Natalie Schafer
Birthday: Born in 1900-11-05 in Red Bank, New Jersey, USA
Deathday: 1991-04-10
Natalie Schafer (November 5, 1900 – April 10, 1991) was an American actress, best known today for her role as Lovey Howell on the sitcom Gilligan's Island (1964–1967). Schafer began her career as an actress on Broadway before moving to Los Angeles in 1941 to work in films. She appeared on Broadway in 17 plays between 1927 and 1959, often playing supporting roles. Most of those appearances were in short-run plays, with the exceptions of Lady in the Dark (1941–42), The Doughgirls (1942–44), and Romanoff and Juliet (1957–58). She was seen in a revival of Six Characters in Search of an Author, directed by Sir Tyrone Guthrie (1955–56). She also appeared in stock and regional productions, including the off-Broadway production The Killing of Sister George with Claire Trevor in the title role. She also guest-starred in TV productions beginning in the 1950s, such as an episode (“The Shy Ballerina”) of Sherlock Holmes, and in "The Charm School" episode of I Love Lucy, both in 1954. Schafer performed in many films, usually portraying sophisticates. On TV, her roles included "Lovey Howell" on Gilligan's Island from 1964–67. She reprised her role in three made-for-television spin-off films after the show ended: Rescue from Gilligan's Island (1978), The Castaways on Gilligan's Island (1979), and The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island (1981). She also voiced Lovey Howell on the animated spinoffs, The New Adventures of Gilligan from 1974–77 and Gilligan's Planet from 1982–83. In 1969, Schafer appeared in The Survivors—a high-profile prime time soap opera aired by the ABC television network. Despite the presence of movie stars like Lana Turner, Kevin McCarthy and George Hamilton, the show was a ratings failure and lasted only one season. For the 1971–1972 television season, Schafer joined the cast of the CBS daytime serial, Search for Tomorrow, portraying Helen Collins, mother of Wade and Clay Collins. Immediately following that role, she played Augusta Roulland on another daytime soap, Love of Life. Her final performance was in the 1990 made-for-television horror film I'm Dangerous Tonight. She guest-starred as well on many other television series, including Goodyear Playhouse/Philco Playhouse ("The Sisters", with Grace Kelly, 1951), I Love Lucy (1954), Producers' Showcase ("The Petrified Forest", 1955), Guestward, Ho! (1960), The Beverly Hillbillies (1964), Mayberry RFD (1970), Mannix (1972), The Brady Bunch (1974), Phyllis (1976), Three's Company (1978), and The Love Boat (1979).
TV Credits
CHiPs
Character:
Lighthearted look at the adventures of two Highway Patrol officers in Los Angeles. The main characters are Jon Baker and Frank Poncherello, two motorcycle officers always on the street to save lives....
Gilligan's Planet
Character: Eunice "Lovey" Wentworth Howell (voice)
Gilligan's Planet is a Saturday morning cartoon produced by the Filmation animation studio and MGM/UA Television which aired during the 1982-1983 season on CBS. It was the second animated spin-off of the popular sitcom Gilligan's Island, the first being The New Adventures of Gilligan. Gilligan's Planet was the last cartoon series that Filmation produced for Saturday mornings; afterwards, they produced cartoons exclusively for syndication. It was also the first Filmation series to feature the Lo...
Trapper John, M.D.
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Trapper John, M.D. is an American television medical drama and spin-off of the film MASH, concerning a lovable doctor who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, California. The show ran on CBS from September 23, 1979, to September 4, 1986....
Simon & Simon
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Simon & Simon is an American detective television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981 to January 21, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two brothers who run a private detective agency together....
The Brady Bunch
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When widower Mike Brady marries a lovely lady widow Carol Ann, their two families become one. These are the misadventures of this new couple, their six children, a dog named Tiger, and quirky housekeeper Alice....
Gilligan's Island
Character: Eunice "Lovey" Wentworth Howell
The slapstick adventures of hapless Gilligan, long-suffering Skipper and their gang of mismatched castaways, all stranded on an uncharted desert isle after their tiny ship hit stormy weather....
The Beverly Hillbillies
Character: Madame Renee
Jed Clampett's swamp is loaded with oil. When a wildcatter discovers the huge pool, Jed sells his land to the O.K. Oil Company and at the urging of cousin Pearl, moves his family to a 35-room mansion in Beverly Hills, California....
Route 66
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Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America in a Chevrolet Corvette sports car. The show ran weekly on Fridays on CBS from October 7, 1960 to March 20, 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for the first two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod was shown traveling on his own. Tod met Lincoln Case, played by Glenn Corbett, late in the third season, and traveled with h...
I Love Lucy
Character: Phoebe Emerson
Cuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife. Instead she tries constantly to perform at the Tropicana where he works, and make life comically frantic in the apartment building they share with landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz, who also happen to be their best friends....
The New Adventures of Gilligan
Character: Eunice Wentworth 'Lovey' Howell (voice)
The New Adventures of Gilligan is an animated series produced by Filmation and was aired on ABC during the 1974–1977 seasons. In 1977, the show entered syndication as part of an anthology series entitled The Groovie Goolies and Friends....
Three's Company
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Three's Company is an American television sitcom that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. Developed by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross and Bernie West, it is based on the British sitcom Man About the House created by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer. The story revolves around three single roommates: Jack Tripper, Janet Wood, and Chrissy Snow, who all platonically live together in a Santa Monica, California apartment complex owned by Stanley and Helen Roper. The ...
Sherlock Holmes
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The first American television series of Sherlock Holmes adventures aired in syndication in the fall of 1954. The 39 half-hour mostly original stories were produced by Sheldon Reynolds and filmed in France by Guild Films, starring Ronald Howard as Holmes and Howard Marion Crawford as Watson. Archie Duncan appeared in many episodes as Inspector Lestrade. Richard Larke, billed as Kenneth Richards, played Sgt. Wilkins in about fifteen episodes. The series' associate producer, Nicole Milinaire, was o...
Crazy like a Fox
Character: Leonna Felspar
Crazy Like a Fox is an American television series set in San Francisco, California, that aired on CBS from December 30, 1984 to May 3, 1986....
Vega$
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Vega$ is an American detective television drama series that aired on ABC between 1978 and 1981. It was produced by Aaron Spelling. The series was filmed in its entirety in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is believed to be the first television series produced entirely in Las Vegas. The show stars Robert Urich as private detective Dan Tanna, who drove around the streets of Las Vegas in a red 1957 Ford Thunderbird solving crimes and making Las Vegas a better place for residents and tourists alike....
Thriller
Character: Beatrice Graves
Thriller is an American anthology television series that aired during the 1960–61 and 1961–62 seasons on NBC. The show featured host Boris Karloff introducing a mix of self-contained, macabre weird-horror and morbid, hitchockian crime stories, in some of which he also starred....
Here's Boomer
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Here's Boomer is an American adventure/drama series produced by Paramount that premiered on the NBC network on March 14, 1980. A television movie called A Christmas for Boomer aired on December 6, 1979 and served as the pilot. The show follows the adventures of the titular stray dog, "Boomer" and ran for two seasons, ending its run in August 1982, with the final original episode, "Flatfoots," airing on July 3 of that year....
Matt Houston
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Matt Houston is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1982 to 1985. Created by Lawrence Gordon, the series was produced by Aaron Spelling....
Climax!
Character: Lucrece Durhurst
Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live....
The Philco Television Playhouse
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The Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golden Age of Television, winning a 1954 Peabody Award and receiving eight Emmy nominations between 1951 and 1956....
Guestward, Ho!
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Guestward, Ho! is an American situation comedy which aired on the ABC network in the 1960-1961 television season, based on the 1956 book of the same title by Patrick Dennis, author of Auntie Mame....
ABC Stage 67
Character: Mrs. Otis
ABC Stage 67 is the umbrella title for a series of 26 weekly shows that included dramas, variety shows, documentaries, and original musicals. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company on September 14, 1966 with Murray Schisgal's The Love Song of Barney Kempinksi, directed by Stanley Prager and starring Alan Arkin as a man enjoying the sights and sounds of New York City in his last remaining hours of bachelorhood. Arkin was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance By An...
Flying High
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Flying High is an American comedy-drama series that aired on CBS from August 28, 1978 until January 23, 1979. Created by Dawn Aldredge and Martin Cohan, the series stars Connie Sellecca, Pat Klous, and Kathryn Witt....
Letter to Loretta
Character: Mary
Letter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to June 1961 for a total of 165 episodes. The filmed show was hosted by Loretta Young who also played the lead in various episodes. Letter to Loretta was sponsored by Procter & Gamble from 1953 through 1960. The final season's sponsor was Warner-Lambert's Listerine....
Mr. & Mrs. North
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Mr. & Mrs. North is an American comedy/mystery television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1952 to May 25, 1954. The series centers on Jerry North, a mystery magazine publisher who thinks he is a good amateur detective, and his wife, Pamela, as they solve crimes in New York City....
The Mike Douglas Show
Character: Self
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia....
Topper
Character: Mrs. Vance
Topper is an American fantasy sitcom based on the 1937 film of the same name. The series was broadcast on CBS from October 9, 1953 to July 15, 1955, and stars Leo G. Carroll in the title role....
Letter to Loretta
Character: Mrs. Hayes
Letter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to June 1961 for a total of 165 episodes. The filmed show was hosted by Loretta Young who also played the lead in various episodes. Letter to Loretta was sponsored by Procter & Gamble from 1953 through 1960. The final season's sponsor was Warner-Lambert's Listerine....
Mayberry R.F.D.
Character: Cornelia Willoughby
Mayberry R.F.D. is an American television series produced as a spin-off and direct continuation of The Andy Griffith Show. When star Andy Griffith decided to leave his series, most of the supporting characters returned for the new program, which ran for three seasons on the CBS Television Network from 1968–1971. During the final season of The Andy Griffith Show, widower farmer Sam Jones and his young son Mike are introduced and gradually become the show's focus. Sheriff Andy Taylor takes a backs...
Mannix
Character: Bunny Mason
Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors. Mannix was the last series produced by Desilu Productions....
77 Sunset Strip
Character: Ellie Fraser
Stu Bailey and Jeff Spencer are the wisecracking, womanizing private-detective heroes of this Warner Brothers drama. They work out of an office located at 77 Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California, right next door to a snazzy restaurant where Kookie works as a valet. The finger-snapping, slang-talking Kookie occasionally helps Stu and Jeff with their cases, and eventually becomes a full-fledged member of the detective agency. Rex Randolph and J.R. Hale also join the firm, and Suzanne is their l...
The Love Boat
Character: Mrs. Hartnett
Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or mysterious countries, decide to pass their vacation aboard the "Love Boat", where Gopher, Dr. Bricker, Isaac, Julie, and Captain Stubing try their best to please them, and sometimes help them fall in love. Things are not always so easy, but in the end, love wins....
The Ford Television Theatre
Character: Beatrice Trent
This show started in New York City, with Broadway actors and actresses. It then moved to Hollywood, California, where Hollywood actors and actresses headed the cast....
Movie Credits
Secret Beyond the Door
Character: Edith Potter
After a whirlwind romance in Mexico, a beautiful heiress marries a man she barely knows with hardly a second thought. She finds his New York home full of his strange relations, and macabre rooms that are replicas of famous murder sites. One locked room contains the secret to her husband's obsession, and the truth about what happened to his first wife....
Rescue from Gilligan's Island
Character: Lovey Wentworth Howell
When a decaying Russian satellite crashes on the island, the Professor uses a key component for a barometer. With that device, he learns that a massive wave is going to swamp the island. In desperation, the castaways lash their huts together into one structure in order to have any chance to ride the disaster out....
Forever, Darling
Character: Millie Opdyke
Susan and Lorenzo have been married for over five years and they are starting to drift apart. So into her life comes an angel, which only Susan can see, to tell her that there will be trouble ahead if they do not work out their problems. Lorenzo is developing insecticide #383 at Finlay Vega Chemical Co. and plans to test it on a camping trip that he takes with Susan, but the trip becomes an obstacle course for him....
Repeat Performance
Character: Eloise Shaw
On New Year's Eve 1946, Sheila Page kills her husband Barney. She wishes that she could relive 1946 and avoid the mistakes that she made throughout the year. Her wish comes true but cheating fate proves more difficult than she anticipated....
Caught
Character: Dorothy Dale
Wide-eyed and poor young Leonora weds an obsessive millionaire named Ohlrig, but the marriage is loveless. Even worse, Ohlrig seems to have manic, violent tendencies. Eventually, young Leonora escapes her unhappy life and begins working with New York City doctor Larry Quinada, who she soon falls for. Unfortunately, Ohlrig refuses to grant his wife a divorce, and things get even darker for Leonora when she realizes she's pregnant with his child....
The Snake Pit
Character: Mrs. Stuart
Virginia Cunningham is confused upon finding herself in a mental hospital, with no memory of her arrival at the institution. Tormented by delusions and unable to even recognize her husband, Robert, she is treated by Dr. Mark Kik, who is determined to get to the root of her mental illness. As her treatment progresses, flashbacks depict events in Virginia's life that may have contributed to her instability....
Anastasia
Character: Irina Lissemskaia / Nini
Russian exiles in Paris plot to collect ten million pounds from the Bank of England by grooming a destitute, suicidal girl to pose as heir to the Russian throne. While Bounin is coaching her, he comes to believe that she is really Anastasia. In the end, the Empress must decide her claim....
Female on the Beach
Character: Queenie Sorenson
Lynn Markham moves into her late husband's beach house the morning after former tenant Eloise Crandall fell from the cliff. To her annoyance, Lynn finds both her real estate agent and Drummond Hall, her beachcomber neighbor, making themselves quite at home. Lynn soon has no doubts of what her scheming neighbors are up to, but she finds Drummond's physical charms hard to resist. And she still doesn't know what really happened to Eloise....
Callaway Went Thataway
Character: Martha Lorrison
Two smart marketing people resurrect some old films starring cowboy Smoky Callaway and put them on television. The films are a big hit and the star is in demand. Unfortunately no one can find him. When a lookalike sends in a photo, the marketing team hires him to impersonate Callaway. Things get sticky when the real Callaway eventually shows up....
Payment on Demand
Character: Mrs. Edna Blanton
David gives his wife, Joyce, an unexpected—and unpleasant—surprise when he suddenly demands a divorce. When she then learns that David has taken up with a younger woman, Joyce decides to make the most of this separation by taking a solo trip to the Caribbean. However, just before diving into a vacation fling, she runs into Emily, an old chum whose own divorce has left her embittered. Joyce then debates giving married life one last chance....
Susan Slade
Character: Marian Corbett
A pregnant teen allows her mother to pass her secret baby off as her own....
The Castaways on Gilligan's Island
Character: Lovey Howell
In the second of three additional Gilligan's Island movies following the series, the gang finds a way of getting rescued from the "uncharted desert isle" for a second time through a series of misadventures but comes back to turn it into a tropical resort for uptight mainlanders....
Oh, Men! Oh, Women!
Character: Mrs. Day
Arthur Turner's bored housewife Mildred seeks psychiatric help from Dr. Alan Coles who also has his own emotional problems to solve....
Take Care of My Little Girl
Character: Mother Cookie Clark
A young woman enters college and learns some hard truths about sorority life, including snobbery and the cruelty of hazing....
Keep Your Powder Dry
Character: Harriet Corwin
A debutante, a serviceman's bride and a girl from a military family join the Women's Army Corps....
The Law and the Lady
Character: Pamela Pemberson
A former housemaid now works as a confidence trickster, but her plans for a big job in California go awry....
The Time of Your Life
Character: Society Lady
Joe spends a lot of his time at Nick's Pacific Street Saloon. Tom, who credits Joe with once saving his life, stops by regularly to run errands for Joe. Today, Tom notices a woman named Kitty when she comes into Nick's, and he quickly falls in love with her. Meanwhile, a distraught young man repeatedly calls his girlfriend, begging her to marry him. Nick himself muses on all the various persons who come into his bar, some to ask for work and others just to pass the time....
Back Street
Character: Mrs. Evans
Ambitious but thwarted, Rae Smith meets handsome Marine Paul Saxon, (of the Saxon department store chain), as he passes through Lincoln, Nebraska, on his way home from World War II. There's a definite spark between them but circumstances intervene and he leaves town without her. Later she learns he's married. Determined to make it as a fashion designer, Rae moves to New York and becomes a great success. One day she happens to meet Paul again and again there's that spark but he's still married so...
Casanova's Big Night
Character: Signora Foressi
Italy 1757, Pippo Popolino, a lowly tailor, disguises himself as the great Casanova in order to romance the attractive widow Francesca. He little suspects what awaits him... Locked into the incongruous role by the desperation of the real Casanova's creditors, Pippo must journey to Venice on a delicate mission far beyond his capabilities....
I'm Dangerous Tonight
Character: Grandmother
An ancient Aztec cloth with a curse accidentally finds its way into the possession of a young woman. She decides to make a dress from the cloth. Whoever wears this cloth/dress comes under its spell; all inhibitions and moral responsibilities are lost....
Wonder Man
Character: Mrs. Hume
Boisterous nightclub entertainer Buzzy Bellew was the witness to a murder committed by gangster Ten Grand Jackson. One night, two of Jackson's thugs kill Buzzy and dump his body in the lake at Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Buzzy comes back as a ghost and summons his bookworm twin, Edwin Dingle, to Prospect Park so that he can help the police nail Jackson....
Masquerade in Mexico
Character: Irene Denny
An American singer stranded in Mexico is hired by a banker to distract a Mexican matador who is making a play for the banker's wife. They hatch a scheme whereby she pretends to be a Spanish countess....
The Other Love
Character: Dora Shelton
Seriously ill, concert pianist Karen Duncan is admitted to a Swiss sanitorium. Despite being attracted to Dr Tony Stanton she ignores his warnings of possibly fatal consequences unless she rests completely. Rather, she opts for a livelier time in Monte Carlo with dashing Paul Clermont....
The Girl Next Door
Character: Evelyn the maid
Stage-and-night club star Jeannie Laird buys her first home, and everyone who is anyone comes to her first garden party only to be blinded by smoke from next door. Jeannie charges next door to bawl out her new neighbor and meets comic-strip artist Bill Carter. Bill has devoted himself to his strip, and raising his ten-year-old son Joe since the death of his wife. Joe bases his strip on the everyday happenings of he and his son and is proud of keeping it scrupulously honest. When Jeannie and Bill...
Molly and Me
Character: Kitty Goode-Burroughs
A vivacious actress needing work becomes a housekeeper for a crusty retired politician, and gives his life the shaking-up that it needs....
The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island
Character: Lovey Wentworth Howell
The Harlem Globetrotters' chartered plane crash lands on the atoll inhabited by the happily marooned Gilligan and fellow castaways, and they all must play basketball against a specially programmed squad of robots controlled by a mad scientist....
The Body Disappears
Character: Mrs. Lunceford
Wealthy scion Peter DeHaven, about to marry socialite Christine Lunceford, wakes up after bachelor party revelry to find he's been turned invisible by eccentric college professor Reginald Shotesbury. An unbelievable series of events is revealed by several witnesses testifying in a "mystery trial" to determine the reason for DeHaven's "disappearance"....
Beverly Hills Brats
Character: Lillian
A rich young boy arranges to be kidnapped so he'll get more attention from his parents....
The Poor Fish
Character: Daisy
Harry comes home unexpectedly and overhears his wife calling another man 'sweetheart' on the telephone. It turns out that both men are avid fishermen. They leave, so Daisy calls Mr. Gill at the Aquarium and asks if he likes fish. He doesn't, so she invites him over....
Dishonored Lady
Character: Ethel Royce
Art editor Madeleine Damian carries on numerous loveless affairs. After a failed relationship with advertiser Felix Courtland, the increasingly depressed Madeleine attempts suicide. When Jack Garet, her secretary and former lover, tries to blackmail her, Madeleine resigns and seeks a reclusive life. Neighbor David Cousins befriends Madeleine, but soon Courtland and Garet discover her whereabouts and disrupt her new life....
40 Carats
Character: Mrs. Adams
After an overnight fling with a man nearly 20 years her junior while vacationing in Greece, Ann Stanley returns to New York assuming she'll never see Peter Latham again. Until, that is, he shows up on her doorstep to take her daughter to a party. Despite her yearning for Peter and the encouragement of her friends and family, Ann initially rebuffs him when he pursues her, but slowly she yields to his charm and her own stifled emotions....
Marriage Is a Private Affair
Character: Irene Selworth
Theo has had many boyfriends who wanted to marry her. Since her mother, Mrs. Selworth, has been married many times, Theo is unsure of commitment. Without much thought, she finally accepts the proposal of Air Corps Lieutenant Tom West. After the honeymoon, Tom's father dies and Tom goes into the defense industry. When Theo has a baby, she hates the idea of being matronly and wants to be the old party girl. The problem is that her husband is working constantly. She looks to her friends, who are ha...
The Day of the Locust
Character: Audrey Jennings
Hollywood, 1930s. Tod Hackett, a young painter who tries to make his way as an art director in the lurid world of film industry, gets infatuated with his neighbor Faye Greener, an aspiring actress who prefers the life that Homer Simpson, a lone accountant, can offer her....
Bernardine
Character: Madge Beaumont
A teenager pines for (and sings about) his dream girl....
Reunion in France
Character: Frau Amy Schröder (uncredited)
Frenchwoman Michele de la Becque, an opponent of the Nazis in German-occupied Paris, hides a downed American flyer, Pat Talbot, and attempts to get him safely out of the country....
Just Across the Street
Character: Gertrude Medford
A plumber's secretary poses as the daughter of a prominent society couple....
The Petrified Forest
Character: Mrs. Chisholm
Gabrielle Maple works in a dusty desert gas station-café, but yearns for the life of an artist in France, knowing there must be something finer than the provincial dead-end she is trapped in. A hitch-hiking writer, the disillusioned Alan Squier, appears and revitalizes her dreams of a better place, and finds his own sense of worth refreshed by this vital young girl. When Duke Mantee and his gang, wanted killers, show up and take hostages, Gabrielle falls in love with the poetic Alan, and Squier ...