When Julie la Verne and her husband Steve Baker are forced to leave the showboat Cotton Blossom (their marriage is illegal because of Julie's mixed blood),their places are taken by Magnolia Hawks, the Captain's daughter, and Gaylord Ravenal, a gambler. Magnolia and Ravenal fall in love, marry, leave the boat and move to Chicago, where they live off Ravenal's earnings from gambling. After they go broke Gay feels guilty and leaves Magnolia, not knowing she is pregnant.
Army Lietenent Tufts accompanies Scout Quincey Wyatt into the everglades to route the Seminole Indians that are threatening the early settlers in Florida. When the command is forced to run, Wyatt and Seminole Chief Oscala square off in an exciting climax.
In a far away, long ago kingdom, Cinderella is living happily with her mother and father until her mother dies. Cinderella's father remarries a cold, cruel woman who has two daughters, Drizella and Anastasia. When the father dies, Cinderella's wicked stepmother turns her into a virtual servant in her own house. Meanwhile, across town in the castle, the King determines that his son the Prince should find a suitable bride and provide him with a required number of grandchildren. So the King invites every eligible maiden in the kingdom to a fancy dress ball, where his son will be able to choose his bride. Cinderella has no suitable party dress for a ball, but her friends the mice, lead by Jaques and Gus, and the birds lend a hand in making her one, a dress the evil stepsisters immediately tear apart on the evening of the ball. At this point, enter the Fairy Godmother, the pumpkin carriage, the royal ball, the stroke of midnight, the glass slipper, and the rest, as they say, is fairy tale history.
Annie Oakley is an incredible shot who was raised 'Doin' What Comes Naturally'. Frank Butler, the star sharpshooter in 'Colonel Buffalo Bill''s show, however, knows full well that's not how 'The Girl That I Marry' must be. Anyway, not at least until he finds that 'My Defences are Down'. Though Annie defiantly says 'Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better', she realizes that 'You Can't Get a Man With a Gun'. The victor at the end is love; as you know, 'It's Wonderful'. After all, 'There's No Business Like Show Business'.
John Marion Stryker is the ultimate Marine, a tough rifle squad leader who in 1943 is assigned a squad of new recruits saddled with three veterans and an old enemy of Stryker's from previous duties in the Far East. One recruit in particlar is a source of friction with Stryker, Peter Conway, whose father was Stryker's CO at Guadalcanal and who felt his son was too soft and cowardly to be a Marine. The squad grows more and more resentful at Stryker's increasingly brutal training regimen and his lack of sympathy for the varied personal problems of the recruits, but his determination to mold them into fighting men helps save their lives when the squad is landed at Tarawa in November 1943 and Stryker risks his life to blow up a Japanese bunker that has slaughtered Marines trapped at a log wall. The now battle-tested squad becomes more closely-knit and Stryker's relationship with the men warms as the squad eventually finds itself in the bloodiest island battle of the war, at Iwo Jima.
Though his people, the Israelites, are enslaved by the Philistines, Samson, strongest man of the tribe of Dan, falls in love with the Philistine Semadar, whom he wins by virtue of a contest of strength. But Semadar betrays him, and Samson engages in a fight with her real love, Ahtur, and his soldiers. Semadar is killed, and her sister Delilah, who had loved Samson in silence, now vows vengeance against him. She plans to seduce Samson into revealing the secret of his strength and then to betray him to the Philistine leader, the Saran.
When Dr. Hugo Robbin's laboratory is blown up, his nurse Ann Loring is charged with murdering the doctor. During her trial, a group of children continually disrupts the courtroom, claiming to have important evidence. The children are finally allowed to testify, but as a result of their testimony, their friend Dan, who runs a repair shop, is now charged with the crime instead of the nurse. The children are now determined to prove Dan's innocence, and they go to the abandoned laboratory to look for evidence, leading to a series of hazardous adventures.
In the '30s, three prisoners flee from a state prison farm in Mississippi. Among them is 23-years-young Bowie, who spent the last seven years in prison and now hopes to be able to prove his innocence or retire to a home in the mountains and live in peace together with his new love, Kitty. But his criminal companions persuade him to participate in several heists, and soon the police believe him to be their leader and go after "Bowie the Kid" harder than ever.
Stefan and Dolly Oblonsky have had a little spat and Stefan has asked his sister, Anna Karenina, to come down to Moscow to help mend the rift. Anna's companion on the train from St. Petersburg is Countess Vronsky who is met at the Moscow station by her son. Col. Vronsky looks very dashing in his uniform and it's love at first sight when he looks at Anna and their eyes meet. Back in St. Petersburg they keep running into each other at parties. Since she has a husband and small son, they must be very discreet if they are going to see each other alone.
In the end of the Seventeenth Century, Don Juan de Marana is repatriated from London to Madrid after a serious diplomatic scandal caused by his affair with a British fiancée on the Eve of her marriage with a Spanish noble. The Spanish ambassador in London Count de Polan sends a recommendation letter to his friend Queen Margaret to give an opportunity in the court to rehabilitate Don Juan from the gossips and rumors about his love affairs, and he is hired as instructor of the art of fencing in the Spanish Academy. He secretly falls in love for Queen Margareth but becomes loyal to her and her irresponsible and weak husband, King Phillip III. Don Juan discovers the plan of the Machiavellian Duke de Lorca (that intends to declare war to England and rules Spain. With the support of his friends, Don Juan defends the Queen, the King and Count de Polan against Duke de Lorca and his men.
On Christmas eve, all of the citizens of the small town of Bedford Falls pray to the heavens to help George Bailey. It's then decided that Clarence, an angel who hasn't earned his wings, is to help George. Before he does, he should know who George Bailey was. George Bailey grew up in Bedford Falls, a small town where he dreams of leaving it and making his mark on the world. His family's business is the only thing stands between the good citizens and Mr. Potter, a rich miser who takes sick pleasure in taking from everybody, without even caring how it affects them. George was all set to leave when his father died and had to take care of the business. George would forever be hindered by his plans to leave and thinks that he is nothing but a failure, he decides to kill himself. That's when Clarence comes in and tries to convince him that he has made something with his life, and that he had a "Wonderful Life".
In the years following the Civil War, the town of Abilene, Kansas is poised on the brink of an explosive confrontation. A line has been drawn down the center of the town where the homesteaders and the cattlemen have come to a very uneasy truce. The delicate peace is inadvertantly shattered when a group of new homesteaders lay down their stakes on the cattlemen's side of town, upsetting the delicate balance that had existed thus far and sparking an all-out war between the farmers, who want the land tamed and property lines drawn, and the cowboys, who want the prairies to be open for their cattle to roam.
His life was a muddy morass into which he dragged all who knew him! Such was Dorian Gray, the man who wanted eternal youth, and bartered his soul to get it!
Innocent young Dorian Gray has his portrait painted by a close friend. Soon after, under the influence of amoral Lord Henry Wotton, he jilts his fiancee, leading to her suicide. This is the start of a life of increasing debauchery, Gray realising that the outward signs of this are apparent only in the portrait. Eventually the picture, secreted in his childhood playroom, becomes almost hideous to behold. But Gray still has one pure love - Gladys, the niece of the original painter.
During World War II, Europeans who were fleeing from the Germans, sought refuge in America. But to get there they would first have to go Casablanca and once they get there, they have to obtain exit visas which are not very easy to come by. Now the hottest spot in all of Casablanca is Rick's Cafe which is operated by Rick Blaine, an American expatriate, who for some reason can't return there, and he is also extremely cynical. Now it seems that two German couriers were killed and the documents they were carrying were taken. Now one of Rick's regulars, Ugarte entrusts to him some letters of transit, which he intends to sell but before he does he is arrested for killing the couriers. Captain Renault, the Chief of Police, who is neutral in his political views, informs Rick that Victor Laszlo, the European Resistance leader, is in Casablanca and will do anything to get an exit visa but Renault has been "told" by Major Strasser of the SS, to keep Laszlo in Casablanca. Laszlo goes to Rick's to meet Ugarte, because he was the one Ugarte was going to sell the letters to. But since Ugarte was arrested he has to find another way. Accompanying him is Ilsa Lund, who knew Rick when he was in Paris, and when they meet some of Rick's old wounds reopen. It is obvious that Rick's stone heart was because of her leaving him. And when they learn that Rick has the letters, he refuses to give them to him, because "he doesn't stick his neck out for anyone".
Love and Laugh with the flirting Mr. and the flitting Mrs. who ran their marriage by rules--until a rule that wasn't in the book almost ran their marriage on the rocks...Red Book Magazine says it's the most explosive and hilarious comedy of 1941--and you won't argue! (3 more taglines...)
Sophisticated New York couple David and Annie Smith have an unusual marriage with an inordinate number of rules and regulations. One rule entitles them to ask each other one question per month which the other must answer completely honestly. Annie asks David if he would marry her again if he could have the time over again and David confides that he misses his freedom and so probably wouldn't. Later that day, an official from the town where they got married calls to see David. He explains that owing to a state boundary dispute, all couples married between 1936 and 1939 in the county were not legally married. David decides to have fun with this fact, but unbeknown to him, the county official calls to see Annie too and disaster results.
With his high school graduation behind him, Andy Hardy decides that as an adult, it's time to start living his life. Judge Hardy had hoped that his son would go to college and study law, but Andy isn't sure that's what he wants to do so he heads off to New York City to find a job. Too proud to accept any help from Betsy Booth, Andy finds that living on his own isn't so easy. With perseverance he eventually finds a job and even gets to date the pretty receptionist in his office. He also has to face several of life's lessons leading him to conclude that he may still have a bit of growing up to do.
On the eve of World War II, a British officer revisits Waterloo Bridge and recalls the young man he was at the beginning of World War I and the young ballerina he met just before he left for the front. Myra stayed with him past curfew and is thrown out of the corps de ballet. She survives on the streets of London, falling even lower after she hears her true love has been killed in action. But he wasn't killed. Those terrible years were nothing more than a bad dream is Myra's hope after Roy finds her and takes her to his family's country estate.
A Japanese man claiming to be Mr Moto, of the International Police, is abducted and murdered soon after disembarking from a ship at Port Said in Egypt. The real Mr Moto is already in Port Said, investigating a conspiracy against the British and French governments. The dead man was his colleague, impersonating him to throw the conspirators off his scent. Mr Moto recognises one of the conspirators as a British Secret Service agent, and together they discover that the gang have mined the harbour in preparation for the arrival of the French fleet. Their aim is to throw the blame onto the British, which may start a second World War.
On a train through Europe, Iris Henderson meets the kindly old woman Miss Froy, and they meet several other passengers over the course of their conversation. Iris later wakes up from a nap to discover that Miss Froy is nowhere to be found, and none of the people they met seem to have any recollection of her. A psychiatrist on the train suggests that Miss Froy never existed: Iris was bumped on the head before boarding, and the conversation may have only taken place in her head. However, Iris is certain that something more sinister is going on, and teams up with another acquaintance, the musician Gilbert, to find her before the train reaches its destination.
Movie producer chooses a simple girl to be "Miss Humanity" and to critically evalute his movies from the point of view of the ordinary person. Hit song: "Love Walked In."