ROMANCE; 1940'S
05:01:00:00,Opening credits, Los Angeles mid-aerial view, day, tall buildings, cars, buses, shops, etc, City street, day, pedestrians cross street at crosswalk, Two men, Jeff and Pete talk outside of a hotel, get into cab, Los Angeles city street scene, cab drives forward in city traffic, Jim and Pete sing "Buffalo Gals" in cab, Cab dodges street car, Car weaves in and out of traffic recklessly, Police in parked police car spot the car, make report on microphone/radio to, station, The car crashes into a restaurant/bar, Patrons inside react to the car bursting through the wall, Italian owner comes out ranting in broken English, A pretty woman comes out of back room, recognizes the driver, The owner, discovering the men are his friends, talk the policemen into dropping, the charges, Jeff is greeted warmly by the owner Gus, The men sit at table and catch up on old times, Jeff spots a pretty woman seated by herself at a table, flirts a little, moves, to back of the restaurant where he sees his old flame Betty in phone, booth, nuzzles her from behind, She pushes him away and storms out of the booth, Owner takes steaming plate of spaghetti from chef and brings it to table, Gus informs Jeff at their table that he and Betty are engaged, Men and women, elegantly dressed, throw dice in back room (gambling), Betty walks in on them, looks disapprovingly at one man, her father, Betty's father introduces her to his friends, they leave, Betty scolds her father for gambling, he apologizes, Betty's father, Hugo, greets Jeff warmly on his way to the bar, Jeff confronts Betty, they quarrel, Betty rejoins the group in the dining room, Gus prepares to make engagement toast, Jeff begrudgingly wishes them luck, Car drives along oil wells, Pete, Gus and Betty in car talk about the wells, Man in hardhat working on an oil rig sees the car below, View from ground up to top of well, Man in hardhat is Jeff, comes down the well on a downward tram, Outside of house a man in long johns runs out of the house, his angry wife chases him with a frying pan, Betty and Gus introduce themselves to the wife who runs a boarding house, she, invites them in, shows them around, Betty and Gus talk in one of the rooms, he kisses her, she shrugs him off, Betty helps the landlady make her bed, they talk, Betty changes into a robe, finishes making bed, Jeff comes in and hugs her from behind, she pushes him away, Jeff storms out of the room, she throws suitcase at the door after him, Pete and crew arrive at the well site in a wood-sided station wagon, Gus, in chef's hat, feeds the crew. Pete talks with him while eating, Jeff arrives, talks to Gus, Int. pool hall. Jeff and men finish a game of pool, then move into the bar, Betty's father contemplates gambling, Jeff and Pete catch him, send him to bar, Gus plays pool with Jeff and Pete (billiard), Gus overhears men at nearby table talk about Betty, Gus drops his stick and grabs the guy, is about to punch him when Jeff and Pete break up the fight, Gus gets a hold of himself, apologizes, Betty's father is drunk, sits in a game of cards at one of the tables, Betty's father loses his hand, He leaves with friend, sings "Beautiful Dreamer" drunkenly, The two drunks make their way home, get into the same bed, comic bit, Day, montage of a day's work on the oil rig, shot of the oil well from below looking up, Jeff in hardhat at work, Betty's father playing cards, Int. Rooming House, landlady, husband and Betty decorate the living rooms for a party, ladder in middle of room, Husband clumsily falls off ladder, On the oil rig, Betty's father is working, then is confronted by one of his gambling partners to pay debt (LOTS OF FOOD SCENES IN THIS FILM), Crew men line up with dishes, Betty serves each lunch, Hugo asks Betty for money, she scolds him, then apologizes, Hugo is pushed out of the way by other hungry crew men, Hugo doesn't get the money, Hugo meets with the gambling tough, tough locks Hugo in a room until he promises to get the money, Betty models her wedding dress in front of mirror at the rooming house, landlady helps her, Gus arrives, looks at Betty admiringly, Pete, Jeff and two others play cards at tavern, Inside rooming house, the living room is being prepared for wedding reception, cake is on table, Hugo's friend confides to Gus that he's missing, Back at the tavern, Gus fights with Jim, demands to find Hugo, Inside the locked room, Hugo calls out for help, Water starts gushing into the locked room, Hugo cries out for help, Pete and Jeff head for the site to save Hugo, Back at the rooming house, the guests wonder what is taking so long, As Betty comes out to room, Hugo comes in filthy from oil, then Gus is brought in on a stretcher, Gus asks Betty to postpone the wedding until he is better, Gus is carried out, asks the guests to keep the party going, Next day. Betty visits Gus in his room, she sits on bed, they talk, At the site, Betty serves the men lunch, goes over to Jeff, She trips, falls into his arms, He embraces her, they kiss, In Pete's office, Jeff comes in, they talk, he leaves, Out on the oil rig, men at work, View of oil well from below looking up, Tough Jim is reminded he's fired by a policeman at the site, Jim sneaks off to plot revenge on Pete and Jeff, Jeff at work, looks up, CU of Jim's hand turning a knob, Pipe falls from above hitting Jeff, Men rush to his aid, Jim leaves the scene, is spotted by man phoning for help, At the boarding house, husband informs landlady of Jeff's accident, Betty watches as Jeff is brought to his room on a stretcher, Betty visits Jeff in his room, Betty visits Gus in his room, Doctor in Gus's room gives Gus the news he's cured, Doctor in Jeff's room tells him he's cured, Gus and Jeff talk to each other through their shared wall, Betty visits Jeff in his room, he's dressed in suit, Betty confides in Jeff, Prissy man sweeps porch with broom (NICE), Hugo and friend place punchbowl on table in living room, prepare to decorate, Gus enters Betty's room, finds her packing, Betty breaks engagement with Gus, Gus storms out, Betty warns the landlady about Gus's state, On the site, men at work, Gus arrives, demands to see Jeff, Gus climbs up the well, Jeff spots him, helps him to scaffolding, Gus punches Jeff, The men fight on the scaffolding, Men below see the fight, rush to stop it, Betty and landlady watch from below, Gus falls off. Body falls to ground (NICE), Betty and landlady cover their faces with their hands, Jeff looks over the edge, That night, Jeff and Betty talk with lit oil wells in background, They walk off together, The End