Search Movie Plot Summaries & Endings Explained

Romance · Light tone · Happy ending

The Emperor Waltz (1948)

Bing Crosby and Joan provide soaring vocals in this grand musical set at the turn of the twentieth century. Traveling salesman Virgil Smith voyages to Vienna hoping to sell Emperor Franz Joseph a newly‑invented American gramophone, a purchase that could spark the device’s popularity throughout Austria.

Read the plot summary

Music · Hopeful tone · Happy ending

Kid Galahad (1962)

Presley brings the screen’s biggest wallop—girls, gloves, and guitar alike. After completing his military service, Walter Gulick takes a job as a sparring partner at a gym. The gym’s owner sees his potential, mentors him, and pushes Walter toward a career as a professional boxer.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Hopeful tone · Happy ending

Song of China (1935)

A businessman moves his family from the city to the countryside to open a school.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

In Society (1944)

The Comedy Kings return as two well‑meaning but clumsy plumbers are hired by a wealthy socialite to repair a leak in her mansion. A case of mistaken identity lands them an invitation to a glamorous soirée, thrusting them into the world of high society, where their slap‑slap‑stick attempts to fit in only lead to a cascade of comedic mishaps.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Bittersweet tone · Mixed ending

Wonderland of Love (2023)

Li Ni, the emperor’s grandson, serves as a border commander yet rejects power, still bearing his father’s coldness. When a rebellion flares, he fights while concealing his lineage. He meets Cui Lin, the cunning daughter of General Cui Yi, who disguises herself as Lieutenant He. Their constant tactical duels evolve into mutual respect and love.

Read the plot summary

Horror · Dark tone · Bittersweet ending

The Man Who Changed His Mind (1936)

Dr. Laurence, once a respected scientist, turns his attention to the origin of the mind and the soul. Facing rejection from the scientific community, he watches his life's work crumble. Desperate, he begins to weaponize his discoveries to protect his research and advance his own agenda, evolving into a relentless, almost unstoppable mad scientist.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Out West (1947)

The Stooges seek shelter at the Red Dog Saloon, where Nell tells them that the dreaded Doc Barker murdered her father and has the Arizona Kid imprisoned downstairs. They head west for Shemp’s health, become entangled with Barker’s gang, rescue the Kid, and help him summon the Cavalry, defeating the outlaws before the troops arrive.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Light tone · Happy ending

This Could Be the Night (1957)

Needing extra cash, a prim schoolteacher accepts a secretarial job for the crass owner of a noisy nightclub, unwittingly stepping into the orbit of mobsters. As she juggles her respectable classroom life with the club’s chaotic underworld, she becomes tangled in dangerous, far‑cooked schemes while trying to keep her reputation intact.

Read the plot summary

Romance · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

The Passionate Stranger (1957)

Judith Wynter, a happily married novelist whose romance novels enchant countless female readers, hires Carlo, a striking young Italian chauffeur, to work for her and her husband—a professor slowly recovering from a paralytic attack. Carlo’s fascination turns uneasy when he reads Judith’s latest manuscript and draws a mistaken, alarming conclusion, sending the Wynter household into a web of tangled complications.

Read the plot summary

War · Hopeful tone · Happy ending

Suicide Fleet (1931)

Three US sailors aboard a decoy ship fight German U-boats in World War I and try to win Sally who works on the Coney Island midway.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Hopeful tone · Happy ending

The Password Is Courage (1962)

Sergeant-Major Charles Coward, a British soldier captured by the Germans in World War II, becomes the only person ever awarded the Iron Cross by his captors. While interned in a POW camp he immediately plots escape, disguises himself as a wounded German, reaches the medical tent and is mistakenly presented with the decoration. Once his ruse is uncovered he persists in daring attempts to break free, displaying relentless courage and audacity.

Read the plot summary

Crime · Light tone · Happy ending

A Close Call for Boston Blackie (1946)

When Blackie encounters an old flame who is now married with a child, her recently released husband is found dead in Blackie's apartment. The police immediately suspect Blackie, forcing him to clear his name and track down the true murderers while navigating past romances and danger.

Read the plot summary

Crime · Tense tone · Happy ending

The Lineup (1958)

A massive city‑wide manhunt is splashed across San Francisco’s giant cinema screens as police pursue a psychopathic gangster and his seasoned mentor, who are stealing heroin hidden inside the luggage of unsuspecting travelers. The chase turns the streets into a high‑stakes hunt.

Read the plot summary

Adventure · Hopeful tone · Happy ending

Steel Against the Sky (1941)

DANGER is their Business! MEN OF STEEL - WOMEN OF FIRE! Steel-worker brothers compete for the same woman.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

Blonde Crazy (1931)

Jim’s back!… with a brand new line! Adventures of a cocky con man and his beautiful accomplice.

Read the plot summary

Adventure · Tense tone · Happy ending

Beau Ideal (1931)

LIPS PRESSED IN ONE FIERCE KISS! An American joins the French Foreign Legion in order to rescue a boyhood friend.

Read the plot summary

Family · Light tone · Happy ending

Good Bad Boys (1940)

Alfalfa and the gang decide to turn to a life of crime, but Spanky tries to trick them with a fake burglary.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Dark tone · Bleak ending

Le Doulos (1962)

A raw, shocking, savage tale of betrayal and deception. Enigmatic gangster Silien may have informed on Faugel, who, freshly out of prison, is already drawn into a seemingly straightforward heist. As the brutal, twisting, multilayered police drama unfolds, loyalties are tested and trust becomes a scarce commodity.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Mr. Muggs Steps Out (1943)

From Police Blotter To Social Register In 10 Easy Lessons! Ordered by a judge to get a job, Muggs McGinnis is hired by wealthy Mrs. Murray, who has a penchant for picking up trouble‑prone servants. At an engagement party for Mrs. Murray’s spoiled daughter Brenda, Muggs enlists his pals as extra help while navigating the upper‑class world.

Read the plot summary

Adventure · Tense tone · Happy ending

Superman and the Mole Men (1951)

Clark Kent and Lois Lane travel to Silsby to cover the drilling of the world’s deepest oil well. The drill pierces the underground home of small, furry, glow‑in‑the‑dark Mole Men who surface at night. frightened townfolk form a hostile mob led by ruthless Luke Benson, intent on killing the newcomers. Only Superman can intervene to stop the violence.

Read the plot summary

Romance · Whimsical tone · Happy ending

The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)

Street scenes filled with song and dance follow two Rochefort sisters—Delphine, a dance teacher, and Solange, a piano teacher and composer. Poet‑painter Maxence, serving in the military, and Simon, a music‑shop owner who has just returned from Paris, each search for love. Unaware that their ideal partner is already nearby, their lives intertwine.

Read the plot summary

Western · Tense tone · Happy ending

The Gunman From Bodie (1941)

The Rough Riders are on the trail of a rustling gang. Marshal Roberts goes undercover, pretending to be a wanted outlaw, while fellow Marshal McCall is officially assigned to capture him. Their companion Sandy serves as the cook. Roberts believes that by joining the gang he can lead the Riders to their quarry and finally bring the rustlers to justice.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Melancholic tone · Bittersweet ending

So Well Remembered (1947)

One of the screen’s greatest dramas of love and human conflict A mill-owner’s ambitious daughter almost ruins her husband’s political career.

Read the plot summary

Crime · Dark tone · Bleak ending

Criss Cross (1949)

When you Double-Cross a Double-Crosser… It’s a Criss Cross! An armored-car guard must join a robbery after being caught with his ex-wife by her gangster husband.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

A Successful Calamity (1932)

Elderly millionaire Henry Wilton, burdened by his selfish young second wife Emmy “Sweetie” and his spoiled adult children Peggy and Eddie, pretends to have gone broke to test their character. Peggy abandons fortune‑hunter George for true love with polo coach Larry, while Eddie lands a demanding job and excels. Sweetie, however, deserts him, leaving Henry to see who truly cares.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Hopeful tone · Bittersweet ending

The Gene Krupa Story (1959)

Gene Krupa, a jazz drummer, refuses his parents' wish he become a priest and follows his passion for drums. After his father's death he leaves seminary, joins Eddie's band and with Ethel moves to New York. There he rises to fame, falls for Ethel, spirals into drugs, alcohol and parties. When she leaves, he hits rock bottom and must choose his way.

Read the plot summary

War · Hopeful tone · Happy ending

Very Important Person (1961)

During World II a scientist, Sir Ernest Pease, is sent on a bombing raid to test his new radar. After his plane is hit he parachutes into enemy territory, is captured and placed in a German POW camp, assuming the name Lieutenant Farrow. The camp’s British inmates suspect the newcomer of espionage, sparking misunderstandings, with Leslie Phillips' humor.

Read the plot summary

War · Hopeful tone · Bittersweet ending

Don’t Panic Chaps! (1959)

During World II, four British soldiers set up an observation post on a deserted Mediterranean island, where they encounter four German soldiers in a monastery. The two forces call a truce and share the building while awaiting reinforcements. When a shipwrecked Slavic girl reaches the shore, a fierce struggle erupts among the men, with the fate of the island at stake.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Tense tone · Happy ending

The Seventh Cross (1944)

In 1936 Nazi Germany, seven prisoners break out of a concentration camp. The cruel commandant erects a cross for each recaptured inmate, having the Gestapo execute them publicly upon return. As six crosses are filled, a seventh remains empty, while George Heisler races against time to reach freedom in Holland.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Something to Sing About (1937)

In this modestly budgeted musical, James Cagney steps away from his typical tough‑guy roles to portray a charismatic New York bandleader determined to break into Hollywood. He battles a demanding studio executive, allowing Cagney to display his song‑and‑dance abilities in a lively, under‑dog story.

Read the plot summary

Horror · Dark tone · Ambiguous ending

The Tingler (1959)

The film follows a pathological researcher who believes a microscopic parasite called The Tingler lives along the spinal cord and kills people when terror overwhelms them. To prove his theory, he subjects a deaf‑mute woman—unable to scream—to a gruesome experiment, demonstrating that only a scream can suppress the creature and spare the victim.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Hopeful tone · Happy ending

Cash McCall (1960)

Cash McCall thrives on turning failing businesses into profits. When he discovers Austen Plastics, a struggling manufacturer, he sees a risky opportunity. Learning that its owner is the father of his former sweetheart Lory, he purchases the company not only for the deal but to rekindle their romance, blending high finance with high romance.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Tense tone · Mixed ending

A Shot in the Dark (1941)

A reporter and a police detective sort through the clues in a night-club owner’s murder.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Hopeful tone · Bittersweet ending

Vigil in the Night (1940)

“IT TAKES A LOT TO MAKE ME LOVE A MAN In The Face Of All I Know About Them!” A good nurse ruins her career by covering up for her sister’s careless mistake.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Don’t Take It to Heart (1944)

A lively tangle of legacies, missing heirs, surprising heiresses and hidden family secrets emerges when a stray World War II bomb frees the ghost of the 3rd Earl of Chaunduyt after four centuries. A visiting professor courting Lady Mary, the present earl’s daughter, teams up with the spectral earl to defend the villagers’ ancient rights against an intrusive newcomer.

Read the plot summary

War · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

Battle Stations (1956)

The crew of a U.S. Navy ship in World War II goes into battle against the Japanese fleet.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

The Million Pound Note (1954)

A down‑and‑out American sailor stumbles upon the mansion of two eccentric gentlemen who devise a social experiment: they give him a single one‑million‑pound banknote. Every shopkeeper, hotelier and passerby assumes he’s wealthy, offering him anything for free. As his newfound status brings lavish perks, the sailor discovers the note’s power also draws greed, threatening his dignity and the love of a woman he cares for.

Read the plot summary

Horror · Dark tone · Bittersweet ending

The City of the Dead (1960)

Visiting a quiet Massachusetts town to study witchcraft, a college student checks into a foreboding inn. She discovers the residents are a hidden community of 300‑year‑old beings who survive by feeding on human blood, granting them unnatural immortality. The truth forces her to confront the chilling secret lurking beneath the town’s calm facade.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

It Happens Every Thursday (1953)

New York reporter Bob MacAvoy, urged by his pregnant wife Jane, purchases a dilapidated weekly paper in the sleepy town of Eden, California. Their well‑meaning attempts to boost circulation clash with quirky locals and entrenched small‑town customs, quickly spiraling into comedic chaos as their plans backfire.

Read the plot summary

Western · Tense tone · Happy ending

The Yellow Mountain (1954)

Pete Menlo runs gold claims in Nevada alongside his old friend Andy Martin. Crooked mine‑owner Bannon proposes a merger to create a monopoly, but the partners refuse. Pete falls for “Nevada” Wray, the daughter of rival mine‑owner “Jackpot” Wray, though she prefers Andy. Spurned, Pete teams with Bannon, discovering that Jackpot may control all the region’s gold veins. Bannon’s gang moves against Andy, prompting Pete to confront his betrayal and ultimately return to his friend’s side.

Read the plot summary