Search Movie Plot Summaries & Endings Explained

Drama · Bittersweet tone · Mixed ending

They Were Five (1936)

Five unemployed friends each win a share of a 100,000‑franc national lottery prize. Rather than split the cash, they pool it to purchase a dilapidated building and transform it into an open‑air café. As the business gets underway, personal ambitions, debts and mistrust begin to test their solidarity, threatening to tear the group apart.

Read the plot summary

Crime · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

Tokyo File 212 (1951)

Amid the volatile backdrop of the Korean War, a Communist spy ring entrenched in Japan works to sabotage the American war effort, resorting to kidnapping, murder and enlisting a disturbed former kamikaze pilot. To dismantle this dangerous network, a U.S. secret agent assumes the guise of a reporter and flies to Tokyo, determined to stop the plot.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Dark tone · Bittersweet ending

Mandalay (1934)

After being abandoned by her lover, she takes the role of lead hostess at a lavish yet decadent nightclub, determined to outrun the turmoil of her past. Seeking a fresh start, she boards a steamer bound for Mandalay, hoping the journey will let her leave her former life behind.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Hopeful tone · Bittersweet ending

Stage Door (1937)

Featuring a talented ensemble, the film follows the highs and lows of several aspiring actresses and showgirls from varied backgrounds as they share a theatrical hostel, navigating personal ambitions, friendships, and the pressures of a demanding stage world.

Read the plot summary

Crime · Tense tone · Happy ending

Hammer the Toff (1952)

A detective proves that a Robin Hood-type crook did not steal a metal formula.

Read the plot summary

War · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

Morituri (1965)

A German expatriate in India during World II is coerced by British intelligence to pose as an SS officer aboard a Japanese cargo ship bound for Germany, carrying a large consignment of rubber for tyres. His objective is to sabotage the vessel’s scuttling charges, preventing the captain from sinking the ship if it is intercepted by Allied warships.

Read the plot summary

Thriller · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

Five Graves to Cairo (1943)

After the British forces are routed by Rommel, a lone survivor reaches the Egyptian frontier and takes shelter in a lonely desert hotel. To avoid detection he assumes the identity of a recently deceased waiter. The hotel’s proprietor aids him, though the French chambermaid protests, fearing that Rommel’s troops will soon arrive.

Read the plot summary

Western · Light tone · Happy ending

Pals and Gals (1954)

In the Old West, Nell turns to the Stooges to free her sisters from the clutches of the ruthless Doc Barker. The trio heads west hoping the trip will improve Shemp’s health, but they quickly clash with a local villain who wants to force Nell into marriage. With her sisters imprisoned, the Stooges must rescue them and thwart the villain’s plans.

Read the plot summary

Romance · Light tone · Happy ending

Stand-In (1937)

Hail! The conquering hero comes! An East‑Coast efficiency expert, determined to redeem his reputation by rescuing a financially struggling Hollywood studio, enlists the unlikely assistance of a former child star who now works as a studio stand‑in, sparking an unlikely partnership.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Tense tone · Happy ending

Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957)

Broke and about to divorce his wife, a pilot joins a smuggling scheme in postwar Madrid.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Bittersweet tone · Bittersweet ending

The Hoodlum Priest (1961)

Venturing into St. Louis' slums, Jesuit priest Rev. Charles Dismas Clark devotes himself to guiding young ex‑convicts as they try to reenter a society that shuns them. His most heartrending case is Billy Lee Jackson, a troubled thief whose inner demons repeatedly draw him back toward crime, threatening a grave price for desperate choices.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Whimsical tone · Happy ending

Where’s That Fire (1939)

Capt Viking and his incompetent fire crew accidentally foil a plot to steal the crown jewels.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Melancholic tone · Bittersweet ending

Marjorie Morningstar (1958)

While working as a counselor at a summer camp, college student Marjorie Morgenstern falls for 32‑year‑old Noel Airman, an aspiring dramatist at a nearby theater. Both are New York Jews, but Noel has strayed from his roots and lacks a stable profession, prompting her parents' disapproval. Though Noel says she is too naive and conventional, they fall in love, forcing Marjorie to choose between love and a star‑spanged career.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Dark tone · Bittersweet ending

The Hatchet Man (1932)

He kills! She thrills! When he’s forced to kill his best friend, a Chinese hit man adopts the man’s daughter.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Bittersweet tone · Bittersweet ending

Golden Boy (1939)

Although gifted as a musician, a young man from the city chooses the boxing ring instead of the stage. He quickly rises to fame as a fighter, much to his parents' disappointment. When local gangsters attempt to extort him, he starts questioning his violent path and the price of success.

Read the plot summary

War · Tense tone · Happy ending

Air Cadet (1951)

Are you going to let that boy go up alone? A group of cadets have assorted problems at the U.S. Air Force Pilot Training Academy.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Hopeful tone · Bittersweet ending

Johnny Frenchman (1945)

Along the rugged coast of Cornwall, a close‑knit community of fishermen maintains a long‑standing, good‑natured rivalry with their counterparts from a nearby French port, including a strong‑willed woman who holds her own on the sea. When war erupts, they must set aside their rivalry and face a common struggle.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

The Pied Piper (1942)

Set during the 1940 German invasion, Englishman Mr. Howard is on a fishing holiday in eastern France when he decides to trek home. Along the way he takes the two Cavanaugh children, and his makeshift family grows with each new companion. In occupied northern France they must stay silent, fearing detection for speaking English.

Read the plot summary

Mystery · Tense tone · Mixed ending

Green for Danger (1946)

Murder… weapon or clue? In the midst of Nazi air raids, a postman dies on the operating table at a rural hospital. But was the death accidental?

Read the plot summary

Animation · Light tone · Happy ending

Corn on the Cop (1965)

In this 1965 Merrie Melodies short directed by Irv Spector, the Halloween night setting sparks a thief’s scheme: he masquerades as a harmless old lady and embarks on a crime spree. Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, serving as the town’s bumbling police duo, chase the suspect, only to become entangled with the real Granny herself. The resulting mix‑ups deliver the series’ trademark slapstick chaos and rapid‑fire gags.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Made in Paris (1966)

Ann‑Margret plays a fashion buyer who travels to Paris on business, where she catches the eye of a designer. The 1966 romantic comedy, directed by Boris Sagal, follows her before and after arriving in the city. The film also features Louis Jourdan, Richard Crenna, Chad Everett, Edie Adams, John McGiver, Reta Shaw and Count Basie.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Hopeful tone · Happy ending

Lovers Courageous (1932)

A daydreaming dramatist and his beloved persevere through hard times in the hope that one of his plays will be a hit.

Read the plot summary

Thriller · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

Night of the Big Heat (1967)

Amid a bitter British winter, the remote island of Fara experiences an inexplicable heatwave that pushes temperatures into the nineties. The local boys at the Met station and the patrons of the Swan are baffled, while an aloof visiting scientist is the only one to suspect extraterrestrials are responsible.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Tense tone · Bittersweet ending

Bombardier (1943)

Witness the bombing of Tokyo firsthand. This documentary‑drama follows WWII bombardier training, led by Major Chick Davis, who demonstrates the superiority of precision bombing and establishes a school to train crews. The semi‑documentary approach interweaves instruction with the trainees’ dramas and doubts, ending in a bombing sequence.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Mummy’s Boys (1936)

A raucous Wheeler & Woolsey comedy set against a backdrop of dark‑aged Egypt, where two bumbling ditch‑diggers are enlisted for a scholarly excavation. Their clueless antics draw them into a web of jewel thieves and the threat of an ancient Egyptian curse, spawning nonstop slap‑slap humor and chaos.

Read the plot summary

Romance · Bittersweet tone · Bittersweet ending

China Doll (1958)

Set amid the desperate days of the famed Flying Tigers, American pilot Cliff Brandon battles Japanese forces in China and unexpectedly becomes the caretaker of a Chinese housekeeper, Shu‑Jen. Their unlikely partnership blossoms into love and marriage, but the surrounding war soon brings tragedy that tests their devotion.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Hopeful tone · Happy ending

Captain Eddie (1945)

Rick appears on screen in the gripping, exciting story of America’s first Ace of Aces. WWI flyer Eddie Rickenbacker reflects on a life that took him from car salesman and race driver to wartime pilot, and later to a key figure in early civil aviation, after his plane crashed in the South Pacific in late 1942.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Tense tone · Happy ending

An Evening in Paris (1967)

In romantic Paris, Indian‑origin Parisians Shyam (Sam) and Roopa fall in love, but their bliss is shattered when criminal mastermind Jack kidnaps Roopa for ransom. Jack substitutes a doppelgänger, Suzy, to collect the money, leaving Sam to untangle the deception and rescue the real Roopa.

Read the plot summary

Fantasy · Bittersweet tone · Bittersweet ending

A Guy Named Joe (1943)

A confident U.S. Air Force pilot stationed in England during World II becomes enamored with a daring female aviator. When a combat mission claims his life, a celestial general returns him to Earth, assigning him a new purpose that intertwines love, destiny, and redemption.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Swiss Miss (1938)

Stan and Ollie travel to the Swiss Alps hoping to boost their mousetrap sales, convinced that the country’s abundance of cheese must attract a legion of mice. Their scheme leads them through picturesque villages, comical misunderstandings, and slap‑slap‑slap chaos as they try to market their traps to a bewildered local population.

Read the plot summary

Romance · Light tone · Happy ending

Please Believe Me (1950)

After a London woman unexpectedly inherits a Texas ranching fortune, she sails to America to claim her new wealth, unaware that two fellow passengers each intend to win her affection. One is a gambler hoping to profit from her money, the other a wealthy bachelor seeking a wife, while the latter’s friend suspects the heiress of being a gold‑digger.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Bittersweet ending

Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)

It happened in Climax, Nevada. While traveling home from Las Vegas, a flirtatious lounge singer named Dino is swindled by a local mechanic‑songwriter into staying the night. The mechanic’s partner, Orville, offers Dino lodging and enlists a local waitress‑call girl to pose as his wife, hoping to placate Dino’s urges.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Bittersweet tone · Bittersweet ending

Hell Is Sold Out (1951)

A supposedly dead writer suddenly turns up to confront the young woman who is using his penname.

Read the plot summary

Western · Happy ending

Overland Telegraph (1951)

Tim Holt stars in Lesley Selander’s Western as a ranch‑hand who discovers a plot to sabotage a new telegraph line. Scheming shopkeeper Paul Manning (George Nader) hires a gang of outlaws led by Brad Roberts (Hugh Beaumont) to halt construction for profit. Holt and his loyal sidekick Chito Rafferty (Richard Martin) investigate, uncover the scheme, and bring the criminals to justice.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Happy Anniversary (1959)

An accidental slip reveals that a happily married couple were intimate before marriage.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Dark tone · Ambiguous ending

The Visit (1964)

Carla Zachanassian, who bore Serge Miller’s child as a teenager, was expelled when he refused to marry her. Years later she returns to the town as a wealthy magnate, expecting a warm welcome. The townspeople roll out the red carpet, expecting her riches to bring prosperity, only to discover that her sole intention is to see Serge Miller killed.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Tense tone · Happy ending

Crash Landing (1958)

This is the Moment When 32 Lives Are Laid Bare!!! Airplane passengers prepare for a crash landing in the ocean.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

Life Begins in College (1937)

A wealthy Indian student endows the college, sparking rumors that he once played professional football and therefore cannot join the team. Meanwhile the Ritz family, who have never played football before, find themselves thrust into the sport as the program confronts unusual challenges and expectations.

Read the plot summary

Drama · Dark tone · Bittersweet ending

Zatoichi’s Revenge (1965)

Itinerant masseur and swordsman Zatoichi arrives in his teacher Hikonoichi’s village, discovering the teacher’s murder, a robbery and his daughter Osayo sold to a brothel. Befriending dice‑player Denroku, he uncovers a corrupt governor and strongman who falsify taxes to trap farmers and traffic daughters. He shields Osayo and confronts the villains.

Read the plot summary

Comedy · Light tone · Happy ending

No Time for Comedy (1940)

A country boy takes over Broadway . . . until he gets into heart-trouble! An aspiring playwright finds himself an overnight Broadway success.

Read the plot summary