About

Charity Hope Valentine, though only a hostess in a cheap New York City dancehall called the Fandango Ballroom, refuses to be disillusioned by the disappointments life has handed her.

Synopsis

Charity Hope Valentine, though only a hostess in a cheap New York City dancehall called the Fandango Ballroom, refuses to be disillusioned by the disappointments life has handed her.

Ever the optimist, she dreams of one day meeting the true love who will bring her happiness and respectability. Charity's latest beau, Charlie, a gangster-gigolo, pushes her off a Central Park bridge and runs away with her life savings, leaving her with only his name tattooed across an arrow-pierced heart on her arm.  Nevertheless, she refuses to give up hope. One night Charity witnesses a sidewalk argument between Italian film star Vittorio Vitale and his elegant girlfriend Ursula. Ursula drives off in a rage, whereupon Vittorio impulsively takes Charity to an exclusive nightclub and then back to his apartment for an intimate supper. But the evening is ruined when an apologetic Ursula arrives, and Charity is forced to spend the night hiding in one of Vittorio's closets. Following a disastrous attempt to better herself by registering at an employment agency, Charity becomes trapped in an elevator with Oscar Lindquist, a timid, claustrophobic insurance actuary. Believing that Charity works in a bank, he asks her for a date, and, despite the warnings of Helene and Nickie, her girlfriends at the Fandango, Charity decides that this romance is the one she has been waiting for all her life. Oscar asks Charity to marry him, despite his learning that she is a dancehall hostess, but he meets her Fandango chums at the Marriage License Bureau and gets a good look at Charity's tattoo, and he is unable to go through with the wedding. Once again alone and abandoned, Charity wanders through Central Park until she finds herself at the bridge where Charlie deserted her. As she broods over her fate, a group of flower children hand her a daisy and thus renew her faith in what tomorrow will bring.

Songs

"Hey, Big Spender"

"If My Friends Could See Me Now"

"There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This"

"Rhythm of Life"

"Sweet Charity"

"I'm a Brass Band"

"I Love To Cry at Weddings"