Cinderella Liberty

Cinderella Liberty is a 1973 American drama film adapted by Daryl Ponicsan from his 1973 novel of the same title. The film tells the story of a sailor who falls in love with a prostitute and becomes a surrogate father for her 10-year-old mixed race son. The film stars James Caan, Marsha Mason and Eli Wallach, and was produced and directed by Mark Rydell. The title is derived from the plot point that the sailor, while receiving medical treatment at the Navy base's medical facility, is given what is called a "Cinderella Liberty" pass which allows him to freely leave the naval base as long as he is back by midnight curfew. The movie was filmed in Seattle, Washington. The film is one of two 1973 film adaptations of Ponicsan's novels based on his experiences in the U.S. Navy; the other being The Last Detail. Plot John J. Baggs, Jr. (James Caan), a U.S. Navy sailor and Vietnam veteran, checks into the Seattle naval base medical facility for treatment of a pilonidal cyst . His medical test results are delayed, preventing him from rejoining his ship when it sails. He gets a clean bill of health, but must wait at the base for reassignment to another ship, and is given a "Cinderella liberty" pass that allows him to come and go from the base until the midnight curfew. Shortly thereafter, the base loses his records, making him unable to be reassigned or receive pay or benefits, and keeping him stuck at the base on "Cinderella liberty" until his records are found.