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Summary

"Aspiring singer Drew Rothman lives at home in Hoboken, New Jersey, with his irresponsible, younger brother Raymond, his compulsive gambling father, Frank, and his grandfather, Nathan, who is the l...

"Aspiring singer Drew Rothman lives at home in Hoboken, New Jersey, with his irresponsible, younger brother Raymond, his compulsive gambling father, Frank, and his grandfather, Nathan, who is the least contentious member of the family. During the day, Drew drives a delivery truck for the Rothmans' dry-cleaning business, while at night, he sings with his band at a topless bar called the Orchid Club. When the manager, 'Fat' Floyd, tries to bully one of the female dancers into performing nude, Drew defends her, then quits the seedy nightclub. At the train station one day, Drew notices an attractive, young woman in front of an arcade machine that engraves charms. She smiles at him, but disappears before he can approach her. Retrieving the engraved charm she mistakenly left behind, Drew discovers her name is Rosemarie Lemon. Later, Drew sees the same woman at a bus stop and walks over to introduce himself, but she does not speak. When she boards the bus, the driver greets her by talking very slowly, and Drew realizes Rosemarie is deaf. He sits next to her on the bus and accompanies her to St. Vincent's School for the Deaf where she teaches young children. Although unable to telephone Rosemarie for a date, Drew is determined to see her again. Elsewhere, he makes progress with his singing career when his band is hired to play at a future nightclub called Patterson's, which the owner promises will be classier than the Orchid. After waiting outside the school for Rosemarie, Drew invites her for coffee. Intrigued by his persistence and charm, she arranges to meet him at her house on Saturday afternoon. In the meantime, Drew borrows a sign language book from the library and practices saying, 'The coffee is good.' On the appointed day, Drew brings a rose and tries out his sign language phrase, as they sit in the kitchen. Although Rosemarie does not talk much, she clearly appreciates Drew's interest in learning how to communicate with her. They are interrupted by the arrival of Mrs. Lemon, Rosemarie's overprotective mother, who is immediately wary of the new suitor upon learning that Drew is not deaf and aspires to be singer. When Mrs. Lemon refers to Scott Gunther, her daughter's deaf boyfriend, Rosemarie is annoyed with her mother for attempting to sabotage the situation and leaves with Drew. At a diner, Drew tries to speak slowly so that Rosemarie can read his lips, but she admits that she understands only half of what he is saying. As they return to her house, Rosemarie indicates that, while she is not interested in Scott, a relationship between a hearing person and a deaf person might not work. Drew acknowledges that their first date did not go well, but insists they try again. Later, Drew fights with his father for losing $3,000 at the racetrack after buying a 'hot tip' from a dubious gambling associate. The family puts aside their argument, however, when Raymond arrives home with a bruised face from a fight with Johnny De Soto's gang. The three generations of Rothmans confront De Soto, who is intimidated by the family and flees. As Drew continues to practice sign language, he stuffs cotton in his ears to try and understand deafness. At the school, he watches Rosemarie teach a dance class and is inspired by her talent. That evening, he urges her to pursue her dream of dancing professionally. Rosemarie, who lost her hearing at age six, is shy about speaking, but Drew gives her the confidence to use her voice more. He introduces her to his rambunctious family, who give her a warm welcome. Meanwhile, Mrs. Lemon tries to persuade her daughter that Scott, who has a stable career, is a better choice for her. Rosemarie declares that she and Scott have nothing but deafness in common. Back at the store, Frank panics as he tries to negotiate with a ruthless bookmaker to whom he owes money. Meanwhile, Nathan reassures his grandson that Drew's deceased mother would have approved of his relationship with Rosemarie. Later, Drew takes Rosemarie to a theater where an upcoming dance audition will take place for the prestigious Paul Janssen company. Rosemarie is adamant that she cannot attempt such a challenge, unless it was a deaf dance group, but Drew encourages her to try. He assures her that they can adjust the speakers and the sound, so that she will be confident following the vibration of the music. On the day of the tryout, Drew is on the way to meet Rosemarie at the theater and assist with the audition process when he receives a telephone call from his grandfather that Frank set fire to the store in order to collect insurance money for the bookmaker. As Drew and Raymond rush to help extinguish the flames, Rosemarie arrives at the audition and immediately feels overwhelmed. On stage, she has trouble following the choreographer's instructions and bumps into him and other dancers while performing the routine. Humiliated, she abandons the audition, and Drew catches her as she runs out of the theater. When he learns that she did not inform the organizers of her deafness, he insists they go back inside. Walking on the stage, he convinces Paul Janssen, the director, to give Rosemarie another chance, explaining that because of her deafness, she must feel the vibration of the music. Drew lays the speakers flat on the floor and asks for the sound to be increased. The choreographer looks directly at Rosemarie, so she can lip-read his instructions. Returning to the line of dancers, she performs the routine beautifully. Later, as Drew and Rosemarie commit to each other, they find an apartment and move in together. While performing at Patterson's one night, Drew sings Rosemarie a special song as she walks into the club." - American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films.

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