Douglas, a record salesman, is an obsessive fan of actress Sally Ross. When his letters are rejected, he strikes out at her and her loved ones.
Douglas is a lonesome record salesman and a true fan of the actress Sally Ross. Every day he writes her gleaming letters of love. But the only response he gets are formal letters. So his love turns into hatred.—Tom Zoerner <[email protected]>
Approaching age fifty, screen and stage star Sally Ross is nervously hitting a new milestone in her career in being in rehearsals for her first ever Broadway musical, yet she is somewhat unfulfilled at this stage in her life. While she has the loyal support of a plethora of staff at this crucial time, she really wants the support, and more importantly love, of her Los Angeles-based ex-husband, actor Jake Berman. Jake is there for her whenever he can within the confines of his current life which includes being engaged to a much younger woman named Heidi. While Sally has had her fair share of rabid fans, her personal secretary, Belle Goldman, has largely been shielding her from the latest, Douglas Breen, whose somewhat innocent early letters have become increasingly suggestive to crossing the line in he professing his love for her. Douglas knows that his letters are not being seen by Sally directly as Belle signs her own name on Sally's behalf in responses to any fan, and thus in his psychopathy will do whatever he feels he needs to to get Sally to know how he feels about her. If he is able to get directly to Sally, he may have a different target in his anger if he is spurned by her.—Huggo
In New York City, Douglas Breen (Michael Biehn), a record store salesman, types a fan letter to actress Sally Ross (Lauren Bacall). However, Douglas is upset when Sally's secretary, Belle Goldman (Maureen Stapleton), answers the letter and encloses a picture of Sally he already has. In his next letter to "Miss Ross," he chastises her secretary for signing Sally's reply, and ends his note with "All my love." Belle writes to Douglas, apologizing for sending a photograph he already has. Douglas writes back to Sally that her secretary is "snide" and should be punished. Belle reads the letter aloud, but Sally is preoccupied and does not listen.
Sally is celebrating her 50th birthday and nervous about starting rehearsals for her first musical. On Sally's birthday, she joins her former husband, director Jake Berman (James Garner), for lunch and learns he has moved back to New York City while working on his new film. Sally asks about his young girl friend, Heidi (Lesley Rogers), and Jake admits they are engaged.
Meanwhile, Douglas sets out a romantic dinner for two in his apartment. He is angry when his sister (Kaiulani Lee) arrives and interrupts his dinner with a "famous star." She is worried about his fantasizing, but Douglas shuts the door on her and returns to his make-believe dinner with Sally.
Douglas sends another letter, inquiring if Sally has scolded her secretary. He also follows Sally to the rehearsal studio for her new play. His next letter is more personal, containing the salutation "Dear Sally" and the assertion that he and Sally will soon be lovers. Douglas is increasingly irritated with a female co-worker and plans to complain to the record store manager. However, the manager berates Douglas for his work.
Douglas writes to Sally that he finally confronted his boss and can now devote all of his time to her. Belle writes back that she will not show his letters to Sally, and if he writes again, she will contact the police. Infuriated, Douglas plans to deliver his next letter personally. He writes that he no longer needs to include his name or address because Sally knows where to find him. He arrives at the rehearsal hall after Sally has left for a break. A production assistant promises to deliver the letter to Sally, and hands it to Belle. Later, Belle shows the letter to Sally and worries that Douglas Breen might be dangerous. Sally insists he is harmless and throws away the letter.
That evening, Sally and her friend, David Branum (Kurt Johnson), go to a party that Jake Berman and his fiancee are also attending. Meanwhile, as Belle heads home on the subway, Douglas attacks her while she is walking through the deserted station and slashes her face. Later, Jake joins Sally at the hospital and they wonder why Belle was attacked. As Belle recovers, Sally receives an unsigned love letter from Douglas. He believes Sally is longing for him and admits that he attacked Belle so Sally could answer his letters.
Sally and Jake meet with police detective Raphael Andrews (Hector Elizondo), who asks to see the previous correspondence. Sally admits they did not keep the prior letters, and the current note does not include a name or address.
Detective Andrews visits Belle in the hospital and reveals that Sally's psychotic fan was her attacker. Belle can only remember that his first name is Douglas. By the time she realized he was not a normal fan, he had already stopped signing his name.
Later, Douglas watches Sally leave the rehearsal studio with David Branum, who kisses her goodbye. Douglas follows David to the YMCA swimming pool. As David swims laps, Douglas dives into the pool, slices David with a knife and swims away. He writes to Sally about the incident, and warns he is losing patience with her sadistic refusal to write him. Andrews provides 24 hour police protection for Sally, noting that Douglas will now come after her directly.
Douglas continues his stalking and notices Sally's police protection. Soon, the rehearsals move from the studio to the theater. Jake Berman visits Sally in her dressing room and asks why she has not called him recently. She does not want to interfere with his relationship with Heidi, and also does not want to depend on him. Sally cooks dinner for Raphael Andrews and he wants her understudy to do the preview performances, but Sally insists on appearing in them. The next day, the maid is alone in Sally's apartment when Douglas sneaks in and brutally kills her with a straight razor. He leaves a letter for Sally that starts with "Dear Bitch," and threatens to kill her. Andrews asks if Sally wants to call Jake for company, but she refuses.
That night, Douglas telephones Sally and says he wants to make love to her. He asks her to speak to him because he does not want to kill her, but Sally hangs up the telephone. She calls Jake, but Heidi picks up the telephone and she does not leave a message. The next morning, the policewoman protecting Sally awakens to find the actress gone, and she realizes Sally drugged her tea the previous evening. As Sally hides at her beach house, television news reports on her disappearance.
Douglas goes to a nightclub and picks up a man who resembles him. He offers to have sex with the man, lures him to a secluded spot and murders him. Douglas douses the body with gasoline and sets it on fire. He writes another letter to Sally, claiming he must atone for the pain he caused her, and he tapes the "suicide" note to a wall near the burnt corpse. Later, Jake arrives at Sally's beach house with news of Douglas's death, and they reminisce about their 15 years together.
Back in New York City, Belle returns to work as Sally prepares for opening night. Jake brings flowers to Sally's dressing room, and announces he ended his relationship with Heidi and would like to try again with Sally. She accepts his proposal, and then goes on with the show. Douglas slips into the audience during the play, but leaves during the standing ovation after the final curtain.
After the show, Jake leaves for the opening night party, but promises to return to pick up Sally after she changes. Almost everyone has left the theater when Douglas slips backstage. He murders Sally's costumer, then kills the stage manager and locks the theater door. Douglas surprises Sally in her dressing room and follows as she runs to the stage to escape him. He catches Sally and finally kisses her. When she struggles to get away, he wants to know why she never answered him. She insists she does not even know him, and when he tries to kiss her again, she calls him "pathetic." He demands she stop angering him and threatens her with a knife. When she continues to berate Douglas, he hugs her and begs her to love him. Sally grabs his knife and stabs her "fan" to death.
