New York, New York

On V-J Day in 1945, a celebration in a New York City nightclub is underway, with music provided by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Selfish and smooth-talking saxophone player Jimmy Doyle pesters small-time USO singer Francine Evans for her phone number, but she wants nothing to do with him. The next morning, Francine and Jimmy end up sharing a cab and, against her will, Francine accompanies Jimmy to an audition, at which he argues with the club owner. In an attempt to get the audition back on track, Francine begins to sing the old standard "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me". Jimmy joins in on his sax. The club owner is impressed and, to Francine's astonishment, they are both offered a job as a boy–girl act in a club. But the next morning Jimmy receives a message from Francine telling him that she's left to join a traveling orchestra. He catches up with her and joins the orchestra as well, which he eventually takes over as his own when the conductor retires. From that moment, Jimmy and Francine's relationship deepens into a mix of obsession and love. But there are problems—mainly, Jimmy's tendency to fight with his co-workers, his overly dramatic behavior, and his increasingly violent arguments with Francine, who becomes pregnant with their child. An especially harsh shouting match between them results in Francine going into labor. Jimmy rushes her to the hospital, where she delivers a boy. However, Jimmy is not ready to be a father or a good husband, so he abandons his wife and declines to see his newborn son as he leaves the hospital. Several years later, in a recording studio, Francine records "But the World Goes Round," a powerful anthem that makes the charts and helps her become a popular entertainment figure. In the years that follow, Jimmy and Francine both find success in the music industry; he becomes a renowned jazz musician and club owner, while she becomes a successful singer and film actress. Jimmy records a saxophone version of a self-written song, "New York, New York," and it tops the jazz charts. One night, he goes to see Francine perform in the nightclub where they had first met, years earlier; Francine's performance of "New York, New York," for which she has provided lyrics, is received by a wildly appreciative audience. After the show, Jimmy and Francine have a brief, awkward reunion, and then Jimmy leaves, spending a few moments with his and Francine's young son on the way out of the club. Shortly thereafter Jimmy telephones his ex-wife from a pay phone in the street, suggesting she join him for dinner. Francine says yes, but as she heads toward the stage-door exit, she changes her mind and leaves the club via another route. Jimmy, waiting on the sidewalk, realizes that he has been stood up and walks down the street.

Plot from New York, New York (1977 film)CC BY-SA 4.0