Andy Fletcher is a blacksmith in a country village, but he dreams of racing automobiles. He gets his chance to enter a big race, but winning is complicated by a band of bank robbers.
Fast Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary Minnesota Fats to a high-stakes match.
Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions.
David Sumner, a mild-mannered academic from the United States, marries Amy, an Englishwoman. In order to escape a hectic stateside lifestyle, David and his wife relocate to the small town in rural Cornwall where Amy was raised.
The Roth family leads a quiet life in a small village in the German Alps during the early 1930s. After the Nazis come to power, the family is divided and Martin Breitner, a family friend, is caught up in the turmoil.
Robert Wells is an American born in China who, unbeknownst to him, has an Oriental half-brother. Wells' uncle sends him to help Ray Williams build bridges in China.
Inventor Peter Marchmont has discovered a purple light that renders the user invisible. On his release from prison, Marchmont, disguised as Victor Cromport, uses the light to revenge himself against his former wife, Jewel, and her partner, James Dawson, who framed him for theft.
The title is also the moniker of a renowned safe-cracker, Slippy McGee, who has always managed to evade capture until his latest job, when he is wounded.
"Katy" Didd holds up the stage in which his sweetheart, Alice Mason, is traveling to her wedding to Prince Tetlow, to whom her guardian insists that she be married.
Horace Ventimore, a young London architect, stumbles across an old brass bottle. When he picks it up a genie suddenly appears and promises Horace that he will grant every wish Horace wants in exchange for his freedom.