lively comedy weaves together multiple storylines as a resourceful woman drives a Victoria carriage while secretly posing as a boy, sparking a series of mistaken identities and daring escapades. All the while, a frantic scramble unfolds to locate the cache of diamonds concealed within her carriage.

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Fantasy · Whimsical tone · Happy ending

The Amazing Mr. Blunden (1972)

Mr. Blunden, a mysterious solicitor, visits the cramped Camden Town flat of Mrs. Allen and her children and offers them work as housekeepers in a derelict country mansion. There the youngsters meet the spirits of two children who died there a century ago. They brew a magical potion that sends them back in time to rescue the ghost children.

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Mystery · Light tone · Happy ending

The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (1972)

When an inept trombone player in a Paris orchestra is mistakenly identified as a top secret operative, the French intelligence agencies use him as a decoy to distract rival factions. Unaware of the ploy, he bumbles through absurd missions, turning the espionage game into a comedy of errors.

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Horror · Dark tone · Bleak ending

The Asphyx (1972)

Hugo, a brilliant turn‑of‑the‑century scientist admired by family, friends and colleagues, becomes consumed by a terrifying question: what is the strange apparition that appears in photographs of his dying subjects? Driven by the promise of immortality, he is willing to sacrifice his wife and children to achieve it.

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Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Carry On Abroad (1972)

A comedic holiday gone wrong sees a group of tourists traveling to the Spanish resort of Elsbels for a four‑day stay, only to discover the hotel is still unfinished and plagued by terrible weather. The uniformly‑looked‑alike staff add to the oddities, and the worsening conditions threaten the building’s foundations.

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Western · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

Molly and Lawless John (1972)

Shy, romance‑starved Molly, married to an arrogant frontier sheriff, becomes fascinated with a handsome prisoner named Johnny. He manipulates her sympathy to escape, and she joins his cross‑country flight, only to discover his deceit. As the sheriff’s posse pursues them, Molly learns to assert herself and take control of her destiny.

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Thriller · Dark tone · Bleak ending

Home for the Holidays (1972)

A frail patriarch gathers his four estranged daughters for a Christmas reunion, but his concern is far from festive. Convinced his young wife is slowly poisoning him, he implores the sisters to eliminate her, setting the holiday gathering into a deadly, twisted family drama.

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Thriller · Tense tone · Happy ending

The Strangers in 7A (1972)

A bomb has been planted in a building while a superintendent and his wife are trapped inside their own apartment. Their captors—a sadistic would‑be bank robber and his disoriented accomplices—hold them hostage, turning the ordinary home into a ticking time‑bomb nightmare as they await the explosion.

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Drama · Melancholic tone · Sad ending

Swayamvaram (1972)

Vishwam and Sita defy their families’ objections, elope, and marry. Though initially hopeful, the unemployed pair quickly confront a harsh reality as they struggle to find work, facing mounting financial pressures and numerous obstacles that test their commitment and resilience.

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Drama · Dark tone · Bleak ending

Rage (1972)

The rancher discovers that a military‑run nerve‑gas leak, dismissed as an accident, has killed his livestock and his son. Determined to seek justice, he confronts the armed forces, only to encounter a wall of silence and a tangled conspiracy that threatens to hide the truth. His pleas fall on deaf ears, leaving the truth buried.

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Thriller · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

They Only Kill Their Masters (1972)

When an enigmatic young woman is found dead in a California coastal town, the local sheriff follows a trail of clues—from a cryptic photograph to the victim’s own dog—uncovering a complex web of relationships around her while seeking the killer. As the case deepens, he becomes involved with a woman whose connection to the murder is ambiguous.

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Horror · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

Gargoyles (1972)

After learning of a mysterious carcass uncovered in the Arizona desert, a father and his daughter transport the skeleton to a research site. Their actions awaken a hidden colony of gargoyles dwelling in nearby caves, which then descend on the pair and the surrounding town, turning the area into a terrifying siege.

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Fantasy · Whimsical tone · Happy ending

Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (1972)

When Santa’s sleight becomes lodged in the sand of a Florida beach just days before Christmas Eve, the unexpected hero—a plucky ice‑cream‑selling bunny—mounts a daring rescue. Their adventure unfolds with breath‑taking moments and light‑hearted fun that will delight viewers of all ages.

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Comedy · Light tone · Mixed ending

Lampaansyöjät (1972)

Valtteri and Sepe, two ordinary white‑collar men from southern Finland, drive north to carry out a months‑long scheme. Obsessed with lamb baked “robber‑style” in a pit beneath a campfire, they forge licence plates and documents to poach roadside sheep without detection. Around the fire they swap stories, fueled by vodka, while the summer rain falls.

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Action · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

The Mechanic (1972)

Arthur Bishop is a meticulous and highly skilled assassin who operates by a strict personal code. Following the shocking murder of his mentor, Harry, Bishop's controlled world spirals into a quest for vengeance. He reluctantly teams up with Harry's estranged son, forming a dangerous alliance fueled by grief and a shared desire for retribution. Together, they embark on a perilous journey, combining their unique abilities in a relentless pursuit of justice and a chance at personal redemption.

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War · Tense tone · Bleak ending

The Triple Echo (1972)

When Alice’s husband is captured in WWII, she runs the farm alone. Soldier Barton appears and they start a romance. Military police sweep the area for deserters, forcing Barton to disguise himself as a woman to stay. His presence draws a nearby sergeant’s attention, testing their fragile partnership and threatening to expose their secret.

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Horror · Dark tone · Sad ending

Encounter with the Unknown (1972)

Three chilling, true‑inspired stories unfold. A prank gone deadly leaves a classmate’s mother vowing death for the three culprits on days 7, 14 and 21, each prediction fulfilled. In Missouri, a mysterious howl rises from a mist‑shrouded earth pit where a boy’s father descends and screams. Later, a senator meets a girl on a bridge, only to discover from her father that she died years earlier.

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Horror · Dark tone · Ambiguous ending

A Reflection of Fear (1972)

A cry in the night, a gasp in the dark. A young girl lives with her mother and grandmother when her estranged father returns, bringing a woman he claims is his fiancée. As the girl becomes entangled in the family's unsettling events, the situation spirals into a tangled web of crime and murder.

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Drama · Tense tone · Happy ending

1776 (1972)

This adaptation brings the award‑winning stage musical to the screen, dramatizing the 1776 Continental Congress in Philadelphia, where delegates work to create a governing framework for the new United States. Benjamin Franklin and John Adams task Thomas Jefferson with drafting a declaration announcing independence from British rule.

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Drama · Hopeful tone · Happy ending

Black Girl (1972)

She’s got to cut it… or cut out. An aspiring dancer and her two wicked sisters resent their mother’s love for a foster daughter.

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Horror · Melancholic tone · Bleak ending

Neither the Sea Nor the Sand (1972)

Haunted by a failed marriage, Anna Robinson escapes to the bleak Isle of Jersey, where she begins an intense affair with lighthouse keeper Hugh. When Hugh dies suddenly, Anna is devastated, but the dead lover returns—unchanged yet bearing disturbing, sinister, macabre alterations—forcing her to confront whether love can truly defeat death.

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Drama · Dark tone · Bittersweet ending

The Dirt Gang (1972)

A film crew shooting in the desert is terrorized by a vicious outlaw motorcycle gang (on dirt bikes, no less) who are after the women in the company.

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Drama · Bittersweet tone · Bittersweet ending

That Certain Summer (1972)

A groundbreaking US teleplay that portrays homosexuality with compassion. Divorced contractor Doug Salter lives in San Francisco and anticipates a summer visit from his fourteen‑year‑old son Nick, who stays with his mother Janet in Los Angeles. Nick is unaware that Doug is gay and has been sharing his life for years with his partner Gary McClain, setting the stage for an emotionally charged reunion.

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Horror · Dark tone · Sad ending

Daughters of Satan (1972)

When a man acquires a painting that shows witches being burned at the stake, he is shocked to recognize his own wife among the condemned. The artwork pulls him into a secret cult of sensual, fire‑wielding witches who revel in torture and desire, forcing him to confront a terrifying link between the image and his own marriage.

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Mystery · Dark tone · Bittersweet ending

Pulp (1972)

A disreputable author of cheap pulp novels is hired by an eccentric, reclusive former film star living in a crumbling house on Malta to ghost‑write the star’s memoirs. Their oddball partnership forces the writer to confront his own lowbrow instincts while navigating the island’s quirky atmosphere.

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Western · Dark tone · Bleak ending

Ulzana’s Raid (1972)

Only a single man truly grasped the brutality of the early American frontier from both perspectives. When the fierce war chief Ulzana leads a small band off the reservation on a murderous rampage, a green‑horn lieutenant is tasked with pursuing him through hostile territory.

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Drama · Melancholic tone · Sad ending

Indian Summer (1972)

Daniele Dominici, a gambler and poetry professor, arrives in Rimini to teach for four months at the local high school, replacing a teacher. His relationship with Monica is strained, so he spends time with acquaintances—gamblers Giorgio, Marcello and Gerardo. In class he meets the attractive nineteen‑year‑old student Vanina Abati, Gerardo’s girlfriend.

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Family · Hopeful tone · Happy ending

Parichay (1972)

An unemployed young man (Jeetendra) takes a job to tutor unruly grandkids of Rai Sahab (Pran) and brings out respect, appreciation and hard work hidden deep inside them.

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Horror · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

You’ll Like My Mother (1972)

Pregnant widow Francesca drives from Los Angeles to her late husband’s Minnesota hometown to finally meet his mother and family. The chilly reception from her mother‑in‑law soon turns desperate when a blizzard strands them together, forcing Francesca to race against time and uncover the terrifying secrets lurking within her husband’s family.

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Horror · Dark tone · Ambiguous ending

Death Line (1972)

Beneath modern London a tribe of devolved humans—neither fully men nor women—lurks in the abandoned Tube tunnels between Holborn and Russell Square. When a senior civil servant vanishes, Scotland Yard launches an investigation aided by a young couple, who soon discover the grisly, meat‑like predators that haunt the underground.

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Drama · Dark tone · Bleak ending

The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)

Jason Staebler, a Boardwalk resident who fronts for the Atlantic City mob, is a perpetual dreamer. He persuades his brother David—a Philadelphia radio host—to fund an ambitious plan to create a tropical paradise on a Pacific island, a venture that may be another of his lofty fantasies. As the scheme progresses, unforeseen complications begin to mount.

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Drama · Melancholic tone · Sad ending

Lady Sings the Blues (1972)

The film follows the turbulent life of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, from a traumatic childhood and early attempts at a singing career to her meteoric rise to stardom. It portrays her complex relationship with boyfriend‑manager Louis McKay and the devastating impact of her drug addiction, which threatens both her career and her life.

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Music · Bittersweet tone · Bittersweet ending

Tender are the Feet (1972)

During Burma’s dictatorship, Maung Wanna’s debut tracks drummer Sein Lin of a Rangoon traditional dance troupe who loves dancer Khin San. She quits for a film career; he gifts her a tiny theatre figurine, asking her to return it only if she decides to stay in cinema. Their defiance of tradition—her move and his later jazz‑club gig—mirrors colonial influence.

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Horror · Dark tone · Happy ending

Blood Freak (1972)

A biker helps a girl with a flat tire and is invited to a chaotic drug‑fueled party hosted by her sister. The night leads him to a remote turkey farm owned by the girl's father, a deranged mad scientist. The scientist transforms the biker into a gigantic, vengeful turkey monster that hunts down the drug dealers responsible.

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Drama · Bittersweet tone · Ambiguous ending

Bad Company (1972)

Young, desperate, and dangerous, they are far from home yet only a short distance from Hell. When upright Drew Dixon is dispatched west by his devout family to keep him from the Civil War draft, he roams the frontier alongside a loose band of other aimless youths, navigating a harsh, lawless world together.

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Drama · Dark tone · Bleak ending

Endless Night (1972)

Shiftless dreamer Michael Rogers longs for a life beyond his means and marries a newly wealthy young woman. They hire an architect to build their dream home, but a series of suspicious incidents soon emerge. Michael harbors dark intentions toward his naive bride, and secrets from his past and his unsettling link to guest Greta drive the story to a shocking, unexpected climax.

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Thriller · Tense tone · Bleak ending

The Assassination (1972)

Darien, a left‑wing police informant, is ordered to lure his old friend Sadiel to Paris to film a television special on the Third World. Sadiel, the exiled leader of a North African state, is being pursued by ruthless Colonel Kassar. When Sadiel arrives, Darien discovers he has been used and tries to reverse the situation, unaware of forces at play.

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Sci-Fi · Tense tone · Happy ending

Night of the Lepus (1972)

A plague of giant, genetically mutated rabbits descends upon an Arizona ranch, causing widespread devastation. Rancher Cole Hillman seeks a solution to the bizarre outbreak, but his actions trigger a terrifying escalation of the creatures' size and aggression. A team of scientists must grapple with the unintended results of their research as they battle an increasingly ferocious and overwhelming horde, struggling to survive against the unexpected threat.

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