Plot: Charity Hope Valentine works as a taxi dancer in a sleazy dance hall alongside her two best friends, Nickie and Helene. They have no illusions that what they are doing is renting out their bodies to any man who will pay. Charity wants more than anything to be loved. As she wears her heart on her sleeve, she is vulnerable to sleaze-balls who will take advantage of her trusting nature and that desperation to be loved. Nickie and Helene know that Charity's stories about her love life, although having a base of reality, are highly exaggerated and fantasized versions of the truth, such as the story of her encounter with famed Italian movie star, Vittoro Vitale. But after eight years in the business, Charity comes to the realization that she cannot meet decent men in her job, which she tries to change despite her lack of skills for "respectable" jobs. Her luck with men may change when she meets insurance actuary Oscar Lindquist, who mistakenly believes Charity is a respectable girl who works in a bank. Oscar falls for Charity, who in turn falls for the love directed at her. The questions become whether Oscar's love will remain if/when he finds out the truth behind Charity, and if so whether they can overcome their fundamental differences.
Alternative Plot: Charity Hope Valentine (Shirley MacLaine) always tries to look on the bright side of life, despite working in a rundown dance hall and contending with a seemingly endless run of bad dates. Determined to find love, Charity falls for suave actor Vittorio Vidal (Ricardo Montalban), but their romance is all too brief. However, when Charity finds herself stuck in an elevator with the reserved Oscar Lindquist (John McMartin), it turns out that she may have finally met her match.
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