Mrs. Washington Goes to Smith

The film opens with Marguerite Sydney returning to California after a stay in a mental hospital, reuniting with her son Josh. Struggling with the loss of her fortune and her fading stardom, she moves into a friend's Malibu house. She is initially involved with David Hollis, a toxic younger actor, but their relationship ends violently when she threatens him with a gun. Marguerite meets Ben Nichols at a racetrack, where they bond over a horse named 'Rita's Heater.' Ben presents himself as a successful businessman, and a whirlwind romance ensues, offering Marguerite a sense of stability she hasn't felt in years. Simultaneously, Marguerite attempts a career comeback by filming a TV pilot, though she clashes with a young, dismissive director. As the production progresses, Ben's facade begins to crumble; he is actually unemployed, married to a wealthy woman in New York, and drowning in gambling debts. Despite his lies, he genuinely falls for Marguerite but feels he is a 'fallen angel' who cannot be redeemed. While Marguerite is away on a night shoot for her pilot, Ben commits suicide in the guest house. Josh discovers the body and the gun, leading to a tense police investigation by Captain Clymer, who reveals Ben's true identity to a devastated Marguerite. Marguerite suffers a brief relapse into her mental illness, calling out for Ben in a trance-like state. She is eventually stabilized in a facility. The film concludes with Josh visiting her and sharing two suicide notes Ben left behind. The final note contains a story about an optimistic boy who, when faced with a room full of manure, starts digging because he believes 'with all this crap, there must be a pony.' This metaphor provides Marguerite and Josh with the bittersweet resolve to keep looking for the good in life despite their tragedies.