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Notorious playboy Nickie Ferrante makes worldwide headlines
when he becomes engaged to Lois Clark, one of the richest heiresses in
America. While sailing from France to New York to meet his intended,
Nickie is intrigued when he sees fellow passenger Terry McKay carrying his
misplaced cigarette case. After Terry returns the case, Nickie tries
to flatter her, prompting her to comment sarcastically on his reputation.
When Nickie follows Terry to her room, she points to the photograph of
Kenneth, her fiancée, nestled on her nightstand; although Terry steadfastly
resists Nickie's charm, she accepts his dinner invitation. Over
dinner, the tart-tongued Terry banters with Nickie.
The next day, as each receives a message from his or her
sweetheart, Terry tells Nickie that she worked as a nightclub singer until
meeting the wealthy Kenneth, who has been schooling her on how to be the
perfect cultured wife. Concerned that their fellow passengers may
gossip about their budding friendship, Terry insists that she and Nickie go
their separate ways.
That night, when they are seated back to back at different
dining tables, the room breaks out into laughter at their charade.
During a chance meeting in the swimming pool the next morning, Nickie
invites Terry to meet his grandmother when the ship docks at Madeira.
Terry is certain that he is taking her to visit another one of his conquests
until she meets the gracious aging woman who inhabits the serene villa on
the hill. There, Terry and Nickie kneel in the chapel together, and
Nickie is profoundly moved when Terry solemnly bows her head in prayer.
Afterward, during a tête-à-tête with Nickie's grandmother,
Terry learns that Nickie is a talented artist, but that his restlessness has
prevented him from developing his ability. Grandmother then confides
that she hopes Terry may provide the anchor to Nickie's rootlessness.
Later, as Grandmother plays a tune on the piano, Terry
accompanies her in song. Their idyll ends when the ship's horn summons
them back, and after Grandmother tearfully bids Nickie goodbye, she promises
to send Terry her beautiful white lace shawl one day. That night
aboard the ship, Terry thanks Nickie for a memorable day, and after they
kiss, Nickie comments that they have changed course. On the evening
before docking in New York, Terry confesses that she no longer loves
Kenneth. Realizing that they have both finally found happiness, Nickie
proposes and asks Terry to wait for him six months so that he can prove
himself worthy of supporting her. Terry promises to give him her
answer in the morning.
The next day, as they sail into the New York harbor, Terry
makes a date to meet Nickie in six months, on July 1, at 5 o'clock in the
afternoon, and Nickie suggests that they reunite at the Empire State
Building, the nearest thing to heaven in New York. When the ship
docks, Nickie and Terry half-heartedly greet their intendeds and, as Kenneth
hugs Terry with his back to Nickie, Nickie pauses and tenderly places a kiss
on Terry's hand.
At Lois' estate, Nickie is about to break his engagement when
a television reporter arrives to interview the couple whose "romance has
captured the imagination of the whole world." Kenneth and Terry watch
the interview, and when Terry reacts emotionally to Nickie's statement that
he plans to marry in six months, Kenneth realizes that she has fallen in
love with him.
_NRFPT_01_small.jpg) Three months of hard work later, Nickie takes a series of
paintings to Courbet, the art dealer. Although Courbet advises Nickie
to trade on his notoriety, Nickie insists on painting under a pseudonym.
Terry, meanwhile, has resumed her singing career in Boston. Desperate
for money, Nickie takes a job as a billboard painter until he finally sells
his first canvas.
At the end of six months, Terry flies to New York. In
anticipation of her wedding, she stops at her favorite dress shop to buy an
"irresistible" frock. When the clerk notifies Kenneth that Terry is
there, he hurries to meet her. Protesting that she is late, Terry
rushes out the door. After hailing a cab to the Empire State Building,
Terry jumps out at her destination and with her eyes focused skyward, she is
struck by an oncoming car. High atop the Empire State Building,
meanwhile, Nickie anxiously awaits Terry's arrival, impervious to the
ambulance sirens below.
As midnight approaches, a torrential rainstorm breaks over
the city and Nickie, despondent, ends his vigil. Meanwhile, in a
nearby hospital, an incoherent Terry calls for Nickie, and her doctor
informs Kenneth that she may never walk again. Stubbornly refusing to
contact Nickie until she is able to walk, the convalescing Terry takes a job
teaching music to orphaned children. Upon his grandmother's death,
Nickie makes a final pilgrimage to her villa and wistfully recalls the
blissful night he spent there with Terry. At Christmastime, Nickie
returns to New York for a showing of his work, and is invited by Lois to
attend the theater. After the performance, Nickie is stunned to see Terry
seated on the aisle with Kenneth.
On Christmas Eve, Nickie, unaware of Terry's condition,
appears at her door and finds her reclining on the couch. After
bitterly reproaching her for failing to keep their rendezvous, Nickie
presents her with his grandmother's shawl. As Terry drapes the shawl
across her shoulders, Nickie sardonically remarks that he once painted her
wearing that shawl. He continues that Courbet told him that a young,
crippled woman admired the painting with such fervor that he instructed the
art dealer to give it to her. Finally comprehending that Terry was
that woman, Nickie flings open her bedroom door and, seeing the painting, is
confronted with the painful truth of her condition. After he tearfully
embraces her, Terry declares that if he can paint, she can walk. |
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