On an ocean liner, a passenger recognizes famed ballet creator Charles Coudray (James Mason), and asks him politely why one of his works has never been performed since its debut. When Coudray remains silent, the fan leaves him alone with his thoughts, leading to a flashback.
The story deals with three showbiz hopefuls - Susan Gallagher (Judy Garland), Sandra Kolter (Hedy Lamarr) and Sheila Regan (Lana Turner) - and their efforts to attain the lofty status of "Ziegfeld Girl."
Suzy Bannion, an American ballet student, arrives from her flight in Munich, Germany on a stormy night to enroll in a prestigious dance academy in Freiburg. After Suzy is unable to gain access into the academy, she spends the night in town. Pat Hingle, a student who is expelled from the academy is seen by Suzy leaving and looking frightened. Pat finds refuge at a friend's apartment in town. After she locks herself in the bathroom, a mysterious arm smothers her against the glass. Her friend hears this and tries to scream for help but Pat is repeatedly stabbed and bound with a cord before she is hung in mid-air. Her friend is killed directly below by the falling glass and metal.
Irene Foster (Eleanor Powell) tries to convince her high school sweetheart, Broadway producer Robert Gordon (Robert Taylor), to give her a chance to star in his new musical, but he's too busy with the rich widow (June Knight) backing his show. Irene tries to show Gordon that she has the talent to succeed, but he won't hire her. Things become complicated when she begins impersonating a French dancer, who was actually the invention of a gossip columnist (Jack Benny).
Young horse trainer Sally (Eleanor Powell) befriends Sonny (George Murphy) and Peter (Buddy Ebsen), who have been hired to look after a horse her family once owned. Concerned for the horse's well-being, she sneaks aboard a train taking the horse and its caretakers to New York City. En route she meets talent agent Steve Raleigh (Robert Taylor) who, impressed with her dancing and singing, sets her on the road to stardom and romance blossoms between the two. A subplot involves a boarding house for performers run by Sophie Tucker, who is trying to find a big break for young Judy Garland.
A brash American film producer, Steve Canfield (Fred Astaire), wants Russian composer Peter Illyich Boroff (Wim Sonneveld) to write music for his next picture, which is being made in Paris. But when the composer expresses his wish to stay in Paris, three comically bumbling operatives, Comrades Brankov (Peter Lorre), Bibinski (Jules Munshin) and Ivanov (Joseph Buloff), are sent from Moscow to take Boroff back.
Seaman "Bake" Baker (Fred Astaire) and Sherry (Ginger Rogers) are former dance partners, now separated, with Baker in the Navy and Sherry working as a dance hostess in a San Francisco ballroom, Paradise.
Un jeune employé dans une usine de Newcastle (Australie) rêve de quitter cette vie pour vivre de sa passion, les claquettes qu'il pratique avec brio depuis son enfance. Il commence alors a recruter quelques passionnés pour pratiquer les claquettes dans les décors brut de l'usine.
John "Lucky" Garnett (Fred Astaire) is a gambler and dancer. He is set to marry Margaret (Betty Furness), but his friends hold him up so that he is late for the wedding. Margaret's father phones to call off the wedding, but Lucky doesn't get that message. His friends bet him that he won't be getting married and he agrees to the bet. Margaret's father tells Lucky that he must earn $25,000 in order to demonstrate his good intentions.
Seventeen-year-old Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is a sunny high school senior who loves cheerleading and is dating football player Jared (Brandt Wille). She does not enjoy kissing Jared, however, and prefers looking at her fellow cheerleaders. Combined with Megan's interest in vegetarianism and Melissa Etheridge, her family and friends suspect that Megan is in fact a lesbian. With the help of ex-gay Mike (RuPaul), they surprise her with an intervention. Following this confrontation, Megan is sent to True Directions, a reparative therapy camp which uses a five-step program (similar to Alcoholics Anonymous' twelve-step program) to convert its campers to heterosexuality.
À la fin des années 1990, l'inspecteur Russell Poole enquête sur la corruption au sein de la division Rampart du LAPD. Ces évènements sont également liés aux assassinats des célèbres rappeurs The Notorious B.I.G. et Tupac Shakur et au label de ce dernier, Death Row Records. Avec le journaliste Jack Jackson, il va tenter de tirer au clair ces affaires, malgré le manque de soutien de sa hiérarchie.