Single Room Furnished 1968
Directed by
Matt Cimber
Made by
Empire Film Studios
Single Room Furnished Plot Summary
Read the complete plot summary and ending explained for Single Room Furnished (1968). From turning points to emotional moments, uncover what really happened and why it matters.
Pop, Billy M. Greene, is the janitor of a downtown New York City apartment building. While swapping a blown bulb in the hall, he overhears a tense argument between a young woman named Maria, Terri Messina, and her Italian mother, who fears their family’s name is being dragged through the mud by Eileen, a tenant who works as a prostitute. After the quarrel, Maria slips away, and Pop invites the young woman into the building’s kitchen to talk. As they sit, Maria admits she admires Eileen’s beauty and what she represents — a different, more exciting life she’s not sure she can ever have.
From there, Pop begins to tell Maria the story of Johnnie, Jayne Mansfield, a young woman who lived in the same building with her husband Frankie, Martin Horský, about a decade earlier. Frankie was unhappy with their life and longed for something more; he confides that an old Navy friend has been traveling the world, hinting at a chance for a bigger life. Johnnie, pregnant and feeling isolated, tries to understand his restlessness, but Frankie ultimately leaves her and their unborn child behind. Pop says Johnnie miscarried and, in time, changes her name to Mae and continues to live as a tenant in the building, carrying the weight of that lost pregnancy.
Another thread follows Flo, Dorothy Keller, and Charley, Fabian Dean, a couple who intersect Mae’s past. Mae visits Charley one morning to tell him she’s pregnant, and he, moved by pity, considers marriage. But Flo, who later meets Charley in a bar, learns that love and commitment can’t be forced for the sake of circumstance. They marry, and Flo reveals a bitter truth: Mae did have a baby, and she placed it up for adoption. Mae’s life keeps shifting as she uses another name, becoming Eileen, a rebranding that ties her more deeply to the building’s social texture.
Flo expands on Eileen’s current life: she works as a prostitute at a nearby club. One night, she comes home to find her lover Billy, a sailor, waiting. Billy loves Eileen and wants to marry her, but she warns about her past and the things she has done with other men. She recalls a time when she was in love with a man who died before they could marry. Billy, undeterred, declares that he wants to marry her anyway, and the tension between both of them intensifies.
In a moment of desperation, Billy pulls a gun and points it at Eileen. She coldly challenges him, saying, “go ahead and shoot.” He cannot bring himself to fire, and instead he shoots himself. The room falls silent, and Eileen, initially shaken, sits before her mirror and begins reapplying her makeup, trying to resume the life she has learned to perform.
As Pop’s story closes, Maria absorbs how the lives suspended in the building’s corridors are connected by memory, rumor, and the choices people make to survive in a world that never stops watching. The tale isn’t just a collection of past mistakes; it’s a meditation on identity, reputation, and the ways in which people construct and protect their own versions of a life, one rumor at a time.
Single Room Furnished Timeline
Follow the complete movie timeline of Single Room Furnished (1968) with every major event in chronological order. Great for understanding complex plots and story progression.
Maria and her mother's argument about Eileen
In Maria's downtown apartment, a heated argument erupts between Maria and her Italian mother about Maria's association with Eileen. The mother warns that Eileen's lifestyle could bring shame to the family name. Maria defends her friend and refuses to bow to that judgment.
Pop consoles Maria and begins a story
Pop steps in to calm Maria and guides her to the building's kitchen to talk. He explains that he will tell her a story that threads through the past and present. The tale centers on Mae/Eileen and the people around her.
Ten years ago: Johnnie and Frankie
Johnnie and Frankie live in the building, with Frankie itching for something more. He shows interest in Navy life and distant places, leaving Johnnie feeling isolated while she is pregnant. Frankie discusses with an old Navy friend and hints at a change in their life, foreshadowing departure.
Frankie leaves; Johnnie's miscarriage
Weeks after the talk of escape, Johnnie awakens to find Frankie gone, abandoning her and their unborn child. She suffers a miscarriage as the bond of their marriage dissolves. Johnnie later changes her name to Mae and remains a tenant in the building.
Mae's pregnancy and proposal
Mae, now identified by her new name, announces her pregnancy during a visit to Charley. She plans to place the baby up for adoption, and Charley, moved by pity, asks her to marry him. The moment plants a seed of complicated loyalties that echo through the building.
Flo's meeting with Charley and love
A few days later, Charley meets Flo in a bar and realizes that he loves her. He decides he cannot marry Mae out of pity and asks Flo to marry him instead. The feelings between Flo and Charley begin to redefine the future of their circle.
Mae's baby and a new name
Mae eventually has her baby and puts it up for adoption, ending that chapter of her life. She also changes her name to Eileen, continuing to inhabit the building as Mae’s legacy bleeds into a new identity.
Flo arrives in the kitchen pregnant
As Pop finishes the Mae/Eileen thread, Flo arrives in the kitchen pregnant with Charley's child. She explains that she and Charley married, and she reveals that Mae had her baby and is now Eileen. The past and present overlap in this crowded room.
Maria connects Eileen to Mae
Maria realizes that her friend Eileen is the same person who lived as Mae years ago in the building. The names Mae and Eileen are revealed to be one person in the stories he told. The realization shakes the room as the story folds into the present.
Eileen's life as a prostitute
Flo spells out that Eileen works as a prostitute at a nearby club, shaping the second arc of her past. The life she leads contrasts with the intimate recollections shared earlier by Pop. Maria processes the revelation while listening.
Eileen's night with Billy begins
One night, a sailor named Billy arrives at Eileen's apartment, and he declares his love, insisting he wants to marry her. Eileen candidly recounts her past and warns him that many men have come and gone. The confrontation exposes the wounds behind her demeanor.
Billy's gun and his death
Billy pulls a pistol and points it at Eileen, but she dares him to shoot. Unable to fire, he shoots himself instead, leaving Eileen in stunned silence. The moment marks a brutal climax to the night.
Eileen re-applies makeup
In the immediate aftermath, Eileen sits at her mirror and re-applies her makeup, trying to reclaim control over her image. The act signals a partial reprieve from the night's tragedy, but the scars remain visible. The scene closes as she prepares to face the world again.
Single Room Furnished Characters
Explore all characters from Single Room Furnished (1968). Get detailed profiles with their roles, arcs, and key relationships explained.
Johnnie / Mae / Eileen
A woman who repeatedly sheds and adopts new identities to survive and pursue potentially better lives. Her path—from a married woman to Mae, then to Eileen—highlights the costs and resilience involved in reinventing oneself. She remains guarded, using appearance and wit to navigate a judgmental world.
Pop
The building’s janitor who serves as the informal storyteller. He bridges past and present with a patient, observant nature, guiding Maria through the multi-generational tales. His narration reveals the community’s anxieties, hopes, and unspoken truths.
Maria
A young woman torn between family expectations and her own feelings. She absorbs the stories of Mae/Eileen, weighing what it means to live with stigma and desire in a strict social circle. Her reactions reflect a search for identity beyond her upbringing.
Frankie
Johnnie’s husband who leaves her and their unborn child in pursuit of Navy life and a more exciting future. His departure anchors the family’s heartbreak and fuels the legend of Mae/Eileen’s past. His choices illustrate the pull between opportunity and obligation.
Flo
Charley’s wife who becomes pregnant after Mae’s story intersects with her own life. Flo represents a new generation facing similar choices and the consequences of past decisions. She reveals Mae’s path and embodies the continuation of the cycle Mae began.
Charley
Flo’s partner who wrestles with whether to marry Mae out of pity or genuine feeling. His sense of responsibility clashes with the impulsive past of Mae, leading to a difficult but compassionate resolution.
Billy
Eileen’s lover who yearns to marry her despite her past. His possessive tenderness culminates in a tragic ending when he cannot bring himself to shoot her and instead takes his own life. His actions underscore the dangerous costs of longing and attachment.
Single Room Furnished Settings
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Location
Downtown Manhattan, New York City
The story unfolds within a downtown New York City apartment building, where cramped spaces and shared kitchens heighten tension among tenants. The building acts as a microcosm of urban life, where reputation and family honor shape every interaction. Outside, the city hums, but inside the halls and rooms, personal histories collide with gossip and survival.
Single Room Furnished Themes
Discover the main themes in Single Room Furnished (1968). Analyze the deeper meanings, emotional layers, and social commentary behind the film.
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Identity
Characters reinvent themselves to cope with love, shame, and opportunity. Johnnie’s names change from Mae to Eileen, each shift marking a different phase of life and desire. The theme explores whether identity is a fixed essence or a social construct shaped by circumstance. Reinvention becomes both a tool for survival and a burden of memory.
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Stigma
Gossip and social judgment press on Maria and the building’s residents as they navigate propriety and desire. Eileen’s past as a sex worker is used to condemn her, while Pop’s stories reveal how rumors can trap people in a communal narrative. The film critiques how society polices women’s choices and punishes them for survival.
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Aspiration
Dreams of escape and a better life pull characters toward wider horizons, from Frankie’s Navy fantasies to Billy’s desire to marry Eileen. The pursuit of opportunity tests loyalties and risks, showing how the lure of a new life can fracture relationships. The cost of ambition weighs against the comfort of staying connected to loved ones.
Single Room Furnished Spoiler-Free Summary
Discover the spoiler-free summary of Single Room Furnished (1968). Get a concise overview without any spoilers.
In a cramped downtown New York apartment block, the ordinary rhythm of hallway lights and hallway gossip becomes a hidden archive of lives lived in shadow. Pop, the building’s long‑time janitor, moves through the corridors like a quiet witness, his ear attuned to the whispered arguments and fleeting confessions that echo off the cracked plaster. When a tense clash erupts between a young tenant and her mother over a neighbor’s reputation, Maria slips away, and Pop invites her into the kitchen where the building’s past begins to unfurl. Their conversation hints at a world where the line between aspiration and desperation is blurred, and where each resident carries a version of themselves shaped by the walls that contain them.
The building’s history is a tapestry of women who have reinvented their identities to survive its relentless gaze. Decades earlier, a hopeful bride‑to‑be named Johnnie navigated a marriage that left her yearning for more, eventually adopting a new name and a new role that tethered her to the same hallways. Later, a resident known as Mae—once Johnnie—finds herself entangled in a series of quiet arrangements, each one a subtle rebellion against the expectations placed upon her. Over time, the name Eileen emerges, a portrait of a woman whose public façade masks the complexities of love, loss, and the choices required to keep moving forward. Flo and Charley intersect these narratives, their own attempts at connection revealing how the building’s residents lean on one another, whether for comfort, advice, or a fleeting sense of belonging.
Through Pop’s understated storytelling, the film paints a mood of melancholic intimacy, suffused with the muted hum of city life and the soft clatter of everyday chores. The tone is both observant and compassionate, capturing the way rumors, memories, and whispered histories swirl through the narrow corridors, shaping each inhabitant’s sense of self. In this tightly wound setting, the audience is invited to contemplate how identity is performed, preserved, and sometimes reinvented, all while the building itself stands as a silent keeper of its occupants’ most guarded truths.
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