Search Movie Plot Summaries & Endings Explained

Comedy · Hopeful tone · Happy ending

Mr. Muggs Rides Again (1945)

Framed by gamblers, Muggs is banned from horse racing. To keep Ma Brown’s stable from foreclosure, he starts a collection for her horses. One of the guilty gamblers falls for Brown’s daughter, confesses the plot to police, but his accomplices move to silence him and ruin Muggs and Brown once and for all.

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Comedy · Hopeful tone · Happy ending

The Goalkeeper (1936)

The story follows Anton Kandidov, a humble laborer who hauls watermelons along the Volga by boat. When his deft handling of the fruit catches a coach’s eye, he is urged to try goalkeeping. Inspired, Anton abandons his river work to chase a football career, confronting the highs of hopeful glory and the inevitable setbacks of disappointment.

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Western · Happy ending

The Sacketts (1979)

A traditional sagebrush saga adapted from Louis L’Amour’s novels “Sackett” and “The Daybreakers,” it follows the three Sackett brothers as they ride into post‑Civil War New Mexico. They pursue wealth, avenge a family murder, drive cattle across the frontier, and battle to uphold law and order.

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Drama · Bittersweet tone · Bittersweet ending

Aerial Gunner (1943)

THRILLS…ACTION…Somewhere in the Pacific Old rivals are pitted against each other in basic training and fight for the same woman.

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Horror · Dark tone · Bleak ending

At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul (1964)

Zé do Caixão, a morbid undertaker known as Coffin Joe, lives in a remote Brazilian village where he obsessively seeks the ideal woman to produce a superior offspring. After discovering his marriage cannot yield a child, he murders his wife and embarks on a chilling quest across the countryside, hunting for a new mate who meets his twisted criteria.

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Romance · Melancholic tone · Sad ending

A Song to Remember (1945)

Professor Joseph Elsner mentors his student Frydryk Chopin, shaping the composer’s early years in Poland and guiding him into adulthood. When Elsner brings Chopin to Paris, the young musician falls under novelist George Sand’s influence, quickly rising to fame, while his old friendships and patriotic ties to Poland fade.

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Romance · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

These Three (1936)

Close friends Martha and Karen, with the help of local doctor Joe, open a private boarding school that rapidly draws a full roll of students. As the school flourishes, a rebellious enrollee spreads a scandalous lie, sparking a whispering campaign that endangers the trio’s reputation and forces them to confront whether they are innocent victims.

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Western · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

Buchanan Rides Alone (1958)

DOUBLE HANGING – DOUBLE THRILLS! Passing through a border town, a man is caught up in a Mexican’s murder of a member of the town’s most powerful family.

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Comedy · Bittersweet tone · Bittersweet ending

A King in New York (1957)

After being overthrown, the deposed monarch of the fictional nation of Estrovia flees to New York City, where his exotic presence and spontaneous remarks make him an unexpected television sensation. His sudden fame draws suspicion, and he is falsely labeled a Communist, leading to his summons before the House Un‑American Activities Committee.

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Drama · Dark tone · Bittersweet ending

The Wind of Change (1961)

Borrowing its name from Harold Macmillan’s famous Cape Town speech on African decolonisation, the film examines the flip side: how post‑colonial immigration affected Britain itself. It explores the ’colour problem’ against a backdrop of Teddy‑boy violence, highlighting racial tensions and societal unrest.

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Family · Light tone · Happy ending

Who Killed Cock Robin? (1935)

A robin is shot so the woodland community holds a trial to investigate.

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Comedy · Whimsical tone · Happy ending

Outer Space Jitters (1957)

The stooges join Professor Jones on a mission to Sunev (Venus spelled backwards) and discover the Venusians are building a zombie army to invade Earth. Realizing they’ll become zombies, they flee. Back home, the scene is a bedtime story the stooges tell their children while waiting for a babysitter who resembles a zombie, prompting a quick exit.

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Drama · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

The Conspirator (1961)

Lord Saburo Nobuyasu, a young samurai, finds little solace in his life. His arranged marriage to Tokuhime — the daughter of former rival Oda Nobunaga — brings scant happiness. Complicating matters, his scheming mother constantly interferes, seeking to undermine the Nobunaga clan and tighten her own grip on power.

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Western · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

Canyon Passage (1946)

Set against the rugged Oregon frontier of the 1850s, a prosperous businessman finds his world torn apart by competing affections for two very different women and a fierce sense of duty toward a compulsive gambler friend whose reckless actions push the bounds of loyalty.

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Drama · Dark tone · Bittersweet ending

Alexander the Great (1956)

A sweeping historical epic set in the 4th‑century BC, following Alexander of Greece as he leads his army across the known world, driven by the conviction that Hellenic culture will enlighten conquered peoples. Son of the fierce Macedonian ruler Philip, Alexander’s brief but meteoric career is portrayed with grand battles, political intrigue and the relentless pursuit of glory.

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Drama · Dark tone · Ambiguous ending

The Strange One (1957)

“THE STRANGE ONE” IS A STRANGE ONE! A military school student develops a destructive power over his fellow cadets.

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Horror · Tense tone · Happy ending

The Animal (1968)

A voyeuristic, psychotic obscene telephone caller becomes obsessed with an attractive single mother.

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Western · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

South of St. Louis (1949)

Warner Bros.’ Thundering New Triumph! As the American Civil War erupts and the nation divides, three ranch partners watch their livelihood crumble. Desperate for cash, each joins the Confederate army, driven by his own personal motives.

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Drama · Dark tone · Bleak ending

Madame Butterfly (1932)

During shore leave in Japan, Pinkerton marries the young geisha Cho‑Cho San. After he departs, she preserves his Japanese home exactly as he left it. Three years later he returns, now remarried in America, and tells her their relationship is over. She has given birth to his child, sends the baby to her family, and, devastated, ends her own life.

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Western · Tense tone · Happy ending

Cheyenne (1947)

Slick gambler James Wylie is arrested but offered a pardon if he infiltrates a band of outlaws. Posing as a bandit, he hunts the elusive Poet, a poetic robber who ambushes bank‑owned stagecoaches and leaves verses at the scenes. Along the way he woos the Poet’s initially distant wife Ann, and as their romance deepens they join forces to capture the mysterious robber.

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Drama · Dark tone · Bleak ending

Storm of the Century (1999)

An unspeakable evil arrives as a fierce blizzard engulfs a remote island community. Amid the snow‑bound isolation, a enigmatic stranger appears, his motives cloaked in darkness. He begins a campaign of terror, targeting the townsfolk for a hidden, sinister purpose that threatens to unravel their lives.

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Comedy · Whimsical tone

Dog Tales (1958)

Man’s best friend is the subject of a series of blackout gags, climaxing with the bogus heroism of a dog who travels across the country for an unexpected purpose.

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Adventure · Tense tone · Bleak ending

Five Came Back (1939)

After a storm blows Coast Airline’s Silver Queen off course, twelve passengers crash in a jungle inhabited by headhunters. Pilots Bill and Joe scramble to repair the aircraft while the survivors build a makeshift runway. With limited fuel and a damaged plane, only five can be rescued, forcing the group to decide who lives and who dies.

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Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Wife, Husband and Friend (1939)

A fresh take on a gay romantic triangle follows a woman dreaming of a singing career, pushed by her scheming vocal coach. After she leaves her husband, a seductive professional singer urges him to try opera, but he also fails. The film mixes humor and heartfelt moments, emphasizing the tangled emotions of the three characters.

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Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Those Were the Days! (1940)

William Holden, famed for “Golden Boy,” shines in a tender turn opposite Bonita Granville. At a family reunion, an elderly man looks back on the misadventures and naive ambitions of his freshman year in college, offering a nostalgic and heartfelt reflection on youthful folly. The story blends humor and sentiment as he confronts the lessons learned.

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Drama · Tense tone · Happy ending

Guilty Bystander (1950)

How innocent can a bystander be? A drunken ex-cop gets a shot at redemption when his young son is kidnapped after a smuggling deal goes belly up.

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Drama · Tense tone · Happy ending

The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1969)

Johnny Cain, a hard‑bitten ex‑freelance adventurer, runs a California nightclub where a runaway truck drops the corpse of a slain gang leader. The syndicate threatens his life unless he solves the murder, while the CIA probes a Communist plot to seize the crime network. Cain’s search leads him through women, Oriental statues and lethal spies.

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Comedy · Tense tone · Mixed ending

A Glass of Water (1960)

Set amid the intrigues of Queen Anne’s English court, the film follows the rivalry between the liberal politician Lord Bolingbroke and the formidable Lady Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, as they weave schemes and power plays. Presented as a German comedy, it adapts Eugène Scribe’s stage play.

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Mystery · Tense tone · Mixed ending

The Door with Seven Locks (1940)

When a rich lord dies, he is buried with a hoard of priceless jewels that can only be accessed with seven hidden keys. The heirs scramble to locate each lock, while a deranged doctor, obsessed with the treasure, employs an iron maiden to eliminate them one by one, turning the quest for wealth into a deadly game.

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Animation · Whimsical tone · Happy ending

Father Noah’s Ark (1933)

Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives, and a multitude of animals work together to build the ark. When the flood arrives, the skunks narrowly miss the vessel but manage to reach it by swimming. After the rains subside, humanity laments, the sun returns and fresh land appears. The animals, joined by many newborns, disembark in celebration.

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Drama · Tense tone · Happy ending

The Slender Thread (1965)

Alan, a Seattle college student volunteering at a crisis‑center, receives a midnight call from a distressed woman who has overdosed on pills. As he tries to summon help, he learns about her troubled family and the reasons behind her desire to die. Tension builds as Alan races against time to save her before it’s too late.

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Romance · Melancholic tone · Ambiguous ending

10:30 P.M. Summer (1966)

Claire’s body - I never looked at her naked without seeing her with Paul A female traveling companion seduces a married man and his alcoholic wife.

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Mystery · Tense tone · Mixed ending

The Late Edwina Black (1951)

When the frail Victorian lady Edwina Black collapses and an autopsy uncovers a lethal dose of arsenic, suspicion turns to her husband and her close companion, who are secretly involved. Inspector Martin of Scotland Yard unravels the tangled motives and reveals the murderer while calmly sipping tea.

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Adventure · Tense tone · Happy ending

The Lost Tribe (1949)

Jungle Jim fights a lion and sharks trying to save an African village from those who would despoil it.

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Drama · Dark tone · Bittersweet ending

Suburban Roulette (1968)

A new and startling movie about new and shameless marital misconduct! Sexy Sixties Swingers invite tragedy in the simmering suburban cauldron of Chicago’s fringe.

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Comedy · Whimsical tone · Happy ending

Bully for Bugs (1953)

Bugs Bunny takes another “wrong turn at Albuquerque,” landing in a bullring where a bull is dispatching a matador. After bull bucks Bugs out, rabbit declares war, using anvils, slap‑downs and the bull’s own horns as a slingshot. The bull retaliates with horns as a shotgun, but Bugs lures it out and triggers a contraption that defeats animal.

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Romance · Light tone · Happy ending

Never on Sunday (1960)

The Happy Street-Walker of Piraeus… An American scholar in Greece sets about improving the local prostitute with whom he is infatuated.

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Crime · Bittersweet tone · Bittersweet ending

Whistle Down the Wind (1961)

The film showcases the era’s most celebrated young actress in what many consider her finest work. After a wounded murderer who killed his wife seeks shelter on an isolated Lancashire farm, the farmer’s three children, steeped in innocence, come to believe he is the Second Coming of Christ, leading to a poignant clash of faith, protection, and danger.

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Action · Bittersweet tone · Sad ending

Haqeeqat (1964)

A platoon of Indian soldiers encounters harsh realities while fighting in the Sino-Indian War of 1962.

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Drama · Light tone · Happy ending

Steamboat Round the Bend (1935)

A Louisiana con man enters his steamboat into a winner-take-all race with a rival while trying to find a witness to free his nephew, about to be hanged for murder.

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