Some Call It Loving (1973) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A man who lives through elaborate fantasies discovers genuine love but ultimately restores the artificial game that shaped his world.

Story Structure — 4 Plot Phases

The Purchased Dream

Robert Troy encounters the Sleeping Beauty attraction and buys the sleeping woman for $20,000. He brings her to the mansion, where his private life with Scarlett is introduced.

Key Events

• Veiled Mourning — Troy asks Scarlett whether she loved the young man they are mourning. Characters: Robert Troy, Scarlett Location: Mansion balcony
• Carnival Entrance — Troy pays to enter the Sleeping Beauty attraction. Characters: Robert Troy Location: Carnival Sleeping Beauty tent
• Sleeping Beauty Show — A staged doctor examines the sleeping woman and invites men to kiss her. Characters: Robert Troy Location: Carnival Sleeping Beauty tent
• The Eight-Year Sleep — Troy learns she has slept eight years and asks what it would cost to buy her. Characters: Robert Troy Location: Carnival Sleeping Beauty tent
• Jennifer Purchased — Troy agrees to pay $20,000 and takes the sleeping woman away. Characters: Robert Troy Location: Carnival grounds
• Scarlett's Bedroom Reveal — Troy announces that he has purchased a Sleeping Beauty while Scarlett is with a female lover. Characters: Robert Troy, Scarlett Location: Mansion bedroom

Awakening Behind Curtains

Jennifer awakens and begins learning the mansion's strange rituals. Troy hides parts of Scarlett and Angelica's performance from her while becoming increasingly drawn to her.

Key Events

• Troy Leads the Band — Troy plays baritone saxophone and leads a six-piece band. Characters: Robert Troy Location: Jazz nightclub
• Troy Checks on Jeff — Troy checks that Jeff is taking the pills he bought for him. Characters: Robert Troy, Jeff Location: Jazz nightclub
• Finishing School Game — Scarlett pretends to run a finishing school and corrects Angelica's service. Characters: Robert Troy, Scarlett, Angelica Location: Mansion
• Jennifer Awakens — The Sleeping Beauty awakens, and Troy learns that her name is Jennifer. Characters: Robert Troy, Jennifer Location: Mansion
• Nuns Behind the Curtain — Jennifer watches Scarlett and Angelica dance as nuns before Troy hides them behind a curtain. Characters: Robert Troy, Jennifer, Scarlett, Angelica Location: Mansion sitting room

A Genuine Feeling

Troy takes Jennifer to the jazz club and admits that he wants to leave with her. Scarlett challenges this decision, but Troy's intimacy with Jennifer confirms that his feelings are not another performance.

Key Events

• The Sleeping Beauty Quotation — Jennifer thanks Troy for waking her and quotes Tennyson's Sleeping Beauty. Characters: Robert Troy, Jennifer Location: Mansion bedroom
• A Song for Two — Troy plays a song dedicated to the two people he loves most, Jeff and Jennifer. Characters: Robert Troy, Jeff, Jennifer Location: Empty jazz nightclub
• Troy Chooses Jennifer — Troy tells Scarlett he plans to take Jennifer away because his feelings are genuine. Characters: Robert Troy, Scarlett, Jennifer Location: Mansion
• Scarlett Delays Departure — Scarlett convinces Troy to keep Jennifer temporarily and test whether his feelings are real. Characters: Robert Troy, Scarlett Location: Mansion
• The Cheerleader Performance — Troy directs an elaborate cheerleader performance but leaves before the final attempt. Characters: Robert Troy, Cheerleader Location: Jazz nightclub

The Game Refuses to End

Troy briefly takes Jennifer away before returning to the mansion's ritual world. During a staged religious ceremony, he uses the sleeping potion because he cannot continue pretending.

Key Events

• First Night Together — Troy returns home and makes love to Jennifer for the first time. Characters: Robert Troy, Jennifer Location: Mansion bedroom
• Escape in the Van — Troy takes Jennifer away from the mansion in the van included with her purchase. Characters: Robert Troy, Jennifer Location: Road outside the mansion
• The Novice Ceremony — Scarlett and Angelica stage a convent ritual, with Troy dressed as a priest and Jennifer as a novice. Characters: Robert Troy, Jennifer, Scarlett, Angelica Location: Mansion
• The Potion in the Wine — Troy pours sleeping potion into Jennifer's ceremonial wine because he cannot continue the pretense. Characters: Robert Troy, Jennifer, Scarlett, Angelica Location: Mansion ceremony room
• Jennifer Defends the Game — Jennifer asks why Troy rejects the game and says she wants to play it forever. Characters: Robert Troy, Jennifer Location: Mansion ceremony room
• Return to Sleep — As Jennifer grows tired, Troy tearfully picks her up and carries her away. Characters: Robert Troy, Jennifer Location: Mansion ceremony room
• The Doctor's New Role — Jennifer is back in the tent, with Troy acting as doctor and Scarlett as his nurse. Characters: Robert Troy, Scarlett, Jennifer Location: Carnival Sleeping Beauty tent

Story Breakdown

• Mourning and Spectacle — The film begins with ritualized mourning and moves into the carnival's commercial Sleeping Beauty performance.
  • Veiled Conversation — Troy and Scarlett discuss the young man they are mourning on the mansion balcony.
  • Carnival Attraction — Troy pays to see the sleeping woman and becomes interested in her unusual condition.
• The Purchase — Troy converts the carnival fantasy into a private possession by buying the sleeping woman and taking her home.
  • Eight-Year Sleep — Troy learns that the woman has been asleep for eight years.
  • Mansion Arrival — The purchased Sleeping Beauty is transported to Troy and Scarlett's mansion.
• Mansion Performances — Scarlett, Angelica, and Troy maintain a secluded household based on costumes, service, and invented roles.
  • Finishing School — Scarlett pretends to teach Angelica while Angelica performs as a French maid.
  • Dancing Nuns — Scarlett and Angelica perform a nun routine that Jennifer later observes.
• Jennifer Awakens — Jennifer enters the mansion's strange social world and begins forming a connection with Troy.
  • Learning the House — Troy shows Jennifer around while she adjusts to being awake after years of sleep.
  • Tennyson's Echo — Jennifer quotes Sleeping Beauty and frames her awakening through romantic literary language.
• Genuine Desire — Troy's relationship with Jennifer develops beyond role-play and forces him to question his life with Scarlett.
  • Jazz Club Date — Troy takes Jennifer to the empty club and dedicates a song to her and Jeff.
  • Leaving the Mansion — Troy tells Scarlett that he wants to take Jennifer away because his feelings are genuine.
• Return to Fantasy — After briefly leaving with Jennifer, Troy returns to the mansion and confronts the destructive persistence of the game.
  • Novice Ceremony — Scarlett and Angelica stage a religious initiation, with Troy dressed as a priest.
  • Sleeping Potion — Troy puts the potion in Jennifer's wine when he can no longer sustain the pretense.
• The Restored Tableau — Jennifer accepts the game while Troy cannot, and the ending returns her to the carnival's Sleeping Beauty setup.
  • Jennifer's Choice — Jennifer says she wants to continue playing the game forever, like a child.
  • Doctor and Nurse — Troy becomes the doctor and Scarlett becomes the nurse in the final carnival image.

Directed by

James B. Harris

Key Cast

• Zalman King — Robert Troy
• Carol White — Scarlett
• Tisa Farrow — Jennifer
• Richard Pryor — Jeff
• Veronica Anderson — Angelica