Search Movie Plot Summaries & Endings Explained

Comedy · Bittersweet tone · Ambiguous ending

Do Re Mi (1966)

Do, buried in debt and caught lying to his mother‑in‑law, divorces and moves to Kuala Lumpur for a fresh start. Re, a stay‑at‑home husband whose negligence leads his wife’s money to be stolen, is expelled and follows Do to the city. Mi, a bachelor infatuated with the girl across his hall, frequently lends them cash. When they help catch a handbag thief, the three men become close friends, navigating life’s setbacks together.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Melancholic tone · Bittersweet ending

The President (1961)

Now 73, the former President of the French Council spends his days drafting memoirs that chronicle decades of public service. As he reflects on triumphs and setbacks, he revisits his relationships with influential colleagues, notably the rising politician poised to succeed him as the next President, offering a candid portrait of power, loyalty, and ambition.

Read the plot summary

History · Dark tone · Bleak ending

The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968)

Set amid the Crimean War of the 1850s, a British light cavalry unit under the domineering Lord Cardigan receives a misguided order and rides into a disastrous assault on a well‑positioned Russian artillery battery. The reckless charge results in heavy losses and has become synonymous with blind obedience to faulty commands.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Tense tone · Mixed ending

Wave Makers (2023)

Born into a political family, Weng Wen‑fang (Hsieh Ying‑hsuan) turns to the Justice Party after an unsuccessful bid for council re‑election, taking on the role of deputy director and spokesperson for its Publicity Department. She steers the publicity team toward the party’s objectives, confronting numerous tests of her convictions and the team’s core values.

Read the plot summary

History · Dark tone · Sad ending

The Valley of the Bees (1968)

Cast out by his father, young Ondrej joins the Teutonic Knights and is raised by the strict monk Armin. After years of hardship and a wrongful punishment, he flees the Order and returns home to find his father dead. Ondrej inherits the estates and, seeking security, plans to marry his former stepmother.

Read the plot summary

Western · Light tone · Happy ending

The First Traveling Saleslady (1956)

A savvy woman who knows the ropes and the jokes joins forces with her former show‑biz friend Molly at the turn of the century to sell steel. After a failed venture with corsets, they tackle an even riskier job: marketing barbed wire to wary Texas cowboys, navigating humor and hardship along the way.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Hopeful tone · Happy ending

Innocent Sinners (1958)

A neglected girl in post-World War II London befriends street urchins who help her build a tiny garden in a bombed-out church.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

The Dancing Masters (1943)

The Dancing Masters is a 1943 Laurel and Hardy feature film in which the comic duo runs a ballet school and become entangled with a quirky inventor, leading to a series of slap‑slap mishaps. The picture also includes a brief uncredited cameo by a young Robert Mitchum, playing a fraudulent insurance salesman.

Read the plot summary

Thriller · Dark tone · Bleak ending

Branded to Kill (1967)

After botching his latest assignment, a third-ranked Japanese hit man becomes the target of another assassin.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Putty Tat Trouble (1951)

Tweety Bird, shoveling snow from his nest atop a city pole, is spotted by Sylvester and a one‑eyed orange tabby. He darts into a cellar, befriending a wooden dunking bird, then is chased into a park where he lures the cats onto an icy pond. Tweety cuts a circle in the ice, sending the felines plunging into freezing water, leaving them bedridden with cold.

Read the plot summary

Romance · Melancholic tone · Bittersweet ending

Raintree County (1957)

Set in 1859 Indiana, idealistic John Wickliff Shawnessey of Raintree County finds his devotion to high‑school sweetheart Nell Gaither tested when the sophisticated, wealthy New Orleans socialite Susanna Drake enters his life. Their tangled romance is further strained by the looming Civil War and unsettling secrets from John's family past.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Dark tone · Bittersweet ending

I Accuse My Parents (1944)

Neglected by his alcoholic parents, Jimmy Wilson drifts into a world of dubious acquaintances. He falls for a lounge singer and tries to win her favor by taking on errands for her shady employer. When a job goes disastrously wrong, Jimmy becomes a fugitive, forced to confront his past, his parents’ failings, and the truth as a judge cites parental neglect in his murder‑charge case.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Hopeful tone · Happy ending

Sorrowful Jones (1949)

Funnier than “The Paleface,” this comedy follows a young girl who becomes a pawn in a bet and is left in the care of the notoriously cheap Sorrowful Jones. When her father fails to return, Sorrowful discovers that looking after a child clashes with his free‑wheeling lifestyle. Meanwhile he must evade crooked gangsters and dabble in horse‑theft.

Read the plot summary

Thriller · Tense tone · Bleak ending

Le Corbeau (1943)

Remy Germain, a respected doctor in a French town, becomes the target of a vicious smear campaign when anonymous letters signed ‘Le Corbeau’ accuse him of an affair and illegal abortions. The mysterious writer soon widens the attack, sending similar accusations to officials and revealing the hidden vices of the whole community.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Dark tone · Happy ending

The Witches (1966)

After a nervous breakdown, Gwen accepts a position as head teacher in the quiet village of Haddaby, hoping the tranquil setting will aid her recovery. However, beneath the countryside she gradually discovers that the townspeople belong to a malevolent satanic cult capable of unleashing evil and death on anyone who opposes them.

Read the plot summary

Action · Light tone · Happy ending

That Man from Rio (1964)

When French soldier Adrien Dufourquet takes an eight‑day leave to see his fiancée Agnès, he learns that her late father’s colleague, museum curator Professor Catalan, has been kidnapped by Amazon tribesmen who have also stolen a priceless statue. Adrien and Agnès pursue the kidnappers to Brazil, where they discover the statue is the key to a hidden Amazonian treasure.

Read the plot summary

Western · Light tone · Happy ending

Lady in a Jam (1942)

When an eccentric heiress, a patient of a psychiatrist, becomes obsessed with locating gold in her late grandfather’s abandoned western mine, she sets off on a cross‑country quest. Unable to dissuade her, the psychiatrist reluctantly follows, confronting the unpredictable adventure alongside her.

Read the plot summary

Western · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

Fort Defiance (1951)

Set just after the Civil War, Ben Shelby hunts Johnny Tallon, blaming him for the battle that left Shelby the sole survivor. Unaware Tallon lives, another man seeks Tallon's blind brother. When Indians ambush them, Shelby and Tallon must cooperate, postponing their inevitable showdown.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise (1939)

The Stooges play three hapless tramps who nearly ruin a farmer’s (Richard Fiske) firewood pile before stepping in to help Widow Jenkins (Eva McKenzie), recently swindled out of her land by a trio of crooks (Dick Curtis, Eddie Laughton, James Craig). Their attempt to repair her well erupts into an oil geyser, but they recover the deed and win the right to marry the now‑wealthy widow’s daughters. Moe urges Curly to wish for quintuplets, prompting Curly’s quip, “We’ll honeymoon in Canada!” as a nod to the famous Dionne quintuplets.

Read the plot summary

Mystery · Tense tone · Happy ending

The Maze (1953)

A Scottishman abruptly ends his engagement to the beautiful Kitty and retreats to his uncle’s remote highland castle. Weeks later Kitty and her aunt arrive, only to find the man mysteriously aged. Unexplained phenomena begin to unfold within the dense hedgerow maze that surrounds the castle.

Read the plot summary

Romance · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

Mogambo (1953)

Set against the untamed Kenyan jungle, hunter Victor Marswell becomes entangled in a passionate love triangle. He is torn between the alluring American socialite Eloise Kelly and Linda, the unfaithful wife of anthropologist Donald Nordley, as desire and danger flare in the wild.

Read the plot summary

Animation · Whimsical tone · Happy ending

Harold and the Purple Crayon (1959)

This is the ingeniously imaginative story of a small boy who, with his magic crayon, draws himself in and out of a series of adventures.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Tense tone · Mixed ending

Second Chance (1953)

For the First Time - 3D with Important Stars! A prize-fighting boxer with a lethal right punch falls for a gangster’s moll on the run in Mexico.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Melancholic tone · Bittersweet ending

Ship of Fools (1965)

A diverse group of passengers—including an explorer, a mistress, a vagrant, a loafer, an artist and a tramp—share a table with the captain aboard a ship bound for Europe in the 1930s. The German crew, led by Dr. Schumann, who falls for the mysterious La Condesa, observes this social microcosm. Young American Jenny travels with her lover David and is both fascinated and bewildered by the eclectic fellow travelers.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Bleak tone · Bleak ending

On the Night of the Fire (1939)

A Cast of Inspired Players in Award Winning Performances! A barber gives in to temptation and steals some money, leading to blackmail and murder.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Dark tone · Happy ending

Johnny Belinda (1948)

There was temptation in her helpless silence…and then torment A small-town doctor helps a deaf-mute farm girl learn to communicate.

Read the plot summary

Romance · Bittersweet tone · Bittersweet ending

The Valley of Decision (1945)

Mary Rafferty, raised in a modest steel‑mill family in 19th‑century Pittsburgh, defies her relatives’ wishes by taking a job as a maid for the affluent Scott family, owners of the local mill. While working there she captures the eye of the handsome heir Paul Scott. Their budding romance is tangled by Paul’s prior engagement and a fierce strike that erupts among the mill workers, threatening both love and livelihoods.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

It Started with a Kiss (1959)

During a leave in New York, a serviceman impulsively marries a chorus girl and later wins a bright red convertible in a charity raffle. The honeymoon quickly unravels when both his new wife and the prized car prove to be more trouble than romance, leading to a chaotic climax set against the passionate backdrop of Spain.

Read the plot summary

Western · Dark tone · Bittersweet ending

Duel at Diablo (1966)

Former enemies now must cooperate in the dead‑end canyon of Diablo. In Apache lands a supply column of the Army pushes toward the next fort, an ex‑scout hunts the murderer of his Native wife, and a dissatisfied housewife abandons her husband to rejoin the tribe of her Apache lover.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

Atomic Train (1999)

A runaway train hauling a Russian atomic weapon races toward catastrophe, leaving minutes to prevent disaster. Renegade NTSB investigator John Seger is the only one who can halt the speeding locomotive before the deadly cargo detonates, as the clock ticks down and the nation faces an unprecedented threat.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Melancholic tone · Bittersweet ending

The Proud and Profane (1956)

In this romantic drama, Red Cross volunteer Lee Ashley travels to the South Pacific island of New Caledonia to uncover the circumstances of her husband Howard’s death in the Battle of Guadalcanal. While investigating, she becomes entangled with the tough, charismatic Marine Lt. Col. Colin Buck, only to face hardship and tragedy as she discovers the painful truths of Buck’s life back home.

Read the plot summary

Romance · Light tone · Happy ending

Marriage on the Rocks (1965)

Ad‑agency president Dan Edwards travels to Mexico for his nineteenth wedding anniversary, but a mix‑up finalizes his divorce by mistake. In a further blunder, his wife Valerie ends up marrying Dan’s best friend Ernie Brewer due to mistaken paperwork. Chaos and comedy follow as the trio tries to untangle the legal fiasco.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Any Wednesday (1966)

Ellen Gordon, the mistress of a powerful New York executive, unexpectedly falls for his young associate after the associate is mistakenly sent to the apartment where Ellen and the executive meet each Wednesday. Their budding affair becomes tangled when the executive’s wife arrives, intent on redecorating the same flat, adding further complications.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Whimsical tone · Happy ending

Time Out for Lessons (1939)

Alfalfa spends the film day‑dreaming that he is the star football player of a college team, visualizing glory after a lively pep rally. When his grades slip and he fails to meet academic standards, he is suspended from play, disappointing his teammates and shattering his fantasy.

Read the plot summary

Western · Tense tone · Ambiguous ending

The Outrage (1964)

A con artist, a preacher and a prospector gather at an abandoned railway station to analyze the recent trial of outlaw Juan Carrasco, convicted of murdering a man and raping his wife. As they recount the case, they confront contradictory testimonies, each new version raising unsettling questions about whether the act stemmed from violence or love.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Bittersweet ending

Aunt Clara (1954)

When a wealthy patriarch passes away, his eclectic Aunt Clara inherits his varied empire—a brothel, a gambling den, a greyhound‑racing track and a seedy bar. Determined to reform the sordid businesses, she sets out to clean them up, only to walk into a police raid on the crooked gambling hall, sparking a cascade of unexpected complications.

Read the plot summary

Horror · Dark tone · Bittersweet ending

The Monkey’s Paw (1933)

A mother wishes for the return of her dead son, a wish that is granted by the severed paw of a dead monkey.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Dark tone · Happy ending

Lizzie (1957)

Which girl was she? A psychiatrist treats a woman of three faces: neurotic Elizabeth, wanton Lizzie, and charming Beth.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Bittersweet tone · Bittersweet ending

Smilin’ Through (1932)

After Moonyeen is murdered on the day Sir John Carteret is to wed her, he retreats into decades of isolation, clinging to her memory. When he discovers his late beloved’s orphaned niece Kathleen, he adopts her. As Kathleen matures, she falls for the son of Moonyeen’s killer, forcing Carteret into a painful clash between love and the past.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Laugh and Get Rich (1931)

A breezy summer comedy tracks a bumbling inventor and his stoic wife who are convinced an oil‑well investment has made them rich overnight. Their celebratory plans quickly tumble into a series of comic mishaps as the truth of their sudden wealth is put to the test.

Read the plot summary