Q: Build a movie plot around this: Who plays piano on the stage? Faustino
A: Private detective Sam Grunion (Groucho Marx) has been searching for the extremely valuable Royal Romanoff diamonds for eleven years, and his investigation leads him to a troupe of struggling performers, led by Mike Johnson (Paul Valentine), who are trying to put on a musical revue called Love Happy.Grunion notes that the impoverished young dancers would starve were it not for the sweet, silent Harpo (Harpo Marx), at Herbert & Herbert, a gourmet food shop that also trafficks in stolen diamonds. Harpo kindly helps ladies with their shopping bags, all the while pilfering their groceries and stuffing them in the pockets of his long trench coat. When the elegant Madame Egelichi (Ilona Massey) arrives, store manager Lefty Throckmorton (Melville Cooper) tells her that "the sardines" have come in. Harpo sneaks into the basement and watches as Lefty lovingly unpacks a sardine can marked with a Maltese cross, and swipes the can from Lefty's pocket, replacing it with an unmarked one. Madame Egelichi, who has gone through eight husbands in three months in her quest for the Romanoff diamonds, is furious when Lefty produces the wrong can. When Lefty remembers seeing Harpo in the basement, she orders him to call the police and offer a $1,000 reward for his capture.At the theater, meanwhile, unemployed entertainer Faustino the Great (Chico Marx) asks Mike for a job as a mind-reader, and when Faustino's clever improvisation stops the show's backer, Mr. Lyons (Leon Belasco), from repossessing the scenery, Mike gratefully hires him. Harpo, who is secretly in love with dancer Maggie Phillips (Vera-Ellen), Mike's girl friend, gives her the sardine can, and she says she will eat them tomorrow. A policeman sees Harpo inside the theater and brings him to Madame Egelichi, who turns Harpo over to her henchmen, Alphonse (Raymond Burr) and Hannibal (Bruce Gordon) Zoto. After three days of interrogation, Harpo still refuses to talk, and when he is left alone, he calls Faustino at the theater, using the bike horn he carries in his...

Q: Build a movie plot around this: How are Freckles and Valentine related? Parent/daughter
A: A journalist named Lee Custler (William Katt) is out jogging when a flying object passes behind him and crashes. Sheriff Joel Armstrong (Collin Brock) picks him up and they go to check it out. They find an abandoned caravan close to where the object crashed. As they discover the object and realize it is a spaceship, an Alien emerges. The Alien then chases them, after which Lee flees to the car. However Armstrong makes a stand, trips, falls and is killed by the Alien that then leaves. A terrified Tammy finds Lee and they call the local authorities but their car is destroyed by the Alien.They run to a local cafe where they meet Hilary, Javier, Figgus and Marcy who do not believe them. Together they go back where they find Garrison wounded and the other passenger gone. Garrison says that everyone else died. The Alien then appears and kills Marcy, and while the others flee it fights a cyborg-like Hunter. The group decides to go to Valentines, the local hunter, through the sewers. All except Javier, who is killed by the Alien, make it to Valentine's and his daughter Freckle's house where they call for the support of a local paramilitary team. Valentine attempts to kill the Hunter, only to be nearly killed instead, but he makes it alive.The group then splits up: Valentine and Lee go to meet the paramilitary force while Tammy, Hillary, Freckles, Garrison and Figgus try to escape through a set of tunnels. Garrison gets lost in the tunnels and killed by the Alien but the others make it to the hunter's ship to their dismay. There they find a second Alien that's nearly dead and figure out that to get rid of the Hunter they need to kill the Alien and take a ray gun from the ship. Lee and Valentine find Two Fingers, Marty and Styles, the paramilitary force, and go to find T and Lexin who are in the woods. But they are already dead and the Hunter kills Marty, and kicks Styles away flying right near the Alien who kills both him and Valentine, who tries to save him.The few survivors meet and while they try to think of...

Q: Build a movie plot around this: Who was the mystery blackmailer? McWhirter
A: Private Investigator Donald Strachey is under the impression he is tailing an unfaithful housewife for evidence that she is cheating on her husband, but it turns out that the "housewife" is actually an undercover cop who promptly arrests him. After six hours of questioning the cop, Officer Gina Santer, and Detective 'Bub' Bailey let him go, but instruct him to turn over any information he obtains on the client that claimed Santer was his wife. Most of the info on file at Strachey Investigations about this mystery client is fake.Meanwhile, at the home of Dorothy 'Dot' Fisher and her partner Edith Strong, Dorothy chases out a vandal after he breaks into their home and spray paints homophobic graffiti on their wall. The next day, Andrew McWhirter, close friend of Fisher and Strongand Timmy Callhan's former boyfriend introduce Donald and Timmy to the lesbian couple after a contentious school board meeting at which Dorothy, a guidance counselor at the school, is placed on paid leave due to objections from a homophobic parent whose gay son Derek has been counseled by Fisher. The two are invited by the middle-aged women and house guest Andrew back to their home in Hollis, but the socialization is interrupted when the returning vandal throws a brick through the window. Strachey chases him back to his car, but the license plate is obscured by mud.The following day, Kenny gives Donald Strachey pictures he obtained of the mysterious "client", and his e-mail address, the one piece of info he offered about himself that is at least a marginal lead. With no other pressing cases, Strachey returns to Hollis, investigating motives for the vandalism. Dorothy suspects the homophobic Joey Deems, who attends the school he works at, but his father Carl tells Donald that he believes the motive is more likely a resentful backlash against Fisher's decision not to sell her house to Millipond Realty, who wants to build a large mall along Moon Road, the street the Deems, Dot & Edith, and other residents, who all received offers on their...

Q: Build a movie plot around this: Where does Dan and his daughters go? New York City.
A:
Dan Burns (Steve Carell) is a newspaper advice columnist, a widower, and single-parent to his three girls. The family takes a trip to the rambling, Rhode Island home of his parents (Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney) for an annual family gathering. Also in attendance are Dan's sister and brother with their families and Dan's younger brother Mitch (Dane Cook).The morning after their arrival, Dan meets Marie (Juliette Binoche) in a bookshop. They share a muffin and a heart-felt chat, although Marie gently warns Dan that she has a boyfriend. Dan returns to his parents' house and announces that he has 'met someone'. Brother Mitch introduces his new girlfriend Annie. Lo and behold, Dan's Marie is Mitch's Annie. Dan is disheartened and resists his father's relationship advice about finding someone of his own.Dan reluctantly agrees to a foursome dinner with their once unattractive childhood friend, "pig-faced" Ruthie (Emily Blunt). Marie jealously watches Dan and Ruthie. The next morning, Dan endures her 'punishment' for his late night with Ruthie by eating the burnt pancakes which she serves him. Marie and Dan meet to talk at a bowling alley. The meeting evolves into a date and finally a passionate kiss, but unfortunately Dan's entire family arrives to bowl. Mitch punches Dan in the face, and Marie hurries outThe plot resolves with Dan and his daughters going to New York City, where they finally find Marie at her gym. As he makes eye contact with her, Dan, in voice-over, tells the readers of his advice column that instead of merely planning ahead in life, they should "plan to be surprised".The film ends with Dan and Marie celebrating their wedding at his parents' Rhode Island home, and Mitch happily dancing with Ruthie.